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  3. Update #8 is live on the Experimental Branch

Update #8 is live on the Experimental Branch

Greetings medievalists!

Are you familiar that we have an experimental branch of the game? New updates for the game are first pushed here, and it allows you to experience the new features before other players. Builds on the Experimental Branch can be buggy and even cause crashes, so it may also have a couple of hotfixes before we promote it to the main branch. If you want to try the experimental branch, here is how to do it.

THINGS TO NOTE:

⚠️ We decided to keep Dev version of the game on the experimental branch, and that means that a Dev log with red text will appear from time to time. This will help us get more info from your side when crashes and bug reports occur.
⚠️ Also, at the moment, the experimental and the main branch are very different. You should not play saves from the experimental branch on the main one as it can cause various bugs - please avoid doing this.

With that being said...

The New update (0.13.1) is now live on the experimental branch. Once it is adequately tested, we will push it live in the official update! Here are the notes of what awaits you in this version, but first, a warning:

[h3]Disable Mods if you have them[/h3]
Please note: if you are using unofficial mods you might experience crashes or even an inability to start the game. If you do, turn the mods off before starting the game. If the problem persists, be sure to delete everything in the steamapps\common\Going Medieval and then verify the game files.

Now, on to the update:

[h3]Social interactions[/h3]
Settlers will interact with each other when they are close to one another. However, this system is not only reserved for human interaction. Here is how it works:
  • All interactions are instant and not accompanied by additional animations. This way, social interactions will not disrupt the tasks of your settlers or the flow of the gameplay.
  • Settlers can have a conversation every few hours. Some perks (like Contemplative) might influence the number of conversations they have.
  • The outcome of a conversation is determined by the speechcraft skill, difference in age, difference in religious alignment, affection amount, some attributes, and some randomness.
  • Interactions can have several different results - essentially positive and negative small talks.
  • The amount of positive/negative value is determined by settlers' attributes and affected by some perks (such as Ill favored, Ruthless, Disfigured, etc.)
  • Some social interactions result in the changing of the religious alignment and are represented by different icons (golden oak leaf for oak brethren and purple grail for the church of restitution)
  • Some settlers (like ones with the “Punch drunk” perk) will have a high chance to have negative conversations with settlers when drunk.
[h3]Affection[/h3]
Social interactions like small talk, pleasant conversation, and unpleasant conversation will result in the modifying of the affection of one settler towards the other.
  • Other actions in the game, like battling together (being close together while fighting) carrying each other to a bed, tending wounds, etc. will result in affection as well.
  • When the affection is high enough (+80) the settlers will become friends. If the affection goes under -80 then settlers become rivals.
  • This has no immediate gameplay impact other than different mood modifiers when a friend/rival dies or is banished.
[h3]Individual Action log[/h3]
We have added the Log feature to certain things. Social interactions, combat, health, and other notable events will be shown in the log.
  • All conversations between settlers will be logged. One settler will discuss something with the other, and that one will respond accordingly.
  • All combat hits, moves misses, and evades are logged. Different weapon types have different wording, as well as animal attack types.
  • Certain effectors (when characters eat a good meal, drink good ale, etc.) will also show here.
  • Logs are inherited by the carcass of a settler/enemy/animal. After that trophies and graves also inherit this log so players can read what happened to that settler/enemy/animal after their death.
NOTE: The log is saved as text and will not be translated when changing languages mid-game. Also, if a settler/animal is renamed it will not reflect in the log.

Keep in mind that these features will constantly evolve as new things are introduced and the existing features are upgraded.

[h3]New animals[/h3]
Bears and polecats are in the game. We are aware that bears were not a thing in medieval England, but there are reports of a couple being a side attraction in those times. In the canon of Going Medieval, we like to think that the plague helped them break free from their captivity and roam the land.

Polecat
  • Polecat is basically the wild version of a cat.
  • They can spawn on any map type.
  • Polecats are nocturnal animals that, like foxes, will sleep during the day.
  • They will hunt down your chicken, rabbits, and pheasants (fox logic).
  • You can get leather from it and build banners, armor, etc.
  • Can be used for vermin control when turned into a pet.
  • You can turn a polecat into a trophy.
Bear
  • Bears are very strong animals that spawn very rarely on the map.
  • Taming and training them can take a long time.
  • They can be used for hauling and battle.
  • Their leather can be used for banners, clothing, etc.
  • You can turn a bear into a trophy.

[h3]Bugs and fixes[/h3]
  • Fixed the issue that prevented some players from placing constructions in locations where they could be placed.
  • Fixed the issue that caused room detection to not work as intended in certain scenarios.
  • Fixed the issue that prevented animals from returning caravan from harvesting, if, during the return of the caravan, the game was saved & loaded.
  • Fixed the issue where the blueprint of all the graves did not match their size grid when using the “Copy” function.
  • Fixed the issue that made settlers face the wrong side when working on a research table.
  • Fixed the issue that made settlers appear as floating as if they were ordered to deconstruct stairs and were in the middle of them with a “Sleep” schedule in progress.
  • Fixed the issue that caused the behavior of beams to become corrupted if you place them in between Doors or Windows.
  • Fixed the issue that prevented constructions from placement with the first click, if players were using the “Relocate” or “Install” feature.
  • Fixed the issue where the order “Until you have” on the Sewing Station did not work as intended if the produced item was Rush Matting.
  • Fixed the issue where using Curdling Milk as a cooking resource when making a meal on a campfire or a stove would result in no meal being created upon completion of production.
  • Fixed the issue where raiders would run around aimlessly during the incursion.
  • Fixed the issue that caused placement of the crop/stockpile in a random position, if the player used only one voxel for that crop/stockpile.
  • Fixed the issue where settlers wouldn’t repair damaged structures while a merchant is near them.
[h3]Quality of life improvements[/h3]
  • Upon finishing harvesting of animals, settlers will take gathered resources (milk and wool) and carry them to the stockpile.
  • We have added a minimal skill level to train and tame certain animals (bears, wolves, foxes, and boars have this now).
  • Taming and training process of certain animals has been rebalanced.
  • We have also added feedback to the player when trying to train or tame an animal and not having the required min skill level.
  • Settlers will turn their head now toward social interaction targets when in the range.

We made subtle changes to the animation of some animals. This is purely cosmetic, but it livens up the world a bit.
  • We added a tail system where tails move a bit differently now (can be seen when an animal moves and you pause the game) tails now bend a bit when the animal turns, making them a bit more fluid.
  • The spine system has been added to animals as well. When the animal turns, the spine will bend in that direction a bit. This is very subtle but makes their movement a bit less stiff. Most noticeable in donkeys and cattle.
[h3]Known issues[/h3]
  • The game might crash if settlers on the caravan attempt social interaction. We're working on this and will try to provide a fix for it ASAP.
  • Settlers will not choose the closest production building (if there are more of the same type), but the one that has a production set first in the global list of productions.
  • If your settlers are experiencing weird animations with some actions, be sure to cap the game's FPS in the game's options. Cap it to 60fps. If the issue persists, cap it at 30.


As we mentioned, once the build is stable enough and properly tested, we'll push it on the main branch. If you have any issues to report - use F10, use our Discord server or the experimental branch subforum. Thank you for your time.

Foxy Voxel