Thrive: Heavy Lies The Crown News

People of Nysamor,

Your throne is calling. Do you have what it takes to guide your people to prosperity?

Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown’s Closed Beta has now kicked off, providing our dedicated fans with an opportunity to explore Nysamor ahead of the Early Access launch in 2024. But hurry, the Beta ends 11th December, 4PM MST, so get in quick!

All ThriVIPs now have access to the build (via the previous key shared from past playtests), however, new applicants will receive access on a rolling basis over the next few days. Please be patient as we look to approve all requests shortly. As a reminder, you can request Playtest access via Steam now!

As with all Betas, our goal is to determine performance across a wide range of different hardware configurations, gain useful gameplay insights, and obtain more info about you, our players! So please share your insights via our Survey and on our Discord.

On behalf of the Zugalu Entertainment team, we’re delighted to be providing our passionate fans with this special early look at our labor of love.

BETA CONTENT & KNOWN ISSUES

While Early Access is slated for release in 2024, our Beta will provide you with a nice slice of the game to experience. This said, there will be certain elements of the game that are still a ‘work-in-progress’, not fully functional, or restricted during your playthroughs.

Localization: Currently auto-generated and temporary, so there may be some translations that do not properly align with the intended meaning or context of words and sentences:

• French
  
• Spanish
  
• German
  
• Simplified Chinese
  
• Russian
  

UI: Some elements are currently placeholders or WIP.

Narrative: This Beta only features Act I of Thrive. Once this act concludes, a video will play, highlighting the paths that could await your reign in the full release. You can continue to play after this video, but the story and tiers will not progress. This also applies to available classes, buildings, and resources.

Tier Progression (Tome of Knowledge): Your tier progression, along with available classes, buildings, and even some resources will be limited to Act I during the Beta.

Happiness: The Happiness system has been tweaked to better assist with progression through Beta gameplay.

Map Terrain: Appearance is limited, will be more in-depth and detailed for EA.

Combat: Basic features are only available at this time.

Multiplayer: Players may experience some desync issues.

We would appreciate it greatly if you could reach out to us via the in-game feedback tool, and on our Discord, with any questions, concerns, bugs, or issues you are experiencing.

Thank you for signing up to help us test out the game. Long may you reign, and long may you Thrive!

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Until we next meet…

Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown is available to Wishlist on Steam now!

Social Links:
Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown Website - Official Website Discord - Join our Discord community
X/Twitter - Follow us @thrivehltc Facebook - Like Our Facebook Page YouTube - Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel

Find out more about PlaySide Publishing on its official website

To learn more about Zugalu Entertainment, please visit its official website

People of Nysamor,

We are delighted to announce our biggest playtest yet, and you are invited to get in on the action!

Our upcoming Closed Beta kicks off from 29th November, 4PM MST to 11th December, 4PM MST, giving our dedicated fans plenty of time to test all the latest features and functionality of Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown.

Want access? Request Playtest access via Steam now! Existing ThriVIP members will be able to access the Closed Beta via the previous key shared from past playtests.



Zugalu Entertainment takes its commitment to its community seriously and it is through your feedback that the game will grow. So join Discord to stay up to date with all Closed Beta details, Q&A times with developers and connect with other players to trial Multiplayer.

CLOSED BETA FAQ

What is Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown?

Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown is a medieval fantasy city builder where the decisions you make weigh heavily on the fate of your kingdom. In Nysamor, you and your citizens will transform a settlement into a kingdom, staking your claim on its provinces while meeting the essential needs and demands of your people. A mysterious, devastating force known as the Waelgrim also lurks in these lands, but the Nysians do not fear it. The roaming Grimrot and ruling Wyrmaxans embrace its power, and see it as a gift. As your reign shifts toward a path of Benevolence or Tyranny, you too must decide if the Waelgrim becomes something to be honored…or subdued.

• Grow a formidable kingdom, with more than thirty unique buildings and dozens of resources.
  
• Address the needs of your people and kingdom through events and specializations to reflect your style of rule.
  
• Amass a grand army and challenge the Grimrot, Wyrmaxans, or other players in RTS combat.
  
• Compete with friends and foes in multiplayer with up to four players.
  

What are the objectives of the Closed Beta?

This Closed Beta gives our development team a chance to share the world we have built so far, and to learn from the experiences of our playtesters. Precious feedback on the concepts we have implemented, the mechanics in place, and the look and feel of Thrive will guide us forward into 2024, where future showcases, Early Access, and our full release await. Any issues or bugs that we can resolve during this Closed Beta will only help to ensure Thrive is a fresh, engaging addition to the city building genre.

What are the key differences since the last ThriVIP build?

Our last closed beta was in April, when we released build 106 to a small group of ThriVIPs. So much of the game has changed since then, both in terms of building off of their feedback, as well as implementing many systems and mechanics that were still in development at the time. Issues addressed include performance, graphic textures, lighting, various UI elements, onboarding, combat, fires, disease, attacks, trade, the strategic map, and, of course, multiplayer. We are excited to see what new feedback will arise from all that has been added and changed.

What can I expect in the Closed Beta versus the Early Access launch?

While many of the Early Access anticipated features are present in our Closed Beta, there are some items that are either still being tweaked and polished, or being withheld to build up anticipation for Early Access and Full Release.

In Early Access, you can expect:

• Forty (40) additional buildings
  
• Twenty (20) more craftable items
  
• Discovering your path: Benevolence or Tyranny
  
• Four (4) new classes of citizens once the Benevolent/Tyrannical paths are unlocked (two for each)
  
• Acts II and III of the main narrative arc, along with Random and Building Specialization events
  
• Increased military units and options
  
• And more…
  

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Until we next meet…

Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown is available to Wishlist on Steam now!

Social Links:
Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown Website - Official Website Discord - Join our Discord community
TikTok - Check us out on TikTok X/Twitter - Follow us @thrivehltc Facebook - Like Our Facebook Page YouTube - Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel

Find out more about PlaySide Publishing on its official website

To learn more about Zugalu Entertainment, please visit its official website

Join Greg and Kat as they bring you another update. They discuss how Disease and Happiness will impact the citizens of your kingdom in Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown.

*This stream is pre-recorded*

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Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown is available to Wishlist on Steam now!

Social Links:
Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown Website - Official Website Discord - Join our Discord community
X/Twitter - Follow us @thrivehltc Facebook - Like Our Facebook Page YouTube - Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel

Find out more about PlaySide Publishing on its official website

To learn more about Zugalu Entertainment, please visit its official website

People of Nysamor,

Since our last dev update, we’ve been expanding our own horizons with the Publishing team showing off Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown as part of the official SXSW Sydney game selection.

In Thrive, managing your kingdom is a delicate balance of maintaining current wants and needs, and staving off future threats. Today, we’ll be exploring how Happiness and Disease can impact the lives of your citizens, and what you can do as a leader to make sure your subjects are healthy and productive.

Make sure to check out our recent Dev Update Stream where we covered Happiness and Disease in greater detail

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

HAPPINESS



Regardless of whether you’re Benevolent or Tyrannical, the overall happiness of one’s citizens can greatly affect the ability for your kingdom to succeed in Thrive. A variety of elements factor into how your people feel at any given moment.

In the current build of Thrive, event outcomes, goods, and luxury items have the potential to increase or decrease happiness amongst the populace. In addition to these, our team is working to add even more factors that will impact your kingdom’s happiness levels. These include: pollution levels, population, building density, taxation, and the effects of those mysterious magenta crystals that seem to keep spawning wherever the Waelgrim’s presence is felt…

In the future, players can expect being at war versus at peace, decorative structures around the kingdom, and having well maintained buildings (not destroyed or damaged) to also affect how happy your kingdom will feel.

DISEASE

Illness can spread quickly throughout your kingdom, so it’s advisable to keep a watchful eye on the health of your citizens. Should illness strike one home, it can quickly move between others. Working residents always have a chance to pass it on. Whatever the ailment, fermenters and infirmaries should be located nearby homes to manage these bouts of sickness before they get out of control.

• The Infirmary provides an area of effect wherein citizens can be cured. Any citizens who reside within its radius will receive treatment once a disease is present, provided that enough cure has been stored.
  
• To make cures, you will have to grow an Herb Garden.
  
• These harvested herbs can be used to create bottles of cure at the Fermenter.
  
• Once created, the cures can be transported to the Infirmary, ready to both heal those actively sick, as well as potentially ward off the chances of illness.
  

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Look out for our next Developer Update in the coming weeks as we push towards Early Access in 2024. Make sure to join our Discord and learn the details for our upcoming Playtest if you’d like to check out all these features for yourself!

Until we next meet…

Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown is available to Wishlist on Steam now!

Social Links:
Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown Website - Official Website Discord - Join our Discord community
X/Twitter - Follow us @thrivehltc Instagram - Follow us @thrivehltc Facebook - Like Our Facebook Page YouTube - Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel

Find out more about PlaySide Publishing on its official website

To learn more about Zugalu Entertainment, please visit its official website

Greg (Lead Designer) and Kat (Lead Narrative Designer) are back with another update on Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown, including details on AI towns and trade, as well as Military updates including formations and rations.

*This stream is pre-recorded*