Voor De Kroon News

Hello Everyone!

I am thrilled to roll out a significant update that brings a host of new features and improvements to "Voor de kroon". Dive in to discover the latest enhancements!

[h3]🛡 Faction Customization Overhaul:[/h3]

• Create and Customize: Design new factions from the ground up. From the appearance of your lord to the buildings your faction can erect – the choice is now yours!
  
• Heraldry Import: Take your faction personalization a step further by importing custom image assets for heraldry. For a step-by-step guide on how to seamlessly integrate your emblem textures, check out the Custom Heraldry Import Guide.
  
• Expanded Capabilities: Choose specific units for recruitment, replace any existing faction with a custom one, and enjoy an advanced character system for lords and officers with random equipment and appearance features.
  

[h3]🗣 Dynamic Voice System Enhancement:[/h3]

• Voice Sets Diversity: Introducing three distinct voice sets, elevating the in-game atmosphere. Players will find two Dutch and one English voice set for a richer auditory experience.
  
• Linguistic Fidelity: Officers now randomly draw from their faction's allowed voice sets. This allows factions to actually have different spoken languages on the battlefield!
  

[h3]🛡 New Armor & Models:[/h3]

• Historical Accuracy: All feudal armor is revamped to be era-appropriate, introducing a variety of new helmets, chainmail armor, and even painted helmets for units.
  

[h3]🌦 Additional Features & Enhancements:[/h3]

• Weather Dynamics: Experience battles under a semi-clouded sky.
  
• Ultra-Quality Lighting: For those seeking to burns their computer to the ground, there is now an ultra-quality lighting option.
  
• Loading Screen Wisdom: Tips have been updated to match the current gameplay mechanics.
  

[h3]🔧 Technical Improvements & Bug Fixes:[/h3]

• Faction Framework: A complete rewrite now supports full customization.
  
• Fixed Gameplay Issues: Several bugs and small improvements have been made.
  

Your feedback plays a crucial role in the development of Voor de Kroon.
Share your thoughts, feedback, or questions in the discussion section.

Thank you!


Full Changelog

• Add steamworkshop support for custom factions
  
• Add ability to import custom image assets for heraldry
  
• Allow player to select what buildings a faction can build
  
• Implement 3 new voices (Two Dutch, one English)
  
• Add voice pitch system
  
• Add dynamic voice system for officers and lords
  
• Allow player to specifically select what units a faction can recruit
  
• Allow player to replace any faction with a custom faction
  
• Add dynamic character system for lords and officers with random equipment and appearance
  
• Add advanced character customization
  
• Add updated feudal models
  
• Add semi clouded weather type
  
• Add ultra quality lighting option, disabled by default
  
• Update loading screen tips to current gameplay
  
• Rewrite Faction framework to support complete customization
  
• Fix rename boxes allowing special characters
  
• Fix proxy player getting frozen after hit by trebuchet projectile
  
• Fix AI building repair logic after siege
  
• Fix archer volley timing
  
• Fix AI upgrading buildings during a siege
  

Changelog

• Fix settlement list in unit details missing scrollbar
  
• Fix crash related to non existing player lookup in campaign
  

Changelog

• Lower foodcost of conscripts to 0
  
• Lower foodcost of Amstel retinue unit to 1
  
• Lower monthly upkeep of Amstel retinue unit to 50 Silver
  
• Add slightly more health to ladder units
  
• Increase chance of polearm units rearing a horse
  
• Recruiting units costs population
  
• Rdeduce round castle construction time to 6 turns
  
• Reduce square castle construction time to 8 turns
  
• Add under construction meshes to castles
  
• Change resource cart to wheat cart pulled by ox
  
• Increase range of ranged units targeting custom targets by 25%
  
• Remove mounted health bonus from light cavalry
  
• Redesign campaign stats interface
  
• Redesign recruitment window
  
• Increase border scroll threshold for screen edges during campaign
  
• Add helpful tooltips to campaign UI elements
  
• Add building tree browser to game
  
• Nerf manor farm silver income
  
• Improve user feedback on settlement send list
  
• Rebalance Frisian starting economy
  
• Change frisian heavy unit to sergeants with mail horses
  
• Add Frisian hunters unit
  
• Revamp Frisian banner carriers
  
• Revamp look of Frisian units
  
• Enable settlement specific heraldry for Frisian units
  
• Add more gameplay prompts to give feedback on why things can not be done
  
• Change battle dialog text of close button to close when opening siege defense
  
• Disallow archer AI skirmish phase for small armies to speed up early campaign combat
  
• SLightly increase stormram speed
  
• Add experiemental dynamic environment destruction
  
• Remove two front ladders from square castle when wall is breached
  
• Add reaction to nearby trebuchet impact to units
  
• Prevent important units like officers from manning siege equipment
  
• Add small fade to officer dead icon on after battle screen
  
• Don't show officer dead icon when unit is killed during battle
  
• Add user feedback when unpossessing a unit
  
• Remove sally out button during campaign siege battles
  
• Change around some Frisian town heraldry
  
• Rename church of St. Mary to Chapel of St. Mary
  
• Reduce desaturation of building images on cimematic color mode
  
• Hide lead charge option when the player army would instantly route on battle start
  
• Change algorithm to determine wehn AI player would surrender
  
• Unit level now slightly influences max morale
  
• Set archers use forced fire by default during siege battles
  
• Remove game ending on negative food resource
  
• Fix horse footprints during winter not showing
  
• Fix player blood when hit by arrow
  
• Fix stormram operating units having wrong rotation
  
• Fix attack direction for two handed commander weapons
  
• Fix knights not being knocked from horse during jousting
  
• Fix Player dying to explosions or fire when posessing a ranged unit
  
• Fix bug causing crash when looking up non existing faction name
  
• Fix AI quick battle siege engine build behavior
  
• Fix communal terp building not giving storage space
  
• Fix helmet plume not getting colored
  
• Fix AI not building siege engines during campaign sieges
  
• Fix reinforcements from campaign carrying over to quick battles
  
• Fix officer renaming
  
• Fix siege engine units still manning siege engine when sallying out
  
• Fix siege engines getting garbage collected
  
• Fix horses stacking on top of eachother in some cases
  

Changelog

• Add menu option to toggle off specific unit settlement heraldry
  
• Show playable factions in campaign list
  
• Enable fire arrows and trebuchets by default with recommended realism settings
  
• Increase size of arrow impacts on all color modes
  
• Fix UI shields not displaying right heraldry on after battle screen
  
• Fix officer cards not fading correctly on after battle screen
  

Hello everyone!

I am thrilled to announce the latest update to Voor de kroon.

1. Revamped Building Upgrade System
Delving deeper into the heart of medieval settlements, I've redefined the building upgrade mechanism.

- Slot-Specific Upgrades: No longer can you build everything all over the place. You now need to adapt ot specific settlement biomes like forests, dunes and coastal areas.
- Rebalanced economy: All buildings now have multiple effects and will need to be balanced out to create a good income stream to finance your wars.




2. Heraldry for All Settlements, and other campaign changes
Every settlement in the low countries now boasts its unique heraldry.

- Settlement heraldry: All settlements now have their own unique heraldry that is also displayed in battle by it's troops. When you move units they will retain their origin and still display from where they were called to arms simulating a lance system within the games context.
- Better UI feedback: You can now exactly see what influences public order and settlement income when you hover over the respective stats. The settlement UI is also completely revamped providing a better user experience and a lower barrier of entry for new players.
- Officer importance: Officers are now more important than ever, they have gained a loyalty stat that influences the unit morale and they hold the progress to the next unit rank. If they die in battle this progress is lost.
- Updated campaign map: The campaign map has been updated to be a better reflection of the low countries during the 13th century and 5 settlements have been added to the map.




4. Battle AI improvements
Battles are the heart and soul of the game and will always receive some love.

- anti cavalry: Opponents will now dynamically use their infantry to counter your cavalry, especially with polearm formations this can provide a real challenge to overcome for your units.
- cavalry movement: Cavalry will no longer get stuck behind silly things like trees and I improved the steering and movement speed of all cavalry for a more realistic battle experience.



I am excited to see your feedback on this new update!


Full Changelog

• Improve AI infantry tactics against cavalry
  
• Improve cavalry pathfinding
  
• Increase time of battle AI archer phase when executed
  
• add Middelburch
  
• Add Voerne
  
• Add Haerlem
  
• Add Woerden
  
• Add sconhoven
  
• Set use english naming enabled by default
  
• Show notification if officer gained a level during battle
  
• Show notification when officer has died in battle
  
• Add new realism mode images
  
• Rewrite settlement connection algorithm
  
• Redesign quick battle and campaign menu's
  
• Add new main menu background
  
• Add tooltip with public order specification
  
• Add tooltip with settlement income specification
  
• Correctly update player income info on campaign UI
  
• Adjust cavalry speed
  
• make campaign AI more aggressive
  
• Update menu graphics
  
• Add performance menu option for horse footprints: disabled by default
  
• Add footprints to all cavalry as ultra setting
  
• Player earns xp for commanded formation when making kills
  
• Improve campaign AI recruitment
  
• Slightly increase chainmail base health
  
• Rebalance weapon damage values for some units
  
• Allow palyer to freely place ladder in campaign based on ladders built
  
• Add ability to accept level 5 militia officer into knighthood when he has at least 8 loyalty
  
• Add unit history log to unit detail screen
  
• When a horse rears it knocks back nearby units
  
• Show town heraldry on militia units during battle
  
• Show town heraldry on settlement flag
  
• Add options to play as faction leader or commander in quick battles
  
• Add campaign performance options
  
• Adjust AI building behavior to new system
  
• Remove global player level system
  
• Show officer equipment in unit detail screen
  
• Tie policy names to use english naming setting
  
• Increase settlement population scale
  
• When officer dies in battle, replace with new officer, reset leveling progress
  
• Make enemy faction leader harder to kill
  
• Show unit rank and faction leader status on units cards
  
• Show rank and faction leader status in unit detail panel
  
• Only attackers can wait for night when starting battle
  
• AI sometimes waits for night when attacking player based on army composition
  
• Increase allowed characters during renaming to 18
  
• Add identifier to units with their origin
  
• Add town related heraldry to all units during campaign
  
• Simplify unit cost
  
• Simplify unit recruitment
  
• Rename some stuff back to english for easier readability of interface
  
• Show traveling units between settlements on campaign map
  
• Show icon on settlement flag when an officer has low loyalty
  
• Add officer assassination system, replace officer with new officer with higher loyalty
  
• Loyalty gives morale boost or penalty when really high or really low
  
• Add officer loyalty system: officer will gain and lose loyalty based on actions during campaign, this is visible in unit log
  
• Add resource indicator for stockpile modifier to building info tooltip
  
• Unifiy all icons used for silver pennies
  
• Player can't run anymore when he has taken too much permanent arrow damage
  
• Settlements get +1 public order when connected to a friendly settlement with a high public order
  
• Add ministerial foot soldier unit
  
• Add some extra deploy strategies for AI armies
  
• Increase range in which player can't mount horse with enemies nearby
  
• Add hover effect to various campaign UI elements
  
• Increase stockpile size per upgrade level, simplify stockpile
  
• Add unique flag for building types
  
• restructure all building upgrade trees
  
• All settlements have specific biomes with building slots based on landscape
  
• Implement slot based building upgrades
  
• Bind couch lance button to left mouse by default
  
• Rebalance unit XP gain
  
• Redesign settlement management UI
  
• Make summer sky color more realistic
  
• Add fire effect to settlements under siege
  
• Add recommended settings button to realism mode select
  
• Buildings get damaged during sieges and will need to be repaired
  
• Decrease overall size of campaign clouds
  
• Change look of campaign map
  
• Remove oversized rivers and replace with smaller rivers on campaign map
  
• Make high end feudal units rare and more expensive
  
• Tweak starting condition difficulty values
  
• Decrease chance AI commander will build a trebuchet
  
• Change name of 'defensive' quick battle army style to 'ranged'
  
• Add truce between Utrecht and Holland at campaign start
  
• Fix skirmish battles sometimes not spawning units
  
• Fix skirmish menu state widget
  
• Fix turn delay when checking if castle can still be under siege
  
• Fix AI building trebuchets when not having required buildings
  
• Fix units stalling when charging during a siege
  
• Fix officers of initial garrison having wrong culture
  
• Fix player health when dismounting
  
• Fix reinforcement box location in attack dialog
  
• Fix defense screen to battle loading screen Z-index
  
• Fix being able to capture enemy faction leader after defensive victory
  
• Fix campaign AI still constructing buildings when under siege
  
• Fix formation data being scrambled in some edge cases
  
• Fix 4 infantry and one cavalry AI unit deployment
  
• Fix 4 cavalry and one infantry unit deployment
  
• Fix hit arrows dissapearing after mounting/dismounting horse
  
• Fix player sieging self during campaign in some extreme cases
  
• Fix crash related to missing player index during campaign
  
• Fix not being able to siege settlement after defense
  
• Fix reinforcement spawn location in Alcmare
  
• Fix bug causing wrong faction leader to be placed in settlement
  
• Fix player being able to mount horse in sally out battle