Kingdom Crier #34: Fantastical Architecture!
Kingdom Crier #34 is here. Introducing Fantastical Architecture, a Content Update that dropped today!
Hey, let's make it easier to build awe inspiring structures!
All Reachable without scaffolding!
[h2]Expanded Reachability[/h2]
All Props that are touching one-another are now considered part of the same Structure under the hood. Operating (Building, Repairing, Rebuilding, Refueling, Depositing, Cleaning, Researching, Uncrating, and Fire Fighting) on any exterior Prop that is part of that Structure can be done if any part of the exterior of the Structure can be reached. Operating on any interior Prop that is part of the Structure can be done from any space in the same Room (or Rooms in the case of Walls and Floors).
Dismantling and Crating use a special, cached, version of their Structure and Rooms that maintain reachability for the duration of the Command even if the intervening pieces have already been removed.
This means that they can build a giant wall as long as they can reach the base of it! They can attach awesome decorative pieces to the highest point on your Castle from the closest point they can get to. They can repair that tattered Flag on the roof from below! You throw down the Blueprints and your people make it happen.
Attacking and Using a Prop still require direct access using the previous System.
Stepping back, the aim is to take the guesswork and logistical headache out of Building (and maintaining!) awesome Buildings. We're intentionally hand waving over the fine details of how (I like to think they're adept climbers :P) to save us a great deal of development time and maximize your creativity and freedom of expression.
if you'd prefer to stick with the old system, there's a set of Options for Building, Repairing, and Rebuilding that you can disable to return to the prior mechanisms for any of them. You could make Building require scaffolding, while maintaining the benefits for Repairing and Rebuilding, for example.
From our perspective, this fits right in with our Fantasy driven Kingdom Builder - right along with the intentional decision to not include a stability system. We want to enable you to lean into the Fantastical Architecture when it comes to building - preferring cool looking buildings and maximizing expression to absolute realism.
[h2]Planning[/h2]
As you may surmise, calculating the fine details of this can require some horsepower - but we put a lot of work into ensuring it's even faster than the prior system.
The plan for any given Prop is refined over time. This may mean that they choose a suboptimal point if they go to work on it right away in favor of Reachability, but the access point will be refined over time. The longer the plan is outstanding, the better the plan.
Cyan - usable points on the Structure
In addition, you may rarely see a Prop marked as Planning - this means they haven't surmised a workable position yet - but they're working on it! Check back in a bit.
[h2]Angled Walls[/h2]
Oh hey, new toys!
Logistically, they work like Parapets, meaning they can be hopped (well at least the are now after we fixed Mantling...).
They can overlap with true Short Walls as well as Portcullises...? Portcullisese...? Portcullisi...? Portculi... pines...? Portcullises.
[h2]Arches Braces[/h2]
We expanded on the Arches category and added options for Wood.
In addition, we made these no longer block Movement.
Also, they're now allowed to overlap with Short Walls.
[h2]Water[/h2]
Previously, it was impossible to build below the surface of Water.
Now, leveraging Expanded Reachability, they can operate on Props below the surface as long as they can reach something above the waterline.
Use this to make cool Bridges!
[h2]Quality of Life[/h2]
Finally, we resolved a number of issues related to Building - improving Cursor placement, Exhaust Building, Multilayer Roofs, and more.
Oh and we fixed the Blueprint Sorting issue with Particles.
Next, we expanded the Work Menu and added the long asked for Bulk Work Tools.
Get to Work!
[h2]Cancel[/h2]
Use this to Cancel individual Commands (including Constructs) by clicking on them, or Marquee Select to Choose what to Cancel!
[h2]Cut[/h2]
Use this to Cut Trees, Grass, Bushes, whatever.
Hint: Use Sustainable Trees option to select a subset of the Mature Trees, leaving room for others to fill in the gaps
Hint x2: Sustainable is also great for 'caps!
[h2]Dismantle[/h2]
Use this to bulk Dismantle a structure.
[h2]Forage[/h2]
Use this to Forage those yummy Octoberberries.
[h2]Gather[/h2]
This one will Gather Wood, Stone, or Metal from things laying about.
[h3]Temperature[/h3]
We increased the accuracy of the interior Temperature Sim - especially for large Kingdoms and at high speeds.
[h3]Any Schedule Slots[/h3]
Any Schedule slots were always choosing Work over Relaxation. oops!
Beware the completely unrelated increase in casual Yodeling!
[h3]Marquee Selection[/h3]
Marquee Selection now includes a Search Box that is highlighted by default, start typing and it'll filter the options.
[h3]Active Abilities[/h3]
We greatly decreased the frequency of Active Ability audio Pings.
[h3]Animal List[/h3]
We made the Animal List always include animals you've seen before.
[h3]Conquests[/h3]
Conquests are now a little more fair.
[h3]Opinion Tooltips[/h3]
Opinion Tooltips now have width limits and support multiple lines for those of you with big Kingdoms and long names.
[h3]Camera[/h3]
The Camera will now behave better over Water.
[h3]Performance[/h3]
A good deal of performance work was tackled while we worked on this update. You should see gains in most scenarios.
Minor Updates like this arrive on the Experimental Branch first.
If you have the stomach for brief bouts of instability and want to help us out - switch to (or stay in) the Experimental Beta on Steam and participate in discussions here or on discord.
Expect occasional issues - but know that we appreciate you helping us make the game better!
Join the Official Discord to participate in Development!
If you like the game, please consider leaving a Review. These can help players decide that Noble Fates is worthy of their attention.
Thanks for reading and thanks for playing!
The Noble Fates Team
Fantastical Architecture
Hey, let's make it easier to build awe inspiring structures!
All Reachable without scaffolding!
[h2]Expanded Reachability[/h2]
All Props that are touching one-another are now considered part of the same Structure under the hood. Operating (Building, Repairing, Rebuilding, Refueling, Depositing, Cleaning, Researching, Uncrating, and Fire Fighting) on any exterior Prop that is part of that Structure can be done if any part of the exterior of the Structure can be reached. Operating on any interior Prop that is part of the Structure can be done from any space in the same Room (or Rooms in the case of Walls and Floors).
Dismantling and Crating use a special, cached, version of their Structure and Rooms that maintain reachability for the duration of the Command even if the intervening pieces have already been removed.
This means that they can build a giant wall as long as they can reach the base of it! They can attach awesome decorative pieces to the highest point on your Castle from the closest point they can get to. They can repair that tattered Flag on the roof from below! You throw down the Blueprints and your people make it happen.
Attacking and Using a Prop still require direct access using the previous System.
Stepping back, the aim is to take the guesswork and logistical headache out of Building (and maintaining!) awesome Buildings. We're intentionally hand waving over the fine details of how (I like to think they're adept climbers :P) to save us a great deal of development time and maximize your creativity and freedom of expression.
if you'd prefer to stick with the old system, there's a set of Options for Building, Repairing, and Rebuilding that you can disable to return to the prior mechanisms for any of them. You could make Building require scaffolding, while maintaining the benefits for Repairing and Rebuilding, for example.
From our perspective, this fits right in with our Fantasy driven Kingdom Builder - right along with the intentional decision to not include a stability system. We want to enable you to lean into the Fantastical Architecture when it comes to building - preferring cool looking buildings and maximizing expression to absolute realism.
[h2]Planning[/h2]
As you may surmise, calculating the fine details of this can require some horsepower - but we put a lot of work into ensuring it's even faster than the prior system.
The plan for any given Prop is refined over time. This may mean that they choose a suboptimal point if they go to work on it right away in favor of Reachability, but the access point will be refined over time. The longer the plan is outstanding, the better the plan.
Cyan - usable points on the Structure
In addition, you may rarely see a Prop marked as Planning - this means they haven't surmised a workable position yet - but they're working on it! Check back in a bit.
[h2]Angled Walls[/h2]
Oh hey, new toys!
Logistically, they work like Parapets, meaning they can be hopped (well at least the are now after we fixed Mantling...).
They can overlap with true Short Walls as well as Portcullises...? Portcullisese...? Portcullisi...? Portculi... pines...? Portcullises.
[h2]Arches Braces[/h2]
We expanded on the Arches category and added options for Wood.
In addition, we made these no longer block Movement.
Also, they're now allowed to overlap with Short Walls.
[h2]Water[/h2]
Previously, it was impossible to build below the surface of Water.
Now, leveraging Expanded Reachability, they can operate on Props below the surface as long as they can reach something above the waterline.
Use this to make cool Bridges!
[h2]Quality of Life[/h2]
Finally, we resolved a number of issues related to Building - improving Cursor placement, Exhaust Building, Multilayer Roofs, and more.
Oh and we fixed the Blueprint Sorting issue with Particles.
Bulk Work Tools
Next, we expanded the Work Menu and added the long asked for Bulk Work Tools.
Get to Work!
[h2]Cancel[/h2]
Use this to Cancel individual Commands (including Constructs) by clicking on them, or Marquee Select to Choose what to Cancel!
[h2]Cut[/h2]
Use this to Cut Trees, Grass, Bushes, whatever.
Hint: Use Sustainable Trees option to select a subset of the Mature Trees, leaving room for others to fill in the gaps
Hint x2: Sustainable is also great for 'caps!
[h2]Dismantle[/h2]
Use this to bulk Dismantle a structure.
[h2]Forage[/h2]
Use this to Forage those yummy Octoberberries.
[h2]Gather[/h2]
This one will Gather Wood, Stone, or Metal from things laying about.
Other Stuff
[h3]Temperature[/h3]
We increased the accuracy of the interior Temperature Sim - especially for large Kingdoms and at high speeds.
[h3]Any Schedule Slots[/h3]
Any Schedule slots were always choosing Work over Relaxation. oops!
Beware the completely unrelated increase in casual Yodeling!
[h3]Marquee Selection[/h3]
Marquee Selection now includes a Search Box that is highlighted by default, start typing and it'll filter the options.
[h3]Active Abilities[/h3]
We greatly decreased the frequency of Active Ability audio Pings.
[h3]Animal List[/h3]
We made the Animal List always include animals you've seen before.
[h3]Conquests[/h3]
Conquests are now a little more fair.
[h3]Opinion Tooltips[/h3]
Opinion Tooltips now have width limits and support multiple lines for those of you with big Kingdoms and long names.
[h3]Camera[/h3]
The Camera will now behave better over Water.
[h3]Performance[/h3]
A good deal of performance work was tackled while we worked on this update. You should see gains in most scenarios.
Patch Notes
Noble Fates 0.29.3.7 Released!Restart the game and steam to make sure you're up to date!
Content Update
Crash Fixes
Fix rare crash when Loading
Fix for crash with Mod Props that Modify Move Speed
Building
Add Expanded Reachability
Optional (on by Default) for Building, Rebuilding, and Repairing
Always on for Researching, Uncrating, Refueling, Cleaning, Fighting Fire
When on, a Prop is Reachable
From any tile within any room it's touching
By reaching any Prop it is touching
Examples
The top of large wall...
A Flag attached to a wall 10 levels up...
A Chimney poking through the center of the roof...
A Pipe poking out ten stories up...
A Chest sitting on an inaccessible, decorative only Balcony...
can all be worked on from the base of the external of the building
A Roof can be worked on from...
the floor below, no matter how far below if it's in the same room
or any touching prop outside
An exterior Wall can be worked on from...
any tile in any adjacent room
or any touching prop outside
Basically, a Prop can be worked on if they can reach something connected to it.
Reasoning
Building scaffolding for reachability is not a terribly interesting interaction...
and mostly serves to limit creativity in favor of realism
Rebuilding scaffolding for Rebuild or Repair is an awful experience
We want to see more cool buildings...
and to minimize the fiddling with pathing to get them!
This also means you can build cool things like bridges...
without waiting for reachability to update at each step along the way
Optional so you can disable it to retain prior functionality if you'd prefer
NOTE: this does not affect Using, Resupplying, Storing, or Attacking Reachability
Add Cached Reachability
Persistent version of Expanded Reachability for Crating and Dismantling
Caches all available interaction points when the Command is queued
Allows for all pieces of a building to be reached for the duration of a Dismantle Job
Structure -> Add-ons
Renamed to Accents
Add Angled Walls
Block characters but can be Mantled
[Q] and [E] cycle orientations
Variants
Wooden
Hollow
Stone
Fine Wood
Fine Stone
Add Braces
Do not Block characters
[Q] and [E] cycle orientations
Types
Wooden
Hollow
Fine Wood
Fine Stone Arches
Now under the Accents -> Braces category
No longer Block characters
[Q] and [E] cycle options
QOL
Doorways can now intersect with the Terrain
Props can now be placed under Water
Use this (and Expanded Reachability) to add Posts and Arches to your Bridges!
Exhaust Pipes can continue on to the next Layer up when Building
Roofs can be placed on top of other roofs
Improve selection of Column Positions
Improve selection of Doorways
Build the thing we're researching after we research if no one else is
Detect when someone else is Delivering Resources
Take over and deliver them yourself when Ordered to Build
Refund Resources when you Cancel a Supplied Prop
Add Dismantle Button
Expand Expanded Reachability options
Prefer Neighboring tiles when working on Roofs or Floors
Fix Sorting issue with VFX
Crating
The Crate is Dropped next to the Crater... The Mortal who crated it.
Bulk Tools
Add Work -> Cancel Tool
Click to Cancel
Click and Drag to choose what to Cancel
Add Work -> Cut Tool
Click to Cut
Click and Drag to choose what to Cut
Separate things by Maturity, Wild Status, and Type
Sustainable Option to leave enough for the Foliage to fill back in
Add Work -> Dismantle Tool
Click to Dismantle
Click and Drag to choose what to Dismantle
Add Work -> Forage Tool
Click to Forage
Click and Drag to choose what to Forage
Add Work -> Gather Tool
Click to Gather
Click and Drag to choose what to Gather
Selection
Add Filtering to Marquee Selection Dialog
Tools
Update Work Icon
Update Stockpile Icon
Add Icon to Work -> Dig Tool
Add Icon to Work -> Farm Tool
Add Icon to Work -> Pasture Tool
Dig Tool
Fix bug that prevented the tool from Canceling when you chose another Tool
Opinions
Limit the width of a line of Opinions on a Tooltip
Fixes the Plant Meal Bean Tooltip in Large Kingdoms, for example
Babies
Fix bug with Babies who think they are in Bed but are not
Prevent Baby Party Leaders
Babies are included in Helpless Abandoned when Abandoning an Adventure
Temperature Sim
Improve accuracy of Temperature Sim on large maps
Improve accuracy of Temperature Sim on high speeds
Abilities
Only ping for a given Active Ability once per Minute unless enlisted
Commands
Path Failed is now a Soft Block
Decrease delay before trying again when a Path fails
Autonomous Schedule
Fix bugs that prevented Relaxation
Animal List
Always list Animals that have been Discovered
Mantling
Fix bug that prevented Mantling (hopping over short walls)
Performance
Lower frequency of updating aspects of Character Simulation
Especially improved at 2x, 3x, 4x speed!
Improve performance of Temperature Sim
Improve performance of evaluating Building Commands
Improve Background Kingdom Simulation Performance
Improve Physics Performance
Improve performance of Portrait capture
Raids
Prevent unfair Conquests
Fix bug that caused Raids to continue to rally point after being Discovered
Breach
Improve Mage Arrival Behavior
Sitting
Fix bug when Sitting down from a different spot in the Tile
Coolers
Now Block access to the Tile they are in
Water
Fix camera Jitter when centered over Water
Workbenches
Don't Cancel associated commands when a Workbench is Crated
Pathing
Fix bug that caused Characters to be Unreachable when Jumping
Hauling
Don't mix Rushed and Unrushed Hauling commands
Mortals
Update Portrait when Name is Randomized
New Game
Iterate on Heavy is the Crown text
Experimental Branch
Minor Updates like this arrive on the Experimental Branch first.
If you have the stomach for brief bouts of instability and want to help us out - switch to (or stay in) the Experimental Beta on Steam and participate in discussions here or on discord.
Expect occasional issues - but know that we appreciate you helping us make the game better!
Community Corner
cypr' building intensifies...
Discord
Join the Official Discord to participate in Development!
Reviews
If you like the game, please consider leaving a Review. These can help players decide that Noble Fates is worthy of their attention.
Thanks for reading and thanks for playing!
The Noble Fates Team