Patch #37 (beta): Army Tax Cancellation, Migration Control, and Balance

Hello everyone.

This is the last patch with basic system tweaks, and now all the studio's efforts are focused on new major features, so there likely won't be such frequent updates for a while.

In this patch, we are removing the church army tax that has been frustrating players, adding migration control through city gates, improving hunting algorithms, and making necessary adjustments to keep the game balanced without the army tax.

Try playing and let us know how you like the changes.

[h2]Army Tax Cancellation[/h2]

The church will no longer charge you for your soldiers, but all mercenaries will now sign contracts for only 10 days, after which the contract must be renewed, or they will leave.
All mercenaries are now knights, levels 7-12, and bring their own equipment—light armor and a spear. Additionally, knights no longer desert.
Knights into which the player has ordained the children of their lords remain in the army permanently.
An alternative is growing your own army. To this end, the duration of the "fear of death" thought for hired peasants has been reduced from 7 to 5 days.

[h2]Balance[/h2]

Since a vassal's debt primarily consists of their army, if you use vassal armies for your purposes, those vassals will now be exempt from vassal tax for 5 days.
To better balance the late game, the progression of contract renewal costs has been increased (i.e., the church's fee for signing trade contracts will remain nearly unchanged at early levels but will rise more sharply at later stages).
Late-game trade contracts, which were overly profitable, have been adjusted.
The durability of the fortress tower has been doubled. The number of archer slots in the watchtower has been reduced to 3 (the fortress tower retains 5).
The "Diplomat" talent now allows peace treaties to be signed three times cheaper.
The "Gray Contracts" technology now affects the entire trade contract cost, not just the base price, but the reduction effect has been weakened.
Lords now gain 1.5 Command skill points for each inspection at the training ground.
The relationship debuff "Attacks Neighbors" will be strengthened after 7 vassals on hardcore mode.

[h2]Migration[/h2]

You can now prohibit migration if your city is fully surrounded by a fortress wall. Migrants will wait a bit and then leave. Some of them will join forest bandits.
15% of incoming migrants will be fanatics to create a minimal base, which has significantly declined since the abolition of mandatory morning services.
The action reducing migration in player villages has been removed as it is no longer relevant.

[h2]Hunting and Wolves[/h2]

Characters no longer surrender during hunts—they attempt to flee.
If at least one hunter flees from a fight, the hunt is considered unsuccessful.
Wolves no longer flee from battles if the hunt is targeted at them.
Lords will not assist friends in fights with wolves if it’s a hunt.
Archers on towers now attack wolves engaged in combat with someone (but only if it’s not a hunt).

[h2]Global Map[/h2]

Lord hints (with portraits) now include character trait tips: "Ruler's Wife," "Commander," and "Heir." Unnecessary traits like "Early Baldness" or "Monogamy" are no longer displayed.
New rendering of city names on the global map; next to the names, a conditional population size is now shown (this feature hints at how we envision game development on a strategic level).
If AI, awaiting a player attack for vassalization, receives a debt of honor, the attack is canceled, vassalage is established, and the debt is cleared.
An AI heir will not rebel if someone (including the player) is preparing an attack on the city.

[h2]Miscellaneous[/h2]

If you conduct a faith sermon, the bishop will improve relations with the appointed lord, not the king. This tool enhances control over lord and bishop relationships.
Added animation for raised hands and panic shouts when fleeing from battle.
Sprites for damaged wall sections have been replaced: when hit by a torch, a piece of the wall now flies off.

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

Lords with equipment restrictions set in the Dynasty menu will return prohibited gear to the warehouse.
Skill talents will no longer unlock due to temporary stat boosts.
If no one is available to approve the king’s actions, the related event does not appear.
Punishing a convicted criminal with a mask of shame turns them into an ordinary peasant.
Fixed a bug allowing enemies to pass through a solid wall dividing map sections, and they no longer attempt to destroy it.
Fixed a bug preventing lords and knights from taking armor from the warehouse.
Fixed a crash when loading a game if a tree loaded outside the map.
Fixed a bug allowing a player to assign a lord to study the same knowledge twice with a quick double-click.
Fixed a bug where the death or escape of a substitute squad commander triggered thoughts and events as if an enemy commander had died.
Fixed a bug where the nectar hint didn’t load in the new game creation menu.