Norland News

[h2]New Features[/h2]

• AI Bribes Bandits: AI factions with a relationship of -15 or lower toward the player can now bribe a bandit camp in the player’s province to attack their villages or cities.
  
• Player Bandit Bribes: Players can now bribe bandits in other regions to attack. This can be done once every two days.
  
• Bandit Camp Growth: Bandit camps can now grow to include more bandits. From the 8th bandit onward, they may acquire light armor. A watchtower is added for every 10 bandits in the camp.
  
• Offering to the King Rework: The "Offering to the King" action now requires resources corresponding to the target's culture instead of paying 200 coins.
  
• Lord Recruitment Costs: Accepting a lord through the "Lord Ready to Leave" quest now requires rings. The number of rings depends on the lord's skills and the difference in persuasion skills between the target and the executor.
  
• Peace Treaty Mechanic: A new peace treaty mechanic has been introduced. The proposer must pay money, the amount of which depends on the relationship level.
  

[h2]Improvements[/h2]

• Dynasty Menu Update: Starting characters now have deceased parents displayed in the dynasty menu.
  
• Pilgrim Appearance Update: Chains have been added to pilgrims, and their masks have been replaced. All pilgrims must now be thin.
  
• Minstrel Icons: Added different icons for songs in the minstrel assignment menu. While performing a song, a bubble showing the song type will appear.
  
• Elderly Desire Adjustments: Elderly characters can no longer have desires related to sex. Existing elderly characters with such desires will have them removed.
  
• Army Menu Optimization: The army creation menu has been optimized; transferring soldiers into and out of army templates is now faster.
  
• Reward Desire Limitation: The "Reward Someone" desire is now possible only if the player’s faction has at least two lords.
  
• Dog Sounds Added: The dog can now bark and make other sounds.
  

[h2]Balance Changes[/h2]

• Bandit Bribe Mechanics: Bandits will now refuse to attack the player’s city or villages but can still attack neighbors.
  
• Holy Caravan Price Adjustment: Price increases for random goods now provide a 1.5x multiplier instead of 2x.
  
• Donation Action Changes: The "Ask for Donations" action now reduces loyalty by -30, triggers a stronger negative thought (+25%), and lasts for 12 days instead of 4.
  
• Hardcore Difficulty Adjustments:
  
• The "Hunted Together" thought effect has been reduced from +17 to +12.
  
• The caravaner’s trading skill has been increased from 3-11 to 9-16.
  
• Bandit Thought Adjustments:
  
• The "Spirit of Freedom" thought for former bandits recruited into the army is now reduced to -18 and no longer expires.
  
• Former bandits sold as slaves now receive a -40 price penalty. The minimum slave price after penalties has been reduced from 50 to 25 coins.
  
• City Tower Adjustments: Towers in AI cities now appear after 40 residents, with 1 tower for every 20 residents. Previously, towers appeared at the start of a new game.
  
• Cultural Punishment Adjustment: The "Punished Hated Culture" thought is now limited to one instance instead of three.
  
• AI Heir Rebellions: Heir rebellions on the global map for AI will now begin more quickly after appearing.
  
• Iron Starting Amount: The starting amount of iron in the player’s storage has been increased from 20 to 30.
  
• Bribe Cooldown and Cost: Players can no longer repeatedly bribe a bandit camp while a previous bribe is still active. Bribes now last 5 days instead of 7, and the bribe cost has doubled.
  
• Book Writing Costs: Writing or rewriting a book now requires paper based on knowledge level: 3/6/9 sheets.
  
• Priest Appointment Restriction: The "Appoint as Priest" action for lesser lords is now available only to those born in the player’s faction.
  

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Prisoner Knowledge Tasks: Releasing or escaping prisoners now cancels their knowledge-learning tasks.
  
• Neighbor Relationship Settings: Relationship settings for neighbors not directly bordering the player’s empire are now displayed and applied correctly during the new game setup.
  
• Building Placement Crash Fix: Fixed a rare crash when moving or constructing a building on a spot where a character had previously been removed, burned, or left the local map.
  
• Dog Walk Crash Fix: Fixed a potential crash during a dog walk if its owner left the local map.
  
• Caravaner Trade Menu Bug: Fixed a bug where the trade menu displayed "Offer exceeded local demand" for all resources, even when demand was not exceeded.
  
• Bard Guitar Resized: The bard's guitar has been resized.
  
• Market Trade Statistics: Fixed a bug where gold earned from buyers was not displayed in the "Local Market Trading" category in statistics.
  
• Quest Notification Titles: Notifications about the completion of a quest in an AI city will now be titled "Result: %quest name%" instead of "Result: %city name%."
  
• Army Tax Tooltip Fix: Fixed a bug where the army tax tooltip in the caravaner’s trade menu displayed an incorrect value.
  
• Knowledge Learning Thought Bug: Fixed a bug where a lord gained a positive thought about writing a book during knowledge learning instead of rewriting.
  
• Family Relationship Fix: Starting characters now have proper family relationships.
  
• City Market Bug: Fixed a bug where a newly populated city on the global map began selling and buying rings.
  
• Faction Name in Events: Fixed a bug where the faction name did not appear in the "persona non grata" event.
  
• Nickname Assignments:
  
  • Fixed a bug where a blind lord received the nickname "One-Eyed" instead of "Blind."
    
  • Fixed a bug where the event about a lord receiving a nickname did not appear.
• Sin Assignment Bug: The sin "Started Terror" is now assigned only to the player’s king instead of the scaffold inspector. The corresponding nickname can also only be given to the king.
  

There's a subsection of strategy games that is almost tailor-made to generate intriguing narratives. Crusader Kings 3, Rimworld, and Dwarf Fortress are all brilliant games which that mix strategy mechanics with the ability to weave a story that's entirely your own. Norland is the next title to take on this approach, and even in early access it's already making waves on Steam. Its largest update yet has just landed, and it's a game-changer - literally.

Read the rest of the story...

RELATED LINKS:

Medieval strategy sim Norland gets roadmap focused on spicing up its early game

Excellent strategy game Norland gets massive update and Steam discount

Underappreciated strategy game Norland shares impressive first roadmap

• Redrawn City Icons and Objects: Updated visuals for cities and map objects enhance the look of the global map.
  
• Expanded Map Size: The map is now larger, with more realistic geography and proportions.
  
• Cultural City Names and Toponyms: City names have been aligned with cultural themes, and geographical names have been added to improve immersion.
  

At maximum zoom, the map now shows a political view, using different colors for each state to make the political landscape clearer.

• Assigning Wise Conversations: Teenagers can now participate in Wise Conversations and absorb knowledge more effectively than adults.
  
• Continuous Learning: Wise Conversations continue daily until stopped manually.
  
• Knowledge Retention After Death: Knowledge from deceased characters lingers for a set period based on game difficulty, giving you time to pass it on.
  
• Knowledge Overload Warning: A warning appears if a character has accumulated too much unique knowledge, indicating a risk of loss.
  

[h3]Changes[/h3]

• New Unique Visitors: Holy Pilgrims and Archons of the Dead God introduce new interactions, including absolution of sins and sacrificial rituals.
  
• Marketplace Medicine: Citizens can now purchase medicine at the market and give it to prisoners.
  
• Knowledge Transfer Updates: "Wise Conversation" can now be assigned to teenagers, who absorb knowledge more effectively than adults.
  
• Local Map Enhancements: Farms and altars are pre-built, with the hall left unbuilt to allow settlement customization.
  
• Unholy Horde Mechanics: The Unholy Horde now spawns in the province furthest from the player.
  
• Map Label Adjustments: Labels on the global map scale up in size as you zoom out for improved readability.
  
• Reduced Cooldown: The "Wise Conversation" cooldown is now 12 hours instead of 18.
  
• Trait Balancing: Some negative social traits are less severe on easy and medium difficulties, and the "Coward" trait duration is now limited to 10 days.
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Storage Interaction: Warriors now correctly retrieve weapons and armor from storage.
  
• Alliance Trade Agreements: Fixed an issue where non-leaders were incorrectly charged for trade agreements within alliances.
  
• Global Map Tasks: Resolved issues with the "Bribe" task and assassinations not completing under certain conditions.
  
• Border Display: Fixed incorrect border visuals when consolidating states.
  
• Battle Mechanics: Enemy troops no longer exit the map in manual battles if the player disbands their troops.
  
• Merchant Visits: Book and nectar merchants remain in the village for an extra evening.
  
• Cooldown Timer: Addressed an issue with the "Wise Conversation" cooldown timer.
  

• The Jester
  
• The Minstrel
  
• The Dog Seller (along with a dog you can tame)
  
• Priest of Dahomat
  
• Nectar Merchant
  
• Witch
  
• Young Lord Seeking Refuge
  
• Marauder Knight
  
• Bandit with a Mysterious Prisoner
  

• New mechanic: "Unique Visitors"
  
• New AI city action: "Bribe Heir"
  
• Added option to save the last used army template
  
• Ability to expel a vassal from your kingdom or an ally from your alliance
  
• Instead of an immediate vassal rebellion, a quest will appear warning that the vassal is about to revolt
  

• Ability to add allied and vassal units to your army
  
• Alliance leader can request troops for attack support
  
• Suzerain can demand troops for an offensive
  
• AI armies used by the player in an attack will be exempt from vassal tax for 3 days
  
• Player is exempt from vassal tax if they assist their suzerain with troops
  
• Battle rewards (money, resources, slaves) will be split equally between the player’s and allies’ armies
  
• Relations with allied army leaders worsen if their soldiers and lords incur losses
  
• Ability to send only allied armies into battle without player’s units
  
• Faction flag displayed instead of shield icon for reinforcement armies
  

• Caravaner will bring 0 - 10 paper instead of 5 - 15
  
• Softened various negative social thoughts
  
• Technology "Correct Cutting" now gives a x1.5 bonus instead of x2
  
• Vassal rebellion chance for the player reduced by 50%
  
• Cooldown for new prophecies increased from 5 to 9 days
  
• The action "Politely Request Tribute" no longer damages relations with all neighbors
  
• Alliance invitation now costs 300 coins, with AI paying the player 300 coins if they initiate the invitation
  
• New "Alliance Leader" thought for members of an alliance regarding the alliance leader
  
• Banned lord in AI faction after successful poisoning attempt - banned lords cannot be sent to that faction’s city
  
• In the "Conflict between Neighbors" quest, ignoring it no longer worsens relations with both parties. Quest appearance chance reduced to 10%
  

• Global map trading requires 5 paper to sign an agreement
  
• No Holy Family tax within alliance trading agreements
  
• When sending an envoy to sign a trade agreement, the skills of the lord most skilled in trade, not the king, are used
  
• Trade agreements remain intact after a king’s death
  
• Global map trading balance adjusted
  

• Help and reinforcement system reworked at the code level - reinforcements should no longer get stuck in cities. Once the threat is gone, they will return home immediately.
  
• "Mild Fatigue" thought will no longer show in the "Frequent Negative Thoughts" summary hints
  
• Clicking on a knight in the army menu opens the army creation menu
  
• When a city is destroyed by the Horde, any bandit camp in that province will also be destroyed, and its hostages killed
  
• Pathfinding on the global map is now improved
  
• Mechanism for determining actor positions on the map reworked; units should no longer get stuck when interrupted near a body of water
  
• Player’s immobilized soldiers will be carried and tended to even at night
  
• Games resumed after tutorial completion will now include the Unholy Horde crisis
  
• After the player’s lord dies, their rings will be passed to their spouse or eldest child in the same faction if both are on the local map
  
• If close to completing knowledge, the lord will try to stay and finish learning it
  
• Added a marker in the production menu if all buildings producing resources have no workers
  
• Added a window with the result of relation recovery with AI through a special action [NRL-260]
  
• Notification on the right that a lord who has less than 10 years left to old age knows > 50% of all unique knowledge
  
• Training field fight sounds are now slightly quieter
  
• "Wise Conversation" will no longer auto-complete after the task ends
  
• Updated list of volunteer translators.
  
• Optimization
  

• Screenshots will now correctly be created when pressing F12 and added to Steam
  
• Guards will no longer equip ranged weapons
  
• Burning a bishop in their home will count towards the achievement for killing a bishop
  
• Poisoning a bishop will count towards the achievement for killing a bishop
  
• Fixed captions for inspection icons on the top lord panel
  
• Fixed a bug causing army rendering issues in the city tab when scrolling was offset
  
• Fixed a bug where clicking on a soldier's portrait in the army creation menu would close the global map
  
• Fixed a bug that caused player soldiers to be expelled from the barracks after manual combat on the global map
  
• Player lords will no longer be captured with a 50% chance after retreating from battle on the global map
  
• The "Offer of Help" quest from the AI will no longer appear if the AI is under threat of attack
  
• Fixed the "Forced Marriage" thought mechanism between newlyweds - it will attach if the relationship with the partner is below +50
  
• Fixed a bug where victory over the Unholy Horde in a city attack could fail to register, and relations with the Holy Family did not change
  
• Fixed a bug where the Unholy Horde would disband after the commander’s death in battle
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented the army assignment menu from opening if the commanding lord of the army died or fled
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented assigning an army to a quest on the same tile as the army while on the march
  
• Fixed a bug where the number of slaves for sale in the bandit camp quest would randomize after each game load
  
• Fixed a bug where the Inquisition army would approach the player at full speed after a save-load instead of 50% speed
  
• Fixed a bug where the tribute extortion quest against the player could fail to end in an attack even if the aggressor declared it
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented the "Compel Neutrality" quest from ending in an attack after saving and loading the game
  
• Fixed a bug where an army heading toward the player was not considered grounds for allies to stay in the player’s city, causing them to leave
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented the player from leaving an alliance as a regular member if the alliance was set up at game creation
  
• Fixed a bug where the game couldn’t load if the "Conflict between Neighbors" quest existed and one participant lost their king and all adult lords
  
• Fixed a bug where the AI would not initiate an attack on another AI if it was three times stronger than its target
  
• Fixed incorrect notification of a neighboring vassal state’s dissolution
  
• Fixed a bug where the Knowledge Transfer tooltip would display multiple times
  
• Fixed a bug where bandits, Unholy Horde warriors, wolves, etc., were not recognized as enemies
  
• Fixed a bug where AI units wouldn’t attack enemy archer towers
  
• Right-clicking the enemy tower flag will now initiate an attack on it, as if clicking directly on the tower
  
• Fixed a bug where holding down the left mouse button during a transition to a highlighted object caused the camera to shake
  
• Losses and retreats on the global map will no longer count as victories for Kaiden culture
  
• Fixed a bug where player archers on towers could attack allied units if relations with them were poor
  
• Characters who become senile due to old age will no longer have desires, and current desires will be removed
  
• Fixed a bug where characters going to drink nectar would get intoxicated effects even if there wasn’t enough nectar
  
• Blind lords can no longer be trained in military skills. After loading, blind lords will appear with closed eyes as intended
  
• Fixed the "Poison" action on the global map. Now, upon a successful poisoning, the target dies immediately, and the player receives accurate notifications of the poison’s success or failure
  
• AI will not spawn aggressive quests against the player (tribute demand, vassalage, neutrality) if the AI is currently under attack
  
• Fixed a bug where completing the child education task could cause the game to freeze if the mentor had nothing left to teach
  
• During an heir or vassal rebellion within the AI, it will cancel the current attack intent and refrain from initiating new ones
  
• Fixed the trigger for the advice notification regarding unassigned clerics