Castle Craft News

[p][/p][p]After the UI Update and the huge refactoring of the skill system, we’re back to more frequent updates. And we’ve got a nice little patch for you. This one finally adds visually distinct tiers for the archer platoons:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We'll let Debimius present the full patch notes:[/p][p][/p][h3][/h3]

• [p]Building & Construction[/p]
  • [p]Added visual tiers for the Building Hammer skill.[/p]
  • [p]Re-added structure repairing with the Building Hammer (lost during the UI update).[/p]
  • [p]Fixed minions sometimes building at extreme distances right from the start.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed minions getting confused when upgrading work-in-progress prefabs.[/p]
  [p]Minions & AI[/p]
  • [p]Re-added minion AI improvements (previously lost in the UI update).[/p]
  • [p]Fixed platoons sometimes spawning offset from the target location.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed platoon weapons occasionally lingering after upgrades.[/p]
  [p]Combat & Abilities[/p]
  • [p]Fixed the Canyon ability being usable mid-air and getting the player stuck.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed mid-air attacks being granted for free.[/p]
  [p]Camera & Controls[/p]
  • [p]Fixed the blurry rotate-around-castle view.[/p]
  [p]Stability[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a crash related to a gameplay cue.[/p]
  • [p]Fixed a crash when placing an economic zone decoration prefab.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Debimius & his coding minions,[/p][p]Marco & Jonathan[/p]

[p]Hey everyone![/p][p]It’s that time of year again! The Steam Awards are back! As a very small team (tm) working passionately on Castle Craft, your nomination would mean the (voxel-)world to us.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]With the UI Milestone Update just released, we’ve officially crossed the halfway mark of our roadmap, and the next steps are the biggest ones yet.[/p][p][/p][h2]What’s Coming Next on the Roadmap?[/h2][p][/p][h3]Warfare Update: Command Armies & Build Powerful Defenses[/h3][p]We’re expanding Castle Craft’s tactical depth in a major way:[/p]

• [p]New units to recruit and command[/p]
• [p]Defense structures to unlock and combine[/p]
• [p]A brand-new Army Command Mode to orchestrate battles and protect your realm[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3] Creative World Update: Build, Share, Explore[/h3][p]Let your imagination roam freely:[/p]

• [p]New handcrafted maps[/p]
• [p]A fully-featured Level Editor[/p]
• [p]Seamless sharing: create your own worlds or download others from the community[/p]

[p]We can’t wait to show you what’s coming! These updates are where Castle Craft truly blossoms.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2] Why “Most Innovative Gameplay”?[/h2][p]Castle Craft blends genres in a way we haven’t really seen before:[/p]

• [p]Voxel building meets tower defense meets automation.[/p]
• [p]Hands-on first-person combat with spells, siege weapons, and powerful tools.[/p]
• [p]Strategic castle engineering using combinations of traps, walls, structures, and army units.[/p]
• [p]Play your way: fight on the front line or let your mechanical and military genius do the work.[/p]

[p]If you’ve enjoyed the chaotic siege madness of Castle Craft (or think the idea alone deserves recognition), we’d be honored if you’d consider nominating us.[/p][p][/p][h2]Your Nomination Makes a Big Difference[/h2][p]Castle Craft is made by a small team but has a very passionate community, and the Steam Awards are one of the rare moments where visibility can spike for projects like ours.[/p][p]If you want to support Castle Craft, a nomination for Most Innovative Gameplay would help us tremendously and shine some light on the game. And if you haven't left a review yet, please do! That also helps us a ton and we read every single review that comes through.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you for being with us on this journey and for helping our castle grow stone by stone. 🏰💛[/p][p][/p][p]-Debimius & his coding minions[/p]

[p]Hey everyone![/p][p][/p][p]We’re excited to finally release our UI Milestone Update, the result of a huge behind-the-scenes rework!
[/p][p][/p][p]While much of the work in this patch is foundational (setting us up for the next two major updates), we’ve also packed in several long-requested improvements and visual upgrades that you can enjoy right now:

🧱 New Features & Improvements[/p]

• [p]✅ New Building Selection Wheel A long-time community request is here: Easily access building categories and specific elements using intuitive radial wheels—no more reshuffling the skill bars for building.[/p]
• [p]⚙️ UI Performance Overhaul
  We’ve significantly improved navigation speed and responsiveness across the board. Expect a smoother feel when opening menus or switching tabs.[/p]
• [p]🚧 Prefab & Wall Building Performance
  Improved speed and responsiveness when placing complex prefabs or long walls.[/p]
• [p]🌸 New Prefabs[/p]
  • [p]Wooden Passage[/p]
  • [p]3 Wooden Ramps[/p]
  • [p]Decorative Flowers from all 3 kingdoms 🌼🌸🌺[/p]
• [p]📖 Reworked Skill Book UI[/p]
  • [p]Clearer drag-and-drop indicators[/p]
  • [p]Clearer Sub-skill tree indicators[/p]
• [p]💥 Destruction Visuals & Performance
  All 130 building elements now have updated destruction physics, with better performance and smoother transitions.[/p]
• [p]📖 Ingame Credits: Many of the best ideas in the game come from you, the players! We've added a credits section to the game where you can see who's behind the various things we've added during the early access phase so far. (Have we forgotten you? Shoot us a DM on Discord!)[/p]

[h3]🐞 Fixes & Polish[/h3]

• [p]Telekinesis now spawns the right cube type instead of always dirt[/p]
• [p]Fixed a rare crash when hovering skills in the skill book[/p]
• [p]Fixed wall cost refund bug when placing prefabs inside walls[/p]
• [p]Fixed skeleton not spawning in tutorial (ːsteamfacepalmː!)[/p]
• [p]Smoothed out the Wasteland Shepherd’s movement[/p]

[p][/p][h3]⚠️ Important Note: Save Game Compatibility[/h3][p]Due to extensive internal system changes, previous save games are not compatible with this patch. We know it’s a pain—but it’s a fresh start for a much more stable and expandable game foundation.
🧱✨ Time to build a new castle![/p][p][/p][h3]🎉 Extra Good News: GWB Finalist![/h3][p]We're thrilled to share that Castle Craft has made it to the final shortlist of the Tencent GWB Game Awards! Check out the announcement here:
🔗https://x.com/TencentGames/status/1988794818672357886?s=20[/p][p][/p][p]This update took a fair bit longer than expected (thank you for your patience!), but with it out, we’re shifting back to more frequent updates for the rest of the year — starting with the 🛡️Warfare Update🛡️ content that we'll release in smaller batches. [/p][p][/p][p]Thanks for helping us get this far and for your patience — your support makes all the difference. [/p][p]All the best,[/p][p]Jonathan & Marco[/p]

[p]This week’s update is all about performance! We discovered that our detailed voxel damage meshes were the main culprit behind slowdowns in large-scale battles. The system has now been streamlined and optimized, resulting in major FPS gains during intense combat.[/p][p]💻 On our old test laptop, we’re seeing nearly double the framerate in late-game battles! (There are still some slow-downs when a lot is going on—but we’re on it! 😊)[/p][p]We’re heading out for a short summer break, so the next patch will land in late August. It’ll be a big one—featuring a UI and skill overhaul, plus the long-awaited Selection Wheel for building! 🛠️🎯[/p][p][/p][h3]⚔️ Combat & Units[/h3]

• [p]Improved Combat Performance: Reworked damage mesh code for smoother, more efficient battles.[/p]
• [p]Platoon Recovery: Destroyed friendly platoons are now properly restored after battle, even if fully wiped out.[/p]
• [p]Overcap Platoons Clean-Up: Friendly platoons above the population cap are now correctly removed when Barracks are deleted.[/p]

[h3]🛠️ Building & Tools[/h3]

• [p]Hammer Repairs: The Building Hammer now also repairs damaged cubes and prefabs, not just builds.[/p]
• [p]Economic Zone Tool Placement Logic: Tools now avoid blocking doorways or entries when placed on economic zones.[/p]
• [p]Edge Placement Fix: Fixed some tools that could reach beyond the edges of economic zones.[/p]

[h3]🧠 Minions & AI[/h3]

• [p]Multifloor Pathfinding: Fixed a rare Unreal Engine bug causing minions to walk to the wrong floor in multi-level economic zones.[/p]

[h3]🧱 Prefabs & UI[/h3]

• [p]Prefab Health Bars: Fixed an issue where health bars stayed hidden even when prefabs were taking damage.[/p]
• [p]Street Building Bug: Fixed a display bug where the minion count appeared during street economic zone construction.[/p]

[h3]💥 Crashes & Stability[/h3]

• [p]Projectile Prefab Crash: Fixed a crash caused by projectile-type prefabs trying to fire during destruction.[/p]
• [p]Bestiary Crash: Resolved a crash when opening the Grave Brute entry in the Bestiary.[/p]

[h3]Hello Castle Builders! [/h3][p][/p][p]After our content update last week we're rolling out some features and fixes. [/p][p][/p][p]But before we dive into the details: Did you know that most things in Castle Craft react to physics? Check out this crazy guide by Travis150 on how to use this to your advantage by moving Debimius to safety ("BLASPHEMY" I can hear him shout):[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Here's the full things of goodies for this week:[/p][h3]

🛠️ Gameplay & Balancing[/h3]

• [p]Upgradeable Building Hammer: The hammer can now be upgraded to build up to 25 cubes at once and instantly complete prefabs when used.[/p]
• [p]Reduced Fall Damage: Falling now results in less damage to the player, improving traversal and reducing frustration.[/p]

[h3]🧠 AI & Minion Behavior[/h3]

• [p]Smarter Trap Avoidance: Minions now avoid horizontal spikes and steer clear of traps while casually strolling.[/p]

[h3]🪖 Platoon & Combat Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Ceiling Collision Bug Fixed: Platoons will no longer get stuck in 2-block-high spaces.[/p]
• [p]Army Overview Accuracy: The enemy army overview now has the right duration and is not affected by how many platoons you built.[/p]
• [p]Launch Pad Reliability: Launch pads now bounce units properly even if they still have downward momentum.[/p]

[h3]🧱 Building & Traps[/h3]

• [p]Trap Placement Restrictions: Traps can no longer be placed inside resource spots or treasure chests.[/p]
• [p]Trap Collision Fix: Fixed an issue where trap targets would activate collision prematurely after placing the first trap component.[/p]
• [p]Prefab Build Errors: Fixed a bug causing duplicate error messages when a prefab build fails.[/p]

[h3]📝 UI & Text[/h3]

• [p]Platoon Unlock Description: Corrected the unlock text for platoons to accurately reflect gameplay.
  [/p]

[p]As always: Let us know if you encounter any issues or have any suggestions for the game! You can find us on Discord. [/p][p][/p][p]Best wishes,[/p][p]Marco, Daniel, Jonathan[/p]