Castle Craft News

[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]

[p]Hello Castle Crafters! [/p][p][/p][p]After the early access release we focused on balancing and bug fixes. Now we’re turning our attention to adding some of the bigger features and improvements you have suggested. It took us a bit longer, but we’re finally taking the next step on this journey: the Economic Zone update is here!  In this update we put more power in your hands and allow you to increase the minion and platoon limit by building quarters and barracks.
[/p][p]We have also gotten in touch with the amazing Paul Delaross who gave Debimius the unforgettable voice in the trailer and he’s now also given Debimius his ingame voice.
[/p][p]But wait - we have lots of changes coming to the game in this patch and a quick look to the future and our road map for where we plan to take Castle Craft.[/p][p][/p][p]🛠️ Minions:[/p]

• [p]Quarter Economic Zone: Increase your minion cap across all other zones by building these cozy quarters. More minions = more work being done
  [/p]
• [p]Barracks Economic Zone: Increase your platoon cap to defend your castle with a bigger army (instead of just more traps).
  [/p]
• [p]Improved Visual Customization: All minions now have distinct faces and can be either male or female, so you can personalize your army even more.
  [/p]
• [p]Minion Build Queue: In the Economy Tab of the Skill Book, see exactly which minions are currently being built.
  [/p]
• [p]Reliable Minion Distribution: Minions now reliably distribute across all economic zone clusters. No more empty workshops.
  [/p]
• [p]Minion Status Icons: A small icon on the minion status bar now tells you what the minion is currently up to: Is he moving, working, or maybe just taking a break?
  [/p]
• [p]Improved Tool Placement: Minions now build tools on all disconnected economic zones, making your fortress even more efficient.
  [/p]
• [p]Builders Get Smarter: Builders now reserve cubes only if nearby, so no more blocking each other when they could be building! They also build nearby cubes first, leading to faster building.[/p][p][/p]
• [p]No More Minion Vertigo: Minions can now navigate over small bridges/paths of 1 voxel block width, allowing for a wider range of castle constructions.
  [/p]
• [p]Productivity Boost: Builders will now check nearby areas for productive props and will build new ones if needed. They don’t wait around!
  [/p]
• [p]Minions Avoid Launch Pads and other Traps: Minions will now avoid launch pads—because no one likes a flying minion, right? Substantively fewer minion deaths all around.[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]🎮 General Gameplay:[/p]

• [p]New Debimius Voice Actor Enjoy some fresh audio from King Debimius himself, adding even more of his… charming personality.
  [/p]
• [p]Prefab Status Bars: Only show status bars for health and when within range—no more clutter when they're just burning fuel from afar.
  [/p]
• [p]Performance Boost: Performance improvements when dealing with large economic zones. More minions, more fun, less lag!
  [/p]
• [p]Kingdom View Button in Settings Menu: We’ve added a back to level selection button to the main settings menu that you reach via ESC.
  [/p]

[hr][/hr][p][/p][p]⚖️ Balancing:[/p]

• [p]Increased Difficulty: The early waves of Stygia and Hyperborea are now tougher. Get ready for more challenges right from the start.
  [/p]
• [p]Platoon Food Cost: Building friendly platoons (knights and archers) now costs food, adding some strategic depth to your army planning.
  [/p]
• [p]Tweaked End of Wave Gold Rewards: Kingdoms now give increasingly larger gold rewards after each wave.[/p][p][/p]

[hr][/hr][p][/p][p]🐞 Bug Fixes:[/p]

• [p]No More Floating Trees: Trees now stay grounded, no more defying gravity.
  [/p]
• [p]Friendly Soldier Clipping: No more soldiers falling through the ground. They’re now staying put like they should when the world gets restored or loaded.
  [/p]
• [p]Stygia & Hyperborea Skybox Fix: The skybox no longer overlaps with the New Horizons building border—no more celestial interference.
  [/p]
• [p]Minion Digging Fix: Players no longer get pushed into the air when minions dig underneath them.
  [/p]
• [p]Hellfire Ability Fix: The Hellfire dragon no longer pushes siege towers away when it’s summoned.
  [/p]
• [p]Floating Voxels Fix: Salvaging now lets floating voxels fall to the ground as they should!
  [/p]
• [p]Bug Report Form Fix: The bug report form now resets properly after submission—no more issues with it getting stuck!
  [/p]
• [p]Tree Growth Fix: Trees won’t grow if they were mid-growth when the game was saved.
  [/p]
• [p]Gold Fix: Gold in the skill book now updates properly, even when the building pawn is being possessed.
  [/p]
• [p]Food Harvesting Fix: Food received from loading a game is now properly counted toward harvested food in the resource UI.
  [/p]
• [p]Fall Damage: Double jumping when switching phases: The player no longer takes fall damage when starting a double jump right before the defense phase begins.
  [/p]
• [p]Minion Loading: Restoring minions in the first wave: The game now correctly loads minions even when a game in the first wave is being loaded.[/p][p][/p]

[p]In addition we will also be releasing the Castle Craft soundtrack by the talented José Pavli. If you ever found yourself just relaxing to the music while watching your minions work, now you can do the same while doing the dishes… or something more exciting. You get the idea.
[/p][p]While working on the economic zone update, we’ve also continued work on the UI Update, which we will release shortly. This update will introduce a selection wheel to select building skills, revamp the skill book, and lay the groundwork for many exciting additions to the game such as items that you can equip.
[/p][p]Wonder what’s next? We’ve finally created our roadmap that lets you know what Debimius is cooking up for the next patches of the game:

[/p][p][/p][p]We haven’t put dates on those milestones quite yet. But we expect to have all of them implemented by the end of this year.
[/p][p]The roadmap isn’t set in stone though and YOU can help us shape Castle Craft. Join our Discord and let us know which things you think need to change!
[/p][p]We are grateful for your feedback, your patience, and are excited for what’s to come![/p][p][/p][p]Best wishes,[/p][p]Marco & Jonathan[/p][p]The Castle Craft Crew[/p]

Hello again, Builders & Defenders!

We're back with another quick update that enhances your gameplay experience, making your minions (slightly) smarter and your strategies smoother. Here's what's new:

[h2]Gameplay Improvements 🛡️:[/h2]

• Minions now return resources to the nearest available workstation—efficiency at its best!
  
• Farmers will first gather all nearby pickups before diving back into harvesting, optimizing your resource collection.
  
• Priests are now adept at navigating between temple furniture to fulfill their sacred duties.
  
• Minion pathing significantly improved over long distances—no more ignoring those far away spots!
  

[h2]Bug Fixes 🐞:[/h2]

• Fixed the right mouse button not cancelling the salvage target action as intended.
  

Keep your feedback coming—we're continually refining Castle Craft thanks to your insights!

Build bravely,

🏰 The Castle Craft Team 🏰