Knights of the Crusades News

Update # 5 – Stability & Features

[p]Hello Everyone,[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks again for all the support, and feedback. It’s been an intense first week since launch, and your voices have been shaping every single patch. Welcome to our 5th daily update — this one focuses on stability, new player-requested features, and a major late-game rebalance.[/p][p][/p][p]Crashes should now be far less common. With the latest stability improvements, most players should be able to enjoy hours of gameplay without interruptions. We’re not done yet, but the game is already much smoother and more reliable than at launch.[/p][p][/p][p]We’ve also added one of the most requested features — redesigned RTS unit group portraits. These now show the actual units from your army, reflect whether a group has multiple units, display hit points directly, and even feature unique art based on culture (Slavic, Western, Muslim, etc). The portraits make it much easier to manage your armies at a glance.[/p][p][/p][p]On top of this, we reworked the cheats menu: just hit F7 and type a keyword like silver, renown, food, wood, or stone to instantly add resources.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, today brings a major late-game balance pass. Resource accumulation was too easy, making the late game less challenging. Elite units like Knights, [/p][p][/p][p]Here’s the full breakdown of Update #5:[/p][p][/p][p]Stability and Crashes[/p]

[p]Major stability improvements, crashes now much rarer[/p]
[p]Most players should now play for hours without crashes[/p]

[p][/p][p]New Features[/p]

[p]RTS unit group portraits redesigned[/p]
[p]Portraits show actual units from your army[/p]
[p]Portraits indicate multiple units in a group[/p]
[p]Portraits show group and unit hit points[/p]
[p]Portraits feature unique art based on culture (Slavic, Western, Muslim, etc)[/p]
[p]Cheats menu reworked: press F7 and type silver, renown, food, wood, stone to add resources[/p]

[p][/p][p]Fixes and Additions[/p]

[p]If music volume is low, loading screen music will not play[/p]
[p]Large cities on the world map redesigned to look more medieval[/p]
[p]Improved retreating behavior for units after losing battles[/p][p][/p]

[p]Balancing[/p]

[p]Major late-game rebalance[/p]
[p]Late game resource accumulation reduced[/p]
[p]Elite units recruitment cost increased up to 60%[/p]
[p]Order units recruitment cost increased[/p]
[p]Silver upkeep for Order and elite units increased up to 30%[/p]
[p]Tax income reduced by 20%[/p]
[p]Chapterhouse income reduced by 25%[/p]
[p]High-tier buildings produce 15%–20% fewer resources[/p]
[p]Increased silver upkeep for some late-game buildings[/p]

[p][/p][p]There will be a bit of a break in our update schedule as we return with pushing more updates from Monday. I`ll still be around the game`s chat, forums and discord daily.[/p]

Update # 4 – Player Requests

[p]Hello Everyone,[/p][p][/p][p]A big thank you once again for all the help, support, reviews and feedback you’ve been sharing since launch. It’s been amazing seeing so many of you in-game and on the forums and in-game`s chat, and your reports have been vital in helping us track down issues and improve the game day by day. [/p][p][/p][p]Welcome now to our 4th daily update — and this one is a big one. And the best part - everything we`ve worked on has been suggested by You - in-game, on the forums and discord.[/p][p][/p][p]So...stability continues to improve, but the final fix for crashes is coming in tomorrow`s update... sorry for the delay. We’ve also fixed several long-standing bugs that affected siege weapons, carts, and pathfinding, and the overall flow of gameplay is noticeably smoother.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re also introducing some major new gameplay features with this update. Battles now feel more alive and dramatic thanks to a new retreat phase for defeated enemies, where you’ll have 60 seconds to loot, destroy, or chase them down. Surrendering AI will open their gates, ranged siege can now attack the ground, and ranged units gain a new volley ability to strike from afar. On top of that, a brand-new 5120x1440 resolution option has been added for players with ultrawide setups.[/p][p][/p][p]Your feedback keeps shaping the game every single day. Please keep posting your thoughts and suggestions — I’m in chat daily and checking the forums constantly to make sure nothing is missed.[/p][p][/p][p]And now for the full breakdown of Update #4:[/p][p][/p][p]Major Fixes[/p]

[p]Additional improvements to stability, Final fix for crashes tomorrow[/p]
[p]Fixed mantlet wooden shield pathfinding, they now line up correctly[/p]
[p]Greatly improved horse cart and oil cart movement, smoother turns and fewer issues[/p]
[p]Siege weapons now align properly in battles[/p]
[p]Fixed major bug limiting horse carts to only 400 resources[/p][p][/p]

[p]New Features[/p]

[p]Defeated enemies now retreat after battles, with a 60-second window to loot or destroy[/p]
[p]Surrendering AI now open all gates[/p]
[p]Ranged siege weapons can now attack ground[/p]
[p]Ranged units can now fire volleys at distant targets[/p]
[p]New 5120x1440 resolution option added[/p]
[p][/p]

[p]Other Fixes and Balancing[/p]

[p]Chickens can now pass through gates[/p]
[p]Big rebalance in offensive combat, players can carry more resources into battles[/p]
[p]Chapterhouse can now be built with either a Military or Defensive alliance[/p]
[p]Conversion to Christianity possible with either alliance type[/p]
[p]Reworked tooltip for conversion[/p]
[p]Research complete sound no longer interrupts cutscenes or dialogue[/p]
[p]Research complete sound volume reduced[/p]
[p]Other overly loud sounds adjusted[/p]
[p]Barn food output normalized[/p]
[p]Hunter Lodge generates food faster in RTS mode[/p]

[p]We’ll continue pushing forward with more improvements based on your feedback. Thanks again for being part of this journey — and here’s to making the game stronger every day.[/p]

Update # 3 – Fixing Stability

[p]Hello everyone,[/p][p][/p][p]A huge thank you for all your help, support, and understanding over the past couple of days as I`m working on getting the game into the best shape following launch... and welcome to our 3rd daily update.[/p][p][/p][p]Crashes should now be much rarer. To improve stability we temporarily disabled windowed mode, which was part of the issue. You may still see a crash every 3 - 4 hours, but all progress is always saved. We expect another day of work to fully resolve this.[/p][p][/p][p]We also really appreciate all the player feedback - it’s been incredibly helpful. I’ll be hanging out in in-game chat daily and checking all the forums to make sure your voices are heard.[/p][p][/p][p]And yes - I skipped posting about Update #2 yesterday. Think of it as the “lost crusade” patch....[/p][p][/p][p]Today’s update also includes faster loading times, better sound balance, refined camera controls, and important campaign fixes - alongside a dozen more improvements across the board requested by players.[/p][p][/p][p]Full breakdown of Update #3:[/p]

[p]Crash fixes – stability greatly improved (still only one crash every few hours)[/p]
[p]Windowed mode – temporarily disabled for stability[/p]
[p]Faster loading – large cities now load ~5 seconds quicker, hamlets up to ~7 seconds quicker[/p]
[p]Normalized sound – achievements and other effects no longer overly loud[/p]
[p]Siege fix – enemy no longer opens fire immediately in large town sieges so players camp is always safe[/p]
[p]Camera improvements – slower drift and smoother movement[/p]
[p]Campaign fixes – several issues in the Templar and Seljuk campaigns resolved[/p][p][/p]

[p]We’ll keep posting daily updates until last of the crashes are fully eliminated, and all the player suggestions have been implemented. Thanks again for being part of this journey - and here`s to the game being in a perfect state by the weekend..[/p]

Update # 1 – More to Come...

[p]Hello everyone,[/p][p][/p][p]A huge thank you to all of you for joining us since launch – your support means everything. Glad to say that most players are enjoying the game - but there`s definitely some Day 1 issues that we are working on resolving asap.[/p][p][/p][p]We know some players are still running into crash issues. Only effects some - and we didn`t catch this in earlier testing. This has our full attention, and we expect to have this resolved tomorrow. [/p][p][/p][p]Alongside this, today’s first update brings key improvements: a reworked chat window, windowed mode, a brand-new Social window to see who’s online and add friends, proper ultra-wide screen support, a smoother food economy, and several important campaign fixes. We’ve also made the ESC key close all menus as expected.[/p][p][/p][p]Here’s the full breakdown of Update #1:[/p]

[p]Reworked Chat Window – cleaner layout, better usability[/p]
[p]New Social Window – see who’s online and add friends directly in-game[/p]
[p]Windowed Mode – Option to play in windowed mode added to the options (note it will only show the 2nd time you start the game)[/p]
[p]Ultra-Wide Support – proper handling of 3440x1440 and other wide aspect ratios[/p]
[p]Food Economy Rebalance – smoother pacing, less punishing in early stages[/p]
[p]Campaign Fixes – resolved progression blockers and adjusted balance[/p]
[p]ESC Key Behavior – now correctly closes all menus[/p]

[p][/p][p]We’ll keep posting regular updates as we polish the experience and bring more improvements. Thanks again for being part of this journey from day one. And update tomorrow that will focus entirely on resolving the crashing issue.[/p]

Historical strategy game Knights of the Crusades is a new contender to Total War

With Total War Warhammer 3 getting the majority of Creative Assembly's attention in recent years, its more traditional, historical offerings have felt a little unloved. Total War Pharaoh arrived to a lukewarm reception, and updates haven't greatly restored public opinion. Enter Knights of the Crusades. This sprawling blend of grand strategy, city builder, and RTS feels like one of the closest competitors to the Total War format I've seen in some time, and developer Reverie World Studios has just launched it out of early access on Steam.

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