Feudums News

Noble ladies and lords,

We have successfully updated both the servers and the client, the latter should be auto-updated on Steam any minute now. Thank you for your patience!

As always, I invite you to play the early versions, join our discord to provide feedback and help to refine the game as we progress. Take advantage of our regularly updated demo as our transparent and interactive developer diary, provided for early collaboration with you to make Feudums the game you want it to be!

Please find the changelog at the bottom of this post.
If you can afford it, you can support Feudums (and unlock nice perks) on Patreon, allowing me to dedicate more time and resources to the project, but if you cannot - don't worry about it.

[h2]What else is on the horizon?[/h2]

1. The single player community poll will close at the end of February to make room for the next roadmap community poll about the next major feature milestone. Be sure to cast your vote while you can. It just takes 20 seconds to 2 minutes to complete it!
   
2. In addition to the roadmap community poll, there will be some smaller polls about fine-tuning and prioritizing player requested features and content planned for the next some updates. These polls will happen on discord - everyone is hereby invited to participate!

[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Notable Gameplay Changes[/h3]

• You can now join your allies in battle if your agreement is set to "Alliance" and you do not violate another existing agreement with a player on the other side of the battle (e.g.: Peace, Alliance or Non-aggression pact). The maximum number of companies that can join a battle on one side is now set in the rulebook.
  
• Execution times for most commands - claims and constructions included - have been reduced.

[h3]UX/UI Changes[/h3]

• Changed how the rulebook defines the diplomacy violation costs and when the diplomacy violations are processed against other players with no agreements.
  
• Changed how the diplomacy violations are reported. The reports now include the categories for both parties, not just the cost.
  
• Total population is now reported in the footer of the Feudums list.
  
• Finally added the long missing Company/Garrison list to the Companies badge, and the most important rulebook settings to the badge's tooltip. In addition, a small notification will automatically appear in the bottom right corner of the badge if there is a battle in which your companies or garrisons are involved (and fighting companies are marked in the list appropriately).
  
• Garrisons and companies now show their Area of Control when selected, and feudum (or wasteground) tiles are marked when you click into one and you're in the Feudum scope (note: the visual effects for these highlights are not final)
  
• Wastegrounds now have a slightly different border type for clarity.
  

[h3]Bugfixes / Optimizations[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where Border trespassing violations were not registered.
  
• Fixed an issue where the diplomacy violations are not reported when the cost was 0.
  
• Fixed an issue where the diplomacy Sight violations were not counted.
  
• Fixed an issue where the diplomacy private state command did not update the "Sight" value for fog of war.
  
• Fixed an issue where the world market trades could succeed if the rulebook limits were not set.
  
• Fixed an issue where game notification messages were displayed in the wrong order.
  
• Fixed an issue where the feudum freshwater sources were calculated wrong in some cases.
  
• Fixed various bugs on the Backend Admin layouts
  
• Slightly updated the Steam integration workflow.
  
• Fixed Steam and Google login integration for https://www.feudums.com.
  
• Prepared the game server for several upcoming features :)
  

There's more coming soon, so make sure you subscribed to our newsletter, clicked Follow on Steam and joined our discord to stay in the loop! :)

Until the next update... Enjoy Feudums and say "hi!" on discord if you have a moment!

[h3]Dear Feudums Community,[/h3]
(including queens, kings, rulers, pretenders and other aspirants)

First thing first: for more consistent bite-size updates, please consider joining our discord — it's integrated with our game states, and you can choose the news you want to hear about. Alternatively, opt for the newsletter for notifications about community polls or game updates (we do not send mails about anything else). Rest assured, we never spam you on either platform, but unlike Steam posts, these can reliably keep you in the loop.

Alright, now let's quickly recap what you can expect in the coming weeks.

[h2]Community Polls[/h2]
The single-player poll will close at the end of February to make room for the next community poll on the next major milestone. Be sure to cast your vote on the current topic while you can!

[h2]Status Report[/h2]
With my own reserves depleted and the game not yet monetized (remember that we're fully committed to avoiding any pay-to-win element!), I'll need to allocate time to other projects so I can pay the bills. This could mean fewer updates than in the past year, but I'm determined to spend as much time - and money - as I'm able to on Feudums. I also plan to stick to our continuously updated, interactive developer diary model to continue providing full transparency and early collaboration with you. If you can afford it, you can support Feudums (and unlock nice perks) on Patreon, allowing me to dedicate more time and resources to the project, but if you cannot - don't worry about it.

Despite the challenges this year might force upon us, we've weathered worse times since our start, and we're resilient to move forward.

[h2]Next Demo Update[/h2]
We're planning to update the demo build next week, ideally right after the current game ends. Expect a couple of hours of downtime as we update both the game and server infrastructure. The new demo build will include several fixes and changes based on your feedback as well as new content.

Thanks for reading the news.
To arms!

Noble ladies and lords,

I thought you would like if I'd release a quick update to the demo before Christmas, probably the last one this year. This one didn't require a game server update (we did do a minor update to other parts of the server before the current game started though), so it won't interrupt any game.

Thanks for being with us on our journey, and I hope you'll also stay with us in 2024!
To everyone who celebrates, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, on behalf of myself and every contributor! :)


Please find the changelog at the bottom of this post.

[h3]What else is on the horizon?[/h3]

We're currently running an important poll on the possible single player content and it is super important that I understand what interests you most. So please, take the opportunity and participate in the dialogue, vote even if you don't care about single-player!

Link (Google Forms): Feudums: Single-Player Poll (https://forms.gle/PYYpqymkrsxYQK4r7) Depending on your answers, it will take only 20 seconds to 3-4 minutes to complete.

As there have been questions about it, I would also like to clarify that a possible single player version would not be to the detriment of multiplayer, but to complement it - like I would prioritize features and contributors' works that can be used in both versions, and both would maintain their own unique features (and yes, of course single player would be turn-, and not async tick based! ;) ).

I was originally going to put out the poll on the next multiplayer milestone before Christmas, but unfortunately there have been fewer responses to the single-player poll than I'm comfortable with, so we'll have to wait a little longer - so if you haven't yet casted your vote on that topic, this is a perfect moment to do it!

As always, I invite you to play the early versions, join our discord and help to refine the game as we progress. Take advantage of this regularly updated demo, our transparent and interactive developer diary, provided for early collaboration with you to make Feudums the game you want it to be!



[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Notable Gameplay Changes[/h3]

• Garrison tactics have been slightly rebalanced.
  
• Expansion costs now follow a bit more of an exponential curve.
  
• Diplomacy upkeep costs are reduced to make formal diplomatic relations more attractive.
  

[h3]UX/UI Changes[/h3]

• Major Needs: The "stockpile" of major needs has been moved from the labourers section to the feudal indicator section and now also shows the supply/demand balance of the last tick in addition to the stockpile. A detailed breakdown has been also added (in the expanded section of the tooltip).
  
• Feudum indicator tooltips have also been updated.
  
• Added better handling and visual clues for abandoned feudums.
  
• Integration: You can now log in to our website using your Google or Steam account (authentication will be handled by the appropriate provider, just like in the client). This will become important for the community poll for the next multiplayer milestone.
  

[h3]Bugfixes / Optimizations[/h3]

• Fixed: several NREs on Feudum Card / Labourer section / Indicators when the player has unsubcribed
  
• Fixed: Buttons weren't properly masked in the Dashboard/Settings scroll area.
  
• Fixed: Terrain-based labour output was ignored for major needs tooltips (they were calculated and reported correctly, just not shown in the tooltip breakdowns)
  
• Several smaller glitches / UX inconsistencies
  

There's more coming soon, so make sure you clicked Follow on Steam and joined our discord to stay in the loop! :)

If you can afford it, please consider supporting the development on patreon, so I can continue to devote my time and resources to the project and complete the remaining milestones in a shorter timeframe.

Until the next update and the next year... Enjoy Feudums!

Noble ladies and lords,

Our demo has been updated and should be available on Steam in any minute.
Thank you for your patience, and please find the changelog at the bottom of this post.
(But please also read the next paragraph!)

[h3]What else is on the horizon?[/h3]

We're currently running an important poll on the possible single player content. As this is still mostly a one-man show which I don't monetize at all, it is super important that I prioritize what interests you most - and for that I have to understand your priorities! :).

So please, take the opportunity and participate in the dialogue, and please vote even if you don't care about single-player! It is also a totally valid opinion, but without casting your vote on it, it won't be visible.

Link (Google Forms): Feudums: Single-Player Poll (https://forms.gle/PYYpqymkrsxYQK4r7) Depending on your answers, it will take only like 20 seconds to 3-4 minutes to complete.

Once the single-player poll is over, the next milestone priority vote on the next set of persistent multiplayer features will follow.

In the meantime, I'll continue to add features that many of you have asked for throughout the year, but have not yet been included.

As always, I invite you to play the early versions, join our discord and help to refine the game as we progress. Take advantage of this regularly updated demo, our transparent and interactive developer diary, provided for early collaboration with you to make Feudums the game you want it to be!

[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Notable Gameplay Changes[/h3]

• Garrisoned Improvements are no longer impassable. Since it is not yet possible to siege improvements (will be part of the milestone poll!), a garrison exploit allowed ungarrisoned improvements to be used as a wall. Now, however, an empty garrison can be crossed, and garrisoned improvements can of course still be attacked and cleared, thus, opening the way for invading armies. You can also walk through your own garrisons without having to temporarily exchange units between the company and the garrison.
  
• Garrison & Company stances/tactics have been slightly rebalanced.
  
• Commands will now not start, or hang at finish if the command tile is a garrison that is in a battle on another tile.
  
• Companies' pathfinder logic has been updated.
  
• Farmland change: if a farmland improvement has 0% area for crop fields or pastures, it will not take labourers for it (farmers / herdsmen) so it can't be used to suppress unemployment.
  
• Guide: I have added some new topics based on your feedback, changed the order of topics in some cases, and corrected or expanded every reported inconsistency / missing content.
  

[h3]UX/UI Changes[/h3]

• Command costs are now reported in your dominion queue and appear in the treasury badge breakdowns
  
• Several reports have been merged in Feudum, Dominion and Company Reports (labourer reports, company health + morale reports, etc.)
  
• Fresh water source now also explicitly tells the amount of health bonus it provides to your feudum.
  
• New military stances have received their final icon sets.
  
• Diplomacy has received it's own icons, and the diplomatic proposal dialog has been updated and additional hints were added for extra clarity.
  
• You can now see a banner on your dashboard whenever there is an active community poll, and by clicking on it, the poll will open in a browser. Please participate!

[h3]Bugfixes / Optimizations[/h3]

• Upgraded the terrain generator's code for better river handling.
  
• Refactored Command definitions and validators in the moddable rulebook
  
• Fixed: Abandon Tile reported FeudumMaxTiles Exceeded instead of Wasteground MaxTiles.
  
• Fixed a bug that would report river branches (and fresh water sources) incorrectly in a specific case.
  
• Fixed the terrain builder being unable to generate mountains and deserts in specific cases/regions.
  
• Fixed: Bug Report newline normalization had extra newlines
  
• Fixed several potential issues with LabourOptions validations (Rulebook validation)
  
• Fixed: HexCoordinates deserialization can return (0,0) instead of Undefined on failure.
  
• Optimized several allocation-heavy scenarios.
  
• Remove rarely used debug caching from treasury/yield/upkeep/shortage calculations
  
• Updated admin layout for rulebook editing.
  
• Updated several commands to prepare for coming updates.
  
• Updated the labourer roster to prepare for coming updates.
  
• Updated our site for the coming multiplayer priorities poll.
  

There's more coming soon, so make sure you clicked Follow on Steam and joined our discord to stay in the loop! :)

If you can afford it, please consider supporting the development on patreon, so I can continue to devote my time and resources to the project and complete the remaining milestones in a shorter timeframe.

Until the next update... Enjoy Feudums!

Noble ladies and lords,

I told you November would be a busy month, and it was, just not quite the way I expected. The end result was that the promised polls had to be pushed back a bit... but only until now!

Our first, long overdue poll topic is single-player content, which many of you have asked for on our different channels over the past 6 months. So I would like to take the opportunity to get some additional guidance on your preferences. As this is still mostly a one-man show, it is super important that I prioritize what interests you most. So please, take the opportunity to shape this story!

Please vote even if you don't care about single-player! It is also a totally valid opinion, but without casting your vote on it, it won't be visible.

And stay tuned, because the multiplayer milestone poll is coming next.

[h2]Link to the Community Poll[/h2]
Since I know that some people follow the game for the single-player content and are not interested in persistent online multiplayer (yet?), this time I have used google forms, so it can be filled out without a Feudums account.

Link: Feudums: Single-Player Poll (https://forms.gle/PYYpqymkrsxYQK4r7) Depending on your answers, it will take only like 20 seconds to 3-4 minutes to complete.
[hr][/hr]
As always, I invite you to play the early version of Feudums, join our discord and help us refine the game as we progress - and now also to give us additional feedback and join the dialogue about single-player! If you can afford it, please also consider supporting Feudums' development on patreon, so I can devote more time and resources to the project. Thank you!