[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41645338/28a3235a9519e345b4ee7d07df84429c0ebe8af9.png[/img] After delivering a series of smaller improvements last year, we took a bit more time, dove deep into your feedback and are now ready to present to you our biggest update yet. It’s called Kintsugi – after the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold – and it’s a literal gamechanger. It offers a total revamp of the foundations of Sengoku Dynasty – both in terms of underlying technology and core gameplay loops. The game now uses less RAM, so it should load faster and be compatible with more devices. We introduced new dynasty progression and daily production systems that should make for a much more dynamic and engaging gameplay experience. We reworked the onboarding, speeding up the very first stages of your adventure, giving you more freedom and increasing the replayability. But wait, there’s more! Custom gameplay setting presets, new animals, expanded farming options, improved villagers AI, new buildings, workplace management shortcuts... There’s a lot to discover, so let’s dive a bit deeper. Here’s what you can expect: [previewyoutube=OBWTJvL32fI;full][/previewyoutube] [h3]Better Performance[/h3] We upgraded to Unreal Engine 5.3, implemented World Partition, wrote a completely new system for interactions with foliage, added DLLS 3.5 and FSR 2.2.2 support and optimized multiple elements of the game. All that to make playing Sengoku Dynasty a smoother experience with: - Shorter loading times. Main menu opens almost instantly. Level loads faster. It still takes a while when opening it for the first time (we will continue to improve this element), but all subsequent launches in the same session should be much faster. - Better compatibility and less crashes. Game uses less RAM. We changed recommended specs from 24GB to 16GB, and minimal specs from 16GB to 12GB. Most crashes were connected to RAM usage, so the game should be more stable overall. - Better framerates with FSR and DLLS. With the introduction of DLSS 3.5 with frame generation you might even be able to double your framerate (only on GeForce 40xx series). If you have a different card, you will still see performance gains when using FSR 2.2.2. [h3]Improved Onboarding[/h3] Our new changes now give you more freedom to decide how you are going to build your dynasty. You can recruit wandering refugees from the very beginning. You will even see them coming to your bell tower to join your village! You can build new entry-level buildings and furniture at lower costs. Villagers can sleep at their workplaces, adding to the historical accuracy and lowering the need for more housing buildings. You can skip almost all quests. They are still a worthwhile source of Dynasty XP and have been simplified and rebalanced for a more challenging and rewarding experience. You can now truly build wherever you want and don’t have to backtrack to Sosogi – but if you need to, you can fast-travel there. You can choose from several gameplay settings for an experience more suited to your preferences. The list of settings will be heavily expanded in future updates. [h3]New Progression System[/h3] For a true sense of progression and growth, the new system of unlocking recipes will reward you for exploration, finding new resources, getting new items, or reaching village-size milestones. Until now recipes were unlocked only by completing specific quests. Now, you will be able to get unlocks by: [list] [*] Reaching a new Dynasty Level [*] Acquiring new items [*] Building new structures [*] Purchasing recipes directly on the Radial Menu [*] Buying recipes from a trader [*] Completing quests [/list] Progressing through Dynasty Levels should now feel much smoother: Each time the number of your villagers reaches a new high, you will be rewarded Dynasty XP, making it the most reliable method of leveling, encouraging you to make larger and larger villages or perhaps founding new ones. So now you can be as aggressive as you want in scaling your villages, thus possibly unlocking stuff faster – just remember that your people have needs that increase with population. You can still complete quests and finish special projects to level up, but they will earn you Dynasty XP instead of giving you Dynasty Legend levels directly. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41645338/5d1072d6b46b5dbea7e457f344963ddc72aac0ed.png[/img] [h3]Daily Production[/h3] Your villagers will now produce and consume resources each and every day. As time passes through the season, your workers will provide you with surplus resources once per day at 18.00. This allows you to react to stock shortages faster, adapt to situations more easily, and receive more feedback on your production chains. Additionally, we're introducing: [list] [*] Workplace shortcuts. See the current assignment and open the job popup directly through the Interaction UI. [*] Consolidation and simplification of workplaces in buildings. Workplaces are moved to corresponding furniture instead of being a part of the production building, making them easier to manage, and giving you the possibility to build more of them if there is enough room. This also ensures all of your workers have a place to work. [*] Better NPC AI. We’re working on ensuring your workers are more responsive and behave more realistically. This is a work-in-progress, but a lot of improvements are already visible. [*] Increased stack sizes for dynasty storage. Now you can keep many more items in one slot! [*] Production is maximized by default on worker assignment change, tool change, and for newly created workplaces. [/list] [h3]Animals[/h3] [list] [*] You will now encounter bears and wolves in the wild. Beware of bears, they are deadly. [*] Some animals will fight against each other. [*] Animals move more naturally now. [/list] [h3] Farming & Foliage[/h3] [list] [*] New “harvested” field stage and plowing action. [*] Rebalanced farming actions – some require multiple hits to perform. [*] Crops will now grow when you sleep. [*] You can now farm Gobo. [*] Plants found in the wild are now season-dependent for more realism. [*] New flowers, trees, and plants available for planting. [*] UI indicator (icon) for planted resources. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41645338/38cef604c0e893ff07305955cc8ecc82e2217d7d.png[/img] [h3]Other notable changes[/h3] [list] [*] Most parts of the game have been thoroughly rebalanced. [*] New trader inventories, trader types, and trader encounters. [*] You can now choose sleep time. [*] New paper production process and furniture setup in the Papermaker building. [*] New buildings: Kitchen & Workshop. [*] Implemented gamma settings. [*] Improved lighting. [*] Improved furniture grid and furniture ghost visuals – the actual furniture size should now be clearly represented on the grid. [*] The water looks much better, and the lake has an ice cover and ice deposits in winter. [*] Stat UI and progress bars have an improved look. [*] Rebalanced stamina to make it less punishing, doubled sprinting time. [*] Improved climbing to reduce sliding down. [*] More responsive bow and spear animations. [*] Shrine boosts last much longer. [*] Notifications, cutscenes, and camera sequences are now queued, so that they appear in order, not all at once. [*] Long quest objective names are now wrapped. [*] Added active quest indicator in the Quests tab. [*] Burnt buildings are now demolished in stages. [*] Improved FPP camera. [*] Improved camera rotation and velocity. [*] Added dialogue camera. [*] Improved player character responsiveness. [*] Improved torch: increased light range and reduced flickering. [*] You can now demolish the gallows and Mata's tent in Sosogi. [*] Empty exterior indicators will now increase transparency depending on the distance from the camera. [/list] [h3]NOTE: Save compatibility[/h3] Old saves will load, but due to the extensive nature of changes in Kintsugi, you may encounter major issues, especially around quests and dynasty progression. [h3]We recommend starting a fresh game.[/h3] We create a separate branch for 0.2.1.3, on which you can continue to run the old save games. You can find this branch in the betas (right-click on the game in the library, then Properties -> Betas) and enter this password: [b]beforekintsugi[/b] The download will start as soon as you press Check Code. We recommend that you copy the saves including the settings once and store them somewhere else for safekeeping! ( YOURNAME > AppData > Local > SengokuDynasty > Saved > SaveGames) And one last thing. We are a small team making a complex game. There are a lot of exciting things coming and this is just the beginning of major updates coming in 2024. Thank you for your support in unlocking the full potential of Sengoku Dynasty together. See you soon!