After the recent influx of feedback there were a couple of other things I still wanted to implement, so I could feel assured that the game is in an as-good-as-possible shape. [h3]Optimization:[/h3] One of these things I wanted to do badly was the optimization of the [b]terrain [/b]and [b]mountain shader[/b] which take a lot of instructions on the GPU and slow down the game significantly on some machines. After analyzing existing maps I created various variants of the existing terrain shader all of which only include a subset of the terrain types that are in the game, so the terrain shader would only have to compute the terrain types that are actually relevant for the map it's used in. Furthermore I split the mountains into a lower and an upper part with the upper part using a simplified shader which is also a lot lighter on the GPU. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41256415/a2aee61f9519b71c48a845196ab8eff2a6fc1d96.jpg[/img] While these optimizations are not a huge breakthrough there is a noticable improvement with my own GPU now being able to render the main menu in 120 frames (previously it only managed to get somewhere around 90 frames). Within the actual maps the improvement is less big but still present. [h3]Gameplay Improvements:[/h3] Some people noticed that units that were set on auto-casting didn't do their auto-casting when they expected them to. This was because units would only do their auto-casting when they weren't specifically commanded to move somewhere or attack a particular target. Now units will also do auto-casting during attacking an enemy unit of your choice. However, after completed casting, there is no guarantee the unit will resume attacking the same target again. So this is something to look out for. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41256415/5c9d024aa2bb815f9a2e375bbaa0caf0cd9dabe2.jpg[/img] Another proposal from a player was displaying how many workers are assigned to harvesting a certain resource, making the management of your economy a much easier task. I felt that this was a neat idea, so I added a number display infront of the resources if workers are assigned to said resource. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41256415/32dedfca540a6a1d94920f4a0a4d98d630a0bea6.jpg[/img] Yet another request of a player was being able to sell resources in the marketplace of the Necropolis, which previously only allowed buying resources for souls. Now you can sell most of your gathered resources and get souls back (which you can again trade for resources you might need). [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41256415/27af48a0e090535c7ac68c2db18c7d4d88e52489.jpg[/img] A player also asked for being able to set a higher population limit. While the game doesn't handle big amount of units particularly well, I added the option to crank up the max pop up to 250 or 300, which is an option you can take at your own risk. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41256415/464382503b5137bc31e57a58f8e469b6c06f791c.jpg[/img] Last but not least it's now possible to reset the rotation of your camera to default by pressing [b][backspace][/b]. [h3]Balancing:[/h3] In accordance with player feedback, I decided to reduce the speed of various fast-moving units in the game, as their fast movement turned out to be a tactic advantage in multiplayer games that outruled various other tactics, partly since their high availability removed the need to keep defensive units at the base. Multiplayer matches also made apparent that cavalry units like knights or pegasus riders are generally a bit too strong at this point. I addressed this by adjusting their attack speed, so it matches that of other melee units. Refuge houses now need 5 rather than just 3 herbs each tax cycle. To balance this out, the herbs of planted gardens now give 20 rather than just 8 herbs per plant. I have done this to prevent building up dozens of elven houses without needing much to back it up. More out of a gut feeling, I decided to slightly boost the hitpoints of later Ziggurat units: Serpent Fly +10 Basilisk +20 Wyvern +20 Hydra +10 Balancing this game is an ongoing task. The next patch will probably see some improvements on the Necropolis, among other things.