The first quarter of the year is behind us, this means we have the chance to look at what we’ve done so far during 2023. Even though Q1 only has six specific items listed we’ve done much more than that, both big and small changes that have made Songs of Conquest a different game compared to what it was before. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/b7930ba87c8ea54ff8c2e13db905b95a8285ffe8.jpg[/img] [i]It looks like a great year, doesn’t it? [/i] [b]Beacon Improvements[/b] So how did we actually improve beacons? Quite a few things actually! We enhanced their role as a victory condition and turned them into teleports, which in turn made us rework the way teleports work. You can now choose which beacon you teleport to if you own several of them, creating some very useful and tactical networks, especially for those bigger maps. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/cc6c11031eea67c6d9fa01946892f615751f4614.png[/img] [i]Imagine taking over an enemy's home beacon, leaving them stranded in hostile territory![/i] [b]Artifact Marketplace[/b] We added something called the Raider’s market. It's building on the adventure map where you can trade those hard-fought-for artifacts or just buy that item that you were missing. This mysterious trader has now appeared on a few of our maps and is ready to lighten that coin purse! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/d711e48f7eea3b45f62fc8225323edc8854e77cf.png[/img] [i]The difference between winning and losing could be that new golden mask! [/i] [b]Map editor finalized[/b] This one is brand new as it came out with out last update. But are we completely done? No and yes. There might still be tweaks and small fixes left to do but our map editor is now in a state that we are proud over, ready for our 1.0 launch. We put a lot of effort into making the map editor more user-friendly and updated a few features. Search functionality was added, as well as drop-down menus to make it easier to find those entities that you were looking for. We also added a feature that gives you the option to crop maps after creation. And an overall a better UI and user experience. (We hope!) Let us know if you agree or disagree! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/5934e5f81f67f94ee10121a98f9a95a473dea9cc.png[/img] [i]The map editor has been vastly improved in Q1. Did you know that Songs of Conquest is one of the most active games on [url=https://mod.io/g/soc]mod.io[/url] in terms of most downloaded maps? Almost half a million user created maps have been downloaded so far![/i] For those of you that enjoy creating more story-driven maps we updated the way you add a chain of objective groups. We also added a bunch of more portraits for custom dialogues. We can't wait to see what type of stories and scenarios you guys will create with these new tools! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/f12cce4a159d4a88949afda509957a05bdc2194f.png[/img] [i]A face for every occasion![/i] [b]Update troops on recruitment screen[/b] Sometimes it's all about the quality of life improvements. You can now upgrade troops directly in the "wielder interaction header" if the building has a troop pool with the upgraded troop type. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/9c34725fdde2255854883a08075873fa7cfc713b.png[/img] [i]It’s the little things in life that make it better. Like seeing your enemies driven before you or a new UI update. [/i] [b]Rana random events[/b] We absolutely delivered on this one! Rana now has exactly 100 random events, a nice and round number. Some are more random than others and some require certain conditions to occur before getting them. These are singular or sometimes a series of events that can act as both a boon or a drawback during your games. Tell us in the comments is you have any events that always happen to you? Might they be a clue to how you play the game? [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/e9e1a87b65736ac9d3c53a0a08c233939e1ea171.png[/img] [i]This would be one of those boons we mentioned.[/i] [b]More skirmish maps[/b] Since the start of Q1 we have added four new skirmish maps. [b]Triad pass[/b], [b]Proving ground[/b], [b]Divided [/b]and [b]From rags to riches[/b]. These are four beautiful and lovingly-crafted maps but more are on the way, including our largest map yet! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/4465bb5450364ef1ce86e043d629cf9b6e7c4b3a.png[/img] [i]This map is going to be huge![/i] [b]AI Improvements[/b] Improving our AI is an ongoing work and doesn't have a public list of bullet points in the roadmap, but we still wanted to highlight the work done. Through feedback from our community (keep leaving us comment on Steam, on our Discord, Reddit, etc, it helps us make the game better!) and through internal discussions and testing, we try to improve the AI with just about every update. For example, we recently released a vast improvement for our battle AI. It now has better tactical awareness and makes better use of spells like repel or swap! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/a52ab1ae3f9bd8a0b74c256b0666187a10ca0f1e.gif[/img] [i]Now the AI pulls that trick on you! [/i] As the AI now plans battles differently, it tries to protect its ranged troops and use its melee troops wiser than before. It also views the unit roles differently, changing tactics if it's defending or attacking or if it's behind obstacles or not. It’s a whole new tactical ball game and it has made quite a difference. The AI has also learned to path its course across the adventure map better, clearing out pockets of resources with more efficency (but again, let us know if you spot problems!). It uses several Wielders to act as mules, sending reinforcements to the front and making longer trips than before. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40723472/6c38fa23a331c584bce98df0c6dc72b829f95688.png[/img] [i]The quartely results: Check marks all around. Yes, we are happy about it.[/i] We hope that you are pleased with everything we have done so far and that you, like us, look forward to what’s coming next. If you want to go into the gritty details for updates the last months, we recommend reading up on our changelogs. If you do, would you please leave a comment about your one favorite update, of all the ones done in Q1? Or just let us know what upcoming feature you are most excited about. Keep up the Adventure! /The Lavapotion team [url=https://twitter.com/songsofconquest]Twitter[/url] [url=https://discord.com/invite/soc]Discord[/url] [url=https://www.youtube.com/@SongsofConquest]Youtube[/url] [url=https://www.instagram.com/songsofconquest/]Instagram[/url] [url=https://www.facebook.com/songsofconquest/]Facebook[/url]