Feb 24, 2023
King Of The Castle - Tributary Games
The time for your coronation is nigh - We have six days until King of the Castle comes out on Steam!
So what do you get for $4.99? A lot of game! Read on to find out...
But first, if you haven't wishlisted King of the Castle yet, please do. That way you'll be the first to find out when we release.
You're also giving us a full suit of plate armour with which we can wage mortal combat with the deadly Steam algorithm. Metaphorically.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839880/King_Of_The_Castle
Thank you! Right, let's get down to brass tacks. What's inside your Kingdom?
And that's mentioning less than 30% of the new features, changes and fixes we're adding for our very special 1.0 version!
But more on them later, because it's time for another dip into the lore of our game...
The main focus of every player’s game is the Kingdom, which has no specific name. The Kingdom changes from playthrough to playthrough, and will consist of 3 different regions selected at game start. Over the course of the game, the Kingdom will change to reflect the player’s decisions, and the Kingdom can entirely transform over the course of a player’s Dynasty.
The Kingdom can be considered equivalent in size to both France and Germany slammed together - ~1,000,000 square km or ~600,000 square miles. It’s bigger than Texas but much smaller than the entire United States.
The Kingdom and the Frozen Wastes occupy the continent known as North Ithos. The Ashmedean Empire, Tavallin and (further south) the Endless Plains occupy the continent of South Ithos. Across the Ghost Sea lies the continent of Elrusia.
The Kingdom is very cold in the North and the East, much warmer in the South, and temperate everywhere else.
To the north, the Kingdom borders an expansive territory of uninhabitable ice and tundra, known as the Frozen Wastes. The Wastes are notoriously dangerous - they are populated with barbarian tribes, ice giants, winter wolves, polar bears, and wyverns. The most likely thing to kill you, though, is the brutal weather.
To the south-west, the Kingdom borders the Ashmedean Empire, a vast, powerful and ancient Empire that views the Kingdom as an irritating upstart in world affairs. Nine hundred years ago, starting from the central city-state of Ashmede, the Empire expanded outwards and conquered several much larger countries, seeming unstoppable. A mountain range known as the Daggertops forms a natural border between the Empire and the Kingdom, preventing the Kingdom from being conquered in similar fashion.
The current Emperor Shemorath II is weak, cruel and irrational. As a result the Empire has largely fallen under control of a few powerful Generals. Nowadays, the Empire is a decaying relic of its former glory, more concerned with endless internal squabbling than conquering others… although it’s still terrifyingly powerful when roused to anger.
Nevertheless, the Ashmedeans remember the days when they could have conquered the world, and maintain a proud military tradition (even if the army these days is corrupt and despised by the commonfolk). They will always be a threat to the Kingdom - if a stronger Emperor ever ascends to the throne and turns his eye north, the resultant war could be devastating.
Also to the south-east, the Kingdom borders Tavallin, a new kingdom that only reclaimed its independence from the Ashmedean Empire a half-century ago. Tavallin, lacking the military might of its neighbours and constantly fearing invasion, relies on spies and intrigue to get ahead. The Tavallinese despise the Ashmedeans, and the feeling is mutual - but the Tavallinese also fear the Kingdom, and their spies permeate every Region, constantly rooting out secrets that can be turned to Tavallin’s advantage.
Across the Ghost Sea from the Kingdom is the vast continent of Elrusia, bigger than South Ithos and North Ithos put together. The majority of Elrusia is taken up by the wild, untamed lands of Valamyr and the great deserts of Aatesh.
However, a number of smaller, more urbanised nations cluster on the eastern coastline of Elrusia, trading (and warring) with the Kingdom. These include the Republic of Kirth, a technologically-advanced republic that boasts plentiful gunpowder and despises Monarchs; Danea, a tiny and insignificant city-state with a democratic government; and several others.
Just off the eastern coast of Elrusia lies the Isle of Saal, a cheerfully lawless island about the size of Iceland, with a mostly-deserved reputation as a haven for pirates and brigands of all kinds.
Far to the east from the Kingdom is an even larger and more mysterious continent, known as the Vastness of Chur. The ocean that separates it from the Kingdom is known as the Eastern Sea.
That list above is far from everything we're adding to King of the Castle for launch!
We'll be revealing more on March 2nd but there's one change we couldn't wait to share: Our New Event Generation System!
It might not seem as exciting something like Events that carry over multiple Dynasties, new Laws of the Land, a ton of new content, or a heap of new outfits... But we just happen to already be going all that anyway!.
What these changes have done is has fundamentally altered the way King of the Castle feels compared to our previous builds, and solidly for the better.
Here's what's happening in 1.0 with this new system:
We'll be sharing more updates on 1.0 on our Discord, including showing off the brand new customisations for Regions and exclusive Twitch Drop outfits. See you there!
So what do you get for $4.99? A lot of game! Read on to find out...
But first, if you haven't wishlisted King of the Castle yet, please do. That way you'll be the first to find out when we release.
You're also giving us a full suit of plate armour with which we can wage mortal combat with the deadly Steam algorithm. Metaphorically.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839880/King_Of_The_Castle
Thank you! Right, let's get down to brass tacks. What's inside your Kingdom?
King of the Castle Launch Stats
And that's mentioning less than 30% of the new features, changes and fixes we're adding for our very special 1.0 version!
But more on them later, because it's time for another dip into the lore of our game...
World Geography
The Kingdom
The main focus of every player’s game is the Kingdom, which has no specific name. The Kingdom changes from playthrough to playthrough, and will consist of 3 different regions selected at game start. Over the course of the game, the Kingdom will change to reflect the player’s decisions, and the Kingdom can entirely transform over the course of a player’s Dynasty.
The Kingdom can be considered equivalent in size to both France and Germany slammed together - ~1,000,000 square km or ~600,000 square miles. It’s bigger than Texas but much smaller than the entire United States.
The Kingdom and the Frozen Wastes occupy the continent known as North Ithos. The Ashmedean Empire, Tavallin and (further south) the Endless Plains occupy the continent of South Ithos. Across the Ghost Sea lies the continent of Elrusia.
The Kingdom is very cold in the North and the East, much warmer in the South, and temperate everywhere else.
Bordering Nations
To the north, the Kingdom borders an expansive territory of uninhabitable ice and tundra, known as the Frozen Wastes. The Wastes are notoriously dangerous - they are populated with barbarian tribes, ice giants, winter wolves, polar bears, and wyverns. The most likely thing to kill you, though, is the brutal weather.
To the south-west, the Kingdom borders the Ashmedean Empire, a vast, powerful and ancient Empire that views the Kingdom as an irritating upstart in world affairs. Nine hundred years ago, starting from the central city-state of Ashmede, the Empire expanded outwards and conquered several much larger countries, seeming unstoppable. A mountain range known as the Daggertops forms a natural border between the Empire and the Kingdom, preventing the Kingdom from being conquered in similar fashion.
The current Emperor Shemorath II is weak, cruel and irrational. As a result the Empire has largely fallen under control of a few powerful Generals. Nowadays, the Empire is a decaying relic of its former glory, more concerned with endless internal squabbling than conquering others… although it’s still terrifyingly powerful when roused to anger.
Nevertheless, the Ashmedeans remember the days when they could have conquered the world, and maintain a proud military tradition (even if the army these days is corrupt and despised by the commonfolk). They will always be a threat to the Kingdom - if a stronger Emperor ever ascends to the throne and turns his eye north, the resultant war could be devastating.
Also to the south-east, the Kingdom borders Tavallin, a new kingdom that only reclaimed its independence from the Ashmedean Empire a half-century ago. Tavallin, lacking the military might of its neighbours and constantly fearing invasion, relies on spies and intrigue to get ahead. The Tavallinese despise the Ashmedeans, and the feeling is mutual - but the Tavallinese also fear the Kingdom, and their spies permeate every Region, constantly rooting out secrets that can be turned to Tavallin’s advantage.
Across the Sea
Across the Ghost Sea from the Kingdom is the vast continent of Elrusia, bigger than South Ithos and North Ithos put together. The majority of Elrusia is taken up by the wild, untamed lands of Valamyr and the great deserts of Aatesh.
However, a number of smaller, more urbanised nations cluster on the eastern coastline of Elrusia, trading (and warring) with the Kingdom. These include the Republic of Kirth, a technologically-advanced republic that boasts plentiful gunpowder and despises Monarchs; Danea, a tiny and insignificant city-state with a democratic government; and several others.
Just off the eastern coast of Elrusia lies the Isle of Saal, a cheerfully lawless island about the size of Iceland, with a mostly-deserved reputation as a haven for pirates and brigands of all kinds.
Far to the east from the Kingdom is an even larger and more mysterious continent, known as the Vastness of Chur. The ocean that separates it from the Kingdom is known as the Eastern Sea.
1.0 Feature Reveal - Improved Event Generation!
That list above is far from everything we're adding to King of the Castle for launch!
We'll be revealing more on March 2nd but there's one change we couldn't wait to share: Our New Event Generation System!
It might not seem as exciting something like Events that carry over multiple Dynasties, new Laws of the Land, a ton of new content, or a heap of new outfits... But we just happen to already be going all that anyway!.
What these changes have done is has fundamentally altered the way King of the Castle feels compared to our previous builds, and solidly for the better.
Here's what's happening in 1.0 with this new system:
- Events have more variety - by introducing a system that spaces our 'Event Chains' (Events that directly related to one another), a greater variety of Events can be generated in a game. In testing this has dramatically reduced the number of repeated Events and increased the chance of seeing rarer Events, including those related to Schemes or Ambitions; A double win.
- Events are more evenly spread - If your Region doesn't get an Event generated in a Season, the game increases the likelihood of that happening next Season. This was a tough one to balance, but has now lead to even more variety in stories and an equal look-in for all Regions.
- Events have even more reactivity - A huge number of new 'Misdeeds' have been painstakingly added to the game. These track choices across multiple stories, making games even more reactive to your decisions and your Noble's votes.
- Events react to past Events - Special Events and vote options now show up in a Dynasty Games that are determined by how the last game ended. This has helped make Dynasty Games feel more responsive to past choices, especially with the Dynasty Event system we're introducing.
- The game is even more balanced - Testing, analytics and watching a lot of streams have given us some great insights into the game's balance. 1.0 has had a major re-balance of a number of Events and Schemes to give a better feel to the game. Games are tighter, less predictable and have less Regions left behind by low performing Schemes.
- A ton of new Events! - We added new Events throughout the game. Some are new Dynasty Events, others full Chain Events (like the Whims of Wizards Event Chains) and a host of standard, one-off Events. Some of these are targeted at resolving balance issues, but are chiefly there to add narrative flavour, variety and interesting scenarios to navigate!
We'll be sharing more updates on 1.0 on our Discord, including showing off the brand new customisations for Regions and exclusive Twitch Drop outfits. See you there!
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