Beyond the Gates: Introducing Villages & Farms

I wanted marching out of your castle to feel like leaving a kingdom behind. Streets full of homes, people working the fields, and a place worth defending before the enemy ever reaches your gate.

That idea has become Settlements (Experimental), an optional expanded battlefield for March Out! You can try it now in the Steam Playtest. Here's a closer look.

Your kingdom grows beyond the walls

The approach to each castle now passes through a village of 24 homes, with residential courts, trees and wheat fields around the streets. The castle sits on a modest rise above the settlement, giving the march home a very different feel.

Homes reflect your chosen civilization and improve as you advance through the eras. Roman streets and Candy Kingdom neighborhoods keep their own character, rather than sharing the same buildings with different colors.

A reason to fight for the ground outside

Productive farms support your gold income. Advancing into enemy farmland lets you put pressure on their economy, while occupation provides a limited income bonus. Contested, burning or recovering farms stop producing, so leaving your own territory unprotected has a cost.

Forward catapult emplacements add danger to the expanded approaches. There is more to consider on the way to the gate, and more reason to decide where your army should stand.

The village reacts when an army arrives

Residents work around the homes and fields during peaceful moments. A sustained invasion triggers an Under Attack warning and sends them retreating behind the castle gates.

If attackers press all the way to the castle, a small, limited militia reserve can help with the last stand. These defenders are weaker than regular troops and do not replenish endlessly. They can buy you a chance to push back, but your army still has to do the fighting.

Raids leave a mark. Recovery matters too.

Sustained raids and explosive hits can set fields and homes alight. Wheat becomes scorched ground, while houses show damaged roofs, debris, fire and smoke.

Once the attack is driven away, the settlement uses automatic recovery and reconstruction. Repeated attacks delay that recovery, so holding the ground long enough to rebuild matters.

Keep control without a complicated command system

• B: Attack to send the army forward.
• F: Follow to keep troops with your commander while you're alive and on foot.
• T: Retreat to bring the army back.
• TAB opens recruitment and clickable army orders in the field. New recruits still train at the castle.

Try Settlements in the Steam Playtest

The settlement update is currently active in the Steam Playtest only. Update your Playtest installation, then choose Battlefield: Settlements (Experimental) in the main menu, or have the multiplayer lobby host select it. Classic remains an option, and the two battlefield styles keep separate campaign progress.

The full territory, raiding and evacuation systems are designed for the campaign, Castle War and Last Castle Standing. King of the Keep and Capture the Banner keep their objective-focused arenas and protected settlements.

I'm especially interested in whether defending the farms creates good decisions, whether the extra travel feels right, and whether the militia gives a struggling defender a fair chance. Tell me what you think in the comments, and please include your mode and battlefield setting when reporting an issue.

Thanks for following along and helping me shape this. I'm still building March Out! after work, with my seven-year-old son helping me playtest, and seeing people take an interest in it means a lot.

Mason Solo developer of March Out!