Playtest Update: A New Look, Castle Chaos & Bigger Battles

Hi everyone,

Since introducing the walkable castle, I've been working through your playtest feedback: making the world look more grounded, giving you more to do between battles, and fixing the things that interrupted a good siege.

This roundup covers the updates since October 9, now available in March Out! Playtest 2.7.23. Update the separate Steam Playtest installation to try them. Everyone in your multiplayer group should be on the same current version.

A more detailed kingdom

The castle, battlefield and soldiers have received a substantial art pass. Stonework has clearer construction and surface detail, timber and doors have more believable fittings, and lighting brings out the differences between stone, wood, leather and metal.

Armor fits more closely, weapon shapes and fittings have been refined, and trees, rocks and terrain have more natural colors and detail. Capes now drape and react to movement, rather than hanging like a rigid board. Night and rain presentation have also been improved, while both remain optional and off by default.

A little chaos while you wait

You can now ride your horse around the Hall , and the larger sparring ring supports practice against an NPC or another player, with sounds for the start and outcome of a bout.

Outside a formal bout, Hall weapon hits can send another player into a nonlethal ragdoll . A rider can be knocked out of the saddle, get back up where they landed, and walk back to their horse to remount. Dismount to swing your weapon. Close simultaneous hits can send both players tumbling. After standing, you get five seconds of protection before you can attack or be knocked down again.

It's a way to make waiting for the rest of your group a bit more entertaining. These Hall antics do not damage your campaign or competitive record.

Your commander, your house

The armoury now has separate Face, Outfit and Weapon controls, including 32 faces, eight complexions and four facial-hair styles. Your saved face and cosmetic selections carry through the Hall, single-player and multiplayer, while era armor and combat upgrades continue to progress normally.

House customization has expanded with independent colors and trim, crest choices, presets, a house name and live previews. Your selected sigil now appears throughout more of the castle's architecture and on your horse's heraldic cloth.

The horse customization panel has moved aside so you can actually see the coat, saddle and decorations as you change them. In the Hall, hoof sounds now follow the horse's foot contacts, too.

Something to bring home from your victories

The award galleries now include ten achievement-linked keepsakes : six you can work toward through campaign play and four focused on competitive multiplayer. They recognize milestones such as capturing your first castle, developing a veteran soldier and earning online victories.

These are physical rewards for existing achievements, with more detailed trophy models, animated presentations, effects and celebratory audio. Your Hall should gradually show the story of what you've accomplished.

Recruit without leaving the fight

Press Tab during battle to open recruitment. You can order reinforcements while marching with your army; they still train back at your castle and must make their way to the fight.

Optional repeat recruitment helps keep your chosen troops coming, with an adjustable gold reserve. Shift lets you order five at once. The recruitment panel is more transparent, queue messages are clearer, and the Tab reminder gets out of the way once you've learned it.

Bigger armies, meaningful losses

For players who want larger battles, eligible matches now offer a 300-troop-per-side limit and optional 2x gold earnings . The highest army setting is demanding and can cause crowding or unusual troop movement; fixed-rule challenges keep their own rules.

Farms and villages are now standard in campaigns and regular multiplayer. Losing them hurts your income even when your army is large. Keeping your economy protected matters, and recovering means buying time and regaining control.

Siege and combat balance has also had a targeted pass: concentrated gate damage, limited repairs, overlapping fire damage and cannon damage have been adjusted. Soldiers ordered to Hold now defend themselves without abandoning their position. Attacking a defended castle should still be dangerous, and a badly lost battle can still be decisive.

Letters across the battlefield

Royal couriers can carry short, player-written letters to another player. Read the message, reply, arrange a meeting or send a suitably royal warning. Drafts remain available during the match, and the reader supports scrolling.

Guest-side courier movement, disappearing message windows and unreliable delivery prompts have been corrected. Any truce you discuss is an agreement between players; letters do not automatically pause combat or change match results.

A smoother trip from Hall to battlefield and back

Joining a friend's Hall now establishes your party for the war table, so you shouldn't need to send a second invitation just to ready up. I've addressed specific invitation and council-routing problems, along with return paths that were incorrectly exposing the old main menu. The walkable castle is your home between battles.

Multiplayer updates improve how unit movement is sent and smoothed, addressing avoidable jumping and delayed presentation. There are also fixes for outfit disagreement, mounted animation and floating bodies or equipment. When your commander falls, the camera rises over the area where you died so you can watch the nearby battlefield while waiting to return.

The smaller things you feel every match

• More responsive attack input and clearer sword motion.
• A fuller cannon reload: sponge the barrel, turn the tool, then ram the charge.
• Health bars above damaged commanders and wall turrets.
• Clearer settings and selection highlights, UI scaling, camera/FOV options and reduced-flash controls.
• A way to restore hidden tips, with prompts moved away from recruitment controls.
• A fix for co-op match completion when several attacks destroy the shared gate together.

Thank you for the feedback, screenshots and time you've put into testing. Please keep sharing what feels good and what still gets in the way. For multiplayer reports, the mode, troop limit, player count and whether you were hosting or joining are especially helpful.

See you in the Hall, Mason Solo developer, Polygon Interactive Studios