Update 23.03.25

The main idea behind the changes in update 23.03.25 is to give the player a more active role in the country development, and to give you a reason to come back to the overview map every one in a while.

Variables like your "Reputation" and the "Safety" or "Freedom" of your citizens are slowly decreasing when you do nothing against it, but they can be improved on the overview map.

Reputation allows Ryen the use of new, powerful battle skills, but only while it's above a certain value. Therefore, the player has the choice whether to not care about these skills, or prepare himself before tough battles by raising his reputation again.

[Some buildings on the overview map need to be constructed again, even if you unlocked them earlier in your save, since the triggers which saves what building is done was changed in some cases.]

Changes:

- The country overview map now has a real-time based system instead of a turn system. This means all productions and constructions happens in real time while the game is running.

- The player has to actively gather resources that were produced once the production is done on this map.

- All timers run even while you're not on the map. Which means you can start a bunch of slow production, leave the map, and come back later once they're done.

- When you gather a produced resource, it'll show what you got with a picture that fades away, rather than a text message. You can move while the image is shown. This is intended to increase the pace of the system, otherwise it would be too many text windows that stop the player constantly.

- The overview map doesn't use your gold anymore, but has it's own "Budget" system. You need a certain amount of available budget for construction projects. Budget is automatically generated over taxes, which the player can collect every few minutes, or by one of the new constructions.

- The "Finances, Laws, and Policies" screen was adjust to the new country system. The choices on this screen now mostly affect what varibales like "Faith" for your country increase or decrease each time you collect the taxes. Due to the changes, most buttons on this screen were reset to the default option, and have to be manually set to your prefered way again when you continue an old save file.

The finances screen can now be accessed via an icon on the overview map, not just from the dialog with the treasurer David in your throne room. - David does not give you gold from the country taxes anymore.

- Several new resources and buildings were added to the country overview map.

- All resource producing buildings have the option to show the recipes for their type of resources.

- You can only have a limited amount of construction at the same time. Building the new "construction guild" will increase your amount of construction teams.

- The values for things like "Safety" or "Happiness" of your country were changed. Buildings like watchtowers create such "Safety" over time, and the player has to gather it like a finished product.

- The construction costs for all buildings on the overview map were changed, to fit to the new resources and the production speed.

- It's not necessary to repair Bitterroot Farm to produce resources there anymore. Instead, the production is just slower until you had the events to repair the farm.

- A storage screen shows you all the resources you have. You have a maximum limit for all resources together, but also an individual limit, to prevent people from spam producing everything without thinking about what they really need right now. If you gathered too many unnecessary resources, and it blocks your storage, you can throw away resources on this storage screen screen.

- The costs to recruit new vanguard leaders has been adjusted to the new system.

- The costs of the fortification upgrades in the command center screen were adjusted to the new system.

- You get budget instead of supplies now as a possible reward for bonus battles.

- Bonus battles now don't appear randomly anymore, but have a cooldown timer. The timer can be reduced with a research.

- The laboratory and university now have separated research screens.

The screen of the lab of the overview map and the general research when you go into the lab in character aren't connected by a "switch" button anymore.

- The user interface shows you in the top left corner if constructions, training, researches, and requests are available, working, or done. It also shows the storage limit, your budget amount, and your reputation.

- Variables like „Reputation“ or "Safety" currently decrease every ~2,5 mins by a random value from 1 to 4.

- A new trading screen, which you can access via an icon near Havaria Port on the overview map.

- The crafting for vangaurd equipment in the armory, and the trading caravan in front of Aldlyn were removed from the country overview map. The caravaan can be found in a similar way on the new trading screen. - You automatically get the new key item "Country Management Map" when you are on the overview map, which allows you to enter the overview map from anywhere where you can use the teleport stone as well.

- Intelligence service upgrade removed from Witton.

- Horses were removed as a resource on the overview map.

- Val's event which gave you +20 Recruits was removed.

- Fire events were removed, but might return in a different way.

- A "request" system gives you up to 6 randomized requests for resources. These requests go from simple to very complex, and increase the reputation value.

The reputation from requests and expeditions is needed for some new skills:

Supported Outburst: Does physical damage against one enemy. Costs 15 TP. The damage is 1x ATK higher than the normal attack, but has additional 2x ATK on top of it when the reputation is at 100 or higher.

Supported Gust: Does magic wind element damage against all enemies. Costs 30 MP. Deals 2x M.ATK more damage while reputation is at 100 or higher.

Supportive Shout: Heals 60% HP of all party members when your reputation is above 100, else 30%. Costs 50 MP.

You get the first skill near the EXIT button once reputation is at 15+, the second skill near the windmill for flour after you build it and with Chiyo in your party, and the third skill near Thremten when the church was build and Mira is in your party.

The use of such a skill reduces reputation by 10. Which means you have to increase your reputation again on the overview map after using the skills a few times.

Due to the long development time and complexity of these new features in the overview map, I'd greatly appreciate all feedback for balancing and bug reports.

I added new character sprites for Allisa, Ashryn, Cassedy, Cremia, Deulari, Elmyra, Fang, Manticore Mia, Naomi, Nemelphia, Rena, Rina, Waterspirit, Worilla, Zaleria, and Zentha. Thanks to Knightlock for his work with these sprites. He also made new sprites for Arevis, Baemeth, Spidergirls, Jiangshi, grey and red imps, and Citrinne. (Character sprites are the small figures that walk on the maps, not the full body CG images)

For the next update, I plan to continue the events of Varea after the story with her and Jeanne. The idea is that it'll be a quick update, with Varea's events and all bug and spelling mistake fixes reported for the overview map changes, so that you don't have to wait too long for those fixes.

Special shout-out to Themil who does an amazing job at improving the Renryuu wiki https://renryuu.miraheze.org