Behind the Sword

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Latest news

• Patch Notes·19 Sept 2026Official

  Behind the Sword v1.1.1 - Modding Tool Fixes

  Update v1.1.1Modding ToolFixed projects folder, browse, verify, build locally, and create & upload / update buttons in the modding tool not working/opening.Added a Steam Workshop Terms link.Improved Steam Workshop agreement handling.Workshop pages now open after successfully publishing or updating a mod.Privacy & TermsAdded Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions links.
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• Announcements·18 Sept 2026Official

  Behind the Sword v1.1.0 - Workshop, Hotkeys & More!

  Update v1.1.0 Steam Workshop & ModdingAdded Steam Workshop support.Added a separate Modding Tool for creating, editing, and publishing mods. Launch the modding tool by clicking Play to the game in your steam library and selecting to open the tool.Added an in-game Mods window.Added support for modding unit sprites, building sprites, sub-biomes sprites, economy values, and gameplay values.Kingdom CustomizationAdded custom player kingdom name.Added custom player kingdom color.Improved automatic kingdom colors so kingdoms are easier to distinguish.HotkeysAdded configurable gameplay hotkeys.New GamePreview the world you are about to play, and generate new ones if you want.MinimapAdded a current camera view indicator.Added click-and-drag minimap navigation.Fixes & ImprovementsFixed cases where the Next Turn button could stop responding.Various UI improvements and fixes.
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• Patch Notes·6 Sept 2026Official

  v1.0.1

  \- Kingdom colors are now chosen to be much easier to tell apart.- Smaller matches use highly distinct colors, while larger matches automatically expand the palette.\- Fixed enemy lands sometimes appearing as valid player moves.- Fixed units being able to move repeatedly after capturing certain enemy lands.- Fixed unit merging sometimes restoring movement incorrectly.- Improved movement and attack highlighting.\- Fixed provinces sometimes remaining split after reconnecting.- Reconnected provinces now correctly merge back together.- Fixed duplicate province headquarters after merges.- Improved province ownership, gold and income handling after splits and reconnections.\- Fixed the main-menu background match sometimes starting twice.- Fixed delayed AI actions continuing after leaving a match.- Improved stability when returning to the main menu or starting another match.- Fixed several possible crashes when exiting the game.- Improved Steam and game shutdown behavior.\- Improved AI behavior when captures reconnect separated provinces.- Added additional protection against invalid territory and kingdom states.\- Reduced unnecessary processing during turns and menu transitions.- Improved performance when updating kingdoms and territory states.\- Fixed several rare bugs involving territory ownership, movement and province state.- Improved overall match stability.
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• Announcements·31 Aug 2026Official

  Behind the Sword Leaves Early Access

  Behind the Sword Leaves Early AccessAfter a long time in development, Behind the Sword is officially leaving Early Access.This is the biggest and most important update the game has received. A large part of the game has been revisited, many long-standing problems have been fixed, performance has been improved, and the AI has received a major redesign.With this update, I consider Behind the Sword to have reached the state I wanted it to reach as a complete game.A Major UpdateA significant amount of work went into reviewing and improving systems that had been part of the game for years.Many bugs have been fixed, including some rare but serious problems that could cause matches to freeze, crash, behave incorrectly, or break after playing for a long time.World generation, kingdoms, provinces, combat, scoring, music, controls, localization, tooltips and many other parts of the game have received fixes and improvements.Performance has also been improved, particularly in large matches with many kingdoms.Much Smarter AIThe AI has received one of the largest changes in this update.The previous AI was based on an older prototype system and relied heavily on simple or random decisions. It has now been redesigned to make much more deliberate decisions while still following the same rules as the player.AI kingdoms now make better decisions about expanding, managing their economy, purchasing and positioning units, building farms, defending important territory, controlling trees, reinforcing armies and choosing which enemies and territories are worth attacking.The different difficulty levels are also much more meaningful now.Novice opponents remain easier and make less efficient decisions, while Expert and Master opponents are increasingly better at planning their economy, protecting valuable territory, preparing attacks and reacting to dangerous enemies.Higher difficulties do not receive hidden money, stronger units or other artificial advantages. They simply make better decision...
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• Announcements·16 Jun 2025Official

  [v0.2.0]

  \Fixed many game soft locks errorsFixed enemy unit attacking defended landFixed dividing provinces errors Please report any bugs and features ideas on the following channels: - Discord - Community Hub Check out the Roadmap, where I show what I’m working on right now, future tasks, and a record of all the development of the game.
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