No new version number this month, but plenty changed. The browser version updates as I go, so if you've played lately you've already seen some of it.
3D
This is the big one. Until now you watched the battlefield from straight above. Since the 20th you can switch to a 3D view, tilt and orbit the camera, and see units as proper models.
The rules underneath are identical. A dwarf stands on the same tile in both views, takes the same damage and walks the same route, which is how 3D went in without breaking the 2D game people were already playing. The story is in Rebuilding a 2D game in 3D.
- 3D buildings are made from their painted sprites, so both views match (how)
- Buildings break apart when they're destroyed
- A first go at 3D water and shorelines
- A viewer for looking at units and buildings up close
Also new
- Leaderboards, including one for multiplayer
- Crash reports. A crash now shows a proper screen and sends me the details, so I can fix things nobody's told me about
- Heroes, in a very early form
- Quicker match loading. A Dwarf vs Goblin match only downloads Dwarf and Goblin art (details)
- Pathfinding fixes, and the AI groups up and sends its army differently
- Memory leak fixes, so long sessions hold up better
If you're curious where it all started, Designing a game in writing before code covers the original design doc. It had two races in it. There are nine now.
3D is still rough in places, and slow when big armies meet. That's May.