Reign of Kings Alpha 18

Reign of Kings Alpha 18 has been released on Steam.

This update features some major new things such as shields and throwing axes, it also hopefully adds better performance and less crashes. This update will require a wipe on both official and community servers. 

We've added 9 different shields into the game separated by 3 different types. Shields are a unique way of protecting yourself. The Buckler shield is more nimble, cheaper, but offers less protection. The Heater is in bet-ween, while the Tower Shield is the largest shield in the game and is very heavy to control. 

There will still need to be balancing and tweaking needed, but we look forward to seeing how shields are on live servers in different combat situations. 

Throwing axes are very damaging, however, they throw at an arc and are harder to aim. High risk, high reward style of throwing weapon. They are also useful for targeting people behind tall walls. 

Aside from the new items, there were major changes made to the back-end of the game regarding the interaction systems and inventory systems. These should result in better performance and a much more stable playing experience. 

We also fixed some exploits brought to our attention. However, this is an ongoing effort. We take exploits, bug fixes, and optimization seriously, and if you want to report an exploit, or hacker, please read this thread: 

http://steamcommunity.com/app/344760/discussions/4/523890528707976945/ 

Please remember that any hackers caught will have their access to the game game perma-banned. 

The server console also now supports automatic updating.

We are working on Ping Detector (auto-kick based on average ping option), a buff system for the musical instruments, an hacker reporting system, guild crest protection totems, better server console, and more. These systems were not quite ready in time for this update due to the extra work needed on finishing the shield system and the major work to hopefully fix the crashing issue on Stormwall, so they will have to wait until the next update. 

Features: 

- Wood Buckler Shield 
- Wood Heater Shield 
- Wood Tower Shield 
- Iron Buckler Shield 
- Iron Heater Shield 
- Iron Tower Shield 
- Steel Buckler Shield 
- Steel Heater Shield 
- Steel Tower Shield 
- Stone Throwing Axe 
- Iron Throwing Axe 
- Iron Throwing Battle Axe 
- Steel Throwing Battle Axe 
- Added a second hit reaction animation 
- The jump animation alternates feet when jumping repeatedly. 
- Added new loading screen wallpaper 
- Can dual hold torches 
- Can hold torch with a one handed weapon 

Changes: 

- Fixed different exploits 
- Player Interaction redesign and re-write (fix for lag/crash on populated servers, general performance gain) 
- Fix for floating beds that are deleted retaining their saved spawn points 
- Characters minimum Height and Arm Length increased by ~30% 
- Reduced Plague Village knock-back 
- The user interface has been converted to 2D physics, removing the physics relationship between it and the world. 
- Players will no longer receive a message that they were murdered by themselves through acts like drowning, starving, etc... 
- The base speed reduction from an equipped shield now shows on the armor menu. 
- Items can no longer be traded from a station output to your inventory, only collected or merged. 
- The input slider seen on the crafting menu is now more predictable while dragging. 
- The input slider seen on the crafting menu can now be text-edited more than once per play. 
- Crest boundaries fade out after 100 meters, no longer see crest boundaries in the sky 
- Extra checks for floating structures 

Optimizations: 

- Performance gains on using inventory system 
- Performance gains in highly populated areas 
- Gamer and Advanced default settings lowered 
- Water shader fades out better at view distance 
- View distance setting minimum lowered to 500m 

Bug Fixes: 

- Fixed bug allowing prefabs to be placed in the air 
- Fixed throwing/equipping sounds with projectiles 
- Crest security should now be set properly 
- The lockpicking sounds will not repeat forever when trying to pick a player 
- Cannot place floating beds 
- Jumping is no longer silent 
- Steel vest armor won't stretch when arms are cut 

Design Changes: 

- Assign your shields like you would weapons to your hot key slots, and then swap in and out your shields/torches via the 1-9 hotkeys 
- Shields may block melee attacks using similar mechanics to parrying. The main difference is that shields can be held up indefinitely provided that your character has enough stamina. 
- Arrows and other projectiles are blocked by shields if the projectile collides with it. 
- Projectiles will stick to shields when they are blocked. 
- While in first person, shields partially fade when they are raised as to not give an advantage to players who prefer third person. 
- Updated loot tables, added new armor and weapons to drops. 
- Player only start with 1 torch. 
- Torch & candle are no longer consumable and are no longer stack. 
- Candle now takes 1 iron ingots & 30 fat to craft (was 3). 
- Torch now takes 50 wood (was 10) & 10 flax to craft (was 1). 
- Iron floor torch now fueled by wood & sticks (was oil). 
- Iron dagger now requires iron ingot in crafting (was iron). 

Thanks for Playing, 
- The Code}{atch Team

Source : http://steamcommunity.com/games/344760/announcements/detail/781724583345911711