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Steam News23 February 20264mo ago

Update #13: Staff Management Improvements

Hello everyone! I have finally finished a new update that I wanted to do for a long time :) Before I get into details, I just wanted to write again here that I will be taking a small break next month because my wife and

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Repeated intro

Hello everyone! I have finally finished a new update that I wanted to do for a long time :) Before I get into details, I just wanted to write again here that I will be taking a small break next month because my wife and me are expecting twins, so I will have my hands full outside of game development :) I am moving very steadily towards v1.0 but there are a couple of more big updates I want to do to address your feedback and suggestions!

What changed

0 fixes4 additions2 changes1 removal
  • Gameplay
  • Workshop
  • Security
addedHello everyone! I have finally finished a new update that I wanted to do for a long time :) Before I get into details, I just wanted to write again here that I will be taking a small break next month because my wife and me are expecting twins, so I will have my hands full outside of game development :) I am moving very steadily towards v1.0 but there are a couple of more big updates I want to do to address your feedback and suggestions!
addedHappiness systemThe first thing I want to talk about is the new happiness system which brings deeper staff management. Depending on 5 different factors, your staff will either be angry with you as a manager or super excited to work on the workshop. If mood is not so good, there is a chance some of your workers quit on their own because they are unhappy. If it's really severe, they will also have their positive trait disabled.
removedHappiness systemOn the other hand, if they are happy and motivated to work, they will level up faster and even have their negative trait disabled.
changedHappiness system[list][*][p] Working hours: Longer working hours affect happiness negatively of course, but bring more revenue[*] Salary bonus: You can decide to reward your workers more for their time at the workshop
addedHappiness systemJob security: If you fire workers too often, it will make others feel insecure about their job and their happiness will go down Seating options: Instead of having just one bench, you now have many options to make their resting time much more comfortable Food and drinks: You can provide your workers with meals and drinks which will cost you extra money, but make their working hours much more tolerable
changedWorker logicI've made a bunch of improvements to how workers decide what to do. Most prominently (and highly requested), assistants will now prioritize chests better. Instead of just going to the nearest chest, taking whichever items are there and then distributing them, they will evaluate every chest better and prioritize chests with more items.

Blacksmith Master changes

addedHello everyone! I have finally finished a new update that I wanted to do for a long time :) Before I get into details, I just wanted to write again here that I will be taking a small break next month because my wife and me are expecting twins, so I will have my hands full outside of game development :) I am moving very steadily towards v1.0 but there are a couple of more big updates I want to do to address your feedback and suggestions!
addedThe first thing I want to talk about is the new happiness system which brings deeper staff management. Depending on 5 different factors, your staff will either be angry with you as a manager or super excited to work on the workshop. If mood is not so good, there is a chance some of your workers quit on their own because they are unhappy. If it's really severe, they will also have their positive trait disabled.
removedOn the other hand, if they are happy and motivated to work, they will level up faster and even have their negative trait disabled.
changed[list][*][p] Working hours: Longer working hours affect happiness negatively of course, but bring more revenue[*] Salary bonus: You can decide to reward your workers more for their time at the workshop
addedJob security: If you fire workers too often, it will make others feel insecure about their job and their happiness will go down Seating options: Instead of having just one bench, you now have many options to make their resting time much more comfortable Food and drinks: You can provide your workers with meals and drinks which will cost you extra money, but make their working hours much more tolerable

Happiness system

The first thing I want to talk about is the new happiness system which brings deeper staff management. Depending on 5 different factors, your staff will either be angry with you as a manager or super excited to work on the workshop. If mood is not so good, there is a chance some of your workers quit on their own because they are unhappy. If it's really severe, they will also have their positive trait disabled.

On the other hand, if they are happy and motivated to work, they will level up faster and even have their negative trait disabled.

The aspects that determine their happiness are:

Working hours: Longer working hours affect happiness negatively of course, but bring more revenue Salary bonus: You can decide to reward your workers more for their time at the workshop

  • Job security: If you fire workers too often, it will make others feel insecure about their job and their happiness will go down

    • Seating options: Instead of having just one bench, you now have many options to make their resting time much more comfortable

      • Food and drinks: You can provide your workers with meals and drinks which will cost you extra money, but make their working hours much more tolerable

Here is a picture of different food and drinks you can offer:

Worker logic

I've made a bunch of improvements to how workers decide what to do. Most prominently (and highly requested), assistants will now prioritize chests better. Instead of just going to the nearest chest, taking whichever items are there and then distributing them, they will evaluate every chest better and prioritize chests with more items.

Progression

I've read many messages about progression being too slow in late game so I balanced that now. I will think more how to improve progression even further because I know there are still some criticism around the new system. That is it for this update! I can't wait to start working on siege machines for the next one, but as always, please write your thoughts on Steam or Discord so I can address any feedback you have for this update :) Until next time, ~Luka

Source

Steam News / 23 February 2026

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