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Steam News26 February 20264mo ago

Academies are coming to the game! Discover the new system

New mechanic: Academies This mechanic introduces a new resource: Manuscripts. You will be able to obtain them thanks to a new building: the Academy.

In this update11

Full notes

Full Celestial Empire update

Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.

What changed

10 fixes25 additions34 changes0 removals
  • Gameplay
  • Workshop
  • Store
  • Balance
  • Performance
added‎ Steam post imageObservatory (max +4) Steam post imageThis is a new building that increases Science Points production in Inventor’s Workshops within its range.
added‎ Steam post imageDebate Room (max +6) Steam post image‎This is a new building that increases Science Points production in Inventor’s Workshops within its range.
added‎ Steam post imageCalligraphy School (max +12) Steam post image‎This is a new building that increases Science Points production in Inventor’s Workshops within its range.
added‎ Steam post imageTwo resources can be used to increase Manuscript production :
added‎ Steam post imageRed Ink is a new production chain :
added‎ Steam post imageIt consists of 4 new buildings :

Celestial Empire changes

addedObservatory (max +4) Steam post imageThis is a new building that increases Science Points production in Inventor’s Workshops within its range.
addedDebate Room (max +6) Steam post image‎This is a new building that increases Science Points production in Inventor’s Workshops within its range.
addedCalligraphy School (max +12) Steam post image‎This is a new building that increases Science Points production in Inventor’s Workshops within its range.
addedTwo resources can be used to increase Manuscript production :
addedRed Ink is a new production chain :

New mechanic: Academies

This mechanic introduces a new resource: Manuscripts.

You will be able to obtain them thanks to a new building: the Academy.

‎ Steam post image

The building has three levels:

  • Academy

  • Regional Academy

  • Imperial Academy

Scholars are employed to produce Manuscripts. On the first level: 500, on the second: 750, on the third: 1000 plus 200 Elites. With each level, the Manuscript creation speed increases. At base, on the highest level the Academy can produce 4 Manuscripts per minute.

Production speed increases if the Academy is within range of:

  • Library (max +3 Manuscripts per minute)

  • Observatory (max +4) Steam post imageThis is a new building that increases Science Points production in Inventor’s Workshops within its range.

  • Debate Room (max +6) Steam post image‎This is a new building that increases Science Points production in Inventor’s Workshops within its range.

  • Calligraphy School (max +12) Steam post image‎This is a new building that increases Science Points production in Inventor’s Workshops within its range.

Two resources can be used to increase Manuscript production:

  • Book (max +6) Steam post image

  • Red Ink (max +15) Steam post image

Red Ink is a new production chain:

It consists of 4 new buildings:

  • Castor Farm producing Castor ‎ ‎

  • Castor Oil Press, which presses Castor Oil from Castor seeds ‎ ‎

  • Sap Maker producing Sap; the building requires direct adjacency to a Forester to operate

  • Red Ink Workshop producing Red Ink

Manuscripts will be needed for:

  • Unlocking advanced technologies (alongside Science Points)

  • Purchasing the highest level of improvements, which is new in this update

  • Purchasing new special improvements in the Shrine and Temple, which increase the maximum limit of the Faithful, as well as an improvement in Monuments that increases their range

  • Purchasing trade rights for the most advanced resources

  • On the highest level, the Celestial Tower and Grand Celestial Tower can enable assistance that consumes Manuscripts in exchange for faster Faith Points generation

  • Manuscripts will gain more uses in future updates

In the Technology tree, right after the Academy, we can purchase a new technology:

Bronze Dishes Tinker

The resource produced by this building is Bronze Dishes, which are consumed as a need by all social groups, increasing their satisfaction.

Game balance changes:

  • Tax multipliers have been changed

  • Building upkeep costs have been adjusted to match the value they generate

  • Several changes to construction costs

  • Ranges of some buildings have been changed

  • Production and consumption pace has been adjusted

  • Income generated by the Cuju Field, Theatre, and Chinese Gardens has been adjusted

  • Values of improvement bonuses have been changed

  • Resource regeneration speed in trade settlements in Trade has been changed

  • Festival bonus values have been adjusted, and the resources required to host a Festival have been changed

  • Building each additional Outpost increases the upkeep cost of all existing outposts

  • Some technology costs have been changed – purchasing buildings and their improvements

  • Difficulty level parameters have been adjusted

  • Science Points cost has been increased for an improvement enabled in the Improvement Office

Important information!!!

Due to the above balance changes, loading a save immediately after the update may cause the income balance in your game to change noticeably. Some building ranges have changed, so the number of available slots in houses may change (e.g., no connection to baths), which may result in homelessness.

Changes, fixes, and crash repairs:

  • Visual changes to Demons invasions

  • Fixed a bug with trees not disappearing after constructing a building

  • Fixed a bug where range did not increase after upgrading the Large Blessings Building

  • Changed fire VFX during fires

  • Added animations to garden annexes (e.g., Silkworm Breeding)

  • Optimized kites, which generated significant CPU cost in large cities

  • Added functionality to the Religious and Decorations filters: buildings that no longer affect their surroundings at a given location are marked with a red outline

  • Improved HUD after upgrading the Yamen

  • Changed the Jewelry production chain – added a fourth component: Sap

  • Improved building upgrade tooltips

  • Fixed the bar with active building modifiers (in its window) so it can be scrolled if there are many and they don’t fit

  • Added information to the Gold currency tooltip about income from cyclical trade and expenses from cyclical trade

  • Changed the Blessing purchased in the relationship with Wukong. The new blessing grants +10 satisfaction to all residences within its range

  • Added a widget visible during placement to entertainment buildings (Cuju Field, Theatre) with information about the potential income generated in that location

  • In the build menu at the bottom of the HUD, in the City category, new building groups have been added

    Roads – contains all road types Storage – contains all warehouse types Emergency – contains buildings that counter disasters Scholarship – contains buildings related to Academies Walls – moved from the decorations tab

  • Improved the trend in resource tooltips so they include cyclical trade

  • Improved the trend in the Coal tooltip so it includes consumption from improvements in buildings that have that improvement enabled

  • Improved the trend in the Oxen tooltip so it includes consumption from improvements in buildings that have that improvement enabled

  • Market window changes related to the Festival mechanicchanged selection method, rearranged elements, updated effect descriptions
  • Added an icon reminding you that you can start a Festival

  • Changed the recipe for the better dish in the Elites restaurant

  • Locked most of the relationship tree for gods who are not our patron

  • In the Warehouse inventory, added functionality where clicking a resource moves the camera to the building producing that resource, making it easier to find on the map

  • Increased the loan amount at the moment of first bankruptcy to 50,000

  • Added increased maximum capacity of the Faithful to the Celestial Tower and Grand Celestial Tower after building a floor, and improved the tooltip and the floor build button

  • Reduced demand for Smoked Eggs

  • Animation fixes in FPP mode

  • Added a tooltip to Warehouse capacity listing all Warehouse types and their contribution to total capacity

  • Increased Warehouse capacity gained from the Warehouse building upgrade

  • Increased Granary capacity gained from the Granary building upgrade

  • Fixed a bug where monument construction stopped despite having collected all resources

  • Added missing sound effects in buildings

  • Added a warning above monuments reminding you that you can insert a modifier into a free slot, which appears after building another monument

  • Fixed a bug where after going from the game to the Main Menu, pressing Continue loaded an empty map without the HUD

  • Updated tooltips describing technologies in the Technology tree to better highlight the features of buildings available for purchase

  • Improved the selection sound of buildings when using the selection, upgrade, or destroy tool

  • Visually changed blocked nodes in the gods relationship tree

  • Increased the speed at which fires spread

  • The Tribute we pay after choosing no borders after building the third monument is now paid automatically every minute. Its cost is included in the tooltip with the balance of income and expenses

  • Added the ability to produce gold in first-person mode (in the River Gold Extractor building)

  • In the Trade Rights window, added a tooltip to resource icons with information about their current status

  • Fixed the improvement that increases Oxen efficiency, enabled in the Improvement Office

We wish you an enjoyable game! ːsteamhappyː

Attention!

After the game update, some players experience a crash when trying to continue the game or when trying to load a save from the list. Since we have not yet found a solution, if you encounter this issue, please:

  • Verify the game installation files via Steam

  • If verification does not solve the problem, delete the latest game save

  • Contact the developers (help@president-studio.com)

  • If you don’t care about continuing the game, start a new game

Source

Steam News / 26 February 2026

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