Development Update + New Demo Available

I’ve been working hard in the past months on some big improvements for Explorers of Esmar, and I’m excited to share what’s new. This update focuses on making battles more strategic, the world more nice to look at, and the game overall smoother to play — and you can try some of it right now in the updated free demo.

NEW BATTLE SYSTEM

Combat in Esmar has evolved quite a bit! You can now garrison soldiers inside your towers to provide them with various buffs depending on the soldier type. Positioning also plays a bigger role — units on higher ground gain advantages in attack strength.

Behind the scenes, I’ve also reworked how territory is calculated, which should make borders feel fairer and more dynamic around contested territory.

IMPROVED MAP GENERATOR

The terrain algorithm got a major overhaul. The world now generates plateaus and varied elevations, adding more depth (literally!) to maps.

I’ve also added climate variation, so you’ll now find snowy regions, temperate areas, and hotter zones. These might affect the fertility and productivity of farms in the future.

NEW BUILDINGS

To support deeper strategy and resource management, there are two new buildings:

• Tannery — produces new materials and supports your economy.

• Outpost — helps secure distant territory and expand your influence.

I’ve also reworked the build menu to make construction smoother and easier to navigate.

The plan is to introduce new late/mid game materials for building and production which can't be used right from the start.

PLAYER PROFILE

You can now create a player profile with a custom name and icon which will appear throughout the ingame UI and also on the flags on your towers! It’s a small addition, but it makes the experience feel more personal.

UI UPDATES

I’ve added advanced graphics settings, so you can adjust texture and model quality depending on your hardware.

There’s also a new statistics UI for a clearer overview of your settlements and economy, plus a few interface tweaks to make gameplay flow better. These are still work-in-progress.

UPDATED DEMO AVAILABLE NOW

The demo has been fully updated with all these new features, systems, and visuals. (But there are still some limitations of course!)

If you haven’t tried Explorers of Esmar yet, or if it’s been a while, now’s a great time to jump in and see how far the game has come.

View on Steam

WHAT'S NEXT?

I’m still developing Explorers of Esmar solo, and your feedback really helps me prioritize what to work on next. This update was a big step toward refining the core gameplay loop and world generation.

Thanks so much to everyone who’s played the demo, left comments, or wishlisted the game — it really keeps me going.