Alpha 1.0.4.02

Optimizations

• Ray marching reduced to 8 directions (significantly higher FPS with minimal visual impact).

System & UI Improvements

• Quality setting now only affects cloud detail.

• Nation borders are now easier to distinguish (graphical/shader changes).

• Units now properly distribute across tiles and use smooth transitions during & after movement (with satisfying position swapping for visual feedback).

• New resolution selector: Normal and Quad Resolution modes.

• Removed the old Tile Density options (preparing for upcoming historically-inspired administrative division overhaul).

Gameplay & Controls

• Frontline assignment/unassignment and attack-mode switching are now noticeably more accessible (still WIP – more polish coming).

Bug Fixes

• Population pyramid toggle fixed (Age Distribution button now works properly).

• Union Coat-of-Arms animation restored.

• Negative initial deployed unit stats corrected.

Quality-of-Life

• Expanded audio settings: Master Volume, Game Volume, and Music Volume sliders.

• Cursor now gives clear visual feedback for frontline actions (assignment, unassignment, mode changes).

Navy System – Work in Progress

• Added initial ocean tiles for North Sea, English Channel, Baltic Sea, and several other regions (temporary placeholders).

• Mediterranean Sea tiles coming soon.

• Navy currently re-uses the land unit training system for testing purposes.

• Full custom naval construction (dockyards etc.), AI navy building, naval combat, and troop naval transport are still in development.

Major Technical Change

• Quad Resolution mode now uses four-quadrant tile index maps (16k × 8k × 4) → 4× the detail, but also 4× VRAM usage.

Known Issues

• Quad Resolution can cause crashes or failed tile loading on some systems (even higher-end hardware).

• Several new UI elements are not yet localized for non-English languages.

Next major focus: completing the Navy system + the full province/administrative division overhaul.