Ave, citizens of Rome.

With the release of Update 2.0 of Citadelum (Devlog XVII: RUBICON Huge gameplay update and new features in Citadelum) we have dedicated much of the efforts to improve the optimization. At the end of the devlog you will find the complete list of improvements.

In order to better understand the comparisons and the data obtained, it should be taken into account:

• The settings used for version 1.1 are all maxed out, including Anti-Aliasing, at a resolution of 1920x1080.
  
  
• The settings used for version 2.0 are all active and in Ultra quality, and here we have made two tests: without Anti-Aliasing and with Anti-Aliasing SSAA.
  
  
• The test is divided into a total of 12 measurements in different biomes (Italy, Desert and Snow) and spots in the game:
  
  • Empty (Italy, Desert, Snow): this is an empty map, just as you would start a game.
    
  • Worldmap (Italy, Desert, Snow): view with the zoom out to the maximum of the worldmap.
    
  • Big City (Italy, Desert, Snow): map with a city between 800 and 1000 citizens and all the infrastructure set up.
    
  • Battle (Italy, Desert, Snow): view on the battlefield.

The test has been performed on 6 different computers, you will find the specifications next to each test. The same game saves have been used for all tests.

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Below you can see a comparison of how Citadelum looked and how it looks now, even after having made adjustments to improve optimization.

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• Level of detail: we have added 2 levels of LODs to environmental elements such as trees and rocks to reduce the polygon load when making an overview of the settlement.
  
• Mesh optimization: we have reduced the number of polygons of objects and characters to free up GPU load without any perceived loss of quality.
  
• Improved loading times: we have optimized the data loading routines to reduce loading times.
  
• Avoid unnecessary memory reservations: we have optimized some processes to reuse already reserved memory to avoid creating garbage that would collapse the collector.
  
• Caching building search processes: We have expanded and improved the caching systems to ensure that costly building search processes are only executed when necessary.
  
• Avoid invalidation of caches: cases where building search caches are invalidated have been cleaned up to make them valid for much longer periods of time.
  
• Revise algorithms to avoid or replace costly processes.
  
• Disable features in materials if they are not used: we have found materials that used shader functionalities that consumed precious GPU cycles without being necessary and we have disabled them.
  
• Avoid data copies in frequently used methods: many methods now receive data by reference, instead of by value, when it is possible and makes sense. This saves unnecessary data copies and potentially frees up a little more CPU.
  
• Avoid running animation events on distant characters: when we know that it is not possible to hear a sound because it is too far away, we now do not even try to play it, thus saving resources.

Ave, citizens of Rome,

It's been six months since the launch of Citadelum, and from our team, Abylight Barcelona, we want to thank the trust and commitment of all those players who have already built their own Roman empire with us.

We have listened to the feedback from the community, and worked hard to offer you a new version of the game; Citadelum 2.0 Julius is a free update that adds new gameplay options, more depth to the management and construction of the cities and introduces new buildings and mechanics. In addition, this update is accompanied by a technical optimization (Devlog XVIII: AUREUS) that improves the game performance on a wide range of PCs.

With this crossing of the Rubicon, Citadelum begins a new stage. Our strategy and city building game is even better and bigger, thanks to you. Below you can read the complete list of improvements that have been added in this new version. This is just one more step in the ascent of the game. We continue to work to make it the game that satisfies all players, both strategy fans and those who want to get started in the genre.

Roma Victrix

Now you can extract Salt and Clay, and produce Olives, Oil, Clay Bricks, Ceramics, Cheese and Honey in your settlement.

New resources:
New production buildings:

Some products such as Bread now need to combine two resources (Wheat and Salt).

Upgrading the technological level of your city will improve the performance of your buildings and increase the capacity of your warehouses. Thus, when you reach a certain prestige in your city, the possibility of increasing your technological level in exchange for materials will appear in your city's forum.

The better relationship you have with each city, the better prices you will have to trade and the more troops you will be able to recruit from them.

Periodically the different councilors of the city will make requests to be fulfilled in a period of time. If they are fulfilled on time you will get benefits but if not... there will be punishments.

Once you have built the Palace of Justice, you will have to make decisions about incidents that affect your city. In each trial you will be presented with two decisions, each one with its consequences (they can be positive and negative). It is important to keep the level of justice high as it influences the town's favor.

We have introduced several important changes in the health of the population. Now the health of your town depends on two factors:

• Salubrity: frequently dead people will appear in your settlement, either by natural death or by some violent event such as assassinations or revolts. These dead will remain in the streets lowering the health of your town. To keep the streets clean it is important to build Morgues that cover all of your inhabited areas.
  
  
• Health in the houses: to maintain the health of your houses to the maximum it is important that they are covered by maintenance buildings and medical centers.

The relationship with the gods has undergone two important changes based on the feedback you have been reporting:

• Regia and pontiffs: we have added a new building that allows you to automate the festivals of the gods. You can even prioritize the gods you need the most at any given moment.
  
• Sacrifices can no longer be made at any time. You will only be able to make sacrifices when your faith level is very low. Thus we have put an end to the exploit of the pigs.

We have added 3 new wonders that besides being huge and beautiful, will increase the desirability of your city.

Now you have the possibility to simulate each battle without the need to play it. As you add troops for the confrontation you will see a bar that will determine the probability of victory.

• A budding architect: Build your first wonder
  
• Wonderful: Build all 3 wonders in the same game
  
• Divine revelry: Get a pontiff to organize the festivals
  
• Enlightenment and progress: Upgrade the technology level of your city to level 3
  
• Peace in the beyond: Give burial to 50 deceased
  
• Unbreakable alliance: Get an excellent relationship with all cities on the map

Polish and Catalan are added to English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese and Italian.

• New filter in the construction mode that shows you similar buildings.
  
• With shift + click to assign workers.

• We have adjusted how the different factors influencing the people's Favor were calculated, such as the unemployment rate or the crime rate, so that unfair situations do not occur for the player.
  
• We have improved the revolts: now they are more visible, being able to see citizens with torches walking the streets and burning buildings.
  
• We have added new Anti-aliasing options.
  
• We have fixed some terrain chunks where the valid points to build were wrongly configured.
  
• We have updated the tutorials with new explanations of everything included in the update. You can see all of them from the pause menu.
  
• We have fixed a bug that caused that when rebuilding any previously destroyed warehouse it did not keep the filters it had applied.
  To see the changes affecting optimization take a look at devlog XVIII: AUREUS.

So far, on top of this huge update, in the first six months of Citadelum we have published two additional free DLCs:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3358500/Citadelum_Campaign_II_The_Last_Conqueror_of_Britannia/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3450060/Citadelum_Campaign_III_The_Lost_Eagles_of_Germania/

Including new, more challenging missions and two new biomes: snow and swamps in new territories. And we are still working on further content for the game, that you will be able to enjoy very soon.