Work on  the Diplomacy Update continues, slower than I'd like. I'm aiming for the part of the update in the next week or two. This morning I released an updated beta build (available on the community discord). The last major part to work on for this first release is foreign trade.

Upgraded Masklings

A highlight of the work I've done since the last update is the upgrades to Masklings. Their raiding behavior has been totally overhauled. As I described last time, they're now more focused on acquiring items that they need, and growing their settlements.

Here, you can see the full extent of a basic Maskling settlement. Very similar to their settlements in 2.4

When they get access to wood, however, they will start upgrading. 

They've expanded and built walls. Since this screenshot was captured they've also gained the ability to upgrade their houses.

When they get access to stone...

They grow even further. A fully grown Maskling settlement will be a formidable target. Two layers of defensive walls, and 20+ warbands garrisoned inside.

Smarter Villages

The human villages have also gotten a little bit smarter. They'll upgrade their structures properly now, putting any copper or bronze they find (or you give them) to good use.