Here comes the August update - and soon it will be September - and oh god, I'm getting old.

So lately I've been working on how dwarves level. Certain stats already make them better at certain things, but the only thing controlling their stats is their class (Wizards get smarter, Miners get stronger, etc). I'm working on taking classes away entirely. Instead you'll spend XP to level up specific stats. This also means that any dwarf will be able to undertake any activity. The plan is to let you choose a loadout when you hire them - they'll come with some task types disabled and with a set of equipment, but of course you can change that.

This unfortunately made managers obsolete. Instead, you can promote any dwarf to manager - and this will make them happy, but also means they can't do anything else. Dwarves gain a new state called Motivation which is influenced by your dwarf to manager ratio. More managers, and they are less likely to slack off, but they'll also get angry if they are micromanaged.

I've also been working on a few other things such as dwarves getting mad if there's nothing to drink. The entire next update is centered around adding depth to individual dwarves.

The last thing I want to add is that I'm sorry updates take as long as they do. The pandemic has stolen from me some dedicated time I could count on five days a week. I still have a day job which has to come first and - well. If motivation was in abundant supply I'd probably be a lot more successful in life in general.