Road to 1.0
My dear despots. Apologies for the radio silence. I have not checked the steam boards for a month, because I've been spending all my time on programming, and while doing so I've become more and more anxious about coming here. Of course I've been available on email and on the discord.
I'm now half-way through the next update V65, code name “water”. In reality it is more about polish, getting as many mechanics into a 1.0 state as possible.
So far each update has been about adding some new mechanics, while trying to maintain the game in some kind of playable state, but spending as little time as possible on balance and polish. Now, focus has shifted to refinement and making the mechanics that are in, good as a whole. I am happy with the raw potential the game now has.
I have now finished up the overworld mechanics into a state that I wished would have been in V64. But there was no time, (and it's always good to let things mature and collect feedback). UI reconstruction has been the focus, so that you can truly use all the mechanics present regarding AI faction management and building your realm. Manual trade agreements have been re-added. Trade in general has been the secret to expansion for very long, mostly because it's a semi-exploit. I'm now deferring trade to a later stage, and the game will play like a classic colony sim for the first part. I've completely remade the world buildings to make it more interesting and have a sense of progression. There are now many more “Special” buildings that upgrade your kingdom as a whole, meaning the more regions you have, the more specialization, and the greater the kingdom as a whole. The AI aggressiveness will of course scale according to that.
The AI also communicates with you. From time to time they will send proposals, such as trade agreements, but also requests and gifts. For instance, a disgruntled king might demand of you to give up a region or face their armies.
As for the city-builder, I'm now getting started on that part, and I have big changes in mind. For instance, I will separate services such as wells and baths, so that they will use both. Wells will have a small radius while the bath will have a huge one. That will force you to build a city centre as the city grows, and allow final results to look more organic. I will also separate the entertainment building such as the arena into “fighting pits” and Colosseum. Fighting pits you will have to spread out everywhere in your city, while a single Colosseum covers mostly your whole city. Similar to this, I'm planning shrines vs temples. Food stalls (replacing eatery) vs restaurants (replacing canteen). I also want a new building “bazaar” with all equipment and furniture for you citizens. Housing will have more precise settings, allowing you to easily set up districts that do not burn down in brawls.
As for the balance, I want a streamlined experience that lets you set your own pace and difficulty. If you want a cosy little city-builder, then you can have it by expanding carefully and slowly, and if you want a challenge worthy of 100s of hours, then you must expand and face the challenges.
As for the water, I'll keep it simple. A bridge will be needed to clear deep water. You will be able to remove/add shallow water around the natural bodies of water. For irrigation, you will need a water pump, and connect canals to it. It will in other words cost you some manpower. Water table will be scrapped, but settling close to water will be equally important.
Visually, I'm happy to announce that I've gotten help from a very talented artist, and all the icons of the game have ben redrawn to perfection.
I will also dive into battle balance this time around, and make sure its well balanced. Speaking of which, I've added a very moddable equipment system with different kinds of damage and protection. I have added slash, blunt and pierce damage types, with equipment to go with it. I will leave “magic” to the modding community.
release of the game is approaching. Apart from the 1.0 quality of existing features, I still have the following to add:
There are a pile of suggestions on top of this, and I know many of you might be waiting for this or for that. Boats and harbours for instance. Thing is, I do agree that the game would be better with boats, but the amount of work needed for this does not outweigh the benefit currently. Depending on how long I will work on the game, it might still make it into the pipeline.
With 1.0, I envision a certain degree of quality. It's not the end of the game at all, but it's a shift in my work, and I'll have to be more careful not to break things, and keep the balance of the game. Raw progress will be slower.
My plan on building and maintaining momentum for 1.0 release is you guys. I want to make the community come alive, have moderators, events, competitions, and most importantly modders. Taking advantage of you modders have been the plan from the start, as you create the best stuff. Vanilla will be as good as I can make it, but mods will make it excel. I hope to work more closely with you and guide you through the process, and hopefully present you with rewards and opportunities. I plan on opening up the entire code base for you to play around with, make changes, and finally release mods from it.
If you would be interested of helping me with the community, please let me know!
When the big 1.0 release might be, I do not know yet. It's always been 4 years now, but I do see the horizon within a year.
I'm now half-way through the next update V65, code name “water”. In reality it is more about polish, getting as many mechanics into a 1.0 state as possible.
So far each update has been about adding some new mechanics, while trying to maintain the game in some kind of playable state, but spending as little time as possible on balance and polish. Now, focus has shifted to refinement and making the mechanics that are in, good as a whole. I am happy with the raw potential the game now has.
I have now finished up the overworld mechanics into a state that I wished would have been in V64. But there was no time, (and it's always good to let things mature and collect feedback). UI reconstruction has been the focus, so that you can truly use all the mechanics present regarding AI faction management and building your realm. Manual trade agreements have been re-added. Trade in general has been the secret to expansion for very long, mostly because it's a semi-exploit. I'm now deferring trade to a later stage, and the game will play like a classic colony sim for the first part. I've completely remade the world buildings to make it more interesting and have a sense of progression. There are now many more “Special” buildings that upgrade your kingdom as a whole, meaning the more regions you have, the more specialization, and the greater the kingdom as a whole. The AI aggressiveness will of course scale according to that.
The AI also communicates with you. From time to time they will send proposals, such as trade agreements, but also requests and gifts. For instance, a disgruntled king might demand of you to give up a region or face their armies.
As for the city-builder, I'm now getting started on that part, and I have big changes in mind. For instance, I will separate services such as wells and baths, so that they will use both. Wells will have a small radius while the bath will have a huge one. That will force you to build a city centre as the city grows, and allow final results to look more organic. I will also separate the entertainment building such as the arena into “fighting pits” and Colosseum. Fighting pits you will have to spread out everywhere in your city, while a single Colosseum covers mostly your whole city. Similar to this, I'm planning shrines vs temples. Food stalls (replacing eatery) vs restaurants (replacing canteen). I also want a new building “bazaar” with all equipment and furniture for you citizens. Housing will have more precise settings, allowing you to easily set up districts that do not burn down in brawls.
As for the balance, I want a streamlined experience that lets you set your own pace and difficulty. If you want a cosy little city-builder, then you can have it by expanding carefully and slowly, and if you want a challenge worthy of 100s of hours, then you must expand and face the challenges.
As for the water, I'll keep it simple. A bridge will be needed to clear deep water. You will be able to remove/add shallow water around the natural bodies of water. For irrigation, you will need a water pump, and connect canals to it. It will in other words cost you some manpower. Water table will be scrapped, but settling close to water will be equally important.
Visually, I'm happy to announce that I've gotten help from a very talented artist, and all the icons of the game have ben redrawn to perfection.
I will also dive into battle balance this time around, and make sure its well balanced. Speaking of which, I've added a very moddable equipment system with different kinds of damage and protection. I have added slash, blunt and pierce damage types, with equipment to go with it. I will leave “magic” to the modding community.
release of the game is approaching. Apart from the 1.0 quality of existing features, I still have the following to add:
- nobles (will include a whole set of posh buildings)
- military (fix AI issues on the battlefield) Perhaps add commanders to divisions, more training options, royal guard)
- Tutorial
- Campaign
- Zombies
- Atrifacts
- Sound overhaul
There are a pile of suggestions on top of this, and I know many of you might be waiting for this or for that. Boats and harbours for instance. Thing is, I do agree that the game would be better with boats, but the amount of work needed for this does not outweigh the benefit currently. Depending on how long I will work on the game, it might still make it into the pipeline.
With 1.0, I envision a certain degree of quality. It's not the end of the game at all, but it's a shift in my work, and I'll have to be more careful not to break things, and keep the balance of the game. Raw progress will be slower.
My plan on building and maintaining momentum for 1.0 release is you guys. I want to make the community come alive, have moderators, events, competitions, and most importantly modders. Taking advantage of you modders have been the plan from the start, as you create the best stuff. Vanilla will be as good as I can make it, but mods will make it excel. I hope to work more closely with you and guide you through the process, and hopefully present you with rewards and opportunities. I plan on opening up the entire code base for you to play around with, make changes, and finally release mods from it.
If you would be interested of helping me with the community, please let me know!
When the big 1.0 release might be, I do not know yet. It's always been 4 years now, but I do see the horizon within a year.