O mighty Tlatoani!
Aztec lives revolved around their gods and beliefs. This will be strongly evident in Aztecs: The Last Sun. The supernatural will influence many of the events in the game. However, contrary to some belief systems, we’ll be able to pinpoint some of the godly workings. How? Due to a number of mechanics, such as the Blood Meter and Grace. In this article, we’ll talk about one of them - Calendar.
[h2]The calendar mechanic[/h2]
As you already know, partly due to the failed 2012 end of the world Mayan calendar prophecy, particular days and periods of time held great weight for the Mesoamerican people. They dictated sacrifices, activities, wars and such. ATLS will have a built-in calendar system and it will influence your proceedings in the game.
The calendar will feature a 260-day-long year divided into 20 weeks, each one lasting 13 days. Each day in the week will be assigned to a different god. We are about to use a list of 20 deities, featuring some known ones like Quetzalcoatl and more obscure ones too, like Xiuhtecuthli - this is what Aztecs used in their actual lives and is meant to stay (kinda) true to how it worked in the real world.
[h2]How will the patronage work?[/h2]
There will be a relationship between the inhabitants of your city and each god. It will be either positive or negative and will fluctuate depending on your actions. Days and nights also play a part in the bonuses or penalties assigned. This may sound a bit confusing, so we’ll show you an example:
A day patronised by Tlazōlteōtl, a Jaguar god (responsible in mythology for things such as vice, lust, desire and love will bring one of two effects. If the relationship with the god is positive, he will decrease the blood consumption. If it’s negative, he will increase blood consumption. A night of the patron god will cause different events. A positive relationship will bring no effects, while a negative one will cause an increase in the number of snakes catching fish - it will have the possibility to render your fishermen useless for a while.
[h2]You better stay on their good side[/h2]
How do you influence the relationships between your population and the gods? It will depend on Grace which we’ll talk about in the future. However, maintaining a positive relationship will be of great importance, as there will be another mechanic tied to it.
Disasters can often be rationalised or explained in the modern world. This wasn’t the case in the past and because of this, if you have a negative relationship with a god, it can cause one. Flooding, sickness, destruction of a building, fires and heaps more - anything’s a fair game. This is quite a big topic, we’ll talk about it in the future as well.
[h2]The influence on the gameplay[/h2]
The reason why we decided to incorporate this intricate calendar is because this is a great way of introducing more factors to consider. Certain gods will provide great buffs, while others will have to be catered to in order to avoid crises. The development of the city will also be partly dependent on this mechanic, as placing a, say, water beacon right after it was supposed to obtain a boost due to the calendar will not be optimal. The calendar will also provide another facet for cranking out the most from your city - whether you’ll be trying to take action and build Tenochtitlan in a way that will be safe, or whether you’ll opt for maximising certain benefits while dealing with catastrophes will be up to you!
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