World Turtles News

Good day, fellow Meeps!

The Early Access release of World Turtles is now thundering ahead like a starving World Turtle eyeing a juicy Space Cucumber! I may not reveal the exact release date yet, but I can say that there will be only one more update like this (after this one) before release!

The biggest updates since the release of the January demo are discussed below. The current build runs smoother with fewer little niggles and bugs than the demo, since we’ve received some good feedback and identification of issues via our Closed Beta and internal testing rounds. Quality of Life improvements have also been added and some more are planned.

Join our Discord server for more frequent updates and previews!

De Chelonian Mobile!
Gideon
Discord

[h2]Tectonic Plates and the Map Builder![/h2]
I have completely reworked the way the landmasses (before erosion and climate) are determined – it now uses a system based on Plate Tectonics to determine the layout of land and water. This leads to greater control over the characteristics of the created maps and much more natural looking worlds. The factors available in the revamped Map Builder each have a clear, focused impact on how the randomly generated world looks and plays. You can preview a map with a specific seed and then play on that exact map!



As an example, note how much more natural the continents and beaches (I’ve also added a more sandy look) appear when the water level drops, revealing more land next to the beach but not in the deeper seas, like before:



This also makes water a mechanic that actually influences gameplay, where water was previously very random and erratic. Finally, starting locations are a lot more dependable to be playable.

[h2]Demolition and Repairs[/h2]
Buildings can now be canceled or demolished at any stage of construction, as long as they have not yet been upgraded or are special buildings that would lead to problems if demolished. Demolishing a building returns some of the resources and repairing a building now also costs resources. Repairs and Demolition are also progressive, with the building models updating a few times in the cycle. In addition, damaged buildings lose some of their functionality until they are repaired (for example Water Towers not providing water and having to be refilled from scratch).



[h2]Minimap and Meep Cam Control[/h2]
The minimap can now be panned and zoomed, allowing you to focus on specific areas. The resources are also displayed more clearly now. The space minimap can also be zoomed, while the Meep Cam can now zoom and orbit around the Meep being followed.



[h2]Message Vault[/h2]
All previous important messages are now saved in a Message Vault and are also available after loading a game. Note that we now also keep track of the day, not only time of day.



[h2]Space Resources[/h2]
In addition to the basic resources, I have started adding Space Resources. The first two are crystals that are deposited by the Gas Pollution (Octavium) and Snow Comets crashing down (Niveum). These crystals dissolve/dissipate over time, so Meeps need to gather them before they’re gone after one of the natural disasters have deposited them on the terrain! This makes the Snow Comets and Gas Pollution more interactive, as they also bring opportunity with their damage, and the player needs to act fast to gather the resources before they disappear.
There’s space for 4 more kinds of Space Resources, possibly with more than one tier each. Uses for Space Resources still have to be implemented, but I can reveal that they will have scientific and cultural / artistic uses.





[h2]Three New Shorter Tutorials[/h2]
I’ve added the following three shorter tutorials, focusing on specific mechanics in more detail:

• Resource tutorial, for gathering Wood and Stone and expanding borders.
  
• Farming tutorial, for getting the most out of your Farms and Fishmongers.
  
• Research tutorial, for understanding building-specific and realm-wide research. Some Research items now also cause Breakthroughs in other, related lines of study. These Breakthrough connections are randomized, so will play differently on different playthroughs.
  

These tutorials will also receive voice overs this month!

[h2]UI Additions[/h2]
Among the UI additions are:

• Icons that allow you to find damaged buildings and buildings that can be upgraded.
  
• The option of switching off On-map Hints after becoming familiar with them. They will still be available in the Message Vault.
  

Hello fellow Meeps!

After almost 6 months, it's time for an exciting update to the World Turtles Demo!

The biggest changes are discussed below. The demo should be more performant and stable since I’ve, uhm, persuaded a few Gremlins to find other lodgings. I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions for the next leg of the journey.

Enjoy the new demo, and join Discord for the chance to participate in the Closed Beta!

De Chelonian Mobile!
Gideon

Discord : https://discord.com/invite/2NEb4HxwhF


Water System
A complete water system needs to be constructed and maintained to supply Meeps with water of increasing quality, improving their health.




Feeding and Steering the Turtle
The mechanic of feeding and steering the Turtle with the Catapult has been implemented! The Meeps will now have to plant and harvest feeding grass with which to load the catapult, so it will be a lot more work. But don't despair, the AI realms will assist you with everything!




Annexes
Annexes have come a long way! Most building types can now commission Annexes around them, including Water Towers, Water Points, Wells, Play Wheels, Kennels, Mortar Pits, Helicopters, Monuments ... and more are being planned!




Natural Disasters
Natural disasters can damage infrastructure but can also be managed to avoid catastrophes (try the new terrain manipulation feature). Snow Comets crash down on the terrain and eruptions from Fault Lines cause Fracture Springs, which in turn cause new rivers to form and spread throughout the land.






UI Overhaul
I have spent a lot of time on trying to make the UI more intuitive, aesthetic (given I don’t have a UI artist!) and standardized, and just improve the overall user experience. Some elements have changed positions – I hope you get used to these changes quickly!
Functionality for complete localization has also been completed and the translations will be attended to during the next few months. The list of languages still needs to be finalized, but there’s always the option of including community-driven translations as well.




Game Options Menu
The clunky Game Options menu has been broken down into more manageable, logical groups of options. Note that Twitch integration is now possible, allowing Meeps to pick their names from the participating chatters in the Streamer’s Twitch channel – so, persuade your favorite streamers to try out World Turtles!

Hi all!

I’ve been working on a lot of new things and I would love to share them with you.

Last time, we spoke about the Water System. Now, I'm almost done implementing it! The lake or sea water will be polluted by toxic gas in space from time to time. For this reason, as well as to distribute water more efficiently, you will need a system of Water Towers, Wells and Water Points to supply your growing Realm with water. Technological advancements will allow you to produce cleaner, safer water for consumption, increasing the health of your Meeps.

Here’s an example of what your system might look like!


Large ice and snow comets can break off of the Turtle's flippers, crashing down on the world below and causing havoc. Damaged buildings would have to be repaired before becoming operational again.

Here’s an example of what happens visually when those comets crash down!


Wanderers will be able to annex Kennels, allowing their dogs to have offspring, so that more Wanderers (and AI Wanderers) can have canine companions. Here’s an example of what a kennel might look like:


I've been working hard to improve the UI, and the UX is much smoother and more intuitive already - it's an ongoing process, but I’m excited to share it with you!

And last but not least, remember the Research Overview Screen we talked about last time? Well, the design and icons for a bunch of research items have been completed. I am currently implementing their impacts.

Once again, thank you for all of your support, encouragement, and excitement throughout development. I can’t wait to share more about World Turtles with you!

If you want to be more a part of the journey, feel free to join our Discord where you can hang out with myself and the community.

De Chelonian Mobile
Gideon

Discord : https://discord.com/invite/2NEb4HxwhF

Hi all!

I’ve been working on a lot of new things and I would love to share them with you.

One big thing I’ve been working on is the the layout of the new Research Overview Screen.

Each row contains one of the "categories" (Settling, Gathering, Improving) of buildings, while the tasks and research items for each building type is set out around it. Locked items are greyed out, currently researching items are marked with a thicker frame, and all research progress is indicated in the frames of the icons. Whenever any of this updates, the icons, frames and greyed-out status update automatically.

The research items under the Research Hub are "realm wide". Each building type can either work on its own research items, or direct its efforts towards the realm-wide research (which can thus be boosted considerably at the expense of the building-type-specific research). Whenever something else is selected at the Research Hub, all the icons at the other buildings are also updated and the research changed for those that are set to realm-wide research.

Here’s a quick peek at what I have so far for the Research Overview Screen - I’ll be adding more later so stay tuned!



I know that it’s different than how games generally do it, but I really don't like the system where you "gather" a bunch of research points beforehand, and then select what you've supposedly researched when you have enough points built up. I also don't like the "only one item is researched at one time by everybody", so I wanted to bring in building-type specific research and an overall tree. That’s why I landed on this!

Second, the first elements of a "Water System" has been added.

Water will have to be supplied to buildings from time to time. At first, only unsafe water sources will be available (from lakes), which will negatively affect Meep health, but access to safe water can eventually be secured. By constructing Water Towers and Wells and by extending the reach through Water Points, the amount of effort the Meeps need to assert to cater for all their Water needs can be reduced over time. In the screenshot, the range of the Water Tower (to where Water Points can be commissioned) is indicated - this is dependent on the elevation level of the water tower as well as the contours of the surrounding terrain.



Here’s what filling up the water tower looks like!



Another thing I added is that you will also be able to prioritize resources to be cleared (for example to create space for buildings). Any Meeps close-by that can harvest that resource type will ignore all other priorities set at their building and focus on clearing these resources, before going back to their set task priorities.



Areas set to be cleared will be indicated by small icons above the terrain, and the specific hexes will be highlighted when you hover over the main hex like in the screenshot below.



Lastly, here is how you’ll be keeping track of the water supplies!



Once again, thank you for all of your support, encouragement, and excitement throughout develpment. I can’t wait to share more about World Turtles with you!

If you want to be more a part of the journey, feel free to join our Discord where you can hang out with myself and the community.

De Chelonian Mobile
Gideon

Hi all!

The biggest new feature at this time is that I've started working on letting you, the player, manipulate the terrain.

For example, builders will be able to raise and lower terrain hex by hex. They need to do this to guide new procedurally generated rivers that spring up when outcrops burst through fault lines in the ground, so that the realm is not overrun (buildings damaged) by these rivers.

You can pick which hexes to be raised to form the "wall". This assigns tasks, the builders perform them and the terrain adjusts bit by bit as they work.



You can also add and cancel waypoints (indicated in yellow) to build a more elaborate wall.



Sometimes, things may go a little awry… I was testing the "flood fill" that will be used to identify enclosed dams or areas. Help! 😅



When things go right, however, this should be what it looks like. The dam wall has been completed and the dam is filling up!



Once again, thank you for all of your support, encouragement, and excitement throughout the last two and a half years. I can’t wait to share more about World Turtles with you!

If you want to be more a part of the journey, feel free to join our Discord where you can hang out with myself and the community.

De Chelonian Mobile
Gideon