Microcivilization News

[p]Hello everyone,[/p][p][/p][p]today we have a lot to talk about. Version 0.11 is live, new ideas from players are flowing in and in the meantime i was busy with changes for 0.12. It's also time to update the roadmap for the next phase of developement and start talking about the 1.0.[/p][p]So let's go one by one.[/p][p][/p][p]Starting from the important stuff. While I can't yet announce actual date of 1.0 Launch, the scope of 1.0 is however getting clearer - that is I know WHAT HAS to be in 1.0, I have rough idea WHAT SHOULD be there, and vague idea WHAT COULD be there.[/p][p]Yes I am deliberately using these three categories because for me, the next phase is all about deciding which feature gets in and has to be done in all circumstances, which feature probably goes in (but if something goes wrong is postponed), and which is right away discarded to a later post-1.0 update.[/p][p]I have put all this information to the new version of Roadmap. But the general idea is this:[/p]

1. [p]Step number one is to do all 'unfinished business' and build Major version 0.12. That will make all the 'missing knowledge' float to surface.[/p]
2. [p]Release this version 0.12 live before end of Q3 (end of September)[/p]
3. [p]Depending on early feedback of 0.12 estimate the 1.0 work and Announce that 1.0 is coming (Beta shortly after Announcement)[/p]
4. [p]Version 1.0 would be released no sooner than 1 month after Step 3 Announcement (the actual release date depending on many other factors)[/p]

[p]So to answer 'when is 1.,0 happening' - I will Announce most likely in October, the earliest possible scenario of 1.0 Launch is November.[/p][p]Note: My wife is expecting our second baby in October, so definitely I won't be committing to 1.0 launch before my personal life gets to some 'stable flow' :) The game should be mostly ready for 1.0 by then, but I'll need to ensure some time capacity to support the release and beta. So we'll see how that goes and if there are still reasonable launch slots between Steam sales (that part of year is usually busy) ...[/p][p][/p][p]To make the above possible I plan to start beta of the next major update very soon - hopefully around the time of our next update in 4 weeks.[/p][p]The next update will be rather busy with changes of all kinds. My main objective is to review most of the older and deeper problems and do all the painful surgical procedures to either fix these problems or at least allow a solution to incrementally be added over following patches. Let's go through them.[/p][p][/p][p]The core of 0.12 revolves around map generation phase - that is the screen where you choose your starting location. My primary objective is to tie various features to this area and make the initial choice of map affect not just your layout but also what challenges your civilization will be facing and what strategy would be useful to pick. There are four significant changes in this screen.[/p][p][/p][p]Various things will now be visible on the map generation screen allowing players to choose the best world suiting their play style.[/p][p][/p][h2]1. Strategic Resources[/h2][p]The first change here is that Strategic resources will now be visible on the starting location. That has an obvious consequence - endless clicking on 'regenerate' until that optimal combo appears.[/p][p]The second change is that there are new strategic resources to find (in fact there are three 'tiers' of strategic resources - each unlocked by ascension upgrade). Some of these new resources will bring you some cool stuff like an extra Wonder slot.[/p][p]Third change here is that strategic resources are almost never all available. Only a subset of types is spawned on each map. On the other hand there is more instances of these resources spawning early on.[/p][p][/p][h2]2. Predicaments[/h2][p]Predicament types are now fixed per map. Meaning on some maps you can't get Resentment or Industrial pollution (for example - I know these two are people's favorites). At the same time the number of predicaments added to the tree is also determined on map generation step. [/p][p]This way you will see exactly which of these (and how many) pesky disaster types you can expect.[/p][p]Sometimes you might get a good roll on strategic resources and map layout, but will have to face higher-risk disasters. The generator logic is generally that of 'higher benefits = higher risks'[/p][p]There are also some new predicament types (more on that below)[/p][p][/p][h2]3. Biome structure[/h2][p]Mountains now form more randomly. Specifically they sometimes erode away on some places and sometimes they grow in width in other places. [/p][p]This way sou can sometimes have very flat maps with big or small hills, sometimes very hilly maps.[/p][p]Strategic resources now also are tied to their respective biome and they generate clustered together.[/p][p][/p][h2]4. Rare Technologies[/h2][p]Rare technologies have been given a little upgrade as well. Each technology now has a more significant impact to economy (I have also removed negative traits from them). They will now give you a very important new feature that can be central to your combat/economy build when combined with other features like strategic resources or perks.[/p][p]For this reason the rare tech selection is also visible when generating the map. [/p][p]Note: With Tier 4 you can adopt these techs, so you will eventually be able to always get them all. You will also be able to eradicate Nemeses, so these techs will not bear any disadvantage.[/p][p][/p][p]Who doesn't love endless Hero farming right? I do. But the problem currently was that hero-farming became too easy at the end of tech tree (with proper upgrades you can generate thousands of heroes without active gameplay). [/p][p]It's not that I want to prevent this altogether (why else would I add a meta-game farming workshop in the first place) but I need some more mechanisms to tweak the difficulty and 'gamify' the hero farming a bit. (as I mentioned in the beginning of this post - this is one of those problems I can't fix right away but instead I will introduce mechanisms to enable fixing over time). So here's what will change in 0.12:[/p]

• [p]Theater now has a 'Hero reserve' count (initially 3, adding ~3 with each theater upgrade)[/p]
• [p]After extracting all heroes from this reserve, theater produces secondary rewards (culture points)[/p]
• [p]This hero reserve can be increased and also refreshed in some ways[/p]
• [p]Theater no longer corrupts hero, instead it randomly spawns 'Social' Disasters (a subset of available disasters)[/p]
• [p]Social Disasters spawnable from Theater are limited to 'Resentment', 'Economic Depression' and two new disaster types 'Fear' and 'Chaos'. There will be a few more added later on.[/p]
• [p]These Disasters always respect the disaster types shown on Map Start. So if your map rolled only Chaos, theater will only spawn Chaos. (there's always at least one social disaster there)[/p]
• [p]Theater no longer spawns Common heroes (only Elite or Rare).[/p]
• [p]Unique heroes are no longer spawnable from Theater by default (this will be possible, but not 'for free' and not right away)[/p]
• [p]Instead of Autonomy/Gold costs Theater now has a positive passive effect when active - improving Hero abilities cooldown and costs (more on this below).[/p]

[p][/p][p]You may still remember the first two major updates - 0.7 and 0.8. Both have added one category of abilities - Gold and Autonomy. Together these features should have formed a complementary/alternative mechanism to unit-based combat. However these features were never properly balanced to fill this role properly.[/p][p]As part of 0.12 I made some changes how the Hero abilities work, how they scale damage and costs and how these are presented also in the game.[/p]

• [p]Most of the Triggerable (belief/law) abilities now also deal damage to crises.[/p]
• [p]Ability costs and damage now scale not just with hero level but also with technology (similar to units).[/p]
• [p]Base Ability costs were lowered.[/p]
• [p]The two points above mean that high-level-hero abilities are now more easily affordable in early tech eras when gold/autonomy is lower.[/p]
• [p]Some Workshops, Wonders and Heroes now boost ability power (e.g. Theater reduces cooldowns/costs).[/p][p][/p]

[p]After some 'marination' time it became obvious that the mechanism behind Black lotus acquisition for Ascension upgrades is 'weird'. Meaning needlessly confusing without justifying its complexity with much.[/p][p]Before I tell you how I decided to change this I would like to share the thought process behind the original design (very simplified, I have about 20 pages of different designs I sketched over the last year or so):[/p][h3]What does black lotus represent?[/h3][p]Black lotuses up until Tier 3 were generic 'punishment' for careless play (causing death). After introduction of Tier 3 Idols, the black lotuses could be further generated by using the idol powers (representing types of 'malevolent' or 'ruthless' powers founded on survival instincts and ancient adaptive cultural/genetic behaviour). This was okay.[/p][p]Simply put - if you play evil, you get in-game power (idol effects) but a meta-game disadvantage (evaporated lotuses).[/p][h3]The 'Luke Skywalker' principle[/h3][p]What I needed to introduce in Tier 3 was 'something' representing 'restraint to use dark powers'. The reasoning behind this is quite archetypical - Hero having a predisposition to the 'dark side' but being disciplined enough not to use it - and also powerful enough so he doesn't need it). [/p][h3]What should serve this role?[/h3][p]So to avoid introducing 'new something' (attempting to make things simple) I thought I could use the Black lotus too. After all it makes sense to 'control' the thing that represents evil. Sure. [/p][p]But the result was this same 'thing' would now represent two different forces on the screen. And it would have to be visualized differently in different contexts. Which created need to add various explanatory texts and indicators (which is usually a bad sign).[/p][h3]Indigo Lotus[/h3][p]So after doing a patch or two I decided to revisit this mechanism from scratch and reconsider the alternative design I had in the design phase. That is really bring the 'new something'.[/p]

• [p]Instead of being collectible, Black lotus will retain their original single purpose - punishment for careless actions. You can no longer capture Black lotus.[/p]
• [p]Nothing will ever cost Black lotus, no Black lotus can be 'owned'. They always 'explode' at the end of ascension, destroying other lotuses or evaporate.[/p]
• [p]Idols (when not used) will Generate new type of Lotus (Indigo - keeping some contrast in opposition to white, and keeping the color consistent with the Idols)[/p]
• [p]Indigo lotus will be Transient (the same as captured Black lotus in v0.11) so you lose them if you can't spend them.[/p]
• [p]Indigo lotus costs will be used where Black lotuses costs we used in v0.11. [/p]
• [p]As result there is no positive relation between Black lotus and idols - you no longer need to 'farm black idols' in order to gain Indigo.[/p]
• [p]Indigo lotus can be evaporated by Black lotuses like other lotus types if things go out of hand (you now first eliminate Red, then Gold, then Indigo and White last)[/p]

[p]Along with redesigns, missing eras will be opened in 0.12 along with some new upgrades mixed in.[/p][p][/p][p]To summarize the Idol Lotus change:[/p]

1. [p]'Lotuses from Idols' are gained as before (they just have different color)[/p]
2. [p]you no longer need to also farm Black Lotuses to farm Idol Lotuses[/p]

[p][/p][p]Obviously the most important content of 0.12 will be the 'almost complete' Ascension Tree with all that comes with it.[/p]

• [p]Remaining tech eras will again be available in new higher difficulties.[/p]
• [p]More Judgements to fight with new abilities and Perks[/p]
• [p]More Artist Heroes with new Meta-combat and Meta-economy abilities.[/p]
• [p]New mechanism to expand Artist cap (Enlightenment)[/p]
• [p]New Idol type available from Red Lotuses (including possibility to Infuse Artists)[/p]
• [p]Gold/Red lotus economy update[/p]
• [p]New Idol types available from new 'Generic' Judgements.[/p]
• [p]New World wonders,[/p]
• [p]Nemesis eradication scenarios[/p]
• [p]Fifth 'Ultimate' Meta-power to combat Judgements (costing multiple Lotus types at once)[/p]

[p]There is a couple of things I am considering to exclude from 0.12 for practical reasons (and add them to 1.0):[/p]

1. [p]Final scenario (99% this will not be in 0.12)[/p]
2. [p]Some nemesis eradication scenarios (99% at least some will be missing)[/p]
3. [p]Future era extension (I plan to add more techs to the future tree as well as improve the whole late game)[/p]
4. [p]Future era itself (considering the above it would be economical time-wise to do the revisit of future era 'once-and-for-all' instead of switching context to it twice)[/p]
5. [p]Some World wonders, Artists and Idol types (most likely I will need to get feedback on the late game first before I add some of the 'cherry-on-the-top features')[/p]

[p]Overall I would like version 0.12 to be very close to the 1.0 gameplay experience in terms of length, difficulty, variability and depth.[/p][p]So there we are, plenty of changes are coming . This will also need a lot of balancing (finally) and bugfixing. So big plans. Let's see how it all goes.[/p][p][/p][p]That will be all for today. I'll see you in 4 weeks[/p][p][/p][p]Cheers,[/p][p][/p][p]Ondrej[/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello,[/p][p][/p][p]as promised to many of you I am releasing a patch addressing all known blocking issues reported including some bugfixes for annoying stuff.[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Fixed a couple of issues blocking players in a blank ascension screen when save load failed from older unsupported versions.[/p]
• [p]Autoresearch should no longer crash the game or spawn duplicate era bosses.[/p]
• [p]Sound of Resolve (Horn) should no longer be buyable in Tier 3 (there were still some corner cases when this was possible)[/p]
• [p]Foundation Stone lotus cost is now automatically covered for wiping out Conquistadores just as a failsafe solution in case people accidentally end up with less than 50 lotus (which can happen as a result of older version migration or corrupt save)[/p]
• [p]White lotus ascension on Tier 2 should no longer be hidden.[/p]
• [p]You no longer pick starting location in Tier 3 until unlocking the first ascension there.[/p]
• [p]Added additional hints to Tier 3 welcome popup (regarding Idols and Tech adoption)[/p]
• [p]Fixed Tech adoption requirement message to point to correct Tech name.[/p]
• [p]Starting screen should now only show relevant Lotuses[/p]
• [p]Artists should no longer show in Autonomy menu[/p]
• [p]Added description indicating Red lotus can be gained from Ceremony Wonders (after unlocking Great Ceremony) to the Ascension screen popup and added a Tutorial hint about this.[/p]
• [p]Tech adoption costs now start at 1 and increase by 1 for every single tech adopted[/p]
• [p]Particle Kiln should now be rebuildable when destroyed (though it is stil regarded as a Wonder for destruction attacks purposes and most other effects)[/p]
• [p]Fixed a workshop dialog descriptions overlap[/p]

[p]Cheers,[/p][p][/p][p]Ondrej[/p]

[p]Hello,[/p][p][/p][p]I'm releasing a small hotfix for a couple of issues with the first 0.11 live version.[/p][p][/p][h2]0.11.13 Hotfix[/h2]

• [p]Increased limits of Black lotus gain in Tier 3 so that early gain of Red lotus is slightly easier.[/p]
• [p]Default quest speed bonus granted by nomadic civ is now -50% instead of -35%[/p]
• [p]Cut Down quest is now slightly faster[/p]
• [p]Flint instruments are now initially revealed right after Opposing thumb[/p]
• [p]Added explicit indicator whenever Techs suitable for Adoption are owned to Research screen[/p]
• [p]Conquistadors base cooldown is now 2.5 minutes instead of 2.[/p]

[p]Hello,[/p][p][/p][p]after the longest development phase and longest Beta in the whole Early access I'm releasing version 0.11 to public now. This was the most important and complicated update for Microcivilization. I hope you it's going to be fun:[/p]

1. [p]New White Lotus type added to Tier 2 with a new mechanism as well as new upgrades to use for.[/p]
2. [p]Second 'Story' Scenario added to the end of Tier 2. [/p]
3. [p]Tier 3 of the Ascension Tree added with new mechanisms.[/p]
4. [p]New hero type available to 'loot' in Tier 3 - Idols.[/p]
5. [p]Ancestral era was added to Tier 3 - expanding the Neolithic era backwards to pre-settlement times.[/p]
6. [p]New meta-combat system added to Tier 3 and beyond[/p]
7. [p]Added first Nemesis eradication Scenario.[/p]
8. [p]Added first part of Ascension Tree Tier 4 including 'new Classical era' AKA Myth era.[/p]
9. [p]New Hero type to get in Tier 4 - Artists.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

• [p]Increased Black lotus penalty from Deaths in Tier 3 and 4 [/p]
• [p]Added a new negative Perk generating black lotus over time [/p]
• [p]Added indicator to units over capacity (indicating food maintenance) [/p]
• [p]Added a new in-game indicator with a detailed breakdown about Black lotus capture mechanism. [/p]
• [p]Added Judgement combat music track. [/p]
• [p]Resource indicators no longer hide when balanced at 0, only when no addition/subtraction values are present. [/p]
• [p]Tech Adoption now showing correct tech name on hover. [/p]
• [p]Can no longer buy Sound of Resolve in Tier 3 [/p]
• [p]Red lotus related score should no longer be visible in ascension summary before Tier 3 [/p]
• [p]Idols now showing recharge pie only on the button actively charging. Also added information which one is currently charging to the popup. [/p]
• [p]Slinger militia should no longer reset Militia count when upgraded from basic militia. [/p]
• [p]Vigilance superpower should now improve with level. [/p]
• [p]Sound of resolve button size fixed. [/p]
• [p]Predicament message now tells which type of Disaster was triggered. [/p]
• [p]Ceremonial wonder buttons no longer show when the Wonder gets destroyed. [/p]
• [p]Game should no longer crash in certain corner cases during Judgement combat [/p]
• [p]Various typos, missing texts and tooltips fixed. [/p]

• [p] Horn of Resolve (renamed to sound of resolve) no longer removes Disasters. [/p]
• [p]Added new Meta-Power Mute of Disbelief available from Myth Era. [/p]
• [p]This meta power is purchased for red lotus and grants a block effect against Judgements. [/p]
• [p]Added Artist Hero types avilable from Judgements. [/p]
• [p]Currently there are two unique Artists available. [/p]
• [p]Artists provide passive bonus to Meta-Powers damage and block chance. [/p]
• [p]Artists can be activated in a similar way to Workshops. Activating an artist will enable their special combat ability. [/p]
• [p]Artist Combat abilities have limited charges and are refreshed every Ascension. [/p]

• [p] Reaching very high multipliers to resource production is now capped to 1,000,000 % (million percent) to minimuze the likelihood of number overflow preventing you from playing your save. [/p]

• [p] Devotion White Lotus perk will now ask for 6 Tiles until Division of Labor after reaching Myth era (mainly to prevent getting soft-locked by too many starting technologies catapulting you past the Permanent Settlements) [/p]
• [p]You should no longer capture Black Lotus by non-active Idols. This should limit your maximum to 12 per run for 4 level 10 Idols. [/p]
• [p]You should no longer be able to steal other civ territory through Devotion. [/p]
• [p] Red lotus bonuses from Technology and from the Penitent Perk are now working correctly at Tier 4. [/p]
• [p]Ceremony rewards cap increased from 100 to 200. [/p]

• [p]Extended Tier 4 by adding Classical era (this time around called Myth era). For the moment it has the same Technnology tree as old Classical era but extensions are planned. [/p]
• [p]Changed the ascension tree structure for Tier 4 - you now have different upgrades available for T4 Classical (Myth) Era including workshop magnification, all 7 world wonders and auto skills. [/p]
• [p]Tier 4 tree has steeper pricing for all these upgrades. You will have to also use Black and White lotuses to gain some of the optional upgrades. [/p]
• [p]Vagabonds eat half food [/p]
• [p]Research idols removed, added -% death [/p]
• [p]No longer gain Lotus from wonders, only from Ceremonies. [/p]
• [p]Fixed spirit culture drop amounts. [/p]
• [p]Slightly updated wonder ability values to work with Magnification. [/p]
• [p]Cannibalism Cookout quest now grants a Barracks-like single use boost instead of a generic damage boost. [/p]
• [p]Meta-Powers (Horn, Consonant, Hymn) persistence code has been changed to make future changes easier but as a result your amounts from older save will not be picked up and you will start at zero. Sorry about that. [/p]

• [p]Infused Heroes correctly save Idol charge progress [/p]
• [p]Infused Heroes correctly get locked when using their Idol power [/p]
• [p]Upgrading Heroes should no longer interfere with Idol infusion [/p]
• [p]Merging recipes should no longer work on Infused heroes (must remove idol via dismantle first) [/p]
• [p]Golden Calf (the unique Idol) now using correct Level restrictions 1-10 [/p]
• [p]Meta-Powers (Horn, Consonant, Hymn) are correctly loaded after saving (the fix is retrospective so you regain any that you 'apparently' lost) [/p]

• [p]Having 1 Free Tech level and no Adopted technologies should no longer prevent Ancestral tech tree from spawning [/p]
• [p]Some (hopefully all) Hero slot equipping restriction bugs were fixed [/p]
• [p]Generic Ancestral techs renamed, no longer called Future era [/p]
• [p]Sorting no longer unfuses idols [/p]
• [p]Heroes from all slots should be correctly kicked out on reaching Tier 3 [/p]
• [p]Lowered tech costs on Tier 4 after emerging from T3 [/p]

• [p]Lotus perk should no longer cause game to crash on start [/p]
• [p]Hero slot 5 should be correctly unlocked in tier 2 [/p]
• [p]Loading game with active lotus perk on should no longer cause forced load to ascension [/p]
• [p]White lotus Pledges now reset correctly after restarts [/p]
• [p]Game crashing when pressing/hovering Ascension button in some corner case [/p]

• [p]
  Heroes from 0.10 should now be loaded correctly unchanged from previoud game version.
  [/p]

[p]Hello,[/p][p][/p][p]I've just released a patch to experimental branch. If all goes well I'll release the latest 0.11.11 to public on Thursday finally ending this Beta test.[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Increased Black lotus penalty from Deaths in Tier 3 and 4 [/p]
• [p]Added a new negative Perk generating black lotus over time [/p]
• [p]Added indicator to units over capacity (indicating food maintenance) [/p]
• [p]Updated and reactivated Save backup mechanism [/p]
• [p]Added a new in-game indicator with a detailed breakdown about Black lotus capture mechanism. [/p]
• [p]Added basic Judgement combat music track. [/p]
• [p]Resource indicators no longer hide when balanced at 0, only when no addition/subtraction values are present. [/p]
• [p]Tech Adoption now showing correct tech name on hover. [/p]
• [p]Can no longer buy Sound of Resolve in Tier 3 [/p]
• [p]Red lotus related score should no longer be visible in ascension summary before Tier 3 [/p]
• [p]Idols now showing recharge pie only on the button actively charging. Also added information which one is currently charging to the popup. [/p]
• [p]Slinger militia should no longer reset Militia count when upgraded from basic militia. [/p]
• [p]Vigilance superpower should now improve with level. [/p]
• [p]Sound of resolve button size fixed. [/p]
• [p]Predicament message now tells which type of Disaster was triggered. [/p]
• [p]Ceremonial wonder buttons no longer show when the Wonder gets destroyed. [/p]
• [p]Game should no longer crash in certain corner cases during Judgement combat [/p]
• [p]Various typos, missing texts and tooltips fixed. [/p]