Microcivilization News

[p]Hi,[/p][p]although it hasn't yet been four weeks since the last update I decided to release this update early due to today's update of the 0.11 beta.[/p][p]The update contains some important new features and so I want to give you a little heads up![/p][p][/p][h2]Meta-Combat Extension[/h2][p]My previous update extended the 0.11 Beta test with Myth era and several ascension tree upgrades. But a few gaps were left. The main missing bit was more Judgements to fight in between the ascensions.[/p][p]To do that however, the current trivial Judgement combat system needed a significant upgrade.[/p][p]The core part of this new update are more Judgements with increased power and new Meta-Powers. There are also some changes to the judgement combat mechanism.[/p][p][/p][p]A 'high-level' Judgement in Myth Era. You can see new Meta-Powers added here including the 'Shadow of Perfection' ability on the left (an Anti-Judgement version of Bolster ability)[/p][p][/p][h2]Judgement progression[/h2][p]Added judgements will have more health as well as new types of attacks. Because Judgements cannot kill you (there is no population to lose) these attacks will instead of 'dealing damage' prevent you from winning by disabling your Meta-Powers eventually until the combat times-out.[/p][p]With future updates (and with higher judgement level) they will also gain attacks that affect your civilization runs in short term (something like enforced negative perk). [/p][p]As mentioned in my previous update, in future judgements will also have a 'generic' spawn system. Meaning there won't just be static Judgement 'locks' in between ascensions but there will also be respawned judgements appearing between runs (so that you always have something to fight).[/p][p]So there's still a lot of space for improvement...[/p][p][/p][h2]New Meta-Powers & Combat mechanics[/h2][p]A new defensive meta-power was added - called Mute of Disbelief - purchased for Red lotuses. This ability works like Fortress unit against Judgement - creates a chance to block a single attack.[/p][p]Additionally I have enabled Horn of Resolve use against Judgements. (And renamed to Sound of Resolve for that meta-physical touch)[/p][p]Sound of Resolve now causes a 5s Stun to the Judgement. As a consequence Hymn to the Dead no longer deals Stun.[/p][p]Along this change I also introduced a few mechanism changes:[/p]

• [p]All meta-powers now have a cooldown.[/p]
• [p]There is no longer a cap on meta powers you can own.[/p]
• [p]Purchasing price of meta power is increasing with meta-powers owned above 3 (a fourth power costs 2 lotuses, fifth costs 3 etc.) so this creates a 'soft cap' on most of them.[/p]
• [p]To add more customization new 'Art' Meta-Powers have also been added (currently only two, but this number will grow). These 'Art' meta-powers are not unlocked by default but instead are gained from new Artist heroes.[/p][p][/p]

[h2]Artists[/h2][p]Two Unique Artists are now added to the game - they can only be dropped from selected Judgement fights - and each one will add a new Meta-power to your arsenal if activated:[/p][h3]
Shadow of Perfection[/h3][p]First art Meta-Power (granted by Michelangelo) - Shadow of Perfection works like the in-game Bolster skill. Adds flat damage to the next ability you use.[/p][p][/p][h3] Full Circle[/h3][p]Second art Meta-Power (granted by Shakespeare) - Full Circle will fully restore all your cool-downs.[/p][p][/p][p]In addition to these, Artists also have passive traits which boost your Meta-powers damage and block chance. They don't have any abilities affecting the civilization economy or any other 'in-game' mechanism. This will definitely change in the future but for now Artists only affect your Judgement combat capabilities (since this update is mostly about Judgements).[/p][p][/p][p]Work-in-progress layout for new Artists. Instead of Equipping Artists in hero inventory, Artists use similar 'activation toggle' mechanism as Workshops but only accessible on Ascension screen only.[/p][p][/p][p]Although they are Heroes, Artists do not use hero inventory slots to become active, instead they use a new mechanism:[/p]

• [p]Artists cannot be equipped in Hero screen - instead use the 'toggle' on Ascension screen which effectively makes the hero 'equipped' for the next ascension run (including ascension judgement fights after that ascension).[/p]
• [p]You have a limit on how many Artists can be toggled on at each time (same as workshops are limited by Workers)[/p]
• [p]This limit is shown on the Ascension screen as 'Enlightenment points' (using similar hand icon as Workers for workshops to indicate the mechanism similarity)[/p]
• [p]This limit will be expandable (for now it is fixed at 1 since we only have 2 heroes)[/p]
• [p]Each Art meta-power has a limited number of charges (for some this will grow with Artist Level).[/p]
• [p]Unlike workshop charges, art charges are not recharged over time. Instead they fully recharge at next Ascension.[/p]
• [p]Artist ability is upgradable by level-up merge recipe (same as leveling any other hero except a bit more expensive)[/p]
• [p]Artists cannot be Infused with Idols (yet)[/p]
• [p]You will not be able to change the artists activation toggles during run. Once you start the civilization run, you are stuck with the setup. Note that this currently has few consequences - this is going to be more relevant as more types of traits are added to Artists.[/p]
• [p]There are no 'generic' non-unique artists yet - only the two Uniques. With the introduction of generic judgements I would like to include non-unique Artists and a randomized drop system.[/p]

[p]Note: As usual with me introducing new features this Artists system version is only the first step. Most of the above points are planned to change and expand. I intend to mix the in-game and meta-game effects significantly but decided not to do this as part of 0.11. What I needed now was a bare minimum version enabling some level of Judgement combat extensibility. [/p][p][/p][p]Artist are still normal heroes in your inventory. You can level them up normally but most of their current abilities only affect the 'meta-game' on ascension screen.[/p][p][/p][h2]When can I test these changes?[/h2][p]Judgement combat update have been added as a 0.11.9 Minor Update directly to Beta 0.11 today. [/p][p]Early next week I expect to do one more patch (I have a pretty long list of small bugs that players have found) and if all goes well release 0.11 to public next week.[/p][p][/p][h2]What comes next[/h2][p]In my last brief monday update I have listed a number of features I plan to add. Some of them are coming in this next minor update, the rest I have postponed. [/p][p]During the rest of July my priority will be supporting 0.11 and - if there is any spare time - creating Demo version of the game. I would like to do some tiny UI update and some overall polishing as well so the Demo has a more 'final look'. [/p][p]I want to be done with the demo as soon as possible for 0.11 game version and then move on to all remaining features from August:[/p]

1. [p]Tech-Tree & Rare technologies update together with Nemesis extension and Nemesis Challenge scenarios.[/p]
2. [p]Corruption system update together with Theater changes and Predicament/Disaster mechanism update.[/p]
3. [p]Diplomacy/Warfare update with Dilemma cards update and Unique Crises extensions.[/p]
4. [p]Autonomy & Gold abilities including trade, strategic resources and automation.[/p]

[p]I am grouping these into chunks like this because the problems in each category have some shared solution or strategy and need to be done together. [/p][p]I consider these four areas to be the major 'debt' items where current systems are out of date with the rest of the game or were left deliberately unfinished until a more opportune moment.[/p][p]When these four areas are done I will move to finalization bits like:[/p]

1. [p]Extending Tier 4 ascension tree to all basic six Eras (we have 4 missing: Medieval, Renaissance, Industrial and Modern)[/p]
2. [p]Tier 4 Future era (there is a huge amount of work to be done also retrospectively for its Tier 2 variant)[/p]
3. [p]Balancing and Hard difficulty[/p]
4. [p]'Final boss' scenario[/p]
5. [p]Any other content extension (Heroes, Crises, etc.)[/p]
6. [p]Technical problems (optimization, compatibility etc.)[/p]

[p]If possible I would like to make the next big update (0.12) by the end of Q3 (late September).[/p][p][/p][p]That's all for today. [/p][p][/p][p]Cheers,[/p][p][/p][p]Ondrej[/p][p] [/p][p][/p]

[p]Hi,[/p][p][/p][p]I hope you are all well. In this brief update I'd like to take a look at the ongoing beta status and briefly talk about some outstanding features to be added.[/p][p][/p][h2]When is Beta coming live?[/h2][p]As I indicated earlier, I will be off most of the days this week until July spending some time with my family. Beta is currently in a stable state with no critical issues known (We do have a plenty of bugs raised but hopefully nothing preventing players to play for now).[/p][p]When I am back I expect to finish tweaking bugs and add missing things to the beta. My expectation is to release beta in mid July. But it depends how far I will go with adding extra features. [/p][p]If there are reasons to expand the version more, I might extend the beta phase a little to make the game experience more cohesive at the cost of releasing later.[/p][p][/p][h2]Extra stuff coming to beta[/h2][p]Beginning from July I will resume working on the Beta features, finishing up what I started - the MYTH ERA. I have a list of things to add:[/p]

1. [p]More Unique Idols along with a Bundle to spend duplicates.[/p]
2. [p]Artist Hero class - unequippable heroes providing passive effects directly from inventory (a.k.a. diablo charms). Dropped exclusively from Judgements.[/p]
3. [p]Maybe: Hero Sets - special effects when multiple heroes of a set are equipped. Provided by Artist Heroes (technical details to be still decided). [/p]
4. [p]More Judgement fights in the Tier 4 tree.[/p]
5. [p]Expanding Judgement combat mechanics.[/p]
6. [p]Adding Red-Lotus-based meta power to fight Judgements.[/p]
7. [p]Maybe: generic Judgement spawning (not just fixed bosses in tree, but an ongoing mechanism spawning Judgement fights similar to Risks mechanism for crises)[/p]
8. [p]Achievements for tier 3 (and likely for Myth era as well)[/p]
9. [p]Sounds & effects for new actions.[/p]
10. [p]Maybe: Music tracks. I have a couple of tracks in progress so in case I manage to finish them, I will add them to the game.[/p]
11. [p]Maybe: New crisis types[/p]
12. [p]Maybe: Update for unique crises on map.[/p]
13. [p]Maybe: Upgrading diplomacy and civilization warfare.[/p]
14. [p]Maybe: Adding Nemesis eradication scenario to Myth era (eventually I'd like at least one Nemesis eradicated per Tier 4 Era, meaning we might need extra nemesis or two).[/p]

[p]Note: The 'maybe' means 'maybe it will be added to the beta, maybe it will be added later'. But it WILL be done. [/p][h2]After Beta[/h2][p]This update I want to keep things brief and not dig into details too much because a lot still depends on beta decisions.[/p][p]When we're out of Beta I will issue a bigger plan update along with new Roadmap. But I think largely the roadmap is still accurate. Only thing I am considering is to break the future 0.12 version into smaller releases with just a miniature or non-existent beta stages. [/p][p]That way I could add Tier 4 historical Eras one by one and get feedback sooner before taking a dive for 1.0 release.[/p][p][/p][p]This is all for today,[/p][p][/p][p]See you all later,[/p][p][/p][p]Ondrej[/p]

[p]Hi,[/p][p][/p][p]because some players managed to produce resources over the maximum numerical values I had to cap the multipliers to prevent being locked from the game with instant crashes. I've decided to release this as a separate tiny hotfix to unblock anyone daring to use funny combos.[/p][p]If you run into any issue please let me know. This is a simplistic patch so hopefully there are no undesired side effects.[/p][p][/p][h2]0.11.8 Hotfix[/h2]

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

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

[p][/p][p]Hi,[/p][p][/p][p]i've released a small patch targeting some of the more severe issues.[/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][/p][p]With luck this might get the Beta to a relatively playable state - I do not expect to be doing more patches during next week (having some time off with my family) - but I'll get right back to finishing the Myth era in the early days of July.[/p][p][/p][p]Cheers,[/p][p][/p][p]Ondrej[/p]

[p]Hi,[/p][p][/p][p]even though It's a bit risky I decided to make some more content and add that to the Beta test of 0.11.[/p][h2]Myth Era[/h2][p]Since a lot of you have asked me to expand the end of the update to play a bit more in Tier 4, I decided to do some small chunk of playable content there. It's only as much as I was able to put together in two days and very likely is going to be buggy and horribly unbalanced but I think it's worth the extra trouble.[/p][p]Note: Please be aware this is just a first part of the Myth Era (a.k.a. Classical era in Tier 1). I have some core features planned which were too bit to do. Namely extending the tech tree and adding more Judgement fights and new Hero type as well as a scenario to defeat Locusts forever. We'll see when this happens.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Beta support this and next week[/h2][p]I will be stabilizing the existing beta version this week with this new extension and then be off most of the days the week 23th-29th. After that I will resume the normal Beta and will continue with these patches finishing this extension and hopefully releasing Beta to public during July. [/p][p][/p][p]Thanks a lot for your support in Beta, as usual if you spot any issue let me know on discord or steam community,[/p][p][/p][p]Cheers,[/p][p][/p][p]Ondrej[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Extended Tier 4 by adding Classical era (this time around called Myth era). For the moment it has the same Technology 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 upgrades. You will have to also spend Red, Black and White lotuses to gain some of the optional upgrades.[/p]
• [p]Vagabonds eat half food[/p]
• [p]Research trait on idols removed, added -% death instead[/p]
• [p]No longer gain Gold Lotus from non-ceremonial wonders.[/p]
• [p]Ceremonial wonders now continue producing Red lotuses on Tier 4.[/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]