Devlog 6: Exploration

With the global bonus system implemented, focus has shifted to balancing other parts of the game, and the implementation of a long-planned feature - exploration!

But how does exploration work in a game with no units and the map already revealed? All will be... revealed...

[h2]Hidden Riches[/h2]

Like many resource management games, Critias Empire has advanced resource types that can only be made by combining or changing more basic resources. For example, to make bronze, copper and tin must be combined in a Forge type building.

Some of these basic resources have infinite supply. A mine will never run out of stone and a farm will always produce food. But copper and tin only occur in certain places on the map and in limited quantities.

However it would suck for the player if they were trying to build the Colossus, only to find out there wasn't quite enough copper and tin on the map. Or that they had used some precious bronze for something else and now they were short.

This is where disasters come in. Disasters need some positive benefits to the player to outweigh their potentially large negative impact. In the case of some disasters like earthquakes or volcanoes, that might come in the form of new land to expand into. But that won't always be the case.

Disasters however, bring another benefit - they refresh the resources on the tiles affected. Now there's a chance any player waiting for more copper or tin might find a new ore vein appearing on the map.

To make this a bit more exciting, the player must "explore" the areas affected by disaster to reveal certain resources. It also makes sense thematically - if a new island appears out of the ocean all of a sudden, it will be obvious, even from a distance, that island has mountains, forests etc. But not that it has copper, or where those deposits might be.

[h2]Expedition-Style[/h2]

Since Critias Empire does not have units, there must be some other way to explore. My initial idea would be that players send an expedition to an area, and that some years/turns later, the expedition returns with its results. The better equipped the expedition, the more likely they were to survive and return with some useful information.

However, in Critias Empire, players can build anywhere on the map. It doesn't make sense to send an expedition out, in the meantime built a city, farms, mines etc in the expedition area, only for the expedition to come back later as a failure.

It would also be annoying if players wanted to use the turn immediately after a disaster to move their sunken cities, mines, farms etc to a newly appeared island, only to find that it is unexplored and sending an expedition will take many years/turns that they just don't have.

Therefore, I've implemented something a bit simpler. Players select an area to explore, and it is instantly revealed. The costs for exploration however, try to simulate the sentiment behind the expedition idea. Explore an area far from any city and it will cost more. Explore a larger area or explore multiple different areas in a single year/turn and it will cost more.

Exploration costs are in food and workers, so it makes sense that to do more exploration, increasingly more people and (food) supplies are needed.

[center][/center]

I am in the process of implementing exploration at the moment. You can see a preview of how it works above.

[h2]Onward[/h2]

This update is nearly a month late, due to contract work commitments, but I've still managed to squeeze plenty of other things into Critias Empire since the start of the year:

• The global bonus system is finally finished! Though I still need to apply it to wonders and balance them.
  
• UI revamp has been designed, though it will only be implemented as part of the UX overhaul. Especially with building Construction and Details screens, I know what I want them to do, just need to find time to do it.
  
• AI generated art is now mostly polished, photoshopped to get rid of those crazy seven fingers, and put in-game. There are a few images that still need touching up. As well, the preview images for different map types are still in the todo column.
  
• The core loop balancing was simplified. Some of the chains of resources made into other resources were overly complicated.
  

Population and workers also got a mini-rework. I multiplied all the population amounts by x10. Now rather than a city having a population of 5, and so able to supply 5 mines or 5 farms with the 1 worker they each need, instead a city might have a population of 50, with each mine or farm needing 10 workers.

This means city growth is no longer just about having exactly enough food. Instead having a bit more of a surplus might be just enough to get that extra 1 population/worker, which in turn makes the difference between having just enough workers to run that extra mine or farm.

As well, it means when balancing the game, I can add more subtlety into the amounts of workers each land use (building) needs. A hypothetical example, mines only need 7 workers, while farms need a full 10, but an upgraded mine needs 20 workers, whereas an upgraded farm needs just 15. This adds an extra level of decision making and depth for advanced players, while not overly complicating things for players who don't care so much.

[h2]Surveying the Horizon[/h2]

I've also been keen to find out what people actually expect of Critias Empire. Whether the (admittedly slightly out of date) screenshots and trailer give an accurate impression of what the game actually is. Or whether people are looking at Critias Empire and expecting something quite different from what I'm actually making.

With that in mind, I prepared a survey. I would be very appreciative if you could fill it out. Or if you have any other feedback on the game, I'm very keen to hear it in the comments below!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd0mR_iEtzA6WVe0Ch0l8wFtJq8JGe2x7Sa11kpwSwGqQGmqw/viewform

[h2]What's Next?[/h2]

Finishing off exploration is the immediate priority, followed by actually implementing the UI / UX revamp. Beyond that, it continues to be just balancing, balancing, balancing. That said, just like with exploration, there'll likely be other things within the balancing process that get implemented or fixed along the way. Such as the prophecy, festivals and transport/roads features.

As well, I still want to get a demo out sooner rather than later, which will require polishing some aspects of the game. But this will come when I'm happy that the different elements of the game all mesh together in a fun, enjoyable way.