Stormbinders - Dev Diary #8: City and Fortress Building

[p]Some of you have asked how city and fortress building works in Stormbinders.[/p][p]The answer: classic castle building – starting from a small village and growing into the capital of your kingdom.[/p][p][/p][p]Each castle has:[/p]

[p]A shared set of buildings that work the same across all factions.[/p]
[p]A unique set tied to each faction.[/p]

[p]For example: one faction can skip upgrade requirements, while another might convert weaker units into skeletons.[/p][p]In total, with upgrades included, each faction reaches around 50 building options – that’s nearly two months of development in gameplay time! Different strategies will definitely encourage skipping or delaying certain upgrades. 😉[/p][h2]Castle Levels[/h2][p]To prevent “optimal rush” tactics (army → resources → top-tier units in week 2), we added city levels.
You need a set number of buildings upgraded before moving to the next tier.[/p][p]It slows things down just enough so strategies stay flexible, but high-level units aren’t instantly accessible.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Why 2D Castles?[/h2][p]From the production side, we considered several approaches:[/p]

[p]Skip castles entirely, just UI. (Didn’t fit the spirit of the game)[/p]
[p]Minimal 2D/3D placeholders. (Uninspiring like a game with VI number in tittle) [/p]
[p]Full 3D with cinematic assets. (Way out of scope)[/p]
[p]Stylized 2D art.[/p]

[p]We chose 2D art – the only realistic option.

What we didn’t expect? The time cost.[/p][p]Creating 4 castles took our artist over a year:[/p]

[p]Dozens of buildings per castle.[/p]
[p]Upgrades, placement, adjustments.[/p]
[p]Handling different storms and seasons.[/p]

[p]It was a huge challenge, but worth it.[/p][h2]Castles on the Adventure Map[/h2][p]We also added a visual indicator of a castle’s level directly on the world map.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]It doesn’t add much mechanically (you can always check the UI), but… it just looks cool. Sometimes you do things only because they look cool.[/p][h2]Sieges and War Machines[/h2][p]Of course, beautiful castles are only half the story.[/p][p]Stormbinders also features sieges, where mighty war machines come into play:[/p][p][/p][p]…and suddenly, your lovely gates and towers don’t look so safe anymore.[/p][p][/p][p]
That’s the big picture of how cities and fortresses evolve in Stormbinders.[/p][p][/p][p]And for a little fun:
Try to spot the placeholder Grail in the screenshot below.[/p][p][/p][p]Wishlist Stormbinders
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] [/p]