[p]Hello Administrators! It's time for our final post of the year, focusing on the dynamics of the Overworld. This piece explores why your influence on the Overworld is a loosened grip compared to Hell and what you can do to respond to the unexpected events that may occur. [/p][p][/p][p]
![]()
[/p][p][/p][p]In Sintopia, Hell is your domain. You can build, punish and shape the administration of your dream. This is the place where you have full control, but itās not your only responsibility. As an all-powerful Administrator, you must also influence the
Humus in the Overworld.[/p][p][/p][h2]A world you canāt control ā°ļø[/h2][p][/p][p]
![]()
[/p][p]It was clear from the start: we did not want players to have direct control over the living Humus. We wanted the Overworld to be a god-game rather than a RTS; a place where you influence rather than order people around. This is partly because we love god-games and the systems that they feature, and partly because it worked better when associated with the other half of the game.Ā [/p][p]Hell is where you build, control, and do long-term planning, whereas the Overworld is the slower, more contemplative part where you mostly react to what happens. If both parts of Sintopia were to require a lot of minutiae and control, playersā attention would be torn between the two without respite.[/p][p]It does not mean you donāt have a say in whatās going on in the Overworld. If the Humus civilisation does not develop the way you want, your first course of action is to change their Ruler.[/p][p][/p][h2]One King to rule them all š[/h2][p][/p][p]
![]()
[/p][p][/p][p]The Humus Ruler is one of a kind. They have a distinct personality, which determines the lifepaths attributed to other Humus and, by extension, the buildings they need.Ā [/p][p]A defensive Ruler will want a good number of soldiers to man barracks and doctors to keep them healthy. A conquering Ruler will want more rangers to explore the wilds, but wonāt care about specialist lifepaths such as priests.Ā [/p][p]Lifepaths are the cornerstone of the Humus civilization, and their repartition determines their amount of food, materials, ability to build or repair, to heal and cure disease, to fend off threatsā¦ But also how they sin, as the lifepaths interactions are the main source of Sin in the Overworld. On top of this natural progression, Rulers also give a Sin vulnerability to the whole population. After a few days of reign, you usually feel a huge impact from one Ruler to the next. Even their current status ā whether theyāre a Deviant, a Saint, or a Cultist ā can give powerful alterations to the Humus they rule. And since Rulers are allowed to undo the choices of their predecessors by reassigning lifepaths, having a new one usually means big changes are coming.[/p][p]With that in mind, if you ever need to act upon the Ruler, you then use the main tool at your disposal to do anything in the Overworld: Spellcasting.[/p][p][/p][h2]Magic everywhere šµ[/h2][p][/p][p]
![]()
[/p][p][/p][p]What we call āAdministrative Magicā is meant to be a multi-purpose tool you can apply to various situations. The most basic Spell for example, Force Push, can help you damage Humus and foes alike, move Humus out of harmās way, push objects around (
bells if you want to make some noise, torches if you want to start fires) or even fan flames to direct wildfires. It is simple to use but versatile, relying on the sandbox nature of the Overworld: physical collisions, buildings destruction, fire propagation, Humus contextual behavior, etc.Ā [/p][p]When creating Sintopiaās Spells, we wanted to keep this idea of usefulness and versatility, even though some are better designed for a specific purpose than others (
ex: you can destroy structure more easily with Magmine than you can with Force Push). Thereās also a degree of unpredictability to them: you need to aim, get the motion right, pay attention to the castā length, etc. The goal is to give you the power to influence Humus rather than controlling them directly.[/p][p]Some higher-level Spells give you a greater level of control, but you need to earn them (invest in the Tech Tree) and use them right. Our newest example, Soulblast, allows you to repurpose Souls from the Cemetery into powerful ammunitions. The basic Soul creates an explosion which reduces Sins around, but more specific Souls get wild:[/p]
- [p]Use an Envy Deviant to flag a point of interest as a priority: a resource node that rangers should flag, a construction site for builders to work on, etc.[/p]
- [p]A Gluttony Deviant will manually fill resource stockpiles or feed Humus caught in the area.[/p]
- [p]A Wrath Deviant will enrage entities and pit them against each other.[/p]
- [p]A Saint Soul will damage anything unholy, meaning Demons, Sin Spawns, Zhumbies and Deviants.[/p]
- [p]A Cultist Soul will greatly increase Humus Influence.[/p]
- [p]Statuses on Souls are cumulative, so you can have projectiles with Deviant and Cultist effects at the same time.[/p]
[p]In another genre, Helltunes orders entities to move around and follow your cursor, which you can use to lead them where you want, drown them, pit them against hostiles or make them fall at the edge of the world. You can see how Spells can be used in various ways depending on the challenges you face, and their very usage brings another system forward, giving you a different layer of control: Influence.[/p][p][/p][h2]Join the Cult š[/h2][p][/p][p]
![]()
[/p][p]Casting Spells around Humus makes them notice you, increasing their awareness of you as a godly being. They believe in their Administrator more and, as such, deliver offerings in your name which you can consume to cast more Spells. With enough Influence, Humus then become part of your Cult. At night, when regular Humus go home to shaboink, Cultists put on dark robes and go out to perform various activities which you can choose from. This is your way to give them direct orders, but itās limited to one activity per night:[/p]
- [p]Distribute leaflets to raise Influence in town[/p]
- [p]Form a military corp to defend the Temple or raid enemy camps[/p]
- [p]Share Sin propaganda[/p]
- [p]Purge the population from specific types of Humus[/p]
- [p]Work double shifts[/p]
- [p]Perform dark rituals to summon a Demon[/p]
- [p]Even enjoy orgies to increase Humus birth rate[/p]
[p]Having a strong Cult is a very efficient tool to nudge the civilisation in the direction you want, but it requires maintenance as Influence decays over time. Some buildings in Hell can help you keep Humus Influence at a high level, or you can always cast more Spells to keep them entertained.[/p][p][/p][h2]A matter of balance āļø[/h2][p][/p][p]
![]()
[/p][p][/p][p]Now that you know how to manipulate the Overworld, you can see how you can tip the scales one way or the other. Should you help Humus? Or should you nudge them towards Hellās Gates? The short answer is: it depends.[/p][p]As their Administrator, you have to adapt to the Humusā pacing, their welfare, and make the choices which better match your objectives. Remember that dying Humus turn into Souls, basically customers for Hell. But you also need Humus to thrive in the Overworld if you want them to survive threats without help. You can see Hell as an automated machine running (mostly) on its own, and the Overworld as the gas/break pedal. Actions you take one way or the other always trigger a reaction back in Hell. This includes not caring for the Overworld for too long, which can have long-term effects hard to overcome. When you add the consideration of your current objective, itās a matter of adapting your strategy as the game progresses. Do you need to banish Demons? Better let Humus sin a lot, and be able to defend themselves. Do you want to earn more cash? A steady stream of Souls is the way to go. Do Humus need to expand and populate more? Nowās the time to take care of their health, sleep and food stockpiles.[/p][p]To better measure your needs, the Overworld sends you signals depending on the Humus welfare. A Zhumbies surge is the consequence of a great amount of death that the Reaper Bus canāt keep up with. A famine translates to a shortage of food, whether itās due to a lack of stockpiles and harvesters, or a difficulty to expand and flag resource nodes. A wave of Deviants implies that a specific Sin is going out of control, which itself is a symptom of a failure elsewhere: having lots of Sloth Deviants, for example, mean Citizens idle for too long, which could come from a materials shortage or a Ruler personality not adapted to the task.[/p][p]With the information that the Overworld sends you in mind, and your objective ahead, you can use the tools at your disposal to correct the trend. Various Hell buildings can help you achieve the intended strategy, but you canāt do it with Hell alone: you need the Humus to move on the path you drew for them. Rulers, Spellcasting, Cultists are the main ways to achieve that, and there are many more to find in the Overworld.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you for reading! We'll see you in the new year for news on Playtest 2.[/p][h2][/h2][h2]Wishlist Sintopia [/h2][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]