1. Ratopia
  2. News

Ratopia News

Ratopia DevDiary #35 - Religion System : Purgon Order

Hello all, it's Cassel, developer of .
This time, following the previous installment, I’d like to introduce some details about the Purgon Order and share the challenges I faced during development.
The content is quite lengthy this time as well, so it might be a bit much for light reading.
That said, I’ll try to mix in some -style humor to keep things from feeling too heavy.


[h3]Purgon Order[/h3]

The Purgon Order is a religious group that worships the sun, using Purifying Lilies that bloom from deceased Ratizens to summon spirits. In contrast to the secretive atmosphere of the Umbran Circle, the Purgon Order takes a more active approach to spreading their faith, drawing Ratizens to their Grand Temple and instilling belief in them. (No violence is involved.)

The conversion method of the Purgon Order was designed differently from the Umbran Circle to provide a distinct gameplay experience. Initially, I envisioned that a Ratizen appointed as the leader of the Purgon Order would directly approach other Ratizens to attempt conversions. However, as the city grew larger and Ratizens moved faster, this method often left the leader fruitlessly chasing after others.

Thus, the approach shifted to having Ratizens voluntarily visit the Grand Temple where the leader resides to become followers. This method appeared more straightforward compared to the Umbran Circle's way of secretly instilling religious beliefs into Ratizens near their idols.


One spot left in the Purgon Order. Ratizen #456, please come up!


However, using this approach meant I had to let go of several systems. Initially, I aimed to closely tie the conversion ability to the leader's skills, making the leader the central figure in the growth of the Purgon Order. I thought that by properly nurturing the leader and managing their movements efficiently, it would be easy to fill the city with followers of the Purgon Order.

If the Umbran Circle made it easier to secure followers by developing areas where Ratizens were concentrated, the Purgon Order took a different direction, focusing on specific individuals to secure followers more effectively.

However, this approach presented challenges when it came to having Ratizens visit the Grand Temple. After all, if Ratizens didn’t visit, no matter how exceptional the leader's abilities were, they wouldn’t have any visible impact.
Thus, I had to decide under what conditions Ratizens would visit the Grand Temple. However, it was difficult to determine this because there were very few conditions available for the Grand Temple.

For instance, making Ratizens visit when they lack specific needs like Joy or Hygiene, similar to other service buildings, could lead to strange strategic situations. For example, players might deliberately remove other service buildings to increase the number of Purgon Order followers.
Other ideas included conditions like low HP or low happiness, but these conditions faced the issue that Ratizens had limited means to fulfill them.

After much deliberation, I decided that Ratizens could visit the Grand Temple before starting their work. However, this condition and method, refined through changes from the initial concept, ultimately ended up being not much different from the Umbran Circle’s Sanctum.

To provide more distinction, I tried adding additional effects for Ratizens visiting the Grand Temple aside from conversion and significantly extended the time they spent using it. However, these adjustments only slightly altered the outcomes and didn’t fundamentally change the process.
Thus, the Grand Temple, the first building of the Purgon Order, was finalized as a feature that, unfortunately, left something to be desired in terms of differentiating the gameplay experience.


The mechanism for increasing the number of Purgons was designed to differentiate it from the Umbran Circle by using Purifying Lilies instead of souls. Purifying Lilies are a unique resource that grows in the Grave Garden, allowing the construction of more Purgon Order buildings and increasing the number of followers.

For novice leaders like myself, it's common to unintentionally create many corpses and graves while building a city. From the early stages of development, I wanted to find a way to make use of these graves instead of simply leaving them idle, tying them into the Shaman theme.
Initially, I envisioned a structure similar to the Sap Camp, where resources could be harvested near graves. In this system, Ratizens assigned to the building would collect resources from graves containing buried corpses at regular intervals.

Unfortunately, this design approach proved too complex to implement within the game, making it difficult to apply. After much deliberation, I came up with an alternative: the Grave Garden, a building that repurposes the existing Garden system.
The Grave Garden functions as a Garden where corpses can be buried, and Purifying Lilies only grow when there are buried corpses. This allowed me to achieve a similar effect to what I had originally intended.


I understand your desire to be helpful even in death!


Since Purifying Lilies require corpses, the difficulty of cultivating them was repeatedly adjusted to make it more manageable. Instead of planting Purifying Lily seeds directly, I decided to allow players to grow them by planting flower seeds. This change was made to prevent players from getting stuck if they couldn’t discover Purifying Lilies, the core resource of the Purgon Order.
I hoped that the Grave Garden would enable a city to recover in situations where many corpses had accumulated. After all, if corpses were overflowing throughout the city, it wouldn’t make sense for players to leave the city in search of Purifying Lilies.

Additionally, I addressed the issue where Purifying Lilies, being plants, would not grow during winter, halting the expansion of the Purgon Order in that season. To avoid forcing players to wait until winter passed, I made an exception: as long as a Grave Garden contained buried corpses, Purifying Lilies could still grow during winter.
Furthermore, I incorporated feedback to relax the conditions by allowing Purifying Lilies to grow slowly even without corpses. This adjustment ensured that players who managed their cities well wouldn’t feel compelled to "produce" corpses unnecessarily.


As the difficulty of cultivating Purifying Lilies was reduced, I became concerned about whether the original vision of utilizing corpses would be properly realized. Instead of players managing a few Grave Gardens efficiently by burying corpses in them, it became possible for them to build large-scale Grave Garden farms in a corner of the city and operate them without using any corpses.

To alleviate these concerns, it was necessary to introduce a mechanism to counter large-scale Grave Gardens. If Purifying Lilies were fully grown but left unharvested, a pest called the Feather Beetle would appear and start devouring the flowers.
This design ensured that operating large-scale Grave Gardens would require a proportional amount of labor, preventing the strategy of simply building massive Grave Gardens from becoming the definitive solution.


Beetles thriving on Purifying Lilies.


The Purifying Lilies produced in this way are processed in the Purification Workshop and used to construct various religious buildings. Among them, the Purification Center, which provides Hygiene to Ratizens lacking it while converting them to the Purgon Order at a certain probability, and the Chapel, where Purgon followers gather to replenish their faith, are the representative expansion buildings of the Purgon Order.


Prayer is the washing of the soul. Scrub away your worries and concerns like soap.


The Chapel is an unmanned building where nearby Purgon followers gather for worship at specific times. Initially, I envisioned it as a building where the leader would deliver sermons while followers gathered to worship. I felt that leaving out a scene of Ratizens gathering to praise, like in , would be a missed opportunity for this theme.
Systemically, I planned to utilize the existing bell tower mechanics to gather nearby followers and then apply specific effects to them.

However, buildings that require players to repeatedly use them to be effective didn’t align well with the essence of a management game. Increasing the interval to reduce the frequency of use made it important to provide clear guidance on when the building would become available, which in turn increased complexity.
As a result, it became necessary to separate the direct-use effects into a different building called the Podium. The Chapel was revised into a building where followers gather on their own and recharge their faith without requiring direct player interaction.


This week’s sermon topic is how to find a good romantic partner.


The methods for expanding the Purgon Order are not limited to buildings; there are also ways to utilize resources. For example, Ratizens without a religion can eat the Holy Supper produced in the Purification Workshop and convert to the Purgon Order. Additionally, Purgon followers can use essential items like the Dream Catcher and Relics to sustain their faith for a longer period.
However, producing these resources requires considerable effort, so the system was designed to require strategic spatial arrangements and policy adjustments to ensure they are effectively delivered to the intended targets.


Leader, the Umbrans are stealing all the Holy Supper! Declare a holy war!!


Additionally, there are ways to bring in Purgon followers from outside or even generate followers within the city. The Poorhouse is a building that supplies additional Purgon Ratizens, rapidly increasing the city’s population.
This building can be used to quickly restore a city filled with corpses due to disease or invasion. It can also be combined with the newly added Altar building to convert Ratizens into beneficial effects for the city. It’s a thoughtful building that fulfills both faith and practicality.

However, the Ratizens emerging from the Poorhouse start with nothing and cannot survive without care. This design goes beyond simply supplying Ratizens to the city, encouraging players to think about how to provide aid and support for them.



The Marriage Monument is a building that allows two Ratizens to marry and produce a child who inherits the traits and religion of the parents. However, since it takes time for the child to be born, expanding the Purgon Order through reproduction is not particularly efficient.

Marriage is not directly controlled by the player; instead, Ratizens who fall asleep near the Marriage Monument at the same time have a certain probability of forming a pair. This was designed to encourage players to think carefully about the placement of the Marriage Monument as they design their city.
If poorly planned, unexpected couples might form, leading to various amusing outcomes that could become lighthearted talking points.


Marrying an Umbran who snuck in? I oppose this marriage!


While marriage alone makes the Marriage Monument a sufficiently attractive feature, its primary purpose is citizen reproduction. Many players have long shared their thoughts on the reproduction system and trait combination mechanics, and with this update, I considered how to provide these systems in a natural way.


At the Marriage Monument, if there are married Ratizens, players can use the "Have a Child" button to obtain baby rats. While it might feel a bit unnatural that the birth rate depends on the leader's finger, this approach was necessary to prevent rats from reproducing infinitely, which could paralyze the city and the player’s computer.

Initially, I planned for baby rats to be generated as regular Ratizens, similar to how migrants are received, allowing them to start working immediately. While it would certainly be nice to add animations and events related to the growth of baby rats, I was concerned about the numerous bugs this might introduce.
Even if the baby rats were to grow, the growth period couldn’t be made too long, which meant the development efficiency wouldn’t be very high.

However, the idea of a rat with a bushy beard the size of its parents appearing with a "goo-goo" cry felt undeniably awkward. To add more charm and naturalness to the presentation, I decided to include a growth animation for baby rats.
Of course, fixing the many bugs that occurred during the baby rats’ growth period was no easy task, but in return, players would be able to enjoy the simple joy of watching their adorable baby rats grow.


A sad bug where baby rats could be conscripted or even start rebellions. Welcome, it’s your first time in Ratopia, isn’t it?


The Purgon Order offers far more diverse ways to expand their religion, to the point where the Umbran Circle might feel overshadowed. I think it’s necessary to consider adding more elements to address the potential dissatisfaction of Umbran followers.


The increased number of Purgons benefit from doctrine bonuses that specialize them in manual labor. Unlike the Umbran Circle, the Purgon Order's bonuses enhance Strength, Moving Speed, and Mining/Gathering Efficiency, encouraging players to choose religions that align more efficiently with their Ratizens’ occupational traits.
Additionally, the Purgon Order has buildings that enhance the combat abilities of Purgons, giving them advantages when serving as soldiers for hunting animals or defending against enemy invasions.


Using the Battle Totem makes soldiers’ attacks brutally powerful.


The Purgon Order’s soldier units were not newly developed since the Temple of War soldiers already matched the same theme. Instead, I decided to introduce a new feature: Guardian Spirits that can be summoned using Purgon resources.

The Guardian Spirit Sanctuary is a building unlocked once the Purgon Order reaches a certain level of development. While a Ratizen works at the sanctuary, a massive Guardian Spirit is summoned to protect the city. As such, timing the Ratizen’s work to align with the occurrence of battles was designed to be an important management element.

In the initial design phase, the Guardian Spirit was intended to showcase an unparalleled, powerful strike that could not be rivaled by existing soldiers. To make the Guardian Spirit Sanctuary a symbolic building of the Purgon Order, its construction was limited to just one per city.
However, issues arose where the Guardian Spirit's slow movement could lead to comical situations where it missed enemies entirely. Additionally, the challenge of timing a Ratizen’s work at the sanctuary to align with battle events made it difficult to utilize effectively.
The gap between optimal and suboptimal usage was too large, leading to a high likelihood that the defense performance would fail to meet players' expectations depending on how it was utilized.

Ultimately, several major adjustments were made to bridge the gap between expectations and reality. First, the Guardian Spirit Sanctuary was changed to a building that operates continuously without requiring a Ratizen to be assigned. Additionally, the Guardian Spirit’s stats were lowered, but players were allowed to build multiple sanctuaries.
Through these changes, while the Guardian Spirit lost some of its grandeur, it transformed into a more reliable and accessible defensive tool that players could utilize with ease.


Would placing the Guardian Spirit on the front lines help it find peace?


The development of all Purgon Order buildings involved countless discussions during the implementation process. Beyond what has been introduced, there were also intriguing concepts like religious conflict elements and inquisitors, but unfortunately, these were excluded after reviewing and organizing various possibilities.

After refining and organizing numerous ideas, we were able to create a lineup of well-rounded and diverse buildings. Even so, there’s still a lingering desire to add more structures that would suit the Purgon Order perfectly.

We’re always open to attractive ideas, so if you have any great concepts in mind, please feel free to share them in the comments!

1.0.0401 Hot Fix

[h2]Patch List[/h2]
Notice: Those with this icon(💌) are inspired by the players’ opinions. Thank you so much again.

-💌 Added a text display in the construction window to show the number of the respective buildings currently built in the city.
-💌 To reduce the initial difficulty of the Umbran Circle while maintaining the overall challenge, the Evangelism and Renewal effect values for each Idol have been adjusted.

  -Idol of Sloth
    - Evangelism Rate: 10% → 15%

  -Idol of Gluttony
    - Evangelism Rate: 10% → 12%

  -Idol of Joy
    - Evangelism Rate: 10% → 9%

  -Idol of Cleanliness
    - Evangelism Rate: 10% → 6%

  -Idol of Extravagance
    - Evangelism Rate: 10% → 3%
    - Renewal Time: 6 → 9

[h2]Bug Fix[/h2]

- 💌 Fixed an issue where save files accumulated abnormally large sizes when using the Shaman content.
  - After the game update, saved files will now be stored in a compressed and normal format.
- 💌 Fixed an issue where the "Exit" button would not function after winning on the battlefield.
- 💌 Fixed an issue where no souls were generated when an Anglerfish was caught through fishing.
- 💌 Fixed an issue where resources in the Quantum Storage would not disappear but display as 0 when fully consumed.
- Fixed an issue where an error occurred in substations when loading a game.
- Fixed an issue where an error occurred when changing the time after constructing two or more chapels.
- Fixed a bug where the UI on the power page in the statistics window exceeded its boundaries.
- Fixed an issue where inventory numbers in the statistics window did not match the actual stored quantities.
- Fixed an issue where highlights for items in the statistics window were not generated properly.
- Fixed an issue where attempting "Save As" during the saving process caused an error.
- Fixed an issue where the Earth Spirit's stun attack was not applied correctly.
- Fixed an issue where the attack power boost effect of the War Totem was applied differently from the displayed value.
- Fixed an issue where using the Altar caused an error.


[h2]2025 01 21 Additional Notes[/h2]

- 💌 Fixed an issue where papyrus would stop growing at 99% growth.
- 💌 Fixed an issue where grown Feather Beetles would provide only 1 resource.
- 💌 Fixed an issue where the daily power production display for substations was inaccurate.
- 💌 Fixed an issue where some ritual icons were not displayed correctly.

1.0.0400 Shaman Update

[h2]Hello dear leaders of Ratopia!![/h2]
Thank you for patiently waiting for the update over such a long time.
This time, we’ve added two new religions and their associated structures to the game.
With the addition of such extensive content, there may be bugs that we’ve overlooked.
If you encounter any issues, please report them via Steam or Discord, and we’ll address them promptly through hotfixes.


[h2]Patch List[/h2]
Notice: Those with this icon(💌) are inspired by the players’ opinions. Thank you so much again.

🔮28 types of Spell-related structures have been added.
    Spell-related structures can be researched through the Spell Desk, a royal structure! These Spell structures can be unlocked as the number of Ratizens with faith increases in the city. Additionally, more related structures will be added in the future, so stay tuned!

     ※Jungle Block, Flea Removal Facility , Temple of War have been relocated to Shaman Structures

  ▼Infrastructure
    - Thorn Log Block
    - Soul Bed
    - Ritual Cavern
    - Mystic Tree
    - Idol of Sloth
    - Idol of Gluttony
    - Idol of Joy
    - Idol of Cleanliness
    - Idol of Extravagance
    -💌 Field Bed
      A communal bed where Ratizens without assigned housing can rest.


  ▼Raw material structures
    - Grave Garden
      A structure for growing Purifying Lilies, a core resource of the Purgon Order.
      If Purifying Lilies are left unattended, Feather Beetles will appear and devour the flowers.


  ▼Production structures
    - Spirit Workshop
      A structure that produces the core resource of the Umbran Circle.
    - Purification Workshop
      A structure that produces the core resource of the Purgon Order.

  ▼Service structures
    - Soul Theater
    - Purification Center
    - Chapel

  ▼Military structures
    - Temple of Shadow
      A structure where units of the Umbran Circle can be trained.

      - Necromancer
      - Soul Reaper
      - Witch


  ▼Royal structures
    - Spell Desk
    - Sanctum
    - Ziggurat
    -💌 Soul Modifier
      Traits of Ratizens following the Umbran Circle can be modified.


11 new resources have been added.

  ▼Raw Materials
    - Purifying Lily
    - Feather Beetle
  ▼Processed goods
    - Scroll
    - Grimoire
    - Feather
    - Purifying Stone
  ▼Food
    - Holy Supper
  ▼Necessities
    - Needle
    - Bone Dagger
    - Dream Catcher
    - Relic
Added a religion section to the Ratizen tab in the statistics window.
    To view religion statistics, you must construct a Spell Desk.

Added a new branching path for a Religious Victory ending.

Added 6 new achievements.
    Achievement rewards include the following:
      - Shaman cloth
      - 2 new flag emblems

3 new structures have been added.
    - Bone Block
    - Bone Ladder
    - ⚡Substation
      These are new structures that allow you to trade electricity with other nations.

Adjusted the price of Obsidian.
    While all resources involving Obsidian were balanced around an Obsidian price of 80, we discovered that the actual price was set at 30. This has been corrected.

    - Price 30 → 80

Adjusted the HP and Attack Power of Scorpions.
    Despite having the powerful Poison trait, Scorpions had relatively high base stats. These have been adjusted to ease hunting difficulty.

    - HP 42 → 32
    - Attack Power 6 → 3

Adjusted the HP of Rabbits.
    The hunting difficulty for Rabbits was excessively low compared to their utility. Their maximum health has been slightly increased.

    - HP 35 → 40

Adjusted the HP of Frogs.
    Similar to Rabbits, the hunting difficulty for Frogs was too low relative to their utility. Their maximum health has also been slightly increased.

    - HP 32 → 36

Adjusted the efficiency of Rabbit production in Rabbit Pasture.
    - Grass 16 → 8

Adjusted the efficiency of Bat production in Batiary
    - Berry 2 → 4
    - Workload 1800 → 2000

Adjusted the efficiency of Silkworm production in Cocoonery
    - Workload 1800 → 1600

Adjusted the efficiency of Bee production in Apiary.
    - Workload 1600 → 1400

Adjusted the price and production efficiency of Bone resources, and added new production methods.
    - Price 20 → 24
    Method 1
      - Workload 500 → 600
    Method 2 (Added)
      - Resource: 1 Bat
      - Workload: 400
      - Output: 3

Adjusted the efficiency of Bone Powder production.
    - Workload 650 → 550

Adjusted the effects of Bat Potion.
    Bat Potion had better effects compared to other consumables of the same grade. Its effects have been slightly reduced, while its production efficiency has been improved.

      - Workload 600 → 500
      - Stamina Decline Rate 20% → 10%

Adjusted the production efficiency of Bat Juice.
    - Workload 450 → 400

Adjusted the number of treatments possible per unit of Medicine.
    - Uses 3 → 4

The placement effect of the Temple of War has been changed as follows.
    - Daily Wage 250 → 350
    - Druid
      Added Additional Damage per Intelligence +1
    - Warrior
      Removed Damage +6
      Added Additional Damage per Strength +1
    - Skirmisher
      Added Additional Damage per Dexterity +1
    - Priestess
      Added Additional Damage per Intelligence +2

The placement effect of the Hall of Guardians has been changed as follows.
    - Guardian
      HP +130 → +180

The placement effect of the Combat Academy has been changed as follows.
    - Hammerrat
      Removed Damage +12
      Added Additional Damage per Strength +2


-💌 Added seeds of plants destroyed by enemy spawn zones to reward chests.
-💌 Added an auto-deployment button for zone exploration to make exploration easier.
-💌 Added a hierarchy UI to the Ratizen Information window.
  - Hierarchies have been added to Ratizen statuses.
-💌 Added tooltip descriptions in the abilities UI of the Ratizen Information window.
-💌 Added a feature to set registration conditions for the Ratizen registry structure.
  - Added 4 new selectable colors for the Ratizen registry structure.
-💌 Added a feature to pre-select crops in the blueprint placement screen of the farm structure.
-💌 Added a feature to purchase/build trap structures from NPCs in the conquest map.

- Adjusted the maximum expansion count of Lizard Colonies from 10 to 12.
- Fixed an issue where leaders were affected by door direction restrictions.
- Removed the "Type" sorting option and added a "Food Recovery Amount" sorting option when selecting resources for exploration.
- Standardized the number of crafting nodes for blacksmith items.
- Replaced the battle BGM in the conquest map with a new BGM track.
- Added unique credit sequences for each victory condition achieved.
- Changed the game save method to a compressed format to reduce file size.
- Ended the beta for Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish localization.
  - Once again, we extend our gratitude to the users who contributed to this effort.


[h2]Bug Fix[/h2]
-💌 Fixed an issue where the Ratizen rank-up effect from the Path of Education milestone was not applied correctly.
-💌 Fixed an issue where the resource quantity limit setting was not copied when applying and copying settings for Storage structures.
-💌 Fixed an issue where reward chests from destroyed enemy bases could not be interacted with due to terrain destruction or flooding.
-💌 Fixed an issue where Ratizens were not using decorative structures like Benches.
-💌 Fixed an issue where Papyrus did not grow properly in winter when using the Rabbit Shrine Skill.
-💌 Fixed an issue where exploration success still resulted in zero displayed resources.
-💌 Fixed an issue where the sorting function in the statistics window did not work correctly for Ratrons.
- Fixed an issue where some sleeping Ratizens did not participate in rebellions.
- Fixed an issue where Ratizens assigned to certain service structures could not properly perform their tasks.

Ratopia DevDiary #34 - Religion System : Umbran religion

Hello all, it's Cassel, developer of .
This month, we focused extensively on the Shaman Leader theme. Finally, with the content now complete enough to share, I am excited to present it in this development diary.

As briefly mentioned in Development Diary #32, the Shaman theme involved discussions around various ideas. Deciding how to implement these ideas in an engaging way, and determining the direction and objectives for development, was no easy task. In particular, given the diverse perspectives held by both the development team and players regarding religion, it required a careful approach to integrate and balance all these ideas within the constraints of limited development time.

Regrettably, this also meant making difficult decisions to set aside some of the more compelling concepts. Before diving in, I want to sincerely thank everyone who shared their thoughts on the religious theme. Now, let me formally introduce the Shaman theme to you all.


[h3]Religion System[/h3]

With the Shaman update, Ratizens who follow specific religions gain additional abilities. While the Scientist content focused on using structures to efficiently develop the city, the Shaman content centers around utilizing Ratizens to drive the city’s growth. As a result, the key to this theme lies in managing paths, schedules, and spaces to ensure that more Ratizens can adopt a religion.

The planning process for the Shaman theme was not without its challenges, as the variety of experiences we wanted to offer made the journey anything but smooth. Numerous requests to adjust the direction required us to clarify the specific experiences we wanted to deliver before moving forward. After careful deliberation, we established the following objectives for the Shaman theme:

- Incorporate elements that utilize deceased Ratizens
- Make the process of forming religions more engaging than simply completing them
- Design systems that are easy to understand (though we often feel like we fall short...)
- Enhance space management and Ratizen control mechanics
- Provide a unique experience through new mechanisms
- Enable creative applications through existing systems
- Offer players a variety of choices

In hindsight, these goals may seem overly ambitious. However, we felt that such challenges were necessary to ensure the theme update’s quality. Furthermore, rather than confining everything into a single religion, we decided it would be more enjoyable to split the content across two distinct religions. This approach allows for potential additions like religious inclusivity and conflict, making management even more engaging for players.

The basic progression in the Shaman theme is as follows:

Once the Shaman Desk is researched and constructed in your city, you can build the initial conversion structures for the Umbran and Purgon religions. When a Ratizen is assigned to a conversion structure, they will begin converting other Ratizens to their religion. However, since a Ratizen’s religious devotion is limited in time, mechanisms must be in place to ensure followers do not lose their faith.

As the number of maintained followers increases, additional religious structures and doctrinal bonuses are unlocked. These unlocked structures provide more opportunities to convert additional followers. The doctrinal bonuses include both positive and negative effects, requiring players to make careful choices. Furthermore, as the religion advances in stages, the city is at greater risk of facing crises, making balanced management essential.

After navigating these processes, you can fill your city with religious Ratizens and construct the Shaman Monument to achieve victory.


A richer religious tech tree.


Each religion has its own unique strengths and characteristics, and it’s possible to develop both simultaneously. While this approach offers optimal efficiency, it comes with slower growth and a higher level of management difficulty. As such, it can be an engaging challenge for experienced players or those managing a sufficiently stable city.

Now, let’s dive into the details of the Umbran religion. Initially, we planned to cover both religions in this diary, but as we began writing, the volume grew larger than expected. As a result, we’ll cover the Purgon religion in the next development diary. Thank you for your understanding, and for this diary, we’ll focus on the unique appeal and systems of the Umbran religion!


[h3]Umbran[/h3]

The Umbran religion is a cult that worships darkness and harnesses the souls of living beings to perform shamanic rituals. Ratizens who witness its supernatural rituals or are inspired by its ominous idols become enthralled by the Umbran faith.

When Umbran structures are constructed, souls are generated whenever Ratizens, animals, or enemies die. These souls enhance the efficiency of Umbran structures, allowing the influence of the Umbran religion to spread throughout the city. As you research the Umbran religion, you’ll unlock mechanisms that generate even more souls, further amplifying its power and reach.


Conversion to the Umbran faith accelerates with each soul generated.


Initially, we designed souls to directly affect Ratizens who follow the Umbran religion rather than its structures. However, this approach risked becoming overly efficient as the number of Umbran followers increased. Conversely, reducing the effectiveness of souls made them significantly less appealing during the early stages of gameplay when soul generation is limited.

To address this, we restricted the use of souls to specific Umbran structures, ensuring that only select buildings could benefit significantly from the power of souls. This adjustment not only enhanced the distinctly religious atmosphere of the Umbran faith but also provided clearer feedback to players about the impact of soul generation.

On the flip side, this change restricted the utility of souls to a limited number of Umbran buildings. This felt disproportionate to the effort required to generate souls, as their influence seemed too minimal. To counterbalance this, we expanded the functionality of soul-utilizing Umbran structures by allowing them to provide bonuses to nearby Ratizens. This adjustment ensured that the effects of souls could influence the entire city more broadly.


The Ritual Cavern replenishes the stamina of weary Ratizens. These guys... were good guys?!


The process of increasing followers of the Umbran faith is relatively straightforward compared to the Purgon faith. By increasing the supply of souls to boost the efficiency of the basic conversion building, the Sanctum, or by constructing one of the five Umbran idols around the city, you can steadily grow your congregation.

Conversion system through the idols were added because simply enhancing the efficiency of the Sanctum felt a bit monotonous. Each idol has unique effects within its range, converting Ratizens without a religion during specific activities such as sleeping or eating. For Ratizens already following the Umbran faith, the idols help maintain their devotion.


To enhance clarity, each idol incorporates the animal motifs of existing shrines.


The five idols of the Umbran faith are unlocked progressively as the religion’s rank increases. This was designed to prevent an explosive growth in followers due to the idols’ probabilistic conversion effects and to let players experience the gradual process of expanding their congregation alongside the development of their city. In short, we wanted players to consistently and strategically think about how to grow their followers step by step.

Once converted, Umbran followers undergo attribute changes depending on the doctrines they follow. As the number of followers increases and the religion’s rank rises, these doctrines become more powerful. The doctrines of the Umbran faith offer significant bonuses, such as greatly enhancing the growth rate and work efficiency of followers. However, these benefits come with downsides, such as increased craving for joy and a higher propensity to commit crimes. Most importantly, converted followers gain the ability to be assigned to Umbran buildings.

There is an exception for the Sanctum, the first Umbran conversion building. Since it operates by assigning Ratizens, even unconverted Ratizens can be placed in the Sanctum, and they are converted upon assignment. This was a deliberate design to prevent situations where the absence of followers would completely block progress in religious content.

However, this exception led to unintended scenarios. Leaders could repeatedly assign and unassign Ratizens to the Sanctum, effectively forcing conversions and artificially inflating the number of followers—a method that went against the design’s intentions.

To address this issue, we've rolled back the exception, and implemented a system where Umbran followers could naturally emerge through city entrances or specific events if no followers currently existed in the city. This approach felt much more organic and aligned with the game’s design goals.

Another problem arose due to the restriction that only Umbran followers could be assigned to Umbran buildings. When a follower lost their faith, they would lose their job as well, becoming unemployed and idle.


Even during a performance, Owen suddenly quits his job. Is he fleeing from reality after realizing the truth?


The inclusion of probabilistic elements in the process of converting and maintaining specific Ratizens as followers made these situations nearly unavoidable, even with meticulous city planning. This created inconvenience and dissatisfaction, particularly among players who preferred automation and stability. Players were often left thinking, “It doesn’t matter who gets assigned!” and would either randomly place any available follower or wait for new Ratizens to convert if replacements were unavailable.

To alleviate this issue, we considered applying the automatic assignment feature from beds to the Umbran buildings. If unemployed Umbran Ratizens were available, they could be automatically assigned to buildings. However, this method frequently resulted in unintended assignments, forcing players to fix inefficient placements, which only added to the frustration.

Ultimately, we addressed the problem by designing the system so that Ratizens assigned to Umbran buildings would maintain their faith, making job continuity predictable for assigned followers. While this appeared to solve the issue of unassignments, it introduced the potential for a new problem: players constructing large numbers of Umbran buildings to artificially sustain their follower count.

To prevent this exploit, we reviewed the possibility of limiting the number of each building that could be constructed. However, imposing such limits risks restricting player freedom, making it critical to find a balanced level of limitation. A system where construction caps are gradually lifted as the religion’s rank increases seems appropriate, but since this requires additional development work, we plan to observe the situation without implementing caps for now. Hopefully, building a large number of structures to compensate for a lack of followers will prove to be an unnecessary concern.


What’s the point of the Umbran if we can’t operate a massive army of necromancers?


To construct Umbran buildings, players must produce exclusive resources: "Scrolls" and "Grimoires". These resources can only be produced at the "Spirit Workshop", an Umbran-exclusive production building, which requires higher workload and longer work hours compared to other resources. However, since the Spirit Workshop is a building that increases efficiency with the use of souls, players are encouraged to think about ways to increase soul generation if the production speed feels insufficient.

The purpose of introducing this production chain was to regulate the expansion speed of the religion, preventing it from becoming excessively rapid, while ensuring that players don’t feel bored during the expansion process. Given the simplicity of the Umbran conversion mechanics, players who had already secured enough resources and sources of souls could easily expand their religion simply by building idols and waiting. By adding continuous steps through a production chain, we aimed to enhance the experience of being a leader devoted to fostering a religion, making the gameplay more engaging than just passively waiting for growth.


To ensure smooth production, the leader goes on patrol once again.


The issue was that these resources, once produced, were used solely for construction and then left unused. It was necessary to create additional ways to continuously utilize these resources even after building Umbran structures. With this in mind, we devised ways to make these hard-to-produce resources provide ongoing bonuses. For instance, we considered adding features like rituals that offer consistent benefits to Umbran followers or the ability to permanently modify the characteristics of Ratizens.


Let’s "Normalize" Ratizen characteristics through soul remodeling!


The feature to modify characteristics was intended to consume not only Grimoires but also accumulated souls. This was aimed at expanding the usage of Umbran-exclusive resources and diversifying how souls could be utilized. However, due to difficulties in implementing a system that consumed both Grimoires and souls simultaneously, we ultimately decided to create a building that only consumed souls.

With the limited use cases for Umbran-exclusive resources, it became clear that more diverse buildings were needed. However, since we also needed to work on the Sanctus, we could only add a few basic structures for now. Even after the Shaman update is released, we plan to continue updating this theme. If you have ideas for additional buildings or features, please feel free to share them with us—we’ll gladly consider them!


In addition, we’ve developed various elements tied to Umbran rituals, including new leader equipment, milestones, and events. We hope you enjoy the Shaman update, which is set to release in mid-January. Wishing you all a happy New Year, and may 2025 be a year full of health and happiness for everyone!

Ratopia DevDiary #33 - Intro Video

Hello all, it's Cassel, developer of .
This November, we worked on tasks related to the Shaman theme. Since development has only progressed to a prototype level for one of the two religions, Umbran, we decided it would be better to delve into topics related to Shamans after more progress has been made.

As a result, we contemplated what topic to cover in this Development Diary. It occurred to us that we hadn’t yet shared details about the new intro video we worked on 2–3 months ago. So, we thought this would be a great opportunity to share the production process behind creating the intro video.

Note: I am not professionally trained in screenwriting! Please understand that my approach to creating the intro video may be somewhat unpolished.


[h3]October 2021: Intro Planning[/h3]

The planning for 's intro dates back to October 2021. Similar to the previous game, , the goal was to use an intro video at the start of the game to briefly introduce the story and system, sparking the player’s curiosity, immersion, and enthusiasm.

I spent considerable time pondering what kind of intro scenario could achieve this effect. To find inspiration, I researched opening sequences from other city-building games and intro videos created with 2D animation, replaying the clips I collected repeatedly.

Through this process, one idea came to mind: showcasing how various rat cities thrived and eventually fell. Such a narrative could naturally hint at the game’s content and challenges while motivating players to think about the kind of city they want to build and how they will prepare for crises. This seemed like an intro video concept well-suited for , which features multiple endings.


After outlining the general flow in my head, I started creating a storyboard to solidify the concept. I first considered how many shots would be needed and what atmosphere and emotions each shot should convey. I gathered reference images to help shape these ideas. Then, I began noting down what elements, direction, and dialogue each scene would include.


Reference images often came from memorable scenes in impactful movies that immediately came to mind.


As I worked on the storyboard, the world and story of naturally became more detailed. Later, to better convey my ideas visually, I attempted to sketch out some scenes despite my lack of drawing skills.


Hand-drawn sketches I eagerly photographed with a smile, thinking they might someday appear in a DevDiary.


The final part of the intro received particular attention. I wanted it to seamlessly transition into the title screen, just like in the previous game, . This approach was heavily influenced by my personal experiences with games that used similar techniques. The smooth conclusion often left me with heightened anticipation and excitement for the game.

However, at the time, was still in a prototype stage without even a title screen. This meant I had to simultaneously conceptualize the title screen to align with the end of the intro. While linking the intro to the title screen was a challenging task, I felt it was worth attempting, considering the synergy it could create upon completion.

This led the intro planning to extend into the title screen planning (covered in [DevDiary #11]). Once the intro and title screen were organized to some extent, I shifted back to game development, thinking the intro would only be added closer to the release.


Some of you may wonder why we started planning a video that would likely be added far in the future so early. This was due to the unique challenges often faced by small development teams like ours. We require more time for technical implementation and research than for graphic work. As a result, there can occasionally be work gaps where art team members have little to do for certain periods.

To prevent such situations, it’s essential to prepare tasks in advance that can be worked on regardless of development progress. The intro was a perfect fit for this purpose, and having a prepared plan meant we could use it whenever needed. Fortunately, in 2021, we didn’t have to put this plan into action.


[h3]February 2022: Prototype Production[/h3]

However, the peaceful development life was short-lived... Before long, the intro work faced a crisis (of progress, that is), leading to its full-scale development. This time, we moved beyond simple planning and ventured into prototype production. Before starting the production, it became necessary to refine details such as camera movements, scene timings, required direction, sound effects, and more.

Some directions were difficult to convey through text alone, and certain scenes required validation to determine if they were even feasible with our technical limitations. To address these challenges, we created simple animations to visually represent our intended direction.


An animation example illustrating camera movements.


Whether it was helpful or not, based on the organized storyboard and reference materials, our art team member began working directly on the prototype. The key to prototype production was speed and efficiency, so the focus was on completing it quickly and succinctly. During this process, resources from both and were utilized extensively.


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
The art team member’s touch brings forth new results.


However, as we reviewed the completed prototype, additional concerns began to surface:

 - Would showcasing the collapse of each city distort the message of “What kind of city will you build?”
 - Could we achieve natural visuals by adding a sticker-like feel to the resources used in the game?
 - Should we emphasize core game elements such as taxes, wages, and other economic factors more prominently in the intro?
 - Would it be acceptable to have the dialogue script in the intro narrated with human voices?
 - What if we replaced the intro with a scenario mode and prepared opening videos for each scenario instead?
 - Is it okay to reference the names of other leaders in the intro?
 - Does the overall tone of the intro feel too dark compared to the title screen?

Perhaps my attachment to the project made me overly critical, noticing only its shortcomings. Overall, as we focused on emphasizing the story in the intro, it felt increasingly disconnected from the gameplay. It seemed like the opening wasn’t fully highlighting the unique characteristics of .

At the time, however, we couldn’t come up with a clear solution to improve this. Coincidentally, new tasks emerged, and we decided to temporarily halt the intro work. We concluded that revisiting it in the future with better-planned scenarios could yield a more satisfying result.


[h3]August 2024: Video Production[/h3]

Despite the passage of 2 years and 6 months, no alternative scenarios emerged to replace the original. With so many tasks to develop, creating new intro scenarios had naturally fallen down the priority list. Before we knew it, the time to prepare for the official release had arrived, and we decided to carve out time to draft additional new scenarios.

This time, we worked on three different types of scenarios, each emphasizing a unique aspect: the first version focused on highlighting the game’s core mechanics and features, the second showcased cute or impressive scenes to accentuate the game’s atmosphere, and the third delved into the protagonist’s backstory, explaining why they decided to build a city, placing an emphasis on the story.

However, after reviewing all the scenarios together, the consensus was that the original draft was the best. Upon reflection, the original draft had a balanced blend of the key elements, and refining these strengths seemed to be the optimal approach. Since we already had a prototype for the original draft, it was relatively easy to outline the necessary tasks. But the challenge lay in figuring out how to make it more captivating within its established framework.


Artifact-like records of brainstorming how to execute the scenes.


A storyboard recreated for higher quality.


Direction check~!


After completing the storyboard, we enlarged it to its actual size and began full-scale production. However, various unforeseen issues arose, and the process ended up taking about two months. For instance, the style of the video’s beginning and end became slightly inconsistent due to the extended development time, requiring adjustments. Additionally, we hadn’t properly considered the placement of subtitles, the pacing of narration, and the transition to the title screen, which caused further trouble. Revisiting and revising a partially completed video was a particularly taxing task.

There were also numerous considerations regarding the sound design. One of the biggest dilemmas was whether to use human voices for the rats’ dialogue in the intro. Since the rats in the game don’t speak with human voices, incorporating human voices into the intro seemed like it might feel out of place. On the other hand, completely removing human voices or replacing them with odd noises would significantly hinder the clarity of the intended message.

We decided to test various sample sound effects and finalize the decision based on the results. Ultimately, the rats’ dialogue in the opening was replaced with the same voices used for the rats in the game, creating the impression that the narrator—a third party—was explaining the scene. Though, to most players, it might still feel like it’s the protagonist’s voice.

The narration has already been recorded by a voice actor, but the background music and sound effects are still in production. The background music is being composed once again by Remi, who created all the tracks for . Once all the sound design is completed, we plan to update the game so that the intro plays at the start. We hope the intro video will leave a strong first impression on new players.


The final scene of the completed intro—"Become a hero in ."


We plan to continue improving the areas where the game falls short. While updates may sometimes be slow or disorganized due to development constraints, we are always deeply grateful for your patience and support. We promise to keep showing you our progress and growth.

In the next Development Diary, we hope to share updates on the progress of the Shaman theme. Until then, thank you for all your hard work this year, and we wish you a joyful holiday season!