About Rebirth game system

[p]There are two types of players in the incremental genre: those who like rebirth/prestige mechanics and those who don’t.[/p][p][/p][p]Why don't players like it? The obvious answer is: progress loss - this is the actual thing the players don’t like.[/p][p][/p][p]When crafting the Four Divine Abidings I pondered on this topic a lot to make Rebirths actually fun. These are game design solutions I implemented:[/p][p]⬖ Counter surface progress loss with more fundamental progress gain.[/p][p]⬖ Introduce resources that are consistent throughout the whole game and never lost.[/p][p]⬖ Add unique skills and systems accessible through Rebirths only.[/p][p]⬖ Make main game loop evolving and flexible.[/p][p]⬖ Introduce meaningful choices to customize each Rebirth.[/p][p]⬖ Add means of progress automation.[/p][p]⬖ Keep Rebirth system lore-consistent.[/p][p][/p][p]On a design level it all might sound too abstract so here are some particulars that make Rebirths really fun in the Four Divine Abidings:[/p][p]⬖ 16 unique Rebirths skills grouped into 6 categories. Each category has an independent price curve so players can meaningfully choose what to focus on.[/p][p]⬖ Free respecs always available for each Rebirth: trying new things is encouraged, makes runs different.[/p][p]⬖ Rebirths preview: players see what stats they will have at the start, what buffs will be applied. Support theory craft and number crunching for those who like it.[/p][p]⬖ Main Rebirth resource - Karma - is never lost, it accumulates through all runs. Besides, all Karma spent on Rebirths is converted to another resource - Merit - making the start of each run progressively more abundant. [/p][p]⬖ Permanent buffs (that come from Milestones) are always preserved as well as Milestones themselves.[/p][p]⬖ An optional, upgradeable tool that automates some progress, especially effective early after Rebirths.[/p][p]⬖ Rebirths fit the lore perfectly - it’s a central concept of the Buddhist philosophy which the lore itself is based on.[/p][p][/p][p]You are welcome to share your Rebirth system experience on Steam forums or Discord.[/p]