SHOVEL AXED BY THE HOE
After a lot of debate, we've made a significant change to our game mechanics. The hoe, shovel, and axe have all been modified and placed in different levels. Why? Part of the reason is that the hoe was always supposed to be the most powerful tool, the goto for Patchman, but it turned out the shovel became by far the best tool to take with you from the shack.
OLD TOOL POWERS:
Hoe - Removes low plants from the ground/soil
Shovel - Digs new soil
Axe - Removes larger plants from the ground/soil
NEW TOOL POWERS:
Axe - Removes most plants and bushes
Hoe - Creates new soil from grassy tiles
Shovel - Digs near water and rivers to expand them
This new setup gives a broader range of actions Patchman can do!
The unfortunate part is that now you get the Axe first, and that seems a bit out of place, not getting the Hoe until the Sheeple Rush level. Also, the Axe is misleading because players tend to think it can be used to attack Drones or Sheeple... but it's really not meant to do that. So we may even at some point replace the Axe with a less "offensive" tool.
BALANCING: TODO
All the tools still need more balancing. The hoe is a bit overpowerful, so we are thinking of ways to tone it down a bit. The overpower doesn't really make the game way easier, just slower. If you can hoe unlimited soil and grow too many plants, the simulation will just slow down. So we want to have a way to limit that, whether it's weeds or grass that overgrow your extra soil, or something else...
OLD TOOL POWERS:
Hoe - Removes low plants from the ground/soil
Shovel - Digs new soil
Axe - Removes larger plants from the ground/soil
NEW TOOL POWERS:
Axe - Removes most plants and bushes
Hoe - Creates new soil from grassy tiles
Shovel - Digs near water and rivers to expand them
This new setup gives a broader range of actions Patchman can do!
The unfortunate part is that now you get the Axe first, and that seems a bit out of place, not getting the Hoe until the Sheeple Rush level. Also, the Axe is misleading because players tend to think it can be used to attack Drones or Sheeple... but it's really not meant to do that. So we may even at some point replace the Axe with a less "offensive" tool.
BALANCING: TODO
All the tools still need more balancing. The hoe is a bit overpowerful, so we are thinking of ways to tone it down a bit. The overpower doesn't really make the game way easier, just slower. If you can hoe unlimited soil and grow too many plants, the simulation will just slow down. So we want to have a way to limit that, whether it's weeds or grass that overgrow your extra soil, or something else...