Version 0.0.5 – New turn-bases mode

Massive problems

All this time since I am developing this game, I had a gamemode in mind, that was more like a paradox game experience. Pausebale realtime, but not to fast, so you can take your time with decisions. But with time and a growing project, I faced to massive problems:

1. With a lot of residents to simulate and also a lot of neutral or hostile units to manage, it was hard to let time pass by quickly.
2. Since I wanted to simulate realistic progress, I faced an even bigger problem: Harvest time is only once a year. After that, there is a waiting time for around 10 months. It just wasn’t fun to wait so long for things to happen. Real life isn’t full of daily mysteries and quests to solve.
3. Also, waiting for a child to become an adult which can take part in the settlement life would talk forever.

New turn-based approach

With that problems in mind, I had to make a decision: I let the realtime mode go and focused on a turn-based approach. Also, I stopped simulating each and every day of the residents. Now, one turn represents a month. Each month cycles 4 weeks when events take place.

Now, a lot of so-called realism is lost to the game, but the feel of progress is much stronger now. Winters and harvest, thinks and events come and go. People get born, grow up and die. This all happens in a reasonable time.

Food collecting

I also moved from a harvest/crops and/or animal approach. The new start setup includes no animals at all. They have to be hunted and domesticated. But there are new ressources now. Settlers without a field of work can now take part in the collection of food. This is possible, as moving settler unit. There it will costs action points. But this also possible, if a settlement is already established. Than it will cost influence.

The growing importance of influence

One ressource comes more and more into focus, while the game is being developed. We already have plenty ressources like food (corn, vegetables, meat, animal products, wood, iron, coal, ore, etc.. But the social ressource influence has its hand allround the game. Every decision you take costs influence. Changing jobs, fields of works, forcing social decisions or forming armies and expeditions costs influence.

Defending the settlement

With that in mind, I also made it possible, to let every resident of a settlement defend the settlement. But if the resident is no warrior, it costs influence to make him fight. This represents the fact, that he is afraid and not trained in fighting other humans.

Also defending gets more important now. Since we now have hostile units, that roam the land and attack a settler unit or a settlement if they get near to it.