Hey all!
v1.4 is now live on Humble and the main Steam branch.
As promised in my previous update there have been some big changes to diplomacy, described in detail in my previous update and summarized below in the patch notes. The new goodies are still a bit rough and no doubt there are some exploits in there but I’ll continue refining the mechanics in future updates.
Read MoreHey all, I’ve decided to post my design plan for the diplomacy changes coming in v1.4 to give you an idea of what’s on the horizon.
Diplomacy is a tricky feature which requires a lot of playtesting to evaluate and so this is a fairly long-term project. When launching a new project I like to outline my goal in a single sentence and then break that down with some additional details plus a series of “design pillars” which together serve as instructions for what to pay attention to over the course of that project. This also helps keep scope from spiraling out of control, which is a common problem in game development.
Read Morev1.3 is now live on the main Steam branch and Humble dashboard!
This update contains major AI upgrades, as well as fixes for several crash bugs which have been reported since v1.2 (in particular a really nasty one that happened after upgrading the caravan).
v1.4 will be dedicated to diplomacy and more bugfixing. No exact ETA on this update yet but I’ll be posting unstable branch updates every so often before the full version goes up.
Read Morev1.2 is now available on Steam and Humble. This is the game's second big update, following v1.1's major improvements to the game's economy and balance back in May (see this post for more details). v1.2 focuses on improving the midgame, the Romans, and also adds a new 'clan list' screen which makes it much easier to keep track of your people.
Read MoreThe first big gameplay update for AtG is now up on Steam and Humble. In this article I'll briefly cover what's included and what's coming up next.
Read MoreWelcome to the sixth and final pre-launch weekly AtG update! Every Sunday afternoon a new article has been posted, and each week has had its own theme. This past week our theme was the game's art and sound, and you can check out previous daily updates on Twitter and weekly updates here on the AtG website.
As with last week this update will be a recap of the daily updates posted on Twitter so that I can focus on getting this bad boy out the door on Wednesday.
Read MoreWith only a week and a half left before the game's launch it's important that I stay focused on the game itself, so for this week's update I'm going to keep it really simple and just link to the 6 daily project updates posted on Twitter since last Sunday.
Almost there!
Read MoreOne of the biggest differences between AtG and nearly all past 4X strategy games is that AtG has fully embraced an asymmetric single-player approach. Similar to the roguelike genre, every playthrough will vary in difficulty and feel thanks to being unpredictable in terms of the terrain, climate, resources, and clans you'll strategizing around. This isn't a game with a smooth, predictable arc from start to finish. You'll have to adapt strategies, and some starts will just be a bit unfair. This isn't the kind of game for everyone, but that's part of what makes AtG unique. The goal wasn't to build a game for everyone. The goal was to make something new.
Read MoreEach of the playable factions starts the game with one Settlement, which is roughly equivalent to a city in other 4X games. It can produce units by training Clans in new Professions, and it also happens to be the place all new Clans will arrive. But a big difference from other games is that you'll only ever have one. That's it. Whatever you want to build or do you have to do it one at a time. As such, what you spend this training time on is one of the most important strategic decisions you'll have to make while playing.
Read MoreClans are the people which make up your tribe. They arrive in your settlement periodically at a rate determined by how much of the Fame resource you're producing each turn. In the early game clans arrive fairly regularly, but you need to invest to keep them arriving at a steady rate.
Training clans in different professions is how you get things done in AtG. If you want to explore the map then you train one of your clans as an Explorer, and if you want to start harvesting some Fruit to feed your people you'll want to turn someone into a Gatherer.
Read MoreThe map is the most important part of any strategy game, especially a 4X game. I spent 18 months creating the map generation system for AtG, and although in retrospect it was probably a bit much it really is a cool system, and something I'm proud to show off and expect to continue using in future games.
My primary goal with the map generator was to produce realistic-feeling worlds. They aren't perfect, and I've fudged things here and there for the sake of good gameplay, but the goal from day 1 was something that felt right. There should be long mountain chains, vast deserts, lush regions, rivers winding down from high points helping quench the thirst of dense forests.
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