Since our last content drop, The Trade Boom, we’ve kept busy and directly tackled the next update. While we’re still in the process of adding tons of new gameplay features, we wanted to let you know about one specific upcoming system that will add a new layer of depth to Dawn Apart: Loyalty.
Loyalty is a key metric because it decides the fate of your mining operation. Whenever a worker on Sirius B 3 loses their faith in the working conditions or the community they will switch into quiet quitting mode and ultimately abandon the colony - either by running into the wilderness or hopping on the next trade ship leaving the planet. Human resources are a sparse commodity so make sure to keep your working personnel happy at all times.
Colonist Koki became very disloyal because he had to eat and clean himself outside with neither shelter nor table.
So what’s the best loyalty program to maintain a flourishing colony? Generally, loyalty is affected by three variables: hunger, rest/vitality, and temperature. Let’s take a closer look at each of those dimensions.
Starving colonists not only lose health but also commitment to their assigned tasks. At the moment, there is a never-ending supply of awful-tasting but nutritious slop coming out of the food vending machine called Mr. Soylent. However, when the next update hits, you’ll be in charge of refilling Mr. Soylent so everyone stays fed. Bonus points if you build a cafeteria or mess hall for your hungry workers, because eating in the quiet comfort of a table and chair will increase their loyalty even further.
There is no better recipe for disaster than letting your colony be run by sleep-deprived zombies. So make sure to place enough beds, or they will pass out on the job. It does make a difference, however, where you choose to establish your sleeping quarters. Even though sleeping outdoors can be a transformative experience, colonists prefer to get their eight (or however many hours you assign them) of sleep under a well-tempered roof. If you fail to provide cozy sleeping dorms, colonists will not only lose sleep but also respect for the whole colony setup.
While it's hot outside, thanks to water coolers, the inside of the dormitory has a nice temperature of 18.5 degrees celsius.
In the case of Sirius B 3, obsessing over the weather may actually be a great idea. For our upcoming update, we’ll add outside temperatures to the planet, which can go as low as -40 or as high as +40 degrees Celsius - and its impact on building and working conditions is profound. Let’s say it’s freezing cold outside: then you may not only provide barracks for your colonists but also heating in the form of stoves. On the other hand, during scorching weather, you may want to provide Air Conditioning units for your quarters to keep them fresh and productive. To maintain a comfortable room temperature, make sure to build vents and corridors, because once a door is open, heat or cold will try to sneak into the room and affect sleeping, eating, or crafting quality.
Let our developer Francisco give you a preview of how loyalty will actually look like:
In order to monitor these variables, we’re also overhauling the modals so you’ll always know the stats of who your most dedicated worker bees are, or which colony members are about to ghost you. With the loyalty system, the colony management part of Dawn Apart takes on a more prominent role - no more placing beds on a hill and letting your workers slave away in the open cold. We still have some fine-tuning to do, so we’ll let you know ASAP when the update, along with a bunch of quality-of-life improvements, will drop. Until then, join our Discord server to get exclusive access to upcoming playtests.
Stay loyal, stay strong!
The IT&W Team