Hello Citizens!
The time has come. New Edinburgh awaits, and we need your vote of trust more than ever.New DLC, packed with a brand new story requested by many of you, is available now!With the release of the expansion, all players will also receive a free content update, including:
Volcano Night in a simplified version for Utopia Builder
Aurora map added to Utopia Builder
Fishing Hub (available only on Aurora)
Check out the new release trailer, discover the DLC's content, and read a few words from the Game Designer behind the expansion:
(patch notes at the end of the announcement)
The colony on the frozen lake, Aurora, awaits. The volcano burns steadily. And somewhere between trust and force, you must lead New Edinburgh through catastrophe in this full fledged new scenario, a harsh tale about humanity's struggle for survival.
The city shall live, as long as we live. But survival demands a price.
A gripping new story set in New Edinburgh and Aurora
Experience a brand new scenario that explores the fate of a city built in the shadow of a volcano and its former colony on a frozen lake. Navigate political turmoil, environmental disaster, and impossible choices as catastrophe looms.
Five unique Communities and Factions
Meet five new groups, each with its own identities, ideologies, and ambitions. Earn their trust, challenge their beliefs, or risk pushing the city toward division.
Deadly new environmental hazards
Survive the devastating Tremors and the terrifying Volcano Night, two new mechanics that will force you to rethink your strategies and adapt to ever-changing conditions.
New narrative events and gameplay mechanics
Face fresh challenges through new story events, decisions, and mechanics designed specifically for this expansion, creating new opportunities and dilemmas.
Independent Colony system
Shape your relationship with Aurora through diplomacy, trade, coercion, or outright conquest. Every decision will affect the balance of power between your cities.
Two new scenario maps
Lead your people across two entirely new locations, each presenting unique challenges, opportunities, and strategic considerations.
Five new buildings and hubs
Expand your city's capabilities with new structures and infrastructure options that will help you confront the growing crisis.
New laws and political choices
Guide your society through uncertain times with new legislation, shape the future of New Edinburgh, and decide how much trust your people are willing to place in you.
Check out couple of words prepared for you guys from Adam Mirkowski - Senior Game Designer and Project Lead on Breach of Trust expansion. How a famous Polish poem, geothermal tremors and Scottish resilience inspired the team to build 'Breach of Trust', the upcoming expansion that flips the frozen world on its head.
“We’re not doing it because it’s easy. We’re doing it because we thought it would be easy.”
How hard can it be to make a scenario about a volcanic eruption? Volcanoes excite everyone. There is something magnetic about watching a burst of lava erupt from a massive mountain that leaves us completely thrilled. Volcanoes are a vivid and compelling topic, but paradoxically, that means it is hard to tell a fresh, surprising story around them. Everyone has the same images in mind when they hear about an eruption: fire, ash, Pompeii, and darkness. So, how do you fit volcanoes into the Frostpunk world? Will it just make the earth warm again? All those questions and doubts didn't stop us. After some research, we found that active volcanoes are indeed present in arctic regions. While their eruptions warm up the immediate surroundings, they don't change the polar climate altogether. What makes it a truly fascinating topic is that the ash blocking the sun can actually cause the opposite effect: a volcanic winter. While we were sure we could create interesting gameplay around a volcanic eruption, our main question was how to fit that into the Frostpunk universe and style. With this expansion, we wanted to bring fresh stories to the world and expand its lore with a completely new city. While chasing these ambitious goals, we also knew that the most important element was striking the right balance between bringing novelty and honoring our legacy: the specific mood and style that make Frostpunk compelling for players. While researching potential settings, we discovered that Edinburgh was actually built on Arthur's Seat, a massive, 340-million-year-old extinct volcano located right in the heart of the Scottish city. Suddenly, it all clicked. The Scots, with their national traits of resilience and pride, perfectly fitted the themes of the DLC. Their rich, vivid culture can serve as a source of endless inspiration, from music and storytelling to distinct outfits. It provided an opportunity to stay close to the original setting of Frostpunk while offering a unique new perspective on another culture.
Obviously, in the Frostpunk universe, the Scots settled New Edinburgh near a slightly less extinct volcano. But you will learn that for yourself while playing 'Breach of Trust'. However, the question remained: how do you make a scenario about a volcanic eruption that doesn't feel like a B-grade disaster movie? From the very beginning, we knew that despite amplifying the survival aspect, we also wanted it to be a story about society, as Frostpunk should be. The inspiration for how to merge these topics came from an entirely unforeseen direction. My mind suddenly went back to my school years, remembering a class on Polish literature. Every Polish kid knows our national poet, Adam Mickiewicz. One of his most famous quotes goes:
“Our nation is like lava,
Cold and hard, foul and sullied on the surface,
But a hundred years cannot chill the fire within…”
Sounds Frostpunk as hell, doesn't it? That brought us to our core idea: using a volcanic eruption as a catalyst that changes the dynamics within a broken nation. It is an event that can either forge unity or destroy society altogether.
In pursuit of this concept, the tale of two cities was born. One is New Edinburgh, a proud and massive capital that used to live in abundance. The other, the Aurora colony, has always been unequal, treated as a mere servant. The volcano flips this dynamic completely on its head.
To build an engaging scenario, you need to follow where the story leads. And follow it we did. We needed conflict, and two cities in conflict means war. Sometimes a literal one, sometimes an economic one, which brings us to trade negotiations where the stronger side can impose its conditions. We wanted to give players the opportunity to shape the story through their choices, so we introduced a completely branching middle act: one where the two cities attempt coexistence, and another where the stronger side wins and must choose between retaliation or learning to live together. A cataclysmic event like a volcanic eruption needs strong foreshadowing, so we came up with the idea of geothermal exploitation and tremors shaking the city. We wanted to give you the opportunity to feel like you are stepping into a real city with a rich history, so we introduced the backstory of the former Captain who led the city before you. We also added an election mechanic, giving you a proper entrance onto the political stage and a chance to govern differently than your predecessor. We followed these threads and many more, which led us to invent new mechanics, create new factions and communities, design new maps, and write new dilemmas and quests. Basically, we created a new world. One that you will need to save. We hope you have a great time doing it.
General
Free update content for Utopia Builder
New Utopia Builder map: Twilight waters
New Utopia Builder challenge: Volcanic night
General Gameplay
Fixed the issue in calculations which could cause sudden spike in population numbers up to millions
‘Rush Researches’ now lasts 20 weeks instead of 30 and will provide less research speed bonus
Technocrats’ ‘Optimize Research’ now provides less research speed bonus
Tweaks to multiple Research Institutes research speed boost bonus so the first two institutes provide less of it
Slightly lowered base shelter demand of all communities
Lowered shelter demand on Captain difficulty level
Shelter area traits now provide less of it
Decreased population growth speed
Sickliness now increases quicker for some time after temperature change
Slightly tweaked the number of sick people generated by districts and different cold levels
Optimized functions that calculate sick people number to reduce randomness and eliminate edge cases
Outposts and settlements rebalance aimed to make Frostland gameplay more challenging
Meagre Coal Mine
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Stockpile now lasts for 70 weeks down from 140
Coal Mining Complex
Coal output changed from 400 to 200
Coal Mining Complex +
Coal output changed from 500 to 300
Community upkeep changed from 800 to 1200
Food upkeep changed from 10 to 25
Materials upkeep changed from 30 to 50
Coal Mining Complex ++
Coal output changed from 600 to 400
Food upkeep changed from 20 to 40
Materials upkeep changed from 60 to 110
Tar Pits
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Stockpile now lasts for 120 weeks down from 240
Old Derrick
Oil output changed from 320 to 200
Oil Rig
Oil output changed from 150 to 100
Oil Rig +
Food upkeep changed from 40 to 25
Oil Rig ++
Oil Output changed from 250 to 300
Materials upkeep changed from 60 to 110
Burried Village
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Stockpile now lasts for 70 weeks down from 140
Imperial Smelter
Materials output changed from 250 to 200
Imperial Smelter +
Materials output changed from 400 to 300
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Food upkeep changed from 10 to 25
Imperial Smelter ++
Materials output changed from 600 to 400
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Food upkeep changed from 20 to 40
Imperial Manufactory
Stockpile now lasts for 120 weeks down from 240
Imperial Manufactory +
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Food upkeep changed from 10 to 25
Imperial Manufactory ++
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Fixed incorrect 300 community upkeep and set it to 2000
Food upkeep changed from 20 to 40
Oil upkeep changed from 60 to 30
Frozen Whale Outpost
Stockpile now lasts for 120 weeks down from 240
Whaletown +
Food output changed from 250 to 200
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Community upkeep changed from 800 to 1200
Materials upkeep changed from 25 to 50
Oil upkeep changed from 10 to 20
Whaletown ++
Food output changed from 400 to 300
Frostland team upkeep changed from 10 to 5
Community upkeep changed from 1400 to 2000
Materials upkeep changed from 40 to 110
Oil upkeep changed from 20 to 30
Interface
New deaths count widget
Construction panel improvements
Radical buildings are now marked in the construction panel
Building variants are always visible
Quest objectives can now be expanded/collapsed
New dangers await beyond the frost. The fate of New Edinburgh now rests in your hands.
Will you earn your people's trust, or lose everything to the fire? Stay warm (but not too much)! ~ 11 bit studios Team