Howdy, partners!
After the demo, it was clear that a lot of you found it confusing to work out which quests mattered, when, and why.
Today we will explain how they're organised now, and also a bit about what we aim to improve further.
If you've played a city builder before, this is the version of the game we think you will enjoy the most: you get the thread of the story, and you work the systems out yourself, at your own speed, in your own order. The journal points at what's important but lets you figure out the rest!
And because the main chain is doing one job now instead of three, we could make it a much better version of that job. This allowed us to create a stronger story that encourages you to explore the Wild West AND uncover a new personal side of the story.
We've made sure that when a side story comes up, you know you're diverting from the main quest. With this information and a bit more about what kind of adventure you're signing up for, you can make the decision whether you want to follow it. Or maybe save it for a rainy frontier day.
We've moved the tutorial quests out of the way completely for those of you who don't need them. You can read more about this feature in one of our previous articles.
There are two things we know we need to fine-tune to perfection for Wild West Pioneers to have an impact.
The good stuff in a city builder happens when you can't have everything at once and have to pick what matters this week. That's the economy we're building toward: relaxed, but with decisions in it that actually count.
When it comes to exploration, traveling around the map should feel like an expedition. Discoveries, detours, supplies that matter, somewhere genuinely far away at the end of it. When you reach the desert and find the gold, we want it to feel earned.
Pacing is the thing we want to keep tuning the longest because it's one area we really need to tweak with your help.
So join the playtest and let us know what you think!