Hello everyone!
It’s the first (maybe literally the 0th) big article from me, where I’m going to tell some interesting facts about the development of my game. To begin with, I would like to start with common information: release date, fresh points, future features.
Development of the game began in September 2020. I’ve been doing this already for two years on my own (studying and working at the same time). Release date isn’t clear for now. It’s difficult to estimate the amount of time it’ll take to create a full and interesting product. On Steam you can see it as 2023 and it’s my goal - I want to release it in August 2023. But everything can be changed (obviously). With 95% chance the game will be released in early access on Steam and will be further developed.
Next you can see a kind of roadmap of the game, things which I would like to add in the future. You can see a detailed description of each feature in the following article.
In-game Features
Let’s start from some existing features of the game based on the game demo-version which came out in September last year. Main features:
- Map. Consists of 3x3 cells. Every cell has its own height and can be connected to the next/nearby. Small cells have the shape of the Irregular quadrilateral (not the square).
- Building. You can place a structure and all of the free settlers will carry resources there and will finish the building.
- Settler management. You can assign any role and living place to free settler.
- Production management. Resources can be added to the queue. Free settlers or settlers assigned to certain jobs will collect resources required for the craft system and will produce it.
- Resource extraction. You can mark resources for collecting it. Free settlers carry and supply it to the warehouse.
- Seasons. Duration of one year - 18 in-game days.
- Hunger and cold. In winter, settlers may freeze to death. Without food, settlers will also die.
- Technology tree. The technology timeline ranges from ancient times (upper Paleolithic) to late antiquity or early Middle Ages. Currently, technologies are available before agriculture. Each technology opens up some constructions, resources to collect, crafting recipes in production. Also, any technology by default can take into account some visual elements (for example: the “grain” resource looks like a basket of grain. But after the “flax” technology, the resource looks like a bag.)
- Attack protection. Once every few days, wild animals attack the settlement. The fight with them takes place in RTS mode.
- Agriculture. Put up beds. Free settlers plant these beds with wheat in the spring and harvest them in the autumn.
- Random effects on settlers. Random buffs and debuffs (poisoning, injuries) that can change the speed or strength of the settlers.
Early access edition
What I would like to add in early access (to-do list which is never 100% complete):
- Basic: new technologies, new resources, new buildings (thatched, log, stone), new crafting tools.
- Exploring the world map. Management of scout detachments, interaction with cells (explore an abandoned village, get resources, talk to a neighboring inhabitants).
- Procedural map generation.
- Nearby settlements. The settlement will contain a certain set of interactions.
- Trade. Sometimes a merchant from a nearby settlement will come to yours. You can trade goods with him.
- Follow the strategy. A separate strategy leveling line that determines the style of the game. There will be three strategies in total: military, commercial, cultural. You can only choose one strategy per game.
- Leader and decrees. The choice of the leader of the settlement, which gives different bonuses. Depending on the character and skills of the leader, it will be possible to issue various decrees. Decrees are temporary effects that stop working after a while.
- Discovering territories. Exploration of the area around the settlement. Unexplored territories are hidden.
- Livestock. Transformation of wild animals into domestic species. Domestic animals live in certain buildings and breed.
- Construction of roads and walls. The type of construction when the visual of the building depends on whether there is another similar building nearby. Therefore, for example, a wall will connect to an adjacent wall.
- Settler generation. Generation of different appearance of them and their portraits. As well as the generation of skills that will be used in the work. The ability to change the names of inhabitants.
- Work priorities.
- Sorting resources in the warehouse.
- Setting endless production up to a certain limit.
- More “smart” combat during attacks. Variety of enemies. Defense with the help of archers on sentinel towers.
- Thirst.
- Building upgrades. For example, upgrading an ordinary hut to a log hut, which doesn’t require the destruction of the building.
- Decorative buildings.
- Possibility to swim in the rivers to get to the other side. Building bridges. Freezing rivers in winter.
- The ability to place ropes and ladders on high slopes so that settlers can climb rocks and mountains.
- The ability to change the height of the landscape by moving the soil to another place.
- Equipable wicker baskets for expanding inventory, transferring resources on carts.
- A visual tool for finding various resources on the map.
- Rearranging the daily routine of the settlers. Now they eat at random times, and in the evening take a break from work in taverns or other places.
I would like to note that a lot of the above list can already be found in the game.
Won’t be added
Won’t be added in early gameplay/access, but would like to add one day:
- Faith / Paganism / Cults
- Colonization
- Natural disasters
And that’s it, the roadmap. Follow the updates and don’t forget to add the game in your wishlist on Steam!
P.S. Thanks to Anatoly for this translation!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2112740/Humanica