Our core game redesign continues, this time with updates to the resource system, tech tree, crafting mechanic, building queue system, and damage system. If Factorio was on the extreme left and a classic RTS like C&C was extreme right, Powerplay has now become center-right.
We streamlined the resource system to make the game progression feel more natural. Our problem was having too many raw resource type, which made the player struggle what to extract first. So we removed water, coal, and wood. We now have only 4 raw resources type, each with a specific level of abundance. It is very easy to understand which resource to look for first, and to notice the rarity of certain resources.
All building and unit costs are now expressed in terms of combinations of processed resources. There are no more complex combinations and surprises. More importantly, there is now a natural incentive to build the base to be able to process the raw resources, which give a lot more meaning to base building.
We introduced many new buildings that are needed for processing raw resource. Each building is specialized in one resource type, and there is a dependency system among the buildings which make the build order way more obvious than before. There are still different potential orders depending on the player preference, but the first few build decisions are way easier to make.
The construction hub enables building the base. To speed up construction, multiple hubs can be built, which enables buildings to be constructed in parallel. This is heavily inspired by the Tempest Rising building system.
We have a new building that is dedicated to spawning and managing air units.
We implemented a classic damage system, with hit points / armor type / armor amount on the receiving end, and attack type / base damage / armor penetration on the shooting end. It will need some tweaking but we can already tell the fighting feels better and can be tweaked to a more optimal state.
When loaded with uranium, trucks have the ability to perform a suicide attack, just like the Libyan demolition truck in Red Alert 2.
We added the light recon vehicle, the mobile artillery, and the MLRS. Each vehicle has a specific purpose and adds a new dimension to military decision making.
We improved the conveyor system. It auto-calculates paths between the building in a much more stable and optimal way. And it costs a fixed amount of steel. In addition, when a conveyor is attacked, the whole connection is lost in a chain reaction. We are sorry dear Factorio fans, but we could not make individual conveyor placement feel fun, and we our limited means we had to "streamline" the conveyors a bit.
I am really sorry for the delay in publishing the demo, it was supposed to be by the end of November, but here we are.. I just want to ensure it is fun to play, so I am now shooting for end of February. Thanks to everyone who are expressing their support and excitement about Powerplay, it really help us keep going. See you soon commanders.