🎨 Graphics & Visual Direction
Over the past few months, the game has undergone a significant visual and gameplay update. The largest change is a complete transition from 32×32 pixel art to a new 64×64 hand-drawn art style, accompanied by improvements to transportation, traffic simulation, map generation, UI readability, and overall game performance.
This update represents a major step toward establishing the final visual identity and gameplay direction of the project.
🚛 Transportation Simulation
- Added truck transport simulation on the country map.
- Goods are now physically transported between locations.
- Trucks use different colors to indicate route assignments and cargo types.
🚦 City Traffic
- Added civilian traffic simulation within cities.
- Vehicles now move dynamically through the road network.
🌎 Map Generation & Performance
- Improved placement of external map connections.
- More continuous and natural map layouts.
- More balanced resource distribution across maps.
- Terrain generation adjusted for more realistic terrain shapes.
- Faster map generation.
- Improved loading performance and reduced loading times.
🏘️ District Improvements
- Added resource indicators for districts.
- Added district border highlights for improved visibility.
🗺️ Map Interface & Readability
- Added fertility and mineral distribution legends.
- Added map overlay toggles:
- District Borders
- District Unlock Mask
- Map Legends
- Improved map interaction and overall map readability.
⚖️ Balance Changes
- Updated production chains and recipes.
- Adjusted building requirements.
- Rebalanced starting resources and resource availability.
- City buildings now require road connections to become operational.
- Furnaces now require coal to operate.
- Foresters can now be placed on regular land tiles with a production penalty.
🖥️ User Interface
- Replaced several text buttons with icons for improved clarity:
- Map View
- Legend Toggle
- Upgrade Button
- Added a loading progress bar during game startup and loading.