In Early Access, Godhood had 7 big updates that vastly improved the game. We made many changes, and as some fans said - it feels more like playing Godhood 2!
Here, we highlight the biggest changes we’ve made.
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Tenets & Traditions
From Update #6: Tenets & Traditions
When Godhood was released in EA, there was no way to customize your religion. You started with one of the commandments. From that point on, there was no strategic or thematic choice to make. In the Update #3, we added a “Religion Graph” for each commandment. Now there was a small tech-tree you could develop through depending on your commandment. However, we were not yet happy with the limited expression and depth it gave to the game.
In Update #6, we changed it all around. If you play Godhood now, you’ll find that you can pick Tenets freely, one by one. This includes many ideas. “Meal Prayers”, “Free Speech”, or “Marriage” just to name a few of the more than 50 different tenets you can adopt! Besides small gameplay effects, these tenets also trigger little happenings in your city!
But that’s not all. Depending on which tenets you adopt, you will unlock different Traditions. Between the 25 different traditions you will find things like “Human Sacrifice” or “Carnivals”. These are absolute game changers that give you new powers and strategies to focus on.
TL;DR: Now you can finally assemble your own religion from over 75 different ideas, all with a different impact on your game!
Master Roster Management
From Update #6: Tenets & Traditions
Up to Update #4, Godhood was lacking focus on where to go. This lack of focus resulted in a lack of depth, which was pointed out by many early adopters. Since you don’t have much control over the Sacrament, the Roster Management should be the most important part!
From Update #4 we introduced sweeping changes. The City phase is neatly divided in 3 turns, where you can do a single action. Fervor now dictates whether a Disciple is ready to go on a Sacrament or needs to rest. God Actions, mostly unlocked through your Traditions choices, allow you to spend offerings to boost your Disciples or plan on the next Sacrament. Disciples will now do Rituals over time. Once completed, this Ritual permanently boosts your Disciple. Everyone needs your attention to become a true Disciple of your religion!
TL:DR; Vastly expanded Strategic Roster Management!
Commandments: Madness, Generosity & Greed
From Update #2,4 and 7
At launch, Godhood had 4 playable commandments. Through Kickstarter and further development, we almost doubled that amount!
With Madness we added the option to create a sect, with Tenets like “Evil God” and the “Cultist” class. Generosity was next, with the unique “Cook” class and Traditions like a “Just New World” to declare a Revolution! Greed is the last one to be added, where the “Charlatan” class can steal resources and you can adopt Tenets like “Capitalism”!
That’s not all though. With Update #7, each commandment gets its own unique set of Relics! They push the game towards a more focused style with clear synergies! For example, the greedy “Golden Mask” increases the critical damage of all your Cunning type abilities. Can you take full advantage of this edge?
TL;DR: better expression, deeper strategies, more replayability!
Tactical Sacrament
From Update #5: Righteous Rituals
One of our goals for Godhood was to explore the “indirect game” space. A game where you raise your Disciples to be strong and wise - and then see them manifest in the Sacrament. Admittedly, we fell a bit flat on that when we released in Early Access.
From Update #5 and on, we added a lot of changes that gave you more tactical space before going into Sacrament. For starters, Disciples now target their direct opponent, allowing you to plan match-ups. Before a Sacrament, you can enter the Dreams of Disciples to prepare them for the upcoming challenge. Pick the right dreams to counter their direct opponents!
The game also became more tactical with the two win conditions that replace the old Awe bar. You can win by impressing the crowd or by knocking your opponent out. Both require different approaches, but one can help the other. Lastly, you can place your bets like a true god; make your Disciples suffer “Martyrdom” to impress more people. If they survive, you get more converts and tribute!.
TL;DR: More tactics going to Sacraments, but still without direct control!
Island Campaign
From Update #4: Newfound Shores and Update #7
During our first half year of Early Access, the campaign of the game was not much to brag about. There was one bland world map, and it was hard to make sense of the progression. We tried some stuff with Crystal Skulls and whatnot, but it didn’t work out great.
In Update #4 we introduced a new system of Islands. You commit to convert specific islands, with themed opponents and more special challenges. You will find bosses and side bosses on those islands to test your skills! If you convert them, you can even adopt one of their tenets! The game now boasts 13 different islands. Since then, we expanded and improved this system up to Update #7! Expect a run of Godhood to last between 3 and 8 hours, depending on your play speed.
TL;DR: Experience diverse challenges to test your management skills, and rise up to claim Godhood!
Other big improvements
- A new tutorial, explaining the basics and intricacies of Godhood’s unique systems.
- Balance Pass, while we believe balance work never stops for a strategy game, the game is now at a point where all religions are viable in their own way.
- Class Unlocking, the player now has more agency in unlocking classes for their religion so that they choose their own path and strategy.
- Reworked Skill Trees, Each of the 17 classes now has access to 11 skills in their leveling tree, resulting in many interesting niches, let alone roster compositions.
- Sacrament Details and Speed Controls, the player can now inspect and analyse what happens in a Sacrament at their own pace, to gain the understanding they need for optimization.
- Faith rehaul, your disciples’ loyalty to your religion works differently. An important factor is that their growth in power, comes with a growth in arrogance…
- Ability Styles, Each ability now has a conversion style (f.e. Fear or Grace). Carefully observe new recruits’ preferences to lay out a fitting destiny.
- Multiple interface rehauls to give the player all the info and freedom they need to shape the path of their religion.
- Economy Reworks, ‘Offerings’, ‘Materials’ are now gained through Tribute Chests, gained in the Sacrament. Their purpose is more focused as well.
- Reworked Stat System, with the introduction of stat ranks a player now has valuable short term goals for the development of their disciples.
- Temple and city rework. We introduced new buildings for in your city and removed some obsolete ones. Their upgrades changed too.
- Consequences. Semi-random events will show your people’s reactions to your moral choices. There are multiple endings, depending on your commandment!
- Happiness. Cannibals, philosophers, whatever your people may be, keep them happy to make sure your religion thrives and doesn’t fall victim to its darker side.
All in all a pretty big list, don't you think? Thank you to all Early Access players for helping us get this far! It was a long road, but the result speaks for itself!
- Greetings from the Abbey
