Faithful subjects,
Welcome to a new series of development blogs from Rocket Flair Studios and PlaySide Publishing. Here, we will explore the secrets of Ancient Egypt and take you along on our development journey as we traverse the path to Early Access. Expect regular entries as we enter the final stretch of production and approach Early Access release in 2024.
Over the past 12 months, we have continued to toil away at the development of Dynasty of the Sands and have plenty of updates to share with you all. In this month's update, we will be delving into the Death System and how it ties into gameplay as well as Egyptian history.
EMBRACING MORTALITY
Death was a central part of life in Ancient Egypt, deeply entwined with people’s religious beliefs. They viewed death as a transformative process, and had a deep reverence for the afterlife that permeated much of their culture.
Keeping these ideologies in mind, it was important for death to play an essential part in Dynasty of the Sands. Consider this as you construct and expand your empire…
BURIAL RITES
In game, when a villager dies, their body remains in place and is not automatically disposed of. However, for villagers nearby these neglected bodies, witnessing the remains of those who perished will lead to a drop in happiness. If those poor souls are left for too long under the harsh elements, they will contribute to the chance of a disease outbreak.
It’s important to respect and manage the dead to ensure your ever-expanding city can continue to thrive. To do so, players can lay Burial Plots and construct Tombs to lay their dead to rest, so the Gods may ferry them to the afterlife.
Burial Plots
These shallow graves were the most used amongst the Ancient Egyptians, especially for the common folk and when complex infrastructure was lacking. The dry air and heat of the desert created a natural mummification process which erased the need for embalming.
The Burial Plot tool allows the player to drag out an area within their city to act as a burial site and the size of the Burial Plot will determine the amount of bodies that can be buried there. If a villager passes away, the nearest available Warehouse workers will automatically transport the dead to their final resting place.
The Burial Plots must be placed strategically through the city and require players to evaluate the space within their city. For example, if a plot is placed too far away from the populace, it will put pressure on the city’s infrastructure as the dead must be transported over greater distances. On the other hand, the presence of a burial site in close proximity to where villagers live or work can cause immense dissatisfaction, so choosing a suitable location can be a fine balancing act.
As time passes, like sands through the hourglass, more and more villagers' fates may be sealed as they succumb to the harshness of ancient life. As the death toll grows, players will need to expand their burial sites, otherwise they may face disease and have an angry populace to appease, as well as the Gods.
Tombs
Burial Plots may meet the needs of your city in the earlier stages of the game, however, as your population grows, they will inevitably desire a more prestigious resting place befitting their standing status within the hierarchy of society.
Villagers will have different status’ and Noble villagers, which we'll cover in another developer blog, will expect to be enshrined in Tombs. While these grander burial sites come at a significantly higher cost, failing to create these structures will undoubtedly result in the happiness of the Nobles to be negatively impacted.
Beware. Do not create displeasure among the Nobles as it can lead to them abandoning your city.
Once a Tomb has been constructed, you must choose and allocate which villagers will be buried there. Although any villager can be buried in a Tomb, remember they are most important for maintaining the happiness of your Noble population.
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We hope you have enjoyed the insight into one of the many features that will be available in Dynasty of the Sands and have found it as interesting for you as it is for us. The development team at Rocket Flair Studios are diligently working to bring Dynasty of the Sands to fruition and are eager to unveil more about the game over the coming months.
In our next developer blog, we'll be discussing the Disease System that goes hand in hand with the Death System.
May the divine Egyptian Gods grant you blessings until the next time we meet.
Dynasty of the Sands is available to Wishlist on Steam now!
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