Hello everyone!
I hope this message finds you well. I've been hard at work on some exciting new features for Faraway Lands, and I'm thrilled to share them one of them with you today. One of the most significant additions is the new Research System, designed to add depth, strategy, and replayability.
Scholars: The Minds Behind Progress
Research in your settlement is conducted by scholars working in pagodas. These learned individuals are the driving force behind your technological advancement. Like other workers, scholars have unique traits that can affect their research efficiency.
Your research progress is influenced by multiple factors:
Scholar Count(This is not linear, each scholar after 4th adds 10% to overall research speed)
Scholar Traits
Researches
Temporary/Permanent Bonuses from Random Events
Four Paths to Progress
The research system is divided into four distinct branches (Production & Resources, Trading & Exploration, Military & Defense, and Culture & Wellbeing), each representing a different aspect of your settlement's development. Each branch has four tiers of advancement, allowing you to specialize or diversify your town's capabilities as you see fit.
Dynamic Research Choices
To keep each playthrough fresh and engaging, the Research System offers a randomized selection of research options. After completing a research project, you're presented with random new choices. This system encourages strategic adaptation, as you'll need to make the best of the options available to you.
Tiered Progression
As you complete research projects, you'll earn points toward advancing to the next tier. Each new tier automatically unlocks certain researches and opens up more powerful research options. For example, reaching Tier 2 in Production automatically unlocks basic building upgrades, while Culture Tier 2 provides additional research choices.
Branch Focusing
Want more control over the direction of your town's development? You can focus on specific research branches by right-clicking on them. This increases the likelihood of receiving research options from that branch, allowing you to specialize and strategize according to your preferences.
Customizable Experience
Not everybody is a fan of RNG. So to reduce it and enhance accessibility and replayability, I've added a customization option that increases the amount of choices you get for the Research System.
Hidden Discoveries
Not all research options are readily available. Some must be discovered through:
Trading with Other Countries
Establish trade routes and build relationships to unlock unique researches.
Random Events
Keep an eye out for special events that grant access to exclusive research opportunities.
Exploring the Underworld
Send your soldiers into the depths to uncover secrets and powerful technologies.
Looking Ahead
As always, your feedback is crucial to refining Faraway Lands. While the Research System is now complete, I'm committed to evolving it based on community insights during playtesting. Numerous additional improvements and fixes are in the works, which I'll detail in an upcoming dev log. Unfortunately, I don't have a release date to share just yet! :(