Hi everyone,
I want to take today to give you some details about fuel packages, which will be introduced in v0.9.
In the current version of the game, there are a few processes that take place that have an implied fuel consumption, such as smelting iron ore into iron bars, turning flour into bread, etc. These processes, and some of the production processes that will be introduced throughout 0.9, will start requiring an actual fuel, which will come in the form of fuel packages.
Fuel packages are a way for me to simplify the fact that there are already multiple types of goods that can be used as fuel. Wood and coal could both be used to support a fire, and I will probably introduce another good (wood scraps for the time being), which can likewise be used. I could enable these processes to be able to take any of the three types of fuel to run, but this would come with many additional questions:
What if a player doesn’t want to burn their wood, as they are trying to save up for something? Do they need to go around the whole village, switching each process manually? Can they define thresholds at a village level? Overall, the production of fuel packages just seems like a more straightforward option. Fuel packages will be created in a dedicated building, and can be crafted from either 5 wood scraps, 3 wood, or 1 coal (ratios subject to change). Each process will then take an appropriate amount of fuel packages, and planning should be fairly easy.
Overall, this process should introduce another broader cost (together with food), which will need to be managed among many processes, rather than just for one. This means that increasing production on, e.g. the iron bars, may affect your bread production down the line if you don’t plan for it - which I think will improve the overall challenge of building your base.
Until next week!