Camp Cognitum is a hilly, slightly sloping plain with thin vegetation. A large ring of time bubbles surrounds the entire site and offers massive protection. I recommend making full use of it as there are no other defenses.
It's a good idea to let enemies get close and thus maximize your own firepower. However, the time bubbles overlap and can interact. This need not be bad, but you have to keep it in mind and be prepared for it.
Now you may have noticed that Cognitum was the last camp that showed up as "under construction" on the world map. Of course, I'll be adding more camps, but when I do you'll need to start a new journey for them to appear.
I realize that this is not ideal. That's why the game can process and prepare for unfinished camps in the first place. But it already takes a considerable amount of time to traverse the world map and it's going to get worse with every camp I add. I don't want playing the game in Early Access turn into a slog, so this is a problem that definitely needs a solution.
I considered adding shortcuts or the ability to change the home camp. But there're game design issues with these ideas. I haven't ruled them out yet, but they aren't a simple fix to the problem.
What I came up with instead is a new game mode. When you start a new journey, you now get to pick a scenario: either Doomsday or Infestation. The latter is just the old way of playing the game. It's still there, but I don't recommend it until the game leaves Early Access or requires journey restarts less frequently.
Doomsday
The idea for Doomsday is that camps are in more imminent danger. There are always one or more randomly selected camps on the world map that are threatened by swarms. You get to pick one of them and fight there. If you win, the swarms leave the other camps alone and attack elsewhere. You move along until you die or reach the happy ending, which will happen after no more than seven fights.
The fights get tougher from camp to camp and you can't sleep to restore your health. However, you get significantly better perks after each victory, which makes choosing the camp to fight at an important strategic decision.
The scores you achieve are not really comparable to the old scenario, so there's a separate leaderboard for Doomsday.
All in all, I think Doomsday is not just a stopgap for Early Access, but a really cool and fun addition to the game.
Changes made in revision 7922:
- FInished and unlocked Camp Cognitum
- Implemented new game mode Doomsday