Hi Everyone,
Update 17 is now live!
I am very happy to finally be showing the World Map! It has actually been in the works since November, so this is a big day for me.
First off, at a very high level, we now have the World Map (which unlocks mid-game), Expeditions (which allow Clanfolk to do map stuff), and 70 new Crafting Stations/Items in a whole new game flow.
The early game pacing is now much better, and the problem with being flooded with unlocks should be mostly resolved. The starting out phase is much more involved now with the addition of Weaving and Basketry, so harder difficulties have become much much more difficult, beware.
The Ideas Panel is about 12 pages long now, and games should last much longer. The future plan is to even allow multiple settlements on the World Map, so the Clan's story can continue even more, but that will be a focus of future updates. For now we have a working World Map, with exploration that leads to discovering new technologies that allow improvements back at the homestead as well as access to even farther exploration sites.
Certain technologies like Brick and Cut Stone are now much later game as well. So that early scrounging phase lasts a lot longer and the homestead will grow through very distinct phases of development, which is described more below.
Please note, it is not required to play using the World Map. The World Map can be de-selected at New World creation. If you are playing an older save, you will not have a World Map, but most of the new crafting stations and items will appear in your game. I highly recommend starting a new game since the new flow is so different. It will be worth it.
Now, for a more detailed look at the whole new flow and process of unlocking the World Map.
So a warning here, if you don't want to know what the new tech is until you unlock it, read ne further.
Steam Reviews: Your Thoughts Matter
Just a quick note — if you’ve been playing Clanfolk and feel like sharing your experience, Steam reviews are especially helpful right now.
They don’t need to be long or detailed. A few words about what’s working, what’s bumpy, or what stood out is more than enough. Your feedback is always helpful and useful in shaping future updates.
The World Map!
- The World Map is unlocked via the new Planning Table.
- Building the Planning Table requires some intermediate technology which ensures that the player has a good grasp of the game before being thrust into the larger world.
- It may take up to two in game years to reach the Planning Table. When you start building Barrels, you are getting close.
- Once the Planning Table is built, the player will be able to open the World Map and plan Expeditions.
Expeditions:
- The Clan can now reach out and Explore 500+ new Hexagonal Territories.
- Exploration Expeditions:
- Exploration Expeditions take Time, and Rations.
- Beware, the Explorers will not be contributing to the Homestead while away.
- Each Exploration Target (100+ of them) has an Exploration Event that is triggered when the Expedition arrives.
- The Expedition is travelling into unknown territory, so it may be worth the extra Rations to bring additional members on the Expedition. (Future Update)
- When the Expedition Arrives, there will be a set of choices that the Player can Navigate, but the outcome of these choices are not known until the Expedition returns. (Future Update)
- When an Expedition returns, a new portion of the Map will become visible, and sometimes there will be Structures or Events on the newly discovered hexes.
- Training Events:
- Expeditions will discover Inns, Taverns, and various industries throughout the Map. These locations can provide more advanced training.
- In Future Updates, these Locations will become places where Clanfolk can be sent to work as well as hubs for Story Events.
- Rations:
- There are three levels of Rations, which determine how far the Clanfolk are willing to travel from the Homestead.
- Initially with just a small bag of Dried Meat, they will not go very far, but once they discover how to make improved rations at the Inn, a new wider world will open up.
- Finally, with the Highest Tier Rations, which require mastery of quite a lot of technology, the Clan unlocks the entire map and can travel to other Clans' castles for training (and future intrigue)
- More advanced crafting processes are now learned on the Map and require Expeditions to be found. This connects Exploration of the World Map with continuing to unlock new crafting techniques on the Homestead.
- The Exploration Events on the Map are also nodes for new Story Generator content, so advancing in crafting will also cause new Story happenings.
- Map Techs:
- Better Rations -> Explore Farther
- Tailoring -> Better Clothes
- Brick Making -> New detailed Brick making added
- Linen Training -> Unlocks the Linen Crafting Chain
- Tanning Training -> Unlocks the Leather Crafting Chain
- Chef Training -> Unlocks the Recipes with additional buffs
- Steelmaking -> Unlock Steel crafting
- Future Plan:
- Once Steelmaking is unlocked by training at another Clan’s Castle, we also unlock Stone Cutting and then the Stone Throne. This flows into future Territorial Improvement/Expansion.
- This will then lead to new Player Settlements on the same map, extending the Clan’s story much further.
New Crafting Processes and Flow:
- 70 new Historically researched Crafting Stations and Crafted Items have been added to the technology flow.
- The Unlocking Flow is now substantially longer and different phases of Tech become apparent.
- There should be a large improvement in the general pacing, especially early on.
- Weaving Stage:
- Everything made of Sticks, Twine, and Sack Cloth.
- The much simpler early Thresher is now simply a small spot to whack grasses with a long stick to produce seeds and straw.
- Next, new Braiding Spot turns Straw into much needed Twine.
- Then the Twine becomes Sack Cloth at the Warp Weighted Loom.
- Basketry Stage:
- Baskets are crafted at the new Basketry Station.
- Who knew Baskets were so important, but quite a lot of crafting requires containers, and also they make a critical trade good.
- Basketry also inspires the Simple Work Bench which unlocks:
- The Iron Age:
- Iron Crafting is now a more detailed process with the new Clay Bloomery creating Iron Bloom, which must be processed at the Simple Smithy.
- The Simple Smithy is little more than some large stones and a simple bellows, but it will get the job done for a good while.
- Iron Ingots from the Simple Smithy allows for nails, rivets, hand tools and iron straps. These unlock many new crafting choices as well as...
- Carpentry
- The iron tools allow for building with Planks, but also the new Carpentry Station where Planks from the Timbery are shaped into Boards for finer work.
- Most objects are now made out of refined wood and nails instead of sticks and twine. Though baskets are still ubiquitous.
- Carpentry becomes more refined with the Shaving Horse, which leads to Tool handles for Iron Tools, but also, Barrels.
- The Cooperage
- And thus begins the Barrel Age.
- The Cooperage builds Barrels using Staves from the Shaving Horse and Iron Hoops made at the Cooper’s anvil from Iron Straps and Rivets.
- Barrels are used in water tight construction as well as for quite a lot of storage, but they also inspire...
- The Planning Table
- The Planning Table unlocks the World Map which was described above, and the Barrels are a key component in the Ration Table as well as Ration Storage.
- The Age of Exploration
- Now that the Homestead is in good shape, it is time to branch out.
- Through Exploration and Training learn the detailed crafting chains for:
- Linen
- Wool
- Tailoring
- Tanning
- Advanced Cooking Recipes
- Brick Making
- Once the Clan learns the process for making large amounts of bricks, construction opens up even more.
- Next there is the Brick Making table which produces Wet Bricks and Wet Tile.
- The Wet Bricks and Wet Tile need to be left in a large area to Dry.
- Once Dry, the Dry Bricks and Dry Tile are fired in the huge Updraft Kiln (The first 3x3 crafting station)
- The Updraft Kiln produces fired Clay Bricks and Clay Tile, then the fun begins.
- Bricks and Tile are used in all of the higher tier crafting stations like the Kitchen, Smithy and Bloomery.
- The Kitchen
- A permanent kitchen inspires new recipes as well as Bread and Cheese making. The food quality and variety explodes.
- Once the Bread and Cheese making processes are established, this then leads into the final “Highland Rations” which allow travel anywhere.
- A visit to a Castle
- Throughout the game, there have been travelers from other Clans coming to our homestead, but now it is time to head off to their Castles and do some real learning, Steelmaking.
- Note: In future updates the other Castles will become important diplomatic and story element locations, but for now, lets learn to make Steel.
- Steel
- Steel allows for new Steel tools, which then allow us to finally build the Masonry.
- The Masonry produces Cut Stone which is the top tier crafting item now.
- By making Cut Stone, the player has proven that they have mastered this settlement as well as explored the world map, and now it is time to throw something new at them.
- The Cut Stone will be used to begin construct the Stone Throne, which will then lead into territorial improvement/control gameplay that extends the Clan’s story to new settlements and with new challenges in future updates.
Road Map
There is a lot more to come! Please take a look at the Road Map for further long term details as well.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1700870/view/3388412789658793666
Time to sit around the campfire and think on Update 18.
(note, these are some new corner tables, not stools, yet...)
Thanks very much for playing Clanfolk!
Andrew Hume (Blorf)
MinMax Games Ltd. - Weaving Stage: