Hi,

Happy New Year to you all. In the first update of 2025 I'm going to give you a sneak peek of what is planned this year. There's lots to do and no matter what, I want to get the game out of Early Access this year.

Roadmap

Be sure to check out the new roadmap here.

I am uncovering some of the big items planned for Tier 3 now and have done some plan adjustments based on my experiences with 0.9 and 0.10. There have been some delays, but it did not turn out to be as dramatic as I feared before holidays. A couple of weeks if no catastrophe happens.

So what exactly is coming in 2025?

First of all I need to get the core Tier 3 stuff into the game. There's a massive whiteboard with concepts and relations for new meta-game mechanisms linked to in-game progress and this needs to be implemented as soon as possible - before my head explodes.

Naively, before launch in 2023 the Tier 3 was thought to be a difficulty increment where you reset all your Technology Era progress and start from neolithic again. With additional Lotuses to provide a new challenge. But as time went on the idea of 'repetitive resets' felt like a cheap extrapolation of existing game with no truly new experience.

Considering the game's success during launch I decided to do this thing properly. So I approach the progression in a more story-telling way (weird that such term is applicable for a relatively narrative-free game).

So instead of repetitive resets, we will just have one. But big.

The Abyss

There's hardly a good story without a 'fall into the unknown' element to it. Luke's first fight with Darth Vader ends with one such fall (physical AND emotional). Forrest Gump's (repeated) rejection by Jenny leads him through many transforming challenges. Captain Miller (Saving private Ryan) crying in the trench with his squad's confidence broken leads to a very complex transformation and dual sacrifice - first of his mysterious background, then of his life. Gandalf getting pulled down by Balrog eventually leading to the breaking of the Fellowship. Or Peppa the Pig discovering one of her milk teeth is loose.

The principle of established order crushed by contact with 'the real adversary'. Not knowing what to do the hero uses his will to sacrifice what must be sacrificed and to rise up again, transformed, often with new haircut, et cetera.

I am ambitious, I think we should have something as profound as Peppa the Pig. So here's how this will play out (tiny spoiler alert though)

The grand metaphysical scheme of things. Hand-drawn line illustrates the player's progress through the individual parts of the game. Colors identify version in which the parts of the 'story' will be released. Note that the Fall segment needs to be initiated by the 1st Confrontation while the transformation needs to end in an safe point above 'the abyss'. These are features belonging to Tier 2 and Tier 4 respectively, which make the v0.11 so big an update.

So Tier 2's scenario is going to be the first step in this 'Story progression'. It will also introduce to you the 'true adversary'.

The Confrontation

Sure there will be a new difficulty bump in the Ascension Tier 3 (like it is in Tier 2) but the main part of 0.11 will be a what occurs in between your runs. A game of the games - the meta-game.

Until now your ascension tree has been a safe harbour. A little shop where you spend your hard earned money (lotus). Each civilization's outcome is translated into lotuses and all sins are forgotten. This ends in Tier 3.

You will not just shop lotus anymore. From tier 3 you will be playing the big game and will be exposed to harsh reality of a 'judgemental force' preventing you from gaining lotuses at arbitrary cost to human lives. This is going to be a step-evolution of the Black lotuses - though black lotuses will still be a key part of this mechanism.

The Meta-Nemesis

In between some runs, when a 'certain progress bar' comes full (no more spoilers atm), you will face a new arch-crisis not with military units and abilities, but with new Lotuses designed specifically for this ultimate combat. These new Lotuses will use different strategies to farm than the old Gold Lotus. Rules of this fight will be slightly different than beating your usual mammoths but the general principle will be similar.

Initially it will be difficult to survive the meta-nemesis. And only after mastering the meta game you will be able to defeat it. This meta nemesis will be the ultimate challenge of the game and - at its last manifestation - its Final Boss.

Back to the Trees

Pre-neolithic era will be the next (and last) technological era to be added to the game. As pictured on the 'grand scheme' its role is to provide the 'Abyss' theme after your Big Fall. Despite that callsign I intend to design it as a funny interlude in which you can forget all your troubles so far.

That way going up to Tier 3 (or actually falling down to) will take away player's access to Classical and beyond. Games will again be quick as you will struggle to survive long in a hunter-gatherer band. Say good bye to tanks and say hello to fighting lizards with sticks and evolving lactose tolerance through death and suffering trial and error.

Ancestral era (I think that's how it's going to be called) will also not have any settlement building per se. Instead your civilization will be moving across the map in a nomadic way exploiting resources square by square (or hex by hex?).

You'll be using the same tile/quest mechanisms, but your quests will be different, territory will change frequently as you are getting expelled from your lands by more advanced civilizations or as resources get exhausted. This time you will be in the shoes of barbarians, tribal villages and those poor cannibals (yes I think cannibalism will be an actual new ability - so that you can finally eat the hearts of your enemies). Expect also vengeful mammoths to have their big moment here...

Getting out of Ancestral era and reaching agricultural revolution finally creating permanent settlements will mark the end of Tier 3 and your transformation into a 'real heroic civilization'. Expect new fancy abilities.

Tier 4 and Tech Eras on Steroids

After Tier 3 your renewed progress from Ancestral era will be different. Specifically the Eras are planned to be longer and more dangerous. You will again unlock eras similar to Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, Industrial, Modern and Future eras. But this time on Tier 4 they will have more technologies, higher levels, more features on crises etc.

For now this all I can share. All the above is still a concept and not added to the game . But I wanted you to have some insight why I make such a big deal in releasing Tier 3 along with borderline features of Tier 2 and Tier 4. The tech era reset will create a rather big game experience shift and so I want that version settle down a bit more stable grounds when player finishes it.

I'll be sharing progress on these features as we go and will continue our 4-weekly (bi-fortnightly?) updates. I am targeting 0.11 beta in May-June so a lot can happen until then.

v0.10 Live Release

The current Beta of 0.10 will be running still for a couple of days. I plan to do at least one small patch, but all depends on the rate of bugs now. Unless we discover major regression problems I am hoping for a release within two weeks from now. Either way I want to again thank everyone participating beta, you have been a massive help.

That's all for today, see you soon,

Ondrej