Welcome to another edition of Weekly Apart, probably the only and thus coolest dev blog/newsletter in the world :) We continue to be busy fixing bugs and implementing features that move us closer to our Discord-exclusive demo in late Summer. In this week's post we are introducing our very own day and nighttime schedule for our colonists, because, as a wise man once said (according to a quick google motivational quote search) “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
But before we check out the timetables of Aurora's inhabitants let us remind you to join our Discord (to be among the first mortals to check out said demo) and follow us on our other social media channels. We're especially happy if you subscribe on YouTube, which just debuted the 25th episode of our #MachineMonday series, where each week seedy mining megacorp. Kobayashi-Schwarz promotes their products, including drills, gun turrets, and, well, bunk beds.
Mastering time
As every life coach (and prison warden) will tell you, having structure and organization in one's life minimizes wasted time and maximizes productivity. That's why we developed a schedule which prioritizes the tasks and activities of the engineers and marines colonizing the planet and running the factories - and to a certain extent fosters social harmony. It is based on four elemental pillars of activity: Work (delivery services, maintaining machinery, crafting/building), recreation (eating, going to the bathroom, leisure), sleep (going to bed and going to the bathroom) and an 'Anything' category, that is affected by status levels.
The micromanaging and customization of each colonists schedule, namely the allocation of daily hours to each activity category, results in changes to status effects: Brutal work hours will deplete energy and increase tiredness causing colonists to move slower, become more prone to ugly workplace accidents and lower their productivity - down to the point where they are deemed useless by their employer.
From compliance to insurgency
Allocating less recreational time, on the other hand, at first leads to a bad mood but can quickly spiral out of control. If pioneers are not allowed to relieve themselves in the powder room they become irritated, to say the least. Worse, if you don't give them enough lunch or dinner time or struggle with food shortages their loyalty will take a serious blow. This in turn not only affects their work output but may lead to sabotage or even outright rebellion. You get the idea.
We're obviously not reinventing the wheel here but we do aim at creating a clever and unique system of having to balance individual needs and economic incentives - after all Dawn Apart will be both a colony sim and an automation game with a strong focus on optimizing production chains. We can't wait to let you try it out for yourself. See you next week!