Itemization
Items now have item level. Each item is effectively a line of items, that will gain stats, abilities, and ability levels from item levels.
Faction item level is increased by the level of crafting projects and crafting rooms, and item level can also be upgraded at the pylon (presuming the faction has unlocked a higher item level).
I’d also like to add an investiture mechanic, to allow item customization via magic, but we’ll see. :)
Crafting Projects
Faction crafting projects run in room installations, and create items from raw materials. Item level is determined by the least of project level and room installation level.
Notes:
- NPCs advance crafting projects.
- The player can assist advancing crafting projects.
- Raw materials do not have item level.
- Crafting projects can only start if their product number in the shop is too low.
- Crafting projects use raw mats from faction storage, which is filled by the player or NPCs gathering, usually in the wild, but sometimes on base (like harvesting in Hydroponics).
- Crafted items can be purchased in the shop for prestige.
Room Installation Levels
Room level is determined by the number of upgrade construction projects completed on the room. I intend rooms to gain structure points, task slots, and other things via leveling, but for now, level acts as a crafting project gate.
Notes:
- A construction project can be started if the room is not at max level. Max level is determined by research.
- The faction has a limited number of construction tasks that can be started in parallel (I intend for this to increase via overall faction level).
- I added a Builder NPC to advance room upgrades. :)
Research System
Faction research is repeatable. Every time a research completes, it levels up, and may do the following:
- Unlock a new research line;
- Unlock a new crafting project line;
- Increase the max level of a faction room installation (allowing a construction task to upgrade room level);
- Increase the level of an existing crafting project line;
- And I may add more unlocks (such as path lines in the faction shop).
Note that for now, if crafting research or room construction completes during a crafting project, the item level is instantly advanced on the project (and on anything in faction storage).
I claim System shenanigans. :)
Priority System
The faction has a resource spending priority list for high-level decisions, split among the crafting rooms, construction, and research, each of which also has a priority list for spending decisions.
The lists will automatically adjust as tasks are started or skipped due to lack of resources. The player may also spend faction currency at the shop to increase the priority of projects on the lists.
Living Base
For all of the above, the idea is to have a “living” base, that the player can influence as a member (though not control outright).
I want the faction base to potentially develop quite differently in various playthroughs depending on player choice, so I’ll keep an eye on the auto-priority system, to make sure it doesn’t overly flatten the outcomes.
I'd also like to allow new room excavation and construction, with influenceable priorities for what is built, but we'll see. For now, the base will start with all rooms in place, and the question is what gets developed.