Hey Fortunans!
At the bottom of this post you can see we've made a slightly longer version of the trailer we released last month, showing more of the systems and how they work.
There's a few different nuances we touch on that I thought I'd take a moment to explain in greater detail. Some of it you might already know if you're chatting with us on the Discord, but some of this I think is new:
Survival (Hunger): Obviously an urban setting isn't a typical "wilderness survival" scenario, since you should have access to water, and there aren't exactly wolves and bears roaming the streets. But you'll still need to manage your Hunger and Vigor, in addition to your health. Our intent with Hunger is to encourage seeking out (or cooking!) more delicious food, both to assuage Hunger more efficiently but also to improve your Status or Virtue (reputation types, appealing to different types of people). If you have high Status, the current design gives you an option to charm an NPC (a one-off boost to an influence test), with other kinds of benefits to high Virtue or Prowess.
Survival (Vigor): You'll also of course gain Vigor more efficiently and effectively (statistically and your reputation) if you sleep on more comfortable or fancy beds.... but step one is finding a place to sleep legally at all! Rough sleeping is a crime in Fortuna, so... it will be some work finding a bed at all, as a recent unsanctioned immigrant, before you manage to get a residency token.
Thievery: Different people react differently to witnessing crimes, such as discovering their property being stolen... unlike currently seen, probably the entire market wouldn't chase you for stealing a carrot. On the other hand, communities have to take care of themselves, and Hot-Tempered and Bold people will indeed turn to violence easily. We'd rather err on the side of the city being more reactive, but it'll take many iterations to find the exact type of challenging complexity we want.
Fencing: The average merchant won't buy random junk you've stolen! You'll need to find a pawn shop for legit-looking valuables, and more shady acquisitions will need proper Fences, who of course build in a "dealing with hot merchandise" fee into their rates. The worth/value of an object depends on all of its aspects (material, form, condition, etc), as well as the interests/expertise of the buyer.
Rumors: Characters that trust you (which is typically easier to come by when intoxicated) can share information about their family and friends and coworkers, whether it's interesting opportunities or just gossip to hear about interesting traits, heretical beliefs, secret society membership, etc.
Consequences and Focus Mode: Fortuna is not a twitchy reaction game, it's a game you can take your time with. Focus Mode turns on whenever you're in a dangerous situation, which automatically pauses after you complete every action. This is important because consequences for mistakes can be huge, and rather than reload, we'd like to encourage continuing on with your character, to see how your story unfolds. So we recommend taking your time and acting intentionally, which Focus Mode makes easier.
And without further ado, the extended gameplay video:
Let us know if you have more questions about these details, here in the comments or on Discord. Thanks for reading!
- Tanya