I’ve been working on a shift in how progression and exploration work in Venusville,
🚀 Moving Away from a Traditional Tech Tree
I’m moving away from a classic, linear tech tree and replacing it with a discovery-driven progression system.
Instead of seeing all technologies upfront, you’ll unlock knowledge by exploring Venus itself. As your city flies through the atmosphere, you’ll scan the planet for anomalies and points of interest. Reaching and investigating them can lead to:
New technologies and city systems
Access to extra resources and even previously unknown resources
Deeper understanding of Venus’ atmospheric layers, hazards, and history.
Some discoveries may unlock entirely new mechanics, while others expand or refine existing ones.
Smaller technologies will still exist as incremental upgrades — improving efficiency, stability, or control — but the most impactful breakthroughs won’t be handed to you in a list. They’ll be found by observing, experimenting, and pushing further into the planet.
Progression becomes less about following a predefined path and more about:
Where you choose to go
What you’re able to reach
How well your city can survive there
🗺️ New Planetary Map
To support this exploration-driven approach, I’ve also redesigned the planetary map.
The original 3D globe looked nice, but testing showed it was harder to read, manage, and iterate on — especially as a solo developer. The new map is flattened, making it clearer, more usable, and easier to expand.
How the map works
The planet is split into three switchable maps (top-right selector):
Main planetary band from the equator to ~60° latitude (rectangular)
North Pole (disc-shaped)
South Pole (disc-shaped)
The centre is the main interactive map
Top-left shows the status of:
Scanner towers
Satellites
Horizontal engines
Left side lets you toggle overlays:
Wind
Resources
Dangers
Anomalies
Day / night side
You can click icons directly on the map to inspect features.
If you have engines, you can also select navigation targets directly on the map, and your city will fly there.
These systems are designed to work together:
🌬️ Movement through Venus
🔍 Scanning and discovery
🧠 Learning how the planet works
🏗️ Unlocking new ways to survive and expand
It already feels much closer to the core idea of Venusville: a flying city adapting to an alien world by exploring it, not by following a checklist.
As always, feedback is very welcome ❤️