Hello Commanders,
This is I M GAME.
With the Early Access release just around the corner, today we’d like to introduce one of the features that will be revealed for the first time in the Early Access version: the Garrison.
The Garrison is a place where the expedition commander and mercenaries return during their exhausting, repetitive journeys to rest, sharpen their blades, and prepare for the next expedition.
At the start of your journey, it’s nothing more than a barren clearing. However, as you complete multiple expeditions and gather sufficient supplies and resources, you’ll be able to construct various facilities that will aid you in future runs.
There are a total of 8 types of buildings that can be constructed in the Garrison, but only 4 buildable tiles are available.
In other words, players must carefully choose and construct 4 buildings they consider the most useful out of the 8 available upgrades.
Now, let us introduce a few of the buildings you’ll be able to construct.
Church
Church: Gain 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 additional Hourglasses at the start of each expedition.
The Church is a facility that amplifies the expedition’s faith, enhancing the effects of Hourglasses that rewind time.
By constructing the Church, you’ll begin each expedition with more Hourglasses than before, reducing the pressure of mistakes during difficult battles.
This can be an especially useful choice when experimenting with new mercenary combinations from the Guild, or when switching commanders and adapting to new systems.
Barracks
Barracks: Mercenaries offered as battle rewards for the next 1 / 2 / 3 battles receive a Mercenary Upgrade.
Once the Barracks is constructed, mercenaries are able to stay in stable lodgings and a better environment. This naturally attracts strong and experienced mercenaries, allowing the expedition to recruit more powerful new members.
After constructing the Barracks and setting out on an expedition, mercenaries that appear as battle rewards during the journey will be provided in an upgraded state.
(The type of upgrade is random.)
Designing Background
The Garrison is a classic meta-progression system designed to partially ease the penalty of failure in repeated roguelike playthroughs.
However, in typical meta-progression systems, players are often required to unlock all content and upgrades through repetition, eventually gaining access to every stat and upgrade once everything is unlocked.
We felt that this structure could force players into dull, repetitive gameplay with poor stats while pursuing 100% upgrades.
As a result, we chose to reduce the number of unlockable elements and instead allow players to directly choose their upgrades.
In the current Garrison system, rather than constructing all 8 buildings, players select and build 4 core buildings they consider most important. This design encourages strategic thinking by having players reflect on and choose the upgrades they truly need.
We’re also very excited to see which buildings end up with the highest pick rates in real gameplay statistics.
Try finding the buildings that best suit your playstyle.
Moving forward, we’ll continue improving our systems while preserving the unique identity of Master of Piece, striving to create an experience that satisfies even more players.
We’d love to hear your feedback through Discord and the Steam discussion boards,
and we hope you’ll continue this journey with us.
Thank you.