So the huge downside to setting a release date is now I have to hurry up and finish the rest of the game content. Normally I would’ve waited longer, but with the Steam City Builder Fest coming up at the end of March, the dice have already been cast.
Thankfully, level 4 is actually pretty close to being done (apart from kitchens and electrification), and level 5 is definitely underway. Will the game be released somewhat unfinished? It depends on what you mean – there’ll definitely be room for balancing, but the core of the game has been pretty well refined by now. This at least means I won’t chicken out. 😊
So, what even is in the end game? I’m not going to post too much in the way of spoilers, but I’ll give a bit of a preview: Level 4 is the Heavy Industrial Permit, and Level 5 is City Status.
Heavy Industrial Permit
The Heavy Industrial Permit unlocks all of the other industries that weren’t already unlocked. The most prominent one is the steel industry: build iron ore mines to dig up shiny rocks, forge steel from iron ore and coal in the Steel Foundry, and then use that steel to build valuable tools.
This permit also includes a tailor to turn wool into clothes, and your very own Chippy! Now you can finally produce the advanced Belgian technology of french fries!
There’s one other feature that I’ll tease here – the Artificer’s Guild has some plans to improve the propulsion of the trains, but they’ll need a decent haul of resources to implement them.
City Status
The ultimate symbol of your town’s accomplishment is City Status, bestowed by the monarch themselves. By this point you will have already unlocked all of the normal buildings, but there are a few landmark buildings and projects you can build. For instance, there’s two locations on the edge of the map that allow the construction of a deep mine. The cost is steep, but the reward is faster extraction of minerals, and some newer rare materials as well!
Most of this you’re just going to have to discover for yourself though 🙂
Anyway, that’s the summary of the late game – I’m also dropping 0.7.39 shortly (if I haven’t done so already) to get things tidied up for Next Fest at the end of the month! Release notes to follow soon.