Hi, everyone!
A week later than planned, we got to the fourth entry of our Developer diaries. As I promised, today I’m going to tell you about the game craft system and trade.
Crafting is one of the most important part of our game. After technologies, of course: first you explore beekeeping, make a hive, and then you get honey. Let's assume it’s all done. So what’s then? There are two big groups of game objects.
The last time you didn’t like our technology tree interface, so we’ve redone it. I think it’s better now.
The first group consists of game objects that you can use only once at the moment. Cut down a tree, pick up a flower, dig a grave and so on. These actions require player’s energy and they also take some time. Some of them can be done without any help, but some involve a special tool that will eventually wear out. The majority of these items are set carefully by the game developers beforehand.
The second group of game objects are “workbenches” as we call them in our team. This grouping is arbitrary. It includes stuff of different kind, ranging from a stove to a garden bed. Even a corpse may be a workbench, but I didn’t tell you that… What all these game objects have in common is that you can do something at them.
Keepers favorite dishes.
So what you can do with them? For some objects there's a list of crafts, for others a craft determines automatically based on an item picked from the inventory. For example, if you want to set the atmosphere for praying, you can burn incense. For that purpose you should just pick an item you need from the list of the highlighted items in the interface.
You need to keep your sword sharp!
Towards the end of the game items of higher level will have such an indicator as quality. It will be displayed as stars - bronze, silver or gold. So at this stage it’s not only quantity that is essential, it’s also quality and perks available for a player. Luck is also important, obviously.
This is a WIP screen. So no scrolls from sticks.
You can also practice alchemy, by the way. Benches in the alchemy laboratory have their own features, and follow general principles of engagement with workbenches at the same time. Yet I won't tell you that, cause I don’t want to spoil.
The majority of “workbenches” available in the game is to be built first. There are special sites for construction. The majority of these sites are not available for a player at the beginning. You can buy a site or unlock one by completing some quests.
Every construction site is designed for a certain type of construction. Sometimes it’s impossible to have all the necessary objects in the same site, and the construction of a workbench should be postponed till you save up enough money to expand it.
Building mode.
All these crafts are necessary for the two most important things. The first of them is clearly to make your graveyard great. Another is to get as much money as possible, money is a graveyard keeper’s best friend, you know! It is the sellers who help you with making money. There are a lot of them in the village. Each seller specializes in a particular kind of product. So you can buy nails from the blacksmith and a mug of fresh beer from the tavern owner.
Trade in Graveyard Keeper is a serious business. At the beginning of the game every seller has an access only to basic products of their type. Cash is limited. Sellers will develop just like you getting profit from trade, obviously. You sell wood planks for a local carpenter for 2 silver pieces for each, and after a while he sells to them to locals for 3. Doing so, a seller saves up cash enough to buy high-level items that at the end of the day you buy from him/her. And his/her increased cash can eventually go right into your pocket.
New trading menu
The more you trade with a certain character, the quicker he/she levels up. Selling and buying things from a character helps him/her to evolve and become richer. Of course, sellers won’t get money only from you. Yet how much they get depends on the number of city dwellers that come to visit the village. The reason for them to do so is because the village is on the way to your church. So the more popular your church and your graveyard are, the better it is for local businesses. You can also increase profits from the village by giving a sermon about how important small businesses are. After that a whole week till next sermon the village sellers get additional income.
In the end of the game one can trade through a merchant from the city wholesale. Your knowledge of theology will definitely help you here. But that’s another story and another game mechanic.
All the things described above is already done and now is being tested and adjusted carefully. So don’t worry we won’t put off the release to make all the things I’ve told you about. I think that’s all for today. If you have something you want me to talk about next time- leave a comment below. Or at least praise the work of our artists - it makes them draw better.
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http://store.steampowered.com/app/599140/Graveyard_Keeper/
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Nikita Kulaga - Co-founder of Lazy Bear Games