Our new world 'Lovelace' starts this Saturday. Everyone will start afresh (though, of course, you'll keep any items you've purchased through the Steam store). The world looks much the same but works significantly differently. Most notable changes :
- Job system removed - base production buildings like Oil Drill produce at a flat rate cost as long as the building owner/tenant has the required skill
- New skill system - differentiation between job and construction skills has been removed. e.g. 'Farmer' skill allows you to construct and run a farm, 'Baker' skill allows you to construct and run a bakery, etc.
- Barter disabled
- New startup layout - No welfare, start cash or purchasable government buildings, instead we have a Soup Kitchen (thanks Emmie for that idea) and the ability to task for logs and rocks to earn initial cash.
- Skill learn times will increase the more you've learnt previously. (See the GFM forum thread for more info : http://gamesformay.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=270 )
- Hunger and thirst rates increased ; you need to eat and drink more frequently to stay alive.
- Various price limits are now enforced - items cannot be bought/sold for less than their base price +1d or for more than 3x their base price. (Base price is calculated by the game based on the global production figures). **
- Once an item has been bought or sold, you can only adjust its price once every 24 hours. **
- Once an item has been given a sale or purchase price, you can't stop selling/purchasing it. **
- Various new building types and adjustments to the production chains : e.g. Vineyard, rice paddy, poultry farm, stonemasons (converts stone to stone blocks used for construction). Workhouses removed. Production rates have generally been slowed down somewhat.
- Construction materials changed so that higher level buildings require more items (e.g. 'Lvl 1' buildings require Stone blocks & Wood rather than just stone, 'Lvl 3' require Concrete & Girders, rather than just girders).
- Two starter towns - one residential/commercial, one residential/industrial - new towns will be added by a straightforward silent auction rather than election. (The starter towns will be sold off by a similar method later in the cycle).
(** All of these changes have particularly 'interesting' economic/gameplay implications that I'll be monitoring over the next few weeks - they may get 'adjusted'.)
As this is a single-developer early access game, there has been little testing of the new setup yet ; things may need adjusting as it develops.
With a new world like this, it can generally go one of three ways :
1) Everything basically works fine and, bar a few minor adjustments, the world carries on running for as long as it can.
2) Some things need bigger changes - e.g. exploits/bugs fixed and compensation/penalties awarded - resulting in some players losing out and others gaining, but the world eventually settles down and it runs for as long as it can.
3) Things go terribly wrong and everything has to get reset not long after it starts.
Ideally we get option 1), but be aware of the alternatives so there are no surprises should anything go awry. There is also the outside possibility that the new setup is so unpleasant to everyone that we revert back to Grey, or something like it, but I hope that won't be necessary :]
I'l make some more announcements in the next few days covering some changes to the benefits of the purchased items and EULA.
Questions, suggestions, donations of whiskey, all welcome as always.