Now that most of the major gameplay systems are in place, I think it’s time that we start sharing them, beginning with the actions and mechanics for starting out in a new town.
First you’ll get some background information on the location and situation of your new town – in this case Sonora in the Mother Lode.
Note: The UI is temporary.
Then you’ll see your three goals to complete to win the scenario and move on to the next town.
Note: This UI is temporary, too.
After letting the goals soak in for a moment, you’ll have to choose what buildings, resources and/or trading options you’ll start out with. (Don’t worry. You can see the goals again anytime once you’ve started playing. Promise.)
Note: This UI is equally temporary.
Some starting grants will give you a fist full of cash and a blank slate for your town.
Others will give you limited cash with buildings already in place on the map. Sometimes those buildings will only be available to you as part of one of these starting grants.
Resources can also come into your town this way. You can choose to re-establish trade with a town you previously played. So if you created a lumber powerhouse previously, you might be able to arrange for some logs and boards to arrive every month or so.
The three distinct starting grants will make each play through of each map a different experience. Some will make building and running the town and achieving your goals a bit easier, some may make it a little (or a lot) more challenging.
And now the standard pre-Alpha disclaimer…. We’re still working on the UI bits and tuning each of scenarios, so it will probably look a bit different by the time the beta comes out.
