Refreshing way of combining different genres: RPG + Medieval town simulation.
In this game, you first choose your classs: paladin or magic user or even outcast, convict, merchant etc.
This influnces how you would approach the game.
Each 'game' is supposed to take a fairly short amt of time to finish, and takes place on a randomly generated map. The map is divided into a grid with each 'square' representing a small domain/sector.
You will start off in a 'home' domain where you will eventually build up your own little town. The game plays out as follows:
For instance, if you choose fighter class - you would first venture out on the map and do general exploring. You will discover the nature of your neighbouring 'regions' and set out to rid them of their resident beasts.
Killing these beast give a fourfold benefit:
1) Earn gold
2) Earn fame
3) Once you clear the sector, you gain access to its resources (eg: for a herb sector, once you clear the area, your town can have access to herb - you can now enlist a herbalist to your town.
4) The fallen beasts occasionally drop hardware that you can pick up - either weapons or implements to increse your townsfolks' efficiency.
Once you have garnered enough fame and money, you can start enlisting different people into you town:
- there will be regular 'visitors' in your domain.
- you can opt to enlist them (with enough gold, fame, and meeting certain conditions such as having access to a herbs plot if you want to enlist a herbalist)
- you them build them an abode.
- Each type of townsfolk confer a certain benefit (eg: farmer produces food for others, and inn makes money, a smithee makes weapons, a herbalist makes potions for you .... there is around a dozen variety of folk).
Thus you will eventually build up a small community and hopefully a self sustaining rural economy.
Eventually you can ask certain townsfolk to leave their work and join your combat party. They will level up with fights just as you do. You win when you have cleaned up and conquered the entire map.
Having explained the mechanics of the gameplay, I would give my critisicms:
1) Refreshing idea and innovative.
2) Can become slightly repetitive after a while but still v enjoyable
3) Reasonable variety of items and townsfolk, but the variety of beasts are quite limited.
4) It would have been more interesting to have some scripted events and mini-campaigns with interconnected domains - all domains currently are independent and has a truly random generated feel to them.
5) It would be nice to have some zoom levels
The game is only available for download on Stream at the moment - I actually don't like this at all. I have to log on to this site every time and map generation is slooooooow and it takes AGES to eventually start playing.