Welcome to the first substantial public update for Ascension of Outlanders. Upcoming grand strategy game that is set in a historically based fictional setting with player created nations based on real life cultures. A lot of work has been getting done lately. First and foremost the settlements (cities, farms, mining towns, and lumber camps) have been getting alot of attention. The basic functionality of cities has been completed, basic growth rates for population, taxes, building and deconstruction. Additionally, a lot of work has been going into designing a UI that is not only appealing and fits the style, but also provides good control and ample data to show the players how the local economy is within that settlement.
Construction System
Constructing is a pretty straight forward process, click on the button in the city panel to build a chosen building, check if the player has enough resources for that building and deduct them. Put it into the construction queue, and let the days and month pass(in game of course) while it gets built.
One advantage to how I’ve been approaching buildings and mega projects since most buildings are only represented with 2D sprites is setting up buildings as scriptable object prefabs, meaning I can quickly customize new buildings for different settlement types, while accounting for various player cultures in a very quick and efficient manner. Not 3D modeling every building or worrying about 3D modeling every building has allowed for very rapid prototyping and developing a robust set of features for settlements.
Speaking of 3D models, we do have a plan to show off some of those as well! In an upcoming Dev Diary soon we'll be taking a look at some work by a 3D artist named Dylan, who is currently helping make settlements more visually interesting. And we’ll also show how these player-built hubs will grow and change to show their size or reflect some of the buildings that have been put into them.
Check back in on June 16th for the production system’s implementation, a sneak look at some changes to the player UI, and a short video showing how you can customize items and place orders from the workshops in your kingdom!
Here's a quick look at a 3D representation for a small lumber camp. It’s definitely going to change, but it is time to stop looking at cubes for prototypes of everything.
