[BETA 55A] First Impressions of Early Game

Discussion in 'Clockwork Empires General' started by dtolman, Oct 5, 2016.

  1. dtolman

    dtolman Member

    Excited by the hype, I finally* installed CE just before the latest monthly update was put up on Steam.
    I have to say that 55As definitely a lot easier to use and more intuitive compared to 54C - I only used the chests for a day, but I got sick of them quick.

    Started a new game instance of 55A, and I still see some room for improvement
    -not enough UI breadcrumbs/tips to make informed decisions on more complex buildings. For example - I built a trading post thingy, designated an item as a trade good... and nothing. OK...I guess a trader needs to show up? There is nothing in-game to suggest how I attract one.
    -would be nice to have tips on what modules can be used to perform actions on raw goods. For example - what should I build in a kitchen to use mushrooms?
    -Doesn't seem to be anyway to mark a job as important. Like - I REALLY want more trees cut down, as thats killing my supply chain... lazy overseers. Also still not enough clues as to why a job isn't running (example - not enough planks to build a building).
    -I want to zoom out more to see whats going on - the big picture view... but guess the only options are minimap and normal zoomed in view?

    Then there is wackiness that confuses me. Bug, or unexplained gameplay?
    -My stockpile got close to full, so I built a new stockpile next to it - thinking it would effectively expand. Nope... they moved everything next door. Why?
    -I also ended up with random goods scattered all over the map. Why? And how do I get them collected? They've been sitting in plain site for over a week (gametime), with no one picking them up - and I have workcrews that are unassigned.

    Early game promotional material from a few years ago suggested that like The Shining, There Will Be Blood, No Country For Old Men or A Simple Plan that the end game will be everyone ends up in a wood chipper and the whole settlement will come crashing down.
    Is that still the case? Or is End Game currently like most settlement builders - you get bored, start new game - or a screen comes up congratulating you on some goal being met?

    *I bought it... a year ago? two? but have been patiently waiting for a near-complete experience.
     
    Samut likes this.
  2. jotwebe

    jotwebe Gained the People's Ovation and Fame Forever

    Ok, lots of questions there. Traders will come, it'll help if you get the factions (La Republique, Stahlmark, Novorus) at least to neutral (via a foreign office), if they're hostile they won't send any traders. But you should start with two non-hostile factions, so sooner or later some traders will drop by.

    The only really important building in a kitchen is the stove, for starters one stone stove should do, later you'll need two or three and then hopefully upgrade to iron stoves. Brewing stuff is for making alcohol, which is nice to have but not essential, particularly starting out. Mushrooms can be cooked into mushroom stew in an oven.

    Marking jobs as important is something the devs don't want to do because they are afraid that people will get confused when other stuff doesn't get done, mark that as important, and basically break the game. It's an often requested feature though, maybe some day they'll give in ;)

    Zooming out got removed recently so we'd develop stronger ties with our colonists, it's about as popular as upkeep used to be.

    Whackiness... yeah things are whacky. Sometimes it just takes 'em a while to pick stuff up - they'll usually have a pretty long list of things they have to do. Don't understand what exactly your stockpile situation was.

    Endgame does have some Hidden Fun Stuff, to use dwarf fortress terminology, but it's pretty mild lately. It tends a bit to the "get bored, start new colony" end of the spectrum, although half the time it's "get new experimental build, start new colony."
     
    Cthulhu_Awaits likes this.