Stonehearth Alpha - Then and Now

I looked at the countdown I created more then a year ago. It is still running to my own suprise :smiley:. I remember it was some time after the countdown ended that the alpha 1 was up.

http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/to?msg=Stonehearth%20Alpha&fg1=ff6724&fg2=ecbc33&p0=224&year=2013&month=12&day=30&hour=14&min=0&sec=0

You remember the excitement we had in the countdown thread. Like 10 posts/second. :blush:

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[quote=ā€œSilas, post:20, topic:9032ā€]
Iā€™m a little confusedā€¦ isnā€™t adding building improvements, tech trees, mining, new crafting items, roads, and new classes adding to the gameplay? This is a city building game and itā€™s coreā€¦[/quote]

Is it? I would not say so. It was billed as ā€œA sandbox strategy game with town building, crafting, and epic battles!ā€ (first line of the Kickstarter). I believe ā€œPeaceful Modeā€ was added right from the beginning to satisfy that need that many people have (city building game with no way to lose), but the core game was always a strategy game with meaningful choices @Tom wanted you to have angst over.

See the first Kickstarter paragraph: ā€œStonehearth is a game about exploration and survival in an epic fantasy setting. Your job is to help a small group of settlers survive and carve out a place for themselves in a hostile land. Youā€™ll need to establish a food supply, build shelter, defend your people, and find a way to grow and expand, facing challenges at every step.ā€

We have very little challenge and very few (if any) meaningful choices. So in short

[quote=ā€œSilas, post:20, topic:9032ā€]
isnā€™t adding building improvements, tech trees, mining, new crafting items, roads, and new classes adding to the gameplay?[/quote]

, no my good sir, it is not (adding gameplay). Game play in a survival strategy game needs to have the ability to lose. There is none such of a serious nature in the game today.

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Iā€™m not disagreeing that the things you mentioned arenā€™t in the game or arenā€™t needed before long to keep things interesting. Iā€™m as excited as you to have them! Iā€™m just saying anything that adds to the gametime of playing a game that is focused on building a city to survive with, is adding to the gameplay.

I have little doubt weā€™ll see some serious additions to scenarios and survival before long.

First looks to be combat. A bigger focus on combat probably means that there will be a larger chance for you to be attacked in a meaningful way and hopefully more dangerous way (instead of the only needing the rally flag to survive a million goblins ). I sense more devious enemies in the near future.

Hereā€™s hoping!

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ā€œA herd of sheep are coming to free their friendsā€ ā€œCall the shepherdsā€

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