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Stone Roads

April 5, 2013 | Dukus | 46 Comments

Paved Roads

The game now has paved cobblestone roads! People move much faster on them but they use up stone to build them. The square in the image costs a lot to build, but it sure looks nice.

While the stone roads are useful for gameplay, I've got a few ideas for other items that can be built purely for making a nice looking town, such as fences, walls, and planted trees. While not really needed, I enjoy games that let me make a good looking city with a nice layout in addition to a city that performs well. Small details can add a lot to this. I probably won't get to this until the game is almost done, unless I get bored one day and just want to make artwork.

Speaking of getting bored - now that the game is somewhat large, there are a lot of small unrelated tasks to complete. It's nice to be able to switch what I'm working on day to day. It helps to keep up my motivation, focus, and sanity - I can just pick anything on my task list and work on it. Earlier in the week it was audio, yesterday was textures and a small amount of code, today is mostly code. This weekend I'll probably play the game and work on balancing. Or more likely I'll relax and go mountain biking. I think switching it up often (and taking days off) helps to not to obsess or worry about the small details, and the development time is faster overall.

Edit: Can I really talk about faster development time when I've been working on it for two years???

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46 comments on “Stone Roads”

  1. Having a balanced lifestyle will increase productivity.

    Anyways, are you becoming the next Markus Persson?

  2. Been following your game for some time now, and love you implemented the updates. Anxiety increases every day but I know this game will make something big one day as it abruptly explodes the Market. I eagerly await more news and keep on blogging! It will keep your sanity well enough to continue your weekend bike rides! Eager to hear more from you soon!

  3. Dude, you're so AWESOME!

    I really hope to see the Alpha/Beta test come out soon! πŸ˜€

  4. This game is shapping up to be a great city-builder. Keep up the awesome work.
    I'm loving every blog entry as they get posted.
    If this game appears on Steam it will be an easy buy.

    A simple suggestion. You mentioned the possibility of eye-candy outdoor decorations like fences and planted trees. Why not applying a very small happiness bonus to those items.
    The inhabitants happiness could get increased by the decorations they have near their house and workplace.
    This happiness bonus should be small enough not to make those decorations to powerfull.

    Finally I wanted to ask you a question. I remember you mentioned somewhere that farming to agressively the terrain would cause it to lose fertility.
    Since this game is set in a medieval time period, do you plan on implementing some "crop-rotation" farming system to allow the player to schedule different crops to be planted/harvested according to the different seasons during the year?

    Thanks for the great game you're making.
    I'm definetly going to keep an eye on this game regularly.

  5. I have the same question as Rui; will there be a crop-rotation cycle? Such as the Mayan fertility calendar states to not plant on a plot at least 2 years after the harvest? IF you do release alpha/beta builds, I am eager to see the forums. Just remember cater to your beliefs, and not ones that hinder everything you work for.

  6. It is looking great. Keep taking breaks when needed. I love mountain biking. I find it great to clear my head when I need a break from coding.

  7. Also wells would look nice! If you hadn't already thought of that because you seem to know exactly what I love in a game!

  8. There is crop rotation. Sort of. I'm reworking it. When I first added it I decided it was too annoying - Clicking each field and setting a different crop every year or letting fields lie open was annoying once a large number of fields had to be managed. If soil quality/crop rotation isn't in the game, farming becomes really easy as long as the weather holds.

    So as a balance, I'm allowing several years of time before crop yields drop significantly. I'm also considering adding user interfaces that allow the player to modify several farms and/or workplaces on a single dialog.

  9. I don't care how long this game will take to get finished, so long it does get finished at the end.

    Keep hacking away!

  10. There really won't be a chance of a Alpha/Beta. He wants to work on his masterpiece alone so he is not under any stress. I completely understand that and we will just have to wait; but he is doing an excellent job! Just give it a little more time

  11. I am working on getting my masters, if you ever want an unpaid intern this summer!

    Can't imagine a better way to get experience!

  12. I love the look of the cobblestone roads. Reminds me of how the town squares in Tallinn or Bruges would have looked at that time. Thanks for the updates. The game is beautiful.

  13. I am in love with the game so far. Please E mail me if you need someone for alpha/beta testing or if you need to get the word around. I pkay several games with popular servers that allow ads, so i'll be able to spread word all around the world if need be.

  14. With the crop rotation method, it was set with wheat, potatoes, ect. By the next crop such as clover or alfalfa (food for livestock mostly used in the winter). Lastly on the third rotation was left in a fallow which was used for the livestock such as cows, chickens, pigs, ect. The main reason for this is plant wheat and then plant the next harvest wheat would use the same resources and that the 2nd harvest would be weaker than the 1st harvest; however, the clover would be a bountiful harvest because the clover would need different nutrients than wheat. Lastly the cow or other animal would drop their excrements on the ground, which would resupply the nitrates that the crops desperately need in order to grow.
    My question is, can you have all three cycle automatically?
    For an example: Wheat, clover, cows, and wheat again.

  15. The hard work will pay off, you can be sure of that. As much as we all want to get out hands on it, let him get it where it needs to be.. Whenever that is, I'm sure we will all be waiting! Sometimes, the best things come to those who wait.. (that's not always true though)

  16. Jeeeez. You sure know how to tease us!

    This looks awesome and i really hope we can enjoy a first alpha or beta very soon.

    Keep up the great work!

  17. Nice. I look for updates every day. Can't wait.

    If you need a tester, I'm happy to help! lol

  18. Looking fantastic, can't wait to play!

    Quick question: I noticed in earlier screenshots your roads could only be placed along straight lines and at right angles, is that intentional? or is it just a limitation of the current state of the engine?

  19. I posted this on the alpha trailer post, just reposting it here because I would love to know if this is potentially something that could be added to the project:

    I just wanted to know, is it possible that after your town has established itself that the people of the town could elect a lord and they would build a castle for him? You could make the establishment of the town’s castle as the introduction to combat.

  20. I wanted to ask you something. You mentioned in an earlier post that in order to get stone then you needed to quarry for stone, mine it e.t.c. and that doing so increases risk of danger for the people who have to work to get that stone. Do you have anything in place that enables us to place something down that reduces the risk of danger in the work place?

  21. just wish I had half your intelligence, and the ability to switch between things....

  22. Dude, you're working great and blog posts are enlightneing.

    Two years on a thing like this is NOTHING, out there you can find (and you know well, coming from that world) AAA-grade games that required 200-man-years worth of work...

    Keep up the good work.

  23. I think the ability to place roads up against buildings is a must. See in the picture: the buildings have steps from the entrance that go into grass and not onto stone.

  24. Hi. Dunno if you read all of these messages, but I was thinking it would be great if you had a big enough square, like you have on that picture, some of your towns inhabitants would set up some shops/carts or something to fill up the space?

  25. Just got the email for the cobblestone roads.
    Was just thinking, if you have health and disease factors in the sim, then paved roads would improve town health as a perk. No ruts filled with animal feces, and or slop from dwelling buckets would keep disease spread way down.

  26. So I have, a suggest for the crop system. The reason why you need to stop growing a crop is because of resources in the soil get's used up. (I assume we all understand this very simplistic statement already). Some plants take resource A and leave resource B in their wake. Other plants take resource A and B. Why not have a farming system where farm area's have these hidden variables and some plant types will lower some variable numbers over time and raise others.

  27. I can not wait for this game. I love this type of game and I remember that as a child I played in anno or tropico, this game is very similar set in my favorite reality.

  28. I am really looking forward to this game! I have been looking for a city builder like this ever since SimCity let me down. Also, balancing one's life is always a good idea.

  29. Great work u doing. I created only simply game based on simcity where i can build houses, peoples are walking around and cars riding randomly. That take me month so i know ur pain with it. But ur game looks awesome and i'm looking forward for next news. Mb u can create system that will send some news about game at mail? Btw i think u will be rich when u develop it πŸ˜€
    Good Luck!

  30. I would love for an Alpha build, but for now, I am content with frequent updates. You deserve a break. Also, you should set up a donation page. I would love to donate 20 bucks if I got an early copy. Or just donate 20 bucks. I want to help you (and play this game). Thank you!

  31. Hello! Two things really quick. First i love your game and the dedication you put into it, i am following it diligently! Second, when i saw that open square an idea dawned on me, what if there were buildings that can only be place on cobblestone such as a markets, or stalls, it sure would liven up that beautiful square in the morning πŸ˜‰ Keep up the amazing work and have a great day!

  32. I love where this is going. Nice job so far.

    I'd like to say that I second (third?) the market stall idea for large cobblestone areas. It would do wonders for the visual appeal of the town square.

  33. I would find it very interesting if you wrote about your experience of making the game. What new skills did you need to learn, how did you motivate yourself, what tools do you use, etc. I'm an ex software developer, now stay at home dad, and I've thought about making a game. It seems such a daunting task. I have trouble starting something I don't feel confident will be a success, especially when I don't have any artistic skill whatsoever. I hope your succeed in making the game you want, it looks great and sounds interesting so far.

  34. Great job keep up the good work, I am 1990-2000 generation of players. Right now there is no game that would evoke great feeling in me, all the games are the same. Shame what happened with all the great companies. This game is a fresh breath of air πŸ™‚

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