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Interview and new video

September 4, 2013 | Dukus | 63 Comments

Been a few weeks since I've updated, but I've been hard at work dealing with bugs, balance and the hardware issues I talked about in the last post. A big thank you to everyone who posted ideas and thoughts about how to deal with DX11 - they were all very helpful. If you come here often you'll notice I also changed the CSS for the site and fixed a few broken things, like the search.

Onto new things!

I recently did an interview with PCGamer. The interview shows some previously unreleased screenshots, content, and video!

If you want to get straight to the video, you can just watch it here!

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63 comments on “Interview and new video”

  1. You have done an amazing job with this game and I am waiting for the release date to throw money at you šŸ™‚

  2. well that was interesting. Came here by accident (missclicked a bookmark) and noticed there was a new post... and I was confused as I hadn't yet been notified by email... šŸ˜› then as I clicked my email client to open it, there the notification arrived!

  3. I said it already but.. Shut up and take my money! and cat! and car! and house! šŸ˜‰

    BTW. You have testers already. Is this list closed?

  4. Hello, how are you plan to distribute this game? Because here in central Europe we are a little bit scared, that we will not be able to buy it. Will you put in on steam? or origin?

  5. Oh those poor souls craving to be one of your playtesters. I walk among them.
    And I read what you said about combat. I really love that the game does NOT have any. But in case you follow those endless requests for a battle feature, please make sure to let the player decide whether to battle, or to play peacefully as the course is right now.
    After all, you can always sell add-ons, even if it's just a "warfare expansion".
    Been waiting for this game the entire summer. Now looking forward to cozy winter nights with it.

  6. Nice video the game looks really finished i looking forward to this game and i love the sounds šŸ™‚

  7. I'm so excited for the release of the game. Still happy to hear that you're planning it before the end of the year.

    You have us all on tenterhooks, waiting for you to say it's in the final hours!

    By the way, I am amongst those who are glad for no combat. Especially since I have no interest in it and it would just delay you longer for something I'd never use.

    I am greatly looking forward to it. I'm equally very impatient and yet appreciative that you're working on it from a standpoint of putting out a game that's truly ready to be played.

    Thanks a ton for keeping us updated, and do keep up the hard work.

  8. One quick idea (if not already on your list): I'd like to see an option in the game that one can enable so that when an important event happens (e.g. the merchant comes into town), the game either goes to pause mode or at least to normal speed if one was previously in high-speed mode. Otherwise it might become stressful if you now have to hastily press pause / or "slow-down" to deal with the new situation.

    And of course, what the rest said :). Great looking game that I am really looking forward to!

  9. I hope you'll add a "suggested" number of workers for each type, based on the number of jobs available on the employment screen. It'll make it a lot easier for a player to figure out how many farmhands they need, or woodcutters.

    The city building series all had them, making it a lot easier to micromanage (Caesar, Pharaoh, Zeus, Emperor)

  10. Do you have any price in mind? How much do you think the game is going to cost?

    Any chance of a steam beta or something where we can buy the game and play it?

  11. Great to hear an update; it's amazing all the support and encouragement you are rightly receiving in your making the great potential of this game become a reality. Especially with the nitty gritty obstacles that get in the way, you're nearly there!

  12. This game is exactly what I've been waiting for. I still, to this day, play Knights and Merchants because it's the only game I've found that scratched the itch I have to manage a small medieval town without it being solely for the sake of affording an army. I seem to remember a lot of games back in the good old days that had a "peaceful" or "Free-build" mode. Unfortunately that option is, as far as I can tell, extinct. I can't wait to buy this.

  13. Another great looking video. I'm so excited to see this become a thing. Not just because of the value I think independent development brings to the industry, but also because this is *exactly* the kind of game I've been wanting for quite a while.

  14. I've got a suggestion. Like every society has their bad side, I mean thieves, bandits ,hooligans etc. and in order to maintain peace within society you need to have good guy/guys (it depends on how populated is the city also) ''sheriff and his comrades'' .

    I do understand if this has to be implemented then it will take some time. And I'm sorry if you have already mentioned it and I haven't seen it.

  15. I noticed in the pictures and in the video that it looked like there was a cemetery next to the churches. Does this mean that you have find spaces to bury your deceased villagers? please say yes, that adds such a cool dynamic to the game.

  16. I keep throwing money at the screen, but I still don't get the game. What more do you want from me???

  17. There are two games I'm anxiously awaiting the release of.

    This is the first.
    Star Citizen is the second.

  18. Looking better and better every time we see it. I admire you sticking to your vision for long term planning rather than instant payoff. An orchard needing 5+ years to come into full production - that's something no other sim I've seen has ever done.

    Rectangular fields are convenient to draw, but can we choose other shapes if we want our farm spaces to have a more organic look?

  19. The game looks awesome - it's been great to see the improvements through the development process.

    One thing that jumps out at me in the video is all the buildings' chimneys burning at the same time. Perhaps you could add a bit of randomness there in terms of the number/ strength of smoke? Might add to the realism.

  20. Dude, nice! I really like the game, and I would like it. And I have kind of a vouch for you, too-
    This doesn't need to be like a console game that you release unchanging. You could add little things, fix bugs, etc. This is definitely a thing that'd keep people hooked on the game. And if you get tired of it, hand it off to another person. I think that'd be a good way to keep it single-person developed and constantly growing.

    Just my thoughts.

  21. The game has really come a long way from your earlier videos! You should be proud of your accomplishments.

    I saw your comment about feature creep in the interview. I know exactly how you feel. One can never decide when to stop adding features, but then all new features need to be tested and debugged, which is always a hassle!

    Last comment, I hope you will have some tooltips or help pages in regards to events such as crop infestations and how to deal with them

  22. You are doing an amazing job! I second all the comments about throwing money at you once it is finished.

  23. I've been wondering a few things...

    Is there going to be some level of crime in the game? Perhaps at higher populations, citizens who don't have jobs for long enough might turn to crime to feed themselves and their families?

    If there is some element of crime, would there be any sort of armed town guard? Perhaps buildings like barracks', guard posts or forts would be available to build? Of course, you can't control the guards, they work on their own.

    For very high-population towns, would we be able to build keeps/castles of some size? I suppose the Town Hall serves that purpose, but maybe a more grand option for larger towns.

  24. Thank you for the update. Really looking forward to the game. Loved your interview. The playtesters caught my eye, hope you invite some more people. (hint, hint)

    But I noticed one thing in the video. You needed plum for your tavern, but when you opened the Town Hall menu I saw you have 252 plums.
    How is it possible that the tavern isn't getting the plum it's needing?

    Keep up the great work you are doing. Love to play this game when it's getting out.

  25. This look great and i like the fact that there is no build tree in Banished. What's are your plan for translation ? Can the ingame text can be modify by us to be translated. I know some people would not consider buying your game if it's not in french.

  26. I enjoy there being no Combat. This game continues to be exactly what I've been looking for in a game for a long time.

    I read a comment about adding 'crime' to the game. I'm not entirely sure I like that idea. Just so you have two sides to it. On paper it sounds good, but I'm imagining playing and having to concern myself with that and it doesn't sound very fun to me.

    I can't wait to buy this for me and my Wife... and my friend...and probably his Wife.

    I would love more videos, btw.

  27. I have to admit that I'm with Ricky on this one. Don't bother with crime. I do understand people wanting to build defensive structures, but honestly, if you have any intention for that at all, I would be very very happy for that to be an OPTIONAL download pack.

    Simple city building and balancing the lives of the populace are more than enough for me. Many of these added things just detract for me personally.

    That being said, I'll take the game as it comes, and I'm definitely not against other people getting download packs that bring in these other elements that they personally crave also in a game like this.

    I will only state honestly that I do think there are already a lot of games that include mandatory crime and combat concepts even in their 'economic' modes.

    This may end up being a niche game. If you're okay with that, as part of that niche, I'm very okay with that.

  28. Are there any plans for you to host a forum on this site? i'd like to see that. I love the new CSS btw.

  29. Canth: "There are two games Iā€™m anxiously awaiting the release of.

    This is the first.
    Star Citizen is the second."

    If you're a fan of Star Citizen, look at Limit Theory (a procedural space sim) at ltheory.com.

    I'm looking forward to banished, Star Citizen, and Limit Theory.

  30. Love the sound and looks of it so far.

    Just one question: Will it be possible to divert from the "planned" city look? Now it looks very much like a planned grid layout which doesn't really jive with the perception of a medieval city.

  31. Me and my friends are honestly excited for this game. It is very refreshing to have the genre revived and to make it all better the pure diversity is epic. šŸ˜€

    Maybe just maybe you will see this and think about it tho it is a long shot. Co-op play

    One thing a lot of us talk about is how the game could be made more interesting by a bit of co-op play and harder challenges/issues arising. I know netcode can be a nightmare as is but it is worth a shot mentioning.

  32. The game looks so beautiful and fun already, I'm excited to play it. Just wishing the dev good fortunes, and I'm sure he will take his time with it to make it how he wants it to be. Also shut up and take my money too.

  33. Quick question:

    Are there any plans for sanitation in the game? A major vector for disease in medieval cities was the polution of water sources by the population. It would add an interesting twist to city planning if you had to consider the effects of human waste being carried downstream by rivers, or having cemetaries too close to the waters edge.

  34. Hey, amazing game. been following it for some time and looking forward to get my hands on it. And that's my question; will the people over here in Europe have a chance to play it? do you know how you will realease it yet?

  35. It looks fantastic! Looking very much forward to playing it!

    Many people are noticing many good ideas - many of them I agree with - but at the same time it might be too time-consuming as of now.

    I'd say later expansions can have more advanced material. That way you can make a finished Basic game, and then focus on making a well done Expanded game with other features.
    Later on you might even make a Warfare expansion for those interested, or a Crime package (possibly the same expansion?).

    Your possibilities are endless, so this is just my 5 cents. Personally I'd like warfare and/or crime to be absent in the first game - the city-building and balancing a small town is what I really look forward to.
    Too many other civilization-building games focus a lot on very rapid development, which makes you feel like you don't have the time to enjoy the small things. You have to be quick all the time, and can't take your time on one thing. That's what I'm looking forward to in this!

    Keep up the good work!

  36. Saw this via RPS. My interest is very definitely piqued. I'm one of those people who loved the Anno games but could've done without the combat side of things. Hugely impressed also that this is a solo effort!

  37. I'm really looking forward to this game
    It looks totally awesome.
    The only thing i would like to know if we would have the possibility to translate the game into other languages, because as far as i noticed it will be english only, not that it would concern me, or am i wrong?
    Because a bigger varity of language will make the ame much more interesting for a bigger group of gamers.

  38. @Matthew : Knights and Merchants? You, good sire, have an excellent taste in gaming. Now I feel like giving it a play again, too.

  39. Hello,

    this looks very amazing. I wonder if you plan to start a kickstarter campaign? At least here in germany I think there are a lot of people who really love complex, detailed economy simulations, so I wish you good luck and power to finish your game!

  40. Would it be possible to implement a feature where we take the perspective of a citizen? Would be really cool and emphasize the intimacy of having a small population, where you know each town person by name.

  41. I dearly hope you release your game on GOG.com or similar.

    They have an indie game release program here with a 70/30 split to the developer (60/40 if you take a cash advance until the advance is paid off)

    http://www.gog.com/news/say_hello_to_gogcomindie

    No DRM at GOG makes it easier for folks to shell out the $20 per copy knowing it will work on all their machines pretty much forever. I do occasionally use Steam but very grudgingly. GOG just works.

  42. Nice work developers I must say that I'm very impressed with your work but I hope you will add crime, bandits, neighboring towns and exploration to make new towns as well as different biomes which come with their perks and disadvantages. Good luck to you all, can't wait to play the game for my self.

  43. put in some stuff about aesthetics - like gardens and stuff - so that better and more valuable houses can be built in better locations

    it can change the dynamic of the game so that more thought has to be put into where to build stuff - like in the old Ceasar 3 game (or might have been 4)

    and what about sewage??!!

  44. @phil: Auto slowdown on disaster is already on my task list.

    @Anders: Yup, there is place where you can see suggested number of workers per profession.

    @Ingus, Tako: I'm not planning on having crime or punishment in the game.

    @Zak: While cemeteries aren't required, they do make people less sad when family dies....

    @Rod: All areas are rectangular. Had I known the game was going to get this big when I started I would have considered curved roads and free-form areas. Maybe in a sequel should the first one do well. šŸ™‚

    @Mathew: There are tool-tips for most everything, and I do plan on having tutorials and manuals.

    @Tako: There are no castles. Maybe in an expansion?

    @Tjeerd: What probably happened is that the tavern worker ran out of supplies and went off to do other things ā€“ fill his house with food and firewood, visit the graveyard, etc. When he gets done with that he'll notice the new supply, go collect it, and continue making ale.

    @gongo: Pigs are on my wish-list ā€“ but I don't know if I'll get to them.

    @DT: Most of my test towns don't have a planned look. I just made one for the video. You can build pretty much however you want.

    @Gabriel: There are no plans for sanitation at the moment.

    @David: I've considered a first person view, but really the artwork and textures weren't built for it, and it doesn't hold up to my art standards...

    @Yin: I have a wish-list items like gardens, monuments, fences, planted bushes, etc. We'll see if I get to them or not.

  45. Saw this via "The Awesomer", all I can say is it looks amazing and that I'm very excited to play it as soon as it becomes available. Thanks for getting me excited about a game!!

  46. All the games I'm currently playing have suddenly become mere distractions to hold me over. Can't wait!

  47. I'm happy to see "long-term" crops such as fruit trees. Planting and maintaining an orchard is a huge pain in the ass. Those beautiful perfect apples you see in the store take an ocean of pesticides and fertilizers. I have a small orchard on my property and trust me, the apples look like crap as it hasn't been maintained by any of the previous owners all the way back to whomever planted it I imagine. As such, the orchards in the game should require a lot more labor than your average crop if you wish to see a quality harvest. I think placing hunters near your trees should provide a small benefit too as deer are a major pest of fruit trees.

  48. Wow, what a beautiful and very interesting game.
    Can't wait till release. Wishing I could help beta test in the meantime.

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