Hi everyone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that the holidays are decidedly behind us, it\u2019s time to think about what the future holds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s little doubt that 2022 will be a pivotal year for Foundation. We know you\u2019re eager to learn more about the game, hence why we\u2019re sharing an exclusive look at what\u2019s going on behind the scenes\u2026and hopefully answer some of your burning questions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After three years in Early Access (time flies!), we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Looking back, we\u2019re proud of what we\u2019ve accomplished so far, but acknowledge that there\u2019s still a lot of work left to do. Still, we\u2019re confident that we\u2019ll cross the finish line before long. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our current focus is on Core Game II<\/strong> (1.9), which we\u2019ve actually already talked<\/a> about last year. We can\u2019t stress enough just how much of a game changer this new release will be. We\u2019ll have more details to share about it very soon. In the meantime, here’s some up-to-date info about the new features being worked on right now by the team for this massive<\/em> update:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of our overhauled progression system, your village will now score points according to various metrics (territories, population, etc.). We\u2019re calling this system Prosperity (which is not to be confused with Splendor). The idea behind it is to allow you, the player, to progress in the game without imposing a specific playstyle. For example, you will be able to progress by focusing on a large populated city, but you\u2019ll also be able to progress by focusing on a prolific monastery. Aiming for higher scores isn\u2019t just for bragging rights: you\u2019ll unlock new buildings and put in place new politics (edicts) along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Estates are evolving and will be closely tied to different gameplay types. Each Estate will have their specific advantages over some core features of the game. For instance, the Labor Estate will fare well in villager taxation, the Clergy Estate on luxury resources and the Kingdom\u2014you probably guessed it\u2014on military campaigns. Also, get ready as having a high Splendor with an estate will negatively impact influence with other estates. This is just a quick overview of our intentions. More on that later! <\/p>\n\n\n\n We know several players would love to see endgame content<\/strong> added to Foundation and 1.9 will deliver on that front. Victory conditions are late game objectives you can complete to score rare player celebrations in Foundation\u2014and their own achievements. Pick one or more victory conditions to track and try to complete all the prerequisites\u2026if you dare! <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve been following us on social media, you know we hired a talented narrative designer a couple of weeks ago. Core Game II will be the first occasion to see his work applied to the world of Foundation. What does that mean? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Well\u2026we\u2019re not ready to spill the beans quite yet, but here\u2019s a nugget of information for you: our new narrative events aim to make your experience more open-ended. Since 1.9 redefines our global game progression, we wanted to establish the first step of what we could describe as a “dialogue” between players and Foundation. In that sense, the game will feel a lot more responsive by serving events tailored to your play style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Core Game II is an opportunity for us to review Foundation\u2019s early game and more precisely its onboarding. Since we\u2019re introducing a lot of new features to the game, it\u2019s important that our tutorials and in-game messaging are on point. We\u2019ve put a lot of effort into explaining our systems and helping players understand the steps they need to take in order to build\u2014and maintain\u2014successful villages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And more! Look forward to our new blog series that will delve deeper into upcoming features included in 1.9<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Core Game II (1.9) update is scheduled for release in the first half of 2022.<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from the work being done on Core Game II, our team is working in parallel on other important additions that will see the light of day before\/at release. Here\u2019s a few of them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are rehauling the residential experience to make it more fluid and informative while improving the game\u2019s overall organic layout. Villagers will still build and upgrade (up to a 3rd level) houses by themselves but through blood, sweat, and tears, they\u2019ll be better at it than ever! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gone are the days where unused space could really hinder your village\u2019s development. Improvements to our painting tool will help determine more precisely where districts are formed and ensure residential space (as defined by the player) is sufficient. The tool will be able to predict how many villagers can be housed within a specific zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We already gave you a glimpse of our Map Generator. Work on this feature has progressed steadily since then and is already showing promising results. We know this is one of the most anticipated features and we want to make it right, hence why we\u2019re keeping things a bit under wraps for now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One way to add more uniqueness to maps is by making sure biomes are different enough from each other. How are we going to do it? Well, for starters, we want to improve vegetation a lot\u2014even going as far as having different vegetation depending on elevation. Think leafy on lower altitudes and coniferous on higher altitudes. What we\u2019re not<\/em> aiming for is to add tropical or desert biomes, as we feel they don\u2019t quite fit with our design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We strive to make Foundation more functional, accessible and enjoyable by all types of players. Expect even more accessibility options in the future, including improved colored text contrast and colorblind-friendly signs\/feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We will continue to support the modding community. One way to do so will be by exposing more real-time interactions, but we also plan to let modders edit the user interface (UI), among other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Delivering a smooth gameplay experience has always been a top priority for us. On that point, we can say this year will introduce a number of interesting QOL changes, included but not limited to: more tooltips, improved handling of panels and ESC key behavior, new Book shortcuts and UI customization (resize).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are doing everything in our power to get Foundation our of Early Access before the end of 2022. We will keep you updated as we go.<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hi everyone! Now that the holidays are decidedly behind us, it\u2019s time to think about what the future holds. There\u2019s little doubt that 2022 will be a pivotal year for Foundation. We know you\u2019re eager to learn more about the game, hence why we\u2019re sharing an exclusive look at what\u2019s going on behind the scenes\u2026and … Gameplay Types & Progression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Prosperity<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Estates<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Victory conditions<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Narrative<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
New onboarding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Looking even further<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Residential Revamp<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Map Generator<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
New Terrain Biomes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Accessibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Modding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Quality of Life (QOL)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n