What's the core gameplay loop in SoS?

[Don J0rm[A]´n´@1N3N]

Hello,

I've played the demo (version 0.63) for five hours and I have liked it so far. I was wondering what's the "core" gameplay idea here. So far I've been expanding my base, invited new immigrants into town, expanded more and so on. Focusing a bit on different fields, like pottery and bread.

But that's my "exact" experience so far. I feel I am merely expanding. In Rimworld, the game was throwing stuff at me and I had to react accordingly. In Songs of Syx, I feel there aren't many random encounters. Once a slaver trade came into my city, offering some slaves but I couldn't even buy them because I didn't have much money.

I feel I am doing same things over and over again - building new workshops, farms and houses. I feel I am missing something here. If so, could someone elaborate what I am missing? Or should I understand that the game is more "realistic" than games like Rimworld: it's just you, the leader, who keeps building new stuff - and it's all about you, not about random events and quests. You decide what to do. Since I kinda like what I am seeing here, but kinda feels there is something I haven't discovered yet.

[Rasho Macuin]

Hello, nice having you.

First of all, keep in mind this game is still in development, by a single developer, so its normal to find unpolished mechanics in the game still.

To answer your question: The difference between this and RImworld, for example, is that you are not boxing with shadows. In Rimworld, you do not know where the next attack might come. A mech cluster? A climate changer? A raid? Its all random (even playing Cassandra).

In Songs of Syx:

1) You know whos your enemy and whos your ally, and relationships between states mather so much more, and you are in better control of them

You know what type of goods your enemy produces, you know where to choke them, you can attack their supply lines, you can siege their cities, vasalize them, make them provide for the good you are lacking.

Its all just less (dicey?) and more strategic.

2) Your builds are repeatable and perfectionable. Theres many good ways to design your city and you can tailor it to your gamestyle, the map is larger, the population is bigger, you have more diferent branches of industries and of acheving the same objectives, wich you have to polish to fit your culture better.

3) Although clumsy at the moment, the battles are on a much larger scale, and are played as the "Total War" franchise, wich is the step forward, really.

TLDR: Songs of Syx is a more strategic centered, less randomized game than Rimworld (wich is also a great game for me, really)

[Lantantan]

In theory it's a city builder that you can play for longer. Most city/colony builders kinda end once you've made every building once. Most of them get easier as your city gets bigger. So here the dev hopes to keep things interesting by making things harder the longer you play. This is mainly by adding more and more spinning plates mechanics that can crash your city once you drop one. Also there's just a lot more stuff to build before you've done it all.

That said, don't go in expect grand strategy. This is a city builder, you'll be spending nearly all your time building more city. If you want battles, play Total War, if you want strategy play Europe Universalis, if you want diplomacy, play something with other humans, if you want personal drama around your group of pawns, play Rimworld or Dwarf Fortress. But if you liked banished but thought it needed to be harder and longer, you're in the right spot.

[Rasho Macuin]

Originally posted by Lantantan:

But if you liked banished but thought it needed to be harder and longer, you're in the right spot.

I couldnt have said it any better, that comparison its on point.

[Don J0rm[A]´n´@1N3N]

Thanks for very good replies!

[Catsander]

Increase happiness. Get more people. More work needed in order to maintain happiness/population. Repeat.

Main Goal: Try to fit as many people as possible on the map in question.