The Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise FAQ

[Zoythrus™]

Hello, we want to make sure everyone's questions are answered but not in a way that clogs up the discussion boards, so please read this before commenting.

Moonrise

Q: What is The Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise?
A: The Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise is the Steam port of the award-winning, critically acclaimed mobile strategy game The Battle of Polytopia, which is available right now on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

Q: Why does the name have “Moonrise” in it?
A: As many know, we have been rewriting the game in Unity, and this port is known as “Moonrise.” In the past, we’ve referred to it as “the Unity port” or “the Steam version,” but now it has gotten an official name - Moonrise, and will be referred to as such from now on.

Q: What new features does Moonrise have over the current Adobe AIR version?
A: In addition to a plethora of bugfixes and stability improvements, Moonrise features larger maps, better map generation, map customization options, random multiplayer matchmaking, player avatars, a Russian translation, the ability for more than one player to play with the same tribe, and gives us room to develop new features much more quickly.

Q: Will the new features in The Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise come to mobile as well?
A: Yes, it will, but it will come out after the Steam version is released. It shouldn’t take too long, though!

Q: “Better map generation”? What does that mean?
A: We’ve completely redone how the terrain is created, meaning that your starting conditions should be much more fair and fun! No more one-tile islands or unwinnable starts.

Q: Larger maps? How big will they be?
A: We’ve added two new map sizes, “Huge” and “Massive”, which are 20x20 (400 tiles) and 30x30 (900 tiles)!

Q: What are “map customization options”?
A: In addition to the larger map sizes, we’ve also allowed you to choose the amount of water on the map! With 5 different options to choose from, ranging from “virtually zero water” to “nothing but a handful of islands,” we have “Dryland,” “Lakes,” “Continents,” “Archipelago,” and “Water World.”

Q: What is “random multiplayer matchmaking”?
A: Instead of needing to add other Polytopia players as friends before playing a match, we’ve added “random matchmaking”, which will either let you open a match to the public or join a match set up by another player. You will be able to set options like number of players, map type, and etc, and the matchmaker will attempt to set you up with other players who are also looking for a match of that type. You can still add other players as friends if you want to set up more specialized matches.

Q: What do you mean by “the ability to let more than one player play with the same tribe”?
A: Duplicate tribes, also known as “mirror matches”, allow multiple people to play with their own copy of the same tribe. So, now it is possible for a match where everyone chooses Imperius, and each player will be given their own differently-colored copy of Imperius to play with.

Q: Will AI be able to choose the same tribe as well?
A: Yes. You can now play single player with each AI having their own unique copy of the same tribe, which functions the same as multiplayer.

Q: I’ve heard rumors of a new technology coming after Shields. Will that be in Moonrise?
A: The rumors are true, but we’re still working on it! It will not be in Moonrise until later, and will come in a free update.

Steam

Q: Where can I buy a copy of Polytopia on Steam?
A: The link to the Steam store page is here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/874390/The_Battle_of_Polytopia/

Q: What tribes are included in the Steam version?
A: The Steam edition will come with all 12 Regular tribes bundled with it. You will be able to buy the Special Tribes for $2.99 each.

Q: Will the Steam version of Polytopia support crossplay with mobile?
A: Not currently. You will only be able to play with other players using the Steam edition (Windows, Mac OS X & Linux) right now.

Q: Will the Steam version of Polytopia use friend codes for finding other players?
A: No, we’ve completely removed the need for friend codes! Either you can find players through our new random matchmaking service, or you can find friends by simply searching for their Steam account name!

Q: If I already own the game because I acquired a beta key, will I have to buy it again?
A: No, you own a copy, simple as that.

Q: Will the Steam version come with Steam rewards, such as trading cards and emoticons?
A: We will introduce these items later on.

Mobile

Q: When is Moonrise coming to mobile devices?
A: Barring any sort of large, freak events, before 2020 is over.

Q: Will Moonrise be a separate app I have to download?
A: No, it will be an update to the app you have now.

Q: Will I have to pay for Moonrise?
A: No, the Moonrise update, including all of its features, is free.

Q: I have already bought tribes, will I have to pay for them again?
A: No, the Moonrise update will use your existing purchases.

Q: The Steam version comes with all the Regular tribes as a bundle, so will I get all the tribes on the mobile edition in the same way?
A: No, you will still have to purchase tribes individually as you had before. Nothing involving the purchasing of the tribes or their costs will change any.

Q: If I have bought the Steam edition, will my tribes/features transfer over to the Moonrise mobile edition?
A: No, they’re two, completely unrelated accounts.

Q: Will I get to keep all my scores in the mobile version?
A: Yes, all scores will be transferred to the new Moonrise Mobile version.

Q: Will the Moonrise update support crossplay with the Steam edition?
A: No, but we will investigate if it can be allowed in the future. Android and iOS devices will still be able to play together, though.

Q: Will the Moonrise update still use friend codes for finding multiplayer matches?
A: No, we’ve completely removed the old friend code system and implemented random matchmaking and the ability to find players based on their Google Play or App Store alias.

Q: What will happen to the old version of Polytopia?
A: The Adobe AIR version will be deprecated and unsupported. This new version will completely and seamlessly overwrite the old version for everyone.

Q: What will happen to the Polytopia Alpha app?
A: It will be closed after the update goes live, but will re-open when we plan to test new features. Think of it as our version of a “Public Test Realm” of sorts.