I took a shot and picked it up. It has some rough edges - not the greatest graphics and the interface takes up a LOT of screen space (reminds me of the newer Wizardry games). Also the tutorial is lacking and it’s sometimes confusing what you can and can’t research.
That said, Tony, the developer, seems to be a constant presence on Steam and has already made two improvements to the tooltips. There are some good ideas here regarding progressing from the stone to the space age.
I’d say that it’s worth getting on sale at some point.
Well that’s good to hear. I guess if it ever takes off the assets will be replaced. Interesting. I’ve heard a lot of Dwarf Fortress but accessible promises over the years. Most never come even close but I’ll be excited if someone even gets oh… 50% there.
Personally, I don’t know what anyone would look for in an “accessible Dwarf Fortress” that isn’t in Gnomoria. Yeah, you don’t get quite the level of intricate emergent stories, but I feel like that stuff is part and parcel with the bonkers-deep systems. I guess maybe if folks mostly mean they want a real UI when they say “accessible”… Okay sure that’s an approach that hasn’t quite been done. Maybe what Ingnomia is going for.
I felt Gnomoria had a lot of potential but in the end is it kind of shallow and feels incomplete. I know it’s playable and repeatable but it never quite got there. Rimworld seems closer to the depth of Dwarf Fortress than Gnormia is. Gnomoria doesn’t even really tell stories.
That’s a weird choice. I can’t imagine that making a big difference in sales with this kind of game (which I thought looked just fine when I played it), especially when it’s already been released. I would expect them to concentrate on balance, maybe new modes or new enemies. But, I guess while designers and programmers are doing that, your artist can crank out new assets!
Maybe not THAT weird a choice at all for an update. For starters, one of the biggest complaints I’ve ever had about the game is that cities and castles can feel so “generic” with the block graphics. That gets mitigated a great deal by the new update. With the last two updates, I feel like this game has far more personality than it once did.
BUT…what’s also important is that the new stuff serves valuable gameplay functions. Gardens add tremendously to happiness–especially if you build them adjacent to one another, and especially if you build them on irrigated land. That gets super important when you’ve got to start upping your tax rate for Viking incursions and overall defense spending. Makes the peasants forget how heavily you’re dunning them.
Fountains are cool too, like super-wells. They keep you from having to take up valuable real estate inside city walls by having to build lots of wells. They also provide a bigger happiness boost, I think, than wells/fresh water access does.
This has become a tremendous game now with the updates, maybe one of the best non-contemporary “themed” citybuilders on Steam.
I do not find it weird at all. Many people play city building games in part to create something they are proud of. Part of that is making it attractive. Seems like an easy way to better your product.
Thanks for this analysis, triggercut. I agree the game looked a bit generic, so if this remedies that, it might be a big step up (the couple screenshots I saw didn’t happen to look way more flavorful). And if it also comes with new structures and new systems, then great. You’ve got me wanting to try this game again.
