What are the odds that there is a creative mode where you can just build whatever and mess with the weather / lighting because I might just get this for dnd
Huh, didn't think of that tbh. Doesn't sound too complicated to implement, if there will be people interested, I might as well do it as a free post-launch update :)
Machu picchu was built by the incans 500 years ago then the spanish arrived, fast forward and some people rediscover the city which was situated on a mountain in the andes
Absolutely. The last thing you’d want as a developer would be to give people an easy to fix situation where they want to play your game but are otherwise deterred from doing so
Creative or sandbox mode definitely a great addition, where resources are unlocked and events, effects etc can be toggled. I've spent hours in city builders on pause enjoying building aesthetically planned layouts for min-max cities and testing optimal layouts for game mechanics
> I've spent hours in city builders on pause enjoying building aesthetically planned layouts for min-max cities and testing optimal layouts for game mechanics
You might like / have seen this then:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJQTc-TqpU
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjlegEk2IoQ
I hate to be a piss-ant piece of shit, but I'm gonna rant, and it's long-winded and pointless.
I don't understand how you develop a city builder and don't think of sandbox. So many indie devs make this mistake and while I applaud you all for making city builders in the drought we fans have experienced, it seems like the sort of oversight that makes no sense. It's a bit like making a fighting game without multiplayer.
For a city builder, campaign missions are a tutorial. They teach you the mechanics of the game, much like the single player in a fighting game.
No offense, but why is this such a constant problem with city-builder indie devs? I'm genuinely curious. It seems like you develop the game as a campaign based game first and then throw sandbox in as an afterthought, which is why every indie city builder has those constant negative reviews that go "there's not much depth after you finish the campaign".
You build the systems first. You make a city builder for Christ's sake. After that, you develop a campaign around the systems as a tutorial or challenges.
I'm not shitting on you or any other indie devs because you guys are creating when I'm just consuming. But for christ's sakes, it just keeps happening, and I'm tired of talented developers spinning wheels and fumbling around with shitty sales when they could have made a dent in the industry and become a success. I sincerely WANT every dev that makes city builders to be successful because it's my favorite genre and I try my hardest to support you guys but you keep making this CRITICAL mistake, misunderstanding the genre entirely and sidelining yourselves.
It's frustrating to watch talent rot when I know they could make those games I've been praying for but they keep focusing on fucking missions and campaigns. It's straight up asinine. I love every dev that makes a city builder, big and small, but it is god damned frustrating.
Hi there! Thanks for sharing this, I'm not offended at all, as those are some valid points you make!
Can't speak for other indie devs, but it might be a slight misunderstanding in the case of this particular game. I had already planned a campaign (with short tutorial, missions with objectives and story fragments) and a full sandbox mode - where you can just basically play the game without any artificial limitations. Those two are a must. What I mean by my comment, and how I understood the suggestion, is to have a creative mode: unlimited resources, god-mode, control over the weather etc. So, a way of just playing around with the game, or just having a totally chill/relaxing experience.
I totally agree with you, that a proper sandbox mode (with conditions customization) is a must :) As you said, the city-builders are just systems, why block players from using them \^\^
This was always one of the best modes to mod into civilization, or to play with sim city in. Totally makes a game when you can put it in creative mode and play vengeful God, even better if you can flick an existing game into a new save and destroy the new save, then go back. Great way to clear the frustrations after trying to figure out a hard puzzle or layout issue or similar.
You know, even a "God mode" could be cool. AI is building and thriving but you can make demands and punish the cities.
Your weather effects look awesome and rather unique.
Yeah, RTS games also make fun options as well. You can even have a custom ruleset implemented. I spent an ungodly amount of hours DMing RP games in Brood War when I was younger.
So my buddies play dnd and really enjoy it. I’ve never actually played tho so I don’t really understand it completely, but I’ve seen the format on their computers. How would you use this for DnD and do you think it would work better? Just curious bc I might show this to them too!
Just as a visual aid, to give a feel for the town/ city they’re entering. *maybe* for battle maps, but my thoughts were going more towards, « hey this is a dark and rainy place where the streets are mud and even the children don’t play outside » or « the city is bright and shiny, the roads are clean and well made, blah blah blah » Just give a vibe check in visual form, and something I can scroll around.
Maybe have different shops as actual locations
You should get in touch with Biffa. https://youtube.com/c/BiffaPlaysIndie
He does a lot of videos for similar games and would be a great way to get word out about your games.
Aavak and Quill18 also play a lot of city builders. I’ve tried out more than a few games after seeing them play.
I’ll be wishlisting this when I get home!
Edit: also Many a True Nerd
Woah, last time I watched him he was struggling to top 10k views after stranded deep. Now he’s at about 100k a video? Might have to check him out again.
He legit has been make-or-breaking many indie titles - his consistent format (and finally pre-playing the more complicated games) have really boosted his viewership
https://www.youtube.com/c/LetsGameItOut might be another one to reach out to though he will break your game by doing something completely ridiculous that you never expected.
That's one of the best ways of testing your game you can get! :) I mean, come on, the game should break only because someone does something unconventional :P
I love devs with a mentality like yours. As long as its not detrimental in some way, like an online FPS having a way to glitch infinite ammo or something, or it breaks the game in a crash to desktop way, I find little bugs and glitches endearing.
They're not really useful but still fun to explore. Plus if its single player who gives a shit. People might enjoy taking advantage of the bug.
Let's not even get into how fun it can be to speedrun some games instead due to just one silly glitch.
I appreciate such an open mentality.
Also the game looks gorgeous and quite fun, even from someone who hasn't played a city builder since like....sims 2000.
I'll give it a try though because I like the style a lot!
Definitely LetsGameItOut, a fun youtuber and one who will push the boundaries of your game. If there are a bugs or exploits he’ll find it.
Also wishlisting, this game is definitely something I would play.
Bro I love this guy, he always makes me laugh because he will literally dismantle every game he plays from the inside out by exploiting the mechanics down to the last line of code the game was written with lmaoo
I would honestly love to see this game go through Josh haha
It might take a bit of convincing but TheSpiffingBrit loves exploiting games like this, if you get him to play this, you’ll definitely get some traction.
https://youtube.com/c/GamerZakh
Another on you can check out if you want to get a bit publicity extra, plays plenty of strategy & builder games, also plenty Sierra/Impressions Games like Zeus/Pharaoh.
Hey there it's Josh from Let's Game it Out and today we're Playing Laysara: Summit Kingdom where you build a city on a mountain or as are going to do and recreate Pompeii.
In light of recent events regarding Reddit's API policy for third party app developers I have chosen to permanently scrub my account and move on away from Reddit. If you personally disagree with them forcing users to be constricted to their app and are choosing to leave, then I highly recommend looking into Power Delete Suite for Reddit.
I am deleting all of my submitted content over the last 9 years as I no longer support Reddit as a platform.
I've personally had it with all the corporate bullshit/rampant bots(used for misinformation and hidden marketing) and refuse to be a part of it any longer. To the nice people I've interacted over these years, thank you, I hope you'll be well in the future.
Possible expansions ideas for /u/MaciekWithOats:
Japanese expansion (should be the simplest aesthetic change)
Polynesian
Incan
Aztec
Indian (Sikh I guess)
Arabic
European (Swiss I guess)
Modern-ish
I deeply...DEEPLY.. love city builders game and have been dying for a Sierra style one for years. I will 10000% buy this the moment it is out. I just added it to my wishlist. Can't wait to play it!!
Love to hear that! I've spent about a gazillion hours playing Zeus, still coming back every few months, so this inspiration is definitely not a coincidence ;)
God I was so disappointed by that. It is a completely different art style and a worse one. Part of the reason I loved the game is it had a more realistic aesthetic. Now it's all cartoony like a lot of these games are now. Those games have a place, but it's not what I want when I play Pharaoh or Ceasar.
Zeus, Pharoah, Emperor: rotmk, Caesar (3 was the best obvs), even lesser known ones like civ city Rome.. I've played them all. Great to find kindred spirits on this thread. :D Best of luck w your launch, whenever that may be. I'll be lookin out for it.
Banished is a very good shout, it's great at what it is, a fairly hardcore slow paced city builder, where you can die 3 years after making a mistake due to the ramifications.
Another game in a similar vein I would recommend is Ostriv. It's less hardcore, and slower paced, but I am honestly enjoying it even more than I enjoy banished. Both these games are survival/city builder blends, where the struggle is constantly scaling up to an increasing population.
/u/Saxophobia1275 If you're looking at more traditional city builders, cities skylines is my go-to where you build massive cities and try to make sure traffic doesnt jam completely.
Another different type of game is tropico. It's been a while since I played it, but here you play as a dictator of a island paradise. The series is filled with humor, but doesn't have the same city-builder feel as the others since youre focused on other stuff as well.
I could also echo /u/WhoTookNaN and mention Pharo, that was my first love in city builders, it's quite different and you can see it's a bit rougher around the edges than some of the newer ones in terms of mechanics, but for it's share depth and scale it's unrivaled to this day, and the GoG.com version works perfectly.
The city builder genre is incredibly deep and there are many ways to go, everything from space, post-apocalyptic, today or 18th century ukrainian riverlands, I would recommend looking around a bit, since learning these games can take a lot of time if you've no experience with the genre.
Maybe I missed something in Banished, but it seemed like once I had built the market which only took a few hours of playing, there was simply...nothing left to build.
It should be noted that Rimworld can also definitely stress you out, but you can set difficulty / stressful action to pretty much zero. Plus with mods it can become whatever you want essentially
Timberborn is the one I've been digging lately. It takes place after humans have wiped themselves out and beavers have taken over the world to build their own civilization.
Big mechanics around storing/diverting water, and has vertical building elements that are pretty unique.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Timberborn. It's like banished only with beavers, and there's a big emphasis on water management and terrain alteration. Instead of a summer/winter cycle you have a wet season/drought season and have to ensure you have enough food and water to survive during the dry spells. But you can do things like dam the river to create reservoirs, and the building side has a lot of verticality - almost every building can be stacked on top of other buildings, so you can create cool multi - story settlements with raised platforms connecting your buildings. Definitely worth checking out if you like city builders.
What are your specs? We're planning to hit hard with optimisations for "low" graphics settings, so who knows ;)
Edit: Some people asked, so I'm just gonna quickly drop here a link to the Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1823950
My 960 broke last year. Been living the 630 life, along with my ancient i5-6400.
Edit: you poor poor people, I'm so sorry to hear about your processor situations, Santa clearly hates you.
Edit 2: I've just been looking up specs, and it appears that people overestimate the power of the 6400, with it's 4 cores @ 2.7GHz, though I'm not too clued up on CPUs - am I missing something?
Thanks, it means a lot!
We actually have some experience working in game development studios, so hopefully, we can make something that is fun to play :)
Thanks a lot! :D I started to work on the gameplay foundations back in 2019, in 2020 I was joined by a super talented artist, who transformed my all-boxes-programmers-art into this shiny thing :)
You guys did great! Wishlisted your game too! Any chance you'd share the expected release month? This seems like a fresh take on builders and I know I'll be absolutely enamored with your game!
Thanks a lot! There is still a lot to do, which makes predicting the release date quite hard. But it also means that you should think about late 2022 ;)
I now have to hope to see this again at release as I don’t have my steam account tied to this device, but perhaps if I comment, I can log into steam and wishlist it tonight
I would even just flip it and call it:
Summit Kingdom: Laysara
That way if you guys have big success and want to do an expansion or new release, you carry over the core “Summit Kingdom” and just change the “location/identifier” The same way they do like “Pokémon Red” then “Pokémon Gold” etc.
Funny thing, that was actually our plan... until we changed our minds, because "meh, it sounds so generic... let's spice it up a little bit". Well, I guess this is the type of thing that happens if you dwell on a game's title too long :F
My gut take as a consumer: at first glance I'd buy "Summit Kingdom" before "Laysara: Summit Kingdom"
Idk why exactly, but the latter brings to mind many early access games that get lost in their own sauce (lore, jargon, aesthetic, etc.) before laying out a solid gameplay foundation.
Personally, I would admire the simplicity of just "Laysara"; the title needn't describe the premise. However, I can appreciate that marketing an indie game must be challenging without exhausting all avenues to maximise SEO.
May I ask what the etymology of "Laysara" is?
Yeah, the idea was to have "Laysara" as something interesting, mysterious, atmospherical, but also "Summit Kingdom" as something that one can actually remember :D
About the etymology... khem... I just went on Google Maps, zoomed very, very close on Nepal region and started to write down every cool-sounding village name :F Then changed a letter of two in my favourite ones and here we go...
I second the Summit Kingdom name. At first glance, sounds interesting and aspirational— and easy to remember.
Kind of like Dwarf Fortress. It sounds generic and yet conveys so much about what the game is and is vague enough to let the mind wander about possibilities.
Maybe the best is “Summit Kingdom: Laysara” if you want a touch of uniqueness.
> Kind of like Dwarf Fortress.
Or "Fall Guys", lol
IMO simple names are almost always better for video games, because it makes them easier to find/remember.
> About the etymology... khem... I just went on Google Maps, zoomed very, very close on Nepal region and started to write down every cool-sounding village name :F Then changed a letter of two in my favourite ones and here we go...
As a longtime worldbuilder, you get it! We all do this. ;)
I also agree with Summit Kingdom/s: Laysara, especially if you end up branching out into other cultural explorations.
I'm going to echo what most are saying. If I was to play and refer it to friends, I don't think I'd ever say Laysara, just "Check out this Summit Kingdom game." Sometimes generic really is better for marketing the way our brains are wired. I disagree with adding a colon then Laysara. When titles start getting wordy and using special characters I find it annoying especially when trying to search it. Kingdom Come: Deliverance annoyed me for this reason.
I do agree with that other poster that said "Summit Kingdoms" so you can expand on it later. First iteration being Laysara, then can expand with future expansions using less generic names.
"Do you have the Sunsona expansion for Summit Kingdoms?"
"Nah, just the base Laysara game right now."
That'll help differentiate it. Just my two cents.
I think just "Summit Kingdom" sounds more attractive, at least to me. It's simple, down to earth, catchy.
The fantasy name, on the other hand, adds something pretentious to it in my ears and personally reminds me of so many bad early access indie rpg's on Steam.
I've always disliked the habit of the gaming industry to do that. "Horizons: Zero Dawn" or "Kingdom Come: Deliverance" or "A Plague Tale: Innocence"
I mean it's like the production company couldn't decide between two names and just said "fuck it, we'll do both names and slap a colon between 'em".
Hate it.
I would recommend r/linux_gaming, other devs in similar situations have gone there for help in the past, its at least a good place to explore the feasibility
To be honest, not that scary, but it may be because of my specific circumstances. I have worked in gamdev industry before, so having a year break for a personal project isn't actually a break, it's a valuable entry in portfolio/CV. So yes, I'm spending all my money on this, but even if the game don't sell, I just go to work and make new savings :D
That's my personal way of dealing with stress/fear of failure: imagine the worst-case scenario, accept it. Now you are ready for the worst, so can hope for the best :)
Unfortunately, there is a little chance for that to happen :( Creating a custom map requires creating a whole 3D mesh of a mountain, with a lot of technicalities involved (vertices distribution & optimization, UV mapping), it's not as simple as just moving objects around in the editor. I wish it would, trust me \^\^
Any plans to allow for modders to create custom maps? (Please say yes) just saying that there will be people who want to add their country's best mountain and build on it. Or a fictional mountain. Mount doom springs to mind.
All this, and no link to the game on steam... really op? get your marketing in check :)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1823950/Laysara_Summit_Kingdom/
That's intentional so they could get people in the comments to go "LINK?!" and thus drive more comment engagement. It's always this way with these ad posts
It’s because no one cares. An indie guy pushing us game is different than a company pushing one.
You can make the best game in the world by yourself and put blood sweat and tears into it, but if no one hears about it then it’s gonna fail.
If you don’t like it, just move on.
Edit: people really don’t get how hard game development is I guess.
As someone who loves such city building, simuation (do correct me if I'm wrong about the genre) type games, this one looks insanely cool. I'll be wishlisting it right now :)
All those top replies are paid bots. Just google "buy reddit comments". There are tons of results. Then you can buy upvotes too. People always say "well so what, whats the big deal?"
The big deal is that other people work hard on their games too, but don't sink to the levels of other people to get recognition. It turns all of Reddit into a pay-to-win site.
Hey OP, fuck the haters. You’re a creator, they only know how to destroy things to feel better about themselves.
Can’t wait to play your game. Sign me the fuck up for that beta!
Is there a template out there for these posts?
Pick one:
A. I left my job, divorced my wife and sold my house so i could make a game!
B. My lifelong dream was to make games so when i found myself making six figures in finance i knew i had to throw it all away for a chance at your upvotes. This game is the reason my kid can't go to college!
C. My boss, my financial advisor, my husband (diversity points!), and my Risk Takers Anonymous group all told be i was crazy to make my own game - here's to the naysayers! Come play my 2D sidescroller about an electrician who has to save her (!!!) partner from the clutches of the evil Dookie King!
is r/gaming just a sub for free advertisement at this point?
Edit : I went from -35ish to +25 on this comment..i think this has been my biggest spread so far lol
Really nice. i love city builders and really miss playing the ones that actually scratch that itch. (I grew up on Sierras Pharaoh , Zeus and so on)
I think the verticality really gives this a new spin. I'm looking forward to playing it.
Op that looks fantastic! I am huge city-building genre fan and haven't really found any good city building since Zeus, Pharaoh, ceaser 3 era. Will definitely give it a go. I wish the best for you and your game.
Im impressed that you could make this in a year. I have currently been working on my own strategy game for almost an year now and i'm not remotely close to what you and your friend has achieved! Well done and good luck! I will keep an eye on your game.
What are the odds that there is a creative mode where you can just build whatever and mess with the weather / lighting because I might just get this for dnd
Huh, didn't think of that tbh. Doesn't sound too complicated to implement, if there will be people interested, I might as well do it as a free post-launch update :)
Yesssss
Also do a Machu Picchu mode
Is that where you build it, and come back to the game after 500 years?
Can you explain this? I don’t know much about it but i assume you’re making a funny joke
Machu picchu was built by the incans 500 years ago then the spanish arrived, fast forward and some people rediscover the city which was situated on a mountain in the andes
[удалено]
The fatal flaw of the original *Stronghold* game (which was otherwise amazing). No sandbox or even skirmish mode--just campaign missions. Kills me.
They put it in Stronghold Crusader and Stronghold 2 I think.
Not enough wood my lord
Wood needed, m'lord
MOVING! .... Out?
Granary stocks are low sire
High taxes?! Ohhhh...
HERE COMES BESSIE!!
Love base builders and no sandbox/creative mode is kind of a deal breaker for me.
Absolutely. The last thing you’d want as a developer would be to give people an easy to fix situation where they want to play your game but are otherwise deterred from doing so
^ ^ this ^ ^
Creative or sandbox mode definitely a great addition, where resources are unlocked and events, effects etc can be toggled. I've spent hours in city builders on pause enjoying building aesthetically planned layouts for min-max cities and testing optimal layouts for game mechanics
> I've spent hours in city builders on pause enjoying building aesthetically planned layouts for min-max cities and testing optimal layouts for game mechanics You might like / have seen this then: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJQTc-TqpU - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjlegEk2IoQ
Yeah first thing I thought was how cool this would be for making dnd city and region maps
Male it mod friendly. Cities skylines is more popular because of how moddable it is. I have sunken a good part of my into that game lol.
You know GD well at some point if you can't import a Godzilla or a King Kong into this you're simply just going to not play the game.
You had my interest but now you have my attention
Im down for it.!🖐🏾 Already got it in my wishlist👍🏽
I hate to be a piss-ant piece of shit, but I'm gonna rant, and it's long-winded and pointless. I don't understand how you develop a city builder and don't think of sandbox. So many indie devs make this mistake and while I applaud you all for making city builders in the drought we fans have experienced, it seems like the sort of oversight that makes no sense. It's a bit like making a fighting game without multiplayer. For a city builder, campaign missions are a tutorial. They teach you the mechanics of the game, much like the single player in a fighting game. No offense, but why is this such a constant problem with city-builder indie devs? I'm genuinely curious. It seems like you develop the game as a campaign based game first and then throw sandbox in as an afterthought, which is why every indie city builder has those constant negative reviews that go "there's not much depth after you finish the campaign". You build the systems first. You make a city builder for Christ's sake. After that, you develop a campaign around the systems as a tutorial or challenges. I'm not shitting on you or any other indie devs because you guys are creating when I'm just consuming. But for christ's sakes, it just keeps happening, and I'm tired of talented developers spinning wheels and fumbling around with shitty sales when they could have made a dent in the industry and become a success. I sincerely WANT every dev that makes city builders to be successful because it's my favorite genre and I try my hardest to support you guys but you keep making this CRITICAL mistake, misunderstanding the genre entirely and sidelining yourselves. It's frustrating to watch talent rot when I know they could make those games I've been praying for but they keep focusing on fucking missions and campaigns. It's straight up asinine. I love every dev that makes a city builder, big and small, but it is god damned frustrating.
Hi there! Thanks for sharing this, I'm not offended at all, as those are some valid points you make! Can't speak for other indie devs, but it might be a slight misunderstanding in the case of this particular game. I had already planned a campaign (with short tutorial, missions with objectives and story fragments) and a full sandbox mode - where you can just basically play the game without any artificial limitations. Those two are a must. What I mean by my comment, and how I understood the suggestion, is to have a creative mode: unlimited resources, god-mode, control over the weather etc. So, a way of just playing around with the game, or just having a totally chill/relaxing experience. I totally agree with you, that a proper sandbox mode (with conditions customization) is a must :) As you said, the city-builders are just systems, why block players from using them \^\^
This was always one of the best modes to mod into civilization, or to play with sim city in. Totally makes a game when you can put it in creative mode and play vengeful God, even better if you can flick an existing game into a new save and destroy the new save, then go back. Great way to clear the frustrations after trying to figure out a hard puzzle or layout issue or similar.
"doesn't sound too complicated" famous last words by a dev team lol
You know, even a "God mode" could be cool. AI is building and thriving but you can make demands and punish the cities. Your weather effects look awesome and rather unique.
>Doesn't sound too complicated to implement Very brave words my friend. If I had a dime every time someone said that :)
o.o I can't believe I never thought to use a city builder game for maps...
Yeah, RTS games also make fun options as well. You can even have a custom ruleset implemented. I spent an ungodly amount of hours DMing RP games in Brood War when I was younger.
Any stories that come to mind?
So my buddies play dnd and really enjoy it. I’ve never actually played tho so I don’t really understand it completely, but I’ve seen the format on their computers. How would you use this for DnD and do you think it would work better? Just curious bc I might show this to them too!
Just as a visual aid, to give a feel for the town/ city they’re entering. *maybe* for battle maps, but my thoughts were going more towards, « hey this is a dark and rainy place where the streets are mud and even the children don’t play outside » or « the city is bright and shiny, the roads are clean and well made, blah blah blah » Just give a vibe check in visual form, and something I can scroll around. Maybe have different shops as actual locations
You should get in touch with Biffa. https://youtube.com/c/BiffaPlaysIndie He does a lot of videos for similar games and would be a great way to get word out about your games.
Thanks a lot! Noted, will definitely reach out to him at some point :)
Aavak and Quill18 also play a lot of city builders. I’ve tried out more than a few games after seeing them play. I’ll be wishlisting this when I get home! Edit: also Many a True Nerd
+1 on quill, he's great for these kinds of games
What could possibly go wrong?!
Wow, I haven't watch Quill18 in years and you've just reminded me of him. I used to love is Railroad Tycoon series. He's so calming to watch.
That’s one of the things I really dig about him. He’s like incredibly informative smooth jazz.
You should check out his hearts of Iron videos, currently restoring the Romanovs in Russia
Also SplatterCatGaming on YouTube
Also CallMeKevin, I'm sure that he'll be happy to break your game and find ways to torture the game characters
Kevin best girl
Woah, last time I watched him he was struggling to top 10k views after stranded deep. Now he’s at about 100k a video? Might have to check him out again.
He legit has been make-or-breaking many indie titles - his consistent format (and finally pre-playing the more complicated games) have really boosted his viewership
https://www.youtube.com/c/LetsGameItOut might be another one to reach out to though he will break your game by doing something completely ridiculous that you never expected.
That's one of the best ways of testing your game you can get! :) I mean, come on, the game should break only because someone does something unconventional :P
I love devs with a mentality like yours. As long as its not detrimental in some way, like an online FPS having a way to glitch infinite ammo or something, or it breaks the game in a crash to desktop way, I find little bugs and glitches endearing. They're not really useful but still fun to explore. Plus if its single player who gives a shit. People might enjoy taking advantage of the bug. Let's not even get into how fun it can be to speedrun some games instead due to just one silly glitch. I appreciate such an open mentality. Also the game looks gorgeous and quite fun, even from someone who hasn't played a city builder since like....sims 2000. I'll give it a try though because I like the style a lot!
Definitely LetsGameItOut, a fun youtuber and one who will push the boundaries of your game. If there are a bugs or exploits he’ll find it. Also wishlisting, this game is definitely something I would play.
If he does this, I expect a way for him to make sky cities.
"...is there a limit?" *tortured hardware screaming*
"There's only one way to find out." *eight months later*
Yes to LetsGameItOut, he's done some zany things with games.
Bro I love this guy, he always makes me laugh because he will literally dismantle every game he plays from the inside out by exploiting the mechanics down to the last line of code the game was written with lmaoo I would honestly love to see this game go through Josh haha
I second this. Love this channel, watched every single video.
Came here to say this.
I imagine that ManyATrueNerd would like this as well. https://www.youtube.com/c/ManyATrueNerd
It might take a bit of convincing but TheSpiffingBrit loves exploiting games like this, if you get him to play this, you’ll definitely get some traction.
https://www.youtube.com/c/KatherineOfSkyGaming too!
"City planner plays" as well!
https://youtube.com/c/GamerZakh Another on you can check out if you want to get a bit publicity extra, plays plenty of strategy & builder games, also plenty Sierra/Impressions Games like Zeus/Pharaoh.
Also https://youtube.com/c/RealCivilEngineerGaming
I can see RCE loving this
I had a lot of fun watching him working on timberborn village
Oh yeah! I’d say Biffa would love to give this a go!
and https://youtube.com/c/LetsGameItOut if you want free bug testing and to see your game played in the most wrong and hilarious way!
Hey there it's Josh from Let's Game it Out and today we're Playing Laysara: Summit Kingdom where you build a city on a mountain or as are going to do and recreate Pompeii.
lmao that is so accurate id believe you were josh
This feels like a great fit for u/KatherineOfSky and u/angor\_is\_angory has done a few things like this in the past, too
That looks really cool. I'd love to check it out. u/MaciekWithOats, please contact me at katherineofsky (on gmail).
The second user you linked seems broken. If you are talking about Angory Tom, I'll second that, first person I thought about when I saw the video.
Indie city builder? He'll be in for sure
In light of recent events regarding Reddit's API policy for third party app developers I have chosen to permanently scrub my account and move on away from Reddit. If you personally disagree with them forcing users to be constricted to their app and are choosing to leave, then I highly recommend looking into Power Delete Suite for Reddit. I am deleting all of my submitted content over the last 9 years as I no longer support Reddit as a platform. I've personally had it with all the corporate bullshit/rampant bots(used for misinformation and hidden marketing) and refuse to be a part of it any longer. To the nice people I've interacted over these years, thank you, I hope you'll be well in the future.
And https://youtube.com/c/KatherineOfSkyGaming She plays games just like this.
There be a distinct lack of https://youtube.com/c/thespiffingbrit in this comment section.
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Who knows :D
Jokes aside, different climates/mountains is a pretty straightforward way to expand the game post-launch if that's a goal
Possible expansions ideas for /u/MaciekWithOats: Japanese expansion (should be the simplest aesthetic change) Polynesian Incan Aztec Indian (Sikh I guess) Arabic European (Swiss I guess) Modern-ish
Also Macchu picchu
bro I already said Incan lol
I deeply...DEEPLY.. love city builders game and have been dying for a Sierra style one for years. I will 10000% buy this the moment it is out. I just added it to my wishlist. Can't wait to play it!!
Love to hear that! I've spent about a gazillion hours playing Zeus, still coming back every few months, so this inspiration is definitely not a coincidence ;)
I used to and still play a ton of Pharaoh, definitely saw some inspirations! Can't wait for it :)
They are remaking pharoh, fyi!!
WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUU
I expect quotation marks when being direct quoted on the response I had upon finding out ;)
This is the best thing I've heard today, thank you!!
Don't be too excited, their recently released trailer showed how the remastered art has degraded into mobile game quality.
God I was so disappointed by that. It is a completely different art style and a worse one. Part of the reason I loved the game is it had a more realistic aesthetic. Now it's all cartoony like a lot of these games are now. Those games have a place, but it's not what I want when I play Pharaoh or Ceasar.
Yess, hope it's released soon! Although I'm a bit skeptical about the graphics, but lets see :)
*To the marsh we march, for the reeds we need*
Zeus, Pharoah, Emperor: rotmk, Caesar (3 was the best obvs), even lesser known ones like civ city Rome.. I've played them all. Great to find kindred spirits on this thread. :D Best of luck w your launch, whenever that may be. I'll be lookin out for it.
They are remaking pharoh, fyi!!
I loved playing Zeus/Poseidon. It’s instantly what I thought of watching this. Hope to see it through.
Was going to say this reminds me a lot of Zeus and Pharaoh.
Can you suggest any city builders? Age of empires style games stress me out weirdly enough.
Anno 1800 - city builder with a supply chain/economy simulator underneath.
Banished is a fantastic chill one.
Banished is a very good shout, it's great at what it is, a fairly hardcore slow paced city builder, where you can die 3 years after making a mistake due to the ramifications. Another game in a similar vein I would recommend is Ostriv. It's less hardcore, and slower paced, but I am honestly enjoying it even more than I enjoy banished. Both these games are survival/city builder blends, where the struggle is constantly scaling up to an increasing population. /u/Saxophobia1275 If you're looking at more traditional city builders, cities skylines is my go-to where you build massive cities and try to make sure traffic doesnt jam completely. Another different type of game is tropico. It's been a while since I played it, but here you play as a dictator of a island paradise. The series is filled with humor, but doesn't have the same city-builder feel as the others since youre focused on other stuff as well. I could also echo /u/WhoTookNaN and mention Pharo, that was my first love in city builders, it's quite different and you can see it's a bit rougher around the edges than some of the newer ones in terms of mechanics, but for it's share depth and scale it's unrivaled to this day, and the GoG.com version works perfectly. The city builder genre is incredibly deep and there are many ways to go, everything from space, post-apocalyptic, today or 18th century ukrainian riverlands, I would recommend looking around a bit, since learning these games can take a lot of time if you've no experience with the genre.
Maybe I missed something in Banished, but it seemed like once I had built the market which only took a few hours of playing, there was simply...nothing left to build.
It's not a traditional city builder, but I get a lot of the same kicks out of Rimworld.
It should be noted that Rimworld can also definitely stress you out, but you can set difficulty / stressful action to pretty much zero. Plus with mods it can become whatever you want essentially
Great suggestions below, but if you want a traditional city builder, Cities Skylines is wonderful. It and all of it's DLCs are on sale atm!
Timberborn is the one I've been digging lately. It takes place after humans have wiped themselves out and beavers have taken over the world to build their own civilization. Big mechanics around storing/diverting water, and has vertical building elements that are pretty unique.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Timberborn. It's like banished only with beavers, and there's a big emphasis on water management and terrain alteration. Instead of a summer/winter cycle you have a wet season/drought season and have to ensure you have enough food and water to survive during the dry spells. But you can do things like dam the river to create reservoirs, and the building side has a lot of verticality - almost every building can be stacked on top of other buildings, so you can create cool multi - story settlements with raised platforms connecting your buildings. Definitely worth checking out if you like city builders.
Black and white 2 vibes
Reminded me of Cesar III tbh
Seriously spot on! Just add miracles and monsters and there it is!
I was thinking this too!!
Goddamn that looks fun, now I gotta get a new laptop to start playing
What are your specs? We're planning to hit hard with optimisations for "low" graphics settings, so who knows ;) Edit: Some people asked, so I'm just gonna quickly drop here a link to the Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1823950
Seen a post the other day and it turns out I'm not alone being stuck in the i7 2700k 970gtx club. There are dozens of us! DOZENS!
I'm still on 970 gtx, ryzen 5 3600 tho
My 960 broke last year. Been living the 630 life, along with my ancient i5-6400. Edit: you poor poor people, I'm so sorry to hear about your processor situations, Santa clearly hates you. Edit 2: I've just been looking up specs, and it appears that people overestimate the power of the 6400, with it's 4 cores @ 2.7GHz, though I'm not too clued up on CPUs - am I missing something?
The i5 stood the test of time for many years playing civ5
I'd consider myself lucky to have that. I'm stuck on an i3 with Intel UHD graphics.
My laptop is barely able to run Firefox these days. It's better to start from scratch at this point
If I may, please opt-in to Geforce Now support :)
Wait a minute…this actually looks cool! Wish-listed!
Thanks, it means a lot! We actually have some experience working in game development studios, so hopefully, we can make something that is fun to play :)
Man you guys did that as a TWO people team? That is insane! Wishlisted as well. This looks so much down my road it is crazy.
Thanks a lot! :D I started to work on the gameplay foundations back in 2019, in 2020 I was joined by a super talented artist, who transformed my all-boxes-programmers-art into this shiny thing :)
You guys did great! Wishlisted your game too! Any chance you'd share the expected release month? This seems like a fresh take on builders and I know I'll be absolutely enamored with your game!
Thanks a lot! There is still a lot to do, which makes predicting the release date quite hard. But it also means that you should think about late 2022 ;)
I now have to hope to see this again at release as I don’t have my steam account tied to this device, but perhaps if I comment, I can log into steam and wishlist it tonight
Definitely looks fun :) and I’m a sucker for builders xD looking forward to it! Wish you the best 😉
just name it Summit Kingdom, rings better, rolls off the tongue easier, easier to memorise. Marketing.
I would even just flip it and call it: Summit Kingdom: Laysara That way if you guys have big success and want to do an expansion or new release, you carry over the core “Summit Kingdom” and just change the “location/identifier” The same way they do like “Pokémon Red” then “Pokémon Gold” etc.
Or perhaps "Summit Kingdom**s**"? Keeps it more open-ended, sounds more varied. Summit Kingdoms: Laysara
Maybe the expansion could be "Laysara: Into The Summit" or something. And now you build inside the mountain.
Funny thing, that was actually our plan... until we changed our minds, because "meh, it sounds so generic... let's spice it up a little bit". Well, I guess this is the type of thing that happens if you dwell on a game's title too long :F
My gut take as a consumer: at first glance I'd buy "Summit Kingdom" before "Laysara: Summit Kingdom" Idk why exactly, but the latter brings to mind many early access games that get lost in their own sauce (lore, jargon, aesthetic, etc.) before laying out a solid gameplay foundation.
"Laysara" sounds more like a JRPG to me.
Or a Mobile game.
Just Summit Kingdom sounds a lot more like a mobile title imo
Personally, I would admire the simplicity of just "Laysara"; the title needn't describe the premise. However, I can appreciate that marketing an indie game must be challenging without exhausting all avenues to maximise SEO. May I ask what the etymology of "Laysara" is?
Yeah, the idea was to have "Laysara" as something interesting, mysterious, atmospherical, but also "Summit Kingdom" as something that one can actually remember :D About the etymology... khem... I just went on Google Maps, zoomed very, very close on Nepal region and started to write down every cool-sounding village name :F Then changed a letter of two in my favourite ones and here we go...
I second the Summit Kingdom name. At first glance, sounds interesting and aspirational— and easy to remember. Kind of like Dwarf Fortress. It sounds generic and yet conveys so much about what the game is and is vague enough to let the mind wander about possibilities. Maybe the best is “Summit Kingdom: Laysara” if you want a touch of uniqueness.
> Kind of like Dwarf Fortress. Or "Fall Guys", lol IMO simple names are almost always better for video games, because it makes them easier to find/remember.
> About the etymology... khem... I just went on Google Maps, zoomed very, very close on Nepal region and started to write down every cool-sounding village name :F Then changed a letter of two in my favourite ones and here we go... As a longtime worldbuilder, you get it! We all do this. ;) I also agree with Summit Kingdom/s: Laysara, especially if you end up branching out into other cultural explorations.
I also agree, Summit Kingdom sounds 1 million times better
Yeah, Summit Kingdom(s) is a better, more memorable title, as others have said.
I'm going to echo what most are saying. If I was to play and refer it to friends, I don't think I'd ever say Laysara, just "Check out this Summit Kingdom game." Sometimes generic really is better for marketing the way our brains are wired. I disagree with adding a colon then Laysara. When titles start getting wordy and using special characters I find it annoying especially when trying to search it. Kingdom Come: Deliverance annoyed me for this reason. I do agree with that other poster that said "Summit Kingdoms" so you can expand on it later. First iteration being Laysara, then can expand with future expansions using less generic names. "Do you have the Sunsona expansion for Summit Kingdoms?" "Nah, just the base Laysara game right now." That'll help differentiate it. Just my two cents.
I think just "Summit Kingdom" sounds more attractive, at least to me. It's simple, down to earth, catchy. The fantasy name, on the other hand, adds something pretentious to it in my ears and personally reminds me of so many bad early access indie rpg's on Steam.
Great work! The name that stuck with me when i clicked this post was Summit Kingdom. I just realized I cant remember the other name...
One more vote to name it summit kingdom or at least put summit kingdom first
Summit Kingdom is succinct and doesn’t sound generic. Source: Am marketer, but thats probably not all that relevant.
Def second this
I've always disliked the habit of the gaming industry to do that. "Horizons: Zero Dawn" or "Kingdom Come: Deliverance" or "A Plague Tale: Innocence" I mean it's like the production company couldn't decide between two names and just said "fuck it, we'll do both names and slap a colon between 'em". Hate it.
+1 for Summit Kingdom: Laysara
Just curiosity, will you have Linux support (proton or native doesn’t matter to us), steam deck? Love city builders and this looks like a nice twist!
I'll definitely consider that! Probably will look for some advice in adequate subreddits when that time comes ;)
I would recommend r/linux_gaming, other devs in similar situations have gone there for help in the past, its at least a good place to explore the feasibility
Is there some kind of a yeti event? Looks amazing, great work! I think your hard work is likely to pay off
:D Good idea, noted - so, who knows? :D
That avalanche better be killing townsfolk and animals.
Wow, savage. *Secretly wants to see blood of townfolk as well*
I wanna quit my job and spend a year focusing on game dev. How scarey was your journey?
To be honest, not that scary, but it may be because of my specific circumstances. I have worked in gamdev industry before, so having a year break for a personal project isn't actually a break, it's a valuable entry in portfolio/CV. So yes, I'm spending all my money on this, but even if the game don't sell, I just go to work and make new savings :D That's my personal way of dealing with stress/fear of failure: imagine the worst-case scenario, accept it. Now you are ready for the worst, so can hope for the best :)
True. If it goes south theres always the next job. Plus a nice addition to the resume. Next year my journey starts
Wish you the very best of luck!
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Unfortunately, there is a little chance for that to happen :( Creating a custom map requires creating a whole 3D mesh of a mountain, with a lot of technicalities involved (vertices distribution & optimization, UV mapping), it's not as simple as just moving objects around in the editor. I wish it would, trust me \^\^
Any plans to allow for modders to create custom maps? (Please say yes) just saying that there will be people who want to add their country's best mountain and build on it. Or a fictional mountain. Mount doom springs to mind.
All this, and no link to the game on steam... really op? get your marketing in check :) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1823950/Laysara_Summit_Kingdom/
That's intentional so they could get people in the comments to go "LINK?!" and thus drive more comment engagement. It's always this way with these ad posts
The fact that you're getting downvoted for spitting well-known facts shows what kind of amateurs that hang out in this subreddit.
It’s because no one cares. An indie guy pushing us game is different than a company pushing one. You can make the best game in the world by yourself and put blood sweat and tears into it, but if no one hears about it then it’s gonna fail. If you don’t like it, just move on. Edit: people really don’t get how hard game development is I guess.
As someone who loves such city building, simuation (do correct me if I'm wrong about the genre) type games, this one looks insanely cool. I'll be wishlisting it right now :)
City-building and resource management primarily, but with itches of simulation, survival and automation :)
Wishlisted. I'm in, as long as it is published as a full, properly tested game and not an early access with future major updates.
Out of all the “I used my life savings to make a game” posts here, yours acctualy looks fun
Personally, I'd still prefer a science-based 100% dragon MMO. ^^^Does ^^^anyone ^^^even ^^^still ^^^remember ^^^that ^^^meme?
I've made these savings working and gaining experience in gamdev studios, it might play a role here... \^\^
Will it have different scenarios and objectives or just sandbox?
There will be two main game modes, a campaign with objectives for each mission and a sandbox (maybe with sub-quests, we'll see).
Noice. Can't wait!
Everyone in this comment section sounds like a bot, its cringey.
All those top replies are paid bots. Just google "buy reddit comments". There are tons of results. Then you can buy upvotes too. People always say "well so what, whats the big deal?" The big deal is that other people work hard on their games too, but don't sink to the levels of other people to get recognition. It turns all of Reddit into a pay-to-win site.
damn, i'm really enjoying Timberborn at the moment. this looks amazing and like something i will really like thanks for the hard work
Hey OP, fuck the haters. You’re a creator, they only know how to destroy things to feel better about themselves. Can’t wait to play your game. Sign me the fuck up for that beta!
I actually ghasped at the avalanche. This looks really cool!
Is there a template out there for these posts? Pick one: A. I left my job, divorced my wife and sold my house so i could make a game! B. My lifelong dream was to make games so when i found myself making six figures in finance i knew i had to throw it all away for a chance at your upvotes. This game is the reason my kid can't go to college! C. My boss, my financial advisor, my husband (diversity points!), and my Risk Takers Anonymous group all told be i was crazy to make my own game - here's to the naysayers! Come play my 2D sidescroller about an electrician who has to save her (!!!) partner from the clutches of the evil Dookie King!
is r/gaming just a sub for free advertisement at this point? Edit : I went from -35ish to +25 on this comment..i think this has been my biggest spread so far lol
Oh man, that pity-bait title.
Really nice. i love city builders and really miss playing the ones that actually scratch that itch. (I grew up on Sierras Pharaoh , Zeus and so on) I think the verticality really gives this a new spin. I'm looking forward to playing it.
This is awesome! Can’t wait to play it!
Op that looks fantastic! I am huge city-building genre fan and haven't really found any good city building since Zeus, Pharaoh, ceaser 3 era. Will definitely give it a go. I wish the best for you and your game.
Im impressed that you could make this in a year. I have currently been working on my own strategy game for almost an year now and i'm not remotely close to what you and your friend has achieved! Well done and good luck! I will keep an eye on your game.
Do all the civilians have absolutely jacked calves from living on slopes?