eXplorminate Intro:
This is an article series dedicated to the smaller developers, some of whom may not have managed to get onto the SteamFest. While we at eXplorminate do like the bigger games in the genre (Eo, Old World, Age of Wonders etc) I thought this was a great chance to highlight visibility for the smaller developers. I think the best ideas often come from smaller developers, who are more willing to bend the rules, challenge conventions and take risks.
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Game: Steam Link & website
Developer: Uneven Dungeon, a.k.a. Rasie1 on the discord.
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Game Description:
From Steam: A fantasy strategy, featuring turn-based factory building over procedural resource types. Expand and optimize your network of towns, grow your heroes, and excel in deep tactical seamless auto-battler combat.
From Rasie1:
Colossal Citadels is a 4X roguelite featuring factory building, heavy procedural generation, and simultaneous multiplayer. You play as a stranded branch of a civilization, slowly rebuilding its technology and culture on an unknown continent in The Infinite Ocean. The game is set in a fantasy world that mixes ancient history with weird twists on common fantasy tropes.
The core gameplay revolves around production management. Every worker is a link in a huge chain of war and survival, capable of becoming a hero who can affect the entire empire. However, in Colossal Citadels, you don’t control individual units. Orders are applied to everyone (whether it’s 5 or 50 units), and the outcome is maximized automatically. The game features a very deep resource system: you must establish production chains, find new materials, and train specialists to make your output stronger (in the case of weaponry or machinery made from various materials) OR more numerous (in the case of an intermediate resource like ore). Speaking of which, the variety of resources (ores, stones, woods, etc) represents the breadth of the gameplay, and you will encounter dozens of them, each with a different effect, choosing the ones that fit your strategy the most.
The production window lists all currently available resource types, ranging from food and booze to towers and dragons (everything in this game is a resource!).
Each turn, you can add or remove workers from productions. You have a very limited number of actions, which you can also spend on movement (exploring the world) or on some fighting-related tasks.
The recently published demo is single-player only, so to classic 4X fans, it might feel like an endless exploration/survival mode. However, the demo shows only one side of the game. The story can be unraveled in either coop or versus – in fact, all of that is one game mode. There are multiple ways to win and uncover the lore across different playthroughs. You will unlock new things and learn with every failed run (expect a lot in the beginningit’s a roguelike!), and if you want to team up with other civilizations or destroy them – up to you.
The game features lots of procedural generation, so the versus mode might be very asymmetric at the moment. I’m experimenting with having the world or resource distribution follow an axis of symmetry to address this. There are many procedural elements: the world, resource types, civilizations, passive abilities, and more.
Its main inspirations are classic 4X games, Adventure Strategies, and some modern rainy roguelites that have shaken the genre.
The demo is being continuously improved. I’m pleased with the overall feedback, and all player findings have been useful. Development will continue for a long time, but Early Access should arrive after one of the next NextFests. Stay tuned!
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eXplorminate Thoughts:
When we first heard about this, the reaction was curious confusion. Although it is now a meme/clichι for us to debate What is a 4X? (Mario Kart apparently) on the discord, this game really does make you scratch your head. What exactly is it!?
Suffice to say we are intrigued. The concept of a rogue like 4x is something that has been brought up before, and I think has great potential. Plus I think the graphics are cute. The art style reminds me a bit of Massive Chalice.
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eXplorminate Outro: As a reminder, eXplorminate is an independent community, all about the games and gamers, but we cannot make things happen without your support. Please donate to the Patreon, visit our YouTube, listen to our podcast and join our Discord, if you want to support us
