The days are quickly going by, and it's already time for devlog #10! Time is money, so we won't waste any more of your precious time on this introduction part. Speaking of money...

Taxation

One of our main goals when making Folklands is to create a game that is enjoyable both for ourselves as well as other players. Different services has always been part of that, but the taxation service never sat quite right, and didn't really fit with the theme and the way the rest of the game worked. Player feedback has consistently pointed out how taxation feels "off", and including it breaks the immersion for some players. This meant we had to go back to the drawing board and make some changes. The result is a total revamp of how money works in the game, and that the taxation service will no longer be a game feature. In the early tiers, money and gold coins will now be related to trade - either with the AI or other players - to help you kickstart your settlement or get access to resources that you can't produce yourself. As you level up your settlement you will get the ability to prospect for minerals, gold being one of the minerals that you can mine. This gold ore can then be used to mint your own coins, which in turn will let you pay for more advanced goods and services that your now much higher tier folks will most certainly demand. All construction costs are now simply the materials required to build the structure. This makes it easier to plan out your settlement and your progression no longer feels artificially limited by tax income. We're really eager to see how this change affects gameplay, so let us know your thoughts as you get your hands on the updated release later this year.

Services

With taxation no longer being in service (ha), the next service we took a look at was fire safety. The way services work in our game has always been inspired by the "walker system" in games like Pharaoh/Caesar/Cleopatra e.t.c., but internal play testing and overwhelming player feedback revealed several issues with fire - mainly the stopping of it. We have made several changes to how the fire service behaves, but the biggest and most noticeable change is how all your fire guards will now co-operate to put out fires throughout the settlement. Water distribution has also been improved, to make sure that your fire stations don't run out. The fire station distribution through your village will still play an important role in how effective fire safety will be, and the time it will take them to reach the burning building will still be heavily influence by where you put your fire stations, but this change will make it less confusing and annoying when Gnther sets the market on fire for the fourth time. Not a lot of screenshots this time, but we hope you enjoyed this little update! Until next time!