Let's dive a little bit into another aspect of the game: Scenarios, which you can choose at the beginning of the game.

Scenarios determine the starting conditions and progression of a run: from the general characteristics of the map, to the resources available, from the initial buildings, to the modifiers applied throughout the game.

These are the 19th century inspired Scenarios that are currently planned for the full game:

• [u]First Steps[/u] (the tutorial): normal starting conditions, learn the basics of the game.

  [/*]

• [u]The Love of Science[/u]: build a highly educated city, focusing on Research and technology.

  [/*]

• [u]Welfare State[/u]: implement workers reforms and rights to your citizens, with a focus on signing new Laws.

  [/*]

• [u]Robber Baron[/u]: make your city function with low taxes, no workers rights, no welfare.

  [/*]

• [u]Epidemic[/u]: an epidemic in your city will require that you manage waves of infections, quarantines and vaccine distribution.

  [/*]

• [u]Bohemian Life[/u]: build a city based on entertainment: by and for the artists.

  [/*]

I plan on adding more of them before the full game is released.

Once you choose a Scenario and start building your city, you will be faced with different choices of Goals and Rewards, linked with the topic that is being tackled, as well as scheduled Situations, which are significant changes in your city that will require you to first plan ahead and then react once they happen.

I'm going to run a closed beta when it's ready.

You can join by subscribing to the newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs/

Once the beta is ready, you will be notified there and receive a key for testing.

Times of Progress is part of the Games Forged in Germany Steam event!

You can check out the other games in the festival here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/Games-Forged-in-Germany
I'm going to run a closed beta when it's ready.

You can join by subscribing to the newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs/
Once the beta is ready, you will be notified there and receive a key for testing.

Lately I have been working on implementing the core of the economy simulation in the game.

At a high level, this is how it works:

• Industries receive payments when they deliver the materials they extract or goods they produce.
• Their workers get paid a Wage at the end of each month.
• Citizens are organised in families. At the end of each month, those that work in each family (normally the adults, but, depending on your city Laws, it might be the children too, since we're in the 1800s), put together their earned wages and purchase the Consumer Goods they need.
• These are organised by priority, first they'll buy Food, then better Clothes, then better Furniture etc. Eventually if they earn more and have extra income, they'll spend their money in Entertainment (at the Pub or Theatre) and Prestige items (Fancy Clothes, Pottery, etc.).
• Since there are also Public Services in the city (Police, School, Hospital etc), their workers will be civil servants. Meaning that they get paid by the Taxes collected by the City Hall.
  

• Eating enough and having better Clothes improves Health.
• The level of Education acquired by the Citizens determines their Wage, which means they can afford more and better goods, while increasing productivity of their workplace. Although, while they study, they won't work and earn a wage.
• As more families have more of their needs met, from basic necessities to Entertainment and Prestige, their houses will upgrade, which will increase the size of your city, with the perks and drawbacks that it brings.
  

Times of Progress is part of Indie Assemble!

You can check out the other games in the festival here: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44717737/sale/IndieAssemble

I'm going to run a closed beta when it's ready.

You can join by subscribing to the newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs/
Once the beta is ready, you will be notified there and receive a key for testing.

Times of Progress is part of City Builder & Colony Sim Steam Fest!

You can check out the other games in the festival here: https://store.steampowered.com/category/strategy_cities_settlements/

I'm going to run a closed beta when it's ready!

You can join by subscribing to the newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs

Once the beta is ready, you will be notified there and receive a key for testing.

Times of Progress is part of Days of Ramadan Festival!

Have a look at the other games made participating in the event by visiting the Steam page event: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45022621/sale/RamadanFestival2025
Thank you to the organisers for including Times of Progress!


I'm going to run a closed beta when it's ready!

You can join by subscribing to the newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
Once the beta is ready, you will be notified there and receive a key for testing.

With this update I would like to show you the Progress Timeline UI, which is where you will be acquiring Inventions and signing Laws in Times of Progress.

The overall idea is that there will be new Inventions and Laws available following a timeline from 1800 to 1900, which is where the game takes place. These upgrades mirror real-life technological and legal advancement from the 19th century.

Here is how the UI looks:


And here is an assortment of the kind of upgrades available (click to enlarge):

Times of Progress is part of Be a Hero! Comic Con Stuttgart Steam Event!

Have a look at the other games made participating in the event by visiting the Steam page event: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45066451/sale/Be-a-hero-sale

I'm going to run a closed beta when it's ready!

You can join by subscribing to the newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
Once the beta is ready, you will be notified there and receive a key for testing.

Let's dive a bit deeper into one of the core ideas in Times of Progress. As you know, the Industrial Revolution was a global phenomenon and in ToP that is represented by the fact that your city does not exist in a void.

As I discussed in a previous announcement (if you missed it you can read more about it here ), new inventions are happening throughout the game world, not just in the local Research Institute in your own city.

You can import those new technologies by spending Research Points. One of the ways in which you can earn them is by showing to the world that your city is at the forefront of industrial progress, in terms of quantity, quality and efficiency of your industries, products and transportation networks. You can do that by setting, and achieving, quantitative Goals for your city and building a sort of reputation in the game world.

This is how choosing new Goals works:


You will be given some alternatives of what you would like to obtain, and for each Goal there will be a Reward associated with it, as well the corresponding amount of Research Points that will be earned.

Goals can be reached, for example, by reaching a certain population, or transporting a specified amount of a resource, or upgrading a predefined number of houses to their next level.

On the other hand, examples of Rewards can be an increase in efficiency of a specific building, or a reduction in the cost to build a new factory, or a type of vehicle traveling faster or transporting more.

Rewards are usually incremental quantitative improvements to your buildings. They are designed so that individually they don't contribute a whole lot, but by choosing wisely which ones to pursue, their effects can definitely stack up and in turn make certain future Goals easier to achieve.

You can set more than one Goal for yourself to work on at the same time and once you reach one, pick another. There are also upgrades that let you increase how many active Goals you can have, as well as expand the choices available when setting them.

• You can sign up to the upcoming closed beta via this link: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• If you have any questions you can reach me here: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

Times of Progress is part of the Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Fest!

Trains are a key mode of transportation in the game. They are used to deliver materials and goods, as well as extending the area of effect of relevant buildings, if there is a passenger train station in range.


If you want to stay in touch or have questions you can find me here:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

Let's dive a bit into the Laws mechanic and the City Hall building.

They are the administrative equivalent of Research upgrades and the Research Institute building. I talked about those in a previous newsletter issue. If you missed it, you can read up about it here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2628450/view/5997186379223382084?l=english
The City Hall is a building that allows you to start signing Laws for your citizens that unlock new buildings, change stats and affect the needs of the population.

Signing Laws requires Political Points, which are obtained by completing Goals (like Research Points) or passively via various buildings.


Here are some examples of Laws that you can decide to sign in Times of Progress, with their implications and the chain of laws that are made available:

• Public Health Disease Prevention and Anatomy Act.
  [list]
• Public Health increases the efficiency of Infirmaries and makes available a few new possible laws.
• Disease Prevention unlocks laws that reduce Health risks (having good Health is one of the citizen's Needs).
• Anatomy Act (donating corpses to science) allows Infirmaries and Hospitals to passively produce Research Points.
  

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

Times of Progress is part of the Automation Games Sale in the upcoming category!

Have a look at the other games that are part of the event here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/AutomationGamesSale
It's in great company:

• Timberborn
• The Wandering Village
• Against the Storm
• Foundation
• Clanfolk
  

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

Times of Progress is part of the Games Baked in Germany Steam Event!

Have a look at the other games made here in the Steam page event: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/games-made-in-germany-2024

If you want to stay in touch or have questions you can find me here:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

Let's talk about the Research Tree. As you know, the game is set during the Industrial Revolution. It starts in 1800 and the research upgrades are planned throughout the century, mimicking real-world inventions that happened during the period.

However, it won't be the scientists in your city who all invent the Steam Engine, Cement, Organic Chemistry, the Typewriter etc etc. That would be a handful of very formidable scientists!
Instead, your city is part of the Revolution happening throughout the (game) world and unlocking technologies in-game means importing them from outside of the city.

New inventions are scheduled along a timeline, but don't unlock until you spend points on them, like in any tech tree.
What your scientists at your local Research Institute can do, instead, is accelerate the arrival of this new tech, meaning that you will actually be able to change the location of nodes in the research tree.


Here are some chains of inventions and their effects:

• Electrolysis Atomic Theory Dynamite Tunneling.
  For example, Dynamite gives you the ability to remove small Hills and Mountains on the map that block your way, Tunneling allows you to place Railways inside Hills and Mountains directly.
• Water Frame Spinning Mule Sewing Machine Jeans.
  For example, Sewing Machine improves efficiency in clothing industry buildings but reduces the number of workers needed, increasing unemployment. Jeans improve miners efficiency and health.
• Aluminum Food Canning Hall-Hroult Process.
  Here Aluminum unlocks the Smelter and is a new tradable material. Food Canning unlocks the Cannery and the ability to store and distribute Food more efficiently. Hall-Hroult Process increases the production rate of smelters and the number of workers needed, so more employment is possible.
  

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

Times of Progress is taking part in the Steam Endless Replayability Fest 2024!

Here is what makes it endlessly replayable:

• Procedurally generated maps: this is self-explanatory: they will depend on some parameters that manage the amount of resources and terrain types available on the map.
• Randomised starting conditions to choose from: This means that apart from the amount of resources available on the map, you will also be able to choose some buildings you can start with, the resources available at the start in your storage, the resources that immigrants will bring with them etc.
• Randomised goals and rewards to choose from: A key part of the game loop is setting Goals for yourself to achieve (eg: transport 100 Coal by Train) and you will receive an associated Reward from it. It can be an increase in efficiency, or your industries will process goods a bit faster etc. These are the small increments that help you improve your city. There are other more sizeable upgrades, such as unlocking new buildings but that happens via a typical Research Tree.
  

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

With Labour Day having been celebrated a few days ago, I thought that this time I would go into some details about one of my favourite mechanics in the game: Worker Strikes.

Strikes are one of the Issues that can happen in Times of Progress, along with Crime, Emigration, Prison Evasion and others.

To trigger them, a certain percentage of the Workers in a specific place of work needs to not have received "payment" (in the form of Food) for a few consecutive weeks. The thresholds are variable, based on upgrades and debuffs, but they are deterministic, there's no RNG involved.

Once the conditions are met, the Strike starts, which means that Production stops at the affected building and you get notified in the Events panel.

What can you do about Strikes, you ask? Well, once they happen you can choose between:

• You can meet the demands of the Workers (get a one-off extra Food portion, plus they'll consume slightly more going forward but they'll go back immediately to work).
• You can send the Police to force them back to work (you save on the extra rations, but they'll get a productivity debuff).
  

• An upgrade allows you to choose to let them Unionise (per building type). This means that Workers will have a permanent efficiency boost, but will consume more.
• University educated workers are slightly more likely to go on Strike (but they have other benefits from being highly educated).
• Some Workers never go on Strike, for example those in Infirmaries and Hospitals, but instead their Health decreases more quickly when they skip meals.
  

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

Ive been busy with the Orders System lately, so I thought I would tell you a little about it.

In Times of Progress, like any other resource management games, resources need to get from warehouses to industries and back.

There are no manually set routes though: an industry that needs a certain Resource will look for the closest Depot (or its larger version, a Warehouse) and issue an Order to it, requesting a certain amount of the Resource they need (eg: Coal).


The Depot then sends to the industry their Coal and the industry starts producing.

Depots also issue Orders themselves: they are constantly trying to refill their stock from nearby industries.

The system is very flexible: if you decide to delete a Depot, industries will look for another one, which might be a little further away. The same goes for industries being deleted, or not being currently active: the Depot will try to refill its stock from somewhere else, fully dynamically.


The same goes when adding new Depots, or expanding the Road or Railway system: as soon as theres a more efficient route to get the resources needed, it will be chosen automatically by the game, giving maximum flexibility and avoiding any tedious manual adjustment, so that you can focus on what makes the game fun: expanding your city, reaching your goals and unlocking new content.

Take good care of yourself and until the next one!
---
If you want to stay in touch or have questions you can find me here:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

Lets talk about procedural generation in this latest update.

As mentioned on its Steam Page, Times of Progress features procedural map generation. But how does it work exactly?

Whenever a new run is started, the map is procedurally generated just from a few high-level variables. These variables will be tweak-able by you in sandbox mode (although not in the beta).

Setting these variables determines how many Water, Rocks, Hill, Mountains, Forest etc etc tiles that can be found on the generated map. There will be some imbalance, but all resources will be found in some quantity on any map.

This imbalance in turn will determine which industries will be better to develop in the game. Being strong in a certain industry will help with trading with external AI-controlled cities later on to get in exchange those resources and materials that are not readily available or producible locally in your city.

Not everything is procedurally generated though. For example each Foresttile will always yield the same amount of Wood. Why? Because I dont want you to spend time min-maxing forever the Wood yield by checking how much of it each Forest tile on the map (thousands of them...) will provide. Instead, deciding where to place the Sawmill should depend on roughly how many Forest resources are in range of it (which is easy to see), as well as how to connect it to the transportation network and find workers nearby.

Hope these choices will make sense in the upcoming closed beta! If you havent signed up already for it, you can do so here: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs .



I have an extra dev update note: I have added some wave effects near the coast and some trails behind ships. This is how they look:

They may be a bit faint due to the GIF resolution and compression, but I am hoping they will add to the chill feelings and keep you in the flow during play!

Until the next update! Have a good one in the meantime.


If you want to stay in touch or have questions you can find me here:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com
  

Its time for the first update about Times of Progress!

In these updates I will dive a bit into the mechanics of the game and explain how the game works.

Today I will talk about Housing Upgrades. Its at least inspired by Caesar III's similar mechanic, a game that I completely loved growing up as a kid and sunk hundreds of hours into it.

In Times of Progress you start by building Towns. They look like this:

Theres no zoning because housing buildings placement is very important and you must be in full control of it. So you decide where individual Towns go, they will have some basic Needs. Namely Food, Employment and Health.

Having access to these will keep the citizens happy, but to upgrade to the next level they will also need to have access to a certain degree of Safety and Basic Education.

Once those are satisfied, they will upgrade to Suburbs:

Suburbs host more citizens, which means more workers available and a wider range of influence, so that workers can be employed further away and so on.

To reach the next level and become City dwellers, theyll also want access to Higher Education and Entertainment.

Cities offer yet more space for citizens and have an even wider range. Here is how they look:

You also need to keep on satisfying those needs, otherwise theres a risk that citizens become unhappy. If their needs are neglected for too long then their houses will Degrade, which will bring a number of issues that will need to be addressed. But that is a topic for another update.

Until the next one!

[hr][/hr]
If you want to stay in touch or have any questions you can find me here:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElmoSampedro
• Mastodon: https://mastodon.online/@elmowilk
• Newsletter: https://subscribepage.io/pressingthumbs
• Mail: support@pressingthumbs.com