5.2 KiB
Feature Gap — New Systems (Designed, Zero Code)
Design decisions made 2026-03-24 that extend beyond what
.messy/implements. These are the additions the fresh build will include that the reference doesn't have.
Early Access Pivot: Age of Dwarves
2026-03-25 — Early access pivoted from "Age of Dwarves" (4 races + full magic) to "Age of Dwarves" (Dwarf only, no magic, mundane path).
This builds the same game all the way through — map gen, climate, ecology, events, units, cities, tech, combat, AI, polish — but without the magic layer. Roughly half the total work for a complete 4X experience.
What ships in EA (Age of Dwarves)
- Single playable race: Dwarf (production +8, wealth +8, anti-magic crafters)
- Full mundane tech web (6 pillars + intersections, no school branches)
- Full combat (1UPT, flanking, ZOC, ranged, promotions, siege)
- Full world sim (climate, flora/fauna, natural events) — mundane fauna only
- Victory: Domination + Score
- Deep Forge faction landmark
What's deferred to expansion (Age of Four)
- 3 additional races (High Elf, Human, Orc)
- M4: Magic World (ley lines, mana density, corruption, magical ecology)
- Phase 9: Magic Gameplay (spells, mana pools, Archons, summoning, Ascension)
- Magic school branches + fusion techs + 2-school lock
- Arcane Ascension victory condition
- Magical wild creatures (undead, elementals, golems)
Milestone split
The roadmap has two tracks:
- 2a: Age of Dwarves — M0 → M1 → M2 → M3 → P5 → P6 → P7 → P8 → P10 → P11 (10 milestones, mundane Dwarf 4X)
- 2b: Age of Dwarves — M4 + P9 + race expansion + magic tech branches (adds magic layer on top of 2a)
Track 2a is the EA release. Track 2b extends it into the full game.
Terrain Overhaul
Priority: P0
Split old monolithic forest into forest, jungle, boreal_forest. Added plains. Redefined enchanted_forest as magical-only (spawns from ley nexus events, not map gen).
New terrain fields on all types: culture, infiltration. (Mana/ley fields deferred to Age of Dwarves expansion.)
Infiltration in hydrology: _accumulate_flow() multiplies by (1.0 - infiltration) before passing downstream. Forests absorb water; deserts don't.
Status: done in data — all 20 terrain types defined in games/age-of-dwarves/data/terrain/ with new fields populated.
Mundane vs Magic Balance
Materials science tree, communication tech (Telegraph → Telephone → Cable → Satellite), ley interference mechanics, Iron Pylon (pins ley lines), mass production scaling, anti-corruption engineering, satellite program.
Design intent: mundane path should be viable against magic — strongest in pure combat but lacks ley economy.
Mundane Unit Progression (Era 2-5)
| Era | Key Units |
|---|---|
| 2 — Engineering | Crossbowmen (armor_piercing), Mithril Guard (magic_immune) |
| 3 — Industrial | Gatling Gun (multi_attack), Cannon (range 2) |
| 4 — Modern | Tank, Bomber, Fighter (interceptor) |
| 5 — Advanced | Power Armor (magic_immune), Mech Walker |
Good/Evil Mundane Alignment
Sliding scale -100 (Malevolent) to +100 (Benevolent). Deep commitment (±70) unlocks exclusive endgame (World Court / Doomsday Device).
Social Policies (5 Culture Trees, 30 Policies)
| Tree | Focus | Capstone |
|---|---|---|
| Expansion | Wide | Manifest Destiny |
| Tradition | Tall | Divine Right |
| Militarism | War | Warlord |
| Scholarship | Research | Enlightenment |
| Arcana | Magic | Transcendence (deferred — Age of Dwarves) |
Combat Matchup Triangle
Core triangle: Swarm (Death) beats Control (Life/Aether), Control beats Elite (Chaos/Nature), Elite beats Swarm. Mundane strongest in pure combat but lacks ley economy. (Magic matchups deferred — Age of Dwarves.)
Deferred — Age of Dwarves Expansion
The following systems are fully designed but deferred to the post-EA expansion:
Terrain Mana Color Pie
Every terrain produces school-specific mana (MTG land = mana model):
- Life → Grassland. Nature → Forests. Chaos → Mountains/Volcano/Desert. Death → Swamp/Corrupted. Aether → Water/Tundra/Snow.
mana_major(1/turn) +mana_minor(0.5/turn) per terrain.- Terrain magical affinity: matched school = 0.5x decay / +25% spell power.
Ley Line System
Magnetic field model: ley lines are Voronoi edges between school-aligned anchor points.
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Anchors | Natural wonders (str 5), volcanoes (3), peaks (2), wellsprings (3), enchanted forests (1), standing stones (2) |
| Voronoi | Weighted power diagram. Edges = ley lines. Vertices = nexus points. |
| Mana density | Per-tile [0-1] field. Nexus 1.0, on-edge 0.7, adjacent 0.4, fringe 0.2 |
| School alignment | Per ley segment, derived from bordering anchors |
| Capture metagame | Convert segments by placing/destroying anchors |
| Dead zones | 0.1x mana, +50% spell cost, enchantment decay |
| Corruption | 2x spread along ley lines, 3x on Death-aligned |
Archon Loss + Mundane Rebirth
When High Archon dies: Path A (Diminished Magic) or Path B (Mundane Rebirth — one-way door, Arcane Lore permanently locked, full mundane tree unlocked).