Hunter KyleARA: History Untold from Oxide Games studio will become the fruit of many years of experience on strategic games. At least, this is the president of this company Mark Meyer (Marc Meyer). After all, as you know, people responsible for creating Civilisation v work in it.
So we can expect a kind "clone" these games – but here Meyer promises that the game will be "something fresh and innovative in your favorite genre". At the moment, it is difficult to invent a wheel and create a 4x strategy that does not rely on our predecessors, but we can count on at least some mechanics and solutions that are difficult to find in other projects.
The innovative approach and the fact that, according to the CEO of Meyer, has not yet been found in other games of this suck, this is "Respect for the time of the player". In many 4x strategies, the decisions that we make in the first few hours of the game can determine our defeat or victory – which we will learn about only after 20 hours.
Ara, however, seeks to be different – the best. According to the system of actions, each game will be divided into three parts, called "phases". Only those players who earned the right amount "Prestige", will be able to switch to the following levels of game.
It is unpleasant when you play for 20 hours, and at the end you find that you lost already at the second hour of the game. So this is a sign of respect for the players – let them develop, lose earlier and can start the game again. You must study on your failures.
In addition, Mark Meyer noted that the main scourge of 4x strategies are techniques and tactics that are much more effective than others. This often leads to the fact that we know exactly what actions bring the greatest profit (for example, we know the optimal development path in the technology tree). As a result, we use the same, or very similar, methods every time we play because they are sure that they will give us an advantage over the opponent.
The solution to this problem for Oxide Games was the introduction of an element of randomly in the form of cards into the game process. In connection with the development of our civilization, we have to choose one of three such cards.
When we developed a prototype, we wanted to do something that would make the player every time change tactics and look for different solutions – it is really to weigh, what awaits him this time. The cards were a natural answer. [They can be taken, hammered, pull and add. This is what you can play differently every time and what can be discussed again.
Also from "many games in the genre" The game is distinguished by the opportunity to play at the same time – both in offline and online (the Civilisation series, which is often compared with Ara: History Untold, is not alien to this mechanics). This is done so that the players constantly participate in the party without special downtime.
I am proud of how our system of simultaneous move developed. Many strategic games offer a solution in which players go in turn and react to the actions of the opponent. In Ara: History Untold all moves are solved at the same time. This makes it possible to act in conditions of uncertainty, to foresee and plan various scenarios. Such a system guarantees the absence of downtime and constant involvement in the gameplay.
Wild nature and "Living world", On the other hand, they should change under the weight of our decisions and the development of the head of the nation. The developers promise that each of our steps will be reflected not only in the form of numbers in the interface – the environment will also transform under its influence.
The living world is more than just a map, because it is a reflection of decisions made during the game. In it you can see everything – and the settlement of wild territories, and the climatic effects exerted on architecture over time, and the life of thousands of citizens. We want players to feel like real residents of this world.
Ara: History Untold will be released on the PC in the fall of this year (the game already has a card on the Steam platform). It is worth noting that when starting it will be added to the PC Game Pass service.