I’ve been considering some new gameplay concepts and decided to implement a few and see how they pan out. This post is about a new resource storage concept.
Currently, each player starts with a resource storage limit (“cache”) that is determined by how many outposts they control. The player’s base (“core”) provides storage for 100 bits. Each outpost adds storage for 10 bits. A player can keep building outposts to increase their storage capacity.
The new concept moves the storage to the grid cells you control. This means outposts are still the structure that provides more storage, but only because they expand your area of control. Grid cells started off as simply being the area you can build in, but now they’re much more important. Each grid cell you control can store 1 bit or power a structure. If you build on a cell, you lose the storage capacity for that cell, but gain whatever benefits come along with the structure (like being able to kill things).
This change has several side effects. Placement of outposts becomes a bit more important. Building an outpost on the edge of your territory is best, since it provides the biggest increase in storage capacity. However, overlapping outposts are still fine since it means losing one won’t cause a big dip in your storage capacity.
Another side effect, and the one I like best, is that building outposts to contest enemy control areas is an effective way of cutting off their storage – it’s like attacking their supply lines.
In the past, I found myself building several outposts around my base just to be able to build bigger structures (artillery and shields). It’s not a strategy that I intended, and it would be difficult to teach the AI the same strategy. However, the AI is already decent at expanding its control, so this change should put the AI on more equal footing with the player.