RWL: 3.0 "Worker's Paradise" Development Thread

[Kilkenne]

Exactly what you think. You are reading about a real thing right now

Overview

Hello my name is Shadow Kilkenne, and through the magic of the internet and a lot of hours of code/testing (involving horribly named hordes), we have created another version of the Redwall: Warlords Online Rat War Simulation Engine. Henceforth, RWLORWS v3.0 will be referred to as RWL: Worker's Paradise. The aim of this new version of RWL is to address a multitude of the concerns brought forward by the community and has also realized some of the ideas that have been in development for some time by the RWL admin crew and development staff.

This being said, the work on this project is ongoing, and we near approximately 80% completion. It is therefore that this post is here to inform you of what kind of changes are coming down the pipe, and that there will be a closed (but inclusive, details on this later) beta testing process to ensure that we have ironed out the kinks of this version of the game.

Without further ado, here is what you can expect:

Workers are no longer terrible

The fundamental change from what we have come to think of as the game comes in the form of the Worker Economy. Without being too long winded, your production of food, cash, troops, leaders, and frustration shall be your population of Workers.

Workers are now housed within buildings, with different population values for each building, much as Huts house Leaders now. The amounts can be determined thusly:

70 workers/land Markets
100 workers/land Tents
100 workers/land Barracks
80 workers/land Camps
60 workers/land Huts
90 workers/land Foragers
50 workers/land Towers
50 workers/land on Free Land

In addition to being housed in different amounts on all of your land, your workers can be allocated to their primary tasks at the percent that you as Generalissimo determine is appropriate. This function in your "Manage Army" tab will allow you to allocate percentages of your workers to either produce cash or food for you totaling to 100%. You can even set this value to 1% 0% if you are terrible at internet rats the way that I am and don't understand basic math.

This should create a more modular economy that is more customizable and able to support new strategies dependant on the playstyle of each individual.

Everybody Panic, Leaders Aren't the Same

This is the section where swaths of the community come out to rip my throat out before desecrating my corpse with terrible posting. Please read the entire section before you go into an unstoppable dork rage.

Leaders no longer function in the capacity that they have previously functioned. The "loot" and "feast" functions have been removed from the game. Individual leader spells such as "goldmine" and "pay tribute" have likewise been removed and will be replaced at a later date by separate leader spells.

Leaders are henceforth to be used to "buff" the use of turns that allow you to perform tasks such as produce food/cash at a variably (depending on leader/land ratio) greater amount whilst using turns. Additionally, players can use their leaders to buff their turns to increase their rate of worker gain, decrease the rate that workers leave, decrease their net expenses, and a variety of other functions. These can be used in unison, assuming that the player has the correct amount of Loyalty to pay for them.

Due to the fundamental change in that building all land to 100% huts will no longer be viable, we have introduced a new aspect to the attacking interface. Like turns, Warlords will be able to augment their attacks with their leaders. Their leaders, based on ratio and number, much like previous, will be able to buff attacks on opposing warlords, and will be sent with troops on attacks. Murder will no longer function as a slaughtering of enemy troops, and instead will reduce the target warlord's health. Likewise, Steal has become "Pillage" and allows a greater version of "Sack" to be performed, should a player's leaders be victorious.

The currently available attacks (sack, capture, drive, chaos) will remain in the game as options for warlords who do not wish to sacrifice their leaders upon the altar of progress.

Armies are no longer recruited from nowhere

This can be put under the category of workers no longer being useless, but it also sort of deserves its own category.

Your armies will no longer spring out of the ground. The collective groan you just heard was every indy being upset (it's your turn now, jerks) that they will have to also run an economy. Workers will be converted to troops as designated by the same percentage system as before, with the same ratios applied as before. However, you will not be able to recruit troops from workers that you do not have.

Leaders are gained in much the same fashion. Your workers are able to become leaders.

However, when being converted to troops, obviously your workers that are converted are unable to render their services in the fields or markets, so you will no longer gain their economic benefit. Just one more reason that this economy should be more in-depth.

FAQ

When will this be done?
It's about ready for a beta right now.

How do I get into this beta?
Magic. We haven't determined the selection process. Be assured that it'll be more of a responsibility than a right to mess around and not give feedback should you get in. There'll be a post about it later.

Why are you posting all of this?
Because I love to hear my own voice in my head. Also, people have been wondering what's been going on lately.

I don't like these ideas, you are bad at the game Kilkenne/Shadow/windy/whomever
When you can give a reasoned argument; AFTER having seen the content, feel free to let someone to know your findings. Complaining that it's a change that might remove you from your seat as "internet rat God-king" will earn you only my ire.

I have another question
Feel free to PM me or Shadow with it. I spend too much time around the internet all day, seeing as it's on my phone and can probably answer you.

[General Austin]

Kilk...I gave up on this game a few months ago when I decided I was tired of building 100% hut and not being good enough at math to get anywhere...and then this happens...my favorite game of all time just might become something I could enjoy again! I love building economies! I love workers! I love COMMUNISM!!!!

YOU ARE INCREDIBLE. (and by "you" I mean Kilk and all the others devs who have worked on this rip-roaring stunner of a project)

[Shadow]

I'm very pleased that the first reaction was so positive :)

Please stay tuned for beta access as well as more information about the new game mechanics.

Basically, everyone will be a newb again, and it will be awesome learning together.

[Krowdon]

Even though I understood about 20% of that, I look forward to the new changes. It sounds really cool you guys. Although I'll miss my leaders and armies appearing out of thin air.

[Gen. Volkov]

I approve of this change. Be interesting to try anyway. (Course you guys knew that already.)

[Firetooth]

Woah, this is pretty big. I approve, though, I've suggested before that troops should come from workers, and good to see leaders being balanced.

Are we going to get a themeless round to figure out how this all works, though? Another thing, will cashing/farming races still exist, because it sounds like leadering has been merged with those strategies?

[Shadow]

Pretty much all strategies have been merged, ie, building 100% of anything is probably going to be a bad idea. In fact, cashing and farming will become central to all of the strategies to some extent.

The plan is that over the next month or so, there will be a testing process underway, during which time Kilk and I will make a medium sized post every few days with details of one aspect of the change. If testing goes well, we will open it up for general testing in a few weeks. After that there would likely be several turbo rounds for people to play with things.

[Sharptooh]

Awesome guys, I love what I'm hearing here :)

Workers being more useful and the added complexity of the economy will definitely make things more interesting around here, like Shadows said too, it'll be interesting to all become noobs again.

Don't know who designed that logo too, but it also looks pretty amazing!

[Durza]

Very nice Kilk.  This new complexity aspect should make everything more fun, as well as re-level the playing field.

[Kilkenne]

Don't know who designed that logo too, but it also looks pretty amazing!

This is the best comment so far.

I made an art.

[Rakefur]

All right tell me if I am correct. Say I am a leaderer.

I set your workers at percentages to make food/cash/whatever, then after I have gotten the leaders (which are recruited from the workers, amr?), I use my turns to

"buff" the use of turns that allow you to perform tasks such as produce food/cash at a variably (depending on leader/land ratio) greater amount whilst using turns.

thats the part I don't get. :P

I love your style of posting kilk I wish I could post like that.

[The Masked Wolf]

sounds good

[Kilkenne]

I set my workers at percentages to make food/cash/whatever, then after I have gotten the leaders (which are recruited from the workers, amr?), I use my turns to

"buff" the use of turns that allow you to perform tasks such as produce food/cash at a variably (depending on leader/land ratio) greater amount whilst using turns.

thats the part I don't get. :P

You will gain leaders much like you do now, however, until your huts are full (100 leaders/hut) they will be recruited from your population. Your population will continue to arrive and grow assuming your taxes are low, but you will have guys being converted to leaders (if you have non-full huts) and troops (if you have active barracks). So you will always have some population. When you buff turns, it means that you are using your leader ratio, to a maximum set by your racial traits to improve your production in one aspect.

Here's an example of a turn I ran:

Turns Included: 1

Economic Status
Income:   $5,206,859
Expenses:   $9,765,317
War Tax:   $0
Loan Pay:   $0
Net:    -$4,558,458

Food Status
Produced:   650,688
Consumed:   605,729
Net:    +44,959

Workers and Army Status
Recruited Workers:    -70,031
Workers:    +55,854
Leaders:    +0
Loyalty:    +13,147
Rats:    +35,362
Weasels:    +17,565
Stoats:    +8,725
Skiffs:    +5,778

[Rakefur]

Oh so there will  be leader missions that boost production in different areas. right?

[The Masked Wolf]

 think so