Greetings, Survivors
It's time for the first preview of Major Update #7! One of the main additions to this game in this update is the Electricity System. In a similar manner to Explosives, the Electricity System will introduce several new structures and mechanics into the game. Not to mention that it will heavily impact several existing buildings and the way they operate. Expect them to become more efficient with the introduction of Electricity! Let's take a closer look at some of those new additions.
Power Production
Let's start from the very beginning. The energy has to be produced somewhere. At the moment, we plan to add three types of Power Stations that can generate Electricity:
- Power Plants - use wood or fuel to generate energy
- Solar Panels - use the sun to generate energy (cloudy days reduce the efficiency)
- Wind Turbines - use the wind during windy days to generate energy
Of course, the safest approach might require you to build different Power Stations to ensure that the Electricity will keep on being generated despite the external weather conditions. At least until you discover and build energy storage infrastructure for your Zone.
Some other differences between those structures include the requirement to use workers (solar panels and wind turbines require none), or the need to maintain and repair the structures from time to time. Wind Turbines will also come in two different sizes, which you can observe in the video below.
Power Distribution
Once you start generating Electricity, you need to ensure that it's properly distributed across your Zone. The whole system is simple. Electricity Poles need to be connected to your Power Stations. Every Electricity Pole has a radius within which the energy is delivered. If a specific building is in this radius, then energy is delivered. Then all you need to care about is that your Electricity production is higher than your Electricity consumption.
What's interesting, the Electricity Poles can be both built and claimed. You might recognize this mechanic from the medieval walls. The same way you can claim and repair medieval walls, you can make the existing Electricity Poles on the map your own. Check the video below to see an example of those structures connected to each other.
Power Consumption
Electricity is generated and delivered. Now let's talk about the consumption of Electricity. In the end, our main goal is to profit from adapting our whole Zone to the power usage. You can expect the following new ways to consume Electricity in the game:
- Electricity-boosted Production - providing Electricity to Cookhouses and several other adaptations will make the work cycles faster.
- Electric Fence - new defensive structures that work similarly to the Barbed Wire.
- Electric Cars - new Vehicles that use Electricity instead of Fuel.
- CCTV - new defensive structures that reveal fog of war and alarm about danger.
- Search Lights - new tower modifications that enhance the Zone's defense.
- Window Lights and Street Lamps - improve the Moods in the Zone by providing Shelters and Houses with Electricity and making your Citizens feel safe.
What's important, some buildings will require a power supply to operate, while for others, energy will be optional and can be used to boost their production. This means managing your energy infrastructure will be an important part of optimizing your settlement and making the most of your available resources.
Below, you can see examples of the windows lighting up with the energy delivered and Search Lights "scanning" for nearby enemies. We know that you have asked for both those features for a long time now and we hope that those initial visualizations look satisfying to you!
Other
Is that all that you can expect from the Electricity and this update? Certainly not! New Laws, new Research nodes, and several other changes coming to the game. Not to spoil too much, you can also expect the much-requested Research Queue in Major Update #7. There will be at least one more Preview from Major Update #7 covering other additions that we want to bring in this update.
At this point, you are probably asking yourself the most important question: "When can I play this update?" While nothing is yet confirmed at this point, our preferred scenario is launching Major Update #7 on the open beta branch somewhere in December and then launching it for everyone to play at the beginning of the next year. But this is subject to change, and we can't promise that those dates are final.
What do you think about the Electricity preview? Does it work how you expected it to? How do you like all the new additions coming to the game? Share your thoughts and feedback with us - we read all the comments!
Best regards,
Jutsu Games Team
