With our recently prologue playtest (available until the end of April 👉here), we got curious how much did you enjoy certains features and the overall experience of our game.
So please follow the link below to take part in the feedback survey and tell us which elements of the game you loved the most!
Hello everyone, my name is Bartek, UI/UX Designer and Game Designer for Chinese Frontiers. If you have a little time I would like to show you all of the challenges and dangers awaiting you in the beautiful landscapes of ancient China. Are you brave enough?
Okay, so you wake up one day surrounded by beautiful landscapes, as you breathe in crystal clear air. You see a small but inviting settlement in the distance. Smoke coming from many chimneys. You don’t know why but you feel a sense that you belong here! Is this your Village?
The first mechanic of the game is your Village ( HUB ). At the beginning you and your village have very little to start. You get the basic fundamental infrastructure - but it hints at a great potential of growth. However, before you start working you have to think about few things:
1. Survival
Living in simpler times wasn’t necessarily easier. You have to think ahead to survive. Food and Water are the most important elements. Fortunately for you, Chinese landscapes are filled with fauna & flora that can help you stay alive. Gather different kinds of plants, use a fishing rod made of bamboo to catch some fish, drink straight from the river - water is clear. Survival is key.
Being a gatherer is fun and all, but if I had to guess you are ambitious and would like to expand. Changing a small Village into a thriving city will require a lot of resources and work, but I have good news for you. Try:
2. Farming, Breeding, Cooking
Work smart, not hard. Why run around all the time when you get hungry or thirsty. Turn yourself into an experienced farmer. You just have to pick a place for your field, get a hoe and some seeds and you are good to go! Remember every plant you gather gets you seeds that can be planted, but some of them are harder to find than others.
When it comes to breeding, in the Prologue, it's an experience that is a very stripped down version. However, we are currently working on a more advanced system where you will be able to take care of your animals. If you take good care of the farm you will be able to use animal products that you collect in multiple different ways (Food, Trade, Building materials etc.).
Combine these products in the kitchen to cook real local dishes from different Chinese regions.
Fun fact: The more complex the dishes are, the bigger reward you get!
When your stomach is finally full, you can focus on the bigger picture. Imagine yourself as not only a Craftsman but an experienced Builder and City Planer. The Village is your starting point - nothing is stopping you but your imagination.
3. Planing, Building, Crafting
At the beginning when the game starts there isn’t a lot to work with. You have to create a Basic Infrastructure that will allow your settlement to grow. Use your surroundings to gather resources - cut down trees with a hatchet to get wood, craft a pickaxe and use it on mountain formations to get stone, look under your feet for clay and sand. Everything can be used. So look around every chance you get.
Fun fact: all gatherable resources can be highlighted!
When you feel you have enough resources open the Building Menu and pick your first project. There are a number of different buildings - Carpenter, Brickyard, Stonemason ect. Find a place where you want to place it and begin the building process. Basic materials are enough at the start, but with time, you will have to transform them into more complex, sturdy materials to upgrade your Village.
Fortunately, every building has crafting stations that will allow you to do exactly that. Some of them are simple, some require you to really work hard and get your hands dirty, for sure you will manage.
Finally, you have basic infrastructure to produce different kinds of building materials. Everything starts to look promising. Village is growing and people are happy! Nevertheless you don’t want to stay in one place. Why would you? Adventure awaits!
4. Travel, Build, Get Rewarded
Open your Map to see all of the Monuments of the Great Wall of China that require your experienced help. Pack everything on your trusty Caravan, pick a place to go and start your next adventure. I promise you will not be disappointed.
Every time you finish one of the big projects, you will be rewarded. Not only with the highest honor and well deserved place in the history, but also with new technologies (that will allow you to expand your Village) and new locations (with new interesting, challenging tasks).
But if you need some rest from the big picture stuff, always remember to try the side quests that we prepared for you. It will pay off in the end!
So, to summarize REMEMBER:
With preparation you can survive anything.
With better materials you get better buildings.
With better buildings your Village gets more advanced.
With better Village you unlock new technologies and get more complex and fun challenges. (BUILDING MONUMENTS OF THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA)
Completing these challenges unlocks new technologies and materials.
If you play your cards right, before you notice you will be a true LEGENDARY BUILDER
Hi my name is Marcin. I am the Art Director and Producer of Chinese Frontiers and I welcome all of you to the very first of our DevLogs!
Chinese Frontiers is the stylized builder simulation game with survival elements. The story is set in Ming Dynasty’s inspired Chinese reality, when the Great Wall of China was built.
The Great Wall
The main goal of the game is to obtain material, transform it and then build the Great Wall of China. Moreover, all of the Great Wall mission’s are the actual Great Wall Landmarks!
China is the land of picturesque landscapes and biomes, from Jiuyuguan Desert to the heights of Huanglouwa. We analyzed them, synthesized and put into the game. Feel the heat of the Desert, the strong current of the River on the Plainland and the steep slopes of the Mountains!
Fun fact!: All of the game biomes are totally different to each other. You will experience that, for example, by cooking original Chinese Dishes typical for each area!
Your new Homeland - the Village
While playing and getting more experienced through the game, you will get noticed by the Emperor himself! He will notice your sacrifice and determination and will commission you the management of the Village - the production and technology hub.
Craft & Survive
You will start your Journey with nothing. To survive you will need to get familiar with the nature - there is a lot of plants and resources to use in Chinese Frontiers!
Then you will need to learn how to Craft and Grow what you’ve gathered. Your Production pipeline covers the variety of the Workshops, where Building Materials, Tools, Machines and Decorative Items are being made.
At one point, when your Village will get bigger and bigger you will feel more like steward - assigning for some of the work your co-habitants (this feature will be introduced in the EA).
The DevTeam - our story
(for those who love reading a lot 🤓)
We are a group of friends, and our friendship is based on passion to storytelling about historical architecture and building - and we decided to make the game!
I’ve met Iza (3D Graphics Designer) & Bartek (Game Designer and UI/UX Designer) many years ago on the sketching course, where we were learning and after few years also teaching others how to paint and draw. Wojtek (Level Designer and Tech Artist) & Piotrek (CEO - so at the end 😉) I’ve got to know little time later on the Faculty of Architecture. That’s why Chinese Frontiers is mainly about building so far. 🙂 Marcin (Game Designer and Programmer) called 'Commando’ is my good friend from childhood. Tomek (Programmer) & Michał (Community Manager) I’ve met during the development of Chinese Frontiers, but like the rest of the Team, we’ve got to know long time before.
I can’t tell You how honored and lucky we were, when Igor & Iza (Audio Designers) and Ignacy (Composer) joined the Chinese Frontiers game project. More than they’re professionalists in their disciplines, they also are Lecturer’s on the Chopin’s University of Music (Ignacy is the Head of the Composition and Theory Music Department).
Moreover, we’re also working with really talented Artists remotely and worldwide, trying to make our best for you guys.
Prepare for more info about Chinese Frontiers and regular DevLogs soon, everyone has his/her own interesting story. Let us know in the comment if you like to read more about it at the end of our next DevLogs. 🙂
We have just launched Chinese Frontiers: Prologue on Steam and it's right HERE !
Within the next few days you will be able to sign up for Chinese Frontiers: Prologue playtest.
If you want to try the game for free before others and give us some feedback about the Prologue, add it to you WishList and follow Prologue's page on Steam. According to your feedback after demo release, we focused more on the chinese historical village in Prologue, here you can see in general what we prepared for you:
Official Chinese Frontiers Demo Live Stream #1
Dear Gamers!
Join Chinese FrontiersDemo Live Stream!
Meet the developers and see the gameplay of building the Beacon Tower on the Great Wall of China.
We are waiting for you! Hope to meet you,
SolidGames DevTeam ːsteamhappyː
Official Chinese Frontiers Demo Live Stream #2
Dear Gamers!
Join Chinese FrontiersDemo Live Stream!
Meet the developers and see the gameplay of building the Beacon Tower on the Great Wall of China.
We are waiting for you! Hope to meet you,
SolidGames DevTeam ːsteamhappyː
DEMO RELEASE!
Ladies and Gents, hot off the press!
You can acces our demo, starting today!
After the Playtest we know you won't have to wait any longer. :)
Big thanks to all of the testers for each and every piece of the feedback! It was very well done job, guys, which let us improve some issues in the game. For sure, with benefits for you and for others.*
Finally...
...you can play Chinese Frontiers DEMO now and build a beacon tower on The Great Wall of China! ːsteamhappyː
______ *- Join our Discord here to keep in touch with us, talk about your experience to others, report any bugs or show videos of your gameplay. We are dying to meet you there!
Sign up for Demo Playtest now!
We are really excited to tell this, so forgive us this Caps, but
WE HAVE ALMOST FINISHED DEMO OF CHINESE FRONTIERS!
ːsteamhappyː
So far, we can give you acces to the Playtest, where you can try the game, hang around through the beta Chinese village and go up the hill to complete building of a beacon tower on The Great Wall of China!
Hope you are excited too!
Here you can see Chinese Frontiers demo Playtest gameplay trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvFJV-bIgGQ
You can also join gamers community and talk to us on our Discord here.
See you on Friday 22/07/2022 and have a great weekend, as you can be the first who ever had a chance to play & try Chinese Frontiers!
