Gods and Idols
Phase III Q&A
A: Yes, defensive structures and modules will return shortly after Phase III
Q: Will you increase the max number of cities per planet?
A: I currently have no plans to do that. Things may change in the future though
Q: Is colonization actually coming?
A: Yes. Phase III will let you colonize planets in the same star system as your capital
Q: Will there be military ships?
A: Not in Phase III, but sometime after
Q: Will there be alliances?
A: Not in Phase III, but sometime after
Q: How long will it take to build a Pioneer colonization ship?
A: If you are able to fully supply the Shipyard with everything it needs it takes a bit over two hours to build a Pioneer
Q: When will the market come?
A: The market will undergo a complete rewrite and change. There is no current estimate or timetable for this
Q: Do new colonies start with any resources?
A: Yes, newly created colonies start with many basic resources already in the stockpile
Q: Can other players colonize planets in my star system?
A: Only if the other player has their capital in the same star system as you do
Q: Will you ever rewrite Gods and Idols with new technology?
A: Probably, at some point. Rewriting old parts of the code is an ongoing and neverending project as things change over time
Q: What was Gods and Idols like before it got on Steam?
A: It was a very basic prototype to test if the concept was fun: Creating and taking care of planets as a space-god. Turns out it's fun! ;)
Q: Can we change what Space Elevators produce?
A: Not directly, no. Space Elevators are made up of multiple module segments, and you can change those which in turn may affect how/what the space elevator is producing. For example adding a Forge Tower module will increase the amount of processed metals the tower outputs
Q: Do we have to upgrade every building into a space elevator?
A: Yes and no. Only the three buildings in the center of a city actually become the space elevator. However, all other buildings in the city must first be upgraded to Space Elevator Support structures. You can not get a space elevator until all buildings in the city are upgraded
Q: How much does a space elevator cost?
A: Space Elevator Support structures currently cost about 20'000 total resources each
Q: When will governance become available?
A: Sometime after Phase III
Q: When will Phase III come out?
A: I do not know. At least a few more weeks
Q: What else is coming in Phase III?
A: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1670953110
Phase III: How to prepare and what to expect
So what exactly can you expect with the arrival of Phase III? What new things will it bring to the universe of Gods and Idols? How will your current empires change? Will there be a wipe?
Before we get into the nitty gritty details of it all: The colonization content patch is a big one, there's a reason it was split in three parts after all. So I may miss some things in this post; and any numbers should be seen as examples and not final. Let's get on with it!
There will not be a wipe when Phase III goes live. All existing planets, buildings, and resources will remain just fine.
New buildings, mechanics, resources, shipyards, and colonization will all appear in Phase III.
Some of the new buildings include the Space Elevator class and the changes they bring to your planets, both in terms of how much material the planet produces, but also how much it can process (Refine Ore into Iron for example)
A planet with fully developed Space Elevator infrastructure will be able to process much much more than that one planet could ever produce on its own. Shipping raw resources back to your industrial hub is definitely something you want to be doing.
As it currently looks, Phase III may launch without the ability to set up trade-routes, I know it sucks, but trade routes are a big feature and I want to make sure it works properly and not rush it in. So for a while you may just have to settle for having a few planets that can't ship goods between them.
Space Elevators also change the way you interact with the planet. Specifically, Space Elevators require much less micro-managing than the City stage. The idea being that once you upgrade your capital and/or industrial hubs to Space Elevator tier, you should not have to constantly go back and check on them and change what/how they are producing.
To this end, most of the Space Elevator tier segments are fully autonomous: They have upkeep, and they produce various goods. For example an Industrial Space Elevator segment is able to consume absurd amounts of Ore and output all refined variants (Such as Iron, Copper, etc) without the need for you to set specific production slots/lines.
That's not to say there will be nothing for you to manage. Beyond managing any new colonies you set up, which all start in the same City stage you are currently used to, there will be new things to take care of in the Space Elevator modules/segments.
But these things shift more towards dealing with events and guiding the direction of your followers than explicit direct control over things.
Once you reach the Space Elevator stage events will start happening that will require your direct input to take care of. Some of these will be simple binary decissions, "do or don't". Some will be hazards that require physical intervention such as potential asteroid impacts that threaten your planets. More details on these events may be revealed at a future date.
With the arrival of Shipyards you will finally be able to build your first ships.
Phase III will launch with only two types of ships available to construct: The Pioneer Ship, and the Industrial Ship.
Using the Pioneer you will be able to colonize other planets in the same star system as your capital. The Pioneer is not capable of interstellar travel in Phase III, but you will be able to expand to other star systems in the future.
The Industrial Ship, as the name implies, is used to perform industrial operations in the star system. At the launch of Phase III this will be limited to setting up Asteroid Belt Mining Operations, which will provide a wealth of resources, but requires the presence of an asteroid belt which means one less planet.
The Industrial Ship is also what you'll be using in the future to create space stations... and other space-construction projects.
As with the Space Elevator stage itself, there are random events associated with both new colonies, and asteroid mining.
Some of these events can be very destructive if left unchecked, and your feedback on the tuning of the "difficulty" of these is very important to me so remember to post that feedback! :)
If you have any questions feel free to post them below, on the forums, or on the Discord and I'll answer them in the next update.
Finally, I'll leave you with this bit of information: In the current test build, a Pioneer costs almost half a million resources, and an Industrial Ship is not far behind.
Maintenance complete
Over a hundred backend changes are now complete and ready for Phase III along with several dozens of stability fixes for the backend services.
No new features or changes were made to the client today; version is still 4.23.1118
Hotfix 4.23.1118A
BUGS
Upcoming hotfix
There is currently an issue that can cause Faith, Health, Joy to go absurdly into the negative.
I am investigating the cause and a fix will be released as soon as possible.
If your planet is affected just sit tight and things will be working soon.
There is currently no estimate for when this hotfix will be ready, but once it is it will go live immediately.
Patch 4.23.1118 (So much death)
Patch 4.23.1113 (Phase II)
Rather than postpone the patch I chose to postpone just Space Elevators until Phase III
Patch 4.23.1089 server hotfix A
Patch 4.23.1089 (Phase I)
Upcoming content patch phase 1
I have decided to postpone the patch by one day so that I can add some additional debug, and checks, to the service that keeps crashing and making planets/asteroidbelts disappear.
Countdown has been adjusted, and I apologize for the delay <3
Original post below:
This patch is part of the larger Colonization content patch set to arrive "soon".
Phase 1 contains the overhauled production slots and production lines mechanics along with a whole slew of UI optimizations and will arrive on Dec 14th 15th.
Patch notes for phase 1 available below:
GAMEPLAY