Game seems awfully slow

As a long time player of DF-type games, I was very interested in Clockwork Empires and got it to try out, support the project, and wait until it was done to play, and here are my impressions.

It seems as though nothing happens for the first few days. I give the orders to build a building and cut down some trees and whatnot, and it takes 2-3 days to finish a small carpenter's shop. Nothing moves at an interesting pace, and I often found myself sitting and just rereading the descriptions of my colonists. Am I doing something wrong?

 

without seeing a replay, it's probably hard for them to say.

 

I think pacing is something that's being worked on quite a bit with this game. I remember hearing that they plan for quite a slow, methodical pace. That said, I don't feel it's too different from Dwarf Fortress in terms of speed. At any rate, when things get big and sprawling you don't want things to move or fail too quickly otherwise you might miss them.

 

I like it nice and slow - means I can let the game play itself on the PC whilst I sit and play with Logic on the mac.

 

Blasphemy!

 

Well they don't make Logic for PC and logic is fab. I find making music whilst playing games the ultimate form of relaxation. The only problem is I am constantly clicking the wrong mouse or thumping the wrong keyboard.

 

Until recently I was still using a Atari 1040 with pro tracker on occasion hooked up to a Akai sampler for old skool rave tunes. It's in the loft at the moment awaiting a house move but just the thought has me itching to go get it out. Every time I do though I realize it's rubbish and put it all back in the loft again.

 

I meant using a PC.

 

Finally, someone with some sense!

In regards to pacing, I'd say at the moment the game is actually rather fast in terms of colony growth or rather you are very much incentivised to maintain at least a certain pace due to how firearms and troop mechanics stand at the moment with no real alternatives in place other than rush your industry ("Just pick xxxx starting loadout" isn't really a solution as it is more just sidestepping the issue and pretending it doesn't exist if it doesn't apply to one certain situation).

I would definitely like to see more options for slowing down colony establishment pacing, but before that can even be considered there needs to be new solutions for being able to establish a colony defence force be it either armed troops or some kind of crude automation defence that is less resource demanding in terms of how many layers of production you need to have going on to produce anything that will help you fend off aggression.

Trade could potentially address the problem.

As could introducing alternative defences that aren't iron hungry guns that force you to get a functional ironworks going, which itself needs a functional ceramics, and potentially a functional mine and a naturalist at some point in the process. Something like primitive traps, perhaps utilising your colonists already established ability to dig.

Or perhaps introducing a proper means to offer 'donations' to potential hostile forces in return for them agreeing to ignore your colony. So rather than bandits saying "Right we're attacking now, kthx". Instead they attempt to strong arm you into 'trading' goods to them in return for continued peace, same applying to hostile nations that arrive. If they stumble on your colony they first attempt to get you to hand over goods rather than shooting everyone up for the heck of it.


Many ways it could be done really, but until something is introduced to break up the existing state of affairs then pacing is kind of stuck out of necessity of having something that it actually playable for any length of time to give feedback on.

 

I know I was pulling your plonker. Always had lots of different machines and never understood the rivalry - its all good.

 

Don't worry, it doesn't mean what you all think it means.

Non-brits might try to apply alternative meanings to the word, but as a British term is means a specific thing.