Yamanashi Prefecture & Property Purchase

After pestering publishers last week, we received a firm no from one. Though it's a shame to get a rejection, the publisher in question is very selective with who they sign and in the current climate it's understandable. They did, however, take the time to explain their reasoning, which we're extremely grateful for considering the volume of applicants they must have to deal with.

I discussed this a little over on discord, so this will just be going over what I said there and how we're looking to build from it. The feedback we received was in two parts.

1. The concept is interesting, but they have reservations on the scale. Concerns specifically on us being able to execute the project at the level of polish required.

2. Concerns on holding player interest over time (not enough variety or refinement of the systems).

Both these points are spot on in my opinion, and I agree with their reasoning. The proposed scale of the game is daunting for a developer, so I can't fault a publisher for having cold feet here. The state Jalopy is left in also can't be helping my reputation here, and a game that is multitudes the scale of that will leave a lot of people concerned.

Player concern over time is likely due to us not having our core feature in, Vending Machine Tycoonism. Once the tycoonism element of the game is in and balanced, players will be doing a lot of plate spinning trying to keep their little truck business afloat. This is easier said than done, but I'm confident that this genre is missing a solid end-game loop and I'm determined to explore that.

We were asking for financial support to bring on an additional developer to help here, but if funding isn't on the table then I need to scale down the initial scope for an Early Access launch that leaves option for a solid, bug free game should it not make the sales targets, and something we can build on for years to come if it's a hit.

For this, I've drawn up an MVP (minimum-viable product) for an Early Access launch. The confirmed game loop is as follows:

1. Take on deliveries

2. Save up enough to progress to unlock the next area

3. Use the next area to take on better deliveries

4. Purchase the final area

5. Use the increased money to now purchase vending licences for the areas

6. Purchase more trucks and hire workers to automate the process

7. obtain full control of all provinces, becoming the new Honcho, game complete.

8. Start a new game with a full world regeneration.

There's a lot of nuance in the details I'm not quite ready to share, but this is our target loop for Early Access. Cutting down on scale, we'll be looking at having 4 trucks (Two Batako type, Two T360 type) and 3 provinces (all Inaka based tile sets). There's no date for all of this, but we're running out of financial runway and need to work quick and smart. More on this to come in the future.

Yamanashi Prefecture

The Yamanashi Prefecture is now functional in the internal build. It's the 3rd of the Inaka provinces, with Gunma to come and Tochigi already in the public build (currently shown as Inaka). The Tochigi prefecture in the external build is actually based on Wadashima, which is part of the Shizouka prefecture. This is probably something I won't worry about further, but I wanted players to know I'm aware.

Anyway, Yamanashi is based at the foot of Mt. Fuji. The town generation for the prefecture in-game is unique as it's situated around lake Yamanaka, the largest of the five Fuji lakes. The town generation also has a chance to generate a rather large bridge across this lake. Players could use this bridge to test their straight line speed with whatever crazy setups they find themselves running.

Property Purchase Screen

With the prefecture setup and working, I now need to add the ability for players to unlock it. As it's the third of the three Inaka prefectures, players will need to purchase and travel through Gunma first. "Purchasing" a prefecture sounds weird and gamey. What players will actually be purchasing is their Grandpa's old business in the province, granting them a licence to work there, and a home base to sleep and complete repairs at. Maybe old grandpa has expected this from young Keiko and has prepared a letter for her, who knows...

I'm still fleshing this system out, but if a player presses on a prefecture on the world map screen that they haven't yet got a property and commercial licence for, they'll be taken to the property purchase screen (seen above). This will break down the cost of the purchase, and what features it contains.

Bit of a scrappy update this week, but I'm trying to drive progress forward. Let me know if you have any ideas, concerns or proposals for the above systems. Keep in mind, we're now trying to be smart and lean about what we add, in order to keep the game alive.

Thanks again for all your support so far, you're keeping the dream alive!

Greg