Its combat and economy chains build on each other, a feat uncommon in the real-time strategy space.
The Fertile Crescent trades the ol berry bush for pomegranate trees, a native of Western Asia.
How weve been inspired by history has shaped the game.
During the Bronze Ages, the usage of coins hadnt taken root yet.
It was still to a large extent a barter economy, and food played an important role.
People would, for example, stockpile barley and use it as a currency as part of their trade.
At the same time, food is a necessity and always consumed," he went on.
“So we experimented with resource systems that reflect this in early prototypes.
Farms, trees and deer are a familiar sight to Age Of Empires players.
Whats new in The Fertile Crescent, you ask?
On the flip side, excess food grants productivity boosts and speeds up villager training.
While this does mean that enemy farms are a great raiding opportunity, so are yours.
But the Fertile Crescent doesnt just feature new ideas, it alters obsolete ones.
Groenningsaeter remarked that another inspiration for the in-game economy system has a different story.
This approach to shaping TFC is made apparent by several tweaks to the standard RTS formula.
If it aint broke didnt cut it for Groenningsaeter and Read.
However, is this really an interesting choice to make?
Therefore, we thought, why not streamline this and add automatic villager production?
I appreciate modern sensibilities like these, decisions that rethink the program of strategy.
We wanted some kind of consequence to having a larger army, which reflects history, said Read.
Having a standing army is expensive.
So in TFC, you pay an initial sum to train warriors and then they continue to consume food.
Having an army that you dont use is a waste of resources.
“Having a food surplus boosts knowledge generation and villager training.
Therefore, you’re gonna wanna balance your army expenses against stockpiling a food surplus.
Then there’s the riot system, which is where The Fertile Crescent turns food into a double-edged sword.
The clay pits taking up valuable farming space also leads to some interesting decisions, noted Read.
The Fertile Crescents city-building-esque twists serve the interests of both newcomers and longtime fans.
And then, weve tried to change up elements that we think arent adding to the fun factor.
A horizontal knowledge tree with distinct upgrade paths makes up for the lack of additional civilizations to pick from.
What if these upgrade paths offer unique units that represent said playstyles?
Its time to give the retooled sickle a spin.
