May 2017 Update Now Available

The May 2017 update is now available for Icity ... a Flight Sim and a City Builder.

It’s May already, and though there’s still a fair amount of snow lingering around the ol’ hangar (we are in Canada, after all), the days are getting longer and it’s a great time to set ones’ sights a bit farther afield than the woodpile next to the stove. To help with the wanderlust, we’re introducing a few new features this month, including procedural terrain, Seed Node upgrades, greenhouses, and presets for the day-night cycle.

A very early-prototype of a new infinite, procedural terrain system is now available to try out in the Game Options > Terrain Options menu (press ‘G’ with the default keyboard layout). Did we mention it’s a very early prototype? There are no terrain textures available yet, and it does not support the Building printer module, though it does open the hangar-door a bit so pilots can try flying and navigating long distances to see if it’s a direction we should be taking the game. Early-access at full-strength, so to speak.

As you know, the city-building aspect of Icity can be somewhat automated by placing Seed Nodes on the map, which create and grow new building clusters. Last month we introduced the ability to “auto-generate” Seed Nodes, and this month we’ve upgraded the system again to permit each node’s customization by linking special buildings that will increase it’s efficiency. The objective is to more closely link Seed Nodes to the game’s forthcoming economy system.

Each Seed Node can now be upgraded by attaching up to 3 specialized buildings, including factories, offices, and the new greenhouse building type. Factories retain their ability to convert Refined Cubes into more valuable Crystal Products, while the other building types will effect productivity or boost capacity. Factories and offices can still be made with the Building Printer module (as independent agents, not linked to a Seed Node), though we’re seeking feedback whether to move them exclusively into the Seed upgrade system, as is the case with the new greenhouse building type. Seed Node upgrades are controlled in the Game Options > City Building Options menu (press ‘G’ with the default keyboard layout).

Greenhouses are a new building type that (in future game versions) will increase the size of a Seed Node cluster by allowing more buildings to be made. We’re evaluating whether to introduce a food supply system into the game (that is, players would order food cubes to be delivered on the Supply Shuttle, which would then be consumed at Seed Nodes), so if we experiment with that, the greenhouses may also play a role to reduce food import levels at the expense of a Seed Node upgrade slot which might otherwise be used to boost productivity. Choices, choices … .

A new feature has been added to the Day-Night cycle (access in the Game Options menu: press ‘G’ with the default keyboard layout). The default setting advances the game through periodic day and nighttime periods, the relative length of which can be controlled in the Game Options menu. Players now have the option to fix the time-of-day at one of 4 preset selections, which is a great way to quickly try different lighting levels. If you need to build your night rating, or you just like being in the aircraft’s spotlight, so to speak, then this is the control system for you!

This May 2017 update marks a special place in Icity’s development schedule, and we are now entering into a planned 2-month testing, review, and evaluation process (and we’re just hoping beach weather will soon be here), so the next update is scheduled for July 2017. Happy flying everyone!