Hamlets!
So, I tried out the Idyll mode. This seems like a pretty great addition so far and I found it very engaging. The replacement mechanic does indeed work here. I'm thinking though that there's alot of number tweaking to be done yet and it might be tough to figure out just what to tweak and why. The random generation and shape of the area keeps this interesting from one game to the next.
I think that you are right, although that's going to depend on player interest. There was begging and pleading for something like the "defender mode" in AI War, but when I added it after a couple of years of that, nobody really gave it much play or gave much feedback. So it kind of languished. Hopefully the Idyll mode sees more play, or else I think it will be just a smaller curiosity compared to the main game.
Still, though -- if it's fun for a couple of times, then that's just really kind of a great bonus. It also provides a safe environment in which to play with hamlets while still having a goal (unlike sandbox mode), so it's a good training aid for hamlets. All that said, I think that it can be engaging on an ongoing basis as a puzzle game, just not to the degree that the main god-game is.
Lots more feedback.
So this is what I did in response to all that, which was great:
* Hamlet Idyll mode now gives you 5 more ruins tiles to spread out into, as you're going to need them now.
* Three civilians are now placed via each tile that would normally place civilians, instead of just one. This makes those tiles a lot more challenging to deal with.
* The base bonuses and penalties for hamlet buildings have been scaled very differently now from what they were -- much higher in most cases, making placement adjacencies more severe at all times.
* The multiplier from placing from higher slots in the hamlet queue has been toned down quite a bit; the multiplier now goes 2, 6, 8, 10 instead of 4, 9, 16, 25.
** This helps make the entire queue more relevant, which is really important with the base bonuses and penalties being higher, and with more civilians being present.
* Overall the above changes have you playing from the entire queue now, and sometimes having to take some negative points temporarily in order to get a better position later. Also... slums are just really a problem. They are a powerful positive force in terms of running out civilians that are blocking you, but then they are really negative in terms of points on some placements later. Those are tricky, and also encourage playing low in the queue on a combo to place a slums and then replace the slums.
** Thanks to Misery for a lot of the inspiration for these changes.
