- Choose your gjalfrmarr! - Devlog #23 - 26 May 2023
Greetings, brave Vikings! After the last series of exciting devlogs, in which we presented various aspects of the game's development processes, it's time for more discoveries. Today, we’d like to present you with material that will reveal the secrets of ancient crafts, focusing on shipbuilding and the fascinating types of ships that the Vikings used. Ready? Therefore, we invite you to read! The term "gjalfrmarr", derived from Old Norse, means ship or steed of the see. Vikings created a variety of ships, broadly divided into two categories: warships and cargo ships. Let's start with the former - the lonships. Despite impressive sizes, reaching about 17.4 meters in length (57 feet) and 2.6 meters in width (8.5 feet), they were still more slender and agile than other Viking ships. Very shallow draught of only 50 centimeters (20 inches), allowed to navigate inland using rivers and dock on m…
- Nanite technology in Viking City Builder - Devlog #22 - 28 April 2023
Greetings, Vikings! We have incredible news to share with you - we're taking our game's graphics to the next level with the introduction of a revolutionary technology developed by Epic Games called Nanite. In our latest devlog, we'll explore the capabilities of this incredible technology, how it works, and why we're using it in our game, Viking City Builder. Nanite is an advanced virtualized geometry system that, along with Lumen, powers the heart of Unreal Engine 5. With these cutting-edge solutions, game graphics are evolving beyond our wildest imaginations, ushering in a new era of photorealism and attention to detail. Witness how Nanite, integrated into Viking City Builder, has transformed the humble roof tile of our Longhouse into a breathtakingly realistic work of art. Thanks to Nanite, Unreal Engine 5 can render billions of polygons in real-time, creating highly-detailed macro an…
- Seasons - Devlog #21 - 31 March 2023
Vikings! Welcome once again to the world of Viking City Builder, where the seasons ebb and flow just like in the real world. As winter gives way to spring, the landscape transforms, offering new opportunities and challenges for your Viking settlement. Read our latest devlog where we’re showing show you the impact of changing seasons on gameplay, as you navigate positive and negative modifications to the game mechanics and visual aspects with each passing season. Starting from the spring desired by the Vikings, the player will feel stabilized and have the chance to supplement losses after the cruel conditions of winter. Again, there are sources of food that were inaccessible during the winter season, and herbs can now be collected to cure Ill and raise health. Migration can also be expected within this period. Summer will be the best time for aggressive expansion both within the village…
- Regions system - Devlog #20 - 24 February 2023
Hello fellow Vikings! Welcome to our latest devlog. Today, we'd like to introduce you to one of the exciting mechanical aspects of designing Viking City Builder - the Regions system. In this devlog, you'll learn what this feature is and how it can be used in our game. Alright, let's get down to business. This feature allows us to scan objects within the area to check if that part of the map is considered a region, like counting trees to define if there are enough of them to create a “forest” zone. Of course, we can have many regions of the same type, like, forests near the sea, forests up the hill, etc. Those regions of the same type can fuse into a larger one. The basic planned regions consist of forests, settlements, and the sea. Each region affects some aspects of the game like currently playing ambient sounds and functionality of some buildings that require a specific region to work…
- Mechanics of product selection in industrial buildings - Devlog #19 - 27 January 2023
Greetings fellow Vikings! This time we'll look at the mechanics of product selection in some of the industrial buildings, as one workshop can produce several different goods. Still, only one product can be crafted at a time. A prudent leader is able to adapt the current production of goods to the ever-changing needs of the village, so the player can change the products being produced at any time during the building's existence. Of course, before the change can take place, the currently ongoing task must first end. With this arrangement, the village leader will be able to respond relatively quickly to emerging village issues and society needs. For example, we can look at the products created by a Tailor. Here, the player, depending on the economic situation of the village, can craft clothes that are cheap to produce, or their more desirable and more expensive, exclusive versions. If the…
- Developer Day. Chat with us! - 5 January 2023
Vikings! What would you say about another online meeting with our developers? After the AMA session, which was hugely popular among you, we're coming to you with another format - Developer Day. This is a type of online event where the community gets a unique opportunity to participate in a discussion with the people working on the game. So... We’re excited to announce that the Developer Day event with members of our few teams will take place on January 19th, from 3:00 PM GMT to 4:00 PM GMT on our Discord. Guys will be available to you on the #ask-us-anything channel. During this session, you'll have the opportunity to talk with us about the production and creation process of the game. Who knows, we may share some interesting or surprising things that we haven't talked about yet. We also remain open to discussions about your opinions on our game and ideas that may influence the direction…
- Devlogs in yearly review - Devlog #18 - 30 December 2022
Hello fellow Vikings! 2023 is looming on the horizon and it's an excellent time for a little retrospection. Throughout the year we shared eleven devlogs detailing our ideas for the game and the inner workings of some systems. Have a look at the things that we’ve done. We started this year with specifics about gathering and processing resources from raw materials to necessary tools. We continued this in part two, where we focused on the end-line of production chains, which is the creation and use of high-quality items and luxury goods, along with the buildings where those will be produced, such as Smithy, Bone Carver, Jeweler or Beekeeper. What piqued your interest the most? Well, obviously, swords. In our ninth article we covered the nitty-gritty of Viking ironworking. Did you know they extracted iron from bogs? It was a deep dive into historical methods to faithfully replicate them in…
- Raw materials part II - Devlog #17 - 2 December 2022
Greetings fellow Vikings! This time we’re going to look again at the resources of the Viking era. Last time we covered the basics of gathering, processing, and creating the final goods from the natural riches of the land and sea. Now, we'll focus on the end-line of production chains, which is the creation and use of high-quality items and luxury goods. What exactly are luxury goods? Well, those are items whose possession increases the villagers' happiness or health parameters, while lowering the village's safety, since they raise the prosperity in the settlement, making it more likely to be attacked. They aren’t necessary for survival, but having them will surely increase your status and will make your settlers more satisfied. As an example, we can use simple combs made from bones, to increase the villager's health. This may be more useful once bone tools are replaced by iron tools made…
- Implementation of sounds - Devlog #16 - 28 October 2022
Hello fellow Vikings! As every month, we got a devlog for you! The newest material was prepared by Maciej, our sound designer, who will tell you about sound recording for the city builder game! Have a nice read! I started the process of working on the sounds for Viking City Builder by taking a very close look at all the Viking activities that will be presented in the game. After preparing a list of sounds, I started looking for items that would best simulate the sounds of tools, manufacturing, or mining processes. The basic assumption describing how our game should sound was the statement "it has to be natural". Therefore, all the sounds you'll hear in the game are recordings of real objects. Some of them sound one-to-one. This means, for example, that when recording the sounds of chopping wood, I chopped firewood. Using two types of axes. I scored some solid cardio in the process ;) So…
- Variety of buildings and decorations - Devlog #15 - 30 September 2022
Dear Vikings! It's time for another devlog! We’ve got also the information about our playtests. As you're well aware, some time ago we announced signups for playtesting on Steam. As our Team started growing our ambitions got even bigger. For the last 3 months, we held hands-off sessions with game industry veterans. We were present at Nordic Game and Gamescom. We’re honoured that people were so excited about experiencing the game. Nevertheless, we’ve gathered a lot of invaluable feedback on the game and we want to implement it! It takes time, but it’s worth it. We decided to postpone playtests. We can't yet reveal when this will happen, as we want to be sure of the date. Thanks for your patience! And now let's move on to the main topic of our devlog. We plan to put over 50 distinct buildings in VCB. Every one of them performs a specific role and it's necessary to achieve a functioning ci…
- Working on Main Menu - Devlog #14 - 26 August 2022
Hello Vikings! The UI in the Viking City Builder game is starting to take shape! We’re slowly polishing the selection of element styles, typography, or colors and today we’d like to present one of its parts, which is the Main Menu. As most of you probably know, the Main Menu is the UI element that you’ll see on your screen, even before you start playing the game. When creating the various UI elements, we’re accompanied by the idea of functionality, with an effective, thematic design at the same time. OK, let us introduce you to the technical side. When creating a 3D game, some elements like User Interface are in 2D, but the Main Menu is a 2D Art in a 3D space. Initially, in the process of creating the Main Menu, concept art is created, which is divided into layers such as the sky, clouds, earth, or characters. The character’s layer must be additionally divided into small parts and scatt…
- System of building roles – Devlog #13 - 29 July 2022
Hello Brothers and Sisters! Today we’d like to present you material slightly different than those we've published so far. Recently, one of our programmers - Dominik - volunteered to prepare a programming devlog. We thought 'why not' and let him take the initiative ;) So... We encourage you to check the material prepared by Dominik. You’ll find it below. Earlier devlogs contained a lot of information about buildings and their functionalities. In our game, Viking City Builder, there are already a lot of them, but there will be even more of them ;) Each of these buildings is unique, you can distinguish several groups of buildings that serve different roles. Thanks to the fact, it’s easier to control it all and - if it goes well - there will be fewer bugs in the game ;) I’ll show you how it works on the example of Tailor. I’ll start by showing you parameters such as Name, Icon and the 3D mo…
- AMA session with our Design Team - 13 July 2022
Vikings! The time has come for you to start getting to know the people with whom I'm making Viking City Builder. And the online meeting from the ASK ME ANYTHING series will help us in this. Therefore, on July 20th, from 2:00 p.m. GMT to 4:00 p.m. GMT on the #ask-us-anything channel on the Viking City Builder Discord, we’re planning an AMA session with our Design Team – Janusz, Krzysztof and Krystian. If you have any questions - not necessarily about the game – go to our server and ask them today! Guys will answer your questions during the AMA. You’ll find the link to our Discord below: We're so excited and looking forward to meeting you! Skål!
- Vikings free time - Devlog #12 - 1 July 2022
Hello Vikings! Viking society wasn't only about work and raids. Their community was also built upon games and competitive sports that tested the most important attributes for the Vikings, like strength, speed and durability. Those competitions were meant to be challenging, as they were a way to train skills and hone abilities. Usually, Vikings were competing between each other and their games often defined winner and loser. Besides that, it served as entertainment for the spectators. While most of you may instantly think of some simple, strength or speed-based competitions like armwrestling, sparring or running, Vikings also had less physical and more brain-based games, including hnefatafl, which was a popular board-game. If that, for some reason, didn’t sound very “attractive”, don’t worry! We are talking about Vikings after all and how could we talk about their sports without a dose o…
- Viking City Builder under the wings of Titan GameZ! - 21 June 2022
We've got a very important announcement for you! As you all know, our goal is to deliver one of the very best City Builder Games that you’ve ever played! Whole game world will be ready for you to rule and conquer as you immerse yourself in being a Viking. Every day we work towards fulfilling our ambitious plan and to meet your great expectations. A few months ago, we announced the change from solo dev to a full team of dedicated individuals for whom VCB is more than a game. Now it’s time for the next, big step! Our team has merged with our long-time friends and industry veterans - Viking City Builder will now be developed under the wings of Titan GameZ Studio. Right now we’re excited and motivated as never before, knowing that together we’ll fulfill our goals of delivering the greatest city builder. Last but not least, Vikings' headquarters will be in Cracow, the old capital city of Pol…
- Vikings and their clothes - Devlog #11 - 27 May 2022
Hello Vikings! Here’s the latest devlog! This time we'll tell you a bit about Viking clothing and how they obtained materials for them. Curious? We invite you to read it! Contrary to popular belief, Vikings were not clad in leather and furs from head to toe. That said, it still was used to produce some parts of their wardrobe - mostly outer garments like shoes, belts, poaches, caps and cloaks. However, they mostly used linen and wool to make their shirts, trousers and dresses. Those two materials were obtained by processing flax and fleece respectively. In our game, the players can make a choice which of the two they will use to spin yarn. This interchangeable production allows them to take into account external conditions like infertile soil to optimize the whole production process, which takes place in the Spinning Mill. After harvest, flax had to be retted then threshed into fiber. F…
- Tools of War - Devlog #10 - 29 April 2022
So we made a sword, but how can we use it? Less obvious answer is trading it ;) Limited evidence on the monetary value of swords shows they were valuable or even priceless commodities. That's why they were often named (for example Leggbitr “Leg-Cleaver”) and perceived.to possess supernatural abilities. Most famous among them are ULFBERHT swords - inscripted blades, mostly excavated in Norway and around Baltic area. Those are high quality weapons, shrouded in mystery. Different variations and inscriptions suggest some were trying to counterfeit them. VLFBERHT inscription on a blade, Credit: Martin Kraft CC BY-SA 3.0 Obviously a sword, with its costs and significance, isn't the only weapon available, so we intend to provide you with many other tools of war. Seax, spear, skeggox or mighty dane axe - each with different characteristics allowing players to adapt their forces to match specifi…
- From swamp to sword! - Devlog #9 - 25 March 2022
Recently, we talked about basic raw materials and where they are extracted. Probably many of you wondered what can be done with them next. Therefore, today you’ll learn how to make a sword. As you could read in the previous devlogs (”Things that surprised me” - #4 & ”Raw materials part I" - #8), the first step is to get the bog iron. Thrall cuts out peat cubes from bog and then burns them to obtain pea-sized ore particles. PeatMine These go to Smelter, where they are melted into “bars” in clay kilns. The melting point of iron is ~1500 C, so charcoal was needed to reach the right temperature. The quantity of product obtained was significantly influenced by the capabilities of the smelter, from the correct design of the furnace to the correct ratio of fuel, ore and air supply. Smelter “Where did the charcoal come from all of a sudden”, you might ask? And then comes Charcoal Kiln. Here the…
- Raw materials part I - Devlog #8 - 25 February 2022
Greetings fellow Vikings! This part of the devlog will be devoted to the mechanics describing collection and processing of collected resources. From basic and vital resources to fancy and rarest materials like Damascus steel, our development team strives to reflect the real conditions and methods that the Vikings used to obtain and process their materials. The design of each of the production chains is preceded by an in-depth historical research. Thanks to many hours spent with various historical sources, we can faithfully reproduce the entire process - of course, as much as the game mechanics allow us to ;) From obtaining the resource to creation of the final product, the entire procedure has been carefully designed to reflect the spirit of a functioning Viking settlement as closely as possible. All sources of the materials obtained during the game are based on the actual deposits that…
- I want you for our army! Sign up for playtests! - 16 February 2022
Vikings, this is what is happening! Axes up and be ready to act! As you know, the last few months have changed a lot in my Viking history. I gathered a group of Vikings on board a drakkar and set out with them on a journey called Viking City Builder. The Gods were with us, because we discovered many new lands and harvested many crops during our adventure. There is another big goal ahead of us, which is PLAYTESTS. We hope that our prayers will be heard and that it will be realized in the near future. However, for this, we'll need more Vikings for our army, who are not afraid of challenges and a multi-week adventure! So... are you ready to join us? Now for more details... We’re happy to announce that we’re starting to sign up for the playtests of our game. Playtests will begin in the coming months, but we’re announcing signups now to get as many applicants as possible. Signups will be ava…
