Dev Log #003 — Cities Need To Matter

The city system is becoming one of the most important pieces of Firetorn.

At first, cities were just going to be locations. A name, maybe a travel time, maybe a few small differences. The more I think about it, the more obvious it becomes that cities need to be part of the actual gameplay loop.

A city should affect what players can do. It should influence risk, opportunity, travel strategy, and eventually syndicate control. If every city plays the same, then travel becomes decoration. If every city has a purpose, the map becomes part of the game.

I started outlining possible city traits: crime difficulty, law enforcement pressure, income opportunities, vehicle markets, casino activity, business value, and travel connections. I do not know yet how many of these will make it into the first playable version, but the structure needs to support them.

This is also where the game starts growing in scope. Every time I add one meaningful system, it creates new connections to other systems. That can be dangerous if the project gets too large too quickly, but it is also what makes the idea exciting.

Firetorn should reward players who learn the world, not just players who click the fastest.