I managed to attend the presentation of Humankind's first DLC (developed by Amplitude Studios and Aspyr) and replay Endless Dungeon, a game I showed you a preview of some time ago. But the novelty is that I had the chance to have an interview with Jean Maxime Moris, who is part of the game team, and therefore to ask him a few questions. Let's go !
Humankind : Together we rules
For the first anniversary of this game and the first DLC that will be released, many updates will take place that will deeply impact the gameplay and the victory system.
Since January 22, the African culture pack and June 9 the Latin American culture pack are here. But many changes will also be present for this DLC, the most important remaining the "leverage" system. By this, mean that you will have a new agent: the saboteur. This agent who can become a spy, and later a diplomat, will be responsible for collecting information and thereby promoting diplomatic victory.
You will have, to carry out your information war, the embassy, a new district at your disposal. Your agents will be able to disrupt enemies, and the embassy will allow you to issue ultimatums and reveal intel about other empires. Everything will be done to prevent a physical war and preserve the peace, but information will be the nerve of this hidden battle.
The DLC will be based on this, and on other improvements like infiltration, and the inter-empire congress of humanity which will have heavy tasks like voting on a doctrine for example, etc... 15 missions narratives and 4 inter-empire missions will be implemented and a diplomatic affinity with the era and new cultures:
- Sumerian era
- Han era (Chinese)
- Bulgarian era
- Swiss era
- Scottish era
- Singapore era
You will also have independent peoples who will be present on the map, and the different wonders of the world:
- Monument Valley
- Chocolate Hills
- fire
- Pamukkale
- Palace of Versailles
- Congress of UK
In terms of quality of life, we have for example the redesign of the main interface, improvements to the systems of religions, forced surrenders and the new culture of Mississippi. But to sum it all up, one sentence is enough:
Peace is always a solution
Endless dungeon
My few questions allowed me to learn a little more about this game, and its future. I'll transcribe it all to you!
How did you come up with a mix of genres like that? (Strategy/tower defense/Rogue like)
After brainstorming during an evening, the first Dungeon of the Endless game (same universe as Endless Space and Endless Legend), the idea came between 5 people after a beer or two. And the idea of revisiting it obviously comes some time later.
Will there be different difficulties in this game?
The difficulty will depend on the different playtests and rather than setting different levels, there will be cocktails (without alcohol) to add buffs to players by going to the Hub bar. Cocktails will also be present to increase the challenge.
Aren't you worried that the game won't be too repetitive in the long run?
The basic interest of the game is to succeed in finding a point of balance between the person who will manage to make his turrets which will do the job entirely, with some interventions from the heroes, or the reverse depending on the levels.
What changes have taken place since the preview I was able to do a few months ago?
Especially the tactical aspect of the game with a more advanced level design, as well as a lot of work on the game's meta and the possibility of increasing the range of possibilities between runs.
Do you have any tips for gamers?
You have to think like a puzzle and choose which path you will take, which door to open so as not to have enemies who will land on each side, position your turrets well. But also think about the different vulnerabilities of enemies such as fire for insects or electricity for machines, etc. and above all take into account the abilities of the characters.
What is the strength of your game?
It's a unique and original game with a really successful soundscape and graphic atmosphere.
And the weak point?
It's like finding fault with your children, you want to say there isn't one. But if I had to say, it's like its strong point, it offers a unique challenge with opportunity and risk.
Does the dungeon have an ending, contrary to the title of the game?
So yes, sorry to disappoint you, but the dungeon has an end. But the replayability is endless with procedurally generated levels, and dungeons that have three floors and three districts when you reach the Core.
How soon do you think we can finish the game?
Hard to say, it depends on the players. But we are working on a backup system to be able to stop his adventure and resume it.
How long do you plan to follow the game with added content?
For the moment, we are mainly thinking of successfully launching the game and seeing how well it will be received by players.
This interview really interested me because I got answers about the design and the future of the game! So we'll see how it does when it launches, and I'll do a preview at that time with the new characters that will be released for the occasion.
