Multiplayer is off the table for a good long time, and quite possibly forever. I do think that this same concept would work well as a multiplayer game but I would definitely design many of the mechanics differently. However if the game is a wild success and people are overwhelmingly in favor of multiplayer we're actually significantly closer to that goal thanks to the Rivals being implemented, but we would still want to brainstorm for some time on the exact implementation as I don't think any of our hypothetical ideal designs are compatible with the game as it is now.
I know I've been lax in updates but things are flowing so well now that I'm back in my actual work environment that I'm routinely losing track of time. So let me just expound on some design elements right now and I'll follow up later with more screenshots.
SPOILERS - We're going to talk about races, why they're designed this way, and what they are capable of. Up until now I've just generally been hinting at what they do or laying out some of the lore background but since people will undoubtedly be dumping info from the Core files of the Mod tools I may as well get more concrete.
As you know the game is VERY human-centric, with humans having a wealth of complexity from government types to traits. In accordance with this they also have the greatest variety of borders for their allegiance display. Let's look at a collection of some of the human frames and also some of the racial frames.
The frames are jarringly distinct between the races, helping to create a clear distinction between the minor variants that human nations posses and the truly "other" experience of the elder and outsider races. In addition the idea of "heraldry" in order to distinguish ones own nation from another is unique to each race. Humans range from arcane symbols in magocracies to simple three color stripes in republics or more ornate coats of arms in a feudal system. Instead of these flags dwarves, for instance, each possess a crest of carved metal or stone in accordance with their clan - lost clanholds are not casually cast away like human flags but instead are marked in the lore of the scenario with the metal/stone crest broken - showing that this clanhold is abandoned. When dwarven hold size grows too large to maintain OR discontent rises to a certain amount the clan will split off its malcontents who will attempt to recover a lost clanhold. In this way the "nations" of the dwarves are more permanent. A more extreme example of this exists for the only Outsider race, the Cthnonian - the frame that you see above lacking transparency is the mark of control for ALL Cthnonian hive nations. No matter the distance, their is worldwide unity in their cause. Discord, which can be paralytic to Cthnonian hives, can occur splitting the worldwide body - in such a case the heraldric frame itself is split into two shapes. As the hive struggles to "reconcile" back into a dominant cause no other revolts are capable within the worldwide hive structure itself (though they can still reject that government form through cultural change).
Another example is our most recent addition, the Minotaurs - Minotaurs exist primarily as modifiers in the world due to the curse that keeps them from gathering in great numbers. Just as orc modifiers are marked with a clan that can indicate affiliation with a major power so too are Minotaur clans marked, either with one of the four core clans, a "lost" Minotaur, or the cursed bloodhoof clan. Minotaur clans can rise to become a nation (given the right circumstance) but swear affiliation to one of the given clan types if they are of the four core clans, claiming that heraldic symbol and joining in with any other declared nation of that minotaur clan. Just as the dwarven heraldry feeds back into their gameplay so too does the concept of the four Clans - each representative of the original divide of the five clans when the penumbra fell on them. Minotaur storytellers return yearly to a meeting place to spread information, both benign and game-critical lore, which then disperses back through the disparate clans - the "lost" minotaurs are those who have lost their path due to enslavement by other races and may take on a more typical role in the world (adopting "human" government forms) or be lured back into the Minotaur fold, bringing with them modern methods of warfare. Underlying all these mechanics is the penumbra itself, informing the decision making of the tribes - and if you have need of its power feel free to capture enough minotaurs to force its emergence for your own needs.
Racial Traits
Each of the races has a variety of unique traits - some of them are in the typical "Race" tag while others are "Heritage" traits that speak to the best of what that race can be. Heritage traits are not just powerful for combat and challenges they are also signs of prestige - a Dwarf Leader with several Dwarven Heritage traits will be seen as called to lead and create a more stable kingdom, though on the other end a King with no traits may find himself strongly challenged by a usurper who possesses them. Heritage Traits are tied through mechanics back to the lore of the races and are distributed through the Bloodlines system. To continue with the Dwarven example, Dwarves are born of stone and, when they die (underground) they return to stone, adding to the foundations of the tunnels they die in. As dwarves age they approach this natural end, becoming firmer, tougher, but also slower. Over ages this ancestral tableau empowers their descendants, acting as a bloodline to their kin - losing this foundation is crippling to a dwarfs chance of gaining a "Heritage Trait". This is part of the reason that ancestral clanholds are held in such high regard, their walls are quite literally formed of dwarven history.
Younger dwarves have the ability to exert themselves to great lengths, either pushing their endurance to new limits or crafting incredible artifacts. These dwarves age greatly and must return to the tunnels to rest their final years. A dwarf who dies on the surface, or fails to return in a timely manner, ceases to age into stone - these dwarves are lost forever to the clanhold and are considered disgraced. This "lore" is embraced by the mechanics - while a human may die a noble death defending the walls of a castle to have his name praised and his values spread throughout his culture a dwarf who dies, however nobly, on the surface will have repercussions for his kin - often pushing them to retreat back into their domain. You may also see a dwarf push past an incredibly difficult challenge, only to then retreat on the verge of victory back to his clan - an alien behavior you will rarely see in a human. By spinning the lore into the mechanics we believe we've created a more interesting fantasy world.
