Articles - Angon - The Grim Age

As we covered in the last devlog, during your journey you will come across groups roaming the map, however they will not be the only encounters you will have. During a long journey, different situations can occur, such as robberies, ambushes, mysteries, explorations and other diverse events. These events will make you make decisions, which can trigger in bigger situations.

So-called "Road Events" can occur anytime and anywhere. They vary however depending on your location, with different events at each place on the map. They also differ in the environment you are in, for example forests, road, mountains or the sea.

Whether these events will be positive or negative will depend on several factors. Many of them will be imminent dangers whose only options are to flee or fight. Others will present you with dilemmas, moral and strategic. At other times they can be opportunities to acquire some property or resources, recruit people and increase your fame.

The fact is that what will really make a difference is how you react to each situation.

The "Road Events" is another element that will compose the world of Angon, providing immersion through dialogues with unique NPCs and events within the game's universe. Along with the other elements of the game, we hope to achieve broad immersion, making the gameplay much more dynamic and unique.

Please note that these images are from the development that is in progress, so they may change in the final result!

See you soon!

The strategic world map in Angon is full of travelers, caravans, troops, bandits, battles and interaction. You can explore and interact with, destroy, loot or trade with them. On this week's developer blog, we want to present the first version of these groups that will bring the map to life.

When traveling through the lands of Angon, it will be common to encounter a group along the way. These groups are a direct connection between the player and the universe. Each npc will present the player stories, reports, threats, opportunities and dangers.

As we mentioned in previous blogs, the world is falling apart and because of that, the people of Angon think twice before venturing out there. They rarely travel alone and are often protected by a company or army from a city.

Merchants risk crossing dangerous roads to make a profit through routes that few dare to take, they are responsible for supplying places and people, but they are also targets of various dangers along the way.

Among these dangers are bandits and marauders, who are bolder than ever, as the outside world is no longer as populous as it once was. Bandits attack, rob and plunder all manner of travelers and when they see a threat approaching they flee into the mountains and forests.

Along the mainland paths you will also come across curious travelers, such as outsiders from the exotic east, religious fanatics, members of the Inquisition, vigilantes and other groups. Each of them will be a way of immersion. They can offer contracts, trade opportunities, ask for help, or become a threat.

On the strategic map, not every group will be visible to you as some of them are hidden or out of range. Groups that tend to stay hidden like bandits and looters can suddenly appear and set up an ambush, so it's important that you're always prepared.

In the coming weeks we will be covering the events system in the strategy map that complements the group system. The idea is to present immersive gameplay to the player, with a world full of stories and characters.

See you soon!

One of the main pillars of Angon's political structure are the city-states. In this step, we will address the mechanics of city-states and, in the future, we will enter the story behind them. Time to start talking!

The regions of Angon were once ruled by an Ancestral Empire whose descendants today still reside in the city of Ashborn, former capital of the Astrae Empire.

In the past, the continent was filled with kingdoms and clans that vied for every inch of land. The soil was fertile and the climate pleasant. The vast plantations extended inland across the continent, and trade flourished along the coast. Today, historians call this time the Enlightened Age of Angon.

But the world has changed, and along with the light of the past, stability has also gone. During the Dying Night the population of the countryside was forced to take shelter within the thick walls of the cities. The outside world was no longer safe and so it was up to those who isolated themselves to establish a new functioning organization. The Dying Night was eventually gone, and now the kingdoms that were once fragmented into fiefdoms were unified under one great city.

It is in these cities that you will come across the main cultural, commercial and military centers. It is possible to find everything within these walls, factions fight for power and influence and guilds play a fundamental role in maintaining order.

Inside the cities there are the most diverse types of constructions, however the player will almost always find these main structures:

City Hall - Civil Contracts, Land Purchase, Trading and Exploration Permissions.
Headquarters - Military Contracts and Training
Churches and Cathedrals - Exercising Faith and Treating Wounds
Market - Trade
Taverns - Recruit Members, Hear Rumors and Entertainment
Inns - Staying overnight
Port - Trade, Travel and Maritime Contracts.

Each city is unique and has its peculiarities, so you will always find differences between them.
A gameplay focused on trade and production will require the player to have a network of informatics, trade permissions with cities and to know profitable routes, and all this involves good relations with the cities where the player wants to trade.

When entering a city you do not always know what you will find, this is because different events can influence (positively or negatively) the local situation. These events change prices, production, relationship and even the player's company. Eventually we will address the theme of these events and go deeper into each construction present in the cities.

See you next week!

Hello everyone!

Today we return to our sequel to devlogs about the global map of Angon - The Grim Age. This time we will talk about the camps, a temporary structure that can be very useful for you during your journey.

Long journeys are unpredictable and things can turn out differently than planned. Eventually the group may run out of food or have injured members that need immediate treatment. In situations like these, camping is an immediate and effective solution if the group has the resources to set up camp.

The quality and size of the camp is up to the player's choice, however larger camps allow the player more action during the time they are camped.

For now the camps are divided into 3 categories:

To set up a camp a certain amount of material and skill is needed, so it is important that the player takes these resources with him during his travels.

The main functions of the camps are:

1. Treatment of the injured
2. Gather food through hunting and foraging
3. Improve troop morale with feasts and songs
4. Member Training
5. Craft equipment and tools

However, it is important for the player to keep in mind that taking shelter in the forests around the road can be dangerous, and is exposing himself to potential threats. Often the player will have no option but to set up camp for the group's survival, but on other occasions the player may choose to seek shelter in nearby Cities and Castles.

That's it for now! Next week we will continue our devlog about the global map!

See you soon!

This week we will continue to explain more about the World Map and its features. This devlog will especially be about castles in Angon, their role in lore, and how they affect gameplay.

In Angon lore, castles play a minor role in regional geopolitics, as their utility has been overshadowed by the expansion of large city-states.
The castles that survived the Dying Night became dependent on the productions of the cities and their trade, which made many castles seen as useless.
The main function of those who remain is precisely to protect their regions and trade routes from the various dangers that threaten travelers on the roads of the continent, such as bandits, cultists, beasts and Whisperers.

Trade with Strongholds
As mentioned above, castles survive on productions from cities. The rulers of these lands have signed treaties stipulating that they will only trade with the city-state they have sworn allegiance to, which makes them directly dependent on their lords. Any merchant who wishes to trade with the Lords of these fortresses must obtain a permit to do so, which can be requested from the town halls of each city, at a cost, of course. Having the permission to trade with them can be a very profitable business depending on what your company produces. Most of the products that are sold in these lands are food, livestock and military equipment.

Contracts
It is very common that the lords of these fortresses are looking for mercenaries to carry out more dangerous tasks, whose lord is not willing to waste the lives of their troops. These contracts are announced in the City Halls of each city and most of the time they are contracts that involve bloodshed.
Eventually trade contracts are also requested when a certain material is in short supply. These contracts however depend on the trade authorization that must be obtained.

Shelter
One of the main sources of income for these castles is to house caravans, travelers and pilgrims who are traveling through the dangerous roads of Angon. For a certain price it is possible to stay behind the walls of a fortress while waiting for something to happen, such as for a group of bandits to move away from the route you were taking.

Training
If you are looking to increase the combat experience of one of your members, looking for a trainer in a stronghold is a good option. Castles are full of combat and war veterans who offer to train recruits for a price.

In the coming weeks we will continue to talk about the world map and its features, stay tuned!

See you soon!