TLDR: Overall, if you know what you're going into, this is great. Even in it's current state in Early Access, it's really good. And the developers are active and have already implemented some of the changes from feedback with a great looking roadmap to boot. Edit: Strikethrough means they implemented it already. You *can* buy and place and upgrade buildings, sure. But at first you wont' be able to do much because you don't own a city. I get that you can progress to 'city-builder' elements, but that's just one small part of the game. Don't go into this expecting an isometric city builder right out of the gate. Don't expect to directly control attitudes of clan members, don't expect to be able to level everyone up to perfect stats. Every character has their strengths and weaknesses. Lean into the strengths to have an easier time, let family members specialize. Have a kid that has high Might, get him set up to be the clan's fighter. let him win glory on the battlefield and the Emperor will reward him for living by the sword. Have a kid that wields their pen more effectively than any sword? Boost those strengths and let them go through the exams and get into government management positions - where their inability to swat a fly isn't a problem. If you lean into the idea that this is about the dynasty and not a single character then you can have a clan that has an expert (or two) for every situation. In my view, this is letting them depend on each other. This also really leans into the concept of filial piety which makes perfect sense given the setting. This game scratches an itch for dynasty building in some very satisfying ways. The setting is great, the care that went into this project is amazing, and the art style is fabulous - for lack of a better word this feels like a cozy-styled-strategy game. I love the focus characters. Though, I do wish there were more positive events possible when clan members randomly interact with each other - maybe my clan is just dysfunctional misfits, but it seems like every interaction is the family members being mean to each other. I really like that it's not a direct-control of each character, but rather managing a clan via interactions and assignments. There is some micromanagement that I wish I could set up alarms/alerts or automation for, and it's early access so maybe that will come - they've already got ways to unlock automatic collection of annual revenues from estates and monthly from commerce. A tip - do the first few quests, the boosts will get you up and running to your first store. From there, you can do what you want. My advice: Trade until you get financially stable - this will also slowly boost your character's trading skill. Another tip: 1. Race to getting your first shop set up. Prioritize shops, they are a mainstay of income. 2. Retainers - let you do lots of extra stuff. Get a few with different skills. A higher single skill is better than all mediocre skills. 3. Your second "big" purchase should be a starter farm. Stop paying for food and live off the peasants. 4. Your next priority should be a house for "gig work". Yup, you're setting up a sweatshop of retainers. With one of each high-skill you can make a killing in your first house. 5. You second house should be for your trader retainer(s). Have them set to street trade. Keep some funds on hand and they will turn time into money. Once you unlock your 5th and 6th shops, set up your retainers, assign a manager to your farm after expanding it... you won't have a worry for money (or food) anymore and can focus on building your reputation and relationships. Expanding as needed to build even more wealth and influence. As for negatives - My wishlist is mostly around the character management. None of this is dealbreaking, but you'll be really feeling the absence of these kinds of quality-of-life features after playing something like Crusader Kings where finding characters is much much easier. I feel like this game needs: -Alert when a character turns 8 and can be added to a course of study. -Alert when a character comes of age so you can put them to work without leaving them idle for months (or years). -Alert when a character's mood drops below a certain threshold. -Alerts when a character returns from a study trip (also wish the study trips had more impact, it's 4 years and I didn't notice a chance to their skill) -Alerts when a character is unmarried after a certain point. -Alerts when your character finishes a book so you can assign another. Better yet, a way to automate a character to read all the books associated with a skill you own, and new ones you acquire. Currently the automated "checkout" feature is either not working, bugged, or It isn't referencing about your clan's library of books. (The library is working now) - Ranking/filter for the same views based on a skill you select (so you can rank them and try to find the best retainers you can convince to join you) (Now you can rank potentials by best skill) -Would still like a filter for character views (clan member/citizens/etc) by marriage/age/best skill. Or marital status/gender/temperament/age/etc. Something that makes it easier to see if there is anyone interesting that showed up during that month. Oh and a filter on traits too would be nice. -I'm not a fan of the fact that I can't assign a clan member or spouse to the education or martial buildings in my estate. My 2nd clan member married an absolute monster of a wife with a crazy good might score, but she can't train the kids... I'd love for spouses to be able to serve as tutors or teachers in teaching buildings -Speaking of - a way to find specifically skilled retainer for a cost (similar to matchmaking) would be great. That way you could find exactly what you need if you're in a hurry and have the coin to spend.
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