Update 15: Game Play Details news

We have something extra special for you today! We are giving you all a quick overview of what you can expect when starting up The Universim for the first time. Everything is still in an iterative work-in-progress state, thus everything is subject to change before launch. But we love sharing our vision with the community, no matter how early, so buckle up for the first official look at what we have planned! It all begins here on the Main Menu – Welcome to The Universim!

Upon starting a new game, you will soar through the cosmos taking in the beauty and majesty of the universe until finally coming to rest on a planet most suitable for your new civilization: Mother Planet. You will now have full control over the camera and movement system, giving you the perfect opportunity to explore every nook and cranny. Using the Prometheus engine, which we detailed in an earlier update, every planet you encounter in the game will be entirely unique and offer a wide range of varying characteristics such as the atmosphere, vegetation, environments, weather, and life forms. Mother Planet will introduce you to the kind of dynamic, simulated environments you can expect to find when you start exploring the universe. Although, there is still one thing missing from this equation...your new species!

What are you going to name them? That choice is entirely yours to make.Your civilization is now ready to come into existence. But first things first, we need to bring up the age-old question regarding the chicken and the egg. Luckily, humanoids are a little simpler than that! Two citizens will be randomly spawned on Mother Planet, a male and a female. They might not seem like much, but they embody the very beginning of what will hopefully become a vast and growing civilization. Perhaps, if you do a good enough job, they will one day take to the stars and explore the endless expanse of the universe.

However, you still have a long way to go before you can make that dream a reality. At the moment, your civilization probably has the combined intelligence of some of those pretty rocks you had a chance to admire in the beginning … fortunately, evolutionary research is just a click away!

In The Universim, direct control will be mostly restricted. Instead, you will pave the way for your species’ advancement through the use of various research options that define the very core of your civilization. We expect you will end up spending quite a bit of time with the research tree, scanning over the different paths you can take while considering the benefits and consequences for each decision.

Research allows your civilization to thrive in many areas such as science and technology, medicine, combat, and even fashion – which you can design using the in-game model editor. But all of that will come in time, your new civilization will first need to cover some basics such as creating clothing, acquiring the ability of speech, and learning how to hunt.

There is no need to worry about micromanaging your citizens as they will take care of themselves to the best of their ability. But, to sate your curiosity, you will have a handy News System at your disposal that will keep you updated about all major events occurring in the game. This is particularly helpful when your civilization spans across multiple planets!

At times, the News System may even give you the opportunity to interfere with the fate of your citizens – do you want to force peace between two warring nations, or allow them to fight it out? Alternatively, the News System might just let events slide. Although, if you are observant, you should be able to notice something going wrong, such as one of your new citizens being attacked by a wild animal.Do you choose to save them?

Intervening in such situations will cost you Power, which we will cover at a later date.By this stage of the game your citizens should have begun fending for themselves, giving you the opportunity to get acquainted with the interface. This is probably a good time to take a look at available construction options. Building a safe place to live is a must to ensure the continued existence of your civilization. Although, your citizens will need to gather the appropriate resources first. Planets will have a wide variety of resources available for collection. Your citizens will become workers, taking on different types of jobs in order to harvest them. Basic jobs such as farming, mining, and hunting can be reallocated. However, as your civilization grows and advances, specialized, permanent jobs will become available allowing citizens to become scientists, astronauts, and so on.

Once enough resources have been collected, you will have the opportunity to mark the location of a new Epicenter, the heart of a city. This is your chance to consider the geographical location and decide where you think your civilization may, or may not, benefit the most. Once marked, your two workers will change their jobs to Builders and get to work!

Epicenters will expand automatically over time as your citizens collect resources and build houses. As the Epicenter grows, so will your population. When population milestones are reached, you will be awarded with a new citizen to add to your workforce.When this occurs, two adult workers will fall in love. What happens next is, well, up to your imagination, but eventually a new baby is born and it will be only a matter of time before he/she grows up to join your workforce and help expand your civilization.Continue with evolutionary research to advance your civilization, placing key buildings and watching your species progress through the eras. Before you know it, they will be ready to explore the stars and colonize new worlds!That, however, is an entire discussion on its own.We hope you enjoyed this small overview! We intend to release more as time goes on. Feel free to offer any suggestions or feedback on our forums!As always, thank you all for being so amazing!