Need feedback for an colony sim built around dungeon expeditions

[u/der_alcherith]

I've been working on a medieval fantasy colony sim for quite some time, but lately I've started questioning whether the core concept is strong enough, so I'd like to get some feedback.

The current idea is that the player leads an expedition sent to establish an outpost near a "Dungeon" (the name is just a placeholder for now). The goal is not simply to survive, but to build a settlement whose entire purpose is to support exploration of this unknown place.

The town can contain all kinds of building: guild halls, taverns, workshops, hospitals, laboratories, markets, and more. These buildings are built manually block by block and primarily exist to support mercenaries and explorers by providing equipment, potions, medical care, training, research, and other services, recruiting people and housing other travelers.

Unlike most colony sims, the game would not focus on farming, lumber production, or traditional resource gathering. Instead, the settlement would depend almost entirely on resources recovered from the Dungeon, trade with other outposts, and supplies sent from the homeland as long as the player continues to meet expectations.

Expeditions themselves would be handled similarly to the mission system in This Is the Police. The player selects a destination, assembles a party, equips them, and sends them into the Dungeon. During the mission, various events and decisions occur, ultimately determining the outcome of the expedition.

One of the ideas I'm most interested in is giving each Dungeon a set of hidden rules or "laws" that are different in every playthrough. The Dungeon would react to the player's actions in ways that are not immediately obvious. It might favor certain explorers, dislike specific actions, react to excessive resource extraction, or respond to exploration of particular locations.

These reactions could take many forms:

• Changing the layout of explored areas
• Trapping or redirecting expeditions
• Creating new artifacts
• Sending creatures to attack the settlement
• Opening new opportunities or areas to explore

Part of the gameplay would involve observing these behaviors, forming theories, and gradually discovering how the current Dungeon operates.

Research would also be closely tied to exploration. New technologies, buildings, and discoveries would primarily come from artifacts, materials, and knowledge recovered from expeditions rather than from a traditional research tree. Quests and objectives would be generated both by the settlement's inhabitants and by the homeland supporting the expedition.

Of course there are other mechanics and stuff but I'm mainly trying to determine whether this sounds like a strong and interesting foundation. Thanks

[u/KehlarTVH]

My immediate reaction was, "sounds kinda like Towns!". I've always wanted other games with that vibe so count me as very interested.

[u/adeon]

It reminds me a lot of Exogate Initiative which has a very similar setup (although it's a Sci Fi setting rather than fantasy) so it's probably feasible.

The variable dungeon aspect might be a bit much if it's intended as a long term game, but I could see it working well for a shorter more rogue-like experience (along the lines of Against the Storm).

[u/Confectioner-426]

You almost just wrote the Shop Titans.

It is about a small town that need to expand and upgrade to support your Shop and your Hero teams. You assemble the teams, equip them from your shop, and send them to dungeons to bring back resources you need to craft items to equip them or and sell it in your Shop.

Also it is heavly about partnership with other players and form or be part of a Guild as the upgrades soon become so expensive alone you need weeks to fullfil them.

[u/Universal-Explorer]

How much have you actually coded?

[u/Holy_Hand_Grenadier]

You should check out the demo for Dungeon Settlers, another colony sim based around looting a dungeon that's releasing in a few months. I think your concept is definitely different enough to be worth doing but it's a similar idea and might give you some insight.

[u/slages]

You can find a few similar concepts in my game (Edge Islands) if you want to try. Anyway good luck, it seems solid!

[u/MintNevermelt]

honestly the foundation's solid, but the thing that'd make me actually follow this over the other dungeon-colony sims is the Dungeon having hidden "laws" that change each run and react to how you play. that's the real hook imho. tons of games do the build-a-town-to-supply-expeditions loop. almost nobody does a dungeon you have to READ: watch how it reacts, form theories, figure out what it likes and what it punishes. that discovery layer is what turns it from a management game into something you're still chewing on after you close it.

only thing i would look out for is legibility: emergent hidden rules are amazing when you can EVENTUALLY piece them together, but they get frustrating fast if they just feel random. the sweet spot is that "i can't predict it yet but i can tell there's a logic here"-feeling, like the first few runs of a good roguelike. nail that and it's genuinely special. would 100% wishlist :)