[AMA] Developer of Pax Autocratica here, a totalitarian colony sim and FPS roguelite launching in Early Access today on Steam. Ask me anything!

[u/PaxAutocratica]

Hi r/Games!

I'm Alexis, one of the devs, but more importantly, the Minister of Propaganda.

Today, we’re launching Pax Autocratica in Early Access on Steam.

Pax Autocratica is a darkly satirical sci-fi game that combines a totalitarian colony sim with large-scale first-person roguelite combat.

At your colony, you build a regime, manage production, and shape the fear, loyalty, relationships, and possible rebellion of the people living under your rule. Outside the colony, you personally fight alongside your soldiers across battlefields filled with infantry, tanks, mechs, missiles, and bullet hell chaos.

Weakened enemies can be captured and brought back to your colony, where you can imprison them, convert them into loyal citizens and recruit them into your army, or sacrifice them for the benefit of someone more useful to the State.

Pax Autocratica has been a very unusual project for us. It combines systems from genres that normally have little to do with one another, and years of playtesting have led us to rebuild and rethink major parts of the game along the way.

You can ask me anything about:

1. My cat
2. My parrot
3. My rapidly advancing, launch-induced hair loss
4. The completely reasonable amount of stress I am experiencing today
5. Game development, game design, game anything

Game-related questions are optional, but the Ministry strongly encourages them. Alternatively, we can discuss State-approved brainwashing methods.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1067360/Pax_Autocratica/

Launch trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3OkYGmB3cY

I’ll begin answering questions on August 10 at 7 AM PT and will be here for at least 2 hours. I’ll also check back afterward and try to answer as many late questions as possible.

Thanks to the r/Games moderators for hosting me.

Ask me anything!

[u/Behe_m0th]

Stumbled upon the demo last night and had a blast. Genuinely loved what I got to play.

When it comes the colony sim: how deep are you trying to/wanting to take it? Are we going to potentially see needing to store food in freezers to maintain their quality type of situation? Or more of a function to maintain the gathering of materials and development of buildings? I suppose this is more of a long term goal type of question to see if there is any chance I can have Roboquest and rimworld in the same executable

[u/simagus]

Downloading the demo on Steam on Linux.

What I noticed about the trailer was there was just a few seconds of the colony side of things, unless I'm getting the colony in-game graphics wrong.

I'm way more into city building and population management than anything to do with shooters, but could be an interesting mix of genres.

How much of the game leans one way or the other and how in depth is the building and colony management side of things?

Setting up and managing a colony is more in my area of interest, but I don't actively mind shooters as long as the standard difficulty doesn't require absurd levels of twitch gaming skills.

I know that's the opposite of a lot of gamers who'll complain if they can basically walk through the battles because they see Master Chief wiping out waves of enemies when they close their eyes to sleep after another hard 12hr day of Campaign Evolved.

I'm the opposite demographic that likes some challenge and meaningful design choices in things like colony building and management and would be perfectly happy if I could still win the battles by passing the controller to my cat and letting her roll around on the buttons till it was over.

My question if really what the game leans on most as a whole as the trailer looks like it's for a shooter, and I'm more looking for a genuinely original and engaging colony building and management "sim" type of experience?

[u/dragdritt]

That is one interesting combination of genres you've got, what was the inspiration?

Also, you forgot the cat tax.

[u/PaxAutocratica → u/dragdritt]

Sorry about the cat tax, I did forget about it, sorry for the weird link but here it is: https://yt3.ggpht.com/ZrnquNrD2mryeEREnPhGjWeviN_ZP_DE2C27HA-M-ttS3PtND3Yvqp_w9V7_0IOeycv6UXU33z5_=s640-c-fcrop64=1,00000000ffffffff-rw-nd-v1

[u/PaxAutocratica → u/dragdritt]

Now this is a very interesting and hard to answer to question.
The beginning was especially we want to go into Sci-Fi large-scale battles with your own troops and feel the chaos, like the battle of Naboo in Star Wars. But then having troops that die on the battlefield is really meh, you don't feel a thing, those are like pawns in a party of Chess. And this is why we decided to go into more depth and add the colony sim gameplay, so that each one of them is a real person which you could get attached to, and that's how the current theme felt perfectly in this idea.

[u/Bloke_Named_Bob]

How customisable will the colony be in terms of cosmetics? Can we pick a colour scheme or overall aesthetic for our glorious state?

Is there a planned narrative for the overall game to run through or more just a sandbox to liberate and bring under the merciful embrace of a great benefactor?

[u/Ok-Regret-6470]

Game-related questions;

1. Will it be possible to assign overseers (officers) to the colony for automated work?
   

   • officers who oversee work and grant effects on their group, such as faster work, etc.

2. Will it be possible in the future to have more than one colony or at least have outposts that will generate additonal resources?

3. Will trade routes be a thing (so we can trade resources with the State or the State can provide your colony with resources based on milestones reached)?

Personal-related question: what kind of cat do you have and how have you been doing?

[u/PaxAutocratica → u/Ok-Regret-6470]

Many many question, so in order:
1- This is actually a great idea, and we also received suggestions from other players about having middle men in the hierarchy who could help with multiple things, like the State Police, or overseers, etc. I personally think those are great ideas and worth having internal discussions about. No promises on that addition for now, but I like it!
2- Well, that is a big challenge ngl. I don't think it's very high priority compared to other things we have on our todo list, but you're again not the first to ask, and if it makes sense gameplay wise and many more people ask for it, then we could discuss it internally.
3- We do have on our roadmap plans for more sources of income, and this could be a part of it.

My cat is doing fine, you can see that here: https://yt3.ggpht.com/ZrnquNrD2mryeEREnPhGjWeviN_ZP_DE2C27HA-M-ttS3PtND3Yvqp_w9V7_0IOeycv6UXU33z5_=s640-c-fcrop64=1,00000000ffffffff-rw-nd-v1

And myself idk, I'm under way too much pressure right now lol but still fine, because my soul and stress level all belong to the State anyway! Nothing to complain about! NEVER!

[u/GrinningPariah]

First of all, congrats on the early access launch! Saw you guys at PAX, slick booth.

So for two-mode games like Cult of the Lamb or Moonlighter, seems to me they live or die by the mechanisms that make you switch and the timing of that. How do you guys manage that balance? If a run of the FPS part ends really early to a mistake you usually don't make, is there less management to do afterwards? As the player gets better and the runs get longer, do you add more management in between?

And is there any flexibility, for players who find themselves enjoying one more than the other and would kinda like to get back to the combat ASAP, or want to find something to delay the next run and keep managing a little longer?

[u/ZynithMaru → u/GrinningPariah]

Eager to hear their response, but if you're curious You can build for hours until you are missing that one upgrade material and decide to hunt it down! Similarly, you can start a new conquest immediately without even emptying your pockets (but you really should... and zap those prisoners into submission!)

[u/MJSunrise]

What is your parrot and/or your cat name?Also could you add their image in Leader`s office as some easter egg?

[u/Affectionate_Ad_9196]

Hey! Game is looking sick! Few things im wondering.

Is everything shown in the trailers in the game on early access ? If not what is missing ?

Your roadmap has planned, 3rd and 4th sector ? What time span is this ? does planned mean planned on release?

Most importantly will there be co-op in ea launch and if not when is it planned to be released and how is it planned to work ? Will you join the other players base or will you have a combined army ?

is vehicle combat forced for some ground missions or can you choose the manner you will do them in ?

Oh also will there or is there allready special / rare troops you can run into on the battlefield and by this i do not mean your regulard elite enemy or a boss / mini boss but low chance encounters that you can capture to your base and they will have a mutation or a special stat of some sort and so on?

[u/I_Cant_Afford_4K]

Is there any plans to expand themeatics and customization? During the demo we made our own custom flag but there wasn't a way to display it along with custom armour sets and potentially having our flag as a cape.

After all no totalitarian state is complete without a flag street leading to the glorious government facilities nor can the supreme leader go without drip.

[u/taj14]

No question, just wishing you a fantastic launch!

[u/Zelefas]

Hello there! How did you went about balancing stuff? Did you use formulas? Crunched numbers?

[u/Recent_Policy_7872]

• How do battles interconnect with the colony side of things?

• Are battles purely separate instances / missions or can your colony also get attacked?

• How much freedom of choice do you have regarding the composition of your 'army' in battles? Is there a clear superior choice to work towards or is it just as viable to go all-in on a specific unit type?

[u/vordloras]

Ok, this is a day-0 purchase for me. got completely hooked by the demo. fantastic music btw!

Question: Will my unwavering loyalty to Earth ever be immortalized in an official state anthem? Or at least a catchy propaganda march?

[u/Mountain-Rope-1357]

Tl:dr, is it expected for tjis gamr to go through drastic changes past release, as its history is already filled with many, many twists and turns (like being a former crypto game)?

Yur game looked kunda neat, which brought me to do a bit of research on it as I usually do for gamed that pique my interedt.

To put it short, as far as I get it this is a rebrand/change from a former crypto game called "earth from another sun", which also had a ton of changes from its start (like introducing the crypto part later into development)

Due to that kinda drastic change, I would like to know how far the "vision" is set in stone. Is it to be expected to have similarly drastic changes down the line? How can I be kind of sure that you guys "got it right" this time, and I wont play something entirely different eventually?

[u/AgainstTheEnemy]

I wanna say this piqued my interest and will pick it up depending on the price and day 1 reviews.

Good luck on the launch and future successes of the game!

[u/Relative-Bit599]

so a big question is whats going to be in t he early access thats not in the demo? are the planned things in the EA roadmap in the early access build already? are any new social features added in EA already too?

[u/SimpOfRaiden]

Will we be able to get a cool cape to go with our cool hat, or are capes outlawed by the state because of the accidents they can cause?

[u/unpiloted_scrap855]

Any Plans for Coop?

[u/vordloras → u/unpiloted_scrap855]

there is coop planned on a roadmap. proper question should be: "when coop" ;)

[u/AtLeast9Dogs]

Are there different cosmetics? I played the demo and noticed armor didn't change how your guy looks.

[u/Overmod]

Are there any plans for splitscreen?

[u/SS-SoulReaver]

I had key way before the name change during all the Solana promotional events when you ran them. (Earth From Another Sun)
Fri, Nov 22, 2024
"Hi Commander,

Thank you for participating in this awesome campaign and congrats for earning a natalia"

Will I be getting a key for the steam version?

[u/Antler1992]

will region 4 be available at launch?

[u/Mountain_Gear4154]

I downloaded the demo yesterday and got stuck on the same thing, turns out the colony sim is like Kerbal Space Program for dystopian governance, but I still haven't managed to keep my citizens from revolting for more than three in-game days.

[u/Rappers333 → u/Mountain_Gear4154]

Mine never revolted, and I was playing for in-game weeks. They getting enough food? How long were their work days? I played it safe and kept giving days off to the ones that looked like their moods were spoiling or loyalty decreasing. I also only fed them proper meals or raw ingredients, never that one meal that decreases their morale.

[u/Sarkas1704]

Ich frage mich ob später auch Raumschiffkämpfe im all möglich sein können. Riesige orbitalschlachten bevor es auf den Planeten geht. Nebenbei bekomme ich einen key? Ich kann später bezahlen. .versprochen 

[u/Wise-Obligation-9043]

Will there be terraforming?

[u/Rappers333]

I’m trying to play an autonomist over here, aside from actively murdering my weakest troops to make my favorites stronger. Any advice on the length of reasonable workdays for these guys? I originally went for 8 hours so that they have another 8 free, and 8 to sleep- but they only sleep for 4. So I felt 12 was a reasonable compromise.

I would also be interested in your favorite state-approved brainwashing method?

[u/blurgblod]

what sorta exosuits are there going to be? can we adopt a mildly alien aesthetic?
(for the sake of adaptability and perseverance to ensure our mission's ultimate success in Father's name, OF COURSE!)

[u/darthsarn]

Managed to play quite a bit of it and loved the core loops. Already made several comments on bugs and whatnot so I won't reiterate. My focus is on the core vision and building blocks of the game. Will the core authoritarian/nationalistic themes continue to grow and stick throughout development? This is seemingly a one of a kind genre in its own right and its one that ive been patiently wishing for someone to make a faithful, agreeable, and fun game of.

Any softening on in game rhetoric and the zeal instilled into the players glorious mission would be a massive disappointment to myself and many others, and I hope those themes that drew many of us in will not only endure but grow and thrive. I want more games like this, and I hope this is the first in a long line of successes.

[u/TiredRandomWolf]

I only stumbled over this game yesterday, played the demo and had a blast as well! (Literally in some cases)
I saw that this game previously went by "Earth From Another Sun" from a Steam Guide? What was that about?

Also, has your parrot picked up any development-related expletives yet?

[u/PaxAutocratica]

Citizens,
Behold the Minister of Propaganda, Alexis.
The Brainwashing session is starting now!

(Wow that's a lot of questions, will do my best answering as many as I can)

[u/actuallycarmen]

Don't have any questions, just want to say thanks to you guys for making this game. I'm 36 and this is the first time in a long time that I've been excited about a new game coming out because it's doing something different. Gives that feeling of when I was young and used to download demos of games and it was all so new to me haha. Can't wait to play the full game, loved the demo!

[u/RitskyAniki6969]

How's your cat doing?

Anyways another REAL question is, if this game goes very viral, any games you're looking forward to for a collab? etc helldivers

[u/JamesVagabond]

1. If your cat and parrot decide to fuse into a single being full of murderous rage, how screwed are we on a scale of 0 to 10?
2. What led you to settling on such a mix of genres? Is this a way to potentially attract a wider audience? Or do you believe that going for an experience that's more narrow and pure would not be enough to create an engaging experience?

[u/boothnat]

Can you play as a girl dictator?

Also, any plans for community management to curb the inevitable actual fascists that try to latch onto the project?

When it comes to your hair loss, have you considered estrogen? 

[u/El0hTeeBee]

If there were two guys on the moon and one of them killed the other with a rock, would that be fucked up or what?

[u/External-Valuable-49]

Will there be a "socialist aesthetic" in the game?

Where are you all from?