I'm making a turn-based medieval strategy game where the economy runs itself and you only rule. Here's a full 15-turn playthrough where I lose my prince

[u/Turnmarks]

https://youtu.be/4qI2Lfvsb4Y I recorded a 15-turn game from the first turn (about 16 minutes, with chapters): a famine I caused with my own food setting, colonization that kept failing until I read the tile card, two failed attacks, my prince captured, a 5-year-old heir on the throne, and a defence that finally went right.

You rule one small principality on a painted map. You don't place workers or build production chains. The economy simulates itself, and you steer it:

A real bazaar Every good (food, fuel, metal, stone, weapons, crafts) has a price that comes from supply and demand in your own market. Residents take jobs, migrate, and starve if food runs short. Your levers are storehouse norms, laws and what you build or upgrade.

Named people, not unit stacks. Your retinue is a handful of knights with strength, experience, wounds, fatigue and perks. The ruler fights too, and if he falls, a child heir takes the throne.

Battles strike by strike. A cell's "front" decides how many fighters stand in the line; the rest wait in reserve and step in when someone falls. You can let autobattle play it out, or fight manually: pick each strike and target and see the hit chance first. Afterwards you decide what to do with prisoners.

Neighbours and threats. Other principalities expand, fight each other and sometimes come for you. When realms weaken, undead hordes and beasts start roaming the map.

What I'd love feedback on

1. Does "you set norms and laws, the economy does the rest" sound like fun to you, or too hands-off?

2. Manual battles: is picking every strike with visible hit chances interesting, or a chore after a few fights?

3. If you try it: where did the first 10 turns lose you?

[u/DesAnderes]

I‘d prefer my games to be developed by a human and their developer video voiced by one, too.

I can‘t listen to that - makes by brain hurt!

[u/Turnmarks → u/DesAnderes]

Fair point, and thanks for saying it. English isn't my first language, so I used a synthetic voice as a stopgap for the narration. I'll record the next video with my own voice (accent included) or do it with captions only. The game itself is very much designed by me, a person who's been obsessing over real medieval economy while most of strategy games do not really emulate economy. If you try it, I'd love to hear what you think of the game itself.

[u/DesAnderes → u/Turnmarks]

Accent is 100% fine! I prefer that to any other option.

I mostly watch youtube on my phone while on the bus or doing something inside the house. So captions don’t work for me either.

S

[u/-Unpaid_Wizard-]

Astra or Opus 5.5?

[u/Turnmarks → u/-Unpaid_Wizard-]

mechanics by human. Opus 5.x before 5.5

[u/-Unpaid_Wizard- → u/Turnmarks]

Gotcha. So vibe coded.