What’s Happening?
Exciting changes are coming to Run An Empire very soon! We’ve been listening to everyone’s feedback about the game and soon we’ll be launching a raft of features that’ll make your favorite bits better and your least favorite bits (hopefully) go away!
Why?
Earlier this year we asked many of you to give your feedback on the current game and we heard the same points come up over and over again. Since then we’ve been working hard to amend Run An Empire to take your feedback on board.
What did you say? The main complaint we got was of progression in the game slloooowwiing dooowwn. The “core” of Run An Empire, as some of you will recognise, uses an economy that is similar to titles in the “idle” genre of games. That made sense to us before, because the way it scales should create an equal challenge for people across a very broad range of abilities.
However, we found in practice there are a lot of issues with applying this system to an activity-based game – not least that at some point, progress feels like it crawls – simply because milestones become too spaced apart when you reach the later game.
Another common complaint was that people felt the economy and their activity weren’t closely linked enough – and that ultimately building on the map didn’t feel meaningful. We thought we could work around many of these with fixes, but nothing ended up working as we hoped.
New Features
Resources and Requests
We’re replacing the way coins are earned in the game. Rather than getting coins every time you encounter a hex, we’re introducing new kinds of structures that generate resources.
For example: farms make wheat, mines produce ore, weapon smiths manufacture various kinds of weapons etc.
You can place these structures wherever you want in your empire, then tap on the hex to collect the resources you need. Many resources can also be used to craft new, better resources – for example wheat can be fed to sheep at the Sheep Pen, which then gives you wool.
Your people will pay good money for the resources you make, and they’ll submit requests to you for the kinds of resources they’d like.
XP and Technology Unlocks
Helping your people with their requests will also reward you with Experience Points (or XP). XP is used to unlock new technologies (Metallurgy, Brewing, Military Training etc) and some of these technologies will let you build new structures.
You will still be able to progress through Eras in the game (Bronze Era, Medieval Era, Nuclear Era etc) but they will be more spaced out with lots of technology unlocks in between – so hopefully more exciting later in the game.
Exploring
We’ve added a bunch of special hexes to the game – ruins, friendly villages, forests and rocky ground. These hexes can be captured and explored. You may find helpful people who want to join your empire, or hidden treasures, as you explore the world around you.
Meet Your Subjects
We wanted our player to feel more in touch with the people they rule over, so we’re introducing a way for you to meet your subjects. You’ll be able to summon them to your throne, listen to their offers and needs and dispense your verdicts.
For more information on new features, you can also check out our updated FAQ here.
A More Inclusive Game
In Run An Empire it’s always been possible to run, jog or walk in the game. However we’ve always treated running as the most “correct” way of playing. By looking at our data and speaking to our players, we’ve been surprised to see that walking is actually the most popular behavior in the game.
Now, we want to broaden our approach further and allow cycling and other forms of self-propulsion (wheelchairing, skateboarding, roller-blading, cross country skiing …). Of course, running is still very much encouraged in the game, but we don’t want the majority of our users to feel like “second class” players. That means you’ll start to see some of the language in the game change, as we move to talk about “activity” rather than just “running”.
(But no, we won’t be changing our name any time soon)
Current Players
If you’ve been playing Run An Empire before this release then we recommend you update to our new version as soon as possible to enjoy the new features, however there’s no obligation to do so at this time.
To move across to the new game, be sure to keep Run An Empire updated and follow the prompts to move across when they appear.
We strongly recommend that you create an account before moving to the new version, if you haven’t already. Moving without an account puts you at risk of losing your data!
This is how moving across will affect your experience of the game:
All your purchased/earned Gems will be transferred across
-Not just the gems remaining in your balance, but all the gems you’ve ever spent too. This includes all gems you’ve ever purchased, collected from subscription or have been rewarded in-game.
-Note: gems are *significantly* (roughly 10 times) more powerful in the new game – so you’ll effectively multiply the value of your gems to 1000%!
Bonus Free Gems!
-We will also give you a further 125 free gems (worth $5) as a bonus reward for moving over
Your Castles will be transferred across
-If you own a castle in the current game, you will keep it when you transfer over
Your hexes will not be transferred
-This has been a tough decision. We appreciate that your empire is the manifestation of all your running activity. However, we’re introducing a lot of exploration and empire-size features now and to miss out on them (or to get them all at once) would really spoil your early experience of the new game. Be sure to take screenshots before moving across!
Your era progress will not be transferred
-The old and new game progression systems can’t really be compared anymore. Eras still exist, but all the progression unlocks in-between mean that you’d likely miss out on most of the fun of the game. We think it makes most sense to experience the whole new game and have each mechanic unlocked one-at-a-time in order for you to get the most fun out of it.
Your Run History will be transferred
-You will still be able to access your run data, although this won’t have any impact on your game experience
Your subscription (if you have one) will be transferred
-If you have a subscription, this will continue in the new game. The contents of your subscription will change to be much more powerful in-game. If you wish to cancel your subscription, this can be done at any time via Apple’s iTunes & AppStore Settings.
More Info
If you would like more information or support – contact us here