Foundation
Release Date: January 31, 2025
Strategy, economic, the middle ages, crowdfunding, indie games, city builder, singleplayer
Steam
An economic strategy game resembling the Anno series. The production is set in the Middle Ages and your task is to build a powerful, prosperous city.
Foundation the first game by the Canadian studio Polymorph Games, founded in 2016 by Philippe Dion and Leo Carnaut-Delord, two of the main creators behind the 2014 platform game Chariot.
Mechanics
The production is a city builder game set in the Middle Ages. Foundation features elements known from other such productions, such as Anno, SimCity and Crusader Kings II. The gameplay is based on several aspects. The most important are the resources, which affect the development of your city. For example, building the city near a forest means that you can harvest plenty of wood, which makes it easier to construct wooden buildings. It may mean, however, that you'll have a limited supply of a more sturdy material, such as stone.
Like the Anno series, Foundation allows you create complex supply chains, positively affecting your city's development. At first, all you have is a few settlers, who can be used to build the foundations of your future city. As you develop the agriculture and industry sectors, other inhabitants arrive, and you need to provide them with shelter, food, and jobs. Of course, you need to mind your resources and money, which are necessary to introduce any changes. Your last objective is to turn your little village into a powerful, prosperous, and well-guarded medieval metropolis.
Foundation features full mod support. Thanks to the provided tools, you can create new units, buildings, areas, and even extra missions, which you can play yourself or share with other players.
Technical aspects
Foundation utilizes the studio's own engine Hurricane, developed for city builder games. The game's soundtrack was made by composers that used to work on the music of such productions as Crusader Kings II and Europa Universalis IV.
Last updated on July 19, 2018
December 12, 2019
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Videos and Screens
[2:01] Foundation - Release Date Announcement and Demo Trailer
[1:46] Foundation early access trailer
The main pros of the game
- Gridless Building: The game allows for organic city development without the constraints of a grid, which many players find refreshing and innovative.
- Customization Options: Users appreciate the extensive customization options for building layouts and the ability to generate their own maps.
- Relaxing Gameplay: Many players enjoy the laidback nature of the game, which allows for casual play and the ability to step away without losing progress.
- Art Style: The game's cozy and charming art style is frequently praised, contributing to an enjoyable atmosphere.
- Military System: The inclusion of a military system that offers passive bonuses and off-screen missions is regarded positively.
- Moddability: The game is easily modifiable, allowing players to enhance their experience with additional content.
The main cons of the game
- Performance Issues: Numerous players report poor optimization, with high CPU and GPU usage leading to crashes and frame rate drops, particularly in larger cities.
- Bugs and Glitches: Many users have encountered game-breaking bugs, including issues with pathfinding, villagers getting stuck, and autosave failures that result in lost progress.
- Complexity and Balance Issues: Some players find the mechanics overly complex or unintuitive, leading to frustration, especially regarding resource management and population needs.
- User Interface Problems: The UI has been criticized for being cumbersome and not user-friendly, with many elements being difficult to navigate.
- Lack of In-Game Guidance: Players have noted that the game does not adequately explain its mechanics, leading to confusion and reliance on external guides.
The features or elements that are missing from the game according to users
- Improved Pathfinding: Many players express a desire for better pathfinding mechanics to prevent villagers from getting stuck or failing to reach their destinations.
- Automatic Housing Adjustments: Users wish for a system where villagers would automatically move to housing closer to their workplaces, reducing the number of complaints about housing shortages.
- More Detailed Feedback: There is a call for clearer feedback regarding the needs and statuses of the villagers, which would help players manage their settlements more effectively.
- Enhanced Economic Systems: Players are looking for more robust economic mechanics that would allow for smoother transitions between resource tiers and better balance in production chains.
- Combat Mechanics: Some players have expressed a desire for more active combat systems rather than just passive military bonuses.
Summary
- Overall, while Foundation has a solid foundation and many appealing features, it currently suffers from significant performance issues and bugs that detract from the overall experience. Players are hopeful for future updates and fixes to address these concerns.
Summary generated on:
Foundation Summary
Early Access:February 1, 2019
Platforms:
PC / Windows
Developer: Polymorph Games
Publisher: Polymorph Games
Age restrictions: none
Foundation System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core i5-4460, 8 GB RAM, graphic card 4 GB GeForce GTX 960 / Radeon R9 290 or better, Windows 10 64-bit
Recommended: Intel Core i7-6700K, 16 GB RAM, graphic card 6 GB GeForce RTX 1060 or better, Windows 10 64-bit
Foundation 1.0 release introduced crashes but developers work hard to fix them
The release of Foundation 1.0 made the game crash for many players. If you are also affected by this issue, here you will find more context.
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