¶City - Tutorial

This is a tutorial for getting into the swing of things in ¶City.

All of the information in this tutorial can also be learned using the in-game help topics, and with a little experimentation! Your experience with ¶City will be more satisfying if you can work out its gameplay on your own. However, if you are feeling frustrated and would prefer to have things laid out clearly so that you can just get to the city-building already, then this tutorial will tell you what you need to know to start developing your city.

You know what you're getting into, right? If you're not sure this is what you want, you should turn back now. Nobody likes to have their play experience unintentionally spoiled! You'll only have to scroll down a little more to see the tutorial...

You're still here..? Ok. I'll get to it then.

Getting Started

When you begin a new game, you'll be asked to provide a name for yourself and for your city. Choose carefully! You won't be able to change these later. Note, however, that these names only affect how the city is described to you and how the game refers to you - it won't actually affect how the game is played.

You input the name of your player and your city by typing the name in the text area at the bottom of the view and then pressing the enter key. Then, after inputting these names, you'll be asked to confirm them - you can do this by typing the letter y and then pressing enter again.

Here's what it looks like when you start a new game...

Please input your name.
Sophie? Are you sure? (y/n)
Welcome to ¶City, Sophie. It's good to finally meet you.
Remember, if at any time you feel lost or confused, just shout "HELP" and somebody is certain to respond.
Please input the name of your city.
Ludum Dare City? Are you sure? (y/n)
Sophie! Your very own legend is about to unfold. Ludum Dare, a city filled with dreams and adventures, is waiting for you...

And that's that! Now that you've given your name and the name of your city, the first thing you should know how to do is to get around it. You can do this with the look and go actions.

Looking Around

The first thing you'll want to do when you enter your city is to look around you. (You do that by, well, literally typing look around into the input and hitting enter. You can also just type look, if you prefer the brevity; it will do the same thing.)

Here's an example of what will happen when you look around...

You are at the Market Square. What will you do?
The area is alive with the sounds of commerce.
> look around
You look around the Market Square.
The area is alive with the sounds of commerce. Merchants tend their various stalls and prospective customers are on the prowl for good deals.
Nearby there is a Food Vendor.
The Royal Palace is to the north.
A Vacant Lot is to the south.
The University is to the east.
The Senate is to the west.

You can also look somewhere, like north or south, or a few other places as well, to get some information about whatever is over there.

Here's an example of what will happen when you look north...

> look north
You look north, to the Royal Palace...
The palace is an incredible, lavish building. It stands before you with the magnificent pride and stature that housing centuries of monarchs and assorted nobles has imbued into its stones.

Going Places

Now that you've sighted out the palace, you'll want to actually go over there as well. That's where the go action comes in. With it you can go in a direction or you can go to a nearby place.

Here's an example of what will happen when you go to palace and then look around...

> go to palace
Went to the Royal Palace.
You are at the Royal Palace. What will you do?
The palace stands before you with magnificent pride and stature.
> look around
You look around the Royal Palace.
The palace is an incredible, lavish building. It stands before you with the magnificent pride and stature that housing centuries of monarchs and assorted nobles has imbued into its stones.
A doorway leads inside, to the Palace Entry.
A Vacant Lot is to the north.
The Market Square is to the south.
The Flint Plantation is to the east.
The Dusty Apartments are to the west.

The next order of business is to actually go inside the palace. You could do that by entering go to palace entry, like going to the palace, but this time let's try it a different way:

Here's an example of what will happen when you go inside and then look around again...

> go inside
Went inside to the Palace Entry.
You are in the Palace Entry. What will you do?
You are aware of several guards suspiciously tracking your every move.
> look around
You look around the Palace Entry.
The palace entry is as well-guarded as it is lavish. You are aware of several pairs of eyes suspiciously tracking your every move. You can smell feasts-in-progress coming up from the royal kitchens and you can hear fates being decided in the throne room ahead.
Nearby there is a Tax Officer.
A doorway leads outside, to the Royal Palace.
The Royal Bedchambers lie upstairs.
The Royal Kitchen lies downstairs.
The Throne Room is to the north.

Starting A Conversation

Now that we're in the room with someone (namely, a tax officer) let's see what happens if you look at tax officer.

Here's an example of what will happen when, in the palace entry, you look at tax officer...

> look at tax officer
You look closely at the Tax Officer.
This man is a tax officer. You can speak with him to collect the money that is allocated for Civil Engineering projects from taxes paid in Ludum Dare.
You can talk to the Tax Officer to discuss tax matters.

Can you see from the resulting text what's coming next..? It's to talk to the tax officer. There are a lot of people in your city that you can talk to, and many buildings that you can construct will add new sorts of people with whom you can talk.

Here's an example of what will happen when, in the palace entry, you talk to tax officer...

> talk to tax officer
You greet the tax officer, who explains that you aren't currently due any money.

Right now the tax officer hasn't really got anything for you, but that will change later on. What's important is that you now understand how to talk to the people that you can find around the city.

Zoning And You

If you've played other city-building games like Simcity or Cities: Skylines, then the zoning system in ¶City will already be familiar to you!

In ¶City there are civil, residential, commercial, and industrial zones. You can assign zones to vacant lots, and then you can accept offers to construct buildings there. Which buildings will be offered depends on the type of zone:

The first step of zoning is finding a vacant lot. Don't worry, you won't have to go searching! There's a vacant lot just north of the palace.

Here's an example of navigating to the vacant lot north of the palace...

> go outside
Went outside to the Royal Palace.
You are at the Royal Palace. What will you do?
The palace stands before you with magnificent pride and stature.
> go north
Went north to the Vacant Lot.
You are at the Vacant Lot. What will you do?
There isn't much here other than dust and rocks.
> look around
You look around the Vacant Lot.
It's a vacant lot. There isn't much here other than dust and rocks.
A Vacant Lot is to the north.
The Royal Palace is to the south.
A Vacant Lot is to the east.
A Vacant Lot is to the west.

Now that you're here, you can assign a zone to the vacant lot. When you're just starting the game, you won't have enough money to have civil buildings constructed; a good first choice might be to designate a commercial zone. (It's only civil buildings that you need to pay to have constructed. When creating residential, commercial, and industrial zones, people will offer you money for the privilege of locating their business there.)

You can also use the name lot action to assign names to vacant lots so that you can find them more easily next time! Although we're only going to assign a zone to one lot in this example, and that means we won't be needing to work out which zoned lot is which out of a list of several lots, naming lots can become useful when you've assigned several zones at once and need to distinguish one from the next.

Here's an example of using name lot to name a vacant lot, and then using the zone action to assign it a zone type...

> name lot My First Lot
Ok, now this lot is named My First Lot.
> zone commercial
You place a sign on the vacant lot claiming that it is now FOR SALE BY KINGDOM. TO BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. BUY NOW!
You can check on solicitations from people who'd like to build something here at a Courthouse or at the Senate.

This is only the first step! Next, you'll learn how to browse the construction offers for that lot, and how to accept one of them...

The Bulletin Board

Now that you've assigned a zone to a vacant lot, it's time to go see what people are offering to build there. To do that, you'll have to make your way to the Senate. (Later on, you'll be able to build Courthouses in other parts of your city so that you can check and accept construction offers there, too.)

Let's retrace our steps back to the market square, which was adjacent to the Senate...

Here's how to get to the Senate from the vacant lot that was just zoned...

> go back
Went back to the Royal Palace.
You are at the Royal Palace. What will you do?
The palace stands before you with magnificent pride and stature.
> go south
Went south to the Market Square.
You are at the Market Square. What will you do?
The area is alive with the sounds of commerce.
> go to senate
Went to the Senate.
You are at the Senate. What will you do?
This is the home of Ludum Dare's government.

Inside the Senate (and also inside every courthouse) is a Bulletin Board. This is a very important thing to know about! It's here that you can accept construction offers and actually begin to populate your city with new buildings.

Let's go inside the Senate and have a look around...

> go inside
Went inside to the Senate Lobby.
You are in the Senate Lobby. What will you do?
The lobby bustles with senators, governors, and ordinary citizens.
> look around
You look around the Senate Lobby.
In the bustling lobby of the Senate building, you can find all sorts. There are ordinary citizens taking an interest in their government, as well as any number of senators and governors endeavoring not to.
Nearby there are a Bulletin Board and a Census Attendant.
A doorway leads outside, to the Senate.
The Senate Chambers is to the north.
The Senate Offices are to the south.

Now you can enter check bulletin board to see what construction offers there are for the vacant lots you've zoned. From this view, you can choose the vacant lot you're interested in, then you can view the construction offers made for it and choose one to accept.

Don't feel intimidated by the lists that show up here! You can describe the option you're interested in by typing the number before it. For example, typing the number 1 and then pressing the enter key will select the first option in a list.

Here's an example of using check bulletin board to view construction offers and then choose one to accept...

> check bulletin board
You check the bulletin board, and find postings related to these lots:
 1. My First Lot (Vacant Lot) (0, -2) • commercial • three offers
Look at offers relating to which posting?
Here are all the offers available for 1. My First Lot (Vacant Lot):
 1. Build a Tavern for a payment of 64 coins
 2. Build an Apothecary for a payment of 45 coins
 3. Build a Stable for a payment of 42 coins
Do you want to accept one of these offers? (y/n)
Which offer will you accept?
You'd like to accept the offer to build a Tavern at My First Lot (Vacant Lot) for 64 coins? Are you sure? (y/n)
You go to the clerk and fill out a form approving the offer.
Construction of a Tavern will begin forthright and should be completed in four days.
You collect 64 coins from the clerk.

Excellent! After all of that work, it's time to head to the palace for some rest and relaxation...

The Art Of Waiting

Now that you've approved a building for construction, you'll have to pass the time while it's built. You can only wait at gardens, but fortunately there's one of these nearby, in the palace. Perhaps we'll take a look at the building being newly constructed while we're on the way there...

Now it's time to leave the Senate and go to the palace, and to look at the building you approved once there...

> go outside
Went outside to the Senate.
You are at the Senate. What will you do?
This is the home of Ludum Dare's government.
> go to market
Went to the Market Square.
You are at the Market Square. What will you do?
The area is alive with the sounds of commerce.
> go to palace
Went to the Royal Palace.
You are at the Royal Palace. What will you do?
The palace stands before you with magnificent pride and stature.
> look around
You look around the Royal Palace.
The palace is an incredible, lavish building. It stands before you with the magnificent pride and stature that housing centuries of monarchs and assorted nobles has imbued into its stones.
A doorway leads inside, to the Palace Entry.
A Tavern (Under Construction) is to the north.
The Market Square is to the south.
The Flint Plantation is to the east.
The Dusty Apartments are to the west.
> look north
You look north, to the Tavern (Under Construction)...
Construction of the Tavern has just begun.

And there it is! The building will take several days to construct. Different buildings may take different lengths of time; you can see how long your choice of building will take at the time that you approve the construction offer at the bulletin board.

The next step is to go to the palace garden and wait for a few days to pass. (You can only wait in gardens. It wouldn't be proper to loiter anywhere else.)

Here's what it looks like when navigating to the palace garden and then choosing to wait there...

> go inside
Went inside to the Palace Entry.
You are in the Palace Entry. What will you do?
You are aware of several guards suspiciously tracking your every move.
> go downstairs
Went downstairs to the Royal Kitchen.
You are in the Royal Kitchen. What will you do?
The kitchen is full of busy cooks and savory smells.
> go outside
Went outside to the Royal Garden.
You are at the Royal Garden. What will you do?
This is a place for quiet contemplation.
> wait
You enjoy the pleasant scenery and while the day away...
Tax collectors are collecting taxes...
Low-wealth citizens are moving to Ludum Dare...
Wealthy citizens are moving to Ludum Dare...
Buildings are being constructed...
The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and a new day begins!

You'll want to do this a few times, until the building is fully constructed, but you might notice a small problem when you attempt this...

Here's what happens when attemting to wait twice in a row...

> wait
It won't do to wait while you're hungry. You should go find something to eat, perhaps at a Market or the Royal Kitchen.

This means you'll have to find something to eat! But don't worry, the palace cook is very nearby, and she'll be able to help you with this.

Here's an example of going back into the palace to get some food from the palace cook...

> go inside
Went inside to the Royal Kitchen.
You are in the Royal Kitchen. What will you do?
The kitchen is full of busy cooks and savory smells.
> talk to cook
You approach the palace cook who, upon noticing you, shoves some indescribable dish in your face. She says it's a new recipe she's trying out, and she wants to know what you think.
You eat the dish... and it's rather good, actually, and very satiating. You tell the cook so, and she rewards you with a delighted smile.

And now you can return to the garden and wait again!

You'll have to repeat this cycle of waiting and then eating a few times before the building is fully constructed...

Urban Development

After waiting a few days for construction to progress, you'll want to go and see the result!

Here's what it looks like when you leave the palace and go see the newly-completed building...

> go inside
Went inside to the Royal Kitchen.
You are in the Royal Kitchen. What will you do?
The kitchen is full of busy cooks and savory smells.
> go upstairs
Went upstairs to the Palace Entry.
You are in the Palace Entry. What will you do?
You are aware of several guards suspiciously tracking your every move.
> go outside
Went outside to the Royal Palace.
You are at the Royal Palace. What will you do?
The palace stands before you with magnificent pride and stature.
> go north
Went north to Fortnight Tavern.
You are at Fortnight Tavern. What will you do?
Where residents come to have their thirst quenched.
> look around
You look around Fortnight Tavern.
It's a noisy and vicarious place filled with life and laughter and, on occassion, drunken brawls. This is where the people of Ludum Dare come to have their thirst quenched.
A doorway leads inside, to the Tavern Interior.
A Vacant Lot is to the north.
The Royal Palace is to the south.
A Vacant Lot is to the east.
A Vacant Lot is to the west.

There are all kinds of different buildings in ¶City! All of them have different roles, advantages, and disadvantages which you can discover by building up your city the best that you can, and observing how its different pieces interact. What this tutorial won't tell you is how to build a prospering city... you'll have to figure that part out yourself.

Goodbye now, and good luck!