Chapter 168: Into Unknown

Because the graphics chips of the time were ultimately limited, and a CD could only hold so much data, Ethan couldn't simply drop Civilization V or VI's polished graphics into the game, even if he'd wanted to. 5

That said, the combination of the top-down perspective and detailed textures was already far beyond anything players of this era had ever seen. 

The overall visual style leaned more toward the gritty realism of Civilization V, lacking the cheap cartoonish, doodle-like feel of Civilization VI. 

For a game built around the rise and development of human civilization, that more grounded art direction actually made the world feel more immersive. 

And, honestly, players of this era really were a bunch of hardcore types. 

"That dark-blue strip running across the map... that should be a river, right?" 

Frank took a quick look. Several mountain ranges were scattered across the map around his starting unit, while a blue strip wound its way from one end to the other, running through the entire visible area. 

Beside the river was a line of tiny pixel text indicating its name. 

[Yukon River] 

It was a famous river in North America, originating in Canada, flowing through Alaska, and eventually emptying into the Bering Strait. 

Seeing a familiar place name in a game might not have been anything unusual. But the three of them had clearly noticed that this map had been randomly generated. 

So how had a randomly generated map managed to place the real Yukon River right beside their starting position? 

That was just a little too coincidental. 

"This is..." Mike paused. "A deliberate game design choice, it has to be." 

The three exchanged glances. 

Having become familiar with GAMENOVA's style, it was hard for them not to assume that this was intentional, and honestly, those little touches were exactly what made the game so fascinating. 

"All right, anyway, let's see how we're supposed to play." 

Frank pressed the A button, and a [Unit Needs Orders] prompt immediately appeared in the lower-right corner. 

The camera then centered on one of the two units they had at the beginning. It was represented on the map by a flag icon, while the other unit beside it was represented by a stick-like icon. 

[America — Settler] 

[Found City] [Move] [Skip Turn] [Sleep] [More] 

"So... we just build a city?" 

Seeing that the Found City option could be selected, Frank didn't bother hesitating. 

"Why sit around when you could settle down? What, were they supposed to wait until they found the perfect place first?" 

Look at this place. Mountains at its back, water in front, a copper mine just outside the settlement, and two small patches of forest across the river. With a location this good, you couldn't ask for anything better. 

"Bang!" 

The Settler immediately disappeared from its original position, replaced by a cluster of primitive thatched huts. 

[Defense: 13] 

[Capital] [Full Loyalty] 

[Washington] [Population: 1 (grows in 5 turns)] 

[No Production Currently Selected] 

Frank had never seen a game like this before. 

Every time he did something, the game threw another batch of mechanics and information at him, most of which he didn't understand at all. 

An overwhelming flood of information rushed into his mind all at once, leaving him practically frozen in place. His first impression of the game could be summed up in one word: Complicated! 

And not just complicated, but ridiculously complicated. Every kind of system was intricately interconnected, and each one seemed to demand a good deal of time and careful study to fully understand. 

Fortunately, Frank wasn't in a rush. He calmly pressed the A button and continued following the game's instructions. 

"Choose Research? What's that supposed to mean?" 

This option seemed to have appeared only after he had founded Washington. Following the instructions, Frank tried opening the technology tree interface and was immediately overwhelmed. 

"Pottery, Animal Husbandry, Mining, Writing, Sailing, Irrigation..." 

Even this initial section alone was filled with a huge amount of content. Each technology came with a detailed explanation of what it unlocked and what it would lead to. 

Calling it a "tree" almost didn't seem right, as it looked more like a river. 

Everything started from a single point, then branched off in different directions, with each branch stretching farther and farther into the future before eventually merging back together. 

And for now, Frank could only choose from the handful of technologies available at the very beginning. 

"What do you guys think I should pick?" 

He turned around and looked at the other two, hoping to get their opinions. 

"Go with Mining first." 

Mike pointed at the screen. 

"Look, the next technology after Mining is Bronze Working, and it unlocks something called a Barracks. That has to be useful." 

Mike's thinking was simple. A strong military was the foundation for everything else, giving them the strength to build and develop without fear. After all, prioritizing military strength was a strategy that would never go out of style. 

Besides, since the game had a military system, war was clearly going to be inevitable sooner or later. So, they had to build up their military! 

"If you ask me, we should start with [Astrology]." 

Allen studied the descriptions carefully before pointing to the [Astrology] technology near the top of the tree. 

"The [Holy Site] it unlocks should have something to do with religion, and that's bound to be important for a newly founded civilization." 

Of course, there was another reason he was leaning toward Astrology: the technology that came after it, [Celestial Navigation]. 

Even without opening the detailed information for that technology, he could tell from the large blue anchor icon that it was obviously going to be something related to a harbor. 

"Ah-ha? I didn't expect the three of us to have completely different ideas." 

Frank raised his eyebrows in surprise. 

"I think the middle path is better. [Writing] unlocks a Campus, which will boost our Science, and then we can go for [Currency], which unlocks the [Commercial Hub]. 

Science will help us research better technologies, while the Commercial Hub will strengthen our economy. If we want our civilization to develop quickly, we need both." 

"If our military is strong enough, we can simply 'take' technology from other civilizations." 

"If our religion becomes powerful enough, we can convert neighboring civilizations." 

The three of them each had their own arguments, and annoyingly enough, every one of them sounded reasonable. But since the console belonged to Frank, naturally, the final choice was his. 

"Forget all that. Let's go with Pottery!" 

After finally finishing the technology selection, the game immediately prompted them to choose something to produce. 

"What should I build?" Frank scanned the list. 

"Oh! Washington, obviously. I knew founding that city would come in handy." 

This was where the fundamental difference between Civilization and a tactical strategy game like Fire Emblem became obvious. The map didn't just contain combat units that could be directly controlled. It also contained cities that needed to be managed. 

"Let's see... This Settler must be the unit we just used to found the city. So, we can't build another one yet." 

"Builder, Scout, Warrior, Slinger..." 

Frank was still trying to wrap his head around everything, but at least the unit names were easy enough to understand. For the most part, you could figure out what each one did just by reading its name. 

"Hey, look. There's a little glowing icon next to Scout. Does that mean the game recommends building it right now?" 

In a game with a fog of war, sending the early-game scouts out to explore the map was practically an unspoken consensus. At the current production rate, the Scout would take ten turns to complete. 

"All right, that's done." 

Frank looked over the remaining options. 

"This Warrior should be a combat unit, right? Maybe I should send him out and see what's around us." 

After finally making what felt like a series of decisions, Frank let out a long sigh of relief. He moved the Warrior two tiles west afterward. 

Suddenly... 

[Eureka!] 

[We have discovered a new continent. This vast world offers many opportunities for trade.] 

[You have made significant progress in Foreign Trade.] 2

Frank stared at the screen. 

Well, so much for thinking the turn was finally over. Apparently, there was still a whole lot left to figure out. 

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