( John POV )

I rack my brain, but can’t for the life of me remember what I’ve forgotten.

Having Jade glaring holes into my skull doesn’t help.

I sign and admit defeat.

"Alright, alright. What is it?"

Jade frowns at me for another few seconds, but eventually she relents and pulls a screen out the air.

Choosing your starting race:

Race

Description

Average Age

Subclass

Cost

Humans

No race is as versatile as the human race! However, although they can learn almost anything, they also tend to quickly collectively forget. Their short lifespans forestall them from truly mastering skills, too. A real Jack of All Trades, and a flexible choice!

50

Adult

25

Child

10

Elves

The children of the forest, the elves are the longest living of all the known races. Due to the lifespan of each individual they tend to master a wide variety of abilities, however they are hampered by their low birthrate.

200

Adult

100

Child

50

Goblins

Smaller than the other species, goblins make up for their individual size with large numbers and good defenses. Their innate burrowing ability allows them to construct large, secret colonies, letting them thrive in conditions where other might falter.

30

Adult

8

Child

4

Wolfkin

Together we stand, divided we fall! This is true for any race, but for the wolfkin it’s a way of life. Their pack mentality makes them ideally suited for teamwork, but their wild nature slows their adaptation to new technologies.

45

Adult

50

Child

25

Centaurs

The ancestors of the centaur moved in great herds across the savannah, living in harmony with the seasons. Now, they make ideal Nomads, well adapted to travelling longer distances and protecting themselves from whatever dangers they may encounter.

95

Adult

75

Child

50

I quickly go over the screen before expressing my opinions.

"Hmm, interesting! I didn’t expect such a variety this early in the game. Seems a bit unbalanced, actually; the place will probably be covered in elves."

"The developers did post that article saying there were going to be multiple races available from the launch of the game. Your browser history says you read it, too."

Jade points out rather sharply.

Being to absorbed by the screen in front of me I half heartedly reply.

"Yeah, I know, I know, I saw it. I kinda thought you would start with humans and attract other races to your community later. You know, like... NPCs, or something."

Jade helpfully starts explaining the base mechanics.

"No, it’s starting choice. Actually, there don't seem to be NPCs in the game. Or rather, they’re all NPCs, as you don’t get to directly control your pops. At most, you get to influence them to a certain extent, but they still have their own behaviours."

Nodding in understanding I signal for her to continue.

"Alright and how does that work, exactly? Does the documentation properly explain how we interact with them?"

Jade's eyes start moving from the left to the right, as if she is reading a text except faster than any human ever could.

"It goes into a little bit of depth. So, it seems that you get 1000 credits-worth of individuals in your starting community.

Then, in gameplay, you get points in order to influence the people inside your community.

That can mean putting ideas into their heads, to strategically influence the group or to unlock technologies.

It can mean buffing them, either individually or as a group stat modifier, but that costs a load of points.

Or you can take direct control, although that’s even more expensive than the buffs."

Her voice takes on a certain tone of concern.

"The other limiter on your influence is that if you overuse individuals they’ll probably go completely mad.

I mean, the character can react in many different ways, but, I quote, "It always leads to them leaving you community in one way or another." So, presumably that implies them going nuts."

"Don't give the pops schizophrenia, got it."

I say jokingly.

As Jade explains all of this, I start doing some calculations in my head.

While I’m not usually a stat-heavy sort of player, I’m keen to get the most out of my starting points.

A thought occurs.

"Hmm. Jade, is it possible to combine multiple races in your starting community?"

Jade frowns, and adopts the vacant look that usually means she’s processing data and scanning for inconsistencies.

"Actually, there’s no rule to say you can't. It does suggest that races won’t always cooperate well, though. It might lead to unwanted splits in our community, which would be a death sentence early on."

That opens up a lot of options, but those risks...

"Yeah, I’d rather not screw myself over immediately. We’ll stick with a single species, just to be safe. Now, you said something earlier about gaining ‘points’ in order to, well, do stuff. How does that work, exactly?"

Jade simply resumes her explanation.

"Two ways to earn points. First, you just get them over time. About ten points each in game year to begin with, meaning ten points each real week. Looking at the point-cost of most interactions, that’s pretty rubbish, although it might help in the beginning. The second way is that you get rewarded for each child born in your Tribe."

The second income seems way more useful, even with small amounts of effort it will quickly over take the yearly income. but one thing does become clear immediately.

"Damn, that seriously nerfs elves! It screws the centaurs, too. I guess it makes goblins really powerful, though; you just bunker up in your underground fortresses and accumulate a tech lead."

Jade nods to show her agreement before pointing out the clear problem with my suggestion.

"That’s slightly balanced by food; it’s entirely possible for a large community to outstrip its food source. Also, I think goblins have a much lower rate to spontaneously develop technologies without a point investment. Ah, and individual buffs last until a character dies, so a single buffed elf is worth way more then buffing three goblins."

I do some more mental arithmetic, and eventually reach my conclusion.

"You know what, let’s metagame the hell out of this. We’ve got almost no hard numbers, but I’ll bet that humans are the baseline faction they’ve balanced around. Hopefully, that means they’re at least a mid-tier pick, so it should make it fairly safe choice. We start with 36 human adults and 10 human childs, which should leave us free to experiment with possible play styles without limiting our options."

"What?! I don’t even get a say in the decision?!"

Jade says outraged.

I grin, glad I anticipated the incoming shitstorm and prepared a deflection.

"That, my dear Jade, is because you get to choose our starting location!"