I'm also a bit averse to the overuse of the word "clone." I'm fine with comparing new games to existing games when there isn't a handy genre label to use, but what's wrong with "-like"? For example, instead of calling this a Terraria clone (which is clearly isn't), why not call it a Terraria-like? When I see the word "clone," I think of an almost-exact copy. There are enough of these around (Tetris and Arkanoid clones, Zelda clones, Mario clones, the internet is full of them) that I think it's valuable to make the distinction between a "clone" and a "-like."
In any case, has anyone pointed out the message from the developers on Steam? I don't know if this removes all doubt, but at least they're making an effort:
Clone or not...
31 JULY - BYTEBREAKER
Dear, friends!
Thank you for supporting our project. In this letter we would like to answer some of your questions.
We do not deny that our project bears some similarities to certain popular games that you have mentioned in your comments. However, it would be unwise of us to miss an opportunity to use and perfect the existing experience in creating and developing similar games.
We did our best to build up the strengths and avoid weaknesses of other games in our project.
Firstly, we have improved the crafting system, which plays the key role in the game. The inventory and recipe book have been combined. You will not have to search for recipes in other places. By clicking an item on the inventory, you will see its recipe on the crafting table. All you have to do is to drag necessary items onto the table. Also, you do not need to drag every single item individually. For example, drag a stone onto the table and then multiply it by a double click right on the table. Moreover, all recipes/items on the inventory have been structured and grouped to make the searching process easier.
Secondly, there is no monotonous click-by-click gathering process. Instead, you can use the indirect control system, which enables you to use several gatherers at once. You do not have to choose an appropriate tool and then click a block a countless number of times to dig it out. Just mark it and a free dwarf will dig it out with an appropriate tool. However, you still can act as an explorer and gatherer. Use a special option which allows you to control any of your gatherers and manage digging.
Thirdly, we did our best to minimize other micromanagement elements of the game. The gamer does not have to find an empty chest to put an item in it and then look through every chest to it. Instead, the gamer can focus on construction planning, exploring and defense which makes it more a strategic game rather than an arcade one.
Fourthly, a magic system has been introduced to rid the game of routine actions and make it more enjoyable. You need to make a big entrance in a rock, just use the dynamite spell. You have to remove a pile of stones left after the explosion, just use a spell. You can find scrolls with spells when exploring the world.
Lastly, realizing that any gamer will sooner or later grow weary of exploring the same place but be reluctant to leave it, we have introduced a system of levels which, on one hand, enables the gamer to save the most interesting worlds and, on the other, offers a range of different planets to choose from. The gamer can inhabit a new world, explore it, adjust his/her defense skills to survive new environments and learn to deal with new monsters.
We promise to keep you informed on other interesting changes and improvements to our project.
Best regards,
Craft the World Team
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Topic: Craft The World (Read 28843 times)