AI Summary

This article is about a game called Network States. The game is set in a virtual world where players compete and conquer territories. Players need to expand their territory by moving and occupying blocks according to different rules and limitations, while eliminating other players' states. The game is relatively simple to play but has a certain level of strategy and competitiveness. The article provides a detailed description of the game's basic rules and gameplay, as well as explanations of some game elements.

Game Introduction

Game Link

https://network-states-smallbraingames.vercel.app/

Network States is a game developed by Small Brains Games using MUD. The first playtest was conducted on September 11th. Regarding the general information about the game, there are some explanations before entering the game. However, based on the current presentation of the game, this description is still too abstract and does not provide much information.

In addition, there doesn't seem to be an official explanation of the gameplay for this game. For players who are playing this game for the first time, they have to figure out the game mechanics themselves.

Team Background

Small Brain Games is an infrastructure company in the fully online gaming industry. Currently, Small Brain Games has developed games such as Words3, Dark Seas, and Apes Gambit.

Gameplay

The gameplay of the game is currently quite simple, where players need to continuously expand their territory.

Game Tutorial

Game Information

The game is currently not deployed on the blockchain and is a testing version.
The game uses a burner wallet, and players do not need to connect their own wallets to enter the game.
The data of the burner wallet is stored in the browser, so do not clear the browser cache, or your game data will be lost.

Initializing the Game

Click on the game link, and a brief description of the game will appear on the screen. However, this description does not guide you on how to play the game, and there is no detailed explanation of the gameplay from the official source. Everything needs to be explored by the players themselves.

However, there is a sentence on the screen worth noting: This device is your gateway to the Network States. This sentence should have practical meaning, and it is speculated that the game uses a Burner Wallet, and the player's relevant information is stored in the browser. Therefore, when playing, do not casually clear the browser cache.

The entrance to the game is in the lower right corner. Enter by clicking Enter, and then click Create State.

After creating your State, you will come to the following interface. The top-left part shows the relevant information of your State. We focus on two attributes that will directly affect the gameplay: Population and Area. The number in the middle of the screen is the current Population of your State, which increases periodically based on a block time cycle.

After understanding this information, click Begin your story in the lower right corner to enter the actual game.

Important Information in the Game Interface

The number in the middle of the screen with a light background is the Population of your State.

The three icons in the lower right corner, from top to bottom, represent relocating the state, zooming in on the map, and zooming out of the map.

The State Explorer on the right side of the screen displays the ranking information of players. It can be observed that the ranking is based on Area.

Each block with a number in the game is called an Area, and the number displayed on the Area is the Population. The State itself is a special Area, and its Population increases periodically.

By the way, the player ranked first in this ranking, Simula (Playtest 3), is one of my accounts that I played a few days ago.

Basic Rules of the Game

1. Moving on New Paths

Select an Area, and the dotted lines around it represent the available directions for movement. Players can move by clicking or using the arrow keys. The effect of the movement is to transfer the maximum Population on the current Area to an adjacent block. For example, an Area with a Population of 70, the maximum movable Population is 69. The new Area with 69 can continue to move, and its maximum movable Population is 68. Each time the movement is made, this number will decrease by 1. Therefore, the number on an Area represents the maximum number of steps that can be moved.

There is also a half-population movement option. Select an Area and then click again. A 50% label will appear. The effect of the movement is to transfer half of the current Population on the Area to an adjacent block. For example, an Area with a Population of 70, the maximum movable Population is 35, and the remaining 35 will stay on the original Area.

2. Moving on Repeated Paths

The direction of the arrow in the image represents the direction in which the Area with 44 will move. When moving on repeated paths, the number on the Area will not decrease.

3. Moving on Other Players' Areas

When moving on other players' areas, in addition to the movement itself causing Population-1, the corresponding number on the other player's area will also be deducted after the movement. For example, in the example below, the Area with 34 wants to enter a yellow player's area. After the movement, the yellow player's area will be occupied, and the value of your area will be reduced by two 1s. The first one is the consumption of movement, and the second one is the offset of the value on the other player's area. The final value will be 32. If the number on the other player's area is 2 or 3, it will offset the corresponding quantity.

If the number on the other player's area is too large and exceeds the number on your own area, then when your area moves up, the occupation will fail, your area will disappear, and the number on the other player's area will be reduced accordingly.

4. Eliminating Other Players

Occupying another player's State represents eliminating that player. The logic is the same as moving on other players' areas. As long as the number on your area is greater than the current number on the other player's state, you can eliminate that player. After a successful elimination, all the other player's areas will be converted to yours, including the other player's state. At this point, you will have two states that periodically increase Population.

The image below is another account that I played, Simula (Playtest 3), and I am preparing to merge the blue player's area.

Obtaining a new state after swallowing the opponent.

Please note the red player in the top left corner of the diagram; after taking over the opponent's state, their original area will be completely converted into mine.

Rapid expansion achieved through absorption.

5. Map Elements: Hill & Water

Regarding Hill and Water, there are only two points to note:

Area cannot move onto a Hill.
When an Area moves onto Water, its Population will be reduced to zero.

These two map elements primarily serve as defensive barriers for players when constructing fortifications.

Gaming Experience

The official documentation doesn't provide much explanation about the game, which can leave first-time players feeling a bit lost.
The movement speed and population regeneration rate in the game are both relatively slow, so there's a lot of waiting involved during gameplay.
The current gameplay is quite simple, and I anticipate that many more features will be added in the future.
For a game that doesn't require high real-time demands, making it a fully online game is a suitable choice.

Appendix

Twitter

https://twitter.com/0xsmallbrain

Discord

https://discord.gg/CdnWzafyFf