08 · Progression & Ages

Status: Skeleton · Owner: TBD · Updated: 2026-09-23

Purpose

Define long-term advancement: the age system borrowed from Age of Empires, the tech tree, and what a player is working toward at every stage.

To define

• Number of ages and their names (per dynasty, or shared?)
• What advancing an age requires and what it unlocks
• Tech tree structure: branches, costs, exclusivity
• Power score — what feeds it and where it is shown
• Account level vs city level vs age — how many progression tracks?
• Endgame: what does a maxed player do?
• Catch-up mechanics for late joiners
• Prestige / rebirth — does the Moksha title cash out here?

Ages (draft)

Age	Theme	Unlocks
I — Founding	Ruins, first shelters	Basic units, wood/food
II — Rise	Walls, markets	Stone, cavalry, first uniques
III — Zenith	Monuments, the golden age	Siege, advanced tech, wonders
IV — Decline?	TBD — see below	TBD

Think about

• Age advancement is the best pacing tool you have. It is a rare, loud, celebratory beat in a genre made of small increments. Make each one a genuine event: the city visibly transforms, new units unlock, there is a cutscene or ceremony. Do not let it become "core building hit level 10".
• Dynasty-specific age names are cheap identity. Majapahit's ages should not be called the same thing as Aksum's. Almost free, and it deepens the fantasy.
• The "decline" question is the game's most interesting design fork. Every dynasty here actually fell. Do you model that? A late-age decline phase — or a Moksha rebirth that resets the city for permanent bonuses — would be thematically perfect and mechanically distinctive. It is also risky: players hate losing progress, and prestige systems need very careful tuning. Explore it properly before dismissing it; it may be the game's signature system.
• Too many parallel tracks is the genre's UX disease. City level, account level, age, hero levels, tech tiers, VIP, alliance rank, season pass. Each feels additive; together they are unreadable. Cap the number of tracks a player must think about at once.
• Power score is a social object, not a stat. It is what players compare, brag about and use to pick targets. Whatever you put in it becomes what players optimise — so if you want composition to matter, do not let raw troop count dominate the number.
• Design the endgame before launch, not after. Maxed players who run out of progression either quit or become your most disruptive community members. Give them a job: alliance leadership, seasonal competition, prestige.

Open questions

#	Question	Blocks	Owner
1	How many ages at launch?	Art, scope, economy
2	Is there a decline/rebirth mechanic?	Identity, economy, retention
3	Shared ages or per-dynasty?	Art budget, balance