LilCi World enters open beta with a new mode

LilCi World has outgrown its demo days and is entering open beta today, bringing a new mode with a real ending – Battle for the Throne.

The idea is pretty simple. Four clans sit in the corners of the map, each starting with its own immortal citadel. In the center of the map stands a neutral Capital – that's the Throne, and one of the clans has to capture it to win. Every clan goes from growth all the way to storming the Capital, and that's a new concept for us, phases. Only after going through every phase can a clan finally put together a raid to take the Capital. Whoever captures it and holds it for 10,000 cycles wins. But don't think taking the Capital wins the game right after a successful raid. If another clan takes it back, the previous owner's counter resets to zero.

You are the god of this world. You can become the patron of one clan and put all your power into backing it, or pick the observer role and help any clan on the map. Let's say it up front, this mode favors patrons. Every 2,000 cycles they receive tribute from their clan, and it depends on how developed the clan is and how much it trusts you. The observer gets divine energy only from the world's strife – raids and wars feed it. As a god, you can point a clan to a spot for a new camp, double the harvest on its lands, speed up births. If you'd rather do harm, there are tools for that too – strike rival lilcis or their buildings with lightning, send a wolf pack or bring down a typhoon. If a clan dies out, you can bring it back as long as enemies haven't taken its citadel (a patron can only revive their own clan). Just don't forget that lilcis don't obey you directly. Your hints may be heard, or they may be ignored if their trust in you is low. And if you punish too often, your clan gets scared and trust drops.

Beyond the mode itself, Battle for the Throne brings two new features.

The first is caravans inside a clan. Lilcis now haul resources between their own settlements. Some caravans carry wood, stone and food to wherever the clan is building a clan house, a village or a garrison. Others feed settlements that have run out of food. A caravan gathers porters, takes an escort if the road is long, and keeps making trips until it delivers everything that's needed.

The second is the clan council. The chief now has advisers, and each of them has an opinion on where the clan should go next. Lose a few raids and the council starts leaning toward peace, start winning and it leans toward war. The council can demand that the chief change course. The chief may give in, or dig in, and then the council can get rid of the chief on its own, with a quiet assassination or exile. And an exile may well defect to the enemy and hand over every camp of their old clan.

Both features will make their way to Clan Wars over time.

And one more change we'd like to ask you about. In Clan Wars the world was explained through quests, and in Battle for the Throne we decided to explain it differently – with stop-frames on important events. When something happens in the world for the first time, say a camp grows into a settlement, a clan marches on the Capital or someone takes the Throne, the game pauses and briefly tells you what happened and why it matters. Read it, hit "Got it", and the world moves on. If the hints get old, you can turn them off and bring them back later with a button in the header.

If you like this better than quests, stop-frames could come to Clan Wars too. Vote with 👍 or 👎 on the pinned post in lilci-chat on our Discord, and we'll decide based on what players say.

Nothing is scripted. Who marches on the Throne first, who starves and who declares war on whom is all decided by the simulation, so every game plays out differently.

It's a beta, so we're sure there will be bugs. If you find one, write to us on Discord, we've made a dedicated channel, lilci-bugs. And if you've come up with a cool idea you want to share, that's what lilci-ideas is for. Good luck storming the Throne!