Hi Everyone,

Starting as a teen playing browsergames (PBBG), I found the biggest issue, both then and now as an adult, is with three pillars:

1. The oldest players beat you with the wallet, not with the skills. I can tell you a lot of these situations I've experienced directly.
2. Stay at the top level of the guild, you need to pay like a monthly subscription, or you will be fired.
3. You need to set up an alarm to fleet the troops every day or alert with a huge sound for EACH attack you receive. It's like a job.

Recently I've spoken with my friends, he and I shared a lot of these games during the years, and we are searching for something new, and we have found only the usual games that survive the years. After some weeks of the game, we have found the same issue above. So I've decided to start a new game.

What is SeedLord?

The idea behind SeedLord is very simple: it’s an economic game where you can’t attack other baronies. By its very nature, it must be a “NO-PAY-TO-WIN” game, and the main goal is to win through skill, not through a snowball effect or the size of your wallet. I therefore decided to implement a "reset" limit: more specifically, after 120 days, the current world will end and a new one will begin, to ensure that players don’t win simply because they signed up first, rather than for other reasons.

The core of the game is trade and diplomacy, and how these are managed:

1. You start with a single seed, which grants a multiplier for harvesting a specific resource (for example, more wood per hour) after that you must specialize in a specific "role" such as the Wizard (explained in detail below).
2. Now you must produce resources, focusing on trade or diplomacy during the day.
3. As the game progresses, harvesting zones will be created. Some are event zones. There, you can collect specific resources needed to construct certain buildings and rare resources, you must control them to win the game. The zone will also provide you with Sigils based on specific criteria.
4. The goal of the game is: collect the gold and Sigils needed to "win the world" before the others. Each world has specific settings. If you and your guild win, you’ll earn a permanent title in the Hall of Fame.
5. Dominate the world, you can participate in multiple worlds at the same time.

Choose your specializations!

At the start, you can choose a specialization, which isn’t a limitation but a multiplier for your economy. Each specialization relies on the others.

Farmer: This is the first specialization that produces a LOT of food and other plants based on their rarity. If you manage it well, it will guarantee you a boost in gold right from the start. Everyone needs one.

Herbalist: You can create many potions and other items based on the plants needed in the shared area.

Wizard: You have intelligence-based abilities: for example you can decode messages intercepted by spies or predict where event zones will appear.

Blacksmith: You have the power to create a specific building that others cannot build, you can control "scalability" for other players.

Lumberjack: You can build a larger warehouse to store items and other specific buildings that require "wood".

Rancher: You can raise animals like horses (to boost movement) and other animals to sell.

General: You have a military boost, so the zone is easier to defend, BUT you have to buy EVERYTHING, your internal production is very limited.

Why no PvP?

A quick behind-the-scenes look: I hate it when you spend 3–4 months building something that will be destroyed in 10 minutes. Let me be clear about this: if you lose because of a "skill in the game" that’s PERFECTLY FINE.

But if you lost everything because of, for example:

• "double-crossing" guild leaders.
• bug abusers.
• troops boosted by real money. And so many others of you have likely had the same experience.

So, I’ve thought long and hard about this mechanic, and the only solution is: the combat will be brutal, but only in shared zones, event zones, diplomacy, and the market. No buildings will be destroyed.

The monetization rule

This is very crucial for me. Before writing ANY line of code, I put it at the top of every file, and the line is:

"Real money purchases cosmetics and comfort features only. It cannot buy resources, troops, production speed, or any advantage that interacts with other players competitively."

It’s not a brilliant idea, but it’s simply unreasonable, and for me, it’s a non-negotiable. To uphold the community guidelines, I’ve created a rigorous community review process before any feature is made public.

Here’s how it works:

1. Has the idea been conceived and is it feasible? Good.
2. Will it pass the test of the phrase above? Fantastic!
3. Post the details on the public page and wait X days for the community to validate it. Did the community rate it as fair?

If you fail ANY of these checks, the idea will be rejected, FULL STOP, NO EXCEPTION.

What is the current status?

I’m in the pre-alpha phase; I don’t have a release date yet, and I’d like to gather honest feedback and criticism about the project. I want to develop the game together with the community, not just for it. This feedback is very useful for every stage of the project, even after launch.

I’ve created a public page where you can learn more and join the project as "founding lords". This is the fastest way for me to gather initial feedback on the project and discuss its key aspects with the community. It’s completely free, and you can sign up in a minute.

Join here: go.seedlord.com

For any questions or more details about the project, please write your question below. I'm very happy to answer you!

PS: This message has already been approved by the moderator.

How much have you already got working? This seems like a huge project, especially just for one person.

What is your policy on AI generated content as part of the development? Both for art and code? No need to destroy the real environment for a virtual one, and AI code in a secure environment is a no-no for me.

I'd also like to advise caution about having every change put to a community vote. Only the most enfranchised players will actually get involved in the process, and may make changes that hurt newer players. Players tend also to be really bad at identifying solutions to problems in general.

Thank you for your comment; I really appreciate it.

I’ve only just started working on this, but I’d like to get some feedback from the community so that it can be as community-driven as possible. As for staffing, it’s possible that I might need to hire a few developers to help me out.

Regarding AI, in the first phase of the project, I’ll likely rely heavily on AI for the artistic aspects (e.g., icons, background), but I prefer local models over hosted ones for the same reason you mentioned. For the code, I’ve been a developer for years before AI even existed, so I use it as a companion to speed up my work on the smaller tasks.

Finally, regarding community voting, votes will obviously be weighted, and in any case, voters must provide a valid reason to vote, so I expect to filter out trolls and the like right from the start. We’ll definitely have to see how things play out based on what develops.