Posted October 06, 2025 by locelok
Hello everyone!
Since the last update, Ascendant Legacy has undergone its most profound transformation yet. Based on the original vision of creating a rich, emergent dynasty simulation, we've dived headfirst into rebuilding the very heart of the game. What was once a turn-based game, where time only advanced with a click, has now become a continuous and autonomous real-time simulation!
I'm thrilled to share the new features and foundational changes that have been implemented:
The "Advance Season" button is gone! Time now flows on its own, and years can pass in minutes, much like classic grand strategy games. To manage this, we've added time controls that allow you to Pause, run at Normal Speed (1x), or Fast-Forward (2x) the simulation. This fundamentally changes the player's role: you are no longer a task-doer, but a true strategist and observer of your dynasty.
With time now passing automatically, the old interface no longer made sense. It has been completely redesigned to function as a central "dashboard." We now have persistent elements on screen:
The way you play has changed. Instead of choosing an action that consumes a turn, you now set a "Focus" for your character (e.g., "Focus on Manual Labor"). The character then performs this task autonomously as time passes. And here’s the most exciting part: if you don't set a focus, the character's AI takes over! Based on their traits (like "Ambitious"), your character will choose their own focus, pursuing their own goals. The game can now, quite literally, play itself, creating unexpected stories.
The old, simplistic Stamina mechanic has been retired. In its place, we've introduced a deeper Health and Stress system. Work-related focuses increase stress, while leisure decreases it. A character with low health or critically high stress now has a greater chance of dying prematurely, forcing you to balance ambition with the well-being of your leader.
Behind the scenes, the entire game has been refactored to support multiple languages. Text is no longer hardcoded, and the game can already be played in both English and Portuguese, ensuring a universal reach in the future.
These massive updates transform the gameplay experience and build an incredibly robust foundation for the dynasty simulation we've always dreamed of creating.
The focus now shifts to deepening the simulation even further, with the implementation of the Universal Genealogy system (family trees for all NPCs) and the introduction of macro-scale World Events.
And the best part? You can try all these new features right now! The latest version has been uploaded and is live on the page. Play it in your browser and let us know what you think!
Thanks for following the journey!
We want to hear from you! What do you think of these new changes? Is the idea of a continuous simulation where characters can act on their own more exciting? We'd love to hear your feedback in the comments below!