Revisiting New London #1: New Adaptation Laws with Paweł Szyszka

Hello Citizens,

We gather today with a very important message about the future of New London.

Today marks the beginning of a special series of updates we call "Revisiting New London." Why? Because we want to invite you back to the place where it all began and give you the opportunity to help shape its future alongside us.

Yes, Frostpunk 1886 has been announced, and while there is still time before its release, that does not stop us from sharing how development is progressing. More importantly, we want to invite you to take part in shaping the future of Frostpunk 1886 through a special section called "Voices of the City," which you will find more info at the end of this article.

That is why your Captain has descended a few floors of our office building to speak directly with the development team behind the upcoming Frostpunk 1886. I can already feel the temperature rising - whether from excitement, or perhaps because somebody switched the generator on?

My name is Mikołaj, Community Specialist at 11 bit studios, and this is: Revisiting New London #1: New Adaptation Laws with Paweł Szyszka - Senior Designer.

New Additions and Changes to Old Well-Known Systems

Frostpunk 1886 will receive some changes and improvements to the laws we would like to implement, based on your feedback through all these years. Paweł worked both on Frostpunk and Frostpunk 2, and his experience is very valuable for this project. Let's hear what he would like to say about it:

"Hello guys! First of all, thank you so much for gathering here, and for giving me a chance to give you a glimpse of my work on the Frostpunk 1886 project. We’re expanding on different aspects of the tree and reshaping some others to make it exciting to use even for the players that know Frostpunk 1 by heart.

Let’s talk about some of them. There’s much more, but I don’t want to spoil too much.

But I am about to tease some of them:

First of all is an additional Child Labour law - Maintenance. Child labour in my opinion is, besides it’s undeniable memetic value, an abjectivelly worse choice in comparison with Child Helpers which is useful through the entire game, not only at the very beginning. With a new law you can force the little ones to do mundane tasks in dangerous places. Their small frames allow them to fit in tight spots between machinery to maintain or repair it without closing the facility. With that you can squeeze some more effectiveness out of your workplaces even in the late game and make them more efficient. This will make using children as a workforce a viable option even in a late game and with a big population, but with a price to pay.

Following the theme of survival forcing various forms of exploitation of your people we have a second addition - Absence Compensation. It’s an expansion of work rigors that you can sign. Citizens will be obliged to work off at night some of the time they spent recovering from sickness. You can expect some nice looking behaviors and workplaces active late at night - especially because there’s visual space for that. 

One of the more interesting changes to Adaptation laws that we’re doing in Frostpunk1886 is the Prostheses law. In Frostpunk 1, prostheses are in a strange and inconsistent spot. It’s a law that can be signed, but immediately does not do anything except unlock the visibility of a new resource and an ability to create it in a Factory - that you don’t even need to have researched nor built at the time. Instead, we’re introducing something similar, but quite different tonally - Makeshift Prostheses as a temporary solution to the problem. With it you will be able to fit your people with fastly deteriorating, uncomfortable artificial limbs that allow them to work for a time. Proper, permanent prostheses as you know will be available as research - just like Streamlined and Optimised Prostheses are." 

(Child Labour law - Maintenance)


We all see the amazing work done by our community, and sharing it on our social media has inspired us to improve your Frostpunk experience:

" For years we've been reading about ideas and interpretations of our work, seeing fanarts and even complete reinterpretations of the Book of Laws. It inspired a lot of people to create their own - as reddit posts, tabletop games. We saw that people would love to see more of them. That made me excited to rummage through the old ideas we had during Frostpunk 1 production and refine them through the lens of additional experience. So, first of all, we wanted to give our fans something that will make them excited to play the game again. We also wanted to reshape some of the areas in the tree that felt quite empty. Additionally, the pool of Adaptation laws felt quite limited during proper playthroughs of Endless Mode, especially in longer ones." 

(Paweł's pose from the original Frostpunk dev diaries with the same turtle on his head)


But every change needs to be well-thought, right?

It's a closed, complete system that players know, understand, and had 8 years to get attached to. Any kind of addition or change to the structure must be solid and understandable. It's a puzzle: what can we fit in there and make all of the pieces substantial - and I like puzzles. And it's not only the laws - it's their effects, new tools that they unlock, and the commentary narrative structure that needs to fit.

All of the additions need to keep the game from becoming oversaturated - and balanced, since the difficulty and fairness of scenarios is still one of the key points keeping players engaged.

(Absence Compensation)

Behind the Book of Laws - How It Keeps Society Functional and Gives Power to Maintain Control

The Book of Laws was always an essential tool which defined Frostpunk as a game. How is Paweł maintaining that same level of moral weight in the new system, or exploring different ethical territories?

"Laws are tools for problem-solving that come with different costs. The moral one is one of the most important in my designer's library and is a part of Frostpunk's philosophy integral to the game - something that made those games different. Not using it would be against the core principles, since it's not obligatory for players to sign any law at all - it's always a choice. With laws and their narrative consequences, it's always a walk on the fine line between being 'too much' and too little."

Paweł worked on both the original Frostpunk and Frostpunk 2. How has his understanding of what makes the Book of Laws and other "legislative" systems compelling evolved across those projects?

"It's a comparison between two different games with different societal focus in the laws. While both games try to answer the question 'what is acceptable to you to save this city?', the scale differs. Generally, it all distills to the immediate societal and gameplay response with long-lasting, understandable consequences of your actions. You need to see that your choices matter and affect the people you're taking care of."

(Makeshift Prostheses)

As we promised, at the end of every "Revisiting New London" update, we will include a special section called: "Voices of the City", which will be developed by us in the future as the updates will progress. From the very beginning of this project, we decided that Frostpunk 1886 would not only be a reimagined experience created by us, but also one shaped together with the community.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas about this update (or upcoming ones), share them in the comments or on our Discord! Paweł and the rest of the team will review your feedback and address it in the next update. There’s also a chance that your ideas will inspire us to add new features to the game, and if they do, you’ll be the first to hear about it right here.

Stay tuned, Citizens. And remember: The City Must…..

~ 11 bit studios Team