Here's a little more info about the new laboratory.
What is it?It's an alchemy lab. Similar to the mill and forge, it converts one type of resource into another. Unlike the mill and forge, the conversion rate is not strictly defined. It is influenced by several factors including market prices, magic points of the citizen operating the lab (see below), and even some random factors -- perhaps the phase of the moon.
Why'd we build it?It will help us convert excess wood into more useful resources. It will take a long time to recover the cost of the lab, but we don't have a pressing need for game rooms right now, so it was a good time to invest in it. EC has rooms for almost all the games played most often by munchkins, and we have 4 level 14 players who will be able to add games to their houses when they reach 15. Also, our warehouses were filling up with resources and it's getting expensive to expand them. Building the lab used up resources so our warehouses are no longer bursting at the seams, and the lab will help convert lots of cheap resources into fewer more valuable resources thus saving on storage space. Finally, it looks nice.
How does it work?A "repeat the pattern" game just like the mill and forge, except it has colored test tubes instead of circles. There will be a message in the city chat when the lab is ready to be run.
What are magic points?The production rate is influenced by the "magic points" a citizen has accumulated. These points are accumulated by playing multi-player games, but there's no way to determine how many points anyone has. It appears that playing a variety of games helps, so we're suggesting citizens play at least 5 different multi-player games between lab sessions.
So everyone please play a variety of games and then watch for your change to work the lab.
Also, from what I hear, it helps to pretend you're a mad scientist and to laugh maniacally while you work the lab.
Autor
