The Engineer

Lore & Background

As the city grows, the Engineer's influence expands beyond mechanics into governance. They must manage resources, make choices on how to survive, and explore the area outside their city for survivors, resources, or other useful items. The game features several scenarios, each with its own stories and different challenges. The main campaign adopts a three-act structure, requiring players to grapple with internal conflict and societal turmoil in a divided city and survive a great storm that threatens to overwhelm the city, making sacrifices and morally grey ethical decisions along the way. The Engineer can use laws to regulate productivity, such as allowing child labour or forcing temporary 24-hour shifts, and can increase citizens' support either by 'Order' (buildings and laws to enforce security) or by 'Faith' (buildings and laws that implement a religion). These two paths can be continued to the point of fanaticism, with the city falling under complete totalitarian rule.

In Their Own Story

The wind howled like a dying beast against the reinforced glass of the control room, but inside, the only sound was the rhythmic thrum of the Generator. The Engineer wiped grease from their brow, leaving a dark smear on pale skin, and stared at the pressure gauges. They were fluctuating again. Outside, the city was a silhouette of huddled figures against the whiteout, waiting for warmth that could vanish in an instant if the core failed. There was no time to rest; the blueprints demanded attention, and the people needed heat more than they needed answers. The Engineer must manage the well-being of citizens, keeping their hope high and discontent low. If hope is too low, or discontent is too high for an extended period of time, the citizens of New London will revolt against the player and the game will end. The generator may shut down if there is insufficient coal, or explode if the player keeps overloading it to meet heat demand, ending the game.

Reader's Guide

The Engineer is an unnamed protagonist whose arc is defined by the transition from a technical specialist to a reluctant ruler of society. Their primary skill lies in interpreting complex blueprints and managing the city's infrastructure, ensuring the Generator remains operational against freezing temperatures. The game starts out with a small group of survivors and several small caches of supplies with which to build a city. These supplies will quickly run out, and players must construct new facilities such as sawmills, hunting huts, mines, and factories to harvest raw materials (coal, wood, steel, and food) in order to keep their society warm and healthy in the midst of fluctuating cold temperatures. Building a workshop structure allows players to research technology and buildings that will make the city more efficient. Through research, players can also construct a beacon to scout the surrounding frozen wasteland for additional survivors and resources. The Engineer's role evolves as they must enforce laws and manage social unrest, often requiring them to make brutal choices regarding labor, food rationing, and faith. The defining moments of their journey involve critical decisions that determine whether the city becomes a beacon of hope or a tyrannical fortress.

Did You Know?

• The Engineer's city is always centred around a massive coal-fired generator that produces heat in a circular radius, which can be extended and upgraded throughout the game.
• If the generator runs out of coal it shuts down, or if the player keeps overloading it to meet heat demand it can explode — both ending the game.
• The Engineer can fully automate some facilities using giant autonomous machines called 'Automatons', which are created using 'Steam Cores'.
• In most scenarios, the Engineer can choose to increase citizens' support either by 'Order' or by 'Faith', and both paths can be continued to the point of fanaticism and totalitarian rule.
• A platform can be constructed to execute enemies or unbelievers by scalding them to death with steam from the generator.