🌾 Devlog: “ Logistics in The Withering Fields”

Automation, conveyors, golem carriers, and zone-restricted building

Hello, wanderers of the Withering Valley! 👋
Today I want to share a major upcoming system for The Withering Fields: logistics and automation.
Inspired by Satisfactory, but adapted to our magi-tech post-apocalypse, this system will blend creature-based logistics, reclaimed industrial zones, and small self-contained production lines.

In short, the game will feature:
mini-factories, conveyors, automated mining rigs, processors, zone-restricted industrial areas, and cargo golems.
All redesigned to fit the atmosphere of rebuilding a corrupted world.

Let’s dive in.

🌐 1. Why automation will appear in The Withering Fields

During early tests it became clear:

• players revisit the same resource spots;

• long manual hauling becomes repetitive;

• the world encourages exploring and cleansing new locations, not endless backtracking.

But full automation across the entire map would break the feeling of isolation and recovery.
So the direction became:

Local automation — global logistics handled by living constructs.

🏭 2. Core principle: Conveyors will only work in tech-zones

A key difference from factory-building games.

Conveyors in this world are magitech structures that can function only inside stabilized regions. These will include:

✔ tech-zones near the base

✔ cleansed quarries

✔ special processing zones unlocked through progression

Outside those areas, the corruption disrupts them — so conveyors simply won’t activate.

This adds strategic depth:

• the map gains structure and meaning;

• players choose where to establish industrial enclaves;

• cleansing a zone becomes more than just clearing enemies.

🪨 3. Mini-factories: extraction → conveyor → processing → storage

Each industrial site will form a compact, self-running production loop.

Example: Cleansed Quarry.

1) Resource node

Produces Corrupted Stone.

2) Automatic Mining Rig

Placed on the node.
Passively generates raw materials.

3) Conveyor Belt

One simple type.
No energy required.
Works only inside tech-zones.

4) Corruption Processor

Input → Corrupted Stone
Output → Clean Stone (+ small chance for Corruption Crystal)

5) Local storage

Collects all processed materials.

Once placed in a cleansed zone, the whole chain will run on its own, as long as the zone stays stable.

🚧 4. Restrictions that make the game better

Limiting conveyors to specific zones prevents the entire world from being flattened into pure factory space.

With:

• local mini-factories
  and

• global logistics handled by golems,

the flow becomes more organic and fits the world’s lore and tone.

🤖 5. Cargo Golems — the heart of world-scale logistics

Conveyors will handle local production.
But transporting resources across the map will rely on living constructs — a safer, more atmospheric alternative.

And now, an important update:
👉 golems cannot be destroyed anymore.
If the path becomes unsafe, blocked, or corrupted, they simply pause and wait until conditions improve.

This keeps logistics readable and player-friendly, while still keeping the world dynamic.

Carrier Golem

• carries 10–20 items;

• moves between two set points (A ↔ B);

• pauses if the route becomes corrupted or blocked;

• uses small “Route Beacons” for navigation.

Reliable, predictable, and perfect for steady transport.

Cart Golem

• pulls a cart with 30–50 items;

• follows a looped route (A → B → C → A);

• slows down in difficult terrain;

• waits safely if the route becomes unstable.

This is the living equivalent of a logistics caravan — but without destruction mechanics.

💡 6. The overall logistics structure

Local Automation — inside industrial zones
→ mining rig
→ conveyor
→ processor
→ storage

Global Logistics — across the world
→ carrier golems
→ cart golems
→ route beacons
→ delivery points
→ farm & research stations

This creates meaningful decisions:

• which zones to cleanse first?

• where to establish industrial hubs?

• which routes are worth connecting?

• which resources should be prioritized?

🧪 7. What will be included in the demo

The demo will contain a fully functional early-game logistic chain:

✔ automatic mining rig

✔ one conveyor type

✔ two processing buildings

✔ storage

✔ carrier golem

✔ route beacons? (maybe auto-finding the path??)

✔ tech-zone restrictions

✔ complete working loop:

Quarry → Rig → Conveyor → Processor → Storage → Golem → Farm

This will let players experience the full cycle:

cleanse → build → automate → transport → research → unlock new options.

🎬 8. What will come next

Future updates will introduce:

• upgraded golem models with new abilities;

• customizable carts;

• energy as a mid-game resource;

• improved conveyors;

• rare-material processing;

• settlement-to-settlement routes;

• and eventually late-game airborne drones.

All of it, step by step, maintaining the narrative tone of the world.