Welcome, Screeps players, to the much-anticipated Season 5! We're about to embark on a new adventure, unveiling a fresh layer of strategy and rivalry in our world!
This season, we're introducing a unique element - Thorium! This finite, non-renewable mineral is found in each room with a controller, adding an unprecedented dynamic to your Screeps journey. Unlike all other resources in the game, once Thorium is mined, it's gone forever. This finite nature of Thorium will usher in a nomadic experience: to sustain your progress, you might need to abandon depleted rooms and develop new ones. The thrill of exploration and the challenge of expansion are at the heart of Season 5!
Thorium also brings a novel challenge to your game strategy. Both creeps and decayable structures, such as roads and containers, experience accelerated aging and decay when they come into contact with Thorium. This rate of decay increases logarithmically based on the total Thorium present on the same tile. Whether the Thorium is in a creep's cargo or in a structure's storage, its presence amplifies the rate of decay. The formula used to calculate this increased decay is Math.floor(Math.log10([total Thorium on the tile])). To illustrate, if there are 10 units of Thorium on a tile, the rate of decay increases by 1. For 100 units of Thorium, the decay rate increases by 2, and for 1000 units, it increases by 3. This escalating decay adds a new layer to your strategic planning, emphasizing the critical importance of careful Thorium management.
After mining Thorium, your mission is to transfer it to a special structure - the Reactor, located in the center of each game sector. Claiming these reactors becomes the crux of your score-earning strategy. Each claimed Reactor consumes 1 unit of Thorium per tick, generating score points for the player who claimed the reactor.
Scoring works as follows: For every tick the Reactor operates continuously, the points awarded increase logarithmically. The formula we're using is 1 + Math.floor(Math.log10([ticks of continuous operating])). A critical strategy this season will be to consistently supply your Reactors with Thorium. Remember, the longer a Reactor operates, the more score points you earn from the same amount of Thorium. However, the moment a Reactor runs out of Thorium, it shuts down, and the bonus resets.
But there's another aspect to consider! Your Reactors aren't safe from the competition. They can be re-claimed by other players using a single creep with the CLAIM body part. This means guarding your Reactors becomes as crucial as keeping them supplied.
In Season 5, it's a game of careful planning, timely movement, strategic claiming, vigilant defense, and managing the decay-inducing Thorium. Will you adapt to the nomadic lifestyle, manage your Thorium wisely, keep your Reactors supplied, guard them from competitors, and handle the accelerated decay to maximize your score? Or will your progress be halted by the finite nature of resources, the cunning of your rivals, and the ticking clock of decay? The stage is set, and only time will tell.
Season 5 is here. The Thorium is waiting. The Reactors are ready. Are you?
