Overview
- Related article: Category:Game operation
This article speaks to how to operate the game (the software itself) so that you can play the game.
What you can see
- Related article: Category:Heads-up display
- Related article: Category:Dialog boxes
Once you have begun playing the game (see World Generation to understand how to do that) you are presented with the heads-up display (or HUD) that comprises the following permanent visual elements:
- A bar across the top of your screen showing you several pieces of information (many of which can be hovered over for more information and some even clicked on to open various dialog boxes) including:
- Some general Settlement vital statistics, including Health, Population & Housing, Happiness, and Food stocks.
- When within the current year you are (and, optionally, the year number and the current weather in words). There is also a small weather icon just to the left of this.
- The total you currently have in storage of a handful of specific Resources.
- A tray of buttons in the bottom-right corner of your screen, which are either controls or menus, all of which have a corresponding keyboard shortcut.
- Game speed controls in the bottom-left of your screen, this also having a handful of keyboard shortcuts.
In addition to the HUD, you will also be presented with small Event Log popups towards the top-left of your screen, notifying you of various things, including:
- Births & deaths.
- The arrival of a Traveling Merchant.
- The onset of a Raid.
In addition to the HUD and the event log, there are also solicited and unsolicited dialog boxes, including:
- Your settlement's Annual Report.
- Settlement Items.
- Alerts of immigrants requesting admission to your settlement.
Behind the HUD, Event Log popups, and other dialog boxes, you will see the world in which your Settlement exists. You can zoom this view of your world using both keyboard & mouse controls.
What you can do
You control the game with your keyboard and mouse. Although a few controls are duplicated between them, most controls are not. Mouse actions and keyboard shortcuts are covered in detail in Default & Hidden Controls.
When you start the game itself, you're presented with the main menu. You can start playing in a new world, pickup from where you left off last time, or load a previously saved world. You also have several game settings that you can change to suit your preferences and needs.
Once you have begun playing the game (see World Generation to understand how to do that) you can interact with anything that is on the screen, including just about everything in the portion of the world currently being displayed. This interaction is just about always done with your mouse.
You can start to read about why (and how) you would interact with something in the game in the Beginner's Guide.