Resources and Survival Systems

Aurora: Embers of Winter uses a deliberately simple resource model inspired by survival strategy games such as Frostpunk. Each resource should have a clear purpose and create meaningful choices. The initial system separates stored inventory resources from ongoing supplies and systems provided by the locomotive.

Stored resources

These resources are gathered, carried, consumed, traded, recovered, or spent on development.

Resource	Purpose	Typical sources or uses
Embers	Scarce energy resource	Used by the Perpetual Ember Core and other ember-powered equipment; also traded between trains and settlements.
Food	Keeps the population fed	Produced by Greenhouse Wagons, purchased, traded, or recovered from abandoned places.
Soft Materials	Flexible or organic materials	Represents wool, leather, fur, hides, fabric, and similar materials. Obtained from livestock, wildlife, trade, and scavenging. Used for clothing, insulation, bedding, and other flexible goods.
Hard Materials	Structural and rigid materials	Represents metal, wood, structural scrap, and other building supplies. Obtained through trade, scavenging, dismantling wrecks, logging, or mining. Used to build and reinforce wagons, repair structures, and expand infrastructure.
Parts	Manufactured components and replacements	Used for repairs, machinery, locomotive upgrades, and advanced wagons. Generally more specialized than Soft or Hard Materials.
Research Data	Usable knowledge and discoveries	Recovered from old laboratories, facilities, records, and experiments. Used to unlock technologies, designs, and improvements.
Luxury Goods	Comforts and rare high-value items	Represents delicacies, fine drinks, preserved fruit, premium ingredients, and similar goods. Used to meet Elite expectations, support their satisfaction, and potentially assist diplomacy or high-value trade.
Currency	Standardized medium of exchange	The single global currency established after the Fall. Used to price goods and services, trade between factions, purchase supplies, pay for repairs, and settle contracts.

Currency is a stored resource and the common unit of value used throughout the surviving world. Major factions may issue their own faction-specific currencies for local administration, wages, or political identity, but these are converted into the global currency at recognized exchange rates. They are not separate player resource counters. The exact name, physical form, issuing authority, and exchange-rate rules remain undecided. Barter may still occur, especially in isolated settlements.

The initial design treats Luxury Goods as one abstract resource rather than tracking each luxury item separately. Elite passengers create demand for these goods over time. Shortages can reduce Elite satisfaction and lead to complaints, reduced cooperation, or political trouble. Luxury Goods are a social and political requirement, not a basic physical survival need for the train.

Locomotive-provided supplies and systems

These are not ordinary inventory stacks. The locomotive produces or supplies them over time, subject to capacity, demand, energy use, and maintenance.

Power

The Perpetual Ember Core provides baseline power for propulsion and connected onboard systems. Its output and distribution capacity limit how much equipment the train can operate at once. Upgrades can improve distribution or capacity.

Water

A forward-facing intake gathers snow as the train travels, and the locomotive processes it into usable water. Water is a supplied resource with a production rate and demand, not a standard carried inventory counter in the core resource model. The crew and wagons consume water; production can fall short of demand if the intake or processing system is inadequate, damaged, or unable to gather enough snow.

The Improved Water Recycling Wagon reduces the train’s net demand for newly produced water by recovering and purifying used water. It complements the locomotive’s snow-to-water system rather than replacing it.

Heat

The locomotive supplies baseline heat, which is distributed through the train. Actual warmth depends on available energy, heating and distribution capacity, wagon requirements, and outside conditions. Heat is a system output rather than an inventory resource.

Population

Population is tracked as the number and types of people aboard, using the established class and special-role framework. It is not an inventory resource. Population affects demand for Food, Water, heat, accommodation, and other services.

Keeping the distinction clear

Embers are stored; power and heat are system outputs. A train can carry Embers yet still struggle if its Core or distribution systems cannot meet demand.
Water is supplied by the locomotive. It has production and consumption rates, not a normal inventory stack in the initial model.
Food is stored and consumed. Greenhouse production can reduce dependence on external supplies but still needs suitable conditions and maintenance.
Soft Materials, Hard Materials, and Parts are separate. Soft Materials cover flexible or animal-derived goods such as wool, leather, fur, and hides. Hard Materials cover structural supplies such as metal, wood, and scrap. Parts are manufactured components used for machinery, repairs, and upgrades.
Luxury Goods serve social needs. They can help maintain Elite satisfaction but should not be necessary for the basic physical survival of the train.
Currency standardizes trade. One global currency was established after the Fall. Major factions may issue local or faction-specific money, but it is converted to the common currency rather than tracked as a separate resource.
Research Data represents discoveries, not ordinary documents. It is spent or used to unlock development options; exact research costs and progression remain undecided.

Resource design principles

The initial resource system should stay small. A new resource should only be introduced if it creates a meaningful decision. Ammunition, medicine, individual metals, and specific luxury items can initially be represented through equipment, wagon functions, trade goods, or events rather than separate resource counters.

Exact consumption rates, storage limits, production rates, trade values, research costs, and progression tiers are intentionally undecided at this stage.