Brave New Wonders, a post-apocalyptic factory automation and base-building game from Toronto-based indie studio City From Naught, is set to launch on PC on September 21. The strategy simulation puts players in control of intelligent automatons that can be directed using everyday written instructions rather than traditional programming commands.
Set in a distant future after humanity has disappeared, the game combines factory construction, resource management, exploration and combat across the ruins of a shattered civilization.
Players Command Automatons With Natural Language
A central feature of Brave New Wonders is its text-based command system. Instead of relying exclusively on predefined automation functions, players can tell their automatons what to do using plain-language instructions.
The system supports instructions in multiple languages and does not require players to learn a programming language. Commands can range from basic tasks to more complicated behaviors involving buildings and signal systems.
Players can also create editable behavior graphs, reuse commands and develop reactive automation systems as their factories become more complex.
Shala Chen explained the approach behind the mechanic:
“The text command system is a core part of Brave New Wonders. Rather than using AI behind the scenes, we made it an essential gameplay feature that lets players give automatons natural-language instructions.
“Unlike traditional automation games, where you’re limited to predefined functions, players can create, edit, and reuse their own commands, including creating signal systems to communicate with other buildings. Once players understand the system, it opens up a lot of creative experimentation and unexpected possibilities.
“The AI system interprets the player’s intent and translates it into automaton actions; it only does what the player wants. Whoever gives the commands is the author.”
Factories Operate Without Traditional Conveyor Belts
The game’s automation systems take a different approach from factory simulations built primarily around conveyor belts.
Players mine resources, manufacture increasingly complex components and create interconnected production networks. Factory layouts can be saved as blueprints and duplicated, while cloned automatons retain their assigned tasks.
Signal-based logic provides another layer of control, allowing automated systems to react to changing conditions.
A Flying Factory Serves as a Mobile Base
At the center of the player’s operation is the Airborne Wonder, a massive flying factory that doubles as a mobile base.
As it is upgraded, the airborne facility allows players to move their operations between different regions instead of leaving a permanent base behind. Intercontinental travel becomes part of the progression, combining large-scale factory management with continued exploration.
Post-Apocalyptic World Spans Multiple Continents
The world of Brave New Wonders stretches across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, with continents and floating islands offering different biomes, resources and relics.
Human civilization has vanished, leaving cities in ruins and machines dormant. Players explore those remnants while attempting to determine what caused humanity’s disappearance.
Not everything left behind is harmless. Dormant Old World machines can become enemies, adding combat to the game’s mixture of exploration, logistics and construction.
Ancient relics discovered during expeditions provide additional clues about the civilization that once occupied the world.
Automation, Exploration and Strategy Drive Progression
Players can create complex production networks, manage logistics and use blueprints to reproduce successful factory designs. The ability to clone automatons while preserving their assigned behaviors is intended to make large-scale expansion easier as operations grow.
Alongside standard automation, players can experiment with custom commands and signal systems to create increasingly sophisticated interactions between machines and buildings.
The combination gives players direct control over how their industrial systems function while avoiding the requirement to write conventional code.
Brave New Wonders Arrives on PC September 21
Brave New Wonders is scheduled for release on PC on September 21. The game combines elements of factory automation, base building, simulation and strategy within a post-apocalyptic setting.
Developer and publisher City From Naught has been creating games since 2019. The Toronto studio’s portfolio also includes cyberpunk detective adventure Keyword 2: Nightfall and hacking puzzle game Keyword: A Spider’s Thread.
By combining natural-language machine commands with mobile factories and global exploration, Brave New Wonders aims to offer a different approach to the increasingly popular factory automation genre.
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