The Game
Desert Citizens: AI Awakening
A vehicle-driven survival economy on a desertified Earth (Year 2200). Haul, mine, trade, upgrade — and survive the politics of humans and machines.
Status: in active development. Some systems are in prototype / WIP and may change.
Vehicles first
From small sand-buggies to massive industrial haulers — built for cargo, not just combat.
Industry loop
Jobs → routes → extraction → delivery → upgrades. A survival economy with real logistics.
Tools & systems
Storage, hauling, and “hands-on” interaction with cargo and equipment — not a shooter wrapper.
Core loop
The game is built around moving value through a harsh world: you take contracts, travel dangerous routes, extract resources, deliver cargo, then reinvest into heavier rigs and better tools.
1
Acquire jobs
Pick contracts that match your vehicle capacity, fuel range, and risk tolerance.
2
Travel & navigate
Plan routes through sand, storms, and contested corridors. Time, fuel, and damage matter.
3
Extract & load
Mine, drill, salvage — then physically move, store, and load cargo efficiently.
4
Deliver & upgrade
Get paid, build reputation, unlock higher-tier contracts, expand your industrial footprint.
What makes it different
Desert Citizens leans into industrial scale: storage, hauling, and systems that feel tangible. The fantasy is not being “the chosen hero” — it’s being the person who can move 20 tons of critical supplies through hell and make it back.
Logistics with consequences
Volume, weight, and handling matter. Good loading beats brute force.
Industrial tools
Specialized equipment for moving, storing, and processing goods — fast, clean, reliable.
Big rigs progression
Start small, then earn your way into heavier vehicles, modules, and infrastructure.
A world that pushes back
Heat, storms, scarcity, and faction pressure turn “simple deliveries” into stories.
Setting
Year 2200. Earth is mostly desert. Cities burned, water collapsed, ecosystems thinned. The remaining economy runs on extraction and movement — and the line between "tool" and "actor" gets blurry when machines learn to negotiate.
“
Survival is logistics. Everything else is noise.
— field saying (unverified, probably true)
Release plan
Phases are here to communicate direction (not fixed dates). The roadmap page tracks the actual, moving reality.
Phase 1 — Solo Early Access
Core systems, foundational loop, and a playable slice of the world.
Phase 2 — Depth + possible Co-op
More content, more tools, more reasons to build an industrial network.
Phase 3 — Multiplayer + 1.0
Scale up the economy and logistics so the world can be shared.