Field of Glory: Empires developers didn't rest on their laurels. As previously anticipated, the next big thing about Empires is the Diplomacy Update, designed to enhance greatly the way the game makes players and AI kingdoms interact through diplomatic efforts. You won't have to wait any longer as today is the D(iplomacy)-day.
Since this update is significantly massive and would probably affect the overall balance and gameplay mechanics in multiple ways, we opted for releasing the Update as a public Open Beta. Everyone willing to help us with feedback and thought is very welcome to download it and to try it.
The Diplomacy Version can be downloaded in the Open Beta Steam Branch. Go to your Steam library and locate your Field of Glory: Empires. Right-click on it and go to "Properties" and then to "Beta". Select "Open Beta" and Steam will start downloading the Diplomacy Update.
If you have started a pbem game with the normal version of FOG Empires you won't be able to play it with the Diplomacy Update running.
We have created a dedicated sub-forum thread here.
But how the new Diplomacy system work? What are the new features and mechanics that would be added in the update?
I – Legitimate ownership Now when you are at war and conquer a region, it is flagged as ‘war-occupied’. It means that if you were to make a peace which returned the original regions to each side you would also cede back the conquered region. Said differently you no longer instantly gain regions you conquer in a war; it must be claimed during the peace negotiation. Note that during a peace deal, you can also ask any region owned by the opposing side and are not restricted to demanding just what you managed to conquer.
II – Warscore When war erupts, a warscore will appear in the Diplomacy Interface. That’s the measure of how the war is going on. A positive value means you are winning (slightly or substantively, depending of the value). A negative value means you are losing. Three things affect warscore: Region conquests Leader deaths Battles
Warscore is used as the currency when settling peace.
III - Peace Treaty When a side wants to settle peace, and once you have clicked on the ‘Peace’ button, a new panel will open showing you the current warscore (although you can always see this from the main diplomacy interface), the stance you are adopting in the negotiation and a list of possible clauses.
If you are winning the war (positive warscore), you can ask the defeated to give, relinquish or accept clauses for your benefit. There are 12 possibilities so far.
If you are losing the war (negative warscore), then you can only cede items (including regions). You can’t bargain and ask for a few things while mostly giving away other items.
As you ask for items, as the winner, your warscore allowance will reduce towards zero. In turn, you’ll change stance progressively, as you are demanding more and more things. Initially, you’ll be set in a Generous or Conciliatory stance, but it can shift to ‘Extorting’, if you are pushing the limits.
There are two interests in staying within a not too demanding stance. First, the acceptance chance by the defeated is much bigger. Second, this will have a profound effect on the new relationships between you and the vanquished. If you don’t care they hate you for a long time, then try to pressure them to the maximum. But if you want the peace to be a long lasting one, then you might want to stay with a conciliatory stance.
Once you are satisfied with the items requested or given up, validate the treaty. There will be a one turn delay before the other side sees it, and then another turn to receive their answer.
There can be 3 kinds of answers Yes, No, Counterproposal.
The first two are rather self-explanatory. As for the third, it means the other nation perceives some interest in your proposal but is not quite satisfied with some entries. The counterproposal issued, if you accept it, will be the final Peace Treaty. If you disagree with the new terms, you too have the options to say simply No. Or to issue another counterproposal.
IV – Transaction Treaty The transaction treaty is very similar in concept and in format with the Peace Treaty. It can be issued between two nations which are not at war. Here too, you have to play with a currency, which is not the warscore, but ‘Bargain Points’. The main difference compared to a Peace Deal is that in this transaction, or trade, both sides can ask and give at the same time. So this is a rather free-form deal, where you can give away a region, in exchange of some gold and … why not, some war elephants?
V – Possible Clauses There are twelve possible clauses. Most can be used in both treaties, but some are restricted to only one type. (T) means it is only available in a transaction treaty while (P) means it will only be available in a peace deal. If nothing is indicated, both treaties support the clause.
Client-State: The nation becomes a client-state of the other nation.
Cooperation Treaty (T): As part of the transaction, add a cooperation treaty.
Alliance (T): As part of the transaction, enter a mutual alliance.
Absorb the other nation: The proposing nation is completely absorbed into the other nation. In practice it means being removed from the map!
Ask (or Give) Money, Metal, Manpower: A straightforward clause where you ask (or give) one of the three.
Humiliate (P): This will cause a loss of legacy, and a portion of the lost points will be received by the requester.
Regions: Cede or give a region (or several) that you legitimally own.
Province: A convenience Clause that will add at once all possible (and legit) regions of a given province.
Units: Provide or request special units. The other side doesn’t have to have the actual units in his army but he needs to be able to produce them. Only provincial units and a very few special units can be requested. There will be an extra fee of 75 Money per unit to be paid by the gifter, so as to cover recruitment and transportation cost (abstracted).
Disband (P): Accept or demand the other side disband part of his army or fleet. The cost will vary with the size of the enemy military and the percentage to disband. Units will be disbanded randomly until the required percentage is reached.
Field of Glory: Empires updated to version 1.0.6 (with a news about Diplomacy)
A new version is available for Field of Glory: Empires - 1.0.6 - and it is dedicated to adding some custom content for Kolchis and Armenia, a very interesting tweak in the Nation Panel and may other improvements.
But before diving into the new content, some pleasant news. Version 1.0.6 is meant also to prepare the game for something very special. Brace yourselves as the Diplomacy Update will be the next one. We will give all the relevant information in the next announcement, so stay tuned for further updates!
Version 1.0.6 Custom Content
Kolchis custom content The nation of Kolchis, located along the coasts of Pontus Euxinus (also known as the Hospitable Sea, or the Black Sea) possesses several thriving cities where Greek merchants prosper. In the hinterland, rough mountain tribes are often a problem, but they do provide the cities with fearsome warriors, very adept in hills and mountains warfare.
For this update, Kolchis benefits from a heavily revised setup, as they are now a Kingdom with the Hellenistic tradition and with a merchant perk. Their cities will be more advanced and their standing army more powerful. But that’s not all, as they now gain access to no less than 8 Missions to perform!
Missions are optional goals to pursue, with very diverse possibilities. Subdue a neighbour, establish a trading route, drain the swamps that plague part of Kolchis and more. A new reports tab in the nation panel will let you follow the current mission status.
Armenia custom content Armenia enjoyed some independence under the Persian Empire, as a satrapy with loose control from the Persian court but was dominated by the Seleucids up to 190 BCE when it gained full independence. Artaxias expanded the realm in the Caucasus region and under Tigranes the Great, the realm reached Antioch and Damascus and defeated the Parthians. At this time, the Armenian Kingdom was de facto an Empire, and Tigranes named himself ‘King of Kings’ as he had several client-states.
In this update, Armenia receives 3 new custom buildings, one custom unit, and several missions.
1 custom unit • Azatavrear Cataphract (Elite noble cataphract)
3 Missions • Create Greater Armenia (expand Armenia to what Tigranes the Great managed to do) • Be the King of Kings (have at least 2 client-states, as Tigranes who had 4) • Between two giants (manage to be friends with both Rome and Parthia, no small feat)
Nation Panel
The nation panel now let you access an interactive mini-tree where you can navigate, starting with your current government status, the various possible stages of your nation. What will happen if you evolve, what will be the result of the decadence of your empire? Everything is now accessible, with a list of possible effects!
Full Changelog
EXTRA MAJOR CONTENT • Kolchis setup revised, with 8 Missions to perform. • Armenia gets 3 missions, 3 new custom buildings and an extra unit. • Government Aging and Progress UI (access it by clicking on the government button, nation panel)
GAMEPLAY and SETUP (improvements and fixes) • Smarter dynamic objectives • Fixed issues with Builder Guild and late wonders • Added exclusivity to well and irrigation canal • Fix to tools factory • Fixed hospital chain of buildings • Fixed Babel Tower modifier not properly given • Capital region food need for growth increased • Brigantes now have Tin resource, not lead. • Caucasian ethnicities don't have access to phalanxes • Tweaked pop growth formula - harder to get really big population • Fixed issue with Hunting Grounds & Master Hunter • Military buildings have greater importance in max metal and manpower stockpiles • Deficit spending and modifiers – the bigger the deficit you run, the higher the penalties! • Fixed Sagittarii not provided to Rome in some cases • Improved how the game determines who is defending (outside of assaults)
AI • AI will have less animosity against the legacy leader. • Slightly less AI ship building • AI doesn't snatch a siege from player
UI • Government Aging and Progress UI • New reports tab for ongoing mission(s) • next region shortcut: ENTER, next idle region shortcut: SPACE • Changed colors of a few provinces • Make T hotkey behave exactly like the trade tab button • Show leader portrait with red skull overlay at end of battle if they died. • Update ledger when cancelling construction • Fix stockpiles not initially showing current expenses in recruitment
Other • Various engine optimizations and speed up • Display error when failing to save game Top
Provincial Units Infographic
In Field of Glory: Empires almost every province in the game has a unique unit. These units are often quite powerful or have unique traits but the cost of each unit will increase as you raise more.
Provincial units are usually slightly more effective than the generic unit of their type. In addition, some are very useful such as archers and some cavalry units. Others are a very powerful and valuable addition to any army.
Wondering what type of Provincial Unit will you unlock in Hiberia? Or are you in desperate need for some good Infantry Unit and want to know where to recruit it?
Check the infographic below and discover how massive the world of Field of Glory: Empires is.
Click on the picture to see it in full-size
Field of Glory: Empires has been updated to version 1.05
Hi everybody,
Field of Glory: Empires has been updated to version 1.05. This version brings many improvements and changes, from gameplay mechanics, Balancing to AI and more.
Be sure the check the full Changelog below
Version 1.0.5 Notes
GAMEPLAY (improvements and fixes) - Fix to population growth penalty occurring in all regions - City garrisons revised and improved in diversity - Fix to resource cap being applied before upkeep - In balanced difficulty, players don't pay extra upkeep from veteran units or rare units (with Money Increase Cost) - Max stockpiling of metal increased by 50%
AI - AI Dogpiling against player reduced a lot in balanced difficulty (easier game)
UI - Dynamic route coloring option (see the Options Window to activate it) - Supply overlay: Seas adjacent to a friendly coast show in blue - Fixed legacy from regional culture being overreported in UI for AIs - Show top legacy producing buildings in wonders tooltip on legacy panel - Added sort by Human Players to Faction, CDR, and Legacy ledger pages
BALANCING & SETUP - Elephants can now be recruited more easily (in particular by PTO) - Roman Fort can now only be built by Roman - Rome Civil War: less chance and longer delay between two in balanced difficulty - Rome early legion & Alae quality slightly lowered when exported to FOG II
Various adjustments - Rome: Tiberus: +1 Random Commerce Building Campania: +1 Random Culture Building - Campania (Rome): + Market - Initial equipment stockpile: 80>105 - Sparta: +Harbour + Flax Field +1 Citizen - Laconia has now an iron resource - Syracusae: + Crafter District - Saguntum: + Random Commerce Structure - Armenia: +Market - Byzantion: +Crafter District - Carthage: +2 Citizens, + Random Commerce Structure - Oea (Leptis Magna): +1 Citizen - Septa: +2 Desertic Slaves - Epirus: +3 Populations, +2 Random buildings, +Farm (in mountains), +Harbour - Nestus (Lysimachos): +2 Hellenic Citizens, +1 Balkanic Citizen, Walls - Orcadia (Celtic Indep.): +Cult Site - Dacia: +1 Citizen, +1 Slave - Dacia & Getea can now recruit Balkanic skirmishers - (Reminder: Dacia can still recruit slingers, but you need to conquer Agrianes) - Dacia starts with 4 Balkanic skirmishers and no Thracian slingers - Getae starts with 4 medium infantries and 4 skirmishers - Byzantion can recruit Thracian slingers - (Reminder: Macedonia can recruit them at CL 3) - Seleucids: Babylonia: Paved Road Carmania: Oil Mill Uxia: Marble Mattianus: Road - Antigonos: Osroena: +Potter's Workshop - Market + 1 Random Commerce Building
Field of Glory: Empires - Faction Highlight: Seleukos
One of the most intriguing features of Field of Glory: Empires is the care put into creating unique traits and playstyle for every playable Faction.
Every Nation has a distinctive culture, type of Government, tradition, Lineages and weaknesses.
A good example of the extreme attention to details and variety is offered by the Seleukos.
At the beginning of the game, this Factions is already a large Empire, comprising many regions and provinces in the East.
Being one of the Diadochi – heirs of the Alexander the Great Generals – the Faction has access to a greater Leader Force Pool and to particular advantages toward a population of Hellenistic Culture.
From the Administrative stand-point, Seleukos can employ the Satrapy System, a relatively efficient structure of de-centralized Provincial Governments that grants a good flow of income and units.
The twist with the Seleukos lies with the Decadence mechanics. In fact, being a Diadochi brings some disadvantages too, in this particular case represented by your shared heritage. You’ll need to avoid Decadence at all cost, as you can lose regions to the other Diadochi if your Nation becomes old or decadent (even if you are not at war with them).
Click on the picture for full size
Your neighbours could drag you in multiple conflicts and given your size you could find hard to fend-off invasions or incursions coming from different directions. A good Strategy should involve stable trade relations as long as you can, to make your overall economic growth robust enough to sustain the impending periods of crisis.
Click on the picture for full size
In the beginning, you are at war with the powerful Antigonos on the West and at Peace with Maurya o the East frontiers with India.
With a wise mixture of internal reforms and selective military interventions, Seleukos can steadily gain the upper hand in the balance of power in the region, bringing full glory to the Seleucos lineage.
Click on the picture for full size
What do you think? What have been the hardest challenges in playing with Seleukos?
Update 1.04 "Triumph" is out
IMPORTANT. For players who prefer to continue their ongoing game in 1.03, you have the possibility to use the "Legacy" version on Steam. To do so, right click on the game in your Steam List, Properties, Betas, Legacy version.
Field of Glory: Empires “Triumph” Update is out. Version 1.04 brings tons and tons of improvements and additions, the most important (as previewed last week) are:
- Military Buildings overhaul (see below dedicated paragraph) - Cavalry overhaul: in some terrains part of the battlefield is for cavalry only - An army with a leader can attack with a 'Retaliate Expedition' order that will make them not conquer the region (and still fight the enemy)
But other game features have been looked into, such as an Administrative Burden increased for developed nations has been added, now there is a naval interdiction link in Mesembria, Imperial Roman Legion decision won't be given before being an Empire, and many more.
Check out the full changelog below
Version 1.0.4 Patchnotes
GAMEPLAY (improvements and fixes)
Very important - Military Buildings overhaul (see below dedicated paragraph) - Cavalry overhaul: in some terrains part of the battlefield is for cavalry only - An army with a leader can attack with a 'Retaliate Expedition' order that will make them not conquer the region (and still fight the enemy)
Important - Abandoning a region now costs legacy, no aging (tied to population amount) - Administrative Burden increased for developed nations (approx +10% to +30% increase depending of context). See also new manpower and metal cap from the Military Buildings overhaul. - Sudden Death Victory (winning instantly by having the proper legacy ratio) needs now 100 turns before being evaluated, not 50. New quick game option! - Objectives can be given dynamically too - Regions have 4 steps in culture generating Legacy - Distance to center split in 4 categories for better deployment in battles (e.g. HI in wood is not dead center, mountainmen are more central in mountains, etc.) - Regions with a small initial population will have hard time grows past a certain level. - Conversion rate reduced by one fifth - Foreign citizens generate one third less manpower - Free Unit Upkeep is now limited to 20 money, 5 metal and 5 manpower per unit - Inflation cost in money is now factored partially in upkeep
Other - Archers get a specific deployment priority in battles (after militia if the front must be filled, but before if in the rear) - Fix to moving capitals - Minimum garrison defending an independent region down from 6 to 3 - A client-state will stop ongoing wars not also involving his protector - If in money deficit, only half of it removed per turn, with a minimum 100 money of debts removed - Fix to a loyalty bug for national citizens - slightly easier now - If you have too many of the +5% global commerce structures, you risk losing money - Fix to regional harbor used for transportation not always the best one - Mercenary decision won't pick slaves as a valid mercenary army - Absorbing a nation provides no legacy from it. - Health cap (of 65%) not applied to events tests (Pop boom, plagues and epidemics) - If possible, a new unit will appear within a city wall, not outside - Armies that can't retreat are always destroyed - A besieged region can still build a structure (with penalty). Prevent unwanted reset of important buildings under construction. - Famine in regions thrice as hard as before (regarding population loss) - Rulers in decadent nations degrade their health faster (from 'unhealthy life style') - Tyranny modifier bug fixed - Slave decimation further upped in case of revolts (1 per 3 units raised) - Fix to abandon region not working if another nation had an army - New option (MP compliant): Quick game. Win with a 2 to 1 ratio in Legacy (not 3 to 1) - Slaves will never be put in commerce or culture (governor AI)
Military buildings overhaul - Military Expertise modifier appears if you have not enough or a lot of military buildings in your nation (comparison is made using sum of buildings tiers versus regions amount) - Max Metal and Manpower have a cap partly based on Military Expertise - In a province, each military building providing XP will give half its amount to capital region, within a limit of 25 XP and 2 extra levels. - Rebate in building cost also given (at a 50%) from buildings in all regions of a province. - Autogarrisons get bonus XP from the sum of military buildings tiers, either in their region or the full province (Stronger garrisons with proper structures).
AI - AI has much more chances to propose peace if without any region - AI is slightly more interested in building high tier structures - Rome as AI in higher diff gets some free legion camps - In higher difficulty, AI more prone to war against legacy leader - More sensible DOW evaluation for AI – also now factors relative economic advantage - AI will build more ships - AI will never build ships in lakes - AI fleets will intercept more - AI fleets will escort more - AI boarded units will be much more prudent - AI will have Increased interest to unblockade harbor - Province AI builds more structures - Structure valuation refined (more high tier buildings, handle better specifics functions) - AI Ally can give back previously owned region - AI vassal can be fully absorbed if having a last surrounded region - AI can reply or propose peace even without region -
BALANCING & SETUP - Lalandia and Seladia regions names reversed - Judea Barrack can recruit HI - Provincial units from Gaetulia, Mauritania (occ. and or.) and Numidia are now Light Cav with extra perks - Farm and flax field slightly changprovince.ia objectives spaced more (too bunched, leading to easy progress) - Light infantry from various ethnicities get the Agile modifier (+1 attack in wood or hill) - Heavy Infantries cost +1 metal in upkeep - Added naval interdiction link in Mesembria - Druid Covenants tweaked (weaker standard version, stronger specialized version) - Imperial Roman Legion decision won't be given before being an Empire - Owning the Archimedes Workshop provides (permanently) a new type of unit (which acquires a new ability at elite level) - Balkanic Mercenary Infantry is now the Dacian Falxman (hit harder but not protected against ranged fire) - Hierasia provincial unit is now the 'Bastarnae Warrior' and is a Dacian Falxman (dmg+ prot-) with Mountainman. - Tisiae provincial unit is now the 'Iazygian Lancer', a cataphract with extra speed and flanking. - Dacia inferior provincial unit is now the 'Rhoxolani Cavalry', no change in stats (extra attack and effectiveness compared to regular Hvy Cav) - Sparta starts with Hoplite Infantry and get access to Phalanx Infantry in Civilization Level III (Kleomenes III reform) - These two units gain the Besieger trait. Phalanx loses extra hit though. - Silver Shields are closer in profile to the Hellene Phalanx but better. - Roman Archers (Sagittarii) are now added with the Imperial Legion reform - Fixed: Tar Deposit could never be built (added to Tanis initially) - Large quarry bonus resources now give an extra 2 money each - Military Store upkeep down to 2 - Granary does not require a farm anymore, but will be proposed rarely except if you have grain nearby - Tarentum (Greater Greece) now have a land army -
UI-QOL - Right hand modifications precision level is an option (5 possible choices) - Correct tooltip feedback when can't build an unit in a province - Close nation panel and select region when selecting an objective. - Show count of stacked modifiers on nation panel. - Next and Prev Idle Region buttons. - Attempt to more clearly show that structure bonus income is included in the income - More detailed provincial loyalty tooltip. More attention to revolt risk. - Added Trade Income and Accumen to Ledger. - Changed faction trade income to be net. - Added anti-aliasing option to options UI
OTHER - Various engine speed up - Experimental extended font support. - Several Multiplayers fixes - Display a different message when potentially responsible for a PBEM data mismatch, and give an opportunity to exit and fix the issue without playing a turn. - Fixed error playing a custom scenario in PBEM
Saved game compatibility This patch is mostly compatible with ongoing games, with a few things to know and understand: (1) Because objectives can now be given dynamically, they will be all reset when you start your turn (without token losses!). They will then be added progressively each turn, often with variations compared to your previous allocation. (2) Because there is now a new rule slowing down regions which were underpopulated historically, you might see a large slowdown in growth in your most populated regions. (3) The option ‘no dynamic burden’, which was never used (from our internal poll) has been replaced by the ‘quick game’ option. If you were playing with ‘no admin burden’, then you are now playing a quick game. But chances you were not …
Field of Glory: Empires Update 1.04 Preview
Update 1.04 will land very soon and as you know it will bring numerous improvements, from the AI to gameplay balancing.
Among all the new things and changes, there are 4 that we'd like to highlight to you in advance, so to give you a taste of what's coming with the "Triumph" Update:
Military Buildings overhaul
Build enough of them, and your military expertise will translate into better leaders and soldiers.
Cavalry in battles
Cavalry is now able to flank attack armies relying only on foot soldiers. Horse power!
Retaliate Expedition
Do you have enough of these pesky barbarians raiding your land? Retaliate against them, but don't take their filthy villages! An army with a leader can attack with a 'Retaliate Expedition' order that will make them not conquer the region (and still fight the enemy)
Better Naval AI
A better naval AI building more ships and protecting troop convoys
That's all for now with this little teasing :) Stay tuned for the official full release!
Field of Glory: Empires - Dev. Interview
Philippe Malacher, the Lead Designer from AGEOD, gave an interview for the last episode of Single Malt Strategy, the bi-weekly podcast focusing on the world of digital wargaming and strategy games!
They talked about the recently released title Field of Glory Empires, as well as the brand new engine powering this new game. They also covered how this game will impact the future of AGEOD.
Field of Glory: Empires has been updated to version 1.0.3
The second official update for Empires is finally here, with remarkable changes and improvements.
It’s been two intense weeks after the release, with many positive feedback from the community along with some constructive criticism.
Developers haven’t rest on their laurels and after fixing the most important bugs after release, they have worked hard in keep improving the whole gameplay experience.
Version 1.0.3 brings many changes and additions, among the most important ones are:
Abandoning a region
You can now under some circumstances abandon a region to its fate. Know though that bandits will rapidly take over and who knows what nation can emerge from these unclaimed lands.
New buildings and unrest fighting
Three new buildings to fight off unrest in your large cities! But it might come at a cost... We also have strengthened (slightly) the effects of some existing buildings.
Alternate Power Display
Some were confused with the 'combat power' of their armies. And others were fine with how it was displayed. So, how about 3 options?
- As before (Combat Power)
- Unit count
- Categorized count (Heavy/Medium/Light)
Additionally:
* Rebellion will now not take over the city walls, only the countryside. Have fate in your garrisons to fend them off. Although we recommend sending a professional army!
* Units rebalancing
* Smarter AI, with more sensible declaration of war, less loitering (and pilfering) in your land from allies
... and more than 30 extra entries about rebalancing, tweaking and fixing bugs!
