Today, we will continue our Spotlight series and talk about another new mechanic in the upcoming Imperiums: Rome vs Carthage, Mandatory objectives, we want to provide an extra challenge whilst increasing immersion.
If you haven't done so already, please consider wishlisting the DLC so you won't miss the release discount!
Your word is law, your decisions determine the future of your people. Every great leader wants a legacy to carry his name through the ages, for most this is achieved on the battlefield.
The ambitions of your subjects are often much more humble, they want to be fed, to feel safe in their homes and for their businesses to thrive. Full bellies, good neighbors and a little spending money, this seems like a good life to them.
A good leader knows the hopes and wishes of his people, a wise leader works to fulfill them.
Pavel will explain how this enhanced mechanic will work.
Objectives have been an integral part of Imperiums since the first release, they cover short or mid term goals in economic, military, political, cultural or scientific areas. There are some 10 to 15 specific objectives per faction that provide a rich depth and background to their situation.
We try to be as historically accurate as possible by creating objectives that are logical and plausible. One way we use to manage this is to use trigger conditions. This ensures that only objectives that make sense in the current game context are activated in the current list, also some objectives are only unlocked if earlier objectives have been completed.
Many players appreciate the extra challenges these objectives provide, the attention to detail and of course any rewards. New players or players playing a new faction can get some idea of what strategies may be worth pursuing by taking a look at their objectives, indeed the rewards can often provide a bonus early in the game.
Others players simply ignore them, either they don’t know about them or they are too preoccupied with their own in game tasks, often they can be surprised when a pop up informs them that they have completed an objective without realizing it.
The objectives mechanic runs smoothly, it increases immersion and rewards players and we have been pondering for a while how to raise its profile. We considered reminding the player with messages but this would be too forced and obtrusive, we want the player to be interested in them and motivated to complete them. After some consideration we have agreed on a concept we call “Mandatory Objectives”.
The concept behind mandatory objectives is simple, your faction will have to choose an objective from the currently available list and commit to it. The mandatory objective you select will have to be completed within a set time period, success will bring rewards, failure, negative consequences. Once selected, a mandatory objective cannot be changed. Once a mandatory objective has been completed (or not) there will be a break (a cool down period) before the player is once again prompted to choose another mandatory objective.
You will need to evaluate the available objectives against your strategy, the time limits and your current situation before making your choice. Postponing the decision is possible but it comes with a penalty, time limits to complete the objective are reduced by two game turns for every postponement. The idea behind this is to make the player commit to an objective rather than just wait and see how things develop in the game.
Note for players who don't like any commitments: It will be possible for players to disable the mandatory objectives mechanic if they do not wish to use it.
The changes to the original concept may seem small but the impact on game play will be quite significant. You must take into account the desires of your people when you decide on your course of action, as ignoring them could cost you greatly.
Will you rule with a velvet glove or an iron fist? Will you listen to your people or ignore their clamor as you fulfill your dreams of greatness?
Yours, Kube Games team.
Version 1.2.4. Spring time
Hello everyone. Spring is finally here and we feel the surge of new energy as well. It has been more than ten weeks since we released the last update but in no way does it mean that we have been taking a break. Rather, the opposite :)
We work day and night on the upcoming DLC called Imperiums: Rome vs Carthage and it is shaping up to be a great campaign, perhaps the best one! This takes most of our time, nevertheless we are still improving the base game, fixing bugs, listening to your suggestions and implementing them.
The update v1.2.4. called "Spring time" is therefore full of fixes, improvements and AI tweaks. Do you want to know more details? Here is the changelog:
Damaged bridges are removed from the map after a while (similarly to city foundations) as people use their raw material for their own needs (suggested by N0kn0k)
Improved textures of fields, farms, dirt and paved roads have been added (big thanks to Oscar Velzi and his ideas and implementation).
Single player menu item was renamed to "Single PC" due to confusion related to the hotseat mode type of game.
Contextual help button was added to the window informing about a siege.
All topics in Imperiums library are now alphabetically ordered.
AI - Economic thinking improved.
AI - Trading exploit fixed.
A special warning informing a player that he is trying to open a save with missing prerequisite mod. This was added as it was initially causing crashes.
Bug in History replay when a position of the first capital was not saved and displayed correctly, was fixed (thanks to report from MiyabiSFG on Discord)
An issue when no General was added using a State decision in a custom world in Alexander mod, was fixed (thanks to report from Nerexa)
An issue with accepting the leadership of another faction (when your country was defeated), was fixed (thanks to report from 4X-Fan)
An issue when recruiting a new unit in a city when the tile capacity is full, was fixed.
An issue with handing over ownership of a newly conquered tile to a confederated faction, was fixed (thanks to report from MiyabiSFG on Discord).
An issue with cities disappearing after a new confederation is signed, was fixed (thanks to report from Adunir)
All languages were updated, particularly Italian and Polish.
A couple of very rare CTDs were fixed.
As you can see, your feedback matters! There is always something to improve and we will continue polishing the game as long as we can. Whenever you stumble upon a bug, your game crashes or you have a suggestion, please share it with us on the Steam forum, send us an error report or contact us on Discord. We are ready to help, advise or just chat with you. The other players on Discord will surely welcome you and help with any questions.
And one last note about the upcoming DLC. We have started a Spotlight series to let you peek under the hood and soon the first glimpses of the map will be available. Wishlist the DLC and be ready to claim the time-limited launch discount!
Yours, Kube Games team.
Faction Highlights – Western Mediterranean
The first glimpse of the campaign map of the upcoming Imperiums: Rome vs Carthage DLC cannot start anywhere else but on the coast of the venerable Carthaginian Empire. Take a walk with us through the Western Mediterranean.
[previewyoutube="OmpUJvcsloE;full"] Carthage is traditionally a trading empire with a vast merchant fleet and a war fleet that rules the waters of the Mediterranean. It competes with other powers, especially the Hellenes and Egyptians but its position in western Mediterranean is unshakable. However, managing such a large empire with many holdings far away from the centre is no easy task. To protect them and invest in their development requires foresight and good planning. There are many places where the empire’s wealth and armies could be focused. One such is the island of Sicily, a strategic nexus of the region, where many powers try to assert their influence.
In contrast to the busy days of the empire, life on the Iberian peninsula seems calm and uneventful. The tribes living in the interior have very little contact with the outside world, living in blissful oblivion of the struggles for power taking place around Mare Nostrum. Iberia however hides many mineral deposits, dense forests and arable lands, the native tribes should utilize the riches of the land for their own growth and development before the great powers set their eyes on the peninsula.
Somewhere between the less civilized tribes of Iberia and the highly cultured society of Carthage lies the small kingdom of Massilia. The city is surrounded by empty lands occupied only sparsely by Gauls and other Celtic tribes, this gives them a great opportunity to expand and exploit the lands to the north. Politically however, they will need a strong ally to defend their interest, perhaps the aspiring Roman Republic is the driving force that can take Massilia into the Golden Age.
Are you ready to take the decisions that will change the history of the Mediterranean? Wishlist the DLC now and start planning your strategy, because no victory comes cheap and even less so in Imperiums!
Yours, Kube Games team.
Age of Alexander Dev Stream VIII
Hello everyone.
It's been a month since we last streamed and it is high time for us to return to the battlefield to meet our enemies. Join me this Wednesday for the eighth developer stream of the Age of Alexander campaign as Hellas.
[previewyoutube="QuIhkHmxxEE;full"]
The last episode was really tense and full of events so let's do a quick recap.
We started the last stream with an ambitious plan for a quick military campaign into the heart of Persia, but this was turned upside down on the first turn of the offensive. It all started with the loss of two of our biremes that were returning home from the "conquer the stone quarry" operation. It was not worth the risk after all. A massive Persian attack not only destroyed the ships but also a very experienced unit of hoplites that went down with them.
At the same time the Persians launched a counterattack on land as well. A number of experienced and fresh units penetrated the region we controlled in Anatolia causing significant losses to our garrison units. It not only stopped our advance but made us consider leaving the border towns completely. Eventually thanks to some of the tactical decisions and a well-handled defense we were able to hold the line there. Truth be said though, luck was on our side during two very strong assaults on our hoplite unit. The casualties and exhaustion of our units made any further advance impossible for now.
The only achievement of the last episode was the conquest of Xanthos, a small city near the border in southern Anatolia. Now, we have to concentrate on the consolidation of our conquests and get our units back in shape; only after that can we proceed with our attack on Persia.
Fighting however was not taking place only in Anatolia. The Persians cleverly disembarked on the coast of Sicily and in southern Italy. Both regions had poor defenses as we did not expect enemy attacks there. In Italy, the Persian armies besieged Rhegion, causing a significant drop in the morale of local citizens. Luckily, we were able to replenish storehouses the very next turn when our navy created a supply bridge. The only way to stop the enemy advance was the destruction of their supply vessels. Our action bore fruit as we eventually succeeded in taking back the Sicilian territories and forced one of the attacking Persian units to build a town called Sybaris in order to keep their units supplied. We can say that this was an utter military failure for the Persians.
Our military command also had to deal with the unexpected appearance of Kardakes units on the battlefield, a third tier of Persian military units. We have seen only one of these super strong units so far, but the presence of other heavy infantry units could considerably change the balance of power in the region.
On the bright side, we have finally cleared up the Aegean Sea and except for a couple of Spartan "boats" it should now be quite safe for our ships.
Economically, we kept up good progress, making our blacksmiths even more efficient by building specialized improvements. We have also progressed with building paved roads which increases the overall resource production. Apart from that, we built a Philosophy school in Miletos in Anatolia, which should appease the local citizenry.
An interesting proposal was made by the Roman Republic, offering us a federation! We accepted and took central and northern Italy under our wings. The Roman army consisted of a number of army units, but most of them were second-rate types and the better ones were damaged, so a considerable amount of time and resources will be required to get the Roman military back in shape. Technologically, the Romans were less developed, so they could only benefit from the union with us. We built several temples in their land, repositioned some of the blacksmiths to better locations and started building paved roads. Last but not least, we moved the regional capital in Italy from Sipontum to Rome. Rome is not only bigger but has a better position, making it a better candidate for a regional capital. Plus, it should appease some of the Romans, who were not entirely happy about the newly created federation.
In the next episode, we hope to come back to our plans to advance into the Persian heartland. Due to our federation agreement with the Romans, we entered into war with the Spartans. They control Crete and other small islands in the Aegean Sea and we will try to make a final and decisive move against them. In Italy, we will accelerate our economic reforms and once the Roman army is ready for action, we should subjugate the wild tribes around the Alps.
As always, Pavel will be happy to answer your questions during the stream so please join in Wednesday 16th on our Twitch channel. See you there!
Yours, Kube Games team.
P.S. Here is the last episode in case you missed it. [previewyoutube="8fJPmNR10VQ;full"]
Age of Alexander Dev Stream VII
Hello everyone.
Together two weeks ago we faced the first counterattacks of Persia in Asia Minor. I would like to invite you to join me on the expedition against the Asian hegemon this Tuesday in the seventh developer stream of Age of Alexander campaign as Hellas.
In the last stream, we were able to secure and hold a bridgehead in Anatolia and even expand its area a bit. Nevertheless, so far, the advance has been quite slow and cautious.
[previewyoutube="8fJPmNR10VQ;full"]
The Persians made several counterattacks in Anatolia and several of our cities switched their alliance due to our poor vigilance. We sent too many units to the battlefront leaving the newly conquered and quite rebellious cities unguarded. This led Smyrnos to revolt and hand over the keys to its gates back to the Persians. It was certainly our fault because we should have anticipated this and kept the city garrisoned. Later, we conquered Smyrnos again but due to the extremely hostile attitude of its citizens towards us and the high risk of another revolt, we decided to plunder the city. Unfortunately, we didn't learn from this and the same situation repeated itself with Sardis. The city was damaged and we didn't take care to repair it, we didn’t even leave a garrison so it came as no surprise that Sardis decided to join the Persian overlord again. This action was cruelly punished by us in the same way we punished Smyrnos. Furthermore, due to the lack of slaves, we decided to enslave the population of Halikarnassos right after we conquered it. After all these actions, there is no doubt that the attitude of the whole region towards us is very hostile and we cannot rely on its citizens to stay in line. Apart from that, Persians also made several attempts to disembark on our mainland. Even though we were able to fend them off without much harm done, it really showed us the necessity of keeping good garrison units in the rear.
The situation against the Persians was also tense at sea and we engaged in a number of naval battles with our slowly growing fleet. We used the tactics of "wolf packs" - staying in the background, getting all ships ready to attack and then striking one particular enemy fleet at a time. Once the battle was over, we withdrew from the area as soon as we could and started preparing for the next battle. This way, we were able to sink several Persian ships which eventually allowed us to take control over the Aegean Sea with all its islands and forts. Moreover, at the end of the last episode, we were just about to launch our very first trireme. Hellas is becoming a naval power!
Apart from the Persians, the rest of the world was quite peaceful. All our borders are stable and relationships with our neighbors slowly improve. Carthage even offered us a confederation but due to the fact that we would lose all the agreed treaties with the Romans and Illyrians, we declined. Nevertheless, we might come back to this later again.
One small trouble in our foreign relations did happen with the Odrysians (confederated with the Bosporan kingdom) who tried to influence several of our border areas, they were partially successful. Although none of these regions are particularly important, this could eventually indicate some divergence with the Bosporan kingdom later.
Economy-wise, we slowly repaired the conquered regions in Asia Minor. All these construction works totally depleted our stone reserves. The situation should improve soon with the new "quarry" improvements in all of our blacksmiths. Another technological advancement which should considerably improve our economy is the paved roads. We have started building "highways" but the shortage of stones seriously impedes our efforts. On the other hand, we have abundance of gold and enough iron to start enlarging our army. We have built a couple of new hoplites and axemen and moved them closer to the battlefront. This should be the core force which will be sent further into the Persian heartland in the following turns.
One big disaster struck in May 328BCE when an outbreak of plague killed almost a third of our citizens! What a hit. The plague wave struck in Greece and made it the least populated part of the republic. It was also the reason why we sent Andronicus (a sage from a temple on Peloponnese) to travel to Asia Minor to start a philosophical school in one of the cities there, rather than spend him in one of the now small cities in Greece.
The last stream ended with us in a pretty tricky situation in one of our smaller military operations trying to conquer a stone quarry on a Persian island. We were able to take over the island, yet our supply ships were attacked and are now severely damaged. Let's hope our hoplites will find a safe way home. If we lose them (and potentially also one of the fleets), this whole operation can only be called an utter failure.
In the next episode, we will try to not only save our hoplites but also further advance in Anatolia and appease the local citizenry and win their loyalty. Join me on our campaign further into the Persian heartland!
As always, Pavel will be happy to answer your questions during the stream so please join in Tuesday 15th on our Twitch channel. See you there!
Yours, Kube Games team.
P.S. Here is the last episode in case you missed it. [previewyoutube="7YLOXEe6oRk;full"]
Spotlight - Plague outbreaks
Today we start Spotlight series about new mechanics in the upcoming Imperiums: Rome vs Carthage DLC. Wishlist the game and claim the release discount!
In this article, we will talk about plague outbreaks and how to deal with them.
Plague outbreaks were devastating for a state and its people, crippling the economy for many years or even decades. Whole cities were isolated and movement to and from them was forbidden, fear spread as soon as the deadly boils appeared.
Fighting the disease was a matter of taking preventive measures, many of which did not work. New cases appeared here and there, death followed quickly. What else could it be other than the wrath of the gods?
Plague, even if it occurs rarely, can turn the world upside down, break alliances, set former friends against each other and bring a swift end to all ambitions to rule the world.
How the new mechanic works and what can you expect will be explained by Pavel.
The outbreak of plague can hardly be predicted. Its origins and causes are unknown, the death rate and the spread rate varied greatly throughout history. Once the first case of plague occurs, both these attributes provide clues to how the epidemic will develop.
The only possible way to prevent and mitigate the spread of the disease is by the construction of Sewers in cities, this greatly reduces the risk of infection although it is only partially effective.
The disease spreads in several ways:
City to city is a coincidental infection from people travelling between cities. The likelihood of infection is directly linked to the „accessibility“ of the city. The easier the movement of people (based on terrain type, roads, etc.), the higher the likelihood of infection. It is important to note that the disease knows no borders and can spread even between states.
City to unit and unit to city - a unit can be infected if it passes through a city where cases of plague have been reported, equally, an infected unit can bring the disease to another city. This applies to military as well as non-military units, excepting Heroes, Generals or Emissaries.
Along trade routes - if a city is a trading post and there is plague in another city along the trade route, the disease can spread between these cities. Merchants use trading posts to refresh and replenish their stock and they can spread the disease to cities far from its place of origin. Cities along trade routes are automatically counted as trading posts, unless there is war between the states that use the trade route. Declaring war with a state where plague cases are reported will interrupt the trade route, stopping the infection from being transferred in this way.
Cities and units that survive or are healed become immune for some time against reinfection; the likelihood of becoming sick again will increase slowly over time.
You can fight the disease by:
Building Sewers in cities, the best protection.
Keeping units away from infected cities, at least this won’t accelerate the spread of the disease.
Isolation of infected units - it is important to isolate infected units. If this is followed, plague cannot be transmitted from one unit to another (separate campgrounds and harsh discipline ensure that soldiers from different units do not mingle). However, it is possible to transmit the disease from a unit to a city through which it passes or where it stays. Infected units should be isolated in a remote location or at least kept away from healthy cities during movement.
"City sanitation" state decision becomes available when new cases of plague have been reported close to player’s border or there are already infected cities within the country without sewers to protect them. This state decision provides a temporary Sewers improvement to those cities where the likelihood of infection is the highest, it also increases general Happiness. On the other hand, it totally stops production in these cities (production of surrounding tiles remains intact) as well as reduce the local birth rate. A certain amount of resources are required to activate the state decision.
"Plague - martial law" state decision is enabled when plague has spread in the player’s cities. It effectively lowers the speed in which is the disease transmitted as well as the death rate. On the other hand, General Morale and Happiness decrease in the affected cities. Production in these cities is halved and birth rate stagnates.
Sooner or later every epidemic disappears or it moves to regions where the immunity of people is weaker. Try to prevent the outbreak of such a disease, but if it happens, take the necessary steps to reduce its negative consequences immediately.
This new mechanic is far more than just an upgrade of an existing one. You can no longer look at an outbreak of plague in another country as an opportunity for yourself, as we’ve learned. The disease can travel far from its epicenter and reach distant locations, being transmitted by units and merchants along trade routes. What seems a misfortune of a few cities might easily become a disaster for whole countries.
How you deal with the looming catastrophe can dramatically change the course of the game. Don’t underestimate the destructive power of nature.
Yours, Kube Games team.
Age of Alexander Dev Stream VI
Hello everyone. It has been a while since we played the Hellas campaign in the Age of Alexander. I am not going to lie to you - I wanted to take a break and rest during Christmas and then we got pretty busy with the announcement of the new DLC Imperiums: Rome vs Carthage.
That being said, I want to continue the campaign and hope you are ready to support me 🙂
[previewyoutube="7YLOXEe6oRk;full"]
In the last stream, we made quite good progress in stabilizing our federation but foremost we were able to create a bridgehead on Persian ground.
But let's take it from the beginning. After expelling the Spartans and taking over the whole Peloponnese, Persian troops tried to disembark on the peninsula several times and create a base for their future advance. We were able to repel them even though our armies were not fully restored after the battle with Spartans.
We founded two new cities in the north of Macedon. Now, that there is peace between us and the Thrakians, these should be quite safe. Macedon is a member of our federation, but their loyalty to us is questionable (low loyalty and morale in some of their cities). That's why we strengthen our position by building city improvements there. We also improved our overall economic production by moving an existing blacksmith to a better location, building new ones and enhancing them with the "thrifty" improvement. Our position in Italy was strengthened by building a regional capital in Sipontum - former capital of Samnites, which should lower corruption in the area. Last but certainly not least - we decided that it is time to let our people speak and we transformed our government to a Republic!
Sparta eventually decided that despite their hatred of us, there is little to no chance that they will get their holdings on the Peloponnese back and sued for peace using Scythia as a mediator. They are still in possession of a number of islands and the whole of Crete so their presence in the region should not be underestimated.
As expected, the biggest problems are with Persians. After several attempts to disembark on our coast and a few skirmishes on land, we counterattacked. We took over some islands in the Aegean Sea but it was quite a struggle. We already made several attempts on Mytilene but the island is still not ours and many of our soldiers died on the beaches.
Persia however is going through internal struggles of its own. Not only it is facing a sort of civil war near Sinam where a new faction called Edom have risen against them, but through an uprising in Bithynion in Asia Minor we have been handed control of one of their cities. It was a very dangerous move but we took our chances and supported the rebels. It used to be a Greek sphere of influence after all. A couple more cities around eventually decided to join our side and that further expanded the territory under our control on the Persian doorstep. We started transporting our armies over the channel to Asia Minor to be ready for any counter action from the Persians. Our spies reported that Persia has an unbelievable 48 military units! Our future in Asia Minor doesn't look very optimistic. We have just a few hoplite units over there. Nevertheless, this could further weaken Persian influence in the region and show them that we are no longer just a small faction but a rising power. We could even finally control the Aegean sea.
One unfortunate event happened in Carthago at the end of the last episode. We ordered our emissary Polyperchon who was stationed in Carthago to return, but he refused and left our services for good and decided to stay in Carthago. We will need to send a new emissary there.
In the next episode, we will try to secure our positions in Bithynia and finally take control over the Aegean Sea. Join us for this glorious moment in Hellas history!
As always, Pavel will be happy to answer your questions during the stream so please join in Tuesday 1st our Twitch channel. See you there!
Yours, Kube Games team.
New DLC Imperiums: Rome vs Carthage
Hello everyone.
Let’s make your day brighter with some great news :)
The Age of Alexander DLC had a great reception, this was just the boost we needed and now we would like to announce a new DLC in the making.
As with the previous DLC, we want to follow the historical chronology. This time we jump several decades further on to the year 301 BCE.
This is one of the most interesting periods of our history. Carthage rules most of the Mediterranean, the generals of Alexander the Great and his heirs fight with one another over his legacy, the Italian peninsula is on fire as the Etruscans and Samnites try to hold back the expansive Romans and at the fringes of civilization migrating nomadic tribes bring further chaos to already troubled times.
The map setup will be grand, 25 playable factions on 5000 tiles, ranging from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the peaks of Caucasus in the east and from the Teutoburg Forest in north to the Nile Delta in the south.
[previewyoutube="6NlqP62VOYg;full"]
As well as the new campaign map we will introduce a number of new mechanics. Starting with migrating tribes, historical events, multi-turn events and mandatory objectives.
Check out the Steam page for more details and don't forget to wishlist the game! Again we will run a short release discount, be sure not to miss it by wishlisting the DLC.
To whet your appetite further we will elaborate on the map setup and new mechanics in upcoming spotlights and faction highlights :)
We wanted this DLC to be more than just a new campaign map and we have put a lot of thought into the new mechanics. In our opinion, the game is quite complex as it is, more new rules could make it too complicated and less fun to play. So, the new mechanics will extend existing features of the game to provide a greater immersion and period authenticity without the need to learn new rules. More interesting and fun to play!
Migrating tribes will provide a new challenge to players at the borders of the known world. They are independent, they will defend their own cities and they will intentionally seek out hospitable regions for settlement. Essentially, they want to establish their own kingdoms and become a real political player in the region.
With historical events we are aiming to bring a more historical flavor to the game. Scripted events will be triggered when certain conditions are met and these should mirror to a certain extent, real historical events.
Multi-turn events should make plagues, revolts and other similar incidents much more realistic. Players can react to these events as they see fit and the events themselves will unfold for better or worse as a consequence of your actions.
Mandatory objectives will force you to choose one objective at a time, one that you promise to complete, this is your word to your people! Objectives will play a much bigger role in the game providing more immersion and requiring more strategic thinking.
One important thing to note is that this DLC is an extension of the recently released Age of Alexander expansion pack, which means that all of the mechanics introduced there (military reserves, economic specialization etc.) will be also included.
We truly aspire to make this the very best campaign of the Imperiums series. The setup itself should be interesting enough but with the new mechanics, the whole game will be brought to a new level.
