Shadow Empire News

[p]Vic (VR Designs) is hard at work completing Republica DLC for Shadow Empire, an expansion that focuses on politics. With this DLC, we’re introducing a completely new layer of depth to how regimes are governed, and how political systems can evolve over time. [/p][p]To give players a sneak peek at what's coming, we're sharing a series of mood boards, each accompanied by designer notes, for all nine political systems featured in the Republica DLC. [/p][p]Today, we present the third entry in the series: Syndic Democracy. [/p][p]The Computer has been helping the Supreme Leader make even better decisions. But we cannot seem to find the off switch.[/p][p][/p][p]Please note that these images and ideas are conceptual representations of the Republica DLC. In-game footage will be shared later in development.[/p][p][/p][h3]Moodboard: Syndic Democracy
[/h3][p]“I am truly sorry, sir,” said the embarrassed secretary, “but the Computer does not approve.”

It needed no further explanation as angry red lights flashed all over the mainframe, and the humming sound of the ventilators grew more agitated, almost as if the machine itself was displeased.

The Supreme Leader slammed his fist on the meeting table and shouted, “We need to make peace with the Arkanite Dominion! We cannot win a war on two fronts! You all know this!”

He looked around at his cabinet members gathered around the table. Different faces, different expressions: sympathy, disdain. He shook his head and suddenly looked confused. “I am the Supreme Leader, right?” he asked them.

The Council Leader of the Interior cleared his throat and, in a polite voice, answered, “Of course you are.” The secretary, however, added, “And in your supreme wisdom, you decided to augment your judgment and ensure just decisions by connecting us to the Great Syndic Computer.”

The 1st SHQ Commander glared angrily at the rather smug secretary. “You!” he exclaimed, “Do you not serve the Computer since it granted you superior clearance level?”

The secretary managed to look genuinely offended and replied, “I serve the general interest. And you know the general interest equates our Supreme Leader and equates our Computer.”

After those words, the Computer hummed strongly, a sound that resonated with an almost sentient presence. All the council leaders exchanged glances, sharing a moment of silent understanding.

The Supreme Leader rose from his chair, the frustration evident in his movements. “Okay,” he said, “fine, fine. But tell me, dear secretary, how do we get the Computer to agree that we have to sue for peace?”

The secretary began to mumble something about reprogramming, but the Computer immediately let out a sharp, angry bleep, cutting him off. He fell silent and stared at the floor.

The Supreme Leader sat down heavily and sighed loudly.

The Computer bleeped again—this time, rather cheerfully. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Designer Notes: Syndic Democracy in Republica DLC[/h3][p]Democracy, especially when Virtus is declining, often gives rise to the foundation of a Syndic Faction. The Syndics… you should know… only want one thing: installing their “great” Computer. It’s their Alpha and Omega. According to their ideology and beliefs, it is the only way to ensure full equality in society. They often claim that if only the Galactic Republic had listened to them, it would not have crumbled.[/p][p][/p][p]When the Tech Level is high enough, you—like the Supreme Leader in the story above—might actually decide to install the Syndic Computer to help guide your nation. Once this is done, the Computer will begin offering advice on many issues, which can be difficult to circumvent. Maybe not so hard at Level I, but soon enough, the Computer will start demanding more and more power. Once it reaches Level IV, part of the decision-making will be truly out of your hands.
[/p][p]That being said, the Computer does inspire the people, as they feel like the vanguard of a bright new future. One might even argue that it genuinely wants the best for society. Being a Syndic Computer, however, it envisions the future through the lens of bigger government and more “Democracy.” Note that its definition of Democracy is not exactly the traditional one. It will be tempted to ensure the ballot count mirrors the (ideal) will of the people.  It will definitely push for laws in the big-government direction.[/p][p][/p][p]On the flip side, it will reduce the need for Apparatchiks, as it gradually takes over more and more management tasks, doing them directly on subprocessors. Additionally, extra programming and upgrades to its circuitry can significantly boost public production, happiness, and even population growth.[/p][p][/p][p]As you may have noticed in the story, most Leaders are afraid to voice opinions that go against the Computer’s will. This is because in a Syndic Democracy, the Computer can eventually become quite paranoid. At some point, it might start to believe that certain Leaders want to pull its plug. It may then be tempted to "convert" those Leaders to its point of view—either by soft means or by… eh, “accidental” ones… The latter may well prove fatal to the targeted Leader.[/p][p][/p][p]In the short term, the Computer might rally your people, taking them where “no one has gone before” and restoring Virtus to peak levels to your nation. But in the long term, it may grow overbearing and paranoid. Sooner or later, someone will have to pull the plug. That won’t be easy—because the Computer might not agree. And doing so may very well require violence.[/p][p][/p][p]Wishlist Shadow Empire: Republica[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Join the community on the official Discord server: [/p][p]https://discord.gg/yWK3g9AMx4

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Vic (VR Designs) is hard at work completing Republica DLC for Shadow Empire, an expansion that focuses on politics. With this DLC, we’re introducing a completely new layer of depth to how regimes are governed, and how political systems can evolve over time.

To give you a glimpse into what’s coming, we’re releasing a series of mood boards, each with developer commentary, covering every one of these systems. Today’s entry explores what happens when Democracy begins to rot from within: Spoiled Democracy.

The populace at large is becoming decadent. They don’t sign up for military service, they watch Vidcom shows instead.

Please note that these images and ideas are conceptual representations of the Republica DLC. In-game footage will be shared later in development.

[h2]Moodboard: Spoiled Democracy[/h2]
The recently elected young MP sat glumly in his seat, his brow furrowed in disbelief. The auditorium echoed with the murmurs of debate. Flickering halogen lamps cast long shadows on the cracked walls, and the scent of bunker mold mingled with the odor of various perfumes. “Are they mad?” he muttered under his breath, the words barely audible over the clamor.

He nudged his neighbor, the venerable Foolslight, a relic of a bygone era himself, and whispered, “How can we possibly vote to fund yet another law when we can scarcely afford to pay our soldiers? Don’t they realize this will strain our budget even further?”

Foolslight, his face etched with the lines of countless political battles, responded with a low, incoherent grunt. His eyes, clouded yet shrewd, remained fixed on a heroic wall tapestry on the other side of the parliamentary benches.


“Well?” pressed the young MP, his voice tinged with urgency. Another grunt, followed by a phlegmatic cough, was his only reply. The old man’s reaction seemed almost ritualistic, a habitual display of disinterest.

But then Foolslight leaned in, his voice a soft but menacing growl. “Young pup, do you know why you were elected? Do you not understand that by voting in favor of such laws, we ensure the population’s happiness, thus securing their continued support for the Prosperity Party?”

The young MP stared blankly at the proceedings in the center of the auditorium, where the secretary, a gaunt figure draped in formal robes, was preparing for the vote roll call. The clatter of the old machinery that recorded the votes was a nasty reminder of their people’s increasing lack of technological progress.

Foolslight coughed again, a harsh, rasping sound that echoed through the chamber. The young MP turned, locking eyes with the old man. Foolslight’s gaze was unyielding. The young MP’s anger, held in check for too long, surged forth. He blurted out, “It is not in the population’s interest to let the state go bankrupt.”

Foolslight did not flinch under the fiery gaze of his younger colleague. Instead, he merely said, “Shh…”

Then, in a whisper that dripped with menace, he added, “The population is strongly in favor of this law. Do you really presume to know better than the people what is good for them?”

A few other parliamentarians close to them seemed to hold their breath, listening in on the whispering. The young MP could feel the weight of Foolslight’s words pressing down on him, a stark reminder of the power dynamics at play. The halogen lights cast eerie shadows on Foolslight’s face, accentuating his stern expression. Before the young MP could respond, Foolslight continued, “I would advise you to keep those sentiments to yourself in the future.” His tone was final, brooking no argument.

The secretary began reading the vote roll call. “For the vote on the enactment of the law to ensure social housing for all… starting the vote roll call… MP Foolslight,” he intoned. “In favor,” replied the old man.
The young MP dreaded the minutes to come and hear his own name called.

[h2]Designer Notes: The Decline of Democratic Integrity[/h2]

This scene captures the heart of the Spoiled Democracy mechanic in Republica.

Our harassed young member of parliament is objecting against voting yet another Law in. Too many enacted Laws with Republica DLC will lead to a huge strain on PP, Credits and even BP. Thus causing problems with for example technological research and payment of salaries.

The venerable Foolslight is the personification of the Regime’s low Virtus. He is cynical to the bone. He does not care about the common good, only about his personal interest. And that is served by the success of the Prosperity Party. He knows that the largest block of the voters, especially during low Virtus times, will vote for the Faction that votes most in their interest.

[h3]Military Tension and Political Breakdown [/h3]

When Virtus is low and the Outside Pressure Level (OPL) has been high over an extended period of time then Anger will build up with the less democratic Commanders. This could well result in a Military Coup at some point. A Military Coup would result in much bloodshed, your Political System changing to an Autocracy and increased Virtus as the Populace will be hopeful things will change for the better.

In a Spoiled Democracy there will also be a fair chance that a Syndic Faction will appear and grow in strength with promises of renewed glory and justice. There will be murmurs that it might be better to hand over power to the Syndic Computer. It will assure fairness and neuter men like Foolslight mismanaging the general interest. If you don’t have any other options to get Virtus up, you might be tempted to give that Computer a try.

It’s worthwhile to note that in the other Political System Families it is much easier than in the Democracy Political System Family to veto votes. You can do it in a Democracy too, but it’s probably too costly to do consistently.

That’s the double-edged sword of Democracy in Republica DLC, you are not fully in charge: the more it strays from virtue, the harder it is to fix.

Stay tuned for our next Moodboard and Designer Notes diary, where we’ll explore a new different political path featured in the Republica DLC.

Wishlist Now
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3645760/Shadow_Empire_Republica/

Vic (VR Designs) is hard at work completing Republica DLC for Shadow Empire, an expansion that focuses on politics. With this DLC, we’re introducing a completely new layer of depth to how regimes are governed, and how political systems can evolve over time.

To give players a sneak peek at what's coming, we're sharing a series of mood boards, each accompanied by designer notes, for all nine political systems featured in the Republica DLC. Today, we begin with our first entry: Democracy.

Parliament in session; The president speaks.

Please note that these images and ideas are conceptual representations of the Republica DLC. In-game footage will be shared later in development.

[h2]Moodboard: Democracy[/h2]

The two leaders of the Democratic Front (DF) sat slumped on their stools, the weight of defeat pressing down on them. The rally hall, once filled with the roar of supporters and the clinking of beer steins, was now eerily quiet, save for the distant murmur of the giant Vidscreens replaying the night’s dismal election results. The big man, Darius, his bald head gleaming under the dim lights, glanced at the slender, statuesque woman beside him.

“Evanah,” he sighed, his voice thick with disbelief, “how did we only take 10% of the vote?”

Evanah, with her sharp features and piercing eyes, downed a shot of strong liquor in one swift motion, slamming the glass onto the counter. “Darius,” she muttered, her voice laced with bitterness, “we miscalculated everything. We assumed giving them what they wanted would bring us victory…”

She signaled the bartender for another drink, her mind racing. “Victory, yes,” she continued, her words gaining momentum, “but that’s the problem, Darius. It’s the victory of the army over the Raider Clans—the president’s army, the majority’s army! That’s how the people see it…”
“But we voted for tax relief, for social housing,” Darius interrupted, his tone desperate. “All the things the people said they wanted.”



Evanah turned to him, her gaze cold and analytical, as if dissecting a specimen. “Nobody gets it, Darius,” she snapped. “We offered them paper, words, and votes… Votes for laws that never got adopted. It’s all promises and empty rhetoric.”

“But…” Darius tried to interject.

“No!” Evanah’s voice rose as she slammed her hands on the table, her frustration boiling over. “We have to go about this differently. As long as the president delivers glory and real improvements, our words don’t stand a chance.”

Darius leaned back, a nervous tension in his posture. “Fair enough, Evanah. You’re the sharpest mind we’ve got. You know I’ll back you, but I’m not sure where you’re going with this…”

The bartender placed a fresh glass of limelight brandy before Evanah, who downed it quickly but set the glass down more carefully this time.

“Darius,” she said, her voice softening into something more conspiratorial, “we need chaos… and we need the people to stop thinking about their country and start thinking about themselves.”

Darius’s face paled, fear flickering in his eyes. “But… that sounds a bit… evil, doesn’t it?”

Evanah slid off her stool, stood straight and fixed him with a steely gaze. “Yes,” she replied, her voice deadly calm, “and that’s exactly what we’ll need to be.”

For a moment, they locked eyes in silence. Darius was the first to look away.

“But,” Evanah added with a sly smile, “no one will know. It’ll be our little secret.”

Darius nodded slowly, a resigned acceptance in his gesture.
“Excellent,” Evanah said, her tone brightening. “At our next meeting, we’ll need to secure funding for these operations.”
Darius slid off his stool, mumbling, “Yes, yes… we should close up here.”

Evanah wrapped an arm around his shoulder, giving him a reassuring shake. “Cheer up!” she said, her voice dripping with false warmth. “It’s all for the greater good. We’ll get there together.”

With that, they left the bar, two figures shrouded in the shadows of ambition and deceit, ready to do whatever it took to win the elections.

[h2]Designer Notes: the Democratic System in Republica DLC[/h2]

In the story above Darius and Evanah talk about the voting in parliament, this ties directly into a core mechanic introduced in the Republica DLC: Laws.

With Republica DLC, Factions can now propose and vote on laws, which can be enacted or repealed through parliamentary votes. The voting record of a Faction will allow it to attract more popular support, especially Populist Factions will be likely to vote the way that brings them votes, instead of what corresponds with their Faction Profile.

Enacted Laws can give your Regime all kinds of serious bonuses and advantages, but there is a downside. It also ties up Credits, BP and/or PP needed to execute these Laws. Especially the Democracy political system is prone to getting too many Laws voted in, bloating your budget. Once a Democracy shifts further towards a Spoiled Democracy the number of enacted Laws can really get disastrous. Don’t get me wrong… Democracy remains a good system. But it now comes with more caveats and eventual challenges.

The road to a Spoiled Democracy is a gradual and sloping path. The key driver towards it is decreasing Virtus. The nasty Faction Leader “Evanah” in our mood story is actually aiming at that. She is probably planning covert actions to decrease Virtus.

[h3]New System: Virtus Score[/h3]

Virtus Score is a key new variable coming with Republica DLC.

Virtus Score represents the intangible life force of a culture, the faith of your people in each other, their virtue and their readiness to sacrifice themselves for the common good. People at high Virtus are bonded together and share a common goal. However, over time there is a strong possibility that any common goals get “old” or the shine just wears off for any of a myriad of reasons… and enthusiasm will die down.

Once this happens whatever political system you are in will start to degrade and turn nasty. The Populace and the Leaders will lose their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the common good. This means foremost that it will become very hard to recruit new Soldiers and keep their morale up. A Nation with low Virtus will grow weak in many ways, but foremost: militarily. It is not that low Virtus nations cannot put up a fight, it is just that in a nation where there is no solidarity or common cause people will be loath to take risks and sacrifice themselves for others.

Note that lower Virtus will hamper the government's military efforts, but will help Populists' credibility, making them do better in elections, exactly what the leadership of the DF Faction, in the story above, needs.

Stay tuned for our next Moodboard and Designer Notes diary, where we’ll dive into the next political system in the Republica lineup.

Wishlist Now
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3645760/Shadow_Empire_Republica/

It’s official! Two years after the release of the Oceania DLC, a new chapter is coming to the award-winning 4X wargame Shadow Empire.

[h3]Republica DLC: A New Political Era in Shadow Empire[/h3]

The Republica DLC expands Shadow Empire’s political systems, adding new layers of realism, challenge, and replayability. Manage societal decay, pass laws, confront a paranoid computer, and navigate evolving forms of government.

A major addition is Virtus, a system that represents the collective will of society. Under its influence, democracies can decay into dysfunctional states, meritocracies into oligarchies, and autocracies into tyrannies. Players must confront this instability with careful strategy, political maneuvering, or even radical actions like revolutions or adopting extreme governments—such as aristocracy or fanatical autocracy.

The DLC also introduces political bodies that vote on laws, creating unpredictable shifts in power. While laws can offer powerful benefits, they also come at a cost, forcing players to either adapt or resort to authoritarian control.

Want to learn more? Wishlist the DLC now and stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3645760/Shadow_Empire_Republica/

To celebrate the announcement, the Complete Bundle is now available at an exciting 25% weekly discount, instead of the usual 10%.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/31532/Shadow_Empire_Complete/

Today’s patch brings an arsenal of new features, enhancements, and fixes to elevate your Shadow Empire experience. From expanded Danger event variations with new vidcom graphics to the addition of Social Housing and Worker Apartments for better Zone management, this update is packed with depth and strategy.



Highlights:

• 33 new Danger event variations added, including 19 new vidcom graphics to illustrate them
  
• Social Housing and Worker Appartment Asset Types added, allowing you to convince Population and Worker to stay in a specific Zone
  
• The slightly weakCommerce Profile at 50+ now gets an extra Stratagem "Improvised IP"
  
• Detailed mouse overs added to the election reports to show why the election votes went a certain way
  

Full changelist:
[expand]

• Added 33 variations for Danger events
• 
  
• Including 19 new Vidcom graphics (this is a further experiment towards introducing more vidcom variety and moving towards a complete overhaul of all Vidcom graphics with core 1.4 release (planned with Republica DLC in 2025))
• 
  
• Added new danger event that only triggers on high Zone Culture score
• 
  
• Added some secondary skill bonuses for Danger events (these give their absolute skill level as a bonus (note not their skill family level))*
  
• Many of these Danger variants only trigger under specific conditions and will make the difficulty level higher than the regular events, also they tend to make the casualty levels quite a bit higher. Luckily they should not occur that often.
• 
  
• Security Danger events now gets roll bonus from security score + troops in city
• 
  
• Health Danger events now get roll bonus from health score
• 
  
• (Low) Culture Danger events now get roll bonus from education score
• 
  
• Extra difficulty can be added under specific conditions (fear,unrest) but only likely on higher difficulty levels
• 
  
• Some moderate possibility that Danger events now also generate some Unrest
• 
  
• Enforcement >40 makes mitigating Danger Events easier.
• 
  
• Fixed GR Chaingun Tech, it now no longer affects energy MGs.
• 
  
• Fixed GR Phantasmagora Buggy, it now no longer has its AP modifier capped.
• 
  
• Fixed aircraft no longer benefiting from GR Chaingun Tech.
• 
  
• Fixed delegated Mining Asset not turning up in Mining Overview.
  
• Fixed resettlement proposal decision to now impact reg-reg relation level.*
  
• Cloning Facility % increase now from 1% to 0.5%.
• 
  
• When you upgrade an Asset it now keeps its previous damage if it has any.
  
• Private Mines should now mothball when they run out of mineable reserves and startup again when new reserves are available.
  
• Can only play 1 Posture on a HQ each round now.
• 
  
• Arachnids less present on Planets (-33%)
• 
  
• You now have access to the trooptype statistics of other Major regimes at recon level 30 or higher.
  
• Also Regime Recon gets Spies 2 as extra recon if not more >=8 zones within the enemy. If >=6 zones 2.5, If >=4 zones 3, if more >=2 zones 4, if only 1 zone
• 6*spies. This means it is easier to get Regime Recon if the enemy regime has less Zones.
  
• Housing Tech added
  
• Social Housing Asset Type added
  
• Worker Apartments Asset Type added
  
• Added a lot of mouse overs in the election reports revealing a lot more information about how the calculations are made during elections.
  
• Governor influence on elections has been improved + Soldiers voting algorithm now follows more closely the setup for pop+worker voting. Notice that new elections with this version might see some shifts in voting behavior.
  
• Sped up AI calculations with 10-15%
  
• Much improved the algorithm for Midcore Logistics that was getting very slow once an empire got large with many roads and logistics sources. Added a LOT of cache-ing to the algorithm that should speed things up the midcore logistics by a factor of about 30 times faster. It might still get a tad slow when you get really large, but nothing like before.
  
• Fixed hex extra info mouse over for some Unknown Landscape hexes, which shouldn’t have been shown.
  
• Fixed first window of Raise New Formation Order where sometimes Formation Types where missing if Use SHQ Troops option was flagged
  
• Fixed issue with extra kill percentage not being applied for GR Optics Tech and the GR artillery unit.
• 
  
• Switched off Advice from round 70 onwards or if 9 or more Zones in control (we assume no more help needed at this point, and it reduces turn calculation time a lot for large empires that never switched advice off in the Prefs)
  
• Increased coarseness of logistics a little bit to increase speed
  
• Especially on lower difficulty levels and playing without the History Class “Low Resources” there will be more opportunities to find low-grade Metal Deposits. Considering base Metals are so common on all Planets they are now easier to find, but the extra deposits now added are not very economical to exploit. Same as for Metal is done for Rare Metals but much less pronounced.
• 
  
• Added new Stratagem for the Regime Feat Opportunism (Commerce-50) which is “Improvised IP” which allows you to use the Population of a Zone of choice to produce IP by paying Credits (and 25 PP). Giving a little buff to the commerce profile especially in the early game.
• 
  
• AI BP generation bonus reduced on Regular and higher levels, because the AI has become a little bit more clever in which research to prioritize recently. New BP gen bonus: -33% on beginner, +10% on regular, +50% on hard, +120% on extreme
• 
  
• Fixed an issue with SHQ management for an AI empire spawning many SHQs on the same island (thanks to Jed!)
  
• Fixed an issue with the AI not building flak when severely overpowered by the player (thanks to Jason!)
  
• AI was giving up a bit too early with the the air war, nudged this a bit
  
• Gave AI some more incentive to still research low techs when already in high tech areas, to avoid it having a hole in its tech tree
  
• Canyons now give combat penalties
• 
  
• Fixed an AI glitch where it could build (in rare circumstances) makeshift ports on your territory
  

*=requires new game start[/expand]