Imperiums: Greek Wars News

The Gallic lands have submitted to Roman rule and a new campaign map still within the Imperiums: Rise of Caesar DLC takes you to the next phase of the conquests of Julius Caesar.

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The great Julius Caesar conquered the whole of Gaul but the pride of its people has not been broken.

Yet Caesar’s ambitions are far greater. The river Rhenus creates a frontier between Roman Galia and Germania. A decisive victory over the Suebi tribes living there would make Caesar a Roman hero forever. The conflict seems inevitable.

The British Isles that sometimes appears out of the mist tickles his imagination. The prosperous coastal cities of the Britons are known to Roman traders but what lies beyond them is veiled in mystery.

Caesar is adamant to fly the Roman eagle above the heads of the Germanic and Briton peoples, but neither of them will give him an easy path to victory.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2250440/Imperiums_Rise_of_Caesar/

Add Imperiums: Rise of Caesar to your wishlist and see if you could march in Caesar’s footsteps through the wild lands of Gaul, Germania and eventually the British Isles.

Yours,
Kube Games team.

The release of the new DLC Imperiums: Rise of Caesar is getting closer and it's time for another Spotlight teaser, this time focused on the Politics in Rome mechanic.



The great Caesar was not only an accomplished military man, he was also a skilled politician. His military victories won him the love of the Roman people (and the envy and fear of other patricians), however it was his political cunning that led him to the highest position and this should be considered among his greatest virtues.

The Roman Republic went through turbulent times during Caesar's life. The rigidity of the political system allowed a tyrant named Sulla to take control of the Senate and the city. Soon after the genius strategist Pompey Magnus added extensive new territories into the Roman realm and it became clear that any great general could now assume absolute power. The fragile political situation led to a so-called Triumvirate, a treaty between the three most powerful men of the time, Pompey, Crassus and Caesar. These three ruled Rome even though it was still called a Republic however after a while greed and secret plots lead to strife between them and eventually to Caesar's victory.

Now, let's hear from Pavel, our lead game designer to explain how politics is incorporated in the game.

Originally posted by Pavel

As mentioned in the previous Spotlight, the biggest challenge we faced with this new expansion was the different time scale, we now operate in weeks instead of months and years. This allowed us to incorporate a new set of mechanics which had to be carefully designed and planned.

During the design phase it became clear that we could not keep the Research mechanic and Invention tree in their current form because they simply did not fit the new time scale. The first option, to remove the mechanics entirely was just out of the question. The second option, to increase the research time dramatically (say fivefold) would mean that only the first few technologies would ever be explored in the game. When considering alternatives one interesting idea popped up that would allow us to retain the mechanics but have them work in an entirely new way. We called this new approach, Politics in Rome.

So what is this new mechanic?
It is all about decisions that have to be taken at significant crossroads in life, decisions that are irreversible and have a great impact on future events. During his lifetime Caesar had to make many crucial decisions and the Politics in Rome mechanic tries to simulate this.

These decision events are visualised like the Invention tree, each appearing with several options that vary in costs and consequences. At a decision point, you must choose one of the options presented. Once the decision is taken it cannot be changed, future events have been determined. The consequences of your choice are immediately apparent to you and the other factions in the game. The decision events are revealed to you as you progress through the game.

As the name implies the new mechanic is focused on the politics in Rome. Playing as the Romans you get to decide, playing as other factions you are simply an observer of what is happening in Rome and you have to face the consequences.

The "tree" of decision events can be shared across the two consecutive scenarios. As the Roman leader, your policies established in Gaul will continue to be in effect in Britain. But this is something I will talk about in detail in a future spotlight.

The position of power comes with great responsibility. Your decisions will affect the lives of millions, get it right and your rule will flourish, get it wrong and the abyss beckons.

If you like what you read, wishlist the DLC and follow our channel.
You can read more about the Rise of Caesar in our next posts. There are still plenty of cherries that will decorate the DLC so stay with us!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2250440/Imperiums_Rise_of_Caesar/

Yours,
Kube Games team.

The second campaign map of Imperiums: Rise of Caesar DLC is focused on the conquests of Germania and the British Isles. The Romans have already taken Gaul but the great Roman general Julius Caesar will not stop until he triumphs over all the northern barbarian tribes.

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The British Isles are a remote corner of the known world, largely isolated from the world’s political and military turmoil.

The south of the British Isles is inhabited by Britons. Although densely forested, the coastal areas are fertile lowlands with a number of prosperous cities, while the highlands hide rich mineral deposits.

North of the Isles is true wilderness, only scarcely populated by Caledonians, tough and unforgiving people used to life at the edge of survival.

The island of Hibernia is equally undeveloped, supporting only small clans vaguely related to the Caledonians.

The Britons are aware of the Roman conquest in Gaul but care very little about the developments in Germania east of the Rhenus River.

The remoteness of the islands has kept them safe from any foreign invasion so far, but the ambitious Roman general Julius Caesar wants to bring Roman culture here with the tip of his sword if necessary.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2250440/Imperiums_Rise_of_Caesar/

Wishlist the Imperiums: Rise of Caesar DLC and play on two interconnected maps of Gaul and the British Isles.
Will you lure the Roman invasion forces into a trap, or will you face them on an open field man against a man?

Yours,
Kube Games team.

We are back with our Spotlight series, with each article focused on one new mechanic that appears in the new DLC Imperiums: Rise of Caesar. Today, we will talk about Weather and Seasons, a new concept that greatly enhances the tactical dimension of the game.



Far north beyond the Alps, the weather is not as mild and pleasant as around the Mediterranean. The often harsh conditions make the lands inhospitable and its people tough, they are used to living on the edge of survival. There are no roads to make traveling through the dense forests and boggy swamps easier. The tribal settlements are often hostile, so the building and guarding of military camps is a matter of survival.
Spring comes with rain that turns the few paths into muddy slides, while the air in hot summers buzzes with mosquitoes. Autumn brings early snow and the freezing temperatures of the winters can leave the most resilient of men weak and exhausted.

Pavel, the main developer and game designer, will share his views on how this mechanic is incorporated into the game.

Originally posted by Pavel

Previous campaign maps have turns lasting a month, a quarter or even half a year and as such, it made no sense to implement more tactical mechanics. Perhaps with the exception of a „battle view“ and even here the possibilities would be quite limited. Besides, this is not a direction which we want to go in right now.

The Rise of Ceasar DLC has a different time scale and turn length compared to previous campaign maps, which was a major factor in shaping our decisions about what changes to implement.

The fact that one turn in the Rise of Caesar DLC equates to one week dramatically changed our options for adding more tactical elements to the game. The most important one is Weather and Seasons.

The mechanic has 3 elements – rain and snow, snow cover and temperature. Let’s dive into each of them now.

Rain and snow (depending on temperature) lowers the mobility of units and reduces the effectiveness of supply lines. Both phenomena move across the map with the wind. Tiles where it was snowing the turn before will be covered with a snow crust (this also reduces the mobility of units and the effectiveness of supply lines but to a lesser extent than snowing itself). The snow cover stays on the tiles until the temperature rises above 0°C.

Temperatures change over the seasons. Most of the time you will not need to pay extra attention to it, however it will become an important factor when it gets to more extreme levels (above 30°C or below -5°C). In such cases, all units not stationed in or close to a city will be affected by the extreme weather.

In hot conditions their battle readiness is temporarily reduced (the men are exhausted), but it will return to its original level when the temperature drops. The health of units exposed to freezing temperatures below -5°C is negatively affected with every turn the situation lasts. This is a more permanent effect on health that does not automatically recover when the temperature rises, any units affected will need healing before they reach full battle readiness again.

A new Weather panel above the Map Menu has been added, this indicates the weather for the current turn and a forecast for the coming turn. It shows the temperature, the weather and the wind direction for the current turn (wind direction is important to give you an idea of how the weather will develop for the coming turn). Forecasts are only indicative and should be viewed accordingly.

Special warnings are displayed when snow, rain and/or extreme temperatures are forecast for the coming turn. This notification can be disabled directly in the Weather panel if so desired.

I consider this mechanic to be the most interesting new concept in the DLC. It greatly expands the tactical dimensions of the game and forces you to plan your campaigns as well as any backup plans to account for the effects of winter and the actual weather. Caesar himself had to plan his conquests in a similar way, winter was too unpredictable and campaigning too risky.

It is said that you might lose a battle but still win the war, but in Imperiums: Rise of Caesar one lost battle could be the end of your military career. It requires a true tactical genius to balance the risks. The Gallic bogs are full of Romans who will not return home.

If you haven’t done so, please add Imperiums: Rise of Caesar to your wishlist.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2250440/Imperiums_Rise_of_Caesar/

Thank you for the continuous support!
Yours,
Kube Games team.

Hello everyone.

The days are getting longer and nature is waking up again, so it is time for a new build, version 1.3.2. called "Defensive structures".



We are also working hard on the new DLC Imperiums: Rise of Caesar so if you haven't added it to your wishlist yet, do it now to claim the release discount.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2250440/Imperiums_Rise_of_Caesar/


What has been improved in the new version:

MAIN IMPROVEMENTS:

• Terrain look was improved.
• New models and icons of forts and defensive walls were added.
• New window added when you start a new game, summarizing the changes of that particular DLC.
  
• Tutorial button is now present in all the official mods, making it easier to come back to it.
  
• Slow convergence of Army Morale as a result of government changes (instead of instant change) was implemented (based on Kaysoky's suggestion on Steam forum).

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:

• Preventing misclicks when a unit has moved but the unit selection has not yet switched to the next unit.
  
• The list of potential improvements and trainings is now sorted per availability.
  
• Text of the tutorial has been updated to explain some actions more clearly.
  
• Performance improvement from fine tuning of bitmaps.
  
• When joining a PBEM game, a tooltip notifies you that you haven't filled in the email address.
  
• Updated Russian, German, French, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Czech and Chinese.
  
• First Korean translations added. We are now looking for volunteers to help with proofreading!

AI IMPROVEMENTS:

• AI is now capable of building forts and defensive walls and actively uses them.
  
• Neutral factions can build boats and disembark units.

BUGS AND ISSUES FIXED:

• An issue with default birth rate support (per city) when a confederation is revoked.
  
• An exploit when a player was selling a unit.
  
• An issue when a General declares a new state based on a member of a current confederation (General is NOT at war with neither the original faction, nor its master).
  
• An issue with birth rate support in cities that are trading posts when a player has not enough resources to support such a grant.
  
• Further logging of a couple of issues added.
  
• Couple of rare CTDs were fixed.

We hope you will enjoy the next game, let us know how you like the improved terrain look and 3D models.

Enjoy the Spring!

Yours,
Kube Games team.