Diplomacy is Not an Option News

Hello, people! A new week has begun, and once again you can get our game with a discount. The weeklong deal will last from April 29th to May 6th.

But it’s not all we want to share today. After another King’s drinking spree, one of the darker treasury corners was freed of gold. On the floor where a huge pile of coins once was, we've found an ancient scroll (we analyzed it - it’s approximately 2 years old). Inside there was a strange poem. Here it is:

In verse and rhyme a riddle weaves its tale,
Some numbers hidden, secrets to unveil.
On stage of life, where whispers softly glide,
In realm of Instagram two silent digits hide.

And in the realm where birds no longer tweet,
You'll find another clue to test your wit.
The land uncharted waits for coming guests,
Reward for loyalty, of patience noble crest.

And as the riddle deepens, do not rest,
The final part is hidden in the text
Of video. It shows unfolding battle.
But be attentive, as the clue is very subtle.

So search with care, the clues are all around,
The riddle waits for you to come unbound.

What can this possibly be about? Hope you can tell us.

See you soon!

Yours, the Door 407 dev team

[h2]Introduction[/h2]
Good Lords, Fair Ladies!

As we have promised, this April, and to be precise, on the 13th, the Diplomacy is Not an Option is getting an Update. The main thing about it is the long-awaited, improved Formation Management System. For those who prefer to watch videos rather than deal with long reads, here's a link to quite an illustrative video:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
For the rest of you, we continue the story in the classic format. From now on, the battle formations in Diplomacy is Not an Option will have greater variety. Of course, the expansion of functionality leads to the interface improvement. So let's start with that.

[h2]Updated menu[/h2]

Your warriors don't seem to hold their lines in the right way? Welcome to the new menu! Here you will be able to fully unleash your tactical potential.

[h2]Formations Box[/h2]


When you first open the Formations Box, it will become clear how your warriors are lined up by default. As you can see, a formation in the game can have up to 9 rows. Each troop type is represented by its icon. In the upper row, you can find the troop types that are closer to the front line, and in the lower row, you can see the ones that will be kept in the rear. By default, when in the same group, Archers will always take a position behind Hammerguys, Crossbowmen will be in front of Healers, and so on. Yet starting from today it's up to you to decide who should cover who, and in what order.

[h2]Rows[/h2]


Originally, the icons of troop types occupy the rows in the order we thought was most logical. Cavalry comes first, then heavy infantry, followed by light infantry and ranged units, with War Machines rounding out the build-up. However, players often have a strong preference for certain troop classes. And it happens that in the same Group with troops of these classes may wind up someone else. Before April's Update such a case could break the formation you were willing to hold. You can avoid this situation by swapping rows. For example, by placing a class that is redundant for your tactics to the rear.

[h2]Fine Tuning[/h2]


For more advanced tweaking, drag and drop icons with troop types from row to row. Swap them around or move them to a free cell in any row of the Formations Window.

[h2]Additional features[/h2]


There are actually more than seven cells in each row. If you want to set equal positioning priority in relation to the front line for, say, nine or ten troop types, just go for it!

[h2]Providing cover[/h2]


In the same row in the Formation Window, you may have troop types with different line widths. For example, six Trebuchets take up more space than six Hammerguys. If you feel like enemies may outflank, use the "stretched line" feature.

[h2]Presets[/h2]


Not only can you experiment with the battle formation, but also save the results to any of the four presets. This comes in handy if you want to improve a particular formation, or if at some point to start playing with other types of troops.

[h2]In conclusion[/h2]


Formation settings can always be reset back to default. Simply use the "reset" button to do so.

[h2]A pleasant surprise for patient readers[/h2]
In addition to the announced formation improvements, the April Update includes new music. Firstly, the whole soundtrack has been re-recorded with live instruments. Secondly, we've added the background track for the Rusted Wastelands surroundings. And for dessert - we've improved the voicing of Royal Army soldiers.

Thank you, and see you soon!

Yours, the Door 407 dev team

P.S. Don't forget to take a glance at the full list of changes. As usual, it's under the cut, below this article.

[expand]
Update Update 0.9.109

Features

• New Formations Box;
  
• Camera can focus on any of your troops. Clicking LMB on the selected troop's icon in the lower left corner forces the Camera to focus on that troop. Double-clicking on the same icon fixes the camera, so it follows the selected troop.
  

General

• Added background track for the Rusted Wastelands surrounding;
  
• The entire soundtrack is re-recorded with live instruments;
  
• Improved voicing for Royal Army warriors.
  

Improvements

• It became easier to divert the attention of enemy groups with a single melee troop (while kiting with a single melee troop, enemies are more likely to take the bait);
  
• Multiple SFX improvements and fixes;
  
• Multiple UI and UX improvements;
  
• Some visual improvements.
  

Balance

• Townhall III:
  
  1. Building time: 5.5 mins → 4 mins;
     
• “Burrdam Chimera”:
  
  1. Health: 120 → 300.
     

Bug Fixes

• A bug with Enemy Spawn Tool kept working after closing it by RMB click;
  
• A bug with enemies appeared via Enemy Spawn Tool began to perform quite strange dances;
  
• A rare bug in Sandbox mode with Attacking Wave Settings Window opened on top of the Research Window. Thanks to the bug, players could summon an unlimited number of the attacking waves at the same time;
  
• A bug that prevented troops from changing their positions on a fortification when the "Move out" order was given but not executed;
  
• A bug that caused Ballistae to keep moving despite a canceled Attack Point order;
  
• A bug with destroyed buildings that continued to make sounds;
  
• A bug that prevented troops from leaving fortifications by clicking LMB on the mini-map;
  
• Multiple localization fixes.
  

[/expand]

Good Lords, Fair Ladies!

Today, timed to the start of the gaming expo PAX East in Boston, we are dropping an update. Get ready to face 2 new challenges in the section «Peasants are Xenophobes».

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Cultural divide and Ideological standoff are two maps with cities already built for you. The game’s functionality is partially restricted, you are provided with an arsenal and ready-to-play fortification layouts. Now it’s time for your strategical skills to shine. Efficient utilities use, smart resources allocation and elaborated strategic plan will help you with beating the aggressors who dared to attack your people.

[h3](A little bit) Information on the upcoming updates[/h3]
In the previous post we announced the new Formation management system. There are few more things to be done. You can rest assured this feature is coming to life in April and very soon army management will be brought to the next level.
Moreover, for the past few months we’ve been receiving your feedback on the Sandbox Mode. We are currently still working on its update as we are taking your wishes into account. Thus, the update on the Sandbox Mode will be coming out in May.

We appreciate your patience as well as your impatience with upcoming updates. The work on the game never stops, we consider every feedback you give and it fuels us with more energy that we spend on this game. We thank those who restlessly await for the game development progress and we’re always here to hear your thoughts.

Yours, the Door 407 dev team

Good Lords, Fair Ladies!

Remember us mentioning that the Formation Management toolset is getting an upgrade? Well, today we are ready to tell and even to show you exactly what it is all about.



To begin with, a separate tab will appear in the UI for managing Formations. It gives access to the sort of editor, that allows you to turn your combat tactics literally upside down.


The formation has 9 lines. In the first line, there are icons of troop types from the vanguard, in the ninth - from the rearguard. Basically, the line number determines the positioning priority of your troops within the same formation. By default, Healers from the sixth line will take their place in front of Catapults from the seventh line, but behind Hammerguys from the third. Yet we want the formation management to become another space for experimentation.



The easiest thing you can do is to change the order of the lines. Want your Catapults on the frontline? Pull the slider on the right and drag the line with the Catapults icon to the top of the list. Apart from dragging lines, you'll also get an opportunity to swap lines with each other.



You'll be able to perform similar operations with each troop type separately: swap them with each other or move them to other lines that don't have any limit to the number of troops in them, by the way. So, feel free to mix your troops and lines. But what's the point in changing the place of troop type in the same line, you might ask. Here is an illustrative answer. Let's say you have a squad of Spearmen and Swordsmen.



When several troops are placed in the same row, you may want to use the button that changes the line width.



There are two types of lines: normal and stretched. The stretched one is needed to expand the width of a line of troop types from one row to the maximum value represented in that row. We think this is an extremely useful feature, allowing you to cover war machines with infantry, whose formation is usually narrower due to the smaller size of troops.



We understand that you may need to quickly change the formation settings. There are four presets in the box for this purpose. Not only you can customize each of them individually, but also duplicate the settings of the current formation into another preset for further editing. All edits made to the formation are saved automatically, and your squads will change their combat setup according to the new settings once they receive the next order.



If at some point you get confused with presets, lines, and icons of troop types - don't worry, you can always return the formation to the default settings by pressing the "reset" button.



We really hope that the upcoming improvements, together with the already-known tool for adjusting Formation density and width, will bring the army management to the next level.

Thank you for being with us!

Yours, the Door 407 dev team

Good Lords, Fair Ladies!

The Steam Spring Sale starts today and will last until March 21. Would you be surprised if it didn’t involve Diplomacy is Not an Option? Well, so would we! Our game is at a 20% discount. A good reason to buy it and enjoy playing these mild spring days, don't you agree?

Yours, the Door 407 dev team