Diplomacy is Not an Option News

Bug Fixes:

• Game loading stuck on 70% for a long time on some machines. Improved game initial load times.
  

Good Lords, fair Ladies!

Diplomacy is Not an Option is 20% off this week. But that's not everything we'd like to tell you about today.

Last time we mentioned that killing a boss in the game could be a mission objective. This mechanic has already been tested in the Challenge mode (well, sort of, If you remember Nightmare Generals). But what you saw in Early Access is just a tiny bit of repetition.

You'll meet the real bosses in the story campaign. They'll be scarier, bigger, and stronger. Aside from the obvious, like powerful damage and huge health pools, we gave them active abilities. (For example, one of the bosses has vampirism, which means it heals itself while dealing damage to your warriors).

Right now, we can't tell how many bosses will be in the game. We want the appearance and abilities of each of them to express their individuality. We want players to see them not just as a strong enemy, but also as a character that can be encountered once during the "Diplomacy is Not an Option" walkthrough.

Thank you for your attention, see you soon.

Yours, the Door 407 dev team

Good Lords, fair Ladies!

We continue our story about the objectives of story missions in Diplomacy is Not an Option.

There is perhaps the most controversial game mechanic you may remember from classic RTSs of the past. We are talking about collecting a certain amount of resources.

We got it thanks to the plot. It's that rare case when the script got ahead of the game design. Later, while bringing this idea to life, we encountered something that the mentioned creators of classic RTSs probably encountered as well. Namely - this objective is absolutely boring.

But we really wanted to pay tribute to the games of the past, therefore we did our best. As a result, instead of the emotion you may have felt before, which can be roughly described as "When will this end already", you are going to feel something like "Haven't I collected everything yet? How am I going to get through the next day?".

To complete a mission, you must accumulate a certain amount of a specific, unique resource. A resource that is not needed by your economy and has no other function, but has some importance in the game's story. You can get it by killing certain enemies or destroying buildings of a particular type.

The key to figuring out how to make these missions fun lies in finding the balance. By tying the collection of this resource to combat, we made it more relevant compared to the regular mining of wood, iron, and stones. And of course, when, in the words of the classic, "people are dying for the metal", and the enemy continues to attack you (and your people are dying once again, but no longer for the metal), you begin to feel the value of the loot on your fingertips and can even express it in human lives. Speaking of which... Do you know who causes players to suffer the most casualties in battle? Bosses. But we'll talk about them next time.

Thanks for your attention, see you soon!

Yours, the Door 407 dev team

Good Lords, Fair Ladies!

Recently, we promised that we would be highlighting the details of the Diplomacy is Not an Option's story campaign. The story begins by telling you about the variability of mission objectives. In particular, last time you learned that in the campaign players not only have to defend their domain but also attack enemy settlements. We see today as the perfect time to proceed with our story.

In several missions of both plot branches your main task will be to complete a certain building (or several buildings). These are unique ones, meaning that you won't find them in other modes. Moreover, in one particular case, you will get new troops (also unique, you can try them out only in the campaign, as the construction of this building and the bonuses associated with it are closely linked to the game's story).

How hard can it be? Is there even a difficulty in this task, you may ask? Firstly, the construction of such buildings requires a lot more resources than you are used to spend. In one of the missions, the necessary materials will be also hard to find.

Secondly, a unique object can be tied to specific points on the map. (No spoilers, but for example, if you want to build a dam, you need a river, right?)

Third, usually, the construction of unique objects is multi-stage. Or more than one building is needed to complete a mission. In addition, if the enemy destroys the building, in some cases it will lead to defeat. Whereas the enemies, as ever, don't sleep.

To summarize: in missions with the construction of unique buildings, you get additional pressure on the economy and the need to defend another object, which may be at a distance from your Townhall due to the map conditions.

That's all for today. Thank you for your support and patience. To be continued.

Yours, the Door 407 dev team

Good Lords, fair Ladies!

Today we've got some rather unpleasant news. Unfortunately, the release of Diplomacy is Not an Option has been postponed. Our game won't leave Early Access in November, as we stated before. The reason is that the results of internal tests of the single-player campaign turned out to be unsatisfying. The two remaining months clearly are not enough to make the game that is supposed to meet all expectations. There are deadlines that we want (and we think we're capable of) to meet. However, we are not ready to announce the new release date yet. After all, letting you down again by giving false hope is the worst thing we can do. The team continues to develop the game and does its best to make sure that the story campaign and other things we promised to deliver are exactly the way you want them to be.

We have a small spoonful of honey in this barrel of tar. To convince you that our words are not empty, we are unveiling the secretiveness of the story campaign. And we're going to do so step by step, talking only about those elements that will definitely make it to the release.

Remember us mentioning objective variability? Here are the details. In both main storylines of Diplomacy is Not an Option there will be attacking missions. If you're curious about what they are, we'll tell you right now.

In these missions, the enemy has a settlement at the start. Quite comparable to yours in size. (In one particular case - even bigger and more picturesque). This settlement has its own fortifications, on which shooters and siege weapons take positions. Your task is to break through the defense line and destroy a certain enemy building. Simply put, we offer you taking on the role of those poor guys who are trying to break your Townhall with enviable persistence. With one small correction: in the attacking missions you're still on enemy territory. Which means you are surrounded by camps and buildings where enemy soldiers appear. As a result, reaching the ultimate goal won't come easy. In order to storm someone else's fortress you must first get through to its walls.

Also, when someone wants to besiege someone else's castle, the first someone may suddenly find out that a third force has come from the rear, in an attempt to help the city under siege. In our game, such a situation also happens. And of course, you should never forget about the defense of your own borders. After all, as in the typical Diplomacy is Not an Option's missions, losing the Townhall will result in an instant defeat.

In the future, we will continue to introduce you to new game mechanics, key characters, and enemies that you will encounter in the story campaign. In conclusion, we'd like to say that Diplomacy is Not an Option will be getting regular updates until the very moment of leaving Early Access. Once again, apologies for not meeting the deadline. We truly wanted to release the game in November, but it appears that the development requires some extra time. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Yours, the Door 407 dev team