Dev Diary #45 - Yugoslavian AAR 🏴
What's happening / TLDR: Developer diaries introduce details of Espiocracy - Cold War strategy game in which you play as an intelligence agency. You can catch up with the most important dev diary (The Vision) and find out more on Steam page.
What's happening today: After 44 diaries, it's time to invigorate the formula. Instead of many more entries describing mechanics (some of which belong to the game wiki, slated to go public in the future), we're switching to more gameplay- and screenshot-oriented diaries, posted once monthly, with topic chosen by folks voting on the discord server. This is the first stab at a new formula and a return after a break so, traditionally, we'll start with relatively light dev diary.
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The game begins on March 6th, 1946.
We play in Yugoslavia. Our federation is dominated by Tito, with significant influence of communist organizations and former partizans. Years of complex guerrilla war left people who are still willing to fight, such as Croatian Crusaders. Securing internal situation will be one of the first tasks. Then, we can look beyond our borders.
In the first weeks, we spend our timid resources on critical investments: expansion of domestic infrastructure, beginnings of smuggling network near Italy and Greece, and an intelligence station in Moscow. The last establishment will both solicit communist cooperation and spy on the inner workings of the Soviet behemoth.
Once the operatives in new structures begin work, we embark on a small operational spree inside Yugoslavia. We recruit a member of Crusaders, break into the premises of Kardelj...
...(which gave us nice cooperation opportunity, subsequently fumbled by poorly skilled operatives), we start to entangle Crusaders in the web of spies...
...break into more houses (made easier by postwar chaos and slowly developing modus operandi - useful tactical knowhow inside the agency) to gain more secrets and opportunities for future use...
...and bribe some journalists on the way.
However, the word of our activity - perhaps compromised agents or these journalists - spreads wide enough to provoke Crusaders into starting desperate domestic struggle.
The civil war of less than 2000 partizans is quickly put to rest. Instead of worrying about the future of Yugoslavia, we can exploit the situation for own purposes. The need for intelligence services already increased with the eruption of the war, and now we can gain much needed trust of Tito by eliminating the main actor behind the war. Low initial prospects are increased by burning our agents near Crusaders, using high guerrilla capabilities, and losing a few structures in the region.
Resulting budget increase propels first deeper moves abroad. While Moscow is focused on Trieste (soon to become a UN trust territory), we expand towards Greece, cooperate with local communists, sabotage democratic forces, and embolden partisans enough to launch civil war.
The war, heavily assisted by our operatives and resources, ends as quickly as it began. Major cities collapse alongside Greek anti-communist forces. One more country joins the eastern bloc before Stalin meaningfully reacts.
The western bloc, however, is accusing us and Albania of invasion, with the UK directly threatening to retake Greece. Stalin is also ambivalent, distrusting our bold moves while he still doesn't have the atom bomb. This is just the beginning...
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If you're not already wishlisting Espiocracy, consider doing it
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1670650/Espiocracy/
There is also a small community around Espiocracy:
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"Brotherhood and Unity" - popular slogan of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia which evolved into a guiding principle of local post-war policy
What's happening today: After 44 diaries, it's time to invigorate the formula. Instead of many more entries describing mechanics (some of which belong to the game wiki, slated to go public in the future), we're switching to more gameplay- and screenshot-oriented diaries, posted once monthly, with topic chosen by folks voting on the discord server. This is the first stab at a new formula and a return after a break so, traditionally, we'll start with relatively light dev diary.
---
The game begins on March 6th, 1946.
We play in Yugoslavia. Our federation is dominated by Tito, with significant influence of communist organizations and former partizans. Years of complex guerrilla war left people who are still willing to fight, such as Croatian Crusaders. Securing internal situation will be one of the first tasks. Then, we can look beyond our borders.
In the first weeks, we spend our timid resources on critical investments: expansion of domestic infrastructure, beginnings of smuggling network near Italy and Greece, and an intelligence station in Moscow. The last establishment will both solicit communist cooperation and spy on the inner workings of the Soviet behemoth.
Once the operatives in new structures begin work, we embark on a small operational spree inside Yugoslavia. We recruit a member of Crusaders, break into the premises of Kardelj...
...(which gave us nice cooperation opportunity, subsequently fumbled by poorly skilled operatives), we start to entangle Crusaders in the web of spies...
...break into more houses (made easier by postwar chaos and slowly developing modus operandi - useful tactical knowhow inside the agency) to gain more secrets and opportunities for future use...
...and bribe some journalists on the way.
However, the word of our activity - perhaps compromised agents or these journalists - spreads wide enough to provoke Crusaders into starting desperate domestic struggle.
The civil war of less than 2000 partizans is quickly put to rest. Instead of worrying about the future of Yugoslavia, we can exploit the situation for own purposes. The need for intelligence services already increased with the eruption of the war, and now we can gain much needed trust of Tito by eliminating the main actor behind the war. Low initial prospects are increased by burning our agents near Crusaders, using high guerrilla capabilities, and losing a few structures in the region.
Resulting budget increase propels first deeper moves abroad. While Moscow is focused on Trieste (soon to become a UN trust territory), we expand towards Greece, cooperate with local communists, sabotage democratic forces, and embolden partisans enough to launch civil war.
The war, heavily assisted by our operatives and resources, ends as quickly as it began. Major cities collapse alongside Greek anti-communist forces. One more country joins the eastern bloc before Stalin meaningfully reacts.
The western bloc, however, is accusing us and Albania of invasion, with the UK directly threatening to retake Greece. Stalin is also ambivalent, distrusting our bold moves while he still doesn't have the atom bomb. This is just the beginning...
---
If you're not already wishlisting Espiocracy, consider doing it
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1670650/Espiocracy/
There is also a small community around Espiocracy:
---
"Brotherhood and Unity" - popular slogan of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia which evolved into a guiding principle of local post-war policy