Great Houses of Calderia News

[h3]We are super happy to announce that we are about to release a new version of our game ready to be playtested! [/h3]

Fill in the form below if you're interested in taking part in this new session:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf72WXhSHkAOPsynQ1XM9u_1g3yHhTs8dCf5ayRhayw9YHuNg/viewform?usp=sf_link

The demo will be live from today until the 18th of November. We're sending the keys & instructions manually so it might take some time to receive a key but we'll make sure to include as many players as possible.

What's new? A lot! We don't want to spoil you everything but here is an overview of the additional content compared to the TactiCon demo:

• Around 250 events available now
  
• New starting locations (and level of difficulties)
  
• Hundred of traits available
  
• More possibilities to improve your fiefdom
  
• New diplomatic actions :interesting:
  
• First implementation of the ranks of Calderia
  
• A first overview of to scheme with intrigue actions
  
• Military actions and conflicts are now implemented
  

We really want to hear your thoughts about any aspects of the game (likes & dislikes, idea of improvement) so feel free to share your feedback on our steam forum or on Discord: https://discord.gg/vsxD6n8P8J

For bug report, please take screenshots and be as precise as possible so we can reproduce them and fix them!

Enjoy

[h3]
Today, we'll share a bit more about the reference used for our key art background. See the differences between the real fresco and our version at the end of the news![/h3]

You often see a particular background in our communications. It's an extraordinary fresco! Since our game is located near the Mediterranean area and in Renaissance times, we naturally chose to have a look at Italian Renaissance art.
[h3]The fresco without other elements[/h3]


[h2]The inspiration[/h2]
The background of our key art is inspired by an existing wall, the main Hall of the Months in Palazzo Schifanoia, in Ferrara. This specific wall has been painted by one of the Ferrarese artists in the Quattrocento, and is the fresco cycle lining the Salone dei Mesi (Room of the Months).
Picture: The Hall of the Months at Palazzo Schifanoia, Archivio iGuzzini, Archello, 2020.

Our artists used these two parts of the walls for the game's fresco. The left one is called Allegory of August: Triumph of Ceres, and represents August, and the right, September, called Allegory of September.
Picture: Le Salone dei Mesi Salon des Mois du Palazzo Schifanoia, Archivio iGuzzini, 2020.

[h2]History[/h2]
[h3]The palazzo[/h3]
"Built in about 1385-1391 as a suburban retreat 'to escape boredom' (in Italian, 'schifar la noia', hence its name), the palazzo was later expanded under Borso d’Este (1450-1471), who shaped the building in his image, rendering it sumptuous and unique, equal to Ferrara’s high status in Europe at the time." from the Ferrara terra e acqua website.

[h3]The room[/h3]
"The Hall of the Months conserves one of the most important 15th-century cycles of frescoes in Italy. It is the collective work of different Ferrarese painters from the school of Cosmè Tura, among whom were Francesco del Cossa and Ercole de’ Roberti. The high walls are divided into 12 sections, one for each month, but today only the months from March to September can be seen (to be read anticlockwise). Each month is in turn divided into three horizontal bands: in the upper one (the World of Gods) are the triumphant chariots of pagan gods, surrounded by mythological or ordinary life scenes. The world of man, upon which are inflicted the divine laws, is painted in the lower part showing the activities of the court and the townsfolk, and in which the figure of the patron, Duke Borso d’Este is portrayed, glorified as a wise and fair governor of his states. The third band is placed between men and gods and shows Western and Egyptian Zodiac signs, evidence of the great importance held by astrological “science” in the Estense court." from the Ferrara terra e acqua website.

[h3]The Frescoes[/h3]

• Allegory of August: Triumph of Ceres: "The upper scene depicts the triumphal car of Ceres and agricultural scenes. In the centre the astrological symbol Virgo. Below, Duke Borso receives dignitaries, and setting out on a hunt." from the Web Gallery of Art website.
• Allegory of September: "The upper scene depicts the triumphal car of Maia, to the left Vulcan's smithy, to the right the love nest of Mars and Venus. In the centre the astrological symbol Libra. Below, grape harvest, setting out on a hunt, Duke Borso receives ambassadors. The attribution to Tura is debated, some scholars attribute it to Ercole de'Roberti." from the Web Gallery of Art website.

Allegory of August: Triumph of Ceres, and Allegory of September.next to the Great Houses of Calderia's fresco

Picture: Frescoes in the Palazzo Schifanoia at Ferrara: Allegory of August: Triumph of Ceres and Allegory of September, WGA (Web Gallery of Art),

Do you like deep diving into the references used for our game? We love to share them and our passion for Renaissance art.


Join our Discord to chat with the developers of Great Houses of Calderia: https://discord.gg/vsxD6n8P8J

- Great Houses of Calderia Team -

[h3]Events in a strategy game like Great Houses of Calderia? Of course![/h3]

We all know events are important in strategy games. Hopefully, there will be a ton of events in Great Houses of Calderia. Have a look at what the event will look like in the game.

All the images shared are Work In Progress.

Great Houses of Calderia is based on an ambitious design – to be a Grand Strategy game mixed with RPG. RPG is a broad genre term, but in our game, it means that all your trials and tribulations and strategic ambitions have to be performed by a member of your house.

[h3]Events back Early 2022[/h3]


As our world is inspired by Renaissance, our nobility is also more akin to wealthy merchant families of Venice rather than the medieval royalty, that lived in their ivory towers and had everything given to them on a silver platter. That means that the main characters of our game, your family, have to get their hands dirty every now and again, as they negotiate with other families. Another difference between the Renaissance and Medieval times is the freedom of individuality and desire for comfortable (or event hedonist) lifestyles.

You as a player of course have the control to command the members of your family to do the gameplay actions you want, but as nobles are fickle and selfish people, it sometimes feels like herding cats. This is what we represent with Events.
 
There are roughly three different types of events in Great Houses of Calderia: Delegation-, Life- and System Events. System events are basic and informational, they just tell you about things you need to know, like someone reaching the age of adulthood, or the growth of your population. They have no options to choose from and not much story in them either. Delegation and Life Events however are the salt of Great Houses of Calderia, because you never know what may happen.

All gameplay interactions with other noble families in Caldera have to be done via Delegations. You may want young singles to court each other, in order to arrange a marriage and an alliance with another family. You might want to establish a deal for trade caravans to deliver your resources for the next 6 months. You might want to find suitable individuals in your rival’s court, that could spy for you...


For any of these actions, you need to assign a member of your family to perform that task. They will happily do it, but the outcome is not always what you might want. Let’s say you wanted to establish a trade deal. You select a member of your family to try to make that happen, but sadly that poor sod is a drunkard by their nature. You might find yourself in a situation, where that person didn’t even arrive at the negotiation table but rather was found passed out behind a local tavern. That trade delegation has suddenly changed into a PR disaster that you must now handle. The reputation of your family name comes before individuals, but it’s the responsibility of the members of that family to uphold that reputation. Maybe next time you’re going to be wiser, or maybe the drunkard has learned their lesson.
 
When your family members are not on delegations, they live their lives and do their appointed tasks in your Fiefdom. However, even when doing nothing significant, life goes on, and you will be presented with Life Events. Life events are moments in life where something unexpected has happened to the members of your family, and you are given a chance to decide how they handle the situation. Life events can vary from suspicions of a cheating spouse to winning a hefty amount of money, by cheating at a game of dice.


Whatever event you get presented with, it’s always advisable to consider what the character is good at (their stats) and what kind of personality and habits they have (their traits). A simple event with a few outcomes doesn’t mean that you would always get the same result out of them. Great Houses of Calderia features quite a complicated dynamic event engine, that allows an event to have lots and lots of possible outcomes (40 000 in theory), and even the most simple ones we have usually have 10-20 different outcomes. I won’t go into all the details of how things are calculated (maybe in a future post), but I’ll tell you the general principle.

Every option presented you have calculations based on various factors in the game. How big is your Diplomacy skill? Is it better than your opponent’s? By how much? Are you in good relations with each other? Are your personalities compatible with each other? Do you have relevant traits to the event? How easy is the option depending on the situation at hand? How much luck is involved?


All of these factors (and more) create an output number between (-100) & (+100) for both X and Y values. All the possible outcomes that an event has been plotted into a 2D-coordinate system, and depending on where the choice calculations landed, the corresponding result will be given to the player. So, events are simple on the surface, but quite complex beasts under the hood.


Join our Discord to get involved in the development of Great Houses of Calderia: https://discord.gg/vsxD6n8P8J

- Great Houses of Calderia Team -

If you’re strategically minded then you might want to check out TactiCon, a new festival that’s running from today until September 26th. The whole shindig is being organised by Hooded Horse, publisher of Old World, together with Great Houses Of Calderia publisher Firesquid. Watch the trailer below to get an idea of what’s featured in the festival.

Read more

[h3]Why is there a volcano on our world map?[/h3]


To understand why there is a volcano, we must first ask:
[h3]Why Great Houses of Calderia?[/h3]
The title Great Houses of Calderia was thought to be evocative. As you may know, our main inspirations are the Crusader Kings series and Game of Thrones. To stick to the strategy genre, we imagined the word House, since a lot of families are rivals and try to conquer Calderia, in the spirit of Game of Thrones with Westeros.

First, to fit with the previous idea, the project was called Pro Domo, which meant 'For Your Home/House. It was the project name, short, efficient, but also secret! It is meant to be a simple internal "code name".
When we had to select the official name for the game, the "Great Houses of" went easily, we wanted our title to be impactful. Then, we needed to add something after the "of", like a location.

[h3]Why Calderia?[/h3]
The landscapes of our game are composed of specific locations, all gathered around an element that could make the game recognizable. The name of the land in world building sense comes from the first clear landmark the first settlers saw when sailing in.

Then, volcanic land is often fertile, so it was very desirable to move there and prosper.
Finally, the land was once populated by the ancestors of its current population, but something caused them to abandon the peninsula. The reason and stories were strictly forbidden from history books. The new emperor wasn't superstitious and gave permission to colonize it again. Maybe the volcano had something to do with the exodus, or maybe not. No one knows for sure...



Some of you might have also recognized the inspiration behind it. Calderia is coming from the word Caldera (or Caldeira), meaning volcano. A Caldera is more precisely a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. That is why, during the creation of the landscape, we came up with a volcano. It's massive and recognizable.

To add uniqueness to our title and not be too generic, we twisted the word 'Caldera'. The game is located near the Mediterranean Sea, we thought about adding an "I" to make it sound more Latin. That is how we came up with "Calderia".

[h3]Some info about the map: the Isle of Orsa[/h3]
The Isle of Orsa is an important island because beyond that, the water is too shallow for any big ships. The shallow waters are due to the lava flow direction from the volcano. Because its location is so important for the passage between Calderia and the land where the Emperor resides, the island is not allowed to be owned by any vassals, but instead by the Emperor himself.



That's how our game title Great Houses of Calderia and the volcano of the map were defined! They were both defined at the same time.


To be part of the development process of Great Houses of Calderia or simply chat with the devs, join us on Discord!
Great Houses of Calderia Discord: https://discord.gg/vsxD6n8P8J

- Great Houses of Calderia Team -