Field of Glory: Kingdoms News

Just as historically it has had a major influence on many nations, so too will it be a major point of contention among the powers of the time in Kingdoms. But not only that, because with most populations being very fervent, daily life in your regions will also be under the major influence of priests and imams.

The game defines a national religion (which can be difficult to change, and will not be without causing widespread disturbances) that usually alters relations over time either with your co-religionists or with countries of different religions (this is particularly true for Christians and Muslims). Unless you have solid treaties, expect these relationships to deteriorate, which will not be without causing lines of fracture and therefore wars.



On a more local level, each population has a religion, which alters its loyalty and productivity (this can vary depending on whether your leader is tolerant or not), and you will then take care to gradually convert (and with more or less difficulty, pagans being easier to convert than the so-called "Religion of the Book" populations (i.e. Christians, Muslims and Jews). To do this, you will want to build religious buildings and promote populations into the clergy. If you sin too much on your production of Piety points, then expect heresies, which are in some ways powerful rebels, who can spread their false belief in other regions. You will then have no choice but to convert them by force and blood, with an army or particularly intransigent clergy members.

But that's not all, because there is the possibility that Crusades or a Jihad will be triggered! Indeed, the game defines 5 holy cities, 3 for Christianity (Rome, Byzantium, and Jerusalem) and 3 for Islam (Mecca, Medina, and... Jerusalem). So you have a nice point of contention there, and it's a safe bet that at some point, a crusade or a Jihad will be launched! You will then see (literally and figuratively) Crusaders landing, for example, with fleets lent by the Italian maritime republics.



As if that weren't enough, there are also the Knightly Orders in the game. These will gradually establish themselves in YOUR regions, with Chapters, and will be like a double-edged sword. On one hand, you will be happy with the increased piety in the region, as well as the detachment of knights protecting it, on the other hand, they are a bit burdensome as neighbors, monetarily speaking, because what goes into their coffers does not go into yours. It's up to you to decide whether you support them or want to limit their influence. On the other hand, from an international point of view, seeing a heavy detachment of Templars land in the Holy Land always makes an impression. But do not think that Islam is left out, because if the first Sunni feels threatened, the Jihad is not far away!



Thus, as we can see, religions are a major element of Kingdoms both from the point of view of the daily life of your populations and from the point of view of international relations and the behavior of nations towards each other. You cannot ignore it, and ignoring the piety of your population would be a major mistake. And then, building cathedrals and great mosques, what prestige that is! Not to mention that the clergy participates in the education of your population, which grants you more Legacy points, the game's victory point unit.

Stay tuned for the next developer diary on Dynasties and Characters!

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Battles in Field of Glory: Kingdoms display a wide variety, either due to their scale, ranging from skirmishes to full-scale engagements involving the main armies of several nations, or due to terrain and weather conditions, or because they can occur as pitched battles in open areas or as castle assaults (here, we use 'castle' to denote any permanent fortification, from a humble rustic fort to a mighty fortress with triple concentric walls!).



When you start the game, it's quite easy to be deceived by the apparent simplicity of combat... until you lose several battles without really understanding why. Indeed, the game simplifies your task by providing an approximate value of your units' effectiveness, but this number is inherently imperfect in capturing all the subtleties of combat.

There's also the combat module, which can be very roughly described as a checkerboard. Square spaces, neatly arranged units facing off. But in reality, this covers a range of mechanisms all working together to add subtlety and allow for different approaches. Let's delve into this more deeply!

The combat system is based on three pillars, which we call the rule of the triangle, because it's crucial to understand that your units need a good general (the first pillar: generals provide additional dice). They need to be rested and experienced (ideally, of course!), which allows them to mitigate bad dice rolls, which are simply excluded from combat (so your veterans are less subject to bad luck), this being the second pillar. Finally, the third pillar, the easiest to understand and often seen by beginners as the only existing one, is the raw strength of the unit. Let's not kid ourselves, equal skills being present, it's better to have knights than peasants... However, even this raw strength varies greatly with the terrain. Heavy units are disadvantaged in constrained terrains like forests and mountains, for example.



This rule of the triangle or the three pillars is fundamental to understanding, as it is the essence of combat in Kingdoms. Add to this several other mechanisms like the ranged attacks of your archers, skirmish units, which even when they lose tire out your soldiers, pursuit units, those that block charges, etc. There's too much to say, in fact, but what can be retained is that combat in Kingdoms offers more than honorable subtlety, and it would be wrong to think of it as simplistic and uninteresting... That being said, if you want even more finesse and detail, at the expense of a much longer game time, then you can export your battles to Field of Glory Medieval from Richard Bodley Scott, and then retrieve the combat result in Kingdoms!



What about castle assaults?
They largely follow the same procedure as open field battles, but with various defensive bonuses, depending on whether a breach has been made in the fortification. Some units naturally have specialized bonuses or penalties in assault. But before the assault, you must have laid siege and weakened the defenders (or if you are patient, they might even surrender if they lack food).

The art of siege isn't learned in a day either, as it involves considering the abilities of the opposing generals, the capacity of units to conduct or defend against a siege (here archers have a clear advantage, but if you build siege units, you can more than compensate for this problem). Sieges can also be very long, especially if the opposing fortification has undergone several improvements, and this is a feature of Kingdoms compared to its predecessor Empires: forts and castles are built in several modular stages, each providing different bonuses. With serious investment, it is possible to hold a stronghold for years.

This concludes our 4th developer diary, and we hope it has piqued your interest in testing military maneuvers in Kingdoms, knowing that this is just a small part of the game, and that we also have a lot of content available for those who like peaceful development... so stay tuned!

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War is never far away in Kingdoms, for even if you do not wish to instigate it yourself, preferring to expand peacefully through diplomatic means or focus on improving your realm (which in itself is a viable winning strategy in Kingdoms, as victory is achieved through accumulating Legacy points), chances are some of your neighbors see things differently... And even without such a neighbor, you might find yourself embroiled in a Crusade, Jihad, or facing a nation growing too dangerous and on the verge of victory and thus in need of a 'corrective' action.



These factors make it clear that in Kingdoms, even in times of peace (perhaps especially in peace!), preparation for the next war is crucial. This entails numerous aspects to plan and anticipate.

Firstly, a nation with a king of strong Authority is desirable to reduce the risks of sedition and revolts. This also enables the sovereign to lead on the battlefield, magnifying the consequences of victory by earning more Warscore points, which are essential for negotiating favorable terms once peace is restored.

Furthermore, the art of war involves establishing fortifications, ranging from humble keeps to mighty double-walled castles, with intermediate variations depending on your culture and religion: Motte-and-bailey, Trelleborg, Qasada, etc. These defenses offer multiple benefits, the primary being protection for your troops behind walls, along with various recruitment advantages, sometimes even granting additional perks to certain troops.

Once this is achieved, depending on the military building infrastructure you possess, you can recruit various units more or less quickly (and in greater or smaller numbers). Recruitment ease depends on the presence of nobles, spear makers, armor smiths, training grounds, and many others. Quantity is determined by your treasury and metal stock for the SAUs (Standing Army Units) like knights, but for levies, a substantial population is required. Here's hoping you have many villages and towns within your kingdom.



In Kingdoms, units, besides the usual categories like heavy cavalry, infantry, archers, have an additional parallel classification: Mercenary, Standing Army Unit (permanent unit akin to professional), Levy or Volunteer. This grants them a completely different behavior and profile, as levies gain little experience and are relatively costly to maintain, so you may want to disband them in times of peace. SAUs have the opposite profile: they gain experience well, are costly initially, and any loss will decrease your Authority (it's better to avoid losing the cream of your cavalry or shall I say, as a French 'la fine fleur'!).



Mercenaries have other advantages and disadvantages. Quickly recruited, especially through a Regional Decision allowing mass recruitment, they are costly in gold to maintain, and can foster treacheries if commanded by a disloyal general. You might think to disband them when no longer needed, but then expect marauders in your lands. Of course, our testers will advise releasing them into the wild, but on enemy soil, just before peace. A kind of 'Not in my backyard' variant, so to speak.



The army lists of Field of Glory Medieval are honored in Kingdoms, as each nation closely follows these lists, divided into three time periods. For instance, as early period Byzantines, you'll have access to Skoutatoi Archers, but will have to wait until the third period to recruit heavy lancers. Fear not, these periods are not set in stone, as based on your military reforms and overall military expertise, you can advance these periods by a few years, say up to 25 if you excel in the military field.

When your armies are ready to march, it's time to appoint generals, considering their offensive and defensive tactical skills, loyalty (spy on them to ensure it), and whether they have relevant and suitable abilities. Sometimes this is easier said than done, and you'll have to make do with what you have. Whatever the case, don't appoint your psychopathic uncle with a loyalty of 30 at the helm of a mercenary army, unless of course, you believe a necessary wind of change should sweep through your kingdom.



Soon, the time will come to clash with the adversary, after some fine operational maneuvers.

Kingdoms being a game of simultaneous turn-based play, expect some surprises, as you can't be certain that during your turn, the enemy will stay put where you expect them to. But let's hope that luck, coupled with your tactical sagacity, will allow you to triumph on the battlefield.

We'll delve into this more in a future Developer Diary, focusing on the battlefield, castle sieges, and peace conditions!

So get ready for Field of Glory: Kingdoms
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Kingdoms places a strong emphasis on the development of the regions within your nation, each boasting a diverse population in terms of culture and religion. Alongside this, a vast array of infrastructures and a plethora of buildings are available to steer the economic and societal development in the direction you desire.

Indeed, this is one of the strong suits of Kingdoms, setting it apart from many other games. Even in times of peace, you will always have dozens of interesting choices to make within your realm, as the game offers no less than 600 different structures (no, that's not a typo!). Taking into account the different categories of buildings and their roles, the culture of each population, the various religions, and the numerous unique situations allowing for uncommon buildings, we indeed reach this high number, signaling a great diversity and almost certain renewal of the content in your gameplay.
But let's delve into how all of this is structured...

At the core of the region, the economic unit, lies the population. These populations are defined by their social class, culture, and religion. Don't expect a peasant to fulfill the role of a noble, or a clergyman to till a field. Each population point, despite these constraints on who can work where, is somewhat of a wild card, as you can allocate it in various ways, slightly altering its production from turn to turn. However, the population also provides construction slots, each allowing for a building. There are several possible roles for these buildings, and some do a bit of everything, while others are specialized. Some have synergies with others, while dozens have small events attached, making them unique. In any case, there are a large number of interrelations between the game's concepts and therefore between buildings and populations, in a very organic and logical manner. For instance, the population requires food to grow, but also needs access to a healthcare system, however rudimentary, otherwise epidemics lurk. Similarly, loyalty to the Crown must be monitored, and while it's possible to ignore the problem for sparsely populated regions, those with larger populations will require a strong presence of the Clergy, or nobility, sometimes even the army, to prevent any possible revolts.



But regions are not isolated islands either. Kingdoms introduces the concept of National Authority and then Local Authority, the latter deriving from the former. This Local Authority serves as a basis for determining the loyalty of the region, and decreases progressively based on the distance of the region from the capital (posing problems for overly extended empires). Nevertheless, nobles, with their function of generating Stewardship points, can help solve this problem by maintaining a high level of Local Authority. The Clergy plays a somewhat similar role, but will be particularly useful either for converting the infidels to the True Faith or for convincing heretics, in various more or less unpleasant ways, to return to the fold.

Besides this, regions often have a military function, either defensive or offensive. On the defensive side, the game could not overlook one of the staples of the medieval period: castles and other fortified places. You probably know that castles of the time were built over a long period. Kingdoms represents this by allowing you to erect several structures over time that provide temporary bonuses as well as permanent Fortification points. Once you have accumulated enough of these Fortification points, a permanent defensive structure will be proposed. Thus, in the beginning, you will have the choice between a hill fort or perhaps a Motte and Bailey, but with time and effort, you will have the opportunity to build double-walled concentric castles, bristling with towers and caltrops.



On the offensive side, you will also need to put in some effort to be able to raise anything other than peasants and low-quality troops. Over time, you will then be able to raise archers, armed sergeants, and other knights. In this case, we are talking about permanent troops, and while they are powerful, losing them in battle is always a blow to your Authority! It's somewhat of a double-edged sword...

Let's conclude this brief tour of the regions of Kingdoms by citing a few examples of structures, so that you can appreciate the full diversity of the game's buildings, which are much more than mere providers of numerical bonuses!
The Manorial Demesne is a very important structure in Agriculture, as it is a pivot structure, unlocking the other half of Tier I structures. It also benefits from a productivity bonus for each other agricultural structure present.

The Demesne Expansion is a rather peculiar structure as it can be upgraded no less than 5 times, and provides a free slot each time! While initially a few peasants will suffice to clear the countryside, the later levels will require tools, a large population, and a determined local lord.
The Trade Road is a structure that can spontaneously appear if you have itinerant merchants in the region. Being itinerant, they move between your regions (and rarely into other nations' regions). Thus, over time and with many merchants, Trade Roads will appear in your Realm.
The Jousting Field is quite emblematic of the Middle Ages as well, as it will provide free XP to heavy cavalry units created, and can even give them a special unique perk.
The Astrologer (not to be confused with the Astronomer) engages in some esoteric studies, not very well seen by the Clergy, but it seems that he can occasionally create a very particular resource that we will call 'Luck'. It is said that this can prevent misfortunes befalling your characters or even your ruler, such as a sudden death during a hunt or an unfortunate arrow targeting them in battle. Certainly just rumors!



The King’s Agent allows for a discount on the promulgation of Edicts. These allow you to choose the structure of your choice to build in Kingdoms, which will certainly please players of Empires who didn't like the reshuffle button too much, as it has disappeared!

Here is a brief overview of population and economic development in Kingdoms. This is really just the tip of the iceberg, but we hope it will make you want to learn more!

In Field of Glory: Kingdoms, Authority is the foundational concept of the game. It's pivotal as it truly is the "King's Maker" of any nation. With low Authority, your nation will regress and fall into civil war. In contrast, strong Authority ensures the loyalty of your subjects and often a smoother transition of rule when the time comes for your king to pass away.

Many players familiar with Field of Glory: Empires have encountered and played with the concepts of Culture and Decadence. They might think that Authority is just a variation of the same term, essentially being the same thing. While there are undeniable similarities in terms of outcomes - in both cases, this notion determines if your kingdom will prosper or collapse - the way the two concepts develop is entirely different. This dramatically impacts how the game unfolds. Furthermore, whereas in Empires, Culture and Decadence only played a role in the overall evolution of your nation, Authority in Kingdoms pervades every aspect of the game in a thoroughly organic and integrated manner.



Take, for instance, declarations of war. In Kingdoms, multiple factors are taken into account, such as having claims, if the opposing nation is of a different religion, or even if you're launching a sneak attack without warning. Depending on the perceived justification for this declaration of war, you'll either gain or lose Authority. For example, declaring war on a pagan nation with a declared claim on the capital won't cost you any Authority. On the other hand, a Christian state that whimsically decides to declare war on another Christian state will lead to a significant loss of Authority.



Authority also plays a role in managing your territories. An expansive kingdom will often struggle to maintain tight control over its most distant regions. Here, national-level Authority plays a crucial role in keeping the population under a firm grip, as well as the local nobility, and the presence (or absence) of buildings generating Stewardship.

To conclude with one more example of Authority's omnipresence in every aspect of the game: low Authority can tempt the characters of your nation to betray you. Each character now has a loyalty index and personal treasure. If they see an opportunity to replace a weak king, chances are things might go awry. Be especially wary of characters with several mercenary companies. These troops are powerful and quickly recruited, but they could easily be tempted into committing high treason.



This concludes our dev diary on Authority. We've only scratched the surface of all its intricacies and implications in the game, but there's so much more to discuss. Regardless, rest assured that this new concept provides a unique stamp on AGEOD's new production, Field of Glory: Kingdoms!

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