Kaiserpunk News

In many previous instances we've mentioned something called „Stories“ in Kaiserpunk. Since then, we've received a lot of questions regarding them – what they are, what purpose they have and how they are supposed to function at all?

I know, I know – the word „stories“ might sound like something small or simply attached to specific isolated parts of the game as spice. Well, that's not the case in Kaiserpunk, and in this dev blog we'll explain everything in more detail.





The majority of city builders add a couple of standard features to expand the gameplay and provide additional backstory – localized events like disasters and expeditions to cover a wider scope of events beyond your immediate surroundings. And that works pretty well in most cases. This mechanics fits well into the city-building genre and offers a good number of possibilities while not damaging the expected flow of gameplay. Heck, we've used it ourselves in previous games too, nothing to be shy about. What's wrong with shattering complacency of your city by throwing in a fire or two, hurdling a tornado or destroying crops with pests? Hey, it keeps you vigilant and tests the preparations you're always doing anyways ːsteamhappyː .

With Kaiserpunk though, our plans went further, much further. The basic idea of events, disasters & expeditions is still here, but they are now combined into a much more evolved system that includes multiple branching storylines, player decision making and much more.



That depends on what kind of a story you encounter, but in the majority of cases, they will appear as a random event triggered by something (and they can be triggered by many possible reasons – something you've done, something you've missed doing, something you've come across, something happening on the global stage, some development stage you've reached…). Usually, you'll have a cutscene followed by a small conversation that asks players to make a decision on how to react. On the surface, this might seem benign, but the trick is – it can snowball into a long multi-stage event that spans in-game months or years.

One decision will require another and so on. In the end, a seemingly insignificant event can trigger major things years down the road. And it is possible to realize a perfect decision you've made early in the game turns out to be the worst one you could have made. Every decision you've made at any stage of an event will be remembered and the final outcome will be very hard to predict. We believe that will be one of the main appeals of stories.

Bear in mind that we also didn't want to warn players in advance what stories are „important“ and what are just short local events. You'll never know in what direction a story can go, so you'll need to be careful not to easily dismiss any of them without giving it at least some thought. To make things even “worse”, a lot of times we won’t be able to know how a story will work out either, which, in our minds, make this even more appealing.





• An event occurs in your city. It is clearly marked and ready for your attention.
• Starting the event initiates a short cutscene to set the stage. A small group of malcontents are
gathering in the streets, demanding you reduce taxes.
• You can decide to cave in and agree to their demands or you can instruct your police to clear
them out.
• The event, it seems, is over no matter what you choose to do, but let’s say you decided to stand
your ground.

• Fast forward a couple of in-game weeks and a fire breaks out in one of your factories. The fire
causes a chain reaction, and the factory goes up in a nice vibrant explosion. While your firemen
are rummaging through the ruins, they find evidence that the fire was intentional. The police are
instructed to investigate further.
• After a bit of time, the investigation manages to link the fire to that same group of malcontents
you dissed weeks ago. This opens another avenue where you can send your stationed military to
break the group up in their holdout. More destruction is likely.

Now let’s imagine you take the other route and give the malcontents what they requested:

• You seemingly resolve the situation at the expense of your city income, but it’s nothing you can’t
handle.
• After several weeks, the malcontents are back with further demands. And let’s say you give in
again.
• After more time, they’re back again at which point you’ve had enough and instruct the police to
disperse them.
• This time there is no fire, no explosion. This time, the malcontents break into your depot, steal a
bunch of rifles that you’ve had produced for a new army unit, and they leave your city (reduces
population).
• After a short while, you’re notified that the malcontents have reached a nearby region and joined
the locals, strengthening the region garrison.

The above is a very short example. We’ve created an entire system and tools to craft these stories. The real stories will be an intricate web of branching storylines playing out depending on your direct choices (as shown in the above example), your actions in the game (what you do, what you build and when) and other factors (changes on the global map).



Or how about this one, one less guided:

• You’ve planned on expanding a certain part of your production and, since you’re not a newb
governor, you’ve made sure to have the needed workforce ready to go. The housing is done,
they’ve come to your city, eager to start earning their wages.
• Unfortunately, you’ve overspent a bit and you’re strapped for cash at the moment, so your plans
are kind of falling through. … You still have all those unemployed Manufacturers in your capital.

Sure, they’re content for now, but soon they’ll start asking the difficult questions.

• In this scenario, you’re not offered a direct choice via a dialogue. Instead the game will simply wait
for you to do what you wish.

• Option A: Start building any production facilities to reduce the unemployment rate. It’s
a method
quite known to some, more centralized regimes in history. We’ll leave you to judge how that pans
out. It could work… or it could fail miserably. You might win big, or you might go bankrupt even
faster. And bankruptcy is not something that people like.

• Option B: Demolish some housing and in that way force some of the residents to leave.
It’s brutal,
but effective. You’ve taken care of unemployment, but you’ve also possibly riled up a big angry
mob ready to show you who’s going to leave the city.

• Option C: The Army can always use new muscle. Assemble new army units or entire
new armies.

Even if you don’t intend to go on a bloody campaign of conquest, you’ll reduce unemployment. Again, it might work out nicely. Sure, you’ll spend a lot of resources to supply your troops, but you’ve had a lot of supplies in the warehouse anyway, so you can handle it for awhile. But… are you really sure the other global actors will look at you amassing armies and think don’t worry, he's taking care of unemployment, or will they go more along the lines of oh crap… They’re gonna attack us. We should attack first! Yeah… both, and more, can easily happen.

• Option D: Do as the politicians usually do: ignore the issue, hoping it will go away. As
said earlier:
not making a choice is still a choice and the game will react. Unemployment can lead to crime,
crime can lead to unrest, unrest can lead to rebellion, rebellion can lead to your head on a pike.
Emphasis is on can, not will 😉.

The point of the second example is to show / describe to you that choice don’t have to be made by clicking on a literal choice. It’s not a multiple answer quiz. Stories evolve whatever you do, even nothing.



When discussing the main purpose of stories, it is important to observe them as a whole. They all have the same set of functions, even if they come in different versions – longer, shorter, more or less complex, some with a big impact on gameplay while others only have a limited impact. Each story is bringing a little (or more) something in the following areas:

• Increases replayability (due to the number of variables impacting more complex stories, it will be
very hard to repeat the same events, decisions and outcome more than once)
• Adding depth to the experience, since stories react to what you do
• Helping better describe the setting and world of Kaiserpunk
• Increasing immersion
• Giving players multiple choices and more direct control over various events
• Sometimes they have a direct impact on a situation and stability of your city/state

Besides the clear tangible goals stated above, there is another, a bit less simple to describe – creating a sensation of control and governance. Kaiserpunk is a game of strategy and control, both on the local city level and the global world stage. We don't intend to give players micromanagement tasks, but their job will be to oversee everything from „top dog“ perspective. Difficult situations will require your decisions – instructions what you want done.

The same goes for global decisions – you'll react to the changing world by ordering a course of action (similar to what you do on global map in military terms). The responsibility for every decision lays on you alone. Will you attack someone and try beating them into submission, will you direct your state towards military dictatorship or modern peaceful society and economy powerhouse? That is the golden standard in Kaiserpunk and the main mindset we want to create with players. Stories will work to emphasize this mindset as well – you're the decision maker, you reap the rewards of wise choices or try countering the aftermath of bad ones.

In short – you hold the power, but making potentially life changing choices is not easy and you don’t have a crystal ball and the power to divine the future. After playing Kaiserpunk, you might reconsider your childhood desire to be the King one day ːsteamhappyː





I've left one final moral dilemma for the very end. By now, you're all aware that the real world isn't black and white. Stories in Kaiserpunk will make this reality also abundantly clear. At times, you'll have an easy task recognizing what course of action will be „good one“ and which one will be a „bad one“. However, as stories branch out and take new twists, a „good choice“ can turn out to be the opposite of it. Your burden is to accept the consequences and try to adapt to whatever happens. In extreme cases, you might encounter a story that seemingly doesn't have a positive choice at all, only a series of bad ones. But even in that case, the choice must be made and you are the one making it. Even not making a choice is making a choice. Do the best you can, be ready to adapt and remain vigilant at any incoming consequences. As wise man once said: „it's not over ‘till it’s over“.

As the master strategist of your people (and possibly neighbors too, if you so choose), you must realize there is no script set in stone for success. Lead, govern, make choices, be bold and decisive. Kaiserpunk probably won't let you be flawless and perfect, but the path to greatness never ends with a single decision. It's a lifelong quest covered with victories and failures. Make sure you have more victories and you should be fine…

Until next one!

We are super excited to announce the arrival of Kaiserpunk demo! Some finishing touches are being made as we speak, and you can expect demo version to become available on June 3rd!

Version you'll all get the chance to try out for free won't ofcourse be a fully completed game, it's still work in progress, but we're eager to include your opinions and feedback in the rest of development.



We believe we've completed enough game elements that will allow everyone to clearly understand how our combination of genres will work together. Many of you had so many questions, and we're certain demo will give you a lot of answers. For everything else, feel free to ask us, or share any kind of feedback with us via Steam forums, Discord, X or any other line of communication.

As for us, I'll be the first to say we're excited, anxious, happy and frightened, all at the same time!



If you don't want to miss the chance to test out the demo, feel free to follow and wishlist Kaiserpunk and you'll be notified as soon as demo lands.

Get your general's hat ready and See you soon!!!

Today we have a number of exciting news! Kaiserpunk is getting ready to start rolling much faster in coming weeks, and all of you will have a chance to better understand what the game really is.

- First video showcasing most important parts of the gameplay loop is revealed today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvb0smM1tTk

It's all footage from current alpha build, but it's time to share how what experience we're aiming for. A picture is worth a thousand words, and video is probably worth a thousand pictures.



Development of the game is entering a phase that will now be much quicker then previously since we now have all of the major pieces of the puzzle in place. And we'll be here sharing as much information as we can and as fast as we can.

- We're ready to announce that Kaiserpunk will participate in Steam's Next Fest in June! Everyone will have the chance to download and try out the demo. Current game build will receive many upgrades and unlocks from today until then, so we're aiming to offer a comprehensive experience with enough features and content to properly describe how our city building/grand strategy hybrid works in reality.

- Did I already mention we're fantastically excited for the next couple of months? Well, we are and we're soooo looking forward to get your reactions and feedback. That genuine expression of player's feelings when they start Kaiserpunk for the first time will be the last element we need to round up this game in the best possible direction and create the experience we're gunning for since game's inception.

Grand strategy. Why not? We like both city builders and strategies... So... why not mix them both and create something new 😉. There are a lot of CBs with exploration, expeditions, some form of out-of-city trade and that's great and we love that. Hell, our previous games had some form of those mechanics, but we wanted more. Something to give you a much bigger purpose by itself. So, we said: total global domination through tactics-ridden warfare and logistics mechanics spanning the entire globe right down to your capital. You know... never reach too far 😊.


We've expanded the grand strategy gameplay by A LOT when comparing it to the original plan, but let's be honest, if you're expecting Hearts of Iron... don't. This isn't it. We're mixing genres, not literally making two full massive games as one. It's also NOT Total war. You won't be arranging royal marriages or passing on your rule to your descendants. Full grand strategies have that covered nicely. Our approach is lighter. There are, however, a bunch of things you can do on the global map (and a lot of it will usually be combat :D), so don't worry. We feel we've struck a good balance of mechanics, and it'll be up to the players to say how successful we were 😉.




That makes two of us. We haven't gone into this half-arsed. Every feature in Kaiserpunk is carefully curated, weighed and measured so it improves the game and, more importantly, fits well. We've paid special attention to the gameplay link between CB and GS. It must feel natural, be fun and engaging without becoming a burden or overwhelming. Additionally, playing the game must be fluid. I'd be the first to flip if there was a loading screen every time I wanted to go from my capital onto the world map. There's no loading, no hiccups, no weird wait right there until I load up some stuff first. Your capital and the entire global map work under the same rules and in the same timeline. If time passes in your capital, it does the same in the world. Period.




Phew boy... where to start...



The basis is that you conquer regions and use them for resources and manpower. To do that, you assemble armies, move them across the globe and attack enemy regions. You'll also be able to construct region upgrades to boost some aspects like resource yield, immigration, region defenses, infrastructure to help your armies move through the region faster etc.. Stories (a lot more complex events) can appear both in your city and on the global map. To resolve stories on the global map, you'll usually(!) require an army to be present in the region, although there will be stories that simply require you to make a choice. In essence it is that simple. The complexity comes from how you can do these things.


There are a bunch of different elements factored into each battle.

• Army type – Do you really expect to drop bombers from the skies using artillery? Yeah... think again.
  
• Army composition – Each type of army has its own set of unit types (your armies are your choice of course). Battalions consist of infantry, artillery and tanks. Fleets consist of smaller, faster ships and larger, hulking ones. Squadrons consist of fighters and bombers.
  
• Region terrain – All regions offer bonuses and/or penalties for certain unit types, depending on terrain type. Using bombers in a mountain region won't do much but utilizing them by carpet bombing plains... yeah... different story altogether.
  
• Direction of assault – Attacking Western Europe (France for example) from Central Europe (let’s say Germany) is not the same as attacking it from The Apennines (crossing the Alps). Especially if you factor trenches into it. Battalions can be upgraded with a special ability (engineers) to build trenches along a border which drastically improves the region’s defenses from that direction.
  
• Unit experience – Each unit in an army gains experience and stat boosts.
  
• Army general experience – Each army has a commanding officer who gains experience and unlocks special passive traits (player gets to choose so they can specialize armies for specific battle terrains or other factors).
  
• Army supply status – Lacking supplies slaps brutal battle stat penalties.
  
• There are more factors, but these are the most important ones. Combat will be covered in greater detail in a special devblog dedicated to that topic specifically, since it’s a large topic.
  

It is important to note here that we aim specifically to avoid RNG results. For a zoomed in, tactical X-Com like game it works well (I know… I know… we all missed an alien with 99% accuracy while standing right next to him, but let’s not go into that now). Combat, battles in Kaiserpunk are an affair of strategy and big picture tactics. It comes down to planning and trying to anticipate, and better yet, provoking the enemy into doing certain actions so you can execute your carefully planned 5-step plan of conquering 2 regions in an in-game month. In a way it’s almost like a game of chess.



That doesn’t mean everything is known far in advance. There are things you can know and things you cannot know. You can know the enemy’s army composition. You can know their units’ experience level (you’ve monitored them carefully). You can’t know the enemy army general’s traits, however. Maybe that nifty +30% infantry defense in urban areas will be nullified by a trait that the enemy general has. Also, when you’re for example attacking a region, you can’t know in advance how the region’s defenses will react exactly. The local garrison might be sent to halt your primary army, while the stationed defense army might go after your reinforcements… That you won’t know until the battle starts playing out.


Regions, depending on what is happening there and in their immediate surroundings, have fluctuating stability. Wars, disasters, hostile armies, allied armies... it all impacts a region's stability in some way.

• If the region has a border with a hostile region, its stability suffers a penalty.
  
• If there is a hostile army in a neighboring region, its stability suffers a penalty.
  
• Allied armies stationed in a region improve the region's stability.
  
• Upgrades, like the Propaganda bureau, increase a region's stability.
  
• Battles taking place in a region drastically reduces the region's stability.
  
• Stories and events can also impact a region's stability, both positively and negatively
  

Stability is very important, because unstable regions come with potentially severe penalties. Resource yield is reduced, immigration from the region slows down (which directly impacts the workforce in your capital) etc... If a region suffers prolonged instability, it can revolt, completely halting any resource exploitation. And at the most drastic end, a region can openly rebel and separate. When this happens, the region can go solo or even join a neighboring faction (which could be hostile to you).

It is no wonder then that you can easily expect other factions to use this against you. They could be spending resources to cause problems in your territory and instigate rebellions. Naturally, that also means you can do the same 😊. This, again, is of note. Destabilizing regions belonging to other factions: perfectly valid. They won’t like it, but technically, you didn’t start a war. Maybe you can provoke them into starting it? Or maybe you can actually flip the region, so it joins you? It’s all available as an option. The aim of Kaiserpunk is to create the world, apply the ruleset and then allow the players maximum freedom in trying out various approaches and tactics.


There's nothing magical about it, unless you love fiddling with logistics lines like we do, then it's pure magic. Indeed, your armies require supplies. If they don't get their supplies in time, their stock will gradually deplete, and their supply state will also gradually drop. Poorly supplied or, even worse, armies completely without supplies are severely ineffective in combat. So much so that it is better not to come close to combat with an unsupplied army. They'll be minced meat in no time. Even the most experienced armies.



Armies are supplied from either the capital region directly, or from the nearest outpost. Provided the outpost has the needed resources (and the amounts needed of course). If not, the army will look to the second nearest outpost and so on. Resources need to be brought to outposts so they can dispense them. For that, the outpost must be connected to the capital region or another outpost (if you're transferring resources from one outpost to another). If the connection is severed (because let's say, Prussia cut your territory in half), no supplies are coming, and your armies will have to make do with what is available. Infrastructure and railways make transport faster, so outposts are filled up more quickly.

And, of course, it’s on you to produce or procure in some way all the resources needed by your armies. The bulk is produced in your city-state, your capital, though you will be able to acquire resources from the other regions as well.


Airforce squadrons, your air armies, are assembled in the same fashion as battalions. Instead of Factories and Tank factories to produce armament, you'll use Aircraft factories. And instead of Military bases, you'll use Airbases to assemble Squadrons. That part is basically the same.



Controlling squadrons, moving them around... that's a different story. Unlike battalions that move from region to region, squadrons do not move around. They can only be transferred from airbase to airbase and squadrons can only be deployed into regions that have an airbase upgrade already built (and unoccupied of course). Transferring a squadron takes time, just like deployment of any army.

Once deployed to an airbase, however, a squadron has a wider area of operation than any other type of army. Squadrons can attack, or join a battle, that is 2 steps away. To explain more clearly, if a battalion can only move and attack a neighboring region, squadrons can attack targets 2 regions away (neighbor and neighbor of neighbor). This makes squadrons very potent and powerful but be careful: region garrisons have an entire section dedicated to air defenses which can be improved significantly.

Squadron units come in two types: bombers and fighters. The type names should give you a clue what they are good for...


Indeed, there is something special. Navy fleets can only move across water (of course). To be more precise, fleets use a separate naval movement grid, points surrounding landmasses and crossing oceans. When these points are situated near land, fleets can bombard points on the land (armies, upgrades, garrison...).





Fleets are also used for specific tasks, like transferring battalions across the seas and oceans. It's pretty hard to think about the periods of World War 1 and 2 and NOT think of D-Day. Transferring battalions using fleets and making landfall into enemy territory can be really tricky and difficult, but sometimes it's your best option, especially if you mayhap soften the landing by first bombarding the local garrison and stationed army.



One of the key elements we want both the player and the AI to be able to do is implement naval blockades. This was (and is actually) commonly used as a strategy. Breaking through naval blockades will be immensely fun and rewarding on its own. Of course, this means that a whole new battle layer awaits when two (or more) fleets meet on the high seas to duke it out.




Sure thing. Diplomacy is always an option. Seeing as Kaiserpunk is all about (well, not all, but a lot about) production, you conduct diplomacy also through or facilitated by production. Simple trading with another faction will increase your economic relationship, your economic bond. The more you trade (both ways), the better the relationship. After enough trade volume is achieved, you'll automatically sign an economic agreement. And that is, let's say, repeated several times with each level strengthening your economic relationship. The first agreement for example makes it possible to trade using your currency (cash). Until that point, that faction won't accept your currency. It means nothing to them; it has no value. You must trade goods like in the good 'ol days. But once the first agreement is signed, you can use your cash in trading, both to sell and buy resources. Opens a whole new world of possibilities.

Military cooperation (in the sense of diplomacy) is achieved by fulfilling tasks granted/given/requested by the other factions (tasks of the military kind) and by trading military goods or outright donating military equipment. And finally, you can improve your cooperation in the science fields. This is a simple matter of exchanging some of your research points for theirs (in different fields of course). Be careful though, since you'll be boosting someone else at your development expense... Are you sure they can be trusted not to stab you in the back?

Once you reach a sufficient level in all diplomatic categories, you'll be able to start several tasks/quests that will result in your two nations combining into one. Well, you're the player, so you'll absorb that faction. This effectively takes the faction off the playing board, and you gain most or some of its territory. A part of their territory (some of their regions) will have some grievances and will either form a new faction or dissipate into neutral territories.


Ah yes, trade. There are two types of trading in Kaiserpunk. One is low-volume „passive“ trading with passing ships or merchants travelling across the land. They periodically arrive at your tradeports, airports and markets and conduct some small business. It can help, but don't rely on this too much. The volume is simply too low. It's helpful, but not a deal changer.

Real trade is done through trade deals. These you have to sign with the other factions. Trade deals require trade buildings (tradeport, market, airport) since the needed transport is handled through these buildings. Trade deals take time to flesh out, agree upon, sign and implement. And usually, they take the form similar to over the course of the next year, we will send you X amount of resource A, while you will send us Y amount of resource B every week. As noted, trade deals take time, because these goods are transported across the world map. Trade lines can be severed, intercepted and pillaged. Infrastructure and railway region upgrades also influence how fast/well trade deals are handled.


Absolutely! It wouldn't be much fun without them. Currently, there is a maximum of 7 AI factions doing their thing in the world. Their alignment towards the player relies on a number of different factors and it will be impossible to be on excellent terms with all of them at the same time, since they have quarrels of their own to settle. Precisely what factions will be in your playthrough is randomized. The pool of potential factions is significantly larger than 7. Whether or not all those in the pool remain is still a matter of debate. The key element we want to achieve here is for all the potential factions in the game are visibly different when it comes to their behavior, otherwise we'd only be left with a faction name and that's just fluff. In any case, a maximum of 7 are picked from this pool and placed in the world. AI factions are allowed and able to do everything the player does (conquer, upgrade regions, improve garrisons, create armies etc..).

Each of these factions has its own heritage. This usually, or basically as a rule, shows the historical link to an area or a real historical country. You won't be able to find a small Ottoman faction in Australia for example.

In the beginning of the game, most of the global territory is controlled by no-one. This doesn't mean you can simply waltz into a region. There are locals who won't look upon your imperialism fondly. These minor factions do not expand their territory, but they can get stronger, in a military sense. Something akin to city-states in Civilization V.


There's a whole lot going on in the grand strategy segment of Kaiserpunk. The above is really just a part of it all. We'll have a lot more to talk about in the near future, but for now, we'll focus on the next blog in line: Production.

Until next time,



Overseer Games