Songs of Steel: Hispania News

Besides the functioning of the troops, climate and terrain were decisive factors in this conflict. And it couldn't be less in our game.

Taking advantage of the gorges, rivers or thick forests that covered the plateau at the time meant the difference between winning and losing each battle. Reflecting this in scenarios with a variety of unevenness and natural elements that completely influenced the battle, forcing the player to change their strategy, was one of our goals from the beginning.

A sling causes much more damage at a high point and fighting in a snow-covered area or in a river affects the troops: they take more damage and their mobility is reduced. The elements of the scenario decisively affect battles. Also, the targets in each battle vary, as well as the events that can occur in them: ambushes, counterattacks...

“Songs of Steel: Hispania” is a deterministic game: There are no critical hits, no success rates in attacks. There is no luck, STRATEGY is everything. The variables of terrain, troop types, and equipment determine how much damage each troop can take and how much damage it can do at each moment. This allows for great strategic depth that isn’t affected by conditions outside the player.

In addition, all the battles in the game have been meticulously crafted, with no random or automatic elements. Each one presents a new scenario to which the player must adapt.

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Since the beginning of Songs of Steel: Hispania, it was clear that we wanted to produce a turn-based strategy game. On the one hand, we are great fans since we played our first games of “Age of Empires” in our childhood, and on the other, it was the perfect genre, since this war was like a long game of chess between two great strategists.

On their side, the Numantines at the beginning of the war managed to have about 25,000 men available by joining several tribes, who confronted (and defeated) a much superior Roman army of 30,000 soldiers. In the second half of the war, the difference between the two sides was enormous. The Numantines were never more than 8,000 warriors of fighting age and faced an organized Roman army whose troops ranged throughout the conflict between 20,000 soldiers and 60,000 (at the end of the war). With a difference so evident, the fact that the local side resisted for two decades is the result of great intelligence in the art of war.

The Celtiberians knew and used the terrain in their favour to make elaborate ambushes, were excellent riders, and worked the metal with such superiority to the Romans that the famous gladius was inspired by the techniques of the Hispanic blacksmiths. On their part, Rome had something that the Celtiberians did not. A production of weapons at an almost industrial level, a constant renewal of soldiers in each campaign and the determination that they would lose battles, but not the war. They already had the experience of having defeated many enemies like Carthage. Their military strength allowed them to apply siege techniques to the city that were unaffordable for the Numantines. Although the Numantines made them suffer like that famous and fictional “village populated by indomitable Gauls” of Asterix and Obelix, which is very reminiscent of Numantia.

At the beginning of the game we wanted to capture the superiority in numbers of the Romans, but to balance the sides we had to give more strength to some Celtiberian troops. This generated an interesting game system, but that did not take full advantage of the imbalance and was not quite accurate with reality, since the Celtiberians were not superheroes stronger than the Romans, just troops with a better strategy. To apply mechanics that were faithful to the reality of the battlefield, we incorporated Meteorbyte Studios into the project. Their work as developers faithfully reflected the way the troops of both sides operated, elevating the gameplay. There always must be a balance between historical accuracy and gameplay, and in case of doubt, it is always preferable to lean toward gameplay. But Meteorbyte has been able to use reality to enhance the gameplay. A great example is how armies work.

The first line of the Roman army that initiated the attack was composed of the young Velites (usually under 20 years of age), who harassed the enemy with weapons such as the pilum (javelin). They were barely protected. After the start of the battle, they were quickly replaced by the first shock troop: the Hastati, who were protected with light armour and carried spears or swords. They were still young (20-24 years old) and less experienced. Behind them were the Princeps, with similar weapons but with more protection, wearing chainmail or cuirass, and also with more years of war on their shoulders (25-35 years old). The last group of infantry was the Triari, with long spears and heavy armour, which protected the rear. They were the most veteran troops and only intervened if the battle became complicated - hence the ancient Roman expression "the thing came to the Triari" to refer to a problem that has become complicated. The characteristics of all these troops are translated into the game organically: enemies take more damage after being attacked by Velites, so it's smart to use them first. On the other hand the Triari become stronger if they stay several turns in one position without moving, so they work well to resist attacks once the rest of the troops have worn out in the initial turns. There are also special units that can change the course of a battle completely, such as war elephants. They were the downfall of Consul Nobilior in Numantia, but we give the player the chance to try to correct his mistake. We will unveil the special units in future dev diaries.

On the other hand, Celtiberian warriors use a system closer to “guerrilla” techniques ("concursare", as it was known at the time). Their units have more mobility and must use it to win. They have troops that receive upgrades if they move before attacking, or that can retreat after an attack, or that are immune to enemy opportunity attacks (they can disengage from combat easily). They do not have the strength or discipline of the Romans, but they do have greater morale: they are defending their land. It is also documented that battle songs were common among Celtiberian tribes and that there were religious representatives in their societies. We have taken the liberty of uniting these two customs into the figure of a druid, semi-heroic units whose chants can give certain strategic advantages to the troops, and further differentiate both armies.

On both sides, the game system based on positioning, flanking, and coverage was the best choice to achieve that balance between historical accuracy and gameplay.

If you liked what you read here, remember to add “Songs of Steel: Hispania” to your wishlist if you haven’t yet!

In Songs of Steel: Hispania we offer two narratives linked to completely distinct experiences for the player. The Celtiberians’ side and the Romans’ side.

In the Celtiberian side, the main characters Ambo, Leuco, Megara, and Rethogenes, aside from being the leaders of the Numantians, also fought in battle. This creates main characters that are more complex and functional when it comes to intervening in the decision-making process and management of resources of the city’s government, aside from being playable in battle.

On the Roman side, however, the consuls were only strategists, they didn’t participate in battle, except Scipio, and they were regularly replaced in each new campaign, so in contrast to the Celtiberians, none of them went through the full 20 years of the war. All of them are fascinating characters from a historical standpoint, and thanks to the fact that they had the historians of the time next to them, we have a great deal of documents that have survived to this day. But those chronicles talk a lot about them and very little about the Roman soldiers that were on the field. Those great unknowns are the ones involved in the battles, and we didn’t want to miss out on that point of view always forgotten by history.

For Songs of Steel: Hispania we created three fictional Roman soldiers that will experience the conflict from start to finish, fight in each battle and interact with the consuls. This meant doing extra documentation on our part, since even though these characters didn’t exist, their circumstances and evolution within the Roman army had to have the same historical accuracy as that of the real characters.
This historical accuracy will be to the liking of the Roman republic’s fans and players that just want to experience the game alike.
If you liked what we just told you, remember adding Songs of Steel: Hispania to your wishlist if you still haven’t!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2603300/Songs_of_Steel_Hispania/

Songs of Steel: Hispania is a turn-based strategy game that narrates the war between the Roman Republic and the Celtiberian people of Numancia that took place from 153 BC. C. to 133 BC. C. Twenty years of conflict that can be experienced from both sides. Conquering Hispania or defending it will be in the hands of the player. Two connected narratives with which we offer completely different gaming experiences.

There is one thing about how Numancia entered the war with Rome that has been referred to by historians as one of the greatest injustices in history. The city of Segeda (present-day Cerro Poyo de Mara, in the province of Zaragoza) reinforced its walls, and Rome interpreted this gesture as a violation of the treaty of Graco, which stated they could not fortify the city again, and declared war on them. Since they had not finished fortifying the city yet, the secedans fled from the impending Roman attack by taking refuge in Numancia, which gave them shelter and joined their fight. This act of solidarity dragged the Numantine people into a war that they had not started. And one that players will be able to experience in Songs of Steel: Hispania. Fascinating, isn't it?

This is a very personal project because it is born from the desire to spread the word about the feat of Numancia. The history and spirit of resistance of the city are an inspiration for the inhabitants of what is nowadays the province of Soria, hometown of the people who make up Combat Time, producer and publisher of the game, which is being developed by Meteorbyte Studios.

The commitment to historical accuracy in a game of this kind is always fundamental, but in this case the responsibility is even bigger because it’s about the history of our land. That’s why our first step before writing a single line of the script was to carry out a long and extensive research.

The narrative, the way the different units work in game, the weapons, or the rites and traditions, are all true to the reality of that period. The same can be said for most of the characters from both sides that appear in the game. Just to give you two examples, we have included some funeral rites of the Celtiberians that consisted of cremating warriors with their weapons so they could continue fighting in the afterlife, or details about the harsh discipline enforced within the Roman army through physical punishment.

That being said, we have had to take some small creative licenses in favor of the gameplay, or to cover certain narrative holes where not even Roman historians have reached an agreement on how things were. As an example, there’s the inclusion of the backstories of three fictional Roman soldiers, which we will tell you about in the next development diary.
Our goal with "Songs of Steel: Hispania" is to spread the word about a fascinating historical period, which ironically remains very unknown. We have taken advantage of what history offered us to create a game system that is both historically accurate and enjoyable. It’s very cliché, but also very true, to say that we've created the game we'd love to play.

If you liked what you read here, remember adding Songs of Steel: Hispania to your wishlist if you haven’t yet!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2603300/Songs_of_Steel_Hispania/

Welcome to the Numantine War in Songs of Steel: Hispania! Immerse yourself in a turbulent time in our history, where Roman expansion clashes with the resistance of the fierce Celtiberian people. This war, which lasted over two decades, is the backdrop to this strategy game where your ability to manage and lead your army will be key to winning victory.

Relive the intensity of this conflict in our official trailer at the Steam page, and discover, as the moment to jump to the battlefield approaches, all kinds of novelties about development, characters and gameplay that we will update.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2603300/Songs_of_Steel_Hispania/

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