ICBM: Escalation News

Hi everyone.

The release date for ICBM: Escalation is right around the corner. We’ve got one last dev diary to tide you over before the big day. This time, we’re going to be talking about all the ways you can tailor the game to your preferences. We’ve already talked about the different game modes on offer and touched on the different units and weapons that will be at your disposal, but there’s even more you can do to make the game fit whatever kind of destructive mood you find yourself in.

Let’s start with something that gets asked a lot. One of the most common questions we get about the new ICBM is “Can I play as (insert country here)”. Well, regardless of where “Insert Country Here” is in your mind, the answer is almost definitely yes. The new default map features 10 factions made up of different countries that have cultural or political ties to each other. But, that doesn’t mean that’s how you have to play. You’re free to adjust any of the 150 regions on offer and mix and match them to different regions. Want to have the US face off against Brazil? You can do that. China vs Australia? Sure. Alaska vs literally the entire world? Terrible idea, but you do you.

Yeah, that’s right, bring it, wimp. WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ALASKA? HUH?!

Of course, there’s some innate limitations to the default Atomic Earth map. Some of the regions themselves are combinations of different countries, like the Baltic States, which are made of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Belarus. Obviously, not ideal if you want Belarus to team up with Russia, for example. But, we’ve got a solution. Introducing the Iron Curtain Map.

Sometimes the game gets viewed as a Cold War sim. So how about a Soviet Reunion? Just like old times.

We made the Iron Curtain map as a sort of ‘roleplay’ map, so even though it’s not as balanced as the default Atomic Earth map, you can get more nuance in terms of who’s allied with who. If you want to pit NATO against the entire Warsaw Pact, now’s your chance. In addition to the subdivisions in the large countries, every country that was big enough to be split off into its own territory has gotten exactly that. To the one guy in Burundi playing this game, you’re welcome. Just like Atomic Earth, you can mix and match territories however you want. If you want a game that’s just North and South Korea, it’s on the books now.

There’s also new lobby options to match the new features. Before you start a game, you can change the contamination speed, as usual, if you want to make the game longer or shorter. You can also adjust the length of ceasefires and peace treaties, how long it takes for captured territories to start paying out to you, settings related to your alliances, whether or not they exist at the beginning of the game, and more. One of the more interesting additions is the new adjustable ‘Forced Surrender’ mechanic, which allows you to forcibly push an entire faction out of a game by destroying or capturing a certain amount of their population.

Now you can end a game by capturing all your enemy’s territory or nuking them into oblivion. That’ll teach ‘em.

Also, now that territory capturing is alive and well, we’ve also introduced a brand new scoring mode. If you’re looking to capture territory instead of glassing it, we’ve added the brand new Domination Mode. In Domination Mode, the only way to score points is by conquering enemy territory. You’ll have to raise an army and control the world if you want to win.

Now, that’s not to say that you can’t use nukes though. If you want to cripple your enemy’s economy and make it harder for them to fight you off, you’re more than welcome to nuke them back to the stone age. Blow up their cities, obliterate their units, do whatever you need to to keep them at bay so you can gain the upper hand and invade. You can also lower their score by irradiating their territory. If you want to send a message, you can always just salt the Earth. And, as expected, if you can’t help but giggle every time you slaughter thousands of innocents, the original 3 scoring modes are also making a return. Survival mode for the optimists, Extermination mode for the pessimists, and of course, Default for everyone who’s just bloodthirsty in general.

Take note that the attack on Washington hasn’t improved the Soviet’s score. It has, however, hurt the USA’s score, their GDP, and also approximately 1.8 million people...

Now, if you combine the options you have at your disposal for customizing the game itself, and combine that with the different strategies and tactics you can execute in the game itself, there’s no shortage of scenarios you can put yourself in. Want to bring the Cold War back to life with a friend? Sure thing. Do you like the sounds of a hypothetical future standoff between India and Iran? Give it a shot! Want to reenact the Mongol invasions with WWII technology? Go for it! Wanna show the world what happens when you mess with Alaska? Do your thing. ICBM has evolved far beyond just 8 players nuking each other. Obviously, that’s still an option, but the horizons of how you can play are much, much wider now.

That’s all for our last dev diary. Let us know what you think. This one is a little bit shorter, since we’re hard at work getting ready for the launch, but more to the point, soon enough you’ll be able to experience it all yourself first hand. Thanks for checking in and following the progress of the game, we’ll see you on launch day.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

With the release date of ICBM: Escalation just around the corner, the latest What If video takes players back to a moment that nearly changed history: the Cuban Missile Crisis. This new scenario explores two possible outcomes, the historical diplomatic resolution or a devastating military clash that could have altered the world forever.

What would you have done during the crisis? Wishlist now, watch the video and decide how you’d shape history in ICBM: Escalation

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2647680/ICBM_Escalation/

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Players, the wait is almost over. We are thrilled to announce the official release date for ICBM: Escalation. Mark your calendars for November 21st, 2024 when you’ll be able to dive into the full experience of global warfare and strategic dominance.

Alongside the release date reveal, we’re launching the first of our “What If” video series, which explores the alternative outcomes of pivotal global events within the game’s universe. In this video, you’ll witness an intense clash between the forces of North America and Central America, demonstrating the depth of strategic choices and consequences awaiting you in ICBM: Escalation.

Every situation can have multiple outcomes, every decision has its consequences, what's your move?

Keep wishlisting the game and get ready to lead your faction to victory on November 21st.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2647680/ICBM_Escalation/

Hi everyone!

In this dev diary, we’re going to be talking about something that might feel familiar to anyone who’s played the original ICBM. For all the grizzled veterans in the audience, you probably remember the Strike Planner. Well, it’s gotten a bit of a makeover for the sequel, and there’s been a pretty major overhaul in terms of how it works and what it’s capable of now. So, now that the strike planner is old news, for ICBM fans both old and new, allow me to introduce you to the new War Room!

A STRANGE GAME. THE ONLY WINNING MOVE IS NOT TO PLAY.

For those of you that are unacquainted, the Strike Planner in ICBM 1 gave you the ability to quickly assign attack orders to your units. You could get every instance of a specific unit type to attack every specific instance of an enemy unit type. So, for example, you could get all your SSBNs to attack enemy cities all at once, or get your missile silos to attack every enemy airport, or any other combination of attackers and targets. However, as handy as it is in a lot of situations, it didn’t have the nuance needed for ICBM: Escalation, now that regions are capturable, conventional warfare is widespread, and killing absolutely everything all at once isn’t necessarily what you want to do. At least not all the time.

The classic strike planner is returning, but the advanced planner is where things get interesting…

So, what does the new War Room have to offer? The short answer is discretion. In the new War Room, you have the ability to specify exactly which units you want to conduct the attack, and also specify exactly who to kill. So, let’s pose a hypothetical. Let’s say you’re playing as North America. Central America just sank one of your favorite aircraft carriers, so in a fit of blind rage, you decide you’re going to invade Mexico. Now, you could use the traditional strike planner and end up starting World War III, but that’s going too far. Right now your limit is only World War 2 and a half. Instead of hitting them with everything you’ve got all at once, you just want to soften them up, show them who’s boss, and then probably destroy your timeshare property in Cancun so you can finally stop paying for it. This is where the War Room comes in.

Introducing the War Room! Isn’t this fancy?

As you can see, like the Strike Planner from ICBM 1, you can now choose to target specific regions instead of entire factions. So, for example, if you’re only focused on attacking Northwest Mexico, your plan won’t end up wasting effort and missiles on destroying Colombia. You can also see in the attacker list that there’s a list of territories as well. That’s because you can also designate specific regions to attack from. So if you wanted all your missile silos in, say, Western Canada to fire at one target and leave the rest of them on standby, you can do that too. You can also get even more nuanced if you want.

Behold, more nuance!

As you can see, you can assign units from specific unit groups to attack targets as well. So if you group together some units, you can turn them into a task force and then direct them using the War Planner. You can also assign attacker locations and target locations by designating points directly on the map, so if you want to get REALLY specific and say that, for example, only missile silos within a 100 mile radius of some random spot in the middle of Kansas should attack, you can do that too.

I wasn’t joking, you can literally do that.

Now, being able to get stuff to blow up other stuff is great and all, but it doesn’t end there. You don’t want to just attack Mexico, you want your troops to invade and claim it as your own so you can watch that timeshare burn to the ground with your own eyes. But micromanaging armies? That could be a lot of work. But don’t worry, the War Planner has you covered! All you need to do is switch to ‘Invasion mode’ and then specify which armies you want to send in and where you’re sending them to. Once you give the order, they’ll automatically mobilize and invade to capture the territories for you.

Sure, they sank your carrier, but deep down, we all know this is all about that timeshare.

On top of all that, you can also stack multiple elements of a plan together, so for example, while your MRBMs are targeting an enemy’s air bases, your SSBNs can be targeting its missile silos, while your ICBMs strike at their cities, or any other combination you can think of, all executed with one click of a button. Endless possibilities! And there’s new options on how to conduct the attack as well. You can choose to bar weapons of mass destruction from the attack if you don’t want things to get out of hand, tell your units to automatically choose the best weapons for the job based on what they’re targeting, and even get your bomber pilots to fly far beyond their return point on a one-way trip, with the aptly named ‘Suicide Mission’ option. Your attack, your way.

If you’re clever, you can devise all kinds of attacks. Like a symphony of destruction.

Because ICBM: Escalation has a newfound emphasis on conventional warfare, slower escalations and capturing territory, the extra degree of control and precision that the new War Room offers is perfect for coordinating everything from low-intensity skirmishes and raids, to territorial invasions, all the way to full-scale thermonuclear exchanges. There’s no substitute for getting extra-involved and micromanaging every single unit in the attack, but now that the War Room is in play, if you can make a plan and press a button, you can do some serious damage…

And that’s it for this dev diary! Hopefully it’s piqued your interest and you’re already scheming about what kind of fiendish master plans you can put together. We love your feedback, so let us know what you think in the comments. There might be another dev diary in the future to look forward to, but we’re also getting close to the finish line. Either way, you’ll hear from us again soon!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2647680/ICBM_Escalation/