Maestro's Cold War 2 News

Hello!

The demo is evolving and now proposes two scenarios.

I am really satisfied with the result so far, and the demo is certainly really near the end result.

What's in the new scenario?



[h2]THAW 1953-1956[/h2]

Will the death of Stalin and the rise of Khrushchev mark the beginning of a Détente era between the two blocs?
The decision is up to you!

While the USSR faces its first major contestations in the people's republics of Eastern Europe, a new world emerges and refuses to be aligned with any of the blocs.
In this global duel, no direct conflict is possible.
This is a Cold War for the world leadership, made of propagande and subversion, that begins.

-- -- -- -- --

Noticeable features of the current demo:

[h3]The original soundtrack[/h3]

Everbody's feedback so far praises the game's original sound track, and find it pretty immersive.

The music is the work of Jérémie Frémont, a telented French artist who also worked on Rise of the White Sun musics.


[h3]More content in Chinese and French[/h3]

Most of the current content is now translated into Chinese and French (the rare still missing texts won't ruin your experience)

[h3]Multiplayer[/h3]

Multiplayer works more or less...
I let it open, but I consider it rather in an Alpha state than in a Beta or Demo one.

The demo for the game will be a living demo, meaning it will continue to evolve until the full release.
Be sure to check back regularly or follow the game on Steam so you don’t miss any exciting updates!

I’ve been hard at work patching and improving the demo lately (apologies for the broken build from yesterday!).

What’s New:

New AI: The AI has been upgraded to perform better, scoring more points and reacting to your actions. In my opinion, it now compares favorably with the browser version's AI.

Colliding Telex Bug Fixes: The issue with colliding telexes has been resolved.*

Techno Bug Fixes: The bugs from yesterday’s tech update have been patched.

Mute Option: You can now mute the sound in the game.
(more subtle volume options wil leventually come much much later in the game's develomment)

What’s Next for the Demo:

Short Term:

Multiplayer is almost there (90% complete), but it still needs some fine-tuning.
New game mode options will be added, providing even more customization.

Medium Term:

Content additions are coming soon.
There’s a possibility that I’ll switch out the current demo scenario for a different one to give you a new experience.
Multiplayer will receive more options and quality-of-life improvements, making it as enjoyable as possible.

Long Term:

Full support for French and Chinese languages (currently a work in progress and incomplete).
The final game will feature even more languages, though I can’t say yet if they’ll be included in the demo.

*If you still experience the colliding telex bug, please send me a screenshot of your current FPS.

Thank you for all your feedbacks on the Discord.

Maestro Cinetik

Hello there!

That first news will unveil the road map for the game and the new planed features.

[h3]Road Map[/h3]

Someday between November and December 2024: A playable demo.
One scenario covering 1949-1953, playable as USA and USSR.
The demo will only cover 3 languages (English, French and Chinese), but the final game will have more.
It is a matter of days before you can play it

Someday between December 2024 and January 2025: Multiplayer demo
By then, the demo will certainly be playable in 1v1.

Someday between March 2025 and June 2025: Early Access
I may skip this step depending upon how fast things are going.
The EA will be a time of polishing, of content additions and frantik translation work.

Sometime between July 2025 and October 2025: Final release
The game will be released among several dlcs (the pricing and dlc policy is explained in a section below)

2026: Editor, Steam Workshop and modding tools, and may be some more dlcs
If I can do it earlier, I will do it earlier, but that's hard work and the planning is already fast paced.
But the game has been coded from day one to facilitate that futur feature.

2027 and beyond: Nothing! Hey, that's your game now! with the editor and modding tools, it is up to you to unleash your imagination!


[h3]What’s Different from the Browser Version?[/h3]

• Music and sfxs
  
• Tons of options
  
• Multiplayer
  
• Modding tools and editors (coming later)
  
• A better player's quality of life
  

I don't know yet how much new content there will be in the game, but with the demo and the EA, I am sure, some of your ideas will end up in the game.
USSR for exemple deserves more aternate paths.

[h3]Feedback Needed from the Demo[/h3]

Multiplayer:
This is my first real multiplayer game, so there’s plenty of room for improvement. Please report bugs and share your ideas!

AI:
The AI in the demo is functional but not yet as strong as the browser version. It's also not fully tailored to specific powers or scenarios.
The game includes many options that drastically change gameplay and player strategies. I need feedback on how the AI performs with these options, as the current default AI might underperform in certain setups (e.g., with the "unlimited actions" mode).

Quality of Life / UX:
My goal is to make the experience as enjoyable as possible. Quality feedback is essential to achieve that.

Steam Deck:
I’ve worked hard to make the game compatible with Steam Deck and Xbox controllers. If you use them, please share how smooth your experience is.

[h3]How Does Cold War 2 Compare to My Other Games?[/h3]

Accessibility: It’s as easy to learn and understand as Jey’s Empire and the Cauldrons of War series. If you’ve played Rise of the White Sun, this is much simpler by comparison.

Difficulty: Easier to beat than Jey’s Empire and Cauldrons of War, but harder than ROWS.

Depth and Replayability: Just as deep and replayable as my other games.

Duration: Scenarios can be played in an evening, like the Cauldrons series. Longer campaigns resemble the length of ROWS' extended scenarios.
Speedrunners can certainly end a game in 15 minutes.


[h3]Pricing and DLC Policy[/h3]

Many kids discovered strategy games thanks to the browser version, long before they get their first credit card.
So I am commited to make the base game as affordable as possible, and I plan to release it at $4.99

For that price, you will be able to play and replay from 1949 to 1989, as USSR and USA, and believe me, if you like that game, that will easily be hundred of hours!

That said, the Cold War is a niche subject—less mainstream than World War II, for example. (Admittedly, it’s not as niche as my last game about 1920s warlords in China!) As a result, the low price might not cover production costs.

Any marketing expert will tell you: the smaller the niche, the higher the price should be.

To balance this, any content beyond the USA and USSR campaigns between 1949 and 1989 will be included in DLCs, priced similarly to the base game. I hope you’ll understand this reflects the base game’s affordability rather than the DLC being expensive.

If this approach doesn’t work financially, I may have to adjust the base game’s price to a more viable level.

Bon jeu!
Maestro Cinetik