We are back with our Spotlight series, with each article focused on one new mechanic that appears in the new DLC Imperiums: Rise of Caesar. Today, we will talk about Weather and Seasons, a new concept that greatly enhances the tactical dimension of the game.
Far north beyond the Alps, the weather is not as mild and pleasant as around the Mediterranean. The often harsh conditions make the lands inhospitable and its people tough, they are used to living on the edge of survival. There are no roads to make traveling through the dense forests and boggy swamps easier. The tribal settlements are often hostile, so the building and guarding of military camps is a matter of survival.
Spring comes with rain that turns the few paths into muddy slides, while the air in hot summers buzzes with mosquitoes. Autumn brings early snow and the freezing temperatures of the winters can leave the most resilient of men weak and exhausted.
Pavel, the main developer and game designer, will share his views on how this mechanic is incorporated into the game.
Previous campaign maps have turns lasting a month, a quarter or even half a year and as such, it made no sense to implement more tactical mechanics. Perhaps with the exception of a „battle view“ and even here the possibilities would be quite limited. Besides, this is not a direction which we want to go in right now. The Rise of Ceasar DLC has a different time scale and turn length compared to previous campaign maps, which was a major factor in shaping our decisions about what changes to implement. The fact that one turn in the Rise of Caesar DLC equates to one week dramatically changed our options for adding more tactical elements to the game. The most important one is Weather and Seasons. The mechanic has 3 elements – rain and snow, snow cover and temperature. Let’s dive into each of them now. Rain and snow (depending on temperature) lowers the mobility of units and reduces the effectiveness of supply lines. Both phenomena move across the map with the wind. Tiles where it was snowing the turn before will be covered with a snow crust (this also reduces the mobility of units and the effectiveness of supply lines but to a lesser extent than snowing itself). The snow cover stays on the tiles until the temperature rises above 0°C. Temperatures change over the seasons. Most of the time you will not need to pay extra attention to it, however it will become an important factor when it gets to more extreme levels (above 30°C or below -5°C). In such cases, all units not stationed in or close to a city will be affected by the extreme weather. In hot conditions their battle readiness is temporarily reduced (the men are exhausted), but it will return to its original level when the temperature drops. The health of units exposed to freezing temperatures below -5°C is negatively affected with every turn the situation lasts. This is a more permanent effect on health that does not automatically recover when the temperature rises, any units affected will need healing before they reach full battle readiness again. A new Weather panel above the Map Menu has been added, this indicates the weather for the current turn and a forecast for the coming turn. It shows the temperature, the weather and the wind direction for the current turn (wind direction is important to give you an idea of how the weather will develop for the coming turn). Forecasts are only indicative and should be viewed accordingly. Special warnings are displayed when snow, rain and/or extreme temperatures are forecast for the coming turn. This notification can be disabled directly in the Weather panel if so desired. I consider this mechanic to be the most interesting new concept in the DLC. It greatly expands the tactical dimensions of the game and forces you to plan your campaigns as well as any backup plans to account for the effects of winter and the actual weather. Caesar himself had to plan his conquests in a similar way, winter was too unpredictable and campaigning too risky.
It is said that you might lose a battle but still win the war, but in Imperiums: Rise of Caesar one lost battle could be the end of your military career. It requires a true tactical genius to balance the risks. The Gallic bogs are full of Romans who will not return home.
If you haven’t done so, please add Imperiums: Rise of Caesar to your wishlist.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2250440/Imperiums_Rise_of_Caesar/
Thank you for the continuous support!
Yours,
Kube Games team.