Today's Spotlight will focus on one of the most interesting new mechanics that will appear in the Rise of Caesar expansion, Scenario Transition.
Given the number of questions and requests we have had on this topic it is clear that it is one of the top additions many players wish to see in the game. We have been considering it for a long time and it is definitely something we want to continue building on.
When Caesar conquered Gaul, he already was a Roman hero. However, as he stood at the northern coast looking across the misty Channel, thinking about the mysterious land and the tribes that inhabited it, he knew that his quest must continue. This next conquest would be the continuation of his life's efforts, using the experience of his legionaries, the infrastructure he built in Gaul, and all the skills and experience he had gathered in the many battles with the Celts.
Let's give the word to Pavel, our lead developer, to tell you in detail how this will work in game.
Transition between scenarios has been on the waiting list for a long time. It was logical due to our chronological approach to the DLCs and something I personally really enjoy in other games, e.g. in Panzer General where I could take my well trained units into the next battle. However, this functionality is quite difficult to implement (more than you might think!) and many questions had to be answered first, such as:
- What should be transitioned - units, cities, roads, terrain modifications, diplomacy relations, tech tree, or even resources?
- How will the transition affect the game difficulty and still align with the preferred level of the player?
- Should the transition be automatic or player-specific?
- What will trigger the transition?
- Should all factions be allowed to use this mechanic?
- and so on.
Apart from this, there were a number of technical issues I had to consider:
- The more things you allow to transition, the more "skewed" the scenario will be when compared to the stand alone scenario (with its fixed initial setup and balancing).
For example, if one faction should struggle with a lack of food in the second scenario but terrain improvements are transitioned from the first scenario, it would instantly solve the food problem and completely change the balance of things.
Similarly, bringing experienced units into the second scenario will affect the balancing. Things such as this could break the historical immersion.- How will the cities be transitioned regarding their size, name and improvements? Will Lutetia still be Lutetia in the second scenario if the player renamed it to Paris?
The list could go on, but you get the idea ... So what approach have we taken?
Considering all of the above, it will be possible to transition units, cities, roads, terrain modifications, "Politics in Rome" (alternation to the Tech tree in other expansions) and partially the diplomacy relations. Resources on the other hand, will not be transitioned as it would unbalance the whole scenario instantly. The transition is automatic, the player cannot choose what will or will not be transitioned, this will be taken care of by the transition balance algorithm. Even though players would certainly appreciate it if they could select the units they want to take with them, it would be near to impossible to balance. In this case, if a player has too many experienced units in the first scenario, only some of them will be transitioned. When certain trigger conditions are met, a pop-up window will ask a player if he wants to move to the second scenario. There is no way of delaying this decision, no "ask me later" option. Do you want to move on to the next quest or do you want to keep playing and lose the possibility of smoothly jumping from one scenario to another? Transition is only allowed for the Roman Republic faction as it would have been historically very inaccurate to enable this for other factions. Very interesting is the transition of diplomacy relations and factions in general. We created a very flexible way how factions are "taken" to the second scenario, allowing for example the transition even before Gaul is defeated. This would lead to the opening of a second front while still fighting the hostile Gauls at the same borders and battlefronts of the first scenario. All in all, I am quite happy that we have managed to implement this mechanic and with how it works. It is very flexible, allowing us to build on it in other potential DLCs while being also quite accessible to the modders.
No true conqueror could look into the fog hanging low on the sea and not dream of the next great conquest, especially when the knowledge of what is on the other side is veiled in mystery. Seize the opportunity, earn your glory, or die trying!
The release of the Rise of Caesar expansion is getting closer every day, so please don't forget to wishlist it and claim the release discount. We would also appreciate it if you subscribe to our company channel. We hope to have news about our next game soon!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2250440/Imperiums_Rise_of_Caesar/
Please, stay tuned for more.
Yours,
Kube Games team.