As a last teaser before the update at the end of this week, let me present you the latest improvements made to our 1914 startdate, the Great War scenario.
In the 0.7 version of the game, we brought back the WW1 scenario after a long hiatus in development. This time, we focused on improving the player's experience during the timeframe of the 1914 conflict and we added new mechanics to improve the gameplay and the sensation of immersion.
First on our bucket list was to improve the general conduct of the war. The AI managed generally well on the western front but the war mostly stayed a European affair. With some events and ai files tweaking, the situation has improved, as you can see on the screenshot above. Here the Ottomans are having some serious troubles with the Russians pushing into the Balkans and the Caucasus while at the same time the British Empire is pushing into Iraq and has established control over the critically important French-controlled Suez Canal, using this opportunity to topple the Ottomans puppet state in Egypt.
In China the setup has also changed. In order to fit within The Bonaparte Legacy lore, we have added three countries to the Western part of the region. East Turkestan, the Sa Ma Clique and Yunnan have joined the party. The Republic of China will now have to unify the country before thinking about its new foreign policy. I should mention however that this part of the world is still very much work in progress and these improvements are mostly the basis of future development.
The biggest change to the version of TBL's Great War is Russia. The country now has multiple early-game events to set the stage for the upcoming storm. Trough these events, the player will be informed of the poor political climate reigning in Russia at the time and will gain important dissent penalties in the weeks preceding the start of the war. Without the war with Japan and the 1905 Revolution, Russia is still an absolute monarchy and the movement in favour of the democratisation of the empire is getting very, very strong.
As war is declared however, the initial burst of patriotism and the national pride of the Russian people with help the player reduce it dissent and allow him to dedicate his attention to the conduct of the war. As seen above with the classical 'Rally round the Tsar' with a little touch of The Bonaparte Legacy.
With the war going on, the issue of democracy will slowly crawl back, and the increasing losses of the battlefield will make it increasingly difficult to properly manage both the war and the political stage. Things will progressively escate until one day in the spring of 1916 (or later, it is up to France to take the decision actually), one the Tsar's old enemy returns back to his native Russia.
Lenin's return will set in motion the event chain for the Revolution. But, contrary to the historical Russian revolution, the outcome of this one is not already decided. The Great War is not necessarily going that bad for Russia and the demands of the Russian people are different. They want peace of course, the end of wartime shortages and, above all else, they want democracy. I won't spoil the here so you will have to play the scenario to see for yourself, but let me tell you this : civil war isn't the only option. Of course sacrifices will have to be made and critical decisions taken, but maybe, just maybe, can a cataclysm be avoided...
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This wraps it up for the dev diaries for this update, we hope you're as excited as we are for this. Thank you again for your support folks, we are making this mod for you after all. See you on friday.
