Imperator - Development Diary - 7th October 2019

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Hello everyone and welcome back to another Development Diary for Imperator Rome. It is now almost two weeks since we released the Cicero update, and we are now starting to be able to talk about what will come in the Livy update which is planned for later this year.

Let’s start by digging deep into a mechanic that has not seen much change in the last 15 years of PDS gamnes.

The reinforcement mechanic of Imperator is basically the same as EU3 has, which every game since then, from Victoria 2 to HoI4, have used. You lose soldiers to combat and attrition, and slowly recover them from your manpower pool, with a speed that depends on multiple factors.

In the Livy update, this all changes.

  • Armies will consume food, and they will be able to carry food with them.
  • Elephants will not require more food than they can carry, while Camels can carry more.
  • Different units have different food consumption values.
  • New Unit Type called Supply Train that can carry much more food, but are slow and abysmal in combat.
  • Armies stock up on food supply in their own territory, or in territory where they have taken control of the provincial capital.
  • Armies no longer lose soldiers to normal attrition.
  • Attrition now drains the food supply of an army, with high attrition increasing this.
  • Armies without food loses about 5% of its strength each month.
  • Your armies can ONLY reinforce when they are not taking attrition.


This gives the following benefits to the game experience.
  • AI is better at handling this situation with regards to manpower.
  • You will actually be able to lose sieges, as you can run out of food, and lose enough troops.
  • A deeper and more immersive warfare.
  • You will have more control over your manpower.
food_supply.png



One thing that fans of the Crusader Kings series recognise and have been requesting since they first saw the game, is the ability to name your rulers children. In Livy, the popup for newborns for your ruler will allow you to edit the name to anything you want.
newborn.png



Another Quality of Life option which have been requested, that is also being added to Livy is the possibility for you to see what trait your ruler would gain or lose from an event, and be able to to tooltip the icon to show the impact.

event_options.png




Stay tuned for next week, when my padawan Peter Nicholson will explain what the new button in the top screen is for.
 
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Very interesting new mechanic, and happy to see that the AI will be able to handle it properly! QOL changes are also always appreciated.

Do you know if you will also release Livy in an open beta several months in advance, or was it a one-time experiment with Cicero?
 
Magnificent!
 
Will supply train give food to all units in the same province or does it have to be kept in the same army? So you can lead in the army then move the slower supply train in to replenish food stocks?
 
Awww yiss!

One thing that fans of the Crusader Kings series recognise and have been requesting since they first saw the game, is the ability to name your rulers children. In Livy, the popup for newborns for your ruler will allow you to edit the name to anything you want.
index.php

Please add a random button to this too!
 
Great work :) Very happy with the military changes, and the positive impact you're seeing that it has on the AI! Ideally the new Supply Trains should come with a new Unit Objective which will automatically shuttle between areas in which the Supplying army can stock up on food, then seek out armies that need that need food to distribute it to. The AI will need to know to keep some combat troops with them, if it can spare them.

Additionally, ships should come with large amounts of Food capacity, and should have a method of unloading food to their armies in ports. The AI should likewise have routines to handle this naval support role. But I'm sure you're already looking into this.

Finally, with proper seiges, how will food be distributed there? Will Forts have their own Food levels that need to be attritioned, or will it be a case of armies being placed under seige, rather than just battling over a Fort territory?
 
You will actually be able to lose sieges, as you can run out of food, and lose enough troops.
Okay this is awesome. It needs to be added to EU4 and CK2 soon please and ty.
 
This is really nice! Armies who actually consume food and have baggage trains, that's lovely. Sun Tzu will be pleased finally.

Please also allow us to rename cohorts and ships, now that we can name the kids like in CK2. That is one feature many of us have really awaited since release. :)

.

Also a suggestion - armies who lose a big battle -> shatter -> flee away, should leave behind most of their food/provisions for the victors and only take a portion with them. Armies who retreat voluntarily (right-clicking in mid-battle) should be able to take almost all of their food with them intact. A 75:25 ratio or 80:20 ratio would be really nice.

Would love to see battle rolls/events about raiding enemy's camps. Raiding and capturing enemy's camp and food to make them panic and lose, was a winning tactic in every age.

There also needs to be a "randomize" button in that window about naming your child. Coming up with names in ancient cultures is harder for players compared to medieval era. :p

There is ledger in-game already! :)

Yes, but it doesn't have enough features right now.
 
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One thing that fans of the Crusader Kings series recognise and have been requesting since they first saw the game, is the ability to name your rulers children. In Livy, the popup for newborns for your ruler will allow you to edit the name to anything you want.
Even EU4 has had this for a while, don't try and say this is just to please the CK2 players. Imperator was just so bare bones you forgot to put in a basic monarchy feature. How about actual character and RP mechanics if you want to please CK2 players?
 
Looks like this game will just keep getting better and better!
 
Awesome! Is there a way for your armies to be better at carrying food than others? I know IRL the romans had great logistics without the messy and vulnerable supply trains other armies had.