The day is finally here... version 1.0 has been released for public consumption. It has been a long, grueling road for Gigantus, myself, and the rest of the ROTK team, but we got here after more than 2 years of development. However this post is not about the v1.0 release, but more so some of the content that can be found within it. In particular I will be discussing the complete revamp of the Emperor & Usurpation script, Nanman migration and native recruitment, and also the Fortified Pass settlements.
Previous incarnations of the Emperor & Usurpation script provided very limited options in the ideology and ambition of your faction; that is, whether you will support or usurp the Han emperor when you have the power to do so. Gigantus entirely rewrote the script while I made major modifications to the coding, resulting in a completely different experience than before with much more noticeable
cosmetic results. In a nutshell, the script advances based on the number of settlements your faction controls, whether you do or do not control Chang An, and any decisions you make during the course of the script. In the first few turns, you will notice a message that talks about being Imperial Guardian; this forms the foundation of one path of the script. In this path control of Chang An (and the Emperor) is the key ingredient to advancing the script. As you acquire more settlements and more power, you will not only achieve greater rank within the Han government, but will later be presented with options to either support or usurp the Han. Similarly, if you do not control Chang An, you will be presented with similar dilemmas as you gain more territory and power. With the central government non-existent and the Emperor under the sway of other warlords, you will be offered the opportunity to self-proclaim noble ranks for yourself. Specifically, you can assume the rank of King and even Emperor of your own dynasty... if that is your desire. If you wish to stay loyal to the Han, and not assume self-proclaimed rank without the Emperor's consent, you can always turn down such opportunities.
Something new that was introduced (possibly in the last patch... I can't remember) was a unique recruitment system between the Nanman and Han factions. The idea for this comes from the fact that the Han Chinese and Nanman are so very different in not only their cultures and societies, but also in their manner of warfare. In this regard, depending on whether you are a Han faction or the Nanman, your unit recruitment options will change when inside or outside of the Nanzhong region (southwest China). First, I'll discuss playing as a Han faction. If you conquer territory in Nanzhong, which is land sparsely inhabited by Han Chinese people, you will find that your recruitment is far different than in your native Han settlements. You will have the ability to only recruit native Nanman soldiers, which are of slightly lesser quality than their counterparts in the Southern Tribes, and cannot recruit any of your typical Han units. However, recruitment of the Nanman units will mostly be of those that are infantry-based, with limited missile and cavalry units available. While playing as the Nanman, the same situation (but in reverse) applies to when you conquer Han settlements outside of Nanzhong, however there is another component. In your building browser for settlements outside of Nanzhong, you will see the '
Yizu Tribal Integration' building chain. Essentially these buildings represent migration of the Nanman tribes into Han territory, in turn allowing for the recruitment of regular Nanman military units. It is an interesting dynamic that gives at least a small bit of realism to the mod, at least in terms of the era's "culture clash."
And finally I am going to talk about the new Fortified Passes. But first, what are fortified passes? Basically they are fortifications found within strategic mountain passes, which are primarily located in north, central, and western China. Most were a part or an extension of the defensive system of the Great Wall but, unlike the majority of the Great Wall, these fortification were made of stone and brick as opposed to earthen mounds. In previous versions these Fortified Pass settlements were just villages but, once they got too much population and you upgraded them, then they were no longer strategic defensive fortifications. They were then changed to be unable to upgrade in size, and were simply placeholders until we could use IWTE to make proper fortifications. Unfortunately, with a small team and limited resources, this has yet to be done. Instead, what we have done is re-established castles as settlement types, with the Fortified Passes all assigned as castles and using a small settlement with brick walls. While this serves the intended purpose of a strategic defensive structure, it is not what we want or the end result. In the coming months when v1.1 is eventually released, and after we get more familiar with IWTE, we will have proper mountain pass fortifications as a part of the mod.