Hi folks,
Mid April I did a poll and said I would share an outline of my Shadow Empire development plans with you in a few weeks time.
Well that took me a bit longer, due to various reasons. But here we are. First of all I would like to thank you for your participation in the last poll and your discussions on the various forums (Steam,Matrix,Discord). I have had the time to evaluate and organize your wishes as well as my own.
I could be secretive and only announce things when I am a 100% sure, but that would keep everybody in the dark completely. So please do consider this “development plan sketch” like at best 50% sure.
Heck, the features could still change, the order of development and DLCs planned could change, even the actual DLC themes could still change. Feedback is coming in non-stop and I am flexible until committed. But leaving all those disclaimers aside this sketch does give you an insight into what I currently have on my drawing board.
The first phase after Oceania release is still in progress and basically consists of me addressing a number of complaints with the Core engine that have been long standing and have been voiced many times. This phase includes my plan to slowly start upgrading the visuals and UI of the game as well. Each Core engine work phase is planned to upgrade part of the visuals / UI until finally everything is done. I’ll try to keep some (minimal) backwards compatibility in place in case some people prefer the older graphics.
I’ll probably focus the next DLC on a combination of politics, trade and more interesting leader dynamics. These are subjects close to my heart and they will interact with eachother very well. I have to say I am especially eager to do some more procedural generation coding.
After that workname “Republica” DLC I should return to the military part of the game. I am agreed to finally add in those much requested Navy Units, but only after doing a non-Sea related topic first. I need a break from sea-related stuff which I will get with “Republica” before attacking the very complex, interesting, but time-consuming addition of those Naval Units.
I am well aware I cannot please everybody and my design time is sadly limited. Know that it was hard for me to choose an order of priorities. I am trying to strike a balance between what (1) makes me happy and what (2) makes the different groups of players happy, while (3) improving the odds of new players buying the base game, while also (4) designing some new unique game mechanics as well.
Feel free to give feedback here or on the various forums, I will keep posting about my progress as I go along.
I am taking a bit of a family break right now, but expect a new SE open beta and a new SE release version towards mid June.
Looking much forward to continued development of Shadow Empire!
Best wishes,
Vic
Hello Vic,
your plan for the future looks great and I support your decision to focus on your vision on the game first. I am excited to see more about the world and lore of Shadow Empire.
My personal wish would be that the story modules get more integrated with the other parts of the game as they would be great additions as factions taking part in politics, trade, leaders and interaction with minors.
Furthermore I always liked to see a stronger or greater potential for militia. As they are now the strongest point is the free population you get by disbanding them. Perhaps militia could be more effective militarily but also represent political instability, easiliy influenced by factions or local population to counterbalance it.
As always do what you think is right, because what you did create I like very much.
I wish you a fun family holiday.
Kind regards
The design look great. The proposed “Republica” and “Militaria” DLC look like lots of fun. I’m enjoying “Oceania” currently. The “advanced trade” and “advance politics” seem like they would add even more immersion. “Unique Militaries” would be my personal wish.
Regards and thanks for the awesome game support!
To quote one of my colleagues in another forum: “That’s great and all, but I still need a ‘this unit is out of supply because…..’ tool tip — it should not remain a mystery how logistics work.”
I’m genuinely excited for your future plans for Shadow Empire, especially the DLC’s. But the game’s logistics remain frustratingly difficult/impossible to understand for a lot of us.
Hello Vic,
Id love to see more detailed combat like you with DC Ardennes….
also I think a WEGO approach would be awesome as well!!!! I think this would be especially great with adding a naval component!!!!
that been said the overall plan is great as well, the above are just two ideas that I think would work really well.
Hey Vic!
Long time fan, first time poster.
I know it’s a simple ask but for the love of data – Could you add an election history/party/faction history page that shows the election results of previous elections in one page rather than digging. Was thinking looking at the stats page updating and politics focus, So so so excited about the political focused dlc.
Another long time fan and first post.
I have to say I love the diagram and both proposed DLCs sound excellent to me! Keep up the good work.