We are all big fans and admirers of the ancient era and we wanted this to be visible throughout the whole game. We want the player to relive the highs and lows of the old times with the ancient nations as if they were really there. All the game concepts of Aggressors were designed with the desire to be as close to historical reality as possible.
It started with the historical map and initial setup of course. We spent many weeks studying historical sources, maps and chronicles to set up the map as accurately as we could. It was not always easy - some nations didn't leave any source of information about what kind of life they led, what were they trying to achieve or conqueror even where they were located exactly. We can find only fragmentary information from other nations writing about their enemies or "unknown barbarians behind their borders". Sometimes it was a bit of a roll of the dice as the sources were often contradictory and we had to pick one.
After long time tweaking the map, we are pretty happy about the result and we could finally move on to an even more difficult part - historical context. We needed to setup the nations and goals in such a way that would draw the players in and made them identify with the nation they lead.
Historical summaries are full of big dreams, ambitions and grand plans. We let ourselves be inspired by these great visionaries and we decided to create a set of unique short-term and mid-term goals for each nation that reflect the aspirations and hopes of ancient heroes.
This was even more difficult than the map setup because we needed to "guess" the potential goals of each of the nation despite the fact that in history they were wiped out by their enemies before they reached any of those goals! Sometimes we could be led by history itself (like for example in the case of the Roman conquest of Sicily), sometimes by historical sources of what specific countries and conquerors aspired to achieve and sometimes by our own point of view and we had to think about "what if" situations.
We named these goals Objectives and they include territorial expansion, military campaigns, economic, cultural or political development, diplomatic relationships and many more. But nothing comes easy in life and neither do rewards for achieving the Objective’s goal. Players need to put some effort and thinking into these side quests to reap the bonuses waiting at their ends.
We didn‘t want to create these objectives in a way like many other games do - "conquer this and that and you get precisely this amount of resources as a reward". This doesn’t feel very realistic and thus the feeling of fulfilling the actual goal of a specific country is forever lost.
In Aggressors the player doesn’t know what exactly he needs to do to reach the goal, neither does he know the scope of the potential rewards. The ancient nations worked hard to turn their plans into reality but events out of their control could shatter their life-long work. Even if they crowned their effort with success, the benefits were not predictable or known in advance. Actually, fulfilling grandiose plans could even bring more problems than profits.
Let's demonstrate how the Objectives system works with an example – the goal is to build a strong standing army. As a commander of all armed forces you want to have a reliable and formidable army. You start recruiting men into infantry and cavalry units and perhaps even expand your fleet. But the strength of your army is only measurable in comparison with armies of your opponents and you can be sure that they do not waste time and build their armed forces just as you are trying to do the same. So, it cannot be predicted how many units or what unit types you need to achieve the objective. It simply depends on what kind of opponents you have.
And in the same way you cannot predict the effects such actions will have. It might seem like becoming a military superpower can result in small and weak states offering you political alliances as they hope to gain a strong protector and the happiness of your citizens will increase as they will feel safe in their homes. On the other hand, once you really accumulate such a power, people might slowly realize that they don‘t really need such a power anymore and the potential benefit might be close to nothing. Moreover the majority of young and able men are now serving in your army and there simply isn't enough men to work the fields. All in all, you cannot see the future until it happens and you can only adapt to its ever-changing flow.
But we realize that the player already gets a lot of adrenalin from all the action in the game and so we have hidden a hint in the description of each objective that should guide the player in the right direction. The information is purely textual like the goals in Ancient times and players must follow this hint till they reach the goal. Apart from that, there is a progress bar showing how far the player has gone in achieving the goal and this can also be taken as an indication if he is going the right way.
The setup of these objectives is not fixed from the beginning. Some objectives unlock other objectives depending on the way the alternative history of the game develops so you will always find a number of interesting side quests to fill your days with.
While working on the Objectives we realized that the ancient leaders were quite creative in using their resources and in creating opportunities. Ruling a large nation was never an easy task and to succeed meant that they always had to find a way out of a difficult situation.
All rulers are eventually confronted with situations that require fast and decisive actions, for example acute lack of resources, crisis or dangerously low army morale. History teaches us that in such moments the ruling elite usually tried to find a quick and effective, even if unusual and risky, remedy which in the game is represented by the so called State decisions. They are solutions that can contain dangerous situations and slow the downfall but their success rate and impact is difficult to predict and you will need to take the leap of faith if you decide to use them.
Take the examples of food distribution in times of a looming famine, organizing games when unrest was stirring in the population or calling tribal meetings when joint action was required. Such actions were not frequently used, rather the opposite. But when the crisis reached its peak and the ruling class was gripped by desperation, they were willing to turn to risky and often expensive solutions.
Nothing is for free and also the State decisions come at a price while their outcomes are not fully predictable even with the textual estimation of potential outcome. It is the choice of the player to choose if he is ready to pay perhaps a high price to buy himself some time to restore the situation in his country.
The State decisions are available only when concrete conditions are fulfilled and only whilst those conditions last. It is only logical, you probably wouldn’t enforce complete obedience of your soldiers by ordering army decimation unless it is the last and only hope you have left to keep your military units fighting.
I think it is good time to slowly dive into one of the most important aspects of the game - country management. It includes aspects like population happiness, migration, birthrate control and influence of adjacent countries on your cities. But this is a subject for our next dev diary...
Aggressors Dev Diary #4 - Historical Accuracy
A mix of deep gameplay and rich historical flavor, Aggressors: Ancient Rome lets you relive history as the ruler of one of the mighty civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean. Choose one of twenty available factions and conquer the world.
Re: Aggressors Dev Diary #4 - Historical Accuracy
Another excellent diary..........
I am assuming the "Coffers are Empty" State Decision is only activated once a player;s treasury is in trouble....ie it is context sensitive.
Love the idea of promoting a cult..........
I am assuming the "Coffers are Empty" State Decision is only activated once a player;s treasury is in trouble....ie it is context sensitive.
Love the idea of promoting a cult..........
Re: Aggressors Dev Diary #4 - Historical Accuracy
Hi devoncop,devoncop wrote:Another excellent diary..........
I am assuming the "Coffers are Empty" State Decision is only activated once a player;s treasury is in trouble....ie it is context sensitive.
thank you. You are absolutely right - this state decisions is available once player is in lack of gold (and other conditions are fulfilled).
Return to “Aggressors: Ancient Rome”
Jump to
- Announcements & General Discussion
- ↳ News & Announcements
- ↳ General Discussion
- ↳ Game Ideas
- ↳ Archive
- ↳ Slitherine/Matrix Press Event 2012 - The Home of Wargamers
- ↳ Blogs
- ↳ Deadliest Warrior on Spike TV
- ↳ Military Art
- ↳ Shenandoah General Discussion Forum
- ↳ Shenandoah Studio Website
- ↳ Gettysburg: The Tide Turns
- ↳ Gettysburg: The Tide Turns - Technical Support
- ↳ Gettysburg: The Tide Turns - After Action Reports (AAR)
- ↳ Battle of the Bulge
- ↳ Battle of the Bulge: Tech Support
- ↳ Drive On Moscow
- ↳ Drive on Moscow iPad
- ↳ Desert Fox: The Battle of El Alamein
- Regional
- ↳ Español
- Coming Soon
- ↳ Field of Glory: Kingdoms
- ↳ ICBM: Escalation
- ↳ ICBM: Escalation Tech Support
- ↳ Ancient Arenas: Chariots
- ↳ Scramble: Battle of Britain
- ↳ Broken Arrow
- Latest Releases
- ↳ Headquarters World War II
- ↳ Panzer Corps 2
- ↳ Panzer Corps 2: Tech Support
- ↳ Panzer Corps 2 Scenario Design
- ↳ Panzer Corps 2: Multiplayer & Tournaments
- ↳ Panzer Corps 2 AARs
- ↳ Terminator: Dark Fate – Defiance
- ↳ Stargate: Timekeepers
- ↳ Stargate: Timekeepers - Tech Support
- ↳ Starship Troopers - Terran Command
- ↳ Master of Magic
- ↳ Field of Glory II
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Tech Support
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Scenario Design
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Modding
- ↳ Field of Glory II: After Action Reports
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Tournaments & Leagues
- ↳ Field of Glory II Digital League
- ↳ Knock-out Tournament
- ↳ Field of Glory II: The Divisional Championships
- ↳ FOG II World Team Championship
- ↳ Archive
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Frequently Asked Questions
- ↳ The FOGII Beta Archives
- ↳ Field of Glory II 1.5.15 Public Beta
- ↳ Field of Glory II 1.5.20 Public Beta
- ↳ Field of Glory II 1.5.22 Public Beta
- ↳ Field of Glory II - 1.5.24 Open Beta
- ↳ Field of Glory II - 1.5.26 Open Beta
- ↳ Field of Glory II - 1.5.27 Open Beta
- ↳ Field of Glory II - 1.5.29 Open Beta
- ↳ Field of Glory II - 1.5.31 Open Beta
- ↳ Field of Glory II - Open Beta 1.5.33
- ↳ Field of Glory II - Open Beta 1.5.37
- ↳ Field of Glory II Open Beta v.1.5.39
- ↳ Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector
- ↳ Planetary Supremacy
- ↳ Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War
- ↳ Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War: Tech Support
- ↳ Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War: Modding
- ↳ Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War: Suggestions
- ↳ Master of Magic Classic
- ↳ Master of Magic: Tech Support
- ↳ Caster of Magic
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval Tech Support
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval - Scenario Design
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval - Modding
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval - After Action Reports
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval - Tournaments & Leagues
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval - Frequently Asked Questions
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval Beta Archives
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval - Open Beta v.1.5.7
- ↳ Field of Glory II: Medieval - Open Beta
- ↳ Order of Battle Series
- ↳ Order of Battle : World War II - Tech Support
- ↳ Order of Battle Bug Submissions
- ↳ Order of Battle : World War II - AAR
- ↳ Order of Battle : World War II - Scenario Design
- ↳ Order of Battle : World War II - Multiplayer
- ↳ Multiplayer Beta
- ↳ Fantasy General II - Invasion
- ↳ Fantasy General II - Invasion: Tech Support
- ↳ Content Editor
- ↳ Fantasy General II - Beta Archive
- ↳ ICBM
- ↳ ICBM:Tech Support
- ↳ ICBM:Features you would like to see
- ↳ Stirring Abyss
- ↳ Battlestar Galactica Deadlock
- ↳ Battlestar Galactica Deadlock: Tech Support
- ↳ Shadow Empire
- ↳ Field of Glory: Empires
- ↳ Dev Diaries
- ↳ Field of Glory: Empires - Tech Support
- ↳ MOD
- ↳ AAR
- ↳ Field of Glory: Empires Beta Archive
- ↳ FOG Empires Open Beta v.1.3.5
- ↳ Diplomacy Open Beta
- ↳ Command: Modern Operations
- ↳ Astra Exodus
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Afghanistan '11
- ↳ Afghanistan '11: Tech Support
- ↳ Strategic Command WWI
- ↳ Armored Brigade
- ↳ WarPlan
- ↳ Close Combat: The Bloody First
- ↳ Empires Apart
- ↳ Empires Apart PBEM
- ↳ Strategic Command WWII: World at War
- ↳ Aggressors: Ancient Rome
- ↳ Aggressors: Tech Support
- ↳ Aggressors Modding
- ↳ Aggressors AARs
- ↳ Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach
- ↳ Sanctus Reach After Action Reports (AAR)
- ↳ Sanctus Reach Mods and Scenario Design
- ↳ Sanctus Reach Opponents Wanted
- ↳ Sanctus Reach Tech Support
- ↳ March to Glory
- ↳ Tech Support: March to Glory
- ↳ The Operational Art of War IV
- ↳ Check Your 6!
- ↳ Check Your 6!: Tech Support
- ↳ Polaris Sector
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Modders Corner
- ↳ Mare Nostrvm
- ↳ Gettysburg: The Tide Turns
- ↳ Warhammer® 40,000® Armageddon™
- ↳ Warhammer AAR
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Mods and Scenario Design
- ↳ Warhammer Open Beta
- ↳ Carrier Deck
- ↳ Carrier Deck: Tech Support
- ↳ Panzer Corps
- ↳ Panzer Corps Open Beta
- ↳ Panzer Corps Mac Open Beta
- ↳ Panzer Corps : Tech Support
- ↳ Panzer Corps : AAR's
- ↳ Panzer Corps : Scenario Design
- ↳ Panzer Corps 2
- ↳ Close Combat Series
- ↳ Close Combat : Tech Support
- ↳ Close Combat - Gateway to Caen
- ↳ Close Combat - Gateway to Caen : Tech Support
- ↳ Close Combat - Gateway to Caen - Match Making Forum
- ↳ Close Combat - Panthers in the Fog
- ↳ Close Combat - Match Making Forum
- ↳ Close Combat - Panthers in the Fog: Tech Support
- Classic Games A-Z
- ↳ Airstrike Eagles of WWII
- ↳ Airstrike : Tech Support
- ↳ Alea Jacta Est Series
- ↳ Alea Jacta Est Series : Tech Support
- ↳ Battle Academy
- ↳ Battle Academy : Open Beta
- ↳ Battle Academy : Tech Support
- ↳ Battle Academy : Modders Corner
- ↳ Battle of the Scheldt Beta
- ↳ Battle Academy : Scenario Design
- ↳ Battle Academy : Tournaments & Leagues
- ↳ Battle Academy 2 – Eastern Front
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Battle Academy 2: Modders Corner
- ↳ Battle Academy 2: Scenario Design
- ↳ Battle Academy 2: Tournaments & Leagues
- ↳ Battle Academy 2: AAR
- ↳ Battle of the Bulge
- ↳ Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager
- ↳ Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager : Tech Support
- ↳ Buzz Aldrin's Space Program Manager : Early Access Beta Forum
- ↳ Campaign Series: Middle East 1948 - 1985
- ↳ Chariots of War
- ↳ Civil War II
- ↳ Civil War II : Tech Support
- ↳ Civil War II : AAR's
- ↳ Command - Modern Air/Naval Operations
- ↳ Commander - Napoleon at War
- ↳ Commander - Napoleon at War : Tech Support
- ↳ Commander - The Great War
- ↳ Commander - The Great War: Tech Support
- ↳ Commander The Great War AAR's
- ↳ Commander the Great War : Mods & Scenario Design
- ↳ Commander the Great War : Opponent Finder
- ↳ Conflict of Heroes
- ↳ Conflict of Heroes : Tech Support
- ↳ Conflict of Heroes : AAR's
- ↳ Match making forum
- ↳ Conquest!
- ↳ Conquest! : Tech Support
- ↳ Decisive Campaigns Series
- ↳ Distant Worlds Series
- ↳ Drive on Moscow
- ↳ Drums of War
- ↳ Drums of War : Tech Support
- ↳ Egypt - Engineering an Empire
- ↳ Egypt - Engineering an Empire : Tech Support
- ↳ España: 1936
- ↳ Fantasy Kommander – Eukarion Wars
- ↳ Fantasy Kommander – Eukarion Wars : Tech Support
- ↳ Field of Glory Digital
- ↳ Field of Glory : Tech Support
- ↳ Field of Glory : Scenario Design
- ↳ Field of Glory : Leagues & Tournaments & Seeking Opponents
- ↳ The FOG Digital League
- ↳ The Slitherine Trophy
- ↳ Field of Glory: League of Extraordinary Gentleman
- ↳ Field of Glory : AAR's
- ↳ FoG PC Beta
- ↳ Old Beta Test
- ↳ Bug Reports
- ↳ Field of Glory Campaigns
- ↳ Flashpoint campaigns: Red Storm
- ↳ Frontline Series
- ↳ Frontline Road to Moscow
- ↳ Frontline: Road to Moscow Tech Support
- ↳ Frontline: Road to Moscow Beta
- ↳ PC Beta
- ↳ Android Beta
- ↳ iOS Beta
- ↳ Frontline: The Longest Day
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Gary Grigsby's War in the East
- ↳ Gary Grigsby's War in the East : Tech Support
- ↳ Gary Grigsby’s War in the West
- ↳ Germany at War: Barbarossa 1941
- ↳ Germany at War: Barbarossa 1941 : Tech Support
- ↳ Germany at War: Barbarossa 1941 : AAR's
- ↳ Hannibal: Rome and Carthage
- ↳ Hannibal: Rome and Carthage - Tech Support
- ↳ Hell
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Heroes of Normandie
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Mods and Scenario Design
- ↳ HISTORY™ Great Battles Medieval
- ↳ HISTORY™ Great Battles Medieval : Tech Support
- ↳ HISTORY™ Great Battles Medieval : Modding
- ↳ HISTORY®: Legends of War
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Last Days of Old Earth
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Legion & Legion Gold
- ↳ Legion and Legion Gold: Tech Support
- ↳ Legion Arena & CoM
- ↳ Legions of Steel
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Lock 'n Load: Heroes of Stalingrad
- ↳ Lock 'n Load: Heroes of Stalingrad - Tech Support
- ↳ Magnifico - Da Vinci’s Art of War
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ MILITARY HISTORY™ Commander - Europe at War : General Discussion
- ↳ Commander - Europe at War : Tech Support
- ↳ Commander - Europe at War : Modders Corner
- ↳ Commander Europe at War : AAR's
- ↳ Commander Europe at War : Opponent Finder
- ↳ Commander Europe at War : GS Open Beta
- ↳ Napoleon's Campaigns
- ↳ Pandora - First Contact
- ↳ Pandora : Public Beta
- ↳ Pandora : Tech Support
- ↳ Pandora : Modders Corner
- ↳ Pike & Shot
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Scenario Design
- ↳ After Action Reports
- ↳ Modders Corner
- ↳ Opponents Wanted
- ↳ Pike & Shot : Tournaments & Leagues
- ↳ Piercing Fortress Europa
- ↳ Pride of Nations
- ↳ QVADRIGA
- ↳ QVADRIGA : Tech Support
- ↳ Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Revolution Under Siege Gold
- ↳ Rise of Prussia Gold
- ↳ Sengoku Jidai: Shadow of the Shogun
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Scenario Design
- ↳ Modders Corner
- ↳ After Action Reports
- ↳ Opponents Wanted
- ↳ Sengoku Jidai: Tournaments & Leagues
- ↳ Scourge of War Gettysburg
- ↳ Scourge of War Series : Tech Support
- ↳ Scourge of War: Waterloo
- ↳ Sovereignty
- ↳ Sovereignty: Tech Support
- ↳ Sovereignty: AAR
- ↳ Sovereignty: Modders Corner
- ↳ Spartan & Gates of Troy
- ↳ Star Hammer
- ↳ Star Hammer: Tech Support
- ↳ Star Hammer: Scenario Design
- ↳ Strategic Command: WWII War in Europe
- ↳ Strategic War in Europe
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Team Assault
- ↳ Match making forum
- ↳ Team Assault : Tech Support
- ↳ THE HISTORY CHANNEL™ Great Battles of Rome
- ↳ THE HISTORY CHANNEL Great Battles of Rome : Tech Support
- ↳ Thirty Years' War
- ↳ Tigers on the Hunt
- ↳ Time of Fury
- ↳ Time of Fury AAR's
- ↳ Time of Fury : Tech Support
- ↳ Time of Fury : Scenario Design & Modding
- ↳ Time of Fury : Open Beta
- ↳ To End All Wars
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Unity of Command
- ↳ Victory and Glory
- ↳ Vietnam '65
- ↳ Vietnam '65 - Tech Support
- ↳ Wars of Napoleon
- Online Ordering & Support
- ↳ Online Ordering & Support
- ↳ Site Feedback
- ↳ Invitation system support
- Tabletop Wargaming
- ↳ Field of Glory : Ancient & Medieval Era 3000 BC-1500 AD : General Discussion
- ↳ Rules Questions
- ↳ Scenarios, AAR's, Lists, Modelling and more
- ↳ Historical Scenarios
- ↳ Field of Glory AAR's
- ↳ Army Design
- ↳ Modelling
- ↳ Player Designed Lists
- ↳ Tournaments & Opponents
- ↳ Tournaments
- ↳ Opponent Finder
- ↳ Foreign Language Forums
- ↳ French Speaking Forum
- ↳ Spanish Speaking Forum
- ↳ Italian Speaking Forum
- ↳ German Speaking Forum
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ Field of Glory 3.0 Beta
- ↳ Marketplace
- ↳ Field of Glory : Napoleonic Era 1792-1815 : General Discussion
- ↳ Rules Questions
- ↳ Campaigns
- ↳ Scenarios, AAR's, Lists, Modelling and more
- ↳ Historical Scenarios, Maps, and Orders of Battle (OOB)
- ↳ FoGN After Action Reports (AAR)
- ↳ Army Design
- ↳ Player Designed Lists and Adaptions
- ↳ Modelling/Gallery/Uniforms Questions
- ↳ Tournaments, Demos & Opponents
- ↳ FoGN Community: Opponent Finder, Clubs, Blogs, etc.
- ↳ Foreign Language Forums
- ↳ French Speaking Forum
- ↳ Spanish Speaking Forum
- ↳ Italian Speaking Forum
- ↳ German Speaking Forum
- ↳ Marketplace
- ↳ Field of Glory : Renaissance Wars : General Discussion
- ↳ Historical Scenarios
- ↳ Rules Questions
- ↳ After Action Reports (AAR's)
- ↳ Tournaments
- ↳ Army Design
- ↳ Player Designed Lists
- ↳ Modelling
- ↳ Campaigns
- ↳ Opponent Finder
- ↳ FOGR Update
- ↳ Marketplace
- ↳ Field of Glory : Swords & Sorcery : General Discussion
- ↳ Marketplace
- ↳ Flashpoint campaigns: Red Storm : Tech Support
- ↳ HISTORY™ Ice Road Truckers
- ↳ HISTORY™ Great Empires: Rome
- ↳ HORRIBLE HISTORIES™ Ruthless Romans
- ↳ The Tudors
- ↳ Command - Modern Air/Naval Operations : AAR's
- ↳ Command - Modern Air/Naval Operations : Tech Support
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ España: 1936 : Tech Support
- ↳ Piercing Fortress Europa: Tech Support
- ↳ Tech Support
- ↳ FoGR Lists
- Archive
- ↳ Gary Grisby’s World at War iPad