Click here to read the previous dev blog (#3) - TownyBuildings
In the first dev blog, I introduced CampaignWar - a custom war plugin being developed for a test gamemode. If you haven’t read it yet, you should do that first. We introduced the world, which is divided into provinces, and how individual provinces are captured during wars (through “province attacks”).
Today we will discuss wars themselves: how they are started, fought and concluded. Our intention is to make wars purposeful and have defined objectives, and to have them initiated through diplomatic means.
Ultimatums
Clausewitz famously said, “War is the continuation of policy with other means.” And so in CampaignWar, war is not inevitable; it is one of two possible outcomes of an ultimatum—a diplomatic process that begins when one nation (A) attempts to impose demands upon another nation (B).
A demand is something you want another nation to give you. Currently, there are three types¹ of demands of implemented:
- Occupying an enemy province
- Liberating a province from enemy occupation
- Forcing the enemy nation to pay you a percentage of their national wealth daily ("reparations")
Let's suppose Nation A demands to occupy a province owned by Nation B. The demand costs victory points - more on that later.
Upon receiving these demands, Nation B has two choices: either peacefully yield to the demands or refuse and present counter-demands to Nation A.
Let's assume Nation B chooses the second option. If they wish, they can now escalate the ultimatum to the international level. This gives both nations one day to call their allies for support. If the ultimatum becomes a war, allies that accept the call will participate in it (though calling all of your allies isn’t necessarily a smart decision, as we will discover.)
Now Nation A faces a similar choice. It can yield to Nation B's counter-demands to avoid war, or refuse. If they refuse, the countdown to war begins. With both nations steadfast in their demands, and neither willing to yield, war becomes the only means to determine whose demands will prevail. The war will begin on the next scheduled war day (Friday), and will last for 48 hours (it can end earlier if one side surrenders.)
Here's a flowchart of the whole process:
Victory Points
As mentioned earlier, demands cost victory points (VPs). During the war, capturing enemy provinces earns VPs for your side. However, if the enemy recaptures a province, your side loses the VPs it gained from it. Provinces containing more claimed land or the nation capital are worth more VPs.
Wars aren't actually 4 days long - they're 2 days. This is just a screenshot from a test version.
To impose your demands on the enemy nation, your side must win at least as many VPs during the war as the total VP cost of those demands. For example, if your demands cost 100 VPs, you need to have at least 100 VPs at the end of the war. Therefore, it is in your interest to avoid making unrealistic demands during the ultimatum.
All nations involved in the ultimatum can have their provinces attacked during the war. Yes, that even includes allied nations that accepted calls for support. So, if you decide to call in allies, remember that they can become a liability—their provinces can be captured, giving VPs to the enemy.
What if both sides win enough VPs for their demands? In this case, both sides “win” - they impose their demands upon each other. This leads to some interesting strategic choices. For example, should you focus on securing your own demands by attacking instead of defending, even if that means the enemy side imposes their demands on you?
Battle Sessions
In CW, wars are still divided into battle sessions. During a province attack, if the attackers do not control any captured chunks at the end of a battle session, the attack fails, and the province cannot be attacked in the next session. Outside of sessions, provinces do not lose HP, and chunks cannot be captured.
Vulnerability Windows
During testing, we found that CW battles can be intense and hard-fought. We do not want a “nightcapping” meta where provinces are only captured or recaptured while the enemy side is offline, as this rewards avoiding battles.
Preventing this is the purpose of vulnerability windows (VWs). A nation’s VW consists of the battle sessions that its provinces can be attacked in. Right now, we think VWs should last for two consecutive sessions, although this may change before release. The VW can be chosen and viewed through a GUI. There are safeguards to prevent exploitation of the system, like changing VWs mid-war.
If a nation attacks an enemy province outside of its own VW, that nation will be vulnerable for the remainder of the enemy nation’s VW. The logic here is that if you are able to begin an attack, you are also able to defend.
Truces
Wars need a reasonable conclusion. CW addresses this by expanding truces. When a war ends, all participants enter a temporary but unbreakable truce with each other. The truce prevents them from beginning ultimatums against each other, and being called as allies into ultimatums against each other. This same kind of truce is also formed if an ultimatum is settled peacefully by one side yielding, preventing them from being spammed with more ultimatums.
Conclusion
As always, if you have any questions, feedback or concerns about the features presented here, feel free to reply. Your input is valuable and may reveal areas for improvement or change.
The next dev blog may come later than usual as new features are still being developed and pre-announced features are being polished.
¹ Internally, demands are implemented in a flexible way, so it is likely more will be eventually added (e.g. forced vassalization? Forcing the nation to ally or drop enemies? Feel free to share your own ideas in the replies.)
Last edited: 24 days ago x 2
