Hello again after a long break!
In this developer diary, I’d like to talk about the “land hierarchy” system in Lords&Empires.
If you’ve read our previous diaries, you already know that the game features Capitals, Cities, and Colonies. However, until now we haven’t gone into much detail about these systems — especially anything beyond colonies. Because of that, explaining this topic is very important for understanding the core structure of the game.
1. Capital
At the very top of the hierarchy is the Capital, which every player owns from the very beginning of the game.
The Capital is the main center of your empire: the place where you construct buildings, produce weapons, train soldiers, and make use of your territory’s resources. In short, it is the heart of your kingdom.
Enemy players may raid your Capital, but they can never destroy or capture it.
2. Cities
Cities are special settlements that are automatically generated on the map. At the start of the game, they are not controlled by any player and are protected by a small garrison.
They can be conquered by other players, but — just like Capitals — they cannot be permanently destroyed.
Each city has its own unique economy. Some goods may be extremely expensive because they are scarce in that city, while others may be very cheap due to abundance. Players can take advantage of these price differences through their merchants and profit from trade.
In addition, every city has randomly assigned traits. For example, a city may provide an attack power bonus. The player controlling the city gains access to these bonuses and can also make use of the city’s military capacity.
3. Colonies
We mentioned Colonies before, but since we made major changes to the system, the information in the old developer diary is no longer valid. We’ll share the new details with you in the future.
Colonies are established directly by players. By sending colonists from your Capital and providing them with a certain amount of gold, you can found a new colony in the region of your choice.
Aside from some special advantages that we are not ready to reveal yet, Colonies primarily function as military outposts outside your Capital. You can station troops there and use them to achieve your strategic goals.
What makes Colonies both exciting and deadly is the fact that they can be completely destroyed or captured by other players.
Even if your enemy controls a massive territory, a successful nighttime raid on their colonies could wipe out much of their wealth and power. Because of this, it is extremely important to maintain strong garrisons and appoint heroes to defend your colonies at all times.
That’s all we have to share for now regarding the land hierarchy system.
As always, I’d love to hear your questions and feedback. Until the next developer diary, take care!