Hi everyone.
The release date for ICBM: Escalation is right around the corner. We’ve got one last dev diary to tide you over before the big day. This time, we’re going to be talking about all the ways you can tailor the game to your preferences. We’ve already talked about the different game modes on offer and touched on the different units and weapons that will be at your disposal, but there’s even more you can do to make the game fit whatever kind of destructive mood you find yourself in.
Let’s start with something that gets asked a lot. One of the most common questions we get about the new ICBM is “Can I play as (insert country here)”. Well, regardless of where “Insert Country Here” is in your mind, the answer is almost definitely yes. The new default map features 10 factions made up of different countries that have cultural or political ties to each other. But, that doesn’t mean that’s how you have to play. You’re free to adjust any of the 150 regions on offer and mix and match them to different regions. Want to have the US face off against Brazil? You can do that. China vs Australia? Sure. Alaska vs literally the entire world? Terrible idea, but you do you.
Yeah, that’s right, bring it, wimp. WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ALASKA? HUH?!
Of course, there’s some innate limitations to the default Atomic Earth map. Some of the regions themselves are combinations of different countries, like the Baltic States, which are made of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Belarus. Obviously, not ideal if you want Belarus to team up with Russia, for example. But, we’ve got a solution. Introducing the Iron Curtain Map.
Sometimes the game gets viewed as a Cold War sim. So how about a Soviet Reunion? Just like old times.
We made the Iron Curtain map as a sort of ‘roleplay’ map, so even though it’s not as balanced as the default Atomic Earth map, you can get more nuance in terms of who’s allied with who. If you want to pit NATO against the entire Warsaw Pact, now’s your chance. In addition to the subdivisions in the large countries, every country that was big enough to be split off into its own territory has gotten exactly that. To the one guy in Burundi playing this game, you’re welcome. Just like Atomic Earth, you can mix and match territories however you want. If you want a game that’s just North and South Korea, it’s on the books now.
There’s also new lobby options to match the new features. Before you start a game, you can change the contamination speed, as usual, if you want to make the game longer or shorter. You can also adjust the length of ceasefires and peace treaties, how long it takes for captured territories to start paying out to you, settings related to your alliances, whether or not they exist at the beginning of the game, and more. One of the more interesting additions is the new adjustable ‘Forced Surrender’ mechanic, which allows you to forcibly push an entire faction out of a game by destroying or capturing a certain amount of their population.
Now you can end a game by capturing all your enemy’s territory or nuking them into oblivion. That’ll teach ‘em.
Also, now that territory capturing is alive and well, we’ve also introduced a brand new scoring mode. If you’re looking to capture territory instead of glassing it, we’ve added the brand new Domination Mode. In Domination Mode, the only way to score points is by conquering enemy territory. You’ll have to raise an army and control the world if you want to win.
Now, that’s not to say that you can’t use nukes though. If you want to cripple your enemy’s economy and make it harder for them to fight you off, you’re more than welcome to nuke them back to the stone age. Blow up their cities, obliterate their units, do whatever you need to to keep them at bay so you can gain the upper hand and invade. You can also lower their score by irradiating their territory. If you want to send a message, you can always just salt the Earth. And, as expected, if you can’t help but giggle every time you slaughter thousands of innocents, the original 3 scoring modes are also making a return. Survival mode for the optimists, Extermination mode for the pessimists, and of course, Default for everyone who’s just bloodthirsty in general.
Take note that the attack on Washington hasn’t improved the Soviet’s score. It has, however, hurt the USA’s score, their GDP, and also approximately 1.8 million people...
Now, if you combine the options you have at your disposal for customizing the game itself, and combine that with the different strategies and tactics you can execute in the game itself, there’s no shortage of scenarios you can put yourself in. Want to bring the Cold War back to life with a friend? Sure thing. Do you like the sounds of a hypothetical future standoff between India and Iran? Give it a shot! Want to reenact the Mongol invasions with WWII technology? Go for it! Wanna show the world what happens when you mess with Alaska? Do your thing. ICBM has evolved far beyond just 8 players nuking each other. Obviously, that’s still an option, but the horizons of how you can play are much, much wider now.
That’s all for our last dev diary. Let us know what you think. This one is a little bit shorter, since we’re hard at work getting ready for the launch, but more to the point, soon enough you’ll be able to experience it all yourself first hand. Thanks for checking in and following the progress of the game, we’ll see you on launch day.