Hello there!
That first news will unveil the road map for the game and the new planed features.
Road Map
Someday between November and December 2024: A playable demo.
One scenario covering 1949-1953, playable as USA and USSR.
The demo will only cover 3 languages (English, French and Chinese), but the final game will have more.
It is a matter of days before you can play it
Someday between December 2024 and January 2025: Multiplayer demo
By then, the demo will certainly be playable in 1v1.
Someday between March 2025 and June 2025: Early Access
I may skip this step depending upon how fast things are going.
The EA will be a time of polishing, of content additions and frantik translation work.
Sometime between July 2025 and October 2025: Final release
The game will be released among several dlcs (the pricing and dlc policy is explained in a section below)
2026: Editor, Steam Workshop and modding tools, and may be some more dlcs
If I can do it earlier, I will do it earlier, but that's hard work and the planning is already fast paced.
But the game has been coded from day one to facilitate that futur feature.
2027 and beyond: Nothing! Hey, that's your game now! with the editor and modding tools, it is up to you to unleash your imagination!
What’s Different from the Browser Version?
- Music and sfxs
- Tons of options
- Multiplayer
- Modding tools and editors (coming later)
- A better player's quality of life
I don't know yet how much new content there will be in the game, but with the demo and the EA, I am sure, some of your ideas will end up in the game.
USSR for exemple deserves more aternate paths.
Feedback Needed from the Demo
Multiplayer:
This is my first real multiplayer game, so there’s plenty of room for improvement. Please report bugs and share your ideas!
AI:
The AI in the demo is functional but not yet as strong as the browser version. It's also not fully tailored to specific powers or scenarios.
The game includes many options that drastically change gameplay and player strategies. I need feedback on how the AI performs with these options, as the current default AI might underperform in certain setups (e.g., with the "unlimited actions" mode).
Quality of Life / UX:
My goal is to make the experience as enjoyable as possible. Quality feedback is essential to achieve that.
Steam Deck:
I’ve worked hard to make the game compatible with Steam Deck and Xbox controllers. If you use them, please share how smooth your experience is.
How Does Cold War 2 Compare to My Other Games?
Accessibility: It’s as easy to learn and understand as Jey’s Empire and the Cauldrons of War series. If you’ve played Rise of the White Sun, this is much simpler by comparison.
Difficulty: Easier to beat than Jey’s Empire and Cauldrons of War, but harder than ROWS.
Depth and Replayability: Just as deep and replayable as my other games.
Duration: Scenarios can be played in an evening, like the Cauldrons series. Longer campaigns resemble the length of ROWS' extended scenarios.
Speedrunners can certainly end a game in 15 minutes.
Pricing and DLC Policy
Many kids discovered strategy games thanks to the browser version, long before they get their first credit card.
So I am commited to make the base game as affordable as possible, and I plan to release it at $4.99
For that price, you will be able to play and replay from 1949 to 1989, as USSR and USA, and believe me, if you like that game, that will easily be hundred of hours!
That said, the Cold War is a niche subject—less mainstream than World War II, for example. (Admittedly, it’s not as niche as my last game about 1920s warlords in China!) As a result, the low price might not cover production costs.
Any marketing expert will tell you: the smaller the niche, the higher the price should be.
To balance this, any content beyond the USA and USSR campaigns between 1949 and 1989 will be included in DLCs, priced similarly to the base game. I hope you’ll understand this reflects the base game’s affordability rather than the DLC being expensive.
If this approach doesn’t work financially, I may have to adjust the base game’s price to a more viable level.
Bon jeu!
Maestro Cinetik