Country Balls – Update Changelog
This update is one of the biggest so far. We’ve introduced a brand new Chapters Mode, made important fixes to core systems like influence, armies, and submarines, and improved overall stability and performance.
New Feature: Chapters Mode
We’re excited to introduce Chapters Mode – a new way to experience Country Balls.
Players can now pick from various themed chapters, each with its own starting date, bonuses, and country positions.
This allows for different playstyles and scenarios beyond the regular sandbox progression.
Chapters include their own initialization logic to make sure countries, armies, and influences start in the right state.
Fixes and improvements to Chapters Mode:
Chapters mode is now locked until the tutorial is finished, so new players can first learn the basics.
Fixed multiple issues with saving and reloading in Chapters Mode.
Fixed initialization problems where Chapters Mode sometimes started with incorrect game state.
Fixed issues in the chapters mode that prevented proper chapter flow and decisions.
Also, fixed various issues in Chapters Mode.
Influence & Revolts
Revolts now unlock at 60% influence (previously 75%), giving earlier and correct opportunities for rebellion.
Clicking the influence slider now opens the influence screen of the country.
Fixed several bugs where influence could freeze, not update, or display incorrect values.
Red influence markers now update correctly when planning revolt actions.
After an unsuccessful revolt, 20–30% influence is removed to increase risk and prevent spam.
Resources
Fixed a major issue with colony resources.
Now your country and colonies share a single, unified resources types.
All modifiers apply consistently to this resource, whether it comes from the main country or its colonies.
Previously, modifiers only applied if the main country had the resource.
Gameplay Fixes & Improvements
Armies: Fixed a bug where the main player’s armies appeared too large compared to enemy countries. They now scale correctly and initial player capacity was decreased.
Submarines:
Fixed a bug where submarines sometimes showed as “already purchased” even though the player did not own one.
Fixed critical issues where submarine interactions could break the game state or block further interactions.
You can now remove submarine targets with the right mouse button.
Rocket & Nuclear Attacks: Improved calculation logic for rocket strikes, submarine attacks, and nuclear bombs. Combat results are now more consistent and accurate.
Colonization: Fixed a bug where defeated countries could still keep their colonies after conquest.
Unit View Slider: Default position is now the middle instead of the maximum for a better player input control and automatization of buying army.
War Animation Freeze: Fixed a bug where war animations froze at the start of battles because they were waiting on unfinished background tasks. Animations now play smoothly.
Tutorial
Fixed blocking issues in the Army step and Influence step, which previously prevented players from completing the tutorial.
At the end of the tutorial, you can now choose to continue the current game or start a fresh playthrough.
Various tutorial improvements.
User Interface & Pop-Ups
Fixed incorrect pop-up positions when events or actions triggered.
Fixed placement of the “Enjoying the Game?” pop-up.
Main menu additions:
Added a Review title button and button to encourage sharing feedback with us via Steam reviews.
Fixed inconsistencies in rocket and missile ui values for submarines, rocket systems, and air defense.
Missions
Exploring Missions: Fixed exceptions during initialization that caused crashes and issues.
Business & Steal Missions: Fixed scaling of resource icons to prevent them from enlarging with each new pop-up.
Saving & Loading
Load Last Save: Fixed a bug where it did not always load the most recent save file or load it with some broken/invalid data.
Country Colors: Fixed an issue where countries did not display the correct colors after loading a save. Colors are now properly reassigned.
Audio
Fixed rocket sound effects so they now trigger reliably.
News
Reduced the scrolling speed of the news ticker, making it easier to follow.
Stability & Optimization
Improved army calculations for more stable performance.
Optimized influence system handling for more stable performance.
General improvements to game stability and performance across longer playthroughs.
Localization
Fixed broken translations in certain country events.
Improved overall localization quality throughout the game.
Improved multiple localization issues across screens and pop-ups.
Final Notes
In addition to the changes listed above, we’ve also fixed a number of smaller bugs, made UI adjustments, and added further optimizations across various systems.
This patch should make Country Balls more stable, balanced, and enjoyable to play.
P.S.
Our small team is putting a lot of effort into making Country Balls the best experience it can be. Every update is built with care and your feedback in mind. Thank you for supporting us. It really motivates us to keep improving the game for all players. See you soon !