AI IMPROVEMENTS
Removed unnecessary states from the MIRVIN controller to streamline AI behavior.
Added a turn failsafe to prevent the AI from stalling and ensured turns end correctly after Army Command moves.
Increased the AI’s eagerness to pursue Alignment for itself when beneficial.
Improved AI goal-setting for individual units and campaign goals for each theater.
Introduced evaluator weights, a unified scoring system, and long-term planning memory for more consistent strategic evaluation.
Refined AI evaluation of kill chances on land, sea, and air.
Improved AI assessment of nuclear strikes and updated Apocalypse handling for more accurate outcome calculations.
Improved AI handling of warzones and strategic chokepoints (straits) to better reflect escalating conflicts.
Updated AI evaluation of air cover, including fighters and carrier fleets, for smarter deployment of air assets.
Fixed issues where the AI could miscount remaining Interests from Alignment or underestimate incoming nuclear strikes.
Adjusted AI priorities when gathering military Interests and considering People costs, especially for off-focus operations.
Ensured the AI only sends combat-ready units to Command Reserve and only fires policies that can actually be enacted.
Improved plan selection so the AI is more likely to choose the best available option and avoid off-focus mismanagement.
Improved AI planning and competitiveness around the Space Race, including better assessment and internal plan simulation.
Clarified the logic between withdrawing a defeated unit to an adjacent region and retiring a unit to Command Reserve.
Fixed several smaller AI issues, including priority list bugs and text/logic typos.
DEBUGGING & TOOLS
Improved AI plan debugging with additional functionality.
Added a button to display AI plans directly in Debug mode.
Updated the debugger structure, visuals, and text to make AI information easier to read.
Updated the debug menu layout for greater clarity.
Restructured AI planning into separate data to support easier iteration and simulation.
Added an internal AI plan simulator (no networking/UI) to support future AI improvements.
SAVE GAME MENU
When loading a save game, you can now see the difficulty level for that save file.
Fixed an issue where the “Remove Save Game” button could display incorrect text.
DIFFICULTY & SCENARIO SELECTION
Added a Back button on the difficulty selection screen that returns you to scenario selection.
Moved the difficulty selection menu into the Play main menu and updated the underlying logic.
Fixed issues with difficulty level tooltips and implementation to better reflect the selected difficulty.
For most unscripted scenarios (5–7), players are now taken to a dedicated Faction & Difficulty screen before the game starts.
On the Faction & Difficulty screen, players choose which superpower to command: USA or USSR. In scenarios written from a single side’s perspective, the faction is preselected and the opposing side is unavailable.
Clarified that difficulty only affects the strength and quality of the AI’s decisions. The AI does not receive extra resources, different rules, or hidden bonuses at higher difficulties.
CIVILIAN: Training setting for new commanders. The AI frequently overlooks strong moves and leaves exploitable openings.
REGULAR: Standard Cold War simulation and recommended for most players. The AI usually finds good moves but still makes occasional mistakes.
APOCALYPTIC: For expert players. The AI plays close to optimal strategy and will quickly punish careless or inefficient decisions.
TUTORIALS
Disabled the Victory Conditions screen in tutorials where it was not needed.
Updated “The Big Picture” tutorial scenario for improved clarity and flow.
Updated the China Card tutorial victory condition to require control of all regions in Mainland China.
Fixed an issue where the Air Combat and Leader Combat tutorials could end too quickly.
Fixed an issue where rapidly clicking during the enemy turn in tutorials could cause the AI to freeze.
Fixed an issue where repeatedly clicking the Done button could allow players to skip and softlock tutorials.
Added a Recon Intel mission for Mirvin to use in tutorials when needed.
MODDING
Made Victory Conditions moddable and allowed them to be enabled or disabled via decisions.
ANIMATIONS
Fixed a bug where certain animations could run at the same time instead of sequentially, causing visual issues.
BUGS & TECHNICAL
Fixed an issue where an incorrect error could appear when a unit enters combat.
Fixed various minor text issues and typos across the game.
GAME MANUAL
Updated the game manual to a new and updated version