Hello Polytopians!
As you know, we just released the Diplomacy update for Polytopia, and we've been seeing some questions about what it's about, how it works, and how to use the new things it adds. So, we thought to write up an FAQ to help demystify some of the new content!
The Diplomacy Update
Q: What is the Diplomacy Update?
A: The Diplomacy Update is the most recent update to Polytopia, which adds some new and exciting content to the world of Polytopia. Specifically, it adds the new "Diplomacy" tech after "Strategy" (formerly known as "Shields"), Peace Treaties, Embassies, Capital Vision, and Cloaks/Daggers, and we'll discuss all of those throughout this document.
Q: Why did you add the Diplomacy Update?
A: Diplomacy is a staple of the 4X genre, and was a very common suggestion by fans. A lot of people have asked if they could befriend the AI and other players, both to gang up on winning players or just for the sake of role-play. From the perspective of mechanics, we wanted to address a few common complaints - snowballing and lack of catch-up mechanics. We wanted to add mechanics that would allow people to temporarily work together so they could take down a much larger foe without tripping over each other. Mutual star production through Embassies, no Zone of Control, shared roads, and etc. We feel that this new Diplomatic game isn't "necessary" to win, but it creates an interesting dynamic for people who want to use it, and makes the game harder for people who wanted more of a challenge, since enemy players can work together to stop them. The new Peace Treaties and Diplomacy tech are not necessary to win, and are just another set of tools at your disposal.
Q: How do I play with the Diplomacy update?
A: If you've updated the game recently, you already are! "Diplomacy" is a new tech after the "Strategy" tech (formerly known as "Shields"), and should be able to be researched like any other tech. Note, you'll only see the new Diplomacy features in new games, as old games won't be adjusted.
Q: Can we play without the Diplomacy Update or roll back to a previous version?
A: In short, no, you cannot, as this is where we'd like to take the game. With that being said, we're going to be watching how this update performs, and aren't opposed to making adjustments where necessary, such as balancing the new units, adjusting mechanics of treaties, and so forth. Diplomacy is here to stay, but it doesn't mean we're done playing around with it, and we hope to make something that's simple, light, flexible, and fun for everyone. :)
We'd also like to point out that we wanted to make sure that Diplomacy was only a means to an end, and not necessary for victory. It's fully optional, and you can win without utilizing it, and it's nothing more than another tool in your arsenal on your path to conquering the Square.
Q: How do I get the AI to like me?
A: The AI were designed to react to things like a human player, and dislike things such as being attacked or having enemy units in their space, and like things like getting an Embassy or getting help fighting their enemies. Looking at the tribe's diplomacy screen will show a combination of red and green opinion modifiers which will explain specific reasons for their current opinion of you (which can be clicked on for more information).
Q: How do I get the AI to accept my Peace Treaty?
A: In short, they'll need to have a "Great" opinion of you in order to accept your proposed Peace Treaty. Look above on suggestions on how to get to this opinion rating.
Q: Why do the AI feel harder than before?
A: Because we improved them! The AI are now better at using their troops effectively, growing their empires, and being a greater challenge. Yes, it was fun to mock the crappy AI, but we're hoping to un-crap it over the next updates. :)
Peace Treaties
Q: What are Peace Treaties?
A: Peace Treaties are now a way to cooperate with other players, mainly to gang up on a winning player or just to ensure that one of your sides can't be attacked while you do something else. When a peace treaty is signed between two players, those players can't attack each other (or perform any hostile actions, such as capturing cities or converting units), can use each others' roads, can move past each others' units (also know as "no Zone of Control"), and will improve the income of any Embassies with each other. Peace Treaties are permanent until broken.
Q: How do you create a Peace Treaty?
A: After you've researched the "Strategy" tech, you can offer a Peace Treaty to another player. To do so, you need to open up their Diplomacy menu, which can be accessed by either tapping their name bubble (that blue bubble that says "Imperius") or by tapping on their face in the "Game Stats" menus, and tapping the "Offer Peace" button. On their next turn, they'll be given a prompt to accept or deny the proposal.
Q: How do I break a Peace Treaty?
A: Follow the steps for how to make a Peace Treaty (like, look 3 lines up), and you'll find an option to "Break Peace" instead of "Offer Peace". After confirming that you want to break the Peace Treaty, you'll be unable to attack your former ally until next turn, and they'll be unable to attack you as well. This way, you can still back-stab them, but they'll be given a chance to ready their defenses. But then, what monster would back-stab their poor, defenseless ally? :P
Q: Why did all of the units around my former ally just disappear?
A: To help out a defending player during the breaking of a Peace Treaty, any of the aggressor's units in their territory are destroyed. The game will give you a reminder that this will happen so that you don't forget to move them first before you break peace with an ally.
Q: Do I have to kill everyone to win?
A: In Might and Domination, yes, you do. Peace Treaties are meant to be temporary forms of mutual peace, and are meant to be forged and broken on your road to victory, as you'll eventually need to kill everyone to win those game modes. So, yes, you'll have to back-stab your allies eventually.
Q: But why do I have to kill everyone to win? Why isn't there a shared victory?
A: So, we're not entirely opposed to making a "Team Game" or "Shared Victory" option in the future, and consider the Diplomacy update a "stepping stone" toward these sorts of things. Why didn't we add them in this update? Well, there's a lot of things to consider with a shared victory, like "What sorts of benefits should teammates get over lone players?" and "How do lone players beat a team that outnumbers them?" We want to ensure that Diplomacy is simply a means to an end, and that there are both pros and cons to forging alliances or staying by yourself.
Embassies and Capital Vision
Q: What is "Capital Vision" and why did you add it?
A: Capital Vision will reveal the tile of the capital city of each tribe you've met (and not the capitals of any tribes you haven't met). It lets you see extra stats about tribes you've met and reveals their capital, which is good for Might and Domination games. :)
Q: What is an Embassy?
A: Embassies are a new kind of building that are only built in the capital cities other tribes. They grant sight of the 8 tiles surrounding the capital, provide +2 stars/turn to both parties, and work as a positive diplomatic modifier for the AI tribes. They'll make +4 stars/turn for both parties if those players have a Peace Treaty. Embassies are destroyed if the two tribes attack each other, and will need to be rebuilt.
Q: Why did you add Embassies?
A: We wanted the Diplomacy tech to have something that was truly friendly, a genuinely good action between you and another tribe. We wanted to ensure that Embassies couldn't harm or disadvantage either party, and were mutually beneficial in order to forge a strong relationship between tribes.
Q: How do I build an Embassy?
A: You can build an Embassy in the capital city of any tribe from that tribe's Diplomacy menu. You can access this menu by either tapping their colored name bubble (That red bubble that says "Xin-Xi") or by tapping their head on the "Game Stats" menu. After you've opened up the Diplomacy menu, you can build an Embassy for 5 stars, which will automatically appear in their capital city, regardless of distance away.
Q: Can I stop a player from building an Embassy in my capital?
A: No. The only way to prevent or destroy an Embassy is to be at war with that player, which can be accomplished by attacking them. Even though you can't say no to an Embassy, you'll still get +2 stars/turn, so at least you get some benefit, and you'll meet the sending tribe if you haven't already met them yet.
Q: Can I build an Embassy with a tribe who has already built an Embassy with me?
A: YES! Both you and them can send Embassies to each other, and those Embassies will individually create stars. You can get +8 stars/turn if you both have Embassies and a Peace Treaty between you.
Q: What happens if a city I have an Embassy in gets captured?
A: The Embassy is destroyed and will need to be rebuilt. To make matters worse, you can't send Embassies to tribes who aren't in control of their capital city, so you need to hope your friend can retake their city! Their Embassy with you won't be destroyed, though.
Cloaks & Daggers
Q: What are Cloaks?
A: Cloaks are a new unit added with the Diplomacy tech, and are unique in that they're currently the only unit with the power to become invisible. They're designed to sneak their way into an enemy's empire (i.e. they're invisible and aren't slowed down by enemy units) and incite rebellions in their cities (i.e. spawn Daggers). Cloaks have no attack, and only have 5HP, so they're not sturdy and are useless in a fight. They need their stealth ability to keep them safe.
Q: How do I use a Cloak to incite a rebellion?
A: It's simple, just move the Cloak next to an enemy city and you will see the normal red attack circle in the city, then attack the city like normal. An amount of Daggers will spawn equal to the infiltrated city's level (capped at 5 Daggers max). Infiltrating a city destroys the Cloak, and there's no way to stop a Cloak from infiltrating a city. Cloaks cannot infiltrate a city on the same turn that they become invisible. Infiltrating a city will put that city "under siege", and cities under siege won't make stars on the next turn.
Q: If Cloaks are invisible, why can enemies see my Cloaks? How does Stealth work?
A: When trained, Cloaks always begin visible, and they'll become stealthed after they move for the first time - this is so that they can be seen and attacked before they become a nuisance. Cloaks are then fully invisible until either an enemy unit attempts to occupy their space (which gives the enemy unit an opportunity to attack them) or they interact with a village or ruin. They'll be able the become invisible again if they are given an opportunity to move again.
Also worth noting is that Cloaks and Mindbenders can help detect enemy Cloaks. They won't bring them out of stealth, but a small dot will appear, notifying you that a Cloak is adjacent to that unit.
Q: How do I counter Cloaks?
A: Besides using Mindbenders and your own Cloaks to help sniff out enemy Cloaks, Cloaks need to be adjacent to a city in order to use their Infiltrate ability, so preventing them from being adjacent to a city is effective. Patrols of units moving through your empire can also accidentally bump into a Cloak and attack, to which it has zero defense. Lastly, since Cloaks are visible the turn they're trained, you can easily kill them before they can move.
Q: What are Daggers?
A: Daggers are insurgents spawned by a Cloak's Infiltrate action. They have the same stats as a Warrior, but they also get the "Surprise" trait, which allows them to attack enemy units without provoking a counterattack. You'll get an amount of Daggers from a city equal to the city's level (capped at 5 Daggers max). You can't train Daggers like other units, and need to use a Cloak to spawn them. Daggers will always spawn in places where they have a defense bonus first, like a mountain or forest, or on the water if they have nowhere else to go.
Q: How do I counter Daggers?
A: The biggest defense is making it difficult or impossible for an enemy Cloak to spawn Daggers in the first place! Assuming that the Infiltrate action was a success, Daggers are best countered by either Knights, Defenders behind a wall, or really any army that happens to be chilling inside your borders near the infiltrated city.
Q: Why do Daggers have Surprise? Isn't that overpowered?
A: We did so for lore reasons - they're guerrilla fighters, designed for hit and run (on a small scale), making them hard to retaliate against. We also wanted to make sure that Daggers were able to actually be a threat, and didn't want them dying too fast, so they won't take any retaliation damage.
Q: Why did you add Cloaks and Daggers? Why did you feel the game needed them?
A: During development, we asked ourselves "What type of unit is the game missing?", and what we came up with was a unit designed for chaos, distraction, and something that would threaten the backline of an army or undefended cities. We then made the Cloak as a "transport" for Daggers, a unit that you had to skillfully use to drop a horde of units into the undefended back of an enemy empire. Cloaks and Daggers are designed to help break stalemates, cause chaos, and get larger empires thinking about keeping their back or inner cities defended. Even if the enemy can catch your Cloaks, the paranoia alone should keep them on their toes.
Balance
Q: Why did you change the HP of Knights?
A: Knights were commonly understood to be some of the best units in the game. They were strong, fast, and effectively did everything, which meant that once you got your economy going, many games were decided by who could spam more Knights. Many fans complained that "Knight Spam" really isn't very fun or interesting, and we figured that the best way to nerf them without having them lose their purpose was to nerf their HP. This way, their offensive potential isn't tampered with (they're just as strong as before), but players will need to pay more attention to how they position their Knights. We moved them from a more general unit to more of a specialist unit.
Q: What about the tested changes to Forges (Mints) and Windmills? Why didn't those happen?
A: We removed the changes because we didn't like how they were operating during the beta test. We haven't completely thrown out the ideas, though, and they might come back eventually.
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Thank you for reading this FAQ! If you have more questions or comments, feel free to send us a message at [email protected]!
-Zoythrus