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28 July 2011 - Features Added

Heraldry: Instead of just eight solid-color players, the game now allows color combinations. The armies of various Houses carry shields bearing the House heraldry: purple quartered on purple for House Martyn, white with a blue bend sinister for House de Grey, and hundreds of other combinations.

Blood Feuds: The game now keeps track of "blood feuds", lists of which Houses have slighted or betrayed others. If a House declares a blood feud against you, they will show you no mercy (so think carefully before betraying them). On the other hand, there is now no dishonor in hunting down and obliterating a House which has betrayed you.

Marriages and Inheritance: When two Houses ally using a political marriage, their families are joined. If enough members of a House die in rapid succession, there may not be an heir apparent. If there is no heir apparent, a lesser branch of the House will assume command. Not all territories must follow the new leaders, some may support other Houses in the extended family. (This allows you to marry into a powerful House, assassinate all legitimate heirs, and claim some of their lands for your own.)

BotWar Mode: A specialized game setting allowing two AI bots to compete without player intervention. Board is set up like a random game, but without a a designated player. All Houses are computer controlled. Game will continue until only one House remains.

Secrets Added: There are secrets hidden in the game for the player to discover. The victory screen will display how many of the available secrets you discovered during the game. Try to find all of them.

24 July 2011 - Alpha Version Released

The Alpha version of LudusRegius has been officially released. Portable binaries and source code are available in the Downloads section.

15 July 2011 - New Artificial Intelligence Released

Hadrian I

The first artificial intelligence that can really compete with a human player, Hadrian makes use of all resources (tactical and political) to achieve victory. It can be a devastating opponent in all phases of the game, particularly if underestimated.

At the beginning of the game, Hadrian selects a strategy for each House from one of three unique play styles:

Commander: When using this mode, Hadrian will act honorably whenever the situation allows. It will tend to keep its alliances, and prefers using complex tactics to dominate the battlefield. The Commander is the most straightforward opponent, but "straightforward" is not the same as "easy".

Tyrant: When using this mode, Hadrian will not show mercy or tolerate betrayal. It enjoys crushing rival Houses (as well as the occasional ally). The Tyrant is the strongest opponent early in the game, good at building up an empire before the map is developed.

Politician: When using this mode, Hadrian will prefer subtlety to outright force. It will act via allies, and often resort to bribes and assassins. While not as strong as the Tyrant in the beginning, the Politician is by far the most dangerous opponent in the later stages of the game.

09 July 2011 - Features Added

Granting Titles: A new ways to keep your vassals loyal: granting them lands and titles. The more regions you grant to a vassal, the less likely he is to rebel. This provides a more honorable alternative to the "become a cruel overlord" strategy.

Graphics overhaul: Substantial changes to all of the graphics in the game: new splash screens, new home screen, new menus, new info screens, the works. New screen shots will be uploaded soon.

Improved Information Flow: Want to find out information about your own great House without sending spies after yourself? The new "My House" button presents you with an easy (and free) summary of your Houses assets and weaknesses. When there is a major change, an message box will pop up summarizing the new information.

Victory and Loss Conditions: You could play the game, but up until now you couldn't win or lose. Now, at the beginning of each turn, the game state gets checks against a set of victory and loss conditions (including a secret "hidden" victory condition).

Menu Updates: Updates to all the menus. The new home menu allows you to do things like start a new game, while new options on the in-game menus give you greater control over yourself and your vassals.

Artificial Intelligence Restructuring: Complete restructuring of the AI system. The new structure encapsulates the entire AI into a single module. This allows new (smarter) AIs to be easily written and swapped in.

04 July 2011 - Features Added

Political Marriages: Marry off daughters of your house to help forge alliances and increase your political power. Rival houses will make alliances they would not otherwise consider if a marriage is proposed.

Assassinations: Send assassins to eliminate members of rival houses. Send assassins after the head of a rival house, and hope the heir who assumes command is more suitable for your political agenda. Want to keep a rival house from making alliances? Send assassins after their marriageable daughters.

Spies: Send spies to gather information about rival houses. Find out exactly how much power your rivals have, and where their weak points may be.

Salting and Burning Regions: Salt and burn regions to decrease their incomes. This can be used on when regions are about to be conquered, to lower their value for a political rival. Alternatively, the lands of a rebellious vassal may be burned as an example to keep other subjects loyal.

Bribe Castellans: Bribe the stewards of key castles and cities to defect to you. Such bribes are expensive, but may be the edge you need to turn the tide of war.

30 June 2011 - Project Overview

LudusRegius is an turn-based strategy game inspired by the board game Diplomacy.

Like Risk, the goal of the game is to raise armies and conquer the map. However, unlike Risk, the outcome of battles is completely deterministic. If two armies attack each other in a neutral territory, neither can gain the upper hand.

This means that you must use a complex strategy to gain the upper hand: offering bribes or political marriages, granting lands, or sending assassins. Only when you command a solid network of allies can you hope to succeed.