Hello, I’m Ben Friedman, Design Lead for the [i]Millennia[/i] DLC, and in this Developer Diary I’m going to go over a full breakdown for all of the exclusive features for the [i]Atomic Ambitions[/i] DLC. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/57074b6d743510f5858747469323abcf755aac3f.png[/img] The next update for Millennia brings sweeping updates to Siege, adds Pollution, introduces nuclear power, puts nuclear weapons in your arsenal, and much more. The exclusive content in Atomic Ambitions further enhances your experience with all of these free new features. [h2]AGE OF ATOM AND URANIUM[/h2] One of the two new Ages included in Atomic Ambitions, the Age of Atom, explores a more peaceful path. While nuclear power is available in the free update, this new Age provides unique ways to put it to use, at much earlier point in the game. Age of Atom’s final form is the result of a lot of competing concepts and iteration. The initial seed for the Age came from wanting to introduce Uranium before Age 8 (which is where we intend to unlock it for “normal” gameplay). We had a few interesting pitches for how we wanted to handle “early Uranium” (including an “Age of Nuclear Alchemy” where the mysterious properties of Uranium would be expanded in a mythological, superstitious direction). In the end, we found that an ahistoric retro-futuristic Age was perfect for the blend of mechanics and theme we wanted. The retro-futuristic look (or perhaps “futuristic” look if you take the viewpoint of the citizens living within the game), is not just skin-deep. We designed the content of the Age to reflect the emotion of the era we’re inspired by. A sort of fantastical time with near sci-fi technology, creative uses for Uranium with little downside, and a positive view toward future driven by atomic energy. Uranium is still a great a power source in the Age of Atom, but it can also be converted into a variety of new Goods, including Ferrouranium (the substitute for Steel in this Age), Luminous Paints, or Delicacies. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/1ae18cfe2e92693cd131fcfb029b7a4c3a0e4aa7.png[/img] While Age of Atom likes to focus on a hopeful future, the second theme of the Age is the responsibility that comes with this new power. This is represented by the Age’s Network Stability system. When you enter the Age of Atom you’ll unlock Fission Reactors, Water Cooling Towers, and the Network Stability Meter. The meter tracks the state of your Fission Reactors, which are the staple use for Uranium in the Age. These Fission Reactors generate power but they are unstable and run hot. The hotter you run your reactors the better they serve you, but if they overheat they will suffer a meltdown and spread Fallout in your Regions. You might want to keep your Reactors cool by building Water Cooling Towers to offset their heat, or you might want to push the Reactors to their limits and reap extra rewards each turn that they stay in the red. The responsibility is yours. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/f4c8df091601df47da93f6d7a4b94fc1691eec5d.png[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/7ff7e2e7693b4a3605d4f5865e635abf0d751587.png[/img] Once you leave the Age of Atom, you’ll notice another subtler effect that plays on the theme of danger and responsibility. Relying on Uranium for so many Improvements can have some nasty byproducts. Once the new sheen of the Age of Atom wears off, the Radioactive Waste byproducts are no longer suppressed for your Uranium based Improvements, and it might be time to reconsider your reliance on Uranium. You may discover that there are some nasty side-effects to the Radium Kitchens that are feeding your populace. [h2]AGE OF WASTELAND AND NUCLEAR BOMBS[/h2] Age of Atom’s more warlike cousin is the second new Age introduced in [i]Atomic Ambitions[/i], the Age of Wasteland. This Age focuses primarily on one consequence of nuclear power: nuclear weapons. The upcoming free update brings the ability to unlock the Manhattan Project (a Megaproject, like the Space Race) in each of the Age 8 variants. With the Manhattan Project, you’ll research the secrets of the atom, discovering how to split the atom, then ultimately creating nuclear bombs. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/6de2f55a20658cd84cd7a7f2798e56dc9445316b.png[/img] Once any Nation has unlocked the ability to create nuclear weapons, two things happen: First, the Arms Race begins and we start tracking your Warhead stockpiles in the Faction screen. Each member of the Faction that owns the largest Warhead stockpile will gain a bonus to Unrest Suppression, while all other Faction’s Nations will suffer an Unrest penalty. This models national feelings of security or insecurity – if the other side has more bombs that you, your people get worried. Second, if you have the [i]Atomic Ambitions[/i] DLC, we activate the DEFCON meter. Once nuclear weapons are in play, going to war becomes more dangerous than before. DEFCON tracks the likelihood of nuclear war breaking out, and any hostile action will push the meter closer to DEFCON 1, where tensions become too high to avoid total nuclear annihilation. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/5b41d326e0e8d7c3ab56609054ed5b5fd05c5fc9.png[/img] [i]Atomic Ambitions[/i] includes two new Age 8 National Sprits that enhance these new systems and directly affect nuclear warfare and DEFCON. The Flower Child National Spirit seeks to stop the risk of apocalypse through de-escalation and denuclearization. With this Spirit, a Nation cannot make use of nuclear weapons and they will encourage their Allies to disarm their own stockpiles in exchange for rewards. Flower Child Nations are also shielded from the penalties of the Arms Race, and can spread that effect to friendly Nations. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/97f467e075e8330fd58de96721e8b147c82a90de.png[/img] On the other hand, the new Nuclear Superiority National Spirit relies on, and puts to great use, nuclear warheads. Warheads are cheaper to produce and are more potent in the hands of the Nuclear Superiority Nations. They also get bonuses when winning the Arms Race and when DEFCON has escalated past DEFCON 3. They’re going to be pressuring the DEFCON system and pushing it to its limits, but if any other Nation stands against them, they’re very likely going to tip the timeline into the Age of Wasteland. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/c1fef6159f25808ad4c8751552d5915617408f59.png[/img] If you follow the temptation of the Nuclear Superiority, or you can’t stand against the tide of the nuclear Arms Race escalation, you’ll see DEFCON 1 and then mutually assured destruction will be upon you. As the dust settles in the new war-torn world, scarred with the ruins of Regions destroyed in the nuclear apocalypse, all Nations will be advanced into the Age of Wasteland with no hope to correct the course of history. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/be1f40f757f671cd03ec03abd1b6b8c0c9bd6195.png[/img] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/09fe09678d3b738a6a16ea0e4ee4f8fc7ff0a27c.png[/img] The Age of Wasteland changes Millennia into a post-apocalyptic world, a harsh, cruel, desperate place filled with Old-World Ruins, Survivor Camps, and Scrap Heaps. All is not lost. Send explorers into the wastes to find survivors to kick-start your attempt at rebuilding civilization. Seek out the resources needed to regrow your population, settle new Regions, and fight off the threats of the wasteland. A key resource in this Age is Scrap, gathered from Scrap Heaps and the Junk Yard Improvement. All of the new Improvements unlocked in the Age of Wasteland require Scrap to build, and are much easier to work than the Improvements of old, based on the fact that the Grasslands, Forests, and Goods Tiles around the map have been turned into Wastelands and Dead Forests by nuclear blasts. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/2ff0aeb24f6a8e573478962cf0bf55397a9e879e.jpg[/img] The Age of Wasteland is a Terminal Age, meaning there is no Age 10 to follow. You have broken the timeline and must now end the game with only the scraps you salvage in the wasteland. It is also a Victory Age. If you can rebuild your Nation back to the population level of the pre-apocalypse, you can win without having to eliminate your fellow survivors. The Technologies in the Age of Wasteland serve both of these purposes. Regrowing your Nation is hard without the traditional ways of meeting your people’s Needs. Build Radiation Shelters, Movie Theaters, and Oases in the wasteland to satisfy your population’s demands. Explore the Old-World Ruins with your Wasteland Scavengers to gather supplies lost in the calamity. Train Hazmat Units to clear the toxic Fallout from your Regions. Use your time in the wasteland to heal the wounds of the old world and try to rebuild. Alternatively, you can use the opportunities presented by the shattering of the status quo and focus on unlocking new weapons of warfare. Build Battle Cars, arm them with close-range nukes, and race across the landscape to knock-down your rivals. Upgrade your armies into Mutant Soldiers by injecting them with mysterious medicines to get a leg up on the battlefield. You don’t have to stand very tall as long as you’re the last one standing. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/3e67719b50c64185ed411ea158536fdbf1a71960.png[/img] [h2]STRATEGIC WARFARE[/h2] We’re also rolling out the Strategic Warfare update in the next update, which changes how Siege Units and sieging Cities work. At a high-level, Siege Units have better Unit Actions to attack from a safer distance, and Sieging a City now damages the Buildings in that City. (Find more information about this update in the previous Developer Diary) Those changes came about as a result of how we wanted nuclear weapons to behave, but we’ve also updated the existing Siege mechanics to follow suit. Now that Siege is more interesting in the early Ages, we created a new National Spirit to amplify that experience: the Siege Masters National Spirit, included in [i]Atomic Ambitions[/i]. Siege Masters rely on their Pioneers to establish Outposts on the front-lines. These Outposts are homes to the new Siege Camp Improvement, used to build Ballistae, Trebuchet, and Siege Towers at that Outpost. Siege Units built by the Siege Masters also get bonuses to their Barrage damage and Siege damage, cementing their legacy even in the later Ages when you Decommission your wooden war machines in exchange for Cannons and Field Howitzers. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44642325/d4eace79a115a9f124a8d434b5ded896f8911701.png[/img] [h2]AND MORE[/h2] The free update included with [i]Atomic Ambitions[/i] adds a lot of of new gameplay to Millennia and, as before with the [i]Ancient Worlds[/i] DLC, there are also a lot of smaller updates and general improvements tagging along (and some that aren’t so small, such as Simultaneous Multiplayer and new Advanced Start options that allow you to begin games in later Ages). [i]Atomic Ambitions[/i] enhances the new free content, providing additional ways to explore alternate histories propelled forward or demolished by the atom. Also included in [i]Atomic Ambitions[/i] are new Landmarks, new Chaos and Innovation Events, new starting bonuses, and new music. We hope you’re looking forwards to the release of [i]Atomic Ambitions[/i], available on November 12th on Steam. Thanks for reading, and a special thank you to those of you in particular who have engaged with us on our Forums and Discord and everywhere else, that have given us great feedback on [i]Millennia[/i]. We hope you continue to share your feedback with us as we make the game better and we look forward hearing from you once y’all get your hands on this DLC!