Vae Victis - Development Diary VI - Monarchies

The first thing players will notice is the special government window for monarchies. Instead of a senate or a bunch of hairy clan chiefs, there is a Council.
The council consists of the five technology magistrates (who incidentally play a bigger part in Vae Victis for all types of regimes) and four other gentlemen; your ministers.
The ministers are important since their skills affect your country in many ways; if managed right, their bonuses will equal or surpass that of the ruling party in a republic.
However, it can be dangerous to appoint your most skilled characters to the council, since some may favour themselves, or a relative, or even friend, rather than the legal heir. Thus, when the king dies, or possibly before - if a majority of the council is unhappy with the legal heir - they may decide to back a pretender and spark a civil war.

Monarchies have a different set of laws, many of which concern the succession. They also have their own collection of minor titles, missions, and events; all to make playing a monarchy feel different from a tribe or a republic...

Vae Victis will get a vastly improved interface and introduce a lot of handy shortcuts. For example, the Province view will be bigger, more informative and more interactive, allowing you to quickly peruse the diplomatic status of – and easily set up trade routes with – other countries. There is also the much-needed new character overview screen mentioned above, and a greatly expanded and interactive dynastic view.

EU: Rome – Vae Victis in short:

• The dynamics of the characters that live in the Republic will come to life as the men and women have their own personal goals and agendas, which are often in conflict with each other. Will you be able to manage these willful personalities?
• As a Republic you will now need to take the Senate into the account. Characters will belong to various parties depending on their goals, values and ambition. The Senate will pass laws, which will allow or disallow certain country actions.
• Making sure that the party in power backs your own goals, adds another strategic element to gameplay.
• Monarchies and Tribes will have their own courts, beware of bootlickers and sycophants who will stop at nothing to replace your divinely appointed ruler with themselves.
• "Carthago Delenda Est". Senators will cry out and charge players to perform their duties. Now the Senate or a religious power can give players missions to fulfill, guiding the player through ambitions to experience a rich and rewarding history.
• Mobilize the Senate to back important laws such as 'Lex Gabinia' to fight piracy or the 'Lex Acilia Repetundarum' to reduce corruption.Players can also enact decisions at various levels, working with regional governors to grant citizenships to a region or a province.
• Completely revised military AI, particularly in the area of military campaigns. Will benefit experienced players in particular.
• An overhauled interface making the information more easily accessible for both new and advanced players.

EU: Rome – Vae Victis is scheduled for a digital download release via GamersGate in Q4, 2008 for $9.99, and will require EU: Rome to play.

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