Oy rulers,
In today’s news, our Game Director, Jussi Autio, will explain the vision behind the traditions in Great Houses of Calderia.
Finding your place as an individual in the world of Calderia, where politics are at the core of every interaction, is difficult. As a noble, you have to learn to balance the benefits of your family over your own. Will you stay true to the traditions of your ancestors or will you pave your own path?
From the beginning of the development and the game, traditions are at the center of the family and fiefdom. Your choices dictate what your family stands for and what its identity is. How individuals are combined into a family, besides just sharing the same fiefdom, has always been their traditions—the values the family stands for. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice an individual's short-term benefit for your long-term gain.
They alter many existing aspects of life. Traditions are more than just preferences or advantages and will eventually influence the choices you make. They represent what your House appreciates, shuns, and holds in high regard. Basically, they are the unifying force shared by all of your family members. They are the code of conduct according to which everyone in the family should live. Traditions deeply impact each family member and your powers and abilities.
With the recent playtests and the Founders Beta, we have introduced the tradition tree to further emphasize and develop this mechanic. Traditions can either change how the ground rules of the game work or bend them. For example, Peacemakers will require much worse relations before anyone can declare war on them, allowing players to experience a more peaceful Calderia. On the other hand, Warriors make military conquests easier, and so forth.
They are divided into six categories, and while you can advance in several of them, they come in pairs, with one choice blocking the opposing tradition. Warriors and Scholars are opposites, as are Idealists and Schemers. The third pair is Isolationists and Peacemakers—those who prefer to be left alone and those who enjoy the company of others.
Events and conflicts in the game will award you with tradition points. These points can be general or specific to the tradition you've chosen to pursue next. They can also be more specific event choices that stand for a tradition, in which case points for that tradition will be earned. Schemer families may find shady deals at a bar appealing, but Idealists will avoid them. Particular goals during conflict resolutions, trade and wedding negotiations can have an impact on tradition points. From a role-playing standpoint, choices and outcomes true to your traditions will earn you more points than generic ones.
Going against your traditions and deviating from your family's code isn't impossible. You can let a warrior House witness a family member fleeing battle, an isolationist willingly join in negotiations, or an idealist plot in the shadows. Making such decisions will result in a penalty. They obstruct your efforts to create a richer tapestry of traditions for your House. And if you fall behind in establishing your traditions, you will falter as the other Houses rise in the ranks of Calderia. The tradition system will evolve during Early Access based on your feedback. We will also further improve various mechanics, strengthen the identity of traditions and their impact on your decisions in different situations.
As previously stated, traditions are "House traditions" because they are the principles that everyone in the family ought to honor. This implies that these are among the game's most important role-playing aspects. This feature will enhance the experience of playing your family as well as the interactions with others in the various relationships you decide to maintain and bolster. From delegations to conflict resolutions, from trade negotiations to diplomatic ties, and more.
It is then natural for your family to despise those with opposing traditions. Traditions will influence the behavior of the other Houses. Starting a game surrounded by warrior Houses will be different from starting with isolationist neighbors. This topic is closely linked to the development of AI, which we will cover in another post.
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- The Great Houses of Calderia Team -
