New FAQ

[Neutron]

Game Mechanics
Q: In what period does Oriental Empires take place and to what degree does it follow history?
Q: Are there rebellions and what kind?
Q: How many factions are there, and how are they different?
Q: How are battles fought?
Q: Will there be any naval battles? If yes, how will they work?
Q: How does city management work?
Q: Are multiple cities constructable in one province? Or is the game not divided based on pre-set provinces.
Q: Also, does inter-city and inter-faction trade play a role in wealth creation?
Q: Will this game have characters, i.e. generals, governors, admirals,...?
Q: Will the different Schools of Thought be represented?
Q: Will there be any quests or missions?
Q: How many years per turn and how many turns per year will it take for an entire game?

Support Issues
Q; My frame rate stutters a lot. How do I fix it ?
Q; Does the game support 4K resolution ?
Q: The text is too small to read, how do I make it bigger ?

Multiplayer
Q: How many players are supported ?

Modding
Q: Does The Game Support Modding ?
Q; Will There Be a Map Editor ?
Q: Will There Be a Scenario Editor ?
Q: Will There be a Steam Workshop ?

Future Plans
Q: Will the game continue to be developed after release ?
Q: Will there be DLC covering Japan, Korea, Tibet and the rest of Asia ?

Game Mechanics

Q: In what period does Oriental Empires take place and to what degree does it follow history?
A: The game features two scenarios, and custom games on random maps.,

The Grand Campaign scenario isn't about a specific period of history per se, but covers the forces that drove progress from around 1500 BC to 1500 AD. As in actual history, you'll start with small scale wars lead by your nobles, and gradually evolve to the massive industrialized warfare of the Warring States era and beyond. However because it's your game, and your version of history, the actual states involved your version of the warring states may be quite different to actual history. Similarly, there will inevitably be conflict between the nomads of the steppes and the Chinese farmers, but it won't necessarily play out as it actually did. Ditto with peasant rebellions, and the shift in power from the north to the south.

The Warring States scenario is more historical, although it tries to blend the flavor of that period with 4X gameplay. It depicts the situation in 407 BC after the division of Jin. Players start with several cities, buildings, and technology appropriate for the date.

You can also play custom games on randomly generated maps. Obviously these are very much alternative history.

Q: Are there rebellions and what kind?
A: Yes there are two types of rebellions. Noble rebellions are just civil wars within one faction. Peasant rebellions (such as the Red Eyebrows or Yellow Turbans) are against all factions.

Q: How many factions are there, and how are they different?
A: There are 15 factions in the Grand Campaign, and 20 for Custom Games. These cover a range of Chinese states, non-Chinese people who then lived in the area, and also various peoples from the Mongolian Steppe. Each faction has various bonuses and penalties, and some have unique units. They fall into two main groups, those that live from farming, and those that live from herding animals. However, bear in mind that this is an historically based game set in a particular locale, so the factions aren't as diverse as you'd see in a fantasy or Sci-fi game.

Q: How are battles fought?
A: Once the battles begin, they continue until one side runs away. The player doesn't have any control over the battles, however since your units don't fight to the death if losing, it's not a disaster if things go badly.

There are two main reasons that players aren't given control in battles. Firstly, there may be two or more battles happening at the same time, and secondly in these sort of games, most battles tend to be either small skirmishes, or very one sided, and thus not very fun to watch. In other games you'd auto resolve them, but in OE you just fast forward and ignore them.

Q: Will there be any naval battles? If yes, how will they work?
A: Yes, these work in much the same way as land battles, and can ships and land units can be part of the same battle.

Q: How does city management work?
A: City management is based around food and money. You build farms, terraces etc to grow food and increase your population. Population gives you money that you use to create buildings that give you various benefits, in a manner similar to many other games. You can also build roads, clear forests, and construct external buildings (mines, ports etc.).

Q: Are multiple cities constructable in one province? Or is the game not divided based on pre-set provinces.
A: The game has no concept of provinces, and you can put your cities where you like, apart from some minor restrictions on how close to another city they can be.

Q: Also, does inter-city and inter-faction trade play a role in wealth creation?
Yes, there's a full internal and external trade system, with routes across land and along rivers. You can block trade routes with your armies.

Q: Will this game have characters, i.e. generals, governors, admirals,...?
A: Yes the game has characters on the map, that you can use as generals,or city governors. Each player will have a faction leader and an heir on the map, and you can hire other characters via edicts. Characters age and die over the course of the game, leading to periodic succession crises when your faction leader dies. If he dies without an heir, this can spell major trouble for the empire.

Q: Will the different Schools of Thought be represented?
A: Players can construct Confucian, Daoist, Mohist, Legalist and Buddhist temples and schools which will give different benefits.

Q: Will there be any quests or missions?
A: Quests don't really fit well with an historically based civilization game. Barbarian invasions will happen naturally during game play when barbarian factions decide to attack, they're not scripted events.

Q: How many years per turn and how many turns per year will it take for an entire game?
A: About 300 turns, but you can set any limit you like.

There is no fixed number of years per turn. A turn may be many years where nothing much happened, or a few months where lots happened. These sorts of games make no sense with fixed time scales. However, the game covers about 3000 years of progress in 300 ish turns.

Support Issues

Q; My frame rate itutters a lot. How do I fix it ?
A:This issue affects some machines. If you have this problem, select options from the main menu, and select video options, and disable grass.

Q; Does the game support 4K resolution ?
You can play the game in 4K res, but currently the UI will be very small, so we suggest that you go to the video options and select 1920 x 1080 resolution. There will be an update soon that increases the UI size.

Q: The text is too small to read, how do I make it bigger ?
A: You probably have a 4K res monitor. For the moment, go to video options and select 1920 x 1080 resolution. An update will be issued soon to address this issue.

Multiplayer

Q: How many players are supported ?
A: There is no fixed limit, though we've only tested it up to ten players. In general we'd recommend that 2 to 6 players on a small to medium custom map will likely give the best experience.

Modding

Q: Does The Game Support Modding ?
A: Currently no, but we'll be adding some basic modding support very soon, and then gradually extending what is supported. This is a bit frustrating, but due to the nature of the engine we're using, supporting mods requires us to do extra work.

Q; Will There Be a Map Editor ?
A: This will be in an update soon after release.

Q: Will There Be a Scenario Editor ?
A: Maybe, depending on community demand (vis a vis other community demands :))

Q: Will There be a Steam Workshop ?
A: Maybe, again depending on how much work is required, and how much demand there is.

Future Plans

Q: Will the game continue to be developed after release ?
A: Yes. Hopefully for a long time, but that does depend on it reaching sales targets.

Q: Will there be DLC covering Japan, Korea, Tibet and the rest of Asia ?
A: We're very interested in expanding the game to cover surrounding areas, but don't yet have any specific plans to announce.

[Neutron]

Many thanks to Zalm for collating the original FAQ, but it was getting a bit dated.

[iancarson88]

I've searched the internet and haven't found a satisfactory answer. My original generals are still infantry. I have enacted both the chariot and horsman edicts. Is there a way to upgrade at least my faction leader and heir? Any leaders I create after the edicts are upgraded.

[Neutron]

No you can't upgrade them. Old generals are stuck in their ways.