Rule of Iron: Dark Age

Campaign

• A real population system with different classes. Recruiting subtracts from the population class and disbanding adds to it. Plagues wipe out.

• No building slot limitations.

• No locked minor provinces, a village can grow into a metropolis.

• No magic 20-unit hard limit per army.

• Armies don't need a general. Split them up and move them freely.

• Armies need ship units to move across water. They don't magically spawn transport ships.

• A Crusader Kings style character system with traits and opinions.

• This includes vassalage. If you let your vassals dislike you or become too ambitious they will declare independence and wage war against you. This also applies to AI factions.

• Character-based diplomacy. For example arrange marriages to secure alliances.

• Only characters can become agents. This reduces agent spam while they can still move around on the map.

• No skill trees. Traits are gained organically.

• No gamey tech trees either. Technology happens historically at certain turn thresholds.

• Road upgrades are visible on the map.

• Visible trade carts and ships reflect your trade income.

• Innovative UI to reduce late-game micromanagement.

Battle

• The battle terrain is generated exactly from the campaign map features.

• Historical scale featuring battles reaching tens of thousands of soldiers.

• The most sophisticated physics system ever seen in a battle simulator leveraging SPH to simulate a shifting battle line.

• Morale, fatigue, high ground and flanking as first-class systems. A skilled general can defeat an on paper superior army with ingenious tactics.

• Archers and other units range depends on their relative altitude to the target.

• A per soldier line of sight system paired with a per missile collision system where trees, buildings and other objects block missiles.

• No canned pair animations, combat outcomes depend on the position and rotation of the soldier at the time of the strike.

Modding support

• Create entirely new campaigns including the map. The code will generate features like rivers or castles where you tell it to.

• Create new units, even fantasy creatures with custom rigs.

• Adjust the UI to your taste.

• Tune the AI.

No gimmicks, no anti-player gangup, no bloated mechanics mess, no superheroes. Tactical depth paired with immersive empire-building.