FAQ

The base material for this page was taken from the developer's post in the Steam forums. It has since been expanded, some grammar repaired, and where practical, hypertext links to the appropriate pages have been added. Additional questions have been added as well.

When will this game be released?

 * The release date for this game in Steam Early Access was September 14, 2017.

What are the system requirements?

 * The System requirements can be seen here.

In what period does Oriental Empires take place and to what degree does it follow history?

 * The game features two scenarios, and unlimited 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 in 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.

Are there rebellions and what kind?

 * Yes, there are actually two types of rebellions.
 * Noble rebellions are civil wars within a faction.
 * These are directly related to Noble unrest.
 * Peasant rebellions (such as the Red Eyebrows or Yellow Turbans) also occur.
 * These rebels are against all factions.
 * These are unrelated to Peasant unrest

How many factions are there, and how are they different?

 * There are 15 user playable factions in the Grand Campaign, and 20 user playable factions for Custom Games.
 * These cover a range of Chinese states, non-Chinese people who 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.

How are battles resolved?

 * Multiple battles may be resolved simultaneously during the same end-turn and can be watched as cut scenes with some battle statistics shown.
 * Full battle report(s) are available at the beginning of the next turn.
 * Once a battles begins, it continues until one side runs away.
 * Unlike the Total War series of games, the player doesn't have any control mid-battle, however since units don't fight to the death if losing, it's not a disaster if things go badly.
 * Battle Plans may be established before hitting the next turn button, giving the player more control of the encounter than games like Civilization VI.
 * As in the real world, plans generally don't survive much past the first skirmish, so a save-game strategy may be helpful in the learning period.
 * With the judicious use of saves and re-loads, and the correct application of unit-level movement orders and battle plans, the experience is immersive and very different from what one finds in other games.

Will there be any naval battles? If yes, how will they work?

 * Yes, these work in much the same way as land battles, and can ships and land units can be part of the same battle.

Does game have characters, i.e. generals, governors, admirals,...?

 * Yes the game has characters on the map, that you can use as generals,or city governors, as well as to resolve encounter opportunities.
 * 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.

Will the different Schools of Thought be represented?

 * Players can construct Confucian, Daoist, Mohist, Legalist and Buddhist temples and schools which will each give different benefits.

Will there be any quests or missions?

 * No quests per se have been designed into the game.
 * Barbarian invasions will happen naturally during game play when barbarian factions decide to attack; they're not scripted events.

How many years per turn and how many turns per year will it take for an entire game?

 * The default game is set to 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. *However, the game covers about 3000 years of progress in terms of technological and cultural development.

How much territory does the Grand Campaign cover?

 * The map is pretty large ranging from the fringes of Siberia in the north down to the northern tip of Taiwan in the south. In the west it extends to the foothills of Tibet, and to the east to the edge of Manchuria.

How does city management work?

 * City management is primarily centered around food and money.
 * You build farms, terraces, etc. to grow food and increase your population.
 * You develop resource hexes to improve profits from trade.
 * Population gives you money that you use to create buildings that give you various benefits, in a manner similar to many other games.
 * Resources are randomly located for each map seed and can greatly enhance trade income playing a significant role in where cities may be best located.
 * You can also build roads, clear forests, and construct external buildings (mines, ports, shrines, etc.).

Does clearing land or draining marshes increase the number of potential settlement sites?

 * No, the potential sites for settlements are determined when the map is generated.

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.
 * You can declare a trade embargo

How far apart should cities be?

 * That's a judgement call
 * Cities MUST be at least four hexes apart
 * Farming Cities closer than 10 hexes will overlap on some potential land use if both reach level 3
 * Only One city may claim the benefits of any resource hex so overlapping one of those isn't useful.

Are multiple cities in one province possible?

 * The game has no concept of provinces, and you can put your cities where you like, apart from some minor restrictions. e.g.how close to another city they can be.

How much unrest is too much unrest?

 * That depends
 * You start getting less income from taxes when Peasant Unrest hits 70%
 * You get no taxes when Peasant Unrest hits 100%
 * You can’t recruit Militia/Tribal Units when Peasant Unrest hits 80%
 * You can’t recruit Noble Units when Noble Unrest hits 80%
 * Bandits tend to spawn more frequently at higher unrest levels
 * When unrest hits 40%, smart players start taking unrest prevention measures.

What can I do to lower local Peasant Unrest?

 * First, check the Settlement's Unrest display for details.
 * Stationing a leader in a town will lower unrest
 * Garrison a unit of nobles in a town will lower peasant unrest. (Raising 1 unit of Nobles temporarily adds +2 to Noble Unrest, but lowers Peasant Unrest by 8)
 * Building a Shrine will help with Peasant unrest permanently, but remember that they will be conscripted to build it.

What can I do to lower local Noble Unrest?

 * First, check the Settlement's Unrest display for details.
 * Building a Pavilion will Lower Noble Unrest, but remember that peasants will be conscripted to build it.
 * Nobles unrest may be due to over-hasty expansion of your empire. Check your Authority versus your settlement count.

What is the Settler Exploit?

 * It's NOT necessarily an exploit, but it does have some aspects of one...
 * If a settler founds a settlement in a turn, any forests and swamps immediately next to the city center are immediately reclaimed. The settlement may then be abandoned during the same turn with the settler available to move again next turn.
 * For what it's worth, Sid Meier's original CivNet had a "settler exploit" as well.

How do I get more Leaders?

 * Every Faction has a faction leader by default.
 * An heir will generally be designated within the first few turns. (The Shang generally start with an heir spawned)
 * Certain Edicts such as The Grand Commandment & Enlist a Shi will allow for more.

What Military Units are in the game?

 * Many factions have unique military units available to them but a comprehensive list may be found here.

How important are the right battle plans?

 * Many battles will just come down to terrain, numbers, and unit types, but properly laid battle plans can make the difference between winning and losing, and certainly helps in minimizing attrition.

Where can I find my save files?

 * In Windows they are stored under in the user's documents folder - Documents/My Games/Oriental Empires/Saved Games/

How do I trigger encounters?

 * Encounters are triggered only when a leader unit ends its turn on the hex where the encounter is located.

If I start studying technology 1, then change my mind and switch to technology 2, will all progress toward technology 1 be lost?

 * No. Technology progress once accrued remains unchanged until one returns to finish the research later.

How does Diplomacy work?

 * You can see your status with any of the factions you've run across so far in the game on the Diplomacy Recap Screen.
 * With those factions that you're still somewhat close to, or involved with you can request an audience and propose deals. Particularly in the early game you may lose touch with some factions, and NOT be able to request an audience.

How many players are supported ?

 * There is no fixed limit, though it's only been tested by the developers up to ten players.
 * It's recommended that 2 to 6 players on a small to medium custom map will likely give the best experience.

Does The Game Support Modding

 * Not currently the developers have indicated that they'll be adding some basic modding support very soon, and then gradually extending what is supported.

Will There Be a Map Editor ?

 * This is planned for an update soon after release. Recent developer comments suggest that there will be a small release before the end of 2017 and that a map editor may be in the next release following that.

Will There Be a Scenario Editor ?

 * Not immediately but depending on community demand... It's not been ruled out.

Will There be a Steam Workshop ?

 * Maybe, again depending on how much work is required, and how much demand there is.

Will the game continue to be developed after release?

 * Yes. Hopefully for a long time, but that does depend on it reaching sales targets.

Will there be DLC covering Japan, Korea, Tibet and the rest of Asia ?

 * The developers are very interested in expanding the game to cover surrounding areas, but don't yet have any specific plans to announce. The initial release of the game focuses on China and her nomadic enemies to the north. Hopefully Tibet, Korea, Khmer etc will be added in expansions.