Designing Hegemony
Jim McNally, the designer of Hegemony: Philip of Macedon, has written several pieces regarding his design. Keep an eye on this page as he continues to write more articles.
Workers and Slaves
In the typical RTS design, workers gather resources or build additional buildings and other structures on the map. In Hegemony: Philip of Macedon workers are organized in the same way as combat brigades are, each with a home city and population support, making them either native Macedonian or mercenary.
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The Economy
I'll give my personal bias on micromanagement before describing the economy in "Hegemony: Philip of Macedon". I'm not against micromanagement if a game is designed with micromanagement as its central feature. My concern is where micromanagement remains optional yet yields such amazing results that it becomes the "de facto" requirement for a player to do well. I prefer a game system where micromanagement is either a central feature or the need for it is avoided. With the emphasis in "Hegemony: Philip of Macedon" on battle, territorial expansion and organization of a growing Kingdom, we've tried to design the economy to work well without the need for micromanagement and have simplified it to "Gold", "Food" and "Population".
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Strategy and Combined-Arms Tactics
The essence of Combined-Arms Tactics can be defined as having different troop types fighting together in a coordinated manner to achieve a better result than if they fought without proper organization. A well executed combined-arms attack can allow a force to weaken, envelope and decisively crush the enemy army while taking minimal losses. When used defensively, Combined-Arms Tactics can significantly reduce casualties and enable a well ordered retreat.
When applying combined-arms tactics to ancient warfare, heavy infantry form a battleline to advance and engage the enemy in melee combat while light infantry use missile fire to lower morale and disrupt the enemy ranks. Cavalry protect the flanks and threaten to surround the enemy and pursue after victory. Catapults can be added to support river crossings, counter enemy siege defenses or to weaken the enemy in field battles. Effective combined-arms is all about coordinating the various troop types available for each battle.
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Cavalry
In the origin of cavalry, the cart literally came before the horse. After the potter’s wheel was invented (circa 5000 BCE) it was only a matter of time before wheeled carts would appear (circa 4000 BCE) pulled by people and later by oxen. Early domestic horses were too weak in the back to carry a man and were harnessed to carts and chariots. Horseback riding gradually evolved in the Eurasian Steppes, in conjunction with the breeding of horses strong enough to carry a man. And by the 7th century BCE cavalry began to appear on the battlefield as organized fighting units.
In the world of the ancient Greeks, the nobility and wealthy owned the horses and formed the cavalry. Cavalry were fast and mobile, wearing greaves, breastplate, helmet and a small shield. They engaged in melee with a 12-foot lance and carried a short sword for backup.
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Factions
This post will introduce the 26 factions that occupy the game world in "Hegemony: Philip of Macedon".
Controlling the Kingdom of Macedon, you interact with other factions through espionage, diplomacy and direct military action. Factions include Greek Leagues, Tribal Kingdoms and Empires and are comprised of cities, city-states or tribal states. Members of a particular faction follow the policy of the dominant city or in the case of a tribal kingdom, the King.
The Main Factions in the game are the "Kingdom of Macedon", the "Athenian Empire", the "Boeotian League" led by Thebes, the "Lacedaemonians" led by Sparta and the "Persian Empire".
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Peltasts
This is the third in a series of posts that will discuss a broad range of topics relating to "Hegemony: Philip of Macedon". This post will introduce the Peltast unit.
Peltasts are fast, mobile light infantry suited to rough terrain and irregular combat. They wear a helmet and carry the pelta, a small crescent shaped shield. Peltasts use javelins at range and melee with a short spear or dagger. As an auxiliary force in battle, peltasts can skirmish to disrupt enemy formations and threaten flanks.
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Logistics
This is the second in a series of posts that will discuss a broad range of topics relating to Hegemony: Philip of Macedon. This post will give an overview of logistics: the management of supply and replacements.
Activities such as camping and the burning of fields are integral to logistics in "Hegemony: Philip of Macedon". Camp to conserve supply and replace losses. Burn fields to deprive the enemy of crops, through punitive raids or a scorched earth defensive policy.
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Hoplites
This is the first in a series of posts that will discuss a broad range of topics relating to Hegemony: Philip of Macedon. This post will introduce the Hoplite unit.
Hoplites form the main infantry battleline of the Greek City-State armies. They wear a helmet, greaves and breastplate and carry a 3-foot diameter shield that provides excellent missile defense. Hoplites advance into battle in close order formations, often charging the last few feet to maximize the impact phase of melee combat. Their main weapon is a 10-foot thrusting spear, used overhand. They also carry a short sword as a secondary weapon.