crusaders



1. Summary
It all happened in the darkest century of the medieval Europe, when a visionary Pope ignited the flames of the first crusade and united the rivaling nations for one single cause: to conquer the Holy Land. Crusaders: Thy Kingdom Come tells the story of this great campaign through the eye of a chosen knight, and chronicles his struggles to rise higher among the ranks, gaining power and wealth. The events lead our hero from Constantinople to Jerusalem through the chapters of a historically accurate story. Our hero arrives with the rest of the army to the colossal walls of Constantinople as a simple crusader and in the months to come he will rise to the level of fame where royal heads rival for his services… until he becomes one of the leaders who lay siege to the Holy City itself.Crusaders: Thy Kingdom Come offers a challenging, mission-to-mission story, where the improvement of the main character must be familiar from the best RPGs, while his growing army gets stronger and deadlier after each battle.

2. Heroes
Crusader knights – they might be penniless mercenaries or proud princes, ruthless warriors or visionaries, but our heroes have one thing in common: their resolution and pledge to reach Jerusalem. Crusaders: Thy Kingdom Come offers five notable personalities from the five great nations of medieval Europe, each of them with different background, wealth, fighting skills, goals and dreams. The players choose one of these crusader knights as a viewpoint character, sending him into the bloody battles and the mazes of political intrigue, while watching over the fate of their chosen hero as he gains fame and faith, important ranks and fiefdoms, influence and power.

3. Factions
The crusader army in the game is about just as divided as it had been historically. The rivalry of royalties and nationalities with different motivations is going to be a key factor through the whole campaign. The various power groups of the army are called factions, each with a strong nation in charge and a unique atmosphere and they all offer various submissions for their allies. Players should be careful which faction they prefer, as they forge ties with one nation they slowly exclude; however, a faithful ally will get precious rewards like money, units or other benefits.

4. Faith and relics
Although the real driving force of the first crusade was to conquer new lands in the Middle East, in Crusaders: Thy Kingdom Come the Faith is a somewhat idealized concept of the religious background that sparked and legitimized the military campaign. Faith has an impact on both the overall morale and the political standing in the Papal court. Christian relics have strong relations with the Faith score: the higher a hero’s Faith is, the more effective these relics boost their abilities. Each hero starts with a unique Faith score that can grow or decrease during the game, depending on his decisions.

5. Terrain and tactics
Crusaders: Thy Kingdom Come offer highly varied and topographically diverse terrains, with hills, valleys, forests, rivers or ruins. First of all, topographic elements are not just lifeless background scenes, but they heavily influence the tactics and the outcome of the battles (heavy infantry units will stop almost anyone on a plain field but they will most certainly loose in a dense forest). The terrains presented in the game will also evoke the atmosphere of the faraway lands where the crusaders marched towards Jerusalem – from the Mediterranean pine forests to the barren rock deserts of the Holy Land.

6. Physics in the game
Crusaders: Thy Kingdom Come is the first RTS where physics is one of the most important factors in the game. Rocks tumble down on the slopes, crushing into the ranks of the enemy. A boulder from a trebuchet or a fierce charge from the knights will send the enemy soldiers flying and sprawling on the ground, due to the realistic rag-doll effects. Siege weapons destroy whole chunks of the mighty ramparts of the towns, and the falling debris will crush and kill all those who were unfortunate to get too near.

7. Weather changes
Weather conditions and visibility change dynamically, which is not solely a visual element, but it also affects the gameplay, specifically the abilities of the different units and the outcome of their actions. During a night raid the guards will only see in the light of the camp fires, but when dawn comes, they will immediately spot the enemy and raise the alarm. Weather conditions or the time of the day will have a serious effect on the effectiveness of the archers or other ranged units.