eXplorminate Intro:
This is an article series dedicated to the smaller developers, some of whom may not have managed to get onto the SteamFest. While we at eXplorminate do like the bigger games in the genre (Eo, Old World, Age of Wonders etc) I thought this was a great chance to highlight visibility for the smaller developers. I think the best ideas often come from smaller developers, who are more willing to bend the rules, challenge conventions and take risks.
Game: Steam Link
Developer: Billion Worlds, aka AsmundYield on the Discord.
Game Description:
A focused 4X experience
Yield! Fall of Rome delivers a tightly designed 4X experience, with intense
decisions and deep strategic gameplay, all in a compact, elegant format. Blending
classic 4X mechanics with tactical depth and board game-inspired
design, Yield! has been described as the child of Civilization and The Battle of
Polytopia.Core Ambitions
- Offer interesting decisions every single turn
- Avoid the slow, tedious endgames typical in the genre
- Emphasize elegant, transparent mechanics with minimal micromanagement
- Make a full game playable within a single evening
Game Overview
In Campaign Mode, you play as a Monarch leading your Kingdom through a
series of narrative-driven missions. Each mission takes place in a Roman
Province with pre-established cities and defenses. Your goal: to achieve
sovereignty over each Province by completing a set of religious, economic or
military objectives that earn you Crowns. You choose your path to victory by
deciding which type of Crowns to pursue, optimizing for speed and efficiency in
the competition against other factions that set out to do the same. Uniquely, you
control your Monarch as an actual unit on the map, and go through province after
province to build up your Kingdom.Playable Factions
Choose from eight distinct Kingdoms, each with unique perks, units, and
Monarch skill trees:
Arabs, Berbers, Britons, Bulgars, Franks, Germani, Huns and Persians.Game Modes
- Story-driven Campaigns for each Kingdom
- Live and asynchronous multiplayer, including team play and co-op
- Custom skirmishes and Challenges with global leaderboards
Gameplay Design
Unlike many traditional 4X titles that rely on gradual “bucket-filling”
mechanics, Yield! is built for immediacy and impact. Each turn, you’re given a
limited pool of Gold, based on your income, which is used for nearly every action
in the game.
You’re not micromanaging dozens of cities. Instead, you operate at a strategic
level:
• Use all your Gold to develop a key city
• Spread it across your kingdom to balance growth
• Invest in technologies, recruit units, or
• Save it for a major play next turn
This creates fast-paced, high-impact decision-making, turn after turn.About the Developers
We’re two brothers who grew up playing Civilization and other strategy classics.
I still remember how magical it felt to boot up the original Civ for the first time, it
stuck with us ever since.
Yield! Fall of Rome is our first game, and a dream project years in the making.
We’re passionate about this genre and fully committed to continue as strategy
game developers.Inspirations
Mainly Civilization, The Battle of Polytopia and Heroes of Might & Magic, but
also board games like Through the Ages and Avalon Hill’s
original Civilization (1980).
eXplorminate Thoughts:
Evoking the promise of At The Gates, Yield is set in the death throes of the Roman Empire. With decent production values, and a board game vibe, I think it is worth a look. It has been described in the Steam comments as having more than a hint of Battle of Polytopia, and a 4X that doesn’t require ten hours per game session is something I think we should all encourage.
eXplorminate Outro:
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