Summon your courage and assume leadership of one of 18 factions to stand up to Alexander’s war machine. Can you alone or with the help of others turn the Macedonian tide, or will you too succumb? Perhaps you’ll let your ego take over and as Alexander try to earn the title “The Great” by crushing other nations under your heel?
Military Reserves
Maintaining balance between security and prosperity will prove more essential than ever.The game mirrors historical reality by allowing you to demobilize your military units, letting the soldiers go back to their ordinary lives. More citizens will boost the economy while relieving the burden on your treasury by no longer needing to support a large standing army. But you’ll still be able to call them back into service when required. Of course, if they’re left without regular training for too long, they’ll lose their skills, eventually becoming useless as you’ll no longer be able to mobilize them into ready-to-fight units.
Whichever nation you lead, the hard decisions of everyday life will be upon you soon enough. You can hardly survive without a strong standing army of trained, battle-hardened warriors, but can the state economy support a huge military budget?
Economic Specialization
A strong, functioning economy will be the foundation of your success or failure. Building specialized resource centers to support your political and military goals will no longer be an option but an economic necessity.Simply finding gold deposits won’t make you rich; you’ll need skilled labor and specialized facilities to mine, process, and utilize the ore to convert it into a real value. These facilities will have to be constructed in blacksmiths and cities to maximize profit from outlying mines. The costs of any such specialization are high, and building a multi-specialized facility operating various mines in the same area will require significant capital.
Yet, would you rather invest in building a single economic nexus, or do you prefer to spread your resource producing facilities to various locations? One decision can change the future...
Regional Capitals
One person cannot rule a growing empire alone. Building regional capitals will become a necessity in order to reduce local corruption, but transferring even a small fraction of power into the hands of lower officials can potentially sow a seed of disloyalty that can grow over time.Will you concentrate all power in your hands and ignore growing corruption that might cause wide-spread revolts, or you delegate power and accept the risk that strong opponents will grow in your shadow?
Emissaries to Foreign Courts
Not only domestic affairs require attention, foreign politics are just as important. You should not miss any opportunity to skew the political balance in your favor if you want to further your goals abroad.Send an emissary to a foreign court to influence the attitude of its leader. Your envoy can whisper rumors or praise into his ear and affect his attitude towards other nations to support your own interests and plans.
Keep in mind, though, that the emissary may easily become too attached to his temporary place of residence and may forget where his true loyalty should lie.
The World of Alexander
The story of Alexander plays out on a huge map spanning from mighty Carthage to great Persepolis, from wild inhospitable valleys of the Alps to fertile deltas of the Nile.18 nations await your leadership, from warrior and nomad tribes of forest and steppe to the most powerful empires of the time. Assume the crown of Alexander or Darius; try the role of underdog and become the founder of a Roman miracle; or threaten the world order astride rugged Scythian warhorses.
All these options guarantee endless replayability and different play styles that will challenge your military expertise as well as political foresight.
