Terminal Conflict 
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Patch AN/GSQ-235(V)1026Nov 14, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsGAME ENGINE Updated tooltips for mismanagement warnings Fixed an issue in the "Balance of Power" scenario that could cause a small error MAP Adjusted the positioning of the Western European map for better accuracy Refined borders along the North Atlantic Ridge in North America to better reflect economic and political realities Updated the Theater Map to accurately reflect changes in the North American map POLICIES Fixed an issue where placing INFLUENCE from a policy did not display the Theater Map and incorrectly kept the player on the Policy Selection Screen DECISIONS Updated USSR decisions in Wargames for enhanced strategic options Fixed an error that occurred when displaying the USSR Weapons programs UNITS Corrected animation positions for Submarine units in the Arctic region Improved positioning of Western European Submarine units in the Arctic to enhance readability Fixed an issue where reorganizing Bomber Commands, Fighter Commands, Submarine Fleets, and Carrier Fleets were incorrectly shown as participating in nuclear attacks during nuclear launch simulations GAME EDITOR Updated the title menu to clearly indicate when you are editing a mod Fixed an issue where removing the Focus file in a mod caused an error message to be displayed in the Editor Patch AN/GSQ-235(V)1025Oct 25, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsGAME ENGINE + Engine updated to Unity 2021.3.44f1 for Long term support + Added and enhanced various visual aspects of the game + Enhanced tool-tips for USSR and USA mismanagement warning DECISIONS + Updated USSR ELITES and PEOPLES decisions in Wargames GAME EDITOR + Fixed an issue where the game editor was throwing an error when selecting a Leader referencing an ability that does not exist AI + Fixed a bug where the AI would sometimes get stuck on savegame focus selection Patch AN/GSQ-235(V)1021May 19, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsFixed editor throwing an error when selecting a Leader referencing an ability that does not exist Fixed division by zero Logging data to help fix log report related to tutorial highlight not working with Reconnect the Department of Defense policy in The Big Picture Fixed exception due to focus management screen not updating focuses due to game progress (e.g. player A stays in focus mgmt screen, player B ends focus, player A selects expired focus -> exception) Using leader Resupply ability no longer causes an exception when the ability causes the leader to expire Fixed exploit caused by leader ability menu not closing after using leader ability that does not end turn (e.g. using Supply which kills the leader, and then using Consolidate) Fixed Supply leader ability not using the correct notification when used Steam initialization exception are now logged remotely Errors when clicking on a mod entry in the editor due to Steam checking upload feasibility now handled gracefully and logged remotely Developer Diary | I hear the drums echoing tonightOct 20, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsCommanders, Seth here... Has it really been since May since the last diary? Well, that does not mean that the Cold War engineers have not been working hard to bring more features, more fixes, and more design into Terminal Conflict. If you heard the whistle, it’s because we are fully engaged to deliver even more updates and Dev Diaries. Announcing that production has started of Terminal Conflict version 1.2 with all hands on deck. We’ve also upgraded our equipment to deliver even better streams and content post-launch of version 1.2, when Terminal Thursday’s streams will return. We love our community and so keep engaging with us on Discord, and on the Steam forums as we appreciate and value hearing from you. Join our Discord here! As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti It’s easy to say now that both Soviet and US real life policies in Africa were tragic sparking proxy wars and massive conflicts. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/1b8d4ce90628f7174214f587637a53a6909c9b67.jpg The Soviet Union’s goals during the earlier years of the Cold War were to advance the economic system of socialism. Unreliable leaders in the Third World would cause major issues for both sides and eventually led to the Congo crisis, a proxy war where close to 100,000 people lost their lives and that devastated the region for decades to come. We can also announce that a brand new chain of decisions built around the US-backed leader Mobutu soon is in production. While an independent and nonaligned Africa exists today it was not without paying a massive price. Still blessing those rains... I have been teasing this forever, and over the last few months we have been not so secretly dropping in various additions and balance into the policies of a Soviet Sub-Saharan Africa. Here are the new policies that have been implemented into the main game. African Command Economy {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/5d5927f5d754413d8f852d614f4d3591ac1da077.jpg In order to be able to activate this decision you will need to have 10 USSR influence in Sub-Saharan Africa or Domination in one region in Sub-Saharan Africa and 1 FINANCE. It sets your ELITES to 1 and you gain 1 VP for each USSR FINANCE. Fifth International {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/07f05ca9e43a8d6ee64f60dc69d5031002392af9.jpg For each SOVIET-controlled region in Sub-Saharan Africa gain 3 VP Eastern Decolonization PLA Movement, Mau Mau Rebellion, and PAIGC Rebellion activates USSR Eastern Decolonization policy {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/0daf96e4063ea65f2939602e11d423cfec4d2451.jpg Spend 3 ELITES. Gain 5 USSR INFLUENCE in SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. People's Revolution {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/511dfb65343d41b5ec4398a9887aa08eab90eebd.jpg Gain 1 INFLUENCE in all local WAR ZONES and trigger a new WAR ZONE in a USA-CONTROLLED region in SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. Comecon Africa {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/338c1e313dc95277cddb4036fd902e942200299e.jpg Gain 3 USSR INFLUENCE in a SUB-SAHARA AFRICAN region with USSR PRESENCE. Cold War Balance of Pow...New Features Mean New StrategiesMay 26, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsGreetings Commanders! As we approach the dog days of summer, we are coming in hot with some updates! Much like the weather, things continue to heat up with brand new content. Let’s talk about some of it, shall we? Everything counts in large amounts It’s midnight, and the unthinkable has happened. Global Thermonuclear War. Maybe you scratched out a victory, but at what cost to humankind? We wanted to highlight even further the sheer devastation actions could cause to the citizens of our shared beautiful blue marble. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/958fbad55d93db4e9223daee85d14a1ae1a74902.jpg Terminal Conflict now comes equipped with a regional population system. This allows us to open up a world of future possibilities. The regional populations grow realistically with each shift of the timeline. We add together these numbers to form the world’s population. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/ee93acbd7484f007417a54408849ab5f038ac3e9.jpg Now you will see the devastation of the apocalypse that you have brought on has caused. The numbers here will include immediate deaths, may they rest in peace. The rest of the population system plans are eyes only for now, but we would love to hear your suggestions on what you would like to see. Speaking of which, if you haven’t checked out the Eyes Only intelligence DLC for Terminal Conflict, created by the Hearts of Iron 4: Road to 56' team, we’ve provided a link here. Focusing On Focuses So I buried the lead ... A small change with some big ramifications as we wanted to strengthen the strategies you can play towards influencing your opponents’ domestic interests with your Focus Selection. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/61afd72bb79efa8c94ac9f220fd64c24d59ba6f0.jpg We have added an indicator for the enemy focuses that displays the enemy domestic interest holder of that focus. This choice deepens the strategies during the selection of focuses because we all know that information is power. Has your opponent over-invested with military alignment, take the opportunity and favor the same domestic enemy power-brokers. Then sit back and watch as they take power away from your opponent and their country becomes paralyzed by mismanagement. Faints? Countermoves? It’s what the Cold War was about. I am very excited to hear about how you like the system and what moves you’ve pulled off. Grab us on the Terminal Conflict Discord Server or the Steam discussions and let us know. What a treat to kick off the summer. Keep a nice pitcher of tea close by and reach out with feedback, questions, or even conversations on strategy games. I am, after all, The Strategy Informer. /Seth out. ********************************************************* Upcoming Development I) NEW USSR Policies for Sub-Saharan Africa II) Update of USA mismanagement events III) Design of a teaching module for use of Terminal Conflict in schools CHANGELOG GAME NEW Regional Population and pop growth data & implementation Reduced pop growth random variation from +-25% to +-5% Populat...Meet TomoApr 28, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsCommanders! Seth here. I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter and Passover break. Let’s get right to it cause I am as excited as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs. It’s the end of April already and that really blows my mind, but things have been hot and furious in the land of the Cold War, with Terminal Conflict. I have been hinting at some things going on and today I get to let you in on some of these events. As you know, we continue to tune, improve and enhance the game from fix’s to new features and content to even improving underlying systems and AI. We are always keeping our ears to the ground to see what directions the community is interested in. We continue in 2022 to move forward with this path. We are also expanding the Strategy Mill team! Today, with great pleasure, I get to announce that we are being joined by legendary game developer Yoshitomo Moriwaki (Tomo). He brings with him over 24 years of multiple discipline game development. Tomo, being the Lead Designer on Spiderman and the Creative Director on Spiderman 2 (he even designed the much-loved web-swinging system!) will make an excellent innovative addition to our strategic focus. We are excited for Tomo to be joining us in the design role, and bringing fresh eyes and ideas into the DNA of Strategy Mill. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/9bdc06aff957a6767f64245be7296cd73ea806a3.png Many will also recognize Tomo as the Creative Director of the award winning game Epic Tavern with his team at Hyperkinetic Studios, of which he is the co-founder. Epic Tavern, which Geek and Sundry calls “D&D meets the Sims” but it’s much more than that, it’s about storytelling with a tavern management layer on top. Epic Tavern is available in Steam Early Access now with the goal of a 2022 full release. Having been a strategy gamer for many years he remembers the days of playing Steel Panthers and seeing tanks designations such as Sd.Kfz and then doing a deep dive to find out all the information of what is better known as the Panzer 3 and its stats and role during the war. YouTube fans will also recognize him from the Game Wisdom podcasts. Check out our last episode on "Do Video Games Need Humanlike AI?" featuring Tomo, Seth, Gellert, and Josh Bycer. I will tease that the next episode in planning is about the educational applications of strategy gaming. We look to record in the first week of may. If you want even more, come to our Discord and chat with him directly of course. What's happening next I still can’t give many details on that part, but in the following months, there is going to be lots of Terminal Conflict activity that I will engage you with and informing you about. One of those is the added death calculator that's being developed for the Nuclear Apocalypse. This also means population will now be implemented on a region basis and grow naturally and historically plausibly over time. Also as promised, remember that the Soviets need to get their time in the blistering heat of Sub-Sahar...AAR Contest and Easter UpdateApr 18, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsCommanders... Hey folks, we have some interesting things to mention for our update today regarding Easter! But first, would it be one of our holiday updates without an image from the cold-war presidential archives? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/af34365c4c1cf01d8a551463611dde17afee9092.jpg President and First Lady Carter are ready to board Marine One for an Easter at Camp David… There was a hop on the White House lawn! Easter Break The Strategy Mill bunnies have been out looking for eggs this past Easter week. I will look for the big eggs ones as I hear they carry MIRVs. Let us know what you found in your eggs! Terminal Thursday was thus postponed this past week and the team got some much-needed R&R. We hope you and your family have also had a great time. Don’t forget to come over to the Discord as it is the best way to reach us for direct feedback or questions. We also have our regularly scheduled Terminal Thursday games. Playing Terminal Conflict against a real live player is certainly an experience you do not want to miss. Easter Eggs Let me let you guys in on a secret. We have some eggs hidden in the game! Actually quite a few, some give new terminal skins and some even give achievements. Look for bits of code in various menus and images and use your handy decryption table to decode them. After you get the correct cipher, you just check in your verification. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/834006d00b6161c2959da58b98a2d4466772b379.jpg Yes it is that Falcon The GRE(AAR)T Giveaway! We're giving away ALL of the DLC for the game: Eyes Only Supreme Commander Flower Power The Original Soundtrack We will choose the winner from the best AAR (After Action Report) from either a single-player game or a multiplayer game. Tell us your story of the Cold War against the computer or a worth (or not we won’t judge) human opponent. Video or written entries are fair game, just leave a link in the comments below if it is a video. Get creative and put your writing (or video) hat on, Commander. We are waiting to see your entry. The contest will run for 3 weeks and we will announce the winner on Terminal Thursday on May the 5th. Submitted AARs may also be featured in upcoming Dev Diary’s with approval from the writer, of course. We reserve the right to give out extra prizes for other non winning but excellent entries. In closing, we will see you next this Thursday, the 21st of April, with another EXCITING announcement you don’t want to miss. Take care everyone and have a great week. See you soon… Oh, even though we are “off” we are, of course, around in the usual places like the Terminal Conflict discord and steam forums, so reach out! /Seth {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/e91240955b898478b964fd115ee9aca8678ee75f.jpg The bunnies and clowns are here for your safety!I Bless The Rains Down In AfricaApr 7, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsGreetings commanders! First off, we may develop strategy war games, but we wanted to make a statement regarding world events as we deplore the loss of any human life and feel saddened by the events of the Russo-Ukrainian War. We hope that strategy games can help humankind reflect on our shared humanity, especially in a conflict with the deadly combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons. We urge, therefore, for calm and for a swift return to peace and dialogue. - Gellert Keresztes. Seth here and today we are going to talk about some recent additions that have gone into the game. The team is in very active development and there are some great additions lined up for Terminal Conflict in the coming months. We are also expanding the team, so follow our Twitter and look at the post on the Steam forums for all our other locations. Click here to check out places to find us, get help or even sync up for a game or two, or find out what we are working on. Second, as promised, we’ve been busy with updating the balance and ways the US can operate in Sub-Saharan Africa. The US in Sub-Saharan Africa Africa played an important part in the Cold War, and both sides provided extensive military and economic aid on the continent. The US had the more dominant strategy while the Soviet Union was under informed of the needs and structures of the countries it supported initially. The Soviet Union made gains by the 60s and 70s, increasing the amount of proxy wars that compounded the threat of nuclear war. Bert knows what we are talking about. Let’s take it away! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/4c2d700fc82bbce3f6e825eb084746e15ec76431.png Sub Saharan Scramble {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/a6e070d2cb0d5a9e3c13d5682cb42ad1bfd0dd3c.jpg Spend 3 VP to Gain 6 USA INFLUENCE in Sub-Saharan Africa. - Now Activated by the Treaty of Lagos focus. Bert The Turtles Secret Strategy: Losing VP seems counterintuitive but this can be a very positive thing as at we convert end game surviving INFLUENCE to VP for final scoring. If you find yourself ahead or you think you can make the VP back, you can sure make use of that 6 INFLUENCE, provided things don’t go nuclear. Since the faction with the lowest amount of VP goes first, each Timeline (USSR if tied), you can make use of this to lower your VP and be first to start the next timeline, so look out for that! American Culturalization {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/df71b4360361c9144ccd606f341f02386ab8002d.jpg Reduces Military MILITARY ALIGNMENT by 1 to gain 8 VP. - Now Activated by FNLA Movement focuses. Bert The Turtles Secret Strategy: This is excellent for the late mid-/end game when MILITARY ALIGNMENT is not as important for interest resource generation. 8 VP is a nice gain and could give you that push you need to surge ahead! Western Decolonization {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/70132473df5541a006a873b6d28c60d2568b94e0.jpg Spend 3 ELITES gain 5 USA INFLUENCE in Sub-Saharan Africa Activated by UNITA Forces and Congo Crisis focuses. Bert The Tu...Terminal Conflict Original Soundtrack ReleaseMar 24, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHey folks, it’s Seth here, and this is a very exciting day for the Terminal Conflict team. Not only do I get to (re)introduce you to a talented team member, but I also get to announce the release of our much requested original soundtrack. Here is a the legendary composer James Spence himself explaining the work process, for those that have missed it. James captures the essence, ambiance and sounds of the Cold War in Terminal Conflict. Regional cues to the music of that area and even instruments are used, provide the flavor to the theaters of operation. The dark seriousness of certain theaters can give way to the regions that invoke a feeling of progress or devastation. Immersion is the key for the soundtrack and the words atmosphere and tension are not enough to do justice to his wonderful work. A 12 year veteran in video game soundtrack production, James' path to fame started with his wonderful work creating music in the UK and later in Japan, where he has been based for many years. His soundtrack for Paradox Interactive and BI-Logic’s Hearts of Iron: East Vs. West game and recently the soundtrack for the GOTY contender Suzerain, has earned him many fans in the strategy and gaming community. We are proud to present to you his wonderful Original Soundtrack for Terminal Conflict both in high quality mp3 and lossless FLAC version. You can find James's mentioned work here: Terminal Conflict OST Suzerian OST Hearts Of Iron: East Vs, West Bandcamp Page We also have a surprise for you! We are going to give away a copy of the soundtrack to a lucky person. It’s going to be really easy to enter. Simply leave a comment to the development diary on Steam and we will enter you into the giveaway. The winner will be announced via the Strategy Mill Twitter channel and on Discord, by me on the 31st of March during Terminal Thursday. Make sure to add a follow to get more of or content directly delivered to you! While you are there, get into a multiplayer game with the dev’s or the community. One of these days, I swear I will take you on, so come on in even if you are new! I look forward to our next diary where I will be talking about how the drums of war echo into night. MIGHTY CHEERS! -SethCelebrating Lunar New Year 2022Jan 27, 2022 - Community AnnouncementsHappy Lunar New Year, as we exit the year of the ox and enter the year of the tiger, this would be a great chance to talk a little about Chinese pandas and the role they played in diplomacy during the Cold War. First, let us start off with some less furry topics! What would a holiday be without a Steam Sale, and what would a community announcement be without a notice of a discount? Starting today January 27th at 10 AM PST and going on till February 3rd, you can get Terminal Conflict and all the DLC for 30% off. This is an excellent deal, especially if you want to buy a copy for your friend so you can show him who’s who on the grand geopolitical stage. Don’t have the fantastic Eyes Only DLC? Then this is the best time to get it. Remember in a multiplayer game only one person has to have the DLC for it to be available to both players! Here is a little tip, don’t tell anyone. Usually if there is a bundle deal, there is a discount beforehand and then you get the other discount for the sale. So look at the bundles as you can get some super savings this way. Cold War Changes After the communist party won at took control in China in 1949, America took on the policy of isolation and backed Taiwan as the then only legitimate government of China. The Korean war, of course, brought communist China into conflict with the US as the People Republic backed North Korea during the war. Communist China was also refused a seat at the U.N. during this time. As time passed, come 1969, it was not the US but the USSR and communist China that ended up essentially in open warfare on the Ussuri River. There were discussions about what would happen if the Soviets used nuclear weapons in that conflict and would Nixon come to communist China’s aid? Especially being strongly Anti-Communist. Nixon on the other hand saw an opening into Asia right at Russia’s back door and famously sent Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to Beijing on a secret meeting with China’s Zhou Enlai to secured an invitation for a visit to the People Republic. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/ee0bcac1a39fc08baecd2e607bb6582273a86110.jpg In 1972, president Nixon took an 8 day historic trip as the first U.S. president to step foot in the P.R.C. after 25 years of no communications and no relations. During this trip, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai offered American first lady Patricia Nixon two pandas as a show of friendship. This trip was one of the most important diplomatic meetings of the cold war and a complete reversal of policy by the United States and Nixon. How devastating it must have felt in the halls of the Kremlin? “Ling-ling” and “Xing-xing” became possibly the two most famous pandas in the world. During their stay at the U.S. National Zoo in Washington, DC, they were a major attraction, being seen by millions of people a year. They certainly lived up to opening relationships with opposing ideologies and being a symbol of peace. A lesson perhaps also echoing into our troubled times. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/334...Seasonal Greetings!Dec 9, 2021 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/4decb7731936856727befff435c472bdcf8fb5e3.jpg In the season's spirit, we send you our sincerest appreciation for the support you have awarded us with brand new content. Ho ho ho! MIRVIN BACKGROUND STORY It was all smoke and mirrors. They knew, now access the background of MIRVIN from the Main menu and find out how it all began. And what about the Soviets? Well... He might not reveal it all in the first conversation, but try a second time and you might find him more inclined. Find secret codes hidden all over the game, and in this message, decrypt them with the key and the FALCON PAWNCH decoder and unlock game elements, and more. GRAND CAMPAIGN: THE BIG PICTURE If you’ve never played Terminal Conflict before, or you would like to learn more about how to use your terminal, this is where you should start. Discover new policies, decisions, and Cold War archive material, then duel to expand your sphere of influence over the globe. With the in-game Encyclopedia further enhanced, explore buttons and functions in your terminal. When in doubt, contact MIRVIN by pressing the "i" button in-game! He can explain all the details about the game. We have been busy with lots this last year and especially we wanted to highlight these five things: A lot of new content has gone into the game with over 16 new focuses, 30+ new policies and the creation of an in-game encyclopedia to name a few. We put in a multiplayer save system for when things are boiling over in real life and you need to take a break. The AI underwent a good deal of improvement and tuning. The mod system has and is undergoing improvements based on the wishes of the modding community. The game engine underwent a major update to bring it in line with newer hardware. With all the magnificent content rolled out this year and our weekly Terminal Thursday live streams, our growing community passed 1500+ players. A remarkable year for our team, and we couldn’t have done it without you. We wish you all the best for the season! Enjoy your festive holidays and we will see you back here on January 5th just in time for the first Terminal Thursday in 2022! Thank you all and Mighty Cheers! The Tinker Toy elves at Strategy Mill ********************************************************* Upcoming Development I) Updates to the Soviet Military interests system II) Policies are getting rolled out with each new patch. CHANGELOG GAME Fixed an issue for MacOS where users would incorrectly be informed to run Terminal Conflict in 32 bit setup instead of the correct 64 bit Fixed an issue where booting up Terminal Conflict on MacOS would incorrectly give an error message regarding the Steam API library Can now easily switch between Full-screen and Windowed mode Screen resolution can now be adjusted in the Options menu in-game Added full graphical support for Wide XGA 1280 x 720 pixels, Full HD 1920 x 1080, UltraWide 2560 x 1080, and Ultra-Wide 4K 3840 x 1600 resolutions. Medium resolution (HD 1920 x ...Terminal Autumn SaleNov 25, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsHello commanders, for today we have a really fun community announcement. Not only is it the Autumn Steam sale, but it is the American holiday of Thanksgiving. While you most likely already know that, let me hopefully delight you with some things you did not know. So let’s fire up our terminals before the American commanders put their turkeys in the oven. I am Seth and this is your Thanksgiving Community Announcement. Autumn Steam Sale ‘Twas the night before Black Friday… is that how the little song goes? No? Well, Black Friday and Cyber Monday usually give us some fantastic deals to open up the holidays. On Steam (and every other website and gaming platform) the sales have started. From the Nov 24 -Dec 1 Steam will do the annual Autumn Sale. We all know how much I love sales. I go M.A.D. for bargains! Every Terminal is 30% off! Need to pick up Eyes Only well, it’s 30% off. Want to grab the base game for your best friend as multiplayer is caring! That would be 30% off as well. (Here is a secret the bundle deal with everything is -38%!) So tell everyone you know!. In Terminal Conflict only one player needs a copy of the DLC in a multiplayer game. I do highly recommend the Eyes Only DLC. I absolutely love the unique domestic programs that go into some of the stranger things that happened during the Cold War period. The same team that developed the fantastic Road To 56’ Mod for Hearts Of Iron IV developed this DLC. Turkey Talk The US had nine Presidents occupy the White House in the 12 presidential terms between the Cold War years of 1946 and 1991. These men had the job of preventing nuclear annihilation while still pursuing the goals and objectives that were set out before them. It’s fantastic to try on the weight of that office for a day. And boy, they must have built up a hearty appetite. Since 1940, at the White House, prior to Thanksgiving, the president is presented with a giant Turkey. Usually of the Broad Breasted White variety, these birds were slaughtered and eaten. This would all change in 1989 as George H. Bush made the “Presidential Pardon” of the Turkey an official part of the event and usually accompanied a satire piece from the president that pokes fun at the scandals of the day. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/4a0aa71ad55356e5a9b84217b4810c5cff51036a.jpg The presidential turkey pardon itself, a brainchild of an earlier Cold War president, Ronald Reagan. The press was hounding him over the Iran Contra scandal, asking if he would consider granting the indicted Oliver North a pardon. Reagan came up with the term of pardoning the turkey as a joke to deflect the question away from the question. But he wasn’t the only bird lover President. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/b9559ce3afca81ecf9f6cd0fa1aace28bdb607cc.jpg In 1963, John F Kennedy, in a spontaneous moment, spared the turkey they presented him with. Weighing in at 55lb (25kg) the bird was wearing a sign that said “Good Eating, Mr. President”. Kennedy spared the bird, saying, “We’ll let this...Saving The WorldNov 18, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsComrades, today we have a treat for you. Fire up your terminals, I am Seth and this is your Development Diary for November 18. Saving the System The Strategy Mill team is interested in player feedback, and the community has motivated a lot of the work that has gone into Terminal Conflict since release. Presented last week as an update feature, hosted multiplayer (non-ranked) games can now be freely saved and resumed, on PC, Mac and Linux, regardless and independent of platforms. A much requested feature, we felt the ability to save during a multiplayer match would add flexibility and even showcased it during last week’s Terminal Thursday. Make sure to check it out here: Modding As in any worthy strategy game, the modding system in Terminal Conflict allows you to do so much more. One of our testers created the Korean War decision chain and then implemented it into the full game. You can create new focuses, leaders, leader abilities, or why not edit decisions or change most values in the game? It truly is an all-encompassing mod system that we are continually expanding upon. Give us your feedback on what tools you would like implemented in the future. To work on your own mod, launch into the Mod Editor from the main menu and copy the base game data. This creates a fresh copy of the current version of the game in it’s base form. Once you have done that, you can load and edit that data as you wish. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/5d0c2af6b417b618d34b38b0162f9bce9333af62.jpg Diving in by editing, a menu will be made available for you to access all the different areas of the game, even including new images and sounds. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/fbb053409684ab419b9abd081a768a5d824d0f7a.jpg Want to add your favorite Dune themed cold war characters? It certainly could be done… Duke Leto and the battle pug await! Why not tell your own history, or the experiences of your parents or grand parents? Talking of which, the streamer team known as The Mug Club, comprising the brilliant husband and wife team, Nordicmonkey and Hazzieandsof, shared some of their personal Cold War stories during an absolute of a blast of a co-op stream of Terminal Conflict. Playing as the US and a thriller from the start, what was on everyone’s lips was, would they survive for victory and would the Space Race finally be completed? For those that are wondering, pencil in Tuesday Nov 23rd at noon PST for their Soviet play-through. I am really excited about our upcoming community announcement where I talk about Cold War Turkey (not the country). You seriously don’t want to miss this one. Autumn Steam Sale, Thanksgiving Announcement and so much more coming up. On that note and as ever, stay safe and try not to cause tons of radioactive fallout before we meet again. Mighty Cheers. Seth ********************************************************* Upcoming Development I) Updates to the Soviet Military interests system II) Policies are getting rolled out with each new patch. CHANGELOG MINIMUM SYSTE...Trick Or Treat and your Apocalypse TerminalOct 28, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsHello commanders! Welcome to your Coldwartober briefing! Today we are hunkered down in the war room preparing for the Steam Halloweens sale which starts today and we will be there with some sweet discounts on the base game and all the DLC, now is a great time to pick it up for a -30% discount. Get your friends a copy so you can play them. You only need 1 copy of the DLC if you do this! Having grown up as a teenager in the early 80s, the threat of nuclear annihilation was a constant fear in the background of everyone’s mind. I can only imagine what it was like in the 60s with our children doing duck and cover exercises in school. We lived in 4 decades of a constant fear in the back of our heads that any spark in the geopolitical situation could erupt in the world's extinction 8 times over. It was pervasive in the culture; it was everywhere in the news. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/49197cea4b4d490e2b33052751a92c143685f0eb.jpg Photo by Strahil Dimitrov/Getty Images The entire team hopes that you get some outstanding treats for you and your families. Then you can sit down and throw some eggs at the trick or traitors (misspellings don’t happen here in the war room). New Apocalypse Themed Terminal Facing the Apocalypse? Do so with our themed terminal! Make use of the cypher and decrypt the Halloween Falcon punch code: WULFNRUWZMIBKIVLS. MIRVIN can help you with the rest, be sure to catch the decryption school from today’s live stream for further clues. A smarter AI In today’s patch, the AI has received some nice fixes and updates. For one, there has been a rebalancing on when and how the AI evaluates launching its nukes. Paying to a larger extent attention to threats, such as a faction being close to completing the Space Race but being weak in nuclear capacity. Or taking to a larger sense advantage and not backing down when having superior forces. Fortune favors the bold and the AI has just become a lot bolder. We also updates its focus selection making it more fair and balanced after feedback from the community. We thank you all for the feedback! The Terminal Conflict Community There has been some flurry of recent activity of reviews, playthroughs, tutorials for this scariest month of the year: Check out Marcello’s review at Turn Based Lovers. What a treat to be reviewed by such a legend! We look forward to bringing you more! Reaching for the hall of fame? No indie game is complete without a Beta Tested review! Full analysis and in depth testing on a level everyone should aspire for. We loved your attention to the finer details! GMStarson everyone’s favorite tentacle monster, did a stream featuring Terminal Conflict on Twitch. You can check it out and his other streams here. We shake all your hands! MartinQ took a 6 hour dive through the tutorial and the big picture with our lead designer Gellert, and me in the chat cheering him on and answering his questions. The stream was interesting, as a lot of his talk was being analytical about games, history, a...The Soviet Elites and Tabletop FestOct 21, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsSir, we have something urgent to discuss… the elites seem to be upset at your latest decision and have been applying political pressure in other areas, forcing us to counteract their moves and spend resources we need elsewhere. We have seen an increase in security events around your last meeting… Welcome to today’s Dev Diary. it’s Seth here and I hope you are having an excellent October. We have a great one today, as I hinted in the last diary, we are going to talk about the changes to the Soviet Elites and the mismanagement system. After we have something fun to talk about. Interests Management In Terminal Conflict, you are constantly using your interests, the social groups within your nation. These resources: Finance, People, Elites, Military, and Government are your currency to pay for events, focuses, and influence and will rise and fall as you spend them or as effects of different actions. Too many (10) or too few (0) and you enter mismanagement. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/26ed33eaafb971ed2272cab23abc64a8aa55e031.jpg The role of Elites In the game's context, we would use Elites for intelligence missions and alignment changes. Abstracting communist collaborators in Washington, they obviously were up to some no-good spying. Selecting elite based focuses will help your intelligence game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/21d09e7c2f9e8697b2bffe2c80cb3e1b9dd05b95.jpg They also garnered sympathy and the humanization of the enemy, so there would be some shift in the opposing population's thinking. A feeling of empathy that reveals failed enemy missions and gains us advantages. Soviet Elite Mismanagement In today’s change, you can lose the game if you enter mismanagement now on all 5 of the domestic interest groups. Each round the chances get worse until the 3rd where there is a 50% chance to loose the game. How unfortunate that would be, but if you stay in power through that 3rd round, the cycle will reset. We have also made it easier to see where you are in the chain and what the chances are of an unfortunate, totally accidental, unplanned and very sad outcome. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/661326bb002337f6cc4a7b155340941ec90badf3.jpg A balancing act will, of course, have to be considered. Sometimes, you cannot take the actions you want, in others, you may not want to. Each turn, you are in mismanagement, another worsening event fires. The challenges of life as a leader. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/4d75e0cdef7dc83d8cdcfa87387b7a6c38326dc1.jpg Hopefully, you will weather the storm and re-balance your resources. Should you survive, remember that this can also be used in moderation in times of need. Just be careful not to take it too far. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/48dacfe996d8548391ef37ae9e913ac2ae3f2dad.jpg Tabletop Fest The Steam tabletop fest starts today and Terminal Conflict is there with a nice 30% discount. Tell your friends, foes or complete strangers! Let me start off with my favorite board and computer wargame, The Rise and Fall Of The 3rd Reich...Patch notes Version AN/GSQ-235(V)984Oct 7, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsCHANGELOG GAME Updated the setup of wargames to better reflect the Scenario types Improved the UI for Tutorial and Scenario selection Added tool-tip in the Editor for Game type Updated the Game Modes to be I) Head to Head, II) Tutorial, III) Scenario Fixed the text for military units to be correctly shown Fixed an issue where the coloring of Soviet mods would be incorrectly colored blue Updated the tool-tip for Game Types to reflect the types available Updated the Game Type for the Editor to show game type DECISIONS Updated USSR Elites interests Mismanagement decisions chain Implemented the updated Elites Decisions into Balance of Power OTHERS Fixed various typos New Player ExperienceSep 9, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsHello Cold War strategist! As the game is growing and reaching a lot of new players, today we are launching a much-anticipated update of the in-game Encyclopedia. Join me, Seth, as you boot up game version AN/GSQ-235(V)982. The New Encyclopedia Like any grand strategy game, Terminal Conflict is a dense game with lots of information to remember. One of the most requested feature is by new players to decrease their learning curve. Over the last year, we have worked towards improving the new player's experience. Our goal has been to update the tutorial methodology, uncluttering the display of information, and our latest change. Let me present to you our improved encyclopedia system! The system is a drill-down group of menus accessed by the Information icon at the top right of the screen. It’s organized to give you the information on your finger; I mean mouse tips. Here you can find details of all the different aspects of the game broken down by updated categories and items. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/e167f80415d68d25717d8e0565417d646ab5c498.jpg Let's look at getting to one of my favorite entries, Nuclear Weapons. You choose the option “Developing Technologies and Research” it's the one with the cute beaker icon. Then drill down to “Nuclear Weapons” and you will see all the options for items in your terminal associated with nukes. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/43830b299d27323a8496c29dc778a2861efb6dfb.jpg All the entries with a > bracket before them are categories, while all the items with a dot before them are individual information pages. Selecting “Launching The Apocalypse”, you will see how to do it and the effects it will have. Perfect for us that are MAD about nukes! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/12b5b75ae84518fd6b97388d0b2bb6451db9eedc.jpg We’ve put all the topics into the new encyclopedia to help you out when you get started or when you just need a reference. Simply remember to click the info :info: button to get to it at any time. YouTube Beginners Guide Speaking of getting started. Check out our beginner’s guide to the game. This is a great resource if you’re interested in how to get a good start and or want a friend to check out the game. It will help you get up to speed on the inside scoop on how to play from the designers. For those more advanced, catch up on Terminal Thursday’s Multiplayer challenge Videos on the same channel, another way to learn some great strategies for Cold War world domination. One More Thing I wanted to let you in on a secret. We have revamped the Soviet elite system to be better in line with the changes that we made to the US system. I promise details about that in the next diary. Intel might stop by with some tips on how to make the most of these changes. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/f817deef3dee979272a0c27721e94bfc35c10150.jpg Of course, we love hearing from you. Let us know in the comments, the Discord, or even on Twitter how you feel about the changes. Do you feel we left something out of the Encyclopedia or somet...Meet SethAug 5, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsYou may have noticed a unique style in the last development diary. Maybe you have even seen some new brilliant tweets. Indeed, a new person has joined our PR and community engagement team. Meet our new veteran strategist, Seth! Some of you may know me through my other project: The Strategy Informer, where I review and promote the discovery of strategy and strategy adjacent games. As an indie game industry veteran, I plan to work with the engagement and reach of Terminal Conflict. Games are my passion. I remember being a 12-year-old boy, and my first board-game, Napoleon at Waterloo. Later I got to experience my first strategy computer game, Gary Grigsby’s Guadalcanal, on the Apple II. Who knew the impact it would have on my life? The early RPG Ultima was another major influence when I found the opportunity to work for Origin Systems / Electronic Arts on Ultima Online. Over the years, I have worked on board games, AAA titles, indie games, some through my own game company and I can’t wait to get started. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/74b796a92b21d2127c8c7e7467e50d266d59250a.jpg Look me up and send me a message as I got the keys to the Terminal Twitter account. Likewise, I plan to increase engagement in other areas, like the game steam forums. Keep a lookout for upcoming development diaries and the continued development of Terminal Conflict. Also, if anyone is interested in streaming or YouTube, I would be happy to tweet about it and get the word out. Discord or the Strategy Mill Twitter account are the best way to reach me, so ask me pretty much anything. For those that prefer, the Steam forum is another place to get in touch with me. To get updated, if you have not yet followed the Strategy Mill Twitter, this is a great time to do so! So until the next diary where I dive into the game, this is Seth signing off with a Ronald Reagan quote... “Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.” -Ronald Reagan West German WirtschaftswunderJul 1, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsThere is no choice between being a communist on 1500 calories a day or a believer in democracy on 1000. -General Lucius Clay Welcome to the Miracle on the Rhine, the “Wirstschaftswunder”. Today we present a series of US financial decisions in the West German region. Battle the specter of Communism by gaining the hearts and minds of the German people. Poverty brought on by the war is pushing more and more Germans towards Communist ideals, a fear described by the US Morgenthau Plan. American post-war policy towards Germany centers on demilitarization and de-Nazification. The emergence of the Cold War, therefore, makes the economic might of Germany pivotal against the USSR. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/d52366dda7bbebc744a3e844c3040243e027a859.jpg Some fear that revitalizing the German economy risks emboldening fascist and Nazi ideology. The pre-Cold War Potsdam Conference between the East and the West attempted to create an environment to minimize this from happening. A Path Forward Out of Darkness {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/9a7c77cf6b6dab45ab0dae6b9bf6cb01981cb222.jpg Wirtschaftswunder focus will gain you some finance and match Soviet influence in the East German-Baltic Zone (Eastern European Theater). Make sure this is beneficial to your plans. Remember that this cuts both ways. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/d52366dda7bbebc744a3e844c3040243e027a859.jpg Triggering the German Predicament provides finance at the cost of elites. Expect reform or push towards a solution closer to that of the Morgenthau Plan of de-Nazification. The third choice to claim reparations bypasses progressive action. Not revitalizing the German economy gains you influence with the elites. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/6d2588c917df6b874d41e2fa23721b2c88368877.jpg Pushing Forward {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/413d1a7746681476b00834701189571f0f78aec9.jpg The Government Aid and Relief in Occupied Areas (GARIOA) plan is a stop-gap method to prevent starvation and famine. American taxpayers footed the bill that lights the hope of a new beginning in West Germany. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/284c94e948b928eb371cd173da9a47226d4961fa.jpg U.S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes promises a return to self-governance. Solidifying the new borders east of the Oder-Neisse line, which the Soviets promised to Poland. The Cold War fuels this progressive policy to put pressure directly on the new rulers in Europe. Will the Soviets allow these changes at their front door? Let us know how you handled the economic miracle! Go forth and conquer! Seth and Gellert ********************************************************* Upcoming Development I) Grand Campaign phase 3 is in development. II) Development continues for Contras in Latin America. III) Policies are getting rolled out with each new patch. CHANGELOG MAC Fixed an issue where the latest OSX version was incorrectly giving an error Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes not start properly in the latest version of OSX GAME Updated the game engine to...Research Decisions - Tank Weapons ProgramsApr 15, 2021 - Community AnnouncementsGuns and tanks and planes are nothing unless there is a solid spirit, a solid heart, and great productiveness behind it. - Dwight D. Eisenhower. A deeper modernization is underway as we complete the new set of weapons program decisions. A warm welcome to this week’s development diary! Research and Development Unlike the Space Race and Nuclear Technology that is at your direct control, the military establishments does the conventional weapons development. They will recommend when needed, an overhaul of the tank models, represented by weapon focuses in your terminal, and grant you 1 alignment for selecting it. The aim with each program is to reach 100% completion and during the research time suspends procurement of Army Command. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/9a7c77cf6b6dab45ab0dae6b9bf6cb01981cb222.jpg In the US Tank Program Report decision you can track progress for each model. It even allows you to cancel the design should you need to. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/8e5e9be679d7e94ddbc59f8d6f9ac178df7d6523.jpg For each tank design that completes its research, a new tank model successfully enters service at the end of the focus. More crucially for you and your administration, it grants you Victory Points and a Steam Achievement. Research Breakthroughs Naturally, along the development cycle of anything new, there is always the chance that you discover something magnificent, like an experimental power-train, turret, and many more. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/a6b7351ffcfd42aeb6656252f6ef351dcbc1235b.jpg These can upgrade your current design ending your turn or you can save them to provide 10% for a future tank design. Upgrading the design means getting an improved chance of a well-working model but sticking to the current design means your chances are the best for making it in time. Trouble down the barrel Just as the Soviet projects, with a lot of eyes and ears, and potentially loose lips, will have your opponent trying to benefit from or sabotage your development. Preventing you from reaching 100% completion on your weapons program and forcing you to opt for a future model, that hope for them might never come. As the enemy’s agents are at work, they have three crucial choices. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/33485137/d49fc228cc65a455cc802410d78dbedc1f2155b5.jpg Should your enemy get hold of your blueprint, they will get up to 25% ahead of the competition at the end of the focus. All blueprint progress capture by an opponent converts into research for THEIR future tank weapon model. Keep safe and will you have what it takes to victory laps for your new tank models? We hope you enjoy it! Mighty Cheers The Strategy Mill Team ********************************************************* Upcoming Development I) Grand Campaign phase 2 is in development II) Development continues for Contras in Latin America. III) Policies are getting rolled out with each new patch. CHANGELOG GAME Updated notification for focus selection DELAY to better reflect the bonuses and costs involved Up...
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