Seasons have always been important in Hegemony, and inspired by Caesar’s challenges with the Belgic Morini and Menapii tribes, we’ve add a few new features that will affect how you strategize throughout the year.The lands along the Northern coast of Gaul were filled with marshes and thick forests that the Romans had difficulty navigating. For years, the Morini and Menapii resisted Caesar using guerrilla tactics to harass his forces and then disappear into the marshes to evade retaliation. However, in the summer of 55 BCE the marshes dried up and Caesar was able to send in a legion and finally put an end to the rebellion.
During the dry summer months, the water in the marshland recedes opening paths for any unit to move
As you can see in the pictures below, we’ve recreated this effect in Hegemony Rome by altering the water levels at different times of the year so that paths through the marshes are only available during the dry summer season. But since the Gauls were able to traverse the terrain in all seasons, we’ve also added a ‘Marsh Movement’ attribute that allows some units to move there at any time. For some factions, like the Menapii, all units get this ability, but for other factions you’ll be able to promote officers or generals to help you out.
We’ve also got a similar system involving snow in the Alpes, but we’re still working on the visual effects for that so we’ll get into that another week.
The Belgic marshes are flooded most of the year, preventing access to units without the right skills.