Diplomacy is Not an Option is a base-building RTS where your task is to fight against vast hordes of enemies. Over 25 THOUSAND of them will storm your castle on procedurally generated maps. To survive, you must build fortifications, raise armies, master engineering, economy, and even magic (the active pause spell included).
Experience warfare on an entirely new scale in the 4 game modes: Endless Mode, Story Campaign, Challenge Mode, and Sandbox Mode. Additionally, you've got the Map Editor to create your own scenarios in the medieval fantasy world of Diplomacy is Not an Option.
Your king is an egocentric pig who has driven the country into an economic crisis with his mindless money-spending. This problem, however, is mostly yours. After all, this is your feud, where peasants are revolting because of unfair taxes.
You can suppress the rebellion, or you can join it. But it's a long road to the end goal. A road on which you will encounter the mysterious tribe of Sarranga and the Undead who worship hard-rock music. No matter which faction you join, casualties will number in the thousands. And siege weapons will mercilessly blast crowds of your enemies. And legions of loyal troops will give their lives for the success of your mission.
While admittedly tongue-in-cheek, the laws of physics are still deadly serious in Diplomacy Is Not An Option. Every arrow, catapult stone and enemy launched skywards is physically modeled, making for a tactile and coherent battlefield. Just make sure your troops have towers to shoot from and clear lines of sight, or you might find your best-laid plans embarrassingly blunted by your own fortifications. Consider your gates, your lines of advancement and retreat. Create kill-zones and fall-back positions. You will need to take an active role in combat to get the best from your men.
Even under siege, never forget your castle was built on the backs of the peasantry. Defend your people, and they’ll serve you well. Engage in agriculture and farming, or food can become scarce, and your soldiers can starve on the battlefield. Build houses, bury fallen soldiers and peasants to prevent plague, and treat the infected when death comes knocking. If you do not care for your people you may soon find yourself overrun with the most unpleasant troubles. Like empty stockpiles, unrepaired walls and running dry barracks… or be overrun literally with swarms of zombies. And no lord wishes to see zombie apocalypse in the backyard of his castle, right?
A functional army requires a functional economy to support and feed it. Food, Wood, Stone, Iron, and Gold are the foundations of your city’s economy, and you will need to watch your supplies carefully if you are to meet the advancing foe in a timely manner. Gather resources, choose your storage locations, plan your expansions and upgrades with care. The enemy will not cede their lands willingly, and unprotected civilian expansions will have consequences of falling prey to the hostile incursion. Trade, via the impressive merchant dirigible, bringing emergency supplies of food to feed the men, or stone to rebuild the walls. Can you strike the balance between greedy expansion and security?
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. If you’ve inherited a cursed kingdom, why not master the dark arts ? Sturdy castle walls will protect you from most ordinary threats, but in Diplomacy Is Not An Option you're also be battling undeads. So why give them a monopoly on magic ? There is a dark history of tainted power that stirs zombies and traps wayward souls. On the lighter side: it can also be used to call down really very big fireballs onto your enemies. So enjoy that too. Build magical monuments, harvest soul crystals and give a try to a maniacal laugh as searing magical beams tear through your foes and summoned ghosts to chase down the stragglers.
The game has been designed with freedom as a core concept. Go beyond the campaign and crush your foes as you see fit in Endless Mode, Sandbox Mode or Challenge Mode. Develop your own personal strategies on procedurally generated maps. Go heavy on walls early, build large armies of cannon-fodder, or pursue the macro game of greedy growth and costly investments. Play battles in real-time or use pause constantly to keep everything in your hands. Will you be able to stand on a par with the most acclaimed generals in the world, like Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan? Finding which style grants you the most success is up to you.
As in real life, stupidity and greed lie behind most problems, but here it is far too late to talk it through. You have no recourse to resolve this peacefully. At this stage: Diplomacy Is Not an Option!