Hello, I am happy to announce that Patch 0.26 is now available on Steam (stable). This version expanded the historical narrative to 800 A.D., added Tetrarchy, Under the Sign of the Cross and Justinian's Reconquest narrative-based mechanics, and added Thracia as a playable province.

Also, Restitutor: Empire Restored is also available on mobile platforms: App Store and Google Play. The free version has the same scope as Steam's free demo version. Due to platform in-app purchase restrictions, your purchase on Steam does not carry over to iOS/Android. But here's a trick: you can take your save file from Steam to mobile and continue playing - the only limitation is that you cannot rebirth into a non-demo province.

Historical Narrative 476 - 800 AD

With 0.26, I’ve settled on the scope of the game’s historical narrative. The Western Empire’s narrative ends in 476 AD, but choosing an endpoint for the Eastern Empire took more thought. Extending it all the way to 1453 AD would cover too much history to offer meaningful, balanced gameplay. I originally planned to end around 700 AD, but have now decided on 800 AD.

Why 800 AD? Besides being a nice round number, it marks the year Charlemagne was crowned "Emperor of the Romans", which laid the groundwork for what would later become the Holy Roman Empire. That feels like a fitting endpoint for our narrative centered on classical Rome. The extra century also gives the gameplay surrounding the rise of Islam and the Arab conquests more room to develop.


(The last narrative event: the coronation of Charlemagne)

In this patch, I have added historical events from 476 - 800 AD. Several of the events have basic mechanic at the moment, and I plan to expand them into narrative mechanic later (like Tetrarchy and Under the Sign of the Cross).

Tetrarchy Rework

Tetrarchy has been reworked into a historical narrative mechanic. The empire's provinces are divided under four rulers: the Eastern and Western Augusti and Caesars. Tetrarchy starts in 293 AD and lasts for 31 years.



The following actions are available for provinces under the same emperor:

• Arrange Official Visit: Spend 25 Diplomatic Points to improve a province's attitude toward you by 25 for two years.
  
• Conduct Joint Drills: Spend 25 Military Points to give both your province and another province +10% War Power for two years.
  

The following actions are available for provinces under different emperors:

• Expand Spy Network: Spend 25 Diplomatic Points to gain 25 infiltration.
  
• Incite Diplomatic Friction: Spend 50 Diplomatic Points to gain a Diplomatic Dispute casus belli for two years.
  

All actions share a two-year cooldown, so you will need to choose between strengthening ties, preparing for war, and building your spy network.

Under the Sign of the Cross

Under the Sign of the Cross is a new historical narrative mechanic that starts with the Edict of Milan in 313 AD and lasts for 50 years. During the time period, each Christian province with a positive attitude toward you grants +1 Christian Influence per year.



The following actions are available:

• Issue Christian Edict: Spend 1 Consul Point to gain 3 Christian Influence.
  
• Expand Church Administration: Spend 10 Administrative Points per core tile to gain 1 Christian Influence per core tile.
  
• Sponsor Missionaries: Spend 10 Diplomatic Points per core tile to gain 1 Christian Influence per core tile.
  
• Appoint Military Chaplains: Spend 10 Military Points per core tile to gain 1 Christian Influence per core tile.
  

Justinian's Reconquest

Justinian's Reconquest is a new historical narrative mechanic that starts with The Dream of Justinian in 527 AD and lasts for 38 years.



The following actions are available to support your campaigns:

• Honor the General: Spend 1 General Skill Point to gain 1 Consul Point (1-year cooldown).
  
• Fund Reconquest: Spend Gold equal to six months of your current army maintenance to gain +10% War Power for two years (2-year cooldown).
  

You can also target other provinces in the Western Mediterranean with the following actions:

• Proclaim Restoration: Spend 50 Administrative Points to gain a Reconquista casus belli against a province for two years.
  
• Subvert Defenders: Spend 50 Diplomatic Points to reduce a province's Defense by 10% for two years.
  
• Claim Core: Spend 1 Consul Point to make a tile owned by another province your core (without having to conquer it first).
  

These three actions share a two-year cooldown.

Thracia

Thracia province is now playable, with three unique Provincial Spirits:

• Born Commanders: Gain 2 General Skill Points when appointing a new general.
  
• Pontic Hegemony: Gain +2% War Power for each core Black Sea coastal tile.
  
• Campaign Requisitions: Gain +10% Land Tax and Tile Output for 12 months after declaring war.
  

Thracia also comes with 10 historical events spanning 214 - 784 AD and six missions. These offer opportunities to conquer Moesia and bring its remaining lands under your patronage, secure the crossings between the seas, and expand into Bithynia, Asia, or Macedonia.



Two new regional unification events are also available. Annexing and coring all of Achaia, Epirus, Macedonia, and Thracia lets you choose between forming the Graecia Empire or the Hellenic League, with different rewards. Unifying the entire Balkans lets you form the Balkan Empire.

Bugfixes

• Fixed a bug where patronage missions still show up even after it is no longer available.
  
• Fixed a bug where automatic pledge support still works after enacting "Our Own Destiny".
  

0.27 Sneak Peek

0.27 will add two new eastern provinces: Dacia and Moesia. It will also add culture conversion mechanic. Dacia and Pannonia will get a mission to form Hunnic Empire and Legacy Upgrade Tree will be expanded and balanced. I hope to get the beta build in the coming days - stay tuned.