Trumpets of War

THE MAKING OF AN EMPIRE
The year is 1500. From the kingdoms of Western Europe to the Ottoman Empire and the powers of North Africa, nations compete for territory, wealth and influence. Across the Atlantic lie further lands and resources that could alter the balance of power.
In Trumpets of War, ruling a nation means more than commanding its armies. Your decisions reach from farms and workshops to military recruitment, technological research, diplomacy and maritime commerce. An army must be equipped, workers must be supplied, and the resources of a nation must be turned into the means to defend or expand it.
The game brings together seven interconnected areas of national management: Military, Labour, Transport, Technology, Production, Trade and Diplomacy.
A HISTORICAL WORLD TO COMMAND
Explore a detailed 3D campaign world spanning Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and lands across the Atlantic.
Provinces form the foundation of national power. Their geography, ownership, available resources and connections to the wider transport network influence how they can contribute to your nation.
A strategically valuable territory may offer access to raw materials, a useful coastline or a position from which to threaten a rival. But acquiring territory is only part of the challenge: its resources must also support your growing state.
Plan the distribution of your forces, strengthen your position and choose where to direct your nation's limited wealth and resources.
FROM RAW MATERIALS TO MILITARY POWER
Manage a national warehouse containing 33 different commodities, including food, timber, iron ore, coal, horses, manufactured materials and valuable trade goods.
The economy links resource gathering, manufacturing, labour and military construction.
Timber can be processed into lumber. Iron ore can be refined into cast iron. Industrial production also includes materials such as steel, fabric and paper, which support different aspects of your nation's development.
Your workshops require both raw materials and available labour. Choose what to manufacture, how to allocate workers and which resources should be reserved for military recruitment or other requirements.
Your workforce develops through different levels of training, from peasants to more skilled artisans. Training and maintaining these workers requires investment and supplies. Food is essential: prolonged shortages can cause famine and reduce the workforce on which production depends.
A military expansion therefore begins long before a regiment is recruited. It begins with the resources, workers and production capacity required to sustain it.
RAISE ARMIES ACROSS CENTURIES OF WARFARE
Develop a military roster of 29 land regiment types, spanning different generations of infantry, cavalry and artillery.
Early forces include units such as Peasant Levies, Pikemen, Bowmen, Arquebusiers and Knights. As military technology progresses, more advanced formations and equipment become available, including Musketeers, Grenadiers, Hussars, Rifle Infantry and increasingly powerful field and siege artillery.
Different regiments serve different battlefield purposes. Infantry provides the core of an army, cavalry offers mobility and the ability to exploit openings, while artillery supplies ranged firepower.
Military recruitment draws upon the same national economy that supports workshops and development. Regiments have resource and financial requirements, and their availability depends on the technologies your nation has acquired.
As research advances, newer regiment types can replace earlier recruitment options within their military categories.
An army's composition is therefore shaped by the technologies you pursue, the resources you possess and the military capabilities you choose to develop.
114 TECHNOLOGIES — CENTURIES OF CHANGE
Explore a research tree containing 114 technologies, organized across historical periods and interconnected through technological prerequisites.
Military discoveries are only one part of technological development. Research also addresses agriculture, manufacturing, transport, workforce skills, maritime capabilities and the economic institutions of a developing nation.
The tree includes developments such as Road Construction, Master Artisans, Advanced Hull Design, Banking, Steam Railroads and more advanced military technologies.
Technology choices determine which new capabilities and recruitment options become available. Different paths support different priorities: a nation investing in economic development may pursue improvements to production and infrastructure, while one preparing for conflict may prioritize military advancement.
Research projects require planning and investment, making technological progress another part of the competition between national development and military ambition.
TRADE, DIPLOMACY AND THE POWER OF THE SEA
A nation's resources are not limited to what it can produce within its own borders.
The trade system is built around commodity bids and offers, allowing nations to seek goods they need and offer resources they can spare. Warehouse supplies, production decisions and maritime capacity all form part of the wider economic picture.
Diplomacy provides a different means of dealing with competing powers. The diplomatic system includes national relationships, treaties, alliances and other political interactions, giving players choices beyond military confrontation.
At sea, merchant vessels and warships have different strategic roles. Merchant shipping contributes to the movement of goods, while naval power forms part of maritime security and conflict.
Unlike land warfare, naval engagements are handled through strategic resolution rather than direct real-time tactical battles.
Trade, diplomacy and military force are connected by a common objective: securing the resources, territory and strategic position needed to strengthen your nation.
BUILD YOUR ECONOMY. DEVELOP YOUR ARMY. COMMAND THE FUTURE OF YOUR NATION.