Hey folks, ImaginedPanda here! I’m one of the designers working on Nationalist China and will be taking you through a quick tour of the new content coming in No Compromise, No Surrender. If you don’t recognize the name it is because this is my first time writing a Dev Diary and if you do recognize the name it’s because I’ve been answering when you’ve reported bugs on the forums. Keep doing that, you guys are awesome! Enough of that though onto Nationalist China!
When we start the game we’re about to come out of a period known as the Nanjing Decade mostly understood as a more stable period than what preceded it. The country had enjoyed some levels of economic growth and important reforms had meant that a modern state was starting to take shape.
But the Nanjing Decade isn’t simply a period of growth and prosperity. In 1931 the Japanese invade Manchuria during the Mukden incident and have since been standing ready to march into the rest of the country. This shadow still looms large over the country…
At the head of the Chinese central government is the Kuomintang, the party founded by Sun Yat-sen two decades prior and the only fully legal one of the period. In 1936 it is governed by Chiang Kai-shek, the Generalissimo, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t opposing voices and opinions within the party. This means the nationalist focus tree is to a large degree a Kuomintang focus tree where the different paths are different groups within the party and some of the parts overlap.
But being the head of a state doesn’t mean that you exert meaningful control over the country, with the different warlords that are present around China. They are more or less inclined to collaborate with the central government. Not to forget the Chinese Communist Party having a small, but well defended, base area in the North. Playing as China your primary goal will be to subjugate these and unify the country by showing that you are the legitimate leader. How you go about this will depend on which political path you choose in the tree.
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Chiang - The Generalissimo
[p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/eea2f76ddd6ec60d40d24f83b6ddb822eefc52c4.png"][/img][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/765dd67f8e6b82207968285ff99d678fedbc00fc.png"][/img]
We’ll start off talking about Chiang Kai-shek: a military leader through and through, Chiang asserted his power and assured loyalty through the army and the Whampoa Military Academy. What this means is that playing as Chiang Kai-shek you will focus heavily on using the new faction system where you will use your influence to force the different warlords into becoming your subjects.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/91c5ba693261b9280281d4a641c11203ff0808e9.png"][/img][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/5352551fd89fb44afab2053d73bfe1aa4586d0d3.png"][/img]
The stronger a military leader you are the more you will be able to integrate.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/37ffec6b82559fe7a9cb72d5eb1c721647c8a0ab.png"][/img]
As China was a big recipient of lend-lease so we also wanted to give you gameplay around this and have added a mini-branch for this where you will be able to build up both your economy and arsenal.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/3cbfd81d165d5704d18987197e1f09db62a0d786.png"][/img][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/c76a6b8b92d72f0424e07e5865e5f181026a17e2.png"][/img]
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Wang Jingwei - The Opposition
[p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/cc10581215ecc4a8c8ba4a09e243dc39ecf89527.png"][/img]Wang Jingwei can be described as Chiang Kai Shek's greatest adversary within the KMT of the period.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/2fb2fab9cabffb15e6ecfb62af7dadbd53b895b5.png"][/img]
Unlike Chiang, Wang wasn’t militarily trained and more of a politician so we’ve taken to this difference to make this path feel different. In this path you will get rid of Chiang and start solidifying your power through taking over the central government institutions, known as the Yuans.
This is your way of proving to the rest of the country that your legitimacy comes from having a properly functioning bureaucracy. With that being said, it is worth remembering that Wang was as big, if not more, an opportunist as anyone else and this is more a question of regulatory capture than it is a founding of a fair and efficient state.
But this doesn’t sound like a quick way to prepare for the Japanese, remember that you have less than 2 years before they come knocking on your door, or is there something else you could do?
We have previously given you the option to hand over northern China to postpone the war, but we’ve wanted to expand on that to give you more gradual control. Thus you now will be shown how many days until the Kwantung Army says that your sovereignty is overrated which can be influenced by placating the Japanese with concessions. This gives you valuable time to build up your defences, but remember that anything you give the Japanese won’t be usable by you and they will come after you at some point.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/0e258adb5a2b3c6c0a1abb0c343dee92e79a19b2.png"][/img][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/fd0e6fe751607b30a752852609bc65a77b165015.png"][/img]
When having thrown out the invaders and unified your country you get to help others to do the same, as well as punish the damn imperialists. Don’t worry though, you will be appropriately rewarded for helping your fellow asians throw off the yoke of colonialism.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/fbc27785d4439b5de10fa678c3912594fa260d2c.png"][/img]
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The Blue Shirts - A New Chinese Chapter
[p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/7ba47cb01b22de84c5422cbddad3068a4fe08d08.png"][/img]Something that should have become clear at this point is that armed conflict will come to you earlier than you might have preferred. This might feel somewhat overwhelming for some players, but then you have the kind of player that prefers when every border is a frontline. At least you know what kind of relation you have with them then.
This is where the Society of Practice of the Three Principles of the People, more commonly known as the Blue Shirts, comes in. Organised as a paramilitary group of the KMT along the lines of their European namesakes they had a very minor impact historically, what if they didn’t?
We’ve imagined an organisation that rather than getting banned and remembered as violent brutes, got organised and turned into an effective fighting force spreading the light of the New Life Movement. This latter refers to an alternative ideology that Chiang Kai-Shek made an effort to spread among the populace as a modern alternative to western cultural thought, with a Chinese foundation.
Reforming the Blue Shirts will allow you to set up chapters in states spreading your ideology throughout the countryside solidifying your control. But having a presence in a state will make sure that the populace can support you by helping you take and hold the state.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/0e7afbbabcebc37f87d79e441b957e429fbb1ad9.png"][/img]
When you’ve brought the revolution of Dr Sun Yat-sen to all of China you will strike outwards, taking control over areas in your vicinity and building a continental empire. By successfully conquering claimed areas you will be rewarded with more efficient resource extraction and, more importantly, the ability to integrate the states into your glorious empire. Proving yet again that the world revolves around you.
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The China Democratic League - A New Light in the East
[p]So far we’ve talked about having different incarnations of the KMT and what paths the party could have or did take. As mentioned above, the reason for this is the overwhelming power it did have at the time, but that doesn’t mean we can’t imagine another world.[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/b0438d5389575c8ef5ebed588818cc3bfc814a6a.png"][/img]
During the time period there were several smaller groups during the time that challenged the KMT, and some of them unified into what came to be known as the China Democratic League, which became the largest opposition apart from the CCP.
We’ve kept that idea, but imagined if more groups joined the CDL so you have a selection of different groups that you can bring into your movement. Depending on which groups you chose you will be able to select a different leader for your newfound democracy.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/96899481d1b582cf086782c2cdfcfe27fd71bacf.png"][/img]
But just uniting small ideological groups does not make a movement and you still need the backing of the populace. To get them on your side you will be applying the teaching of Dr Sun guiding them towards a better future.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/496f6ad66717113811be38d3450379b9136fb7da.png"][/img]
So that is how you make your country turn Democratic, but that wouldn’t be worth a lot if you can’t keep your sovereignty. As you might have guessed the Japanese invasion won’t be stopped simply because you have another party in power so you will have to deal with them.
As your project of spreading democratic ideals throughout a large country will take time you will need to find a way to resist the foreign invaders. As many Chinese had left the country prior to the timeframe we’re looking at, you will be able to draw support from different places throughout the world.
Getting support from expats isn’t going to save China and one place where a lot of people ended up would be the USA. If you’re able to hold out long enough you will be able to request to join the Americans in their faction, bringing them into the war earlier than they did historically.
Standing together against aggression will open up the possibility to bring the glow of liberty further throughout Asia and Oceania. By awakening the peoples yearning for freedom you will stand behind the independence of all colonized. Even if this brings you into conflict with the empires of old you will create a properly democratic alternative to the Allies.
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A Nanjing Century - Industrial Branch
[p]While we know China today as an industrial powerhouse, that was not always the case. Many of the institutions that would come later are not present at game start and you will have to rectify the situation.[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/6010526922c9687ab4e12ce6efaf460f4b02adac.png"][/img][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/c1617f6ecda04f4ea6517928420bc0251ecb524e.png"][/img][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/b0fd8a466b009b8f1d10509e2f9204c83f5d1cab.png"][/img]
Chinese industry in the period had a large part that was foreign financed so we wanted to give you the option to do the same. If you have played your cards right you will be able to get large amounts of support from foreign sources.
While the Nanjing decade brought a lot of economic and educational progress to the country, it was mostly centred around urban areas. This led to a less dynamic economy and more importantly an opening for the communists to grow their base. In NCNS we wanted to give you the opportunity to solve this issue
Further, when the war comes you will be able to expand the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives which were small scale operations organised from the bottom up. These grew to be quite large and came to produce substantial amounts of war equipment, while also leaving an impact on language.
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The National Revolutionary Army
[p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/e2964a59c377c99911598d088212d3b8e958a965.png"][/img]The National Revolutionary army of the 1930s was not the most well trained, nor equipped, but in the 20s it became self-evident to many in the military that a confrontation with the Japanese was inevitable. Two strategies to solve this inevitability emerged, Protracted Warfare and Decisive Battles.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/4617383976753499a26945957be002ab296cc5b5.png"][/img]
The former was based on the perception that the Japanese had no staying power and the longer the war took, the lower their chance of winning. This path gives you solid bonuses to your defence and the possibility to burn the enemy's supply lines from the rear. You will also be able to focus your defensive efforts in specific states to pin the enemy down where it is the most beneficial to you
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/0f3e169633cdc7c0e7adb1bb323d5b6af2963fdc.png"][/img]
Ironically, the concept of Decisive Battles was influenced by the Japanese themselves in 1905 against the Russian empire. The idea was formed that if you win key engagements you break the will of the enemy so quick and fast strikes wins the war. Here your ability to strike back at the enemy and preempt their attacks takes centre state from the more careful approach. Similarly here you will be able to target specific states with your offensive capabilities proving once and for all that you only have to break them once if you do it well.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/8cc72223dcb26397f270b32311417ac1b8e8edd6.png"][/img]
As you can see we have chosen to represent these ideas in two different branches, but unlike how we’ve done in army branches in the past, going down one won’t lock you into that choice for the rest of your playthrough. When choosing one path you only lock yourself into that branch temporarily until you’ve taken the last focus in the branch. This means that if you are not ready for beating the invaders you can go down the more defensive branch slowing them down, and when you feel ready to strike back you start taking offensive focuses.
No matter what doctrinal leaning you’ve chosen you have some issues that need to be dealt with and thus you will be given the tools to do so. This is the part between both branches that the keen eyed of you would have found on your own. It allows you to deal with your structural issues
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The Aviation Affairs Commission
[p]While many people think of the Flying Tigers when thinking of air warfare in China we didn’t want a Chinese air branch being dependent on foreign support, but unfortunately the ROCAF didn’t enjoy the same pace of development that contemporary countries did. Thus the air branch circles more around what the goal of your airforce is and what that means for its composition.[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/83cc10d6ad5eac42e1ed7ad4cde4a0bee94daed5.png"][/img]
The main choice is if your airforce is going to be shaped into an offensive tool to project power and strike the enemy abroad, or if controlling your own backyard takes precedence. This ties into the changes we’ve done to doctrines of course.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/faacc86671c24b176819a307af341616caebbf7b.png"][/img][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/a999592e15d87074dc4b8fd8d2062577c7e32fc4.png"][/img]
You will of course also have options of which organisation should manufacture your planes either going with the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company, CAMCO, with their focus on high-powered interceptors, or the Sino-Italian National Aircraft Works, SINAW, specialising in medium sized bomber aircraft.
And sometimes, there isn’t anything more important than making a statement…
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/8d07252623b5462aade6fc0b58d9cf4695747ef6.png"][/img]
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The Republic of China Navy
[p]Unfortunately the ROCN of the period can not be described as impressive, but at least it did exist compared to some folks in the north. A significant part of the navy was inherited from the Qing and had switched sides to the revolutionaries in 1911. The vessels that were ordered for it during the 1920s were few and overall small so that when war did break out, the Japanese made quite short work of the fleet.[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/c320b489e132fe89763a6de4d7c3d5ef2b790b2d.png"][/img]
For these reasons we’ve leaned into more what could have been which means that the main option you will have as a player is if you have the need to control the oceans or if your resources would be better spent on denying the enemy the control, because sometimes it’s enough if the enemy doesn’t win.
We’ve also added some bonuses to grow your fleet quickly so that you will be able to catch up with the other global powers, because you know what they say: A battleship isn’t built in a day.
And now you actually get some Admirals!
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/d0632caef1e9f3a173af459cd281d26514ceb3da.png"][/img]
For you who likes overviews, here is the tree in its entirety.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/5e9eda5d33d01bdf265604f87de1e35719149299.png"][/img]
I hope I’ve been an adequate guide for this quick introduction to the Nationalist update for No Compromise, No Surrender and I’m looking forward to seeing where you bring the KMT revolution. Now I’ll be handing you off to D3vil to give you an update on the state of the Warlords
You may have noticed that we have added a few new warlords. And some of you have been asking whether we have reworked the Warlord focus trees, and the Manchukuo one. In order to be clear about that, we have not done that as part of this release. However, during the work with No Compromise, No Surrender, we did want to add some flavor to these trees to better work alongside the new Chinese and Japanese content.
To that end, the generic shared tree has been slightly expanded to better accommodate the new content, and a few of the warlords feature a minor subbranch representing the specific region and leader.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/7a59385a6f2ea5a03102734dbe7a1c1360a56190.png"][/img]
As examples of new sub branches, the Ma Cliques share a subbranch about unifying into one country, while the Sichuan Clique has a subbranch representing the divided administrations and nature of the province at the time, and the Khotan Ma Clique has a subbranch about attempting to unify Sinkiang province under their rule.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/2a0ac4a9b9a5e1f3b48f9fd4f82eee70cc984412.png"][/img]
A few of the other warlords have received similar updates.
Similarly, Manchukuo has received a very minor touchup to allow for more flavor in the region, as well as improved compatibility with Japans and China focus trees.
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/2b0e142a8d5bc6d2bf8c528bcc5247198d447392.jpg"][/img]
And we added a new Field Marshal and potential country leader for Mongolia :)
[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/9948323/7f430063c64a123e2367f51dbae4d35dbd83a4ec.png"][/img][/p]
We hope you enjoyed this Developer Diary. We'll be releasing the Feature Video tomorrow!
/Per
