Management sims are having an upswing in recent years, but a “gladiator manager simulator” set in an alternate Ancient Rome is a very specific pitch we were instantly curious about. This is Ludus Magnatus, Contec Games’ second project.
On July 21, players will be able to jump into the gladiatorial arenas and oversee entire teams as they (try to) climb the ladders. Steam is the target platform, and with early access, Contec Games aims to improve on the core single-player (and synced multiplayer) formula and all the content already available when it goes live.
To get a better sense of what Ludus Magnatus is and what players can expect from it now and in the future, we did a Q&A over email with the developer:
How many layers of management are there? How can you tangibly influence how the AI gladiators perform?
There are quite a few layers of management in the game, but first, let’s start with the most important one: the gladiators themselves. They function like you would expect in a classic management game, in that they have stats, traits, and can be equipped with armour and weapons that you buy for them through the market.
The traits themselves are divided into what I would consider several subcategories. First of all, every gladiator has a cultural trait that gives them proficiency with specific weapon types. For example, Hellenic gladiators get a 10% damage bonus when using spears.
The second type is the combat experience trait, which grants additional bonuses, such as extra dodge and block chance, depending on how much actual combat experience a gladiator has gained in the arena.
Lastly, there are individual traits. These can be positive, negative, or neutral. Examples of these traits:
- Neutral: “Showman” - The gladiator gains additional fame but cannot wear a helmet.
- Positive: “Strong” - Additional health and damage bonus.
- Negative: “Unathletic” - Reduced dodge chance.
There is also a way to influence some traits and get rid of negative ones: by having a skilled Doctore in your Ludus. The way it works is that the player can retire a gladiator as their Doctore, and your other gladiators then have a low daily chance to gain traits from that Doctore. This can also remove negative opposite traits. For example, if the Doctore has “Athletic,” they can also remove “Unathletic” from a gladiator.
Suffice it to say, these systems alone allow the player to influence their gladiators and give them the best possible odds of performing well in the arena. But that would not be quite enough, would it?
The second major layer is tactics and individual instructions. You can set up starting positions to give your gladiators an extra advantage at the beginning of a match, and then give each of them individual instructions as well. This could be telling them to target the weakest opponent, focus on staying in formation, or try to gang up on a specific enemy.
Besides this, there is naturally the actual Ludus management itself, but this is more long-term, such as upgrading your Ludus and hiring scouts, a Medicus, and so on.
Is this game meant follow an open, replayable campaign structure where you create your own story and journey?
The game is very much designed as a replayable sandbox. All AI-controlled teams play by the exact same rules as the player, meaning that no two sessions will be remotely alike. The only restriction is that in single-player, you can only start as a team in the lowest division. In multiplayer, however, there is an option to start as any of the 112 Ludus/teams in the game across the seven different division tiers.
You’ve teased synced battles with other players? How do those work exactly? Can you battle random players?
The game features multiplayer, which functions almost exactly the same as single-player, except your friends can join and take full control of another Ludus in your session. Matches between two player-controlled teams have additional waiting gates set up to ensure that both players see the correct loadouts, selected gladiators, and the actual match properly synced. To manage expectations, I do want to emphasize that multiplayer in this game is not really meant to be played with random people. It is more the type of game you would play together with a group of friends, as it is rather slow-paced.
Is there a roadmap locked in place ahead of the game’s early access launch?
There are features on my to-do list that I am planning to add during Early Access. These include, but are not limited to:
- Lanista interactions
- Arena deployables
- Decisions and random events
- Voice acting
- More historical stats
- Loyalty system
This might not sound like a huge amount, but that is actually because I managed to add more than I had originally anticipated ahead of the Early Access launch, such as multiplayer and exhibition matches.
Furthermore, I am also expecting players to come up with a lot of good suggestions that I will add as well. This was actually my key takeaway from participating in Steam Next Fest, as everything from small quality-of-life additions to larger features was suggested there. I think the current version of the game benefited a lot from that feedback.
Which were your biggest influences while coming up for the core concept of the game?
To be completely honest, I would attribute the idea for the game to two major influences. The first is Football Manager, where you manage a football club. If you are familiar with that game, you will notice certain similarities here, although in a very different setting. The second part might sound a bit funny, but I really liked the Spartacus TV series. Then, one evening, just for fun, I started making a small battle simulator, which eventually became this game.
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