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Equestria at War is one of the biggest game mods in the fandom, with an armada of contributors and players diving into its deep and rich lore throughout the years. We've reported on it a few times, with a lot of people discovering something pretty incredible if you are into tactics games and ponies!
Another big release is on the horizon, introducing Kirin to the overall mix. A new developer diary has dropped going deep into detail on what you can expect out of our favorite fiery asian horses.
Go check it all out below!
Full Press Release:
Hello everypony! I’m Caspy, lead developer for Kiria. This dev diary will talk about starting content for the Realm of Kiria, and end with a preview of the chaos that is late-game Kiria content.
In progress since summer 2020, development on Kiria content is finally nearing code-completion. The release of Zebrica has brought tons of opportunities for new worldbuilding and lore. Kiria and the Zaikiria region will have twelve new state lore entries describing the history of their respective locales.
At game start in 1007 ALB, the Realm of Kiria is ruled by the Vermilion Dynasty, at the head of which is Matriarch Superior Rain Shine. The 24th Pegasus — FIMFiction author and head horseworder for Kiria — and I have adapted the show’s portrayal of the kirin to the grittier setting of EaW. The Kirian Realm is a harmonious one, but not without its dark side. The scars of the Silence, a century-long period of self-imposed stagnation and isolation from the wider world, still linger.
Here’s a look at Kiria’s starting political pie chart and national spirits:
How did Kiria get to this point in its history? What caused the Silence? The short answer is the nirik state: a kirin, pushed to their breaking point, can transform into a nirik, vengeful beasts of fire and wrath. Just like in the show, the Silence was imposed to keep kirin tempers in check, prevent nirik transformations and maintain harmony. Kiria’s country welcome screen offers more detail as to how the nirik state and the Silence were transposed to the world of EaW:
The Silence has just been ended, and Matriarch Superior Rain Shine has entrusted the great task of Kiria’s entry into the new millennium to Autumn Blaze, the Realm’s newly-minted Imperial Premier.
Fans of the show will recognise this name, and here’s her in-game biography:
As Imperial Premier, Autumn Blaze’s time in office will not be easy. Kiria is a predominantly agrarian nation, lagging behind in all areas of development: science, technology, literacy, infrastructure, industry and the military. But Autumn Blaze is not one to shy away from a challenge. With Rain Shine’s blessing, she convenes the All-Kiria Plenum for National Revival, calling on kirin from all across the Realm and beyond to take part in the task of Kiria’s modernisation.
Autumn Blaze’s plan is as daring as it is ambitious: to catch up on a century’s worth of lost progress in three and a half years (that’s around how long the starting focus tree takes to complete). To fulfil the 3½ Year Plan, Autumn’s harmonic reformists join hooves with bourgeoisie mercantile interests, returnees from the Kirian diaspora, the Way of Fire’s traditionalist mystics and the religious communalists of the Rising Fire.
All these interests have their own vision for Kiria in mind, and it’s not always easy to convince them to put their differences aside in the Plenum. A central part of Kiria’s starting gameplay is balancing these different interests and maintaining stability across the Realm. Maintaining stability is crucial in these intense three and a half years, as the powerful tensions and contradictions unleashed by the Realm’s rapid modernisation threaten to tear it apart.
Here’s Kiria’s starting focus tree in its entirety. Enjoy!
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/654403432437776418/1045108187231158293/Kiria-Starting-
Should Autumn Blaze succeed in her mission, a century of peace, progress and prosperity lies ahead for Kiria.
But should she fail?
Well, let’s just say that Kiria’s starting focus tree represents only about 15% of all playable content in Kiria. Whatever happens, Kiria will be in for a decade of great upheaval and change.
Finally, as promised: a teaser of the many different futures Kiria can end up becoming:
I hope you all enjoyed this first look at Kiria. The kirin also have a fully-coded racial tech tree, but the icons for that haven’t been done yet so there’s not much to show. We’ll do our best to offer more insight into what Kiria has in store for players in the future as this project inches closer to completion.
Rain Shine and Autumn Blaze portraits by the talented Twotail813.
If you want to follow the development and chat with us, join our Discord Server
