4th Generation Warfare Steam

NOTICE: Activation key must
be used on a valid Steam account. Requires an internet
connection.

About the game

Fourth-Generation Warfare simulates warfare in
the 21st century, which, in addition to the direct opposition of
military forces, now includes espionage, international politics,
cyberwarfare, media manipulation, and trade wars.

As the leader of a nation, dispatch and control your team of
characters all around the world to destabilize your enemies and
establish your supremacy. All methods are fair game: hacking,
sabotage, political interference, military strikes, corruption,
treachery, assassinations, energy domination, data theft… 4GW
turn-based game combines a strategy game with a role playing
game.

Key features

Gameplay

On each turn, the player, as the head of a nation, can carry out
a limited number of actions with the characters that he or she
controls. Each character performs actions specific to their
position or function (examples: contract negotiations for a
diplomat, sabotage for a spy, cyberattacks for a hacker, inquiries
for an investigator…). You can also opt to move military units, or
for actions called “leverage” (examples: invitation to a
restaurant, offering a bribe, threatening with blackmail…)
performed by non-playable characters, allowing you to later compel
them to commit acts of betrayal. More than 100 different actions
are possible. The psychological profile, experience and abilities
of the characters, possession of weapons and particular objects
factor into their odds of success.

During your turn, other nations controlled by human players or
by the AI can also perform actions. All throughout the game, a news
website and characters’ smartphones inform the player of action
results and other game events.

The score of each country is based on 4 criteria (international
diplomacy, military conquest, economic performance, popularity) and
establishes a ranking.

The last country standing or the first-ranked country after the
last turn wins the game. Optional secret objectives can also tip
the balance towards victory.

The Real 21st Century

The game is played on a current map of the world, viewable in 2D
and in 3D. The map shows all national borders, cities and important
strategic locations (military bases, power plants, factories…).
The player can access city maps with its various buildings (palace
of the Head of State, headquarters of the army, secret services or
the police, restaurants, embassies, characters’ residences, secret
hideouts…) and interact with the characters in those locations.
Certain buildings have a computer server for their operations and
contain databases of sensitive information; they can be targets for
cyberattacks aimed at blocking or stealing this data.

Maps of the major capitals are consistent with the real-world
cities.

There are various map display modes: diplomatic, military,
electoral, etc; there is also a minimap.

The world map changes according to players’ building projects,
damage from war or sabotage, military strategies and territorial
conquests. Moreover, all major events are displayed on the affected
areas (demonstrations, attacks, crimes…)

Multiple Characters with a Wide Range of Skills and
Psychologies

There are more than 30 types of characters. Characters
controlled by the player (spies, police inspectors, cabinet
members, military leaders…) are distinct from non-playable
characters who can only be influenced (spouses, journalists,
traffickers, hitmen, informants, religious dignitaries, artists,
psychoanalysts …).

Each character has a particular psychological profile, helping
or hindering the success of their actions. Around fifteen different
profiles are represented: sociable, loyal, charismatic, paranoid,
introverted… Moreover, variables of stress and fear, calculated
according to events (threats, corruption…), can influence their
autonomic behavior (surrender, betrayal, coup d’état…)

Characters also have a smartphone with which they can manage
their contacts, talk to them, negotiate with them, arrange a
meeting or store their files (stolen data, photo or video
evidence…). These telephones can be GPS-tracked or hacked and
their contents pilfered.

About thirty special objects can be found or constructed and add
bonus or additional skills to characters like: bulletproof vests,
fake IDs, compound cameras, explosives, exoskeletons…

Actions common to all characters (moving, going to a restaurant,
taking/placing/giving/stealing objects, seducing, threatening,
marrying/divorcing, interacting, bribing…) are distinguished from
actions specific to their profession.

Examples of specific actions by type of character:

• Head of State: appoint cabinet members, set budget guidelines,
  denounce the UN, approve nuclear weapons, campaign in elections,
  begin infrastructure projects…
• Secretary of Diplomacy and Diplomats: implement commercial
  contracts, sign strategic agreements, vote in the UN, open
  embassies…
• Head of Secret Services and Spys: infiltrate, sabotage,
  assassinate, spy, kidnap…
• Cyber-Analysts: hack into a server or smartphone, GPS tracking,
  plant viruses, reinforce data protection, trace the source of a
  cyberattack…
• Head of the Army: implement arms deals, construct bases, manage
  staff, declare martial law…
• Secretary of Interior and Police Investigators: use video
  surveillance, investigate crimes and offenses, make arrests,
  interrogate a suspect, conduct a stakeout, monitor a building,
  break up demonstrations…
• Non-playable characters are also capable of many specific
  actions: editing articles for journalists, ordering union strikes,
  influential sermons by religious dignitaries, exhibitions for
  artists, assassination by a hitman, voting instructions for
  political leaders…

A Reactive but Still Influenced Population

The happiness level of the population is calculated on each
turn. It can vary according to the policies of the state (social
spending, level of taxation), unemployment rate, purchasing power
that changes according to product costs, potential shortages,
anxiety levels in the country or the corruption of the leaders.
Angry people can start demonstrations or riots, call for a strike
and ultimately cause the player to lose the game.

The people can also be influenced by the manipulation of
information in the media or by natural leaders such as union or
party leaders, by religious dignitaries who themselves can be in
service of a foreign power.

A Multitude of Strategies

The multitude of action plans (limited in each turn and must be
carefully considered) combined with different ways to calculate
scores offers players a multitude of strategies.

The different levels of underlying gameplay such as wargames,
featuring around fifty different types of military units, trade
wars via economic contracts, management of the national budget to
influence popularity via your investment capacity, management of
resources, the role of the UN who can sanction a country or
authorize military interventions all add even more to the
possibilities and the excitement of the game, with fortunes
changing at any moment.

Numerous Gameplay Modes and Options

Various configurations are available allowing you to vary the
enjoyment of the game:

• “Career” Mode: a game mode recommended to new players, the
  match begins with the only controlled character being the Head of
  State. You must then choose your closest advisors and gradually
  expand your group.
• “Government” Mode: the player choose a dozen characters at the
  beginning, allowing to operate within all domains.
• “Multinational” Option: a player can play as several countries
  and develop different tactics. Many small countries can then face a
  bigger one on equal footing.
• “Extra Characters” Option: the player can select a certain
  number of extra characters and devise a strategy before the game
  even starts. For example, you can play as journalists or political
  opponents in a foreign country who can help destabilize the current
  regime.
• “Multiplayer” mode * : in multi-player mode, several players
  can join teams. The teams are in competition, each of them having
  several countries. (* Multi-player mode will be released during the
  Early Access period)
• “Secret Objectives” Options: each player (human or AI) can draw
  an objective which, if attained, will grant bonus points or even
  immediately win the game. Examples include controlling more than
  50% of the hydrocarbon market, tripling the population, changing
  the regime in an enemy country.
• Game options allow you to fine-tune game dynamics: number of
  turns, duration of turns, number of actions per turn

System requirements