Jupiter’s Forge is the first major expansion to Offworld Trading Company and it certainly wouldn’t be complete without additions to the campaign. Io has come to OTC, bringing with it significant changes to to resource tree, specifically centered around water. This means that simply adding to the Martian campaign was never going to be enough, and Io therefore has received its own separate campaign.
Every CEO in Offworld has received a new set of engineers that will be available when they begin an Io campaign. Obviously, the lack of water on Io requires different tools, and each CEO will be prepared for that challenge. These CEOs will all retain their old bonuses. This means that some CEOs will likely be better prepared for Io than they were even for Mars, such as Joji with their starting space elevator or Silas with his free Optimization Center. Others, meanwhile, might suffer a bit. Paulo Rubini in particular - with his Cold Fusion bonus - could prove to be a challenge for any player to bring to the finish line. Perhaps our biggest winners will be the Indie Devs Mikhail and Anastasia. Their access to all factions is sure to be even more powerful with Nomad and Elite headquarters available.
New blood will be entering the arena on Io as well. First up is Ezra Hoang, leader of the Penrose Collective. He brings with him the new Nomadic HQ and Geothermal Borehole. However, Ezra does not have access to any dedicated power production on Io, and will need to carefully consider each found in early scenarios until he’s able to hire those crucial engineers. Our other new company is the Diadem Trust with Philippa Ndiaye at the helm. As an Elite focused company, the Trust is dependent on advanced buildings. Thankfully Philippa brings with her an advanced building discount, halving the cost of hiring their requisite specialists. Philippa also has a host of powerful engineers and is the only CEO to begin an Io campaign with 100% basalt platform production.
The new CEOs bring with them new stories for the Offworld universe. Both seek the stores of Uranium that are available on Io, though each has their own purpose to turn it toward. The success of these expeditions will depend on your ability to guide them through the gauntlet that is an OTC campaign. The stories are told through each campaign length (4, 7, and 10 weeks). Once these are all completed for either CEO that leader’s final mission will unlock. This is a one week campaign which concludes the story of either Ezra or Philippa. While the new stories are focused on Io, Ezra and Philippa will be available on Mars for those seeking a fresh challenge on the red planet.
We’ll be back next week to talk more about Offworld’s imposing new faction, the Diadem Trust.