Custom Battle is now in the demo

The updated Steam demo adds Custom Battle. Choose Custom Battle from the main menu to build both armies, select a field, and take the fight through deployment and real-time combat.

Build the matchup you want

Choose from 147 historical officers. Each army can have up to five officers, including its commander. Once an officer joins either side, that officer leaves the shared selection pool. Historical stats and traits stay fixed; you choose the officer's archetype.

Archetypes determine which troop group an officer accompanies. Officers with the same role share that group, so they do not form separate detachments. Set exact counts for each troop type, including faction specialties available to either army.

You can enable and edit a budget for either side. Budgets can differ, and you can leave money unspent. Both armies together can contain up to 1,000 soldiers and officers.

Start from a faction preset

Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Ce, and Lu Bu each have an editable preset drawn from their campaign opening officers, with adapted troop compositions and faction specialties. These give you a starting point to change; the troop counts are not exact copies of the campaign's starting armies.

Choose the ground, then deploy

Choose plains, riverland, steppe, mountain, or basin. Preview the generated terrain and reroll it before committing. This first version uses a standard field size with spring and clear weather. It is a field-battle editor; siege and weather customization are not included.

Save setups for later, undo changes, and switch between setup pages without losing your choices. Once you launch, deploy your troops and command the battle using the campaign battle system. You can rematch or return to editing afterward.

Audio fix and the existing demo

Battle audio now stops correctly when returning to the editor, starting a rematch, or leaving the battle. The demo retains its 50-day campaign limit, end-of-demo flow, and verified demo saves.

Play the updated demo on Steam