The Map
The map is built from real geography — actual provinces, rivers, and borders — and it opens already tense: starting forces aren't placed by hand, they're the result of simulating every country's own military planning before the game begins.
How it works
The map tells you what you're looking at
Hover a river to see its name. Hover a province to see who holds it, or what it's called under its current owner. Hover a specialization icon — a harbor, an anchor, a graduation cap — to see exactly what it's doing for that province's growth, education, unrest, or population.
How it works
Names change with the owner
Some provinces carry a different name depending on who controls them — Saint Petersburg is shown as Leningrad for as long as the USSR holds it, and reverts the moment it changes hands. History is written into the map itself, not just the country list.
How it works
Every province has a character
Specializations aren't cosmetic — an oil field grows fast but breeds unrest, a university town lifts education, a naval base does what you'd expect. Most carry a visible icon that fades in as you zoom toward the surface, so the map reads at a glance once you're close enough to look.
How it works
The map reflects the war as it happens
Borders between countries at war glow and pulse instead of sitting flat and black. Occupied territory is marked with diagonal stripes in the occupier's color. A colonial empire reads as one unbroken political presence on the map, all sharing its overlord's color, until independence changes that.
How it works
1946 opens in an unsettled postwar order
The campaign begins with scenario-defined formations and military relationships. As the timeline advances, dated events bring later conflicts and their forces onto the map.