1.0 Introduction
The Campaign is a special, single-player mode of Offworld Trading Company which provides an overarching goal to be achieved over multiple Missions – to be the last Corporation standing on Mars. The player controls one of eight Corporations, which over the course of multiple Missions will increase their income by investing in Martian Colonies, hire more labor to improve productivity, and raise their stock price to position themselves for victory.
2.0 Rounds
The Campaign is split into three rounds:
- Growth Round (Turns 1-2): During this round, the player’s Corporation helps grow a Martian Colony, which then increases the Corporation’s income between Missions. Each Mission last a specific number of days, with the winning Corporation being the one which acquires the most Colony Stock.
- Elimination Round (Turns 3-6): This round functions just like the Growth Round, except that at the end of each Mission, the Corporation with the lowest stock price (and which did not just win a Mission) is eliminated.
- Final Round (Turn 7): Once all but four Corporations are eliminated, one final Mission is played, with all remaining Corporations participating. Unlike the previous Missions, this final one allows the participating Corporations to buy stock directly in each other, using normal Skirmish rules for ultimate victory.
3.0 Labor
Unlike the regular game, all buildings are not available by default. Instead, each Corporation needs at least one worker to unlock each building. For example, Water Pumps are unlocked with Water Pump Engineers, Pleasure Domes are unlocked with Pleasure Dome Managers, Offworld Markets are unlocked with Offworld Market Astronauts, and so on.
If more than one worker of a specific type is hired, the building’s speed increases; each Water Pump Engineer increases the speed of Water Pumps by +25%. (Please note that all buildings start off with a -50% speed penalty compared to the base game.)
Extra workers for the advanced buildings (Optimization Center, Hacker Array, etc.) allow the player to build multiples of that building. Thus, a player with two Offworld Market Astronauts could build two Offworld Markets.
The Labor Pool consists of sixteen randomly chosen workers and is reset between Missions. Each worker can be contracted for one mission or hired for the rest of the Campaign.
4.0 Missions
Campaign Missions work significantly different from regular Skirmishes. First, the stock market is closed, so the different Corporations are not trying to buy stock in each other. Instead, Campaign Missions last seven sols (Martian days), and the Corporations are competing to invest in the Colony which can be found in the middle of the map.
These Missions each have a set of parameters, such as Terrain (for example, “Plains”), Map Size (“Medium”), Resource Level (“Low”), and Events (“Eastward Wind”). Also, each Mission has a special Reward Perk (“Free Metal Mine”) which is given to the winner – the Corporation which purchases the most shares of Colony Stock by the end Mission.
The Colony is composed of a set of Modules in the middle of the map, which determine how big the Colony’s Population can grow and whether there are enough Jobs to attract new colonists. There are five different Module types:
- Habitat: +1 Housing (consumes Water, Food, and Oxygen)
- Office: +1 Job (consumes Power)
- Laboratory: +1 Job (consumes Chemicals)
- Machine Shop: +1 Job (consumes Electronics)
- Warehouse: +1 Job (consumes Glass)
The Colony will grow as long as the Population is less than both the Housing and Jobs available. Each Module purchased by a Corporation provides one share of Colony Stock for it.
At the end of the Mission, the Colony starts producing residual income for all the Corporations involved in the Mission. The amount of income is relative to the total Population of the Colony, and the income is then divided in proportion to the shares of Colony Stock owned. For example, if the Colony produces an income of $500K each week, Corporation A owns 6 shares of Colony Stock, and Corporation B owns 4 shares, then Corporation A will receives $300K while Corporation B will receive $200K.
5.0 Colony
Each colony is associated with one of four countries (the USA, the EU, Russia, and China), which have a different set of modules available. For example, the USA colony has Warehouse, Office, and Laboratory modules but no Machine Shop modules. Also, these countries grant bonuses to corporations which have won multiple missions containing their colonies.
- U.S.A.
- 1 Colony: No Bonus
- 2 Colonies: +1 Claim at HQ Level 5
- 3 Colonies: +1 Claim at HQ Level 4
- 4 Colonies: +1 Claim at HQ Level 3
- E.U.
- 1 Colony: No Bonus
- 2 Colonies: Core Sample
- 3 Colonies: Core Sample, M.U.L.E.
- 4 Colonies: Core Sample, M.U.L.E., Adrenaline Boost
- Russia
- 1 Colony: No Bonus
- 2 Colonies: -5% Perk Cost
- 3 Colonies: -10% Perk Cost
- 4 Colonies: -20% Perk Cost
- China
- 1 Colony: No Bonus
- 2 Colonies: +1 Scan Range
- 3 Colonies: +2 Scan Range
- 4 Colonies: +3 Scan Range
