DOM 1400 Mare Nostrum is a deep naval strategy and economic simulator set in the 15th-century Mediterranean. It is not just a trading game, but an academic-grade simulation running beneath a ruthless tactical naval interface.
Build Your Merchant Empire: Start with a single, modest vessel and rise through the ranks to command massive fleets. The game world doesn't magically spawn goods: explore 50 historical cities, each with its own life, religion, and needs. Buy raw materials cheaply where they are abundant and sell them where there is scarcity. The economy is driven by a strict law of supply and demand: the population is divided into three social classes with dynamic daily needs. If the price of fish skyrockets, the poor will fall back on meat, disrupting the entire market!
Demographics and Malthusian Traps: Prosperity inevitably leads to population growth, but resources in the 15th century are brutally finite. If a trade hub's population outgrows its food supply, the city will plummet into a Malthusian trap: prices will soar, and the population will drastically decline. The moral choice is yours: will you save the populace by importing cheap grain, or ruthlessly exploit the famine by selling bread at exorbitant prices to desperate Patricians?
Command Brutal 2D Naval Battles: The sea is not a flat canvas, but is governed by rigorous vectorial wind physics. Defend your precious cargo from rival factions or the assaults of fearsome Barbary corsairs. Choose your tactics based on your fleet: a Galley is expensive and carries few goods, but thanks to its oars, it ignores the wind and is devastating in ramming; a mighty Carrack can transport enormous wealth, but if it gets caught in the 'dead wind' (bolina morta), it becomes an easy target. Manage sails, positioning, and artillery: ram, board, fire, or attempt a desperate escape.
Navigate a Deep Political World: Trade does not happen in a political vacuum. Your interactions with the 4 main religious and cultural blocs (Catholic, Orthodox, Islamic, and Jewish) will shape your destiny. Deal with dynamic AI merchants governed by specific personality archetypes (Ambitious, Prudent, Honorable). Face state protectionism, pay customs tariffs, bribe authorities, or forge alliances to monopolize the lucrative African Gold and Silk markets.
Rise to Power or Plunder the Seas: Ascend through 6 tiers of social progression. Grow from a humble captain to a powerful ruler, expanding your faction's influence toward total dominance of the Mare Nostrum. Prefer to break the rules? Lower your colors, get rich living outside the law, and become the ruthless terror of the seas.
Full Modding Support: From day one, DOM 1400 was developed to give total freedom to the community. Thanks to a completely open architecture, you can create your own Mods by simply editing plain text files. No stats are hardcoded: you can rebalance ship costs, alter the economy, or even create entirely new maps, expanding the game from the base 50 cities up to 1000! The Mediterranean is literally in your hands.
