Senatus news & patch notes

Visualize Your Moves Before You Play, New UI Improvement

Planning your path to power in the Senate is now more intuitive than ever. We’ve integrated a visual assistance feature so you never miss a tactical opportunity:

• Anticipate Your Conversions: Hover any card over empty slots on the board to instantly highlight which rival cards you can convert to your color.

• Spot Synergies: The system will automatically show you the potential combos you can trigger with that move.

Calculate your influence with absolute precision and dominate the board with confidence!

What do you think of this new tool?

Let us know in the comments below!

Salve, Senator.

In Senatus demo, you got to try a very stripped-down version of the city, featuring just 4 locations to test the card pacing and early events. After a few months of writing code and locking down event texts, the map of Rome is now fully complete for the final version of the game.

We’ve expanded from those initial 4 spots to 14 interconnected locations, each with its own dedicated events and mechanics. The goal is for every neighborhood or building to directly impact your strategy and dictate the types of cards you pull into your deck (speeches, rumors, political backing, etc.).

Here is the final list of zones and what you'll encounter in each one:

Suburra & The Lowly Districts

• Taverns: Narrow alleys reeking of cheap wine and plebeian conspiracies. A great place to dig up leads—assuming you don't get stabbed first.

• Bethouse & Gambling dens: Where moderate senators go to burn through their denarii. If you can get your hands on their debt tablets, you've got the perfect blackmail material.

• Brothels: Confidential intel leaked in the shadows. Dangerous to deal with, but incredibly useful.

The Capitoline Hill

• Vesta Temple: Home of the Roman protector. This is where you manage institutional devotion, sacrifices, and the priests' omens.

• Library: Rows of Greek and Latin papyrus scrolls. Use them to hone your stoic rhetoric and raw persuasion skills before facing the Curia.

The Roman Forum

• Rostra: The public speaker's platform. You'll have to step up and defend your legislation in front of angry citizens (or crowds paid off by your political rivals).

• Saturn Temple: The seat of the public treasury. This is the domain of the quaestors, state funds, and constant temptations for corruption.

• Castor Temple: Where official Roman weights and measures are monitored. Commercial fraud here can throw the city's entire market into chaos.

Public Life, Military & Leisure

• Mars Field: The military training grounds. If you want tribunes and legions to remember your name before marching off to the provinces, you build that support right here.

• Vesta Temple: Guarded by the Vestals. If they get careless and the sacred fire goes out, the plebs will riot. Keeping order here is vital.

• Market: Manage grain supply and delays from the Alexandrian fleets to prevent famines and food riots.

• Pompeyo Theatre: Discrete meetings under the porticos, right near the Curia. The ideal spot for backroom deals with senators from your own faction.

• Circus Maximus: Chariot racing. You can align yourself with faction leaders to rig race outcomes, win over the public, or raise quick capital.

Having all 14 locations up and running completely shifts the scale of the game and changes how mid-game matches play out. Over the next few days, we’ll be polishing the map UI to make navigating between these zones feel as smooth as possible.

If you want to lend a hand with the algorithm or share feedback ahead of the launch, adding the game to your Steam Wishlist helps us out a ton with visibility.

See you in the next diary.

Hello Senator,

The Senatus demo is now available. Prepare yourself for the wild nature of Roman politics.

In this demo you will find: character creation, the fiercest debates in the form of card-based matches, and deck building through the exploration of Rome.

This is only a small glimpse of what the full game will offer. However, we would love to build this game together with you. Feel free to share your feedback on the Steam forums or join our Discord for direct contact with the developers.

DISCORD

Destiny calls you, Senator: Rome is in your hands.

Your legacy begins with five questions that will define your destiny in the Republic.

We finally have a (nearly) final version of character creation!

When starting a new game in Senatus, you’re not just choosing a name: you’re choosing a story. Through five key decisions, you will shape your character’s origin, personality, and ambition, gaining advantages… while accepting trade-offs.

Every choice directly impacts your strategy throughout the run: from your starting stats to the cards you’ll use to begin your rise in the Senate.

🏛️ Starting State

Every senator begins their career with a balanced foundation:

• Prestige: 50

• Oratory: 50

Starting cards:

• 3 Argument (Silver)

• 3 Applause (Bronze)

• 3 Rumor (Bronze)

• 3 Veto (Bronze)

🌍 Where were you born?

Your place of origin defines your first strengths… and weaknesses.

• Rome, capital of the Republic

  • Prestige, −1 Applause card

• Alexandria, cultural center

  • Oratory, −1 Rumor card

• Gades, commercial hub

  • − Prestige, +3 Rumor cards

• Athens, cradle of civilization

  • Oratory, −1 Veto card

🏹 What family do you come from?

Your heritage carries weight… and shapes your starting resources.

• Merchants

  • − Prestige, +3 Veto cards

• Military

  • Prestige, −1 random card

• Jurists

  • Oratory, −1 Applause card

• Philosophers

  • Oratory, −1 Veto card

🧒 What defined your youth?

Early talents are never forgotten.

• Natural leadership

  • + Prestige, + Oratory

• Athletic excellence

  • + Prestige

• Passion for the arts

  • + Oratory

• Interest in politics and history

  • − Oratory, +1 Rumor card

⚔️ What marked your adulthood?

A defining moment… that shaped your approach.

• The betrayal of a friend

  • +1 Rumor card (Gold)

• An unexpected military victory

  • +1 Applause card (Gold)

• The loss of a sibling

  • +3 Argument cards (Silver)

• A speech that changed your life

  • +1 Veto card (Gold)

🏺 What will be your dynasty’s motto?

Your ideals will become your legacy.

• “Respect is earned, not inherited” → + Prestige

• “The people never forget who scorns them” → + Oratory

• “Only those who know their history can shape their future” → + Prestige

• “Everything has a price” → + Oratory

Every run in Senatus is unique. Every decision unlocks new strategies. Every mistake… may cost you the Republic.

What kind of senator will you be?

Hello Senator,

In today’s dev diary, I’d like to talk about deck building in Senatus: how you obtain the cards you’ll bring to the Senate to debate your rivals.

We are developing a system of events that appear randomly depending on the locations in the city of Rome that you visit: the Forum, the Temple of Jupiter, the Suburra district, and more. These events are based on decision-making and probability: the more you risk, the more interesting your reward can be. But be careful, if the goddess Fortuna turns against you and you fail the event, you may lose key character statistics.

Below is an example of one of these events so you can better understand what we mean:

Area: Suburra Location: Street of the Taverns

Event Description: The street of the taverns is suspiciously quiet today… Something strange is going on. The air smells of wine and refuse; whispers and hushed conversations drift from inside the taverns, yet the street itself is silent… Something must have happened only moments ago. At the entrance of the Taberna Cassii, a bloodstain on the wall and a trail of drops disappearing into the alleyways catches your attention. An old man who notices what you are observing meets your gaze.

“Wondering what happened here, are you, Senator?” the old man asks.

Options

• It is my duty and right as a Senator to know what happens in Rome \

• Speak, old man, and don’t waste my time \

• I am in the middle of an investigation of vital importance to the Republic. Speak now, citizen \

• Move aside, drunk \

Resolution

Success “You see, Senator… The son of the distinguished Publius Annius has received quite a beating from a group of thugs… They say it’s because he owed too many denarii to the taverns on this street!” \

Failure “I’m sorry I cannot be of service to the Republic, but all I saw were two drunkards beating another… Cowards, if you ask me. Two against one, right?” \

This example corresponds to the basic type of event, but it will not be the only kind you encounter:

• Chain Events – A first event triggers a series of decisions that can lead to unexpected consequences.

• Random Events – These do not depend on the location you visit; they may surprise you on your way to the Senate, in your private villa, or at any moment.

• Special Events – Unique events that appear at specific moments during a game and put your Senator under intense pressure.

Keep in mind that these events are not only used to obtain new cards for debate. They are also the main way to improve your character’s Prestige and Oratory statistics. In short, they are how you prepare your Senator to succeed in debate.

Are you ready for what Rome has in store for you? Share in the comments what you think about the system and what kinds of events you would like to encounter.

In the earliest prototypes of Senatus, every card showed the same senator.

• Same face.

• Same tunic.

• Same beard.

It was practical. It worked. But it wasn’t Rome.

And Senatus is not about abstracting the Roman Senate. It’s about confronting it.

The Placeholder Problem

When you play a card in a debate, you’re not moving an icon: you’re trying to convince a person.

Until now, however, every senator looked like a clone from the same gens. This first iteration has served us to test internally the card game.

However, now it's time to give each Senator a proper look.

A Living Senate

From this version onward, every senator is generated procedurally from a pool of combinable elements:

• Different faces

• Varied hairstyles

• Body types

• Skin tones

• Hair colors

• Beards and facial styles

Each card now represents a distinct individual within the Senate.

These are not just cosmetic tweaks. The cumulative effect is what matters: when you look at the board, you no longer see an abstract grid of influence. You see an assembly, a political body: The Senate of Rome.

Why This Matters

In a game centered on debate and persuasion, perception is part of the design.

This visual variability:

• Reinforces the feeling that you are negotiating and convencing real individuals.

• Adds identity and character to the Senate as a whole.

• Makes each playthrough feel subtly different from the last.

It may seem like a small change, but it transforms the atmosphere of the game. Politics is not uniform. The Republic was not homogeneous. And now, neither is the Senate.

That's all for now, see you in the next dev diary, senator!

The Senatus Team

Salve, Senator.

Welcome to the first development diary for Senatus. Today we want to introduce a core pillar of the Senatus experience: the Campaign Map — your political playground between debates.

But before going into the topic, remember to wishlist and follow Senatus so you don't miss out on anything!

While debates in the Senate are where laws are decided, power in Rome is built outside the Curia as well. Influence is earned in temples, forums, streets, and shadows. The Campaign Map is our way of turning the city of Rome itself into a strategic layer.

🗺️ The Campaign Map — Rome as a Political Battlefield

Between senatorial debates, you will navigate a stylized representation of the city of Rome featuring 16 visitable locations. Each one is more than scenery — it’s a decision-driven event hub tied to politics, influence, and personal advancement.

These locations represent the social, religious, economic, and political fabric of the Republic. Power in Senatus does not come only from strong rhetoric, but from where you go, who you meet, and what choices you make.

You have limited time before the next debate. Every visit is an opportunity — and a trade-off.

🏛️ Meaningful Locations, Meaningful Choices

Each location contains unique narrative events built around political dilemmas, favors, risks, and opportunities. These are not passive bonuses — they are decision points.

Your choices shape both your deck and your senator.

No two visits are guaranteed to play out the same way. Events are designed to create variability and strategic tension across campaigns. We will expand the event concept in future dev diaries.

⏳ Time Is Your Most Valuable Resource

You cannot visit all 16 locations before every debate.

Choosing where to go — and what to ignore — is a core strategic decision. Do you chase a powerful card? Strengthen your personal stats? Take a risky event that could swing your campaign?

Rome is vast. Your time is not.

Strategy Beyond the Senate

With the Campaign Map, Senatus becomes more than a series of card battles. It becomes a political career simulator, where preparation, networking, and calculated risks determine who arrives at the Senate ready to dominate.

Debates decide votes. The city decides who you are when you enter them.

The Republic watches, Senator.