Seasons

Hegemony operates in real-time, meaning that units on the game map will respond immediately to player actions and the enemy will execute their moves simultaneously. The game may also be paused at any time and units can still be given orders which they will carry out when the game resumes. Approximately 1 hour of real-time equals 1 year in-game. The year is also broken into 4 seasons, which have significant effects on gameplay and resource availability:


 * Winter: During the stormy winter season the water is too rough for sailing and all ships out in open water will take damage and eventually sink. Marine supply routes cannot transport food during the winter. Farm and fishery production is at a minimum.
 * Spring: Farm production increases.
 * Summer: Crops begin to ripen in the summer turning colour from green to yellow, representing growth and the milkripe phase. Farm production continues to rise.
 * Autumn: Crops are automatically harvested in the autumn, providing a significant increase in consumable food displayed in the middle of each field. Farm production is at its maximum.

There are numerous visual cues to tell the current season, including bare trees in the winter, coloured leaves and ripe yellow crops in the autumn, and flowering fruit trees in the spring. You can also tell the current season using the season flag at the top of the screen.

Gamplay Note : Enemy units tend to attack more in the summer when food is plentiful so plan you're advances carefully and consider keeping more troops on defence when the enemy is most active. Furthermore, winter storms prevent raids from sea so take advantage of this time and use your coastal defenders to expand your territory.