Kampfinsel

Kampfinsel Handbook — How to Play & Wiki

The Map

The Imperial Cartographers' Guild pressed the untamed chaos of the endless sea into a bureaucratically rigid system that every admiral today accepts as absolute reality.

TL;DR: The world is divided into oceans, grids and islands.

- Coordinates follow the format Ocean:Grid:Island

- Distances determine the travel time of your fleets

- The watchtower extends your vision on the map

The Coordinate System #

Every island in Kampfinsel has a unique address consisting of three numbers:

  Ocean : Grid : Island
   13   :   4  :   17

Oceans and Grids #

Oceans form a macro grid. New oceans are activated dynamically as existing ones fill up. Within an ocean, islands lie relatively close together -- trips to neighbors in the same grid are short.

Between different oceans, however, hours can pass. Your location therefore carries strategic significance: those who settle near alliance partners can help and trade more quickly.

Under Map, the world map shows how the oceans lie side by side and which ones are still new and protected; every ocean can be clicked. With each newly opened ocean, it grows.

Distances and Travel Time #

Fleet travel time depends directly on distance:

The farther the target, the longer your fleet is en route -- and the more vulnerable your home island is in the meantime. Sail research reduces travel time significantly.

Watchtower and Visibility #

Without a watchtower your vision on the map is severely limited. Upgrading it can extend the area in which you detect enemy fleets until your own ocean is covered:

The watchtower also lets you recall your fleets if the situation changes. Only the origin island's watchtower and the fleet's distance from that island count. Recall range is noticeably smaller than the tower's full line of sight.

Once your own ocean is visible, further upgrades reveal no additional map area. Recall range grows up to level 20; beyond that, only reconnaissance of approaching fleets improves. More on this in the "Combat" chapter.

Looking further — exploring distant oceans #

Your own map only shows the ocean where your active island sits. To know what lies beyond your maelstroms, you need more than a watchtower — you need the knowledge of the Cartographers.

The Cartography research (in the trade research tree) unlocks distant oceans in the map's ocean selector; without it they stay locked. Exactly what you see depends on how far you have researched Cartography.

The fog of distance #

Distant oceans are not fully visible. A clear section of each distant ocean is chosen for each day -- the same for all players. It may stay the same on consecutive days. By checking again you can gradually discover more and share your observations with your alliance.

The selector without research #

Even without Cartography research, the selector appears on your map — but distant oceans are locked. You can see that there is something to discover; the key is in the research.

The Cartographers' Guild and the growth of the world #

When a new row of oceans opens, the Imperial Cartographers' Guild has fresh charts printed. Kampfinsel grows outward, not inward -- new waters are added, old islands are not renamed.

The Guild also keeps an eye on abandoned settlements. Old Empire ruins still occupy space on existing maps. Their walls stand, and ships may still lie in their harbors, including a fleet the former owner stationed there — spy on a ruin before you attack it.

As existing oceans fill up or free coordinates become scarce, the Guild opens new seas. Old Empire ruins count as occupied space and do not hold back expansion.

You see notices of conquerable Old Empire ruins when you choose a distant ocean in the ocean selector, even while it is still locked to you without Cartography. As long as your Cartography does not show you that ocean's grids, many ruins may be summarized as a count; once it shows you the grids, individual markers appear even in the fog. In your own ocean, watchtower visibility still applies.

Every such expansion is announced by the Guild's herald in the news feed.

Quick Actions on the Map #

Clicking an empty slot in your visibility range opens the island window with a direct "Colonize" button. The button takes you straight to the fleet page with target and mission preselected -- you only need to assemble your fleet and send it.

On the map you can spy on a foreign island with a single click -- a spy ship sets sail at once, without the detour through the fleet wizard.

The map marks with ▾ where your fleets are currently heading; the island window links your latest spy and battle report on that island and tells you when raiding it again would bring less loot right now. A small dot • shows visible foreign islands covered by your most recent, undeleted spy reports; point at it to see the date of the latest report. The dot may be missing for older or deleted reports.

The map also shows your alliance's relations: visible islands of active members of an alliance at war with yours are dark red; those covered by an alliance treaty or non-aggression pact are yellow. Corsair fortresses and islands of inactive captains keep their special colors. Relationship colors only appear where the owner is already visible to you (Watchtower, Cartography in distant oceans). The fleet page shows what you may do against an island, as usual.

Strategy #

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