By XCezor - 22 June 2026
Howdy fellow strategy enthusiasts! Antarctica is the only continent (almost) untouched by human presence. World leaders agreed to focus entirely on research without disrupting the wildlife and natural landscape. Since Hearts of Iron is a military strategy game, what is there to do on a piece of land where resource mining and military operations are absolutely prohibited?
I don’t know, enjoy Antarctica! Bye!
Oh wait, there is one thing actually, research! And rather more politics than you’d expect on an uninhabited continent.
Part I - Antarctic Treaty
The Treaty connects countries interested in Antarctica. In real life, it is a set of rules and guidelines on how countries should develop their presence on the continent. This includes the previously mentioned prohibitions and environmental regulations. Any UN member can join the treaty.
Treaty members gain access to two additional, smaller treaties: CCAS and CCAMLR. Both were established to protect Antarctic wildlife. In Millennium Dawn, signing these treaties will grant an increased output to several modifiers developed by the Research Stations.
Part II - Station Architect
This is the main mechanic of the system. Treaty members gain access to a map with a preview of Antarctica and every functioning Research Station. In our mod, each country is allowed to have only one station at a time. This leaves us with 27 pre-constructed stations for the 27 countries that had at least one station before the year 2000.
Each Treaty member can preview the statistics of any station, but can never see its blueprints.
The blueprint is where you manage your own station modules, installing new ones or replacing the old ones.
Station modules are divided into 5 categories:
- Power Plants (3 slots, 10 modules)
- Fuel Storage (2 slots, 4 modules)
- Life Support (1 slot, 4 modules)
- Housing (3 slots, 4 modules)
- Laboratory (4 slots, 12 modules)
That gives over 87 million different combinations! (minus insufficient power and workers)
Each module has its own unique statistics essential to balancing station resources, such as power, population, and research boosts. Power Plants and Laboratories have a reliability statistic, which is important during blizzards. These have a chance of temporarily damaging a module.
Research Stations slowly produce an iteration effect, which can be boosted by a few sources. Reaching 3 iterations increases the station’s tier, which unlocks additional module slots (a new station starts at Tier 1, with Tier 3 being the maximum). Each iteration will also activate laboratory effects, increasing the permanent modifiers granted by laboratories (until a laboratory is replaced with another one). Most modifiers are capped at a 10-15% increase.
Each laboratory offers different research effects. These can range from specific technology research speed boosts to national modifiers, such as increased satellite efficiency, reduced healthcare spending, or a lower chance of air accidents.
Part III - Respect the Treaty
If a nation proves it can perform valuable research in Antarctica, it can apply to become a Consultative Member. Consultative Members gain the ability to send Observers (according to Article 7) to any station at almost any time. If the inspection group notices an open-loop utilities module or any illegal research being performed at the station, it will result in unpleasant consequences for the owner.
Of course, just because something is banned on paper doesn’t mean that it’s physically impossible to do. If a country decides to leave the Antarctic Treaty while keeping its station, it may gain the ability to perform mineral extraction and military training in extreme environments. Obviously, each of these actions carries heavy diplomatic consequences.
So, that’s it! We can proudly say we have all continents in the game now. Although Antarctica might not be directly on the world map, you can still interact with this enormous block of ice through this new International System. Prepare your blueprints and pencils, and design your own station!