Rejoice comrades, for today we are heading into the treacherous world of foreign relations in East vs. West, introducing in the features that make up part of the diplomatic engine of the game.Cold War diplomacy was a strategic battleground. In 1946, the Soviet Union stood victorious celebrating a victory that had come at a heavy price, financially and in manpower. It was opposite an American giant that was mostly untouched by the ravages of war, but now the undisputed leader of the world’s democracies.Then as now, all the major international players based their policies on their mutual diplomatic relationships with other nations, and, as many new nations were created in the post-world peace treaties and rush to decolonization, the diplomatic scene saw a new element that became more important than ever - recognition.Although most of the nations that exist in 1946 recognize one another, emerging nations need to be recognized by your nation before diplomatic actions beyond declaring war can commence. You will have a nation to nation relationship value but you will not be able to influence a new state until recognition is given.Recognizing a nation does has its benefits as it grants you diplomatic access and the ability to use diplomatic actions, but there is a small cost. Recognition will also mean that you establish financial access.Nations that don’t have mutual recognition cannot buy and to sell goods to one another via the market. Gaining access diplomatically will have a price and is of major strategic importance. Nations that demand your goods will thus increase your income from the market when recognized. Others might be financial rivals, so granting those states recognition means you just invited a competitor on board which will likely result in a decrease of your market earnings.Recognizing a nation is permanent and cannot be retracted once recognition has been established. The only way to deny a nation access to your markets in the future is to embargo them. An embargo is an offensive diplomatic action and doesn’t come easily. It could potentially have major repercussions for your country. The challenge is on; will you find the right balance between economy and diplomacy?When diplomatic ties have been established between two states, they can begin to influence each other. This diplomatic action improves bilateral relations between your nation and the target state. In game terms, it’s represented by a scale that spreads from -200 (worst enemy) to +200 (best friend) – this should be a familiar pattern to veterans of Paradox grand strategy games. It is also good to keep track of not only relations between your two countries, but also to see their relations with other countries.Hostility in East vs West usually starts below -75 relations while a relationship score above +75 relations would indicate that you are considered friendly by the state in question. There are diplomatic actions tied to certain levels of associations, and, the friendlier you become, the greater the potential for state relations like alliances, military access and other high level diplomatic actions. Your relationships will also have a natural impact on faction alignment with NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Acting badly or being generous towards members of a faction could grant you advantages or disadvantages with the entire faction of the target state.Relations are also affected by the outcome of diplomatic actions. If an action that requires acceptance from the target state is refused, this will result in a drop in the relationship where acceptance will result in an increase in the current relationship score. So, step by step, you can progress in the international diplomatic arena.The ultimate prize to being a master of diplomacy and tact? Being recognized and elected as the leader of the United Nations.Ata Sergey Nowak (Diplomacy Lead)Gellert Keresztes (Game Design)Lennart Berg (Game Design)Brian Haddad (Faction OOB)Davide Benedetti (Country OOB)Jamie Li (Hardcoding)Gabor Gombor (Hardcoding)Grega Trobec (GUI Design)Jorge Martins (GUI Implementation)