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EU4 - Development Diary - 16th of February 2021

Hello everybody and welcome back to another EUIV dev diary and it has been a while for me!

Shortly before EUIV moved over to sunny Barcelona, I devoted some of my time to reworking Australia as I felt the current map of the continent was a bit lacking and very annoying to own what with all these little unconnected islands amidst the wasteland. On top of that, the continent being an entirely uncolonized block of nothing before colonialism seems a little inaccurate, given how lively the continent actually was before the Europeans arrived.

So, first thing to note is that Australia is now entirely connected through colonisable provinces, with the great Pilbara now connecting the north and west of Australia.
20210215172646_1.jpg

Another important rework comes in the form of the new states Australia now enjoys. What I wanted out of this is I wanted Australia to be on par with the other colonial regions in the game in terms of province count and strategic importance.
20210215170805_1.jpg

When shaping the states and provinces, I wanted to hit a nice balance between pre and post colonial Australian borders, so state borders are largely determined by colonial Australian state boundaries, while provinces are more determined by the distribution of Aboriginal peoples. All provinces also have both their Aboriginal and colonial names depending on who owns the province.
1613408346626.png

The Australian Gold Rush can now be yours, with Australian provinces enjoying a high chance of gold and some provinces in the south having a chance for gems, and a few key provinces able to produce coal.
20210215172855_1.jpg

Next, I’ll highlight some of the playable nations down under. Up north we have the Larrakia Federation composed of all of the top-end nations you see here, with Larrakia and Tiwi enjoying a unique set of national ideas. The Larrakia federation was responsible for much of pre-colonial Australia’s wealth through trade with the Makassarians. This trade also brought with it some Islamic influences, though the Aboriginal people of Australia never fully converted.
20210215170717_1.jpg

LAR_ideas = {
start = {
global_trade_power = 0.1
trade_efficiency = 0.1
}

bonus = {
global_ship_trade_power = 0.2
}

trigger = {
tag = LAR
}
free = yes #will be added at load.

LAR_makassar_trade = {
merchants = 1
global_foreign_trade_power = 0.1
}
LAR_federation = {
diplomatic_upkeep = 2
}
LAR_dreaming = {
global_autonomy = -0.05
}
LAR_dowed = {
legitimacy = 1
republican_tradition = 0.2
global_unrest = -1
}
LAR_ceremonial_scarring = {
shock_damage = 0.1
}
LAR_hospitality = {
diplomatic_reputation = 2
}
LAR_kenbi_land_claim = {
core_creation = -0.15
}
}

TIW_ideas = {
start = {
female_advisor_chance = 0.75
shock_damage_received = -0.2
}

bonus = {
leader_land_shock = 1
}

trigger = {
tag = TIW
}
free = yes

TIW_yiminga = {
may_recruit_female_generals = yes
global_manpower_modifier = 0.2
}
TIW_dreaming_totem = {
tolerance_own = 2
}
TIW_kulama = {
production_efficiency = 0.1
}
TIW_purrukapali = {
naval_tradition_from_battle = 0.5
}
TIW_marriage = {
heir_chance = 0.5
global_unrest = -1
}
TIW_isolationism = {
land_morale = 0.1
}
TIW_one_people = {
culture_conversion_cost = -0.25
}
}

Moving along down south we have the Eora people, the original inhabitants of the Sydney area.
EOR_ideas = {
start = {
diplomatic_reputation = 1
light_ship_power = 0.15
}

bonus = {
num_accepted_cultures = 2
}

trigger = {
tag = EOR
}
free = yes

EOR_lifestyle = {
naval_morale = 0.15
}
EOR_bands = {
state_maintenance_modifier = -0.25
}
EOR_enduring = {
religious_unity = 0.25
tolerance_heathen = 1
}
EOR_protect = {
manpower_recovery_speed = 0.1
global_sailors_modifier = 0.1
}
EOR_sacred = {
own_coast_naval_combat_bonus = 1
}
EOR_pemulwuy = {
land_morale = 0.15
}
EOR_berewaldal = {
merchants = 1
global_foreign_trade_power = 0.1
}
}

The Kaurna people, first inhabitants of Adelaide.
KAU_ideas = {
start = {
female_advisor_chance = 0.75
global_tax_modifier = 0.3
}

bonus = {
development_cost = -0.1
}

trigger = {
tag = KAU
}
free = yes

KAU_totemic_matriarchy = {
may_recruit_female_generals = yes
tolerance_own = 2
}
KAU_pangkarra = {
governing_capacity_modifier = 0.1
}
KAU_coastal_pangkarra = {
global_ship_trade_power = 0.2
}
KAU_redgum_shelters = {
build_cost = -0.15
}
KAU_communal_ownership = {
global_unrest = -2
}
KAU_old_tjilbruke = {
stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
reform_progress_growth = 0.15
}
KAU_south_australia_act = {
core_creation = -0.2
}
}

Palawa, first people of Tasmania.
PLW_ideas = {
start = {
stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
land_morale = 0.1
}

bonus = {
monarch_military_power = 1
}

trigger = {
tag = PLW
}
free = yes #will be added at load.

PLW_oyster = {
production_efficiency = 0.1
}
PLW_dual_identity = {
legitimacy = 1
num_accepted_cultures = 1
}
PLW_darwin = {
shock_damage = 0.2
}
PLW_parlevar = {
ae_impact = -0.15
}
PLW_writers = {
technology_cost = -0.1
}
PLW_survivors = {
fire_damage = 0.1
}
PLW_enduring = {
manpower_recovery_speed = 0.25
}
}

Kamilaroi, one of the most populated collective of Australian nations.
GMI_ideas = {
start = {
land_morale = 0.1
shock_damage = 0.1
}

bonus = {
land_forcelimit_modifier = 0.33
}

trigger = {
tag = GMI
}
free = yes #will be added at load.

GMI_sacred_caves = {
core_creation = -0.15
}
GMI_land_of_languages = {
num_accepted_cultures = 2
}
GMI_fertile_soils = {
development_cost = -0.1
}
GMI_dhulu = {
diplomats = 1
envoy_travel_time = -0.25
}
GMI_matrilineal_lineage = {
legitimacy = 1
republican_tradition = 0.2
female_advisor_chance = 0.5
}
GMI_familial_law = {
global_autonomy = -0.05
}
GMI_red_kangaroo = {
global_unrest = -2
}
}

I would have loved to have made ideas for all nations in Australia, but alas time was not on my side there so if you do not have unique ideas, you will get the shared Aboriginal Ideas.
generic_aboriginal_ideas = {
start = {
tolerance_own = 1
stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
}

bonus = {
shock_damage = 0.1
}

trigger = {
culture_group = aboriginal_australian
}
free = yes

aborig_art = {
prestige = 1
}
aborig_fire_stick_farming = {
development_cost = -0.1
}
aborig_walkabout = {
movement_speed = 0.1
}
aborig_outback = {
land_attrition = -0.1
}
aborig_sacred = {
global_tax_modifier = 0.1
}
aborig_dreamtime = {
religious_unity = 0.2
}
aborig_music = {
improve_relation_modifier = 0.2
}
}

But Aboriginal culture is not a single monolithic entity, so it has been divided into its own group. If we were being entirely accurate about this, almost all provinces in Australia would be their own culture, so some generalization has been done for gameplay purposes.
20210215173636_1.jpg

On top of all these new nations, the Aboriginal Australians also have access to the new Alcheringa religion! Most commonly known to colonizers as “Dreamtime”, Alcheringa refers to the vast distinct religions found among the Australian population. Though each people usually have their own distinct faith, most Australian faiths have a concept of “Dreamtime” or “The Dreaming”, a time of myth and legend that simultaneously occurred in the distant past and continues to occur around us every day.
20210215173412_1.jpg

Every Aboriginal people has their own pantheon of gods and “Dreaming Stories”. Alcheringa uses a system similar to the Fetishist cult system, with new stories becoming unlocked via missions.

These missions vary in what you must do, from defeating enemies in battle, to building an oceangoing vessel for the first time, to turning the Makassar trade on its head and dominating trade in the Moluccas.

The Aboriginals also enjoy all new unit models.
image (21).png


That’s all for this week, hope you all enjoy my last hurrah of EUIV content.
 
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Hey Meka66 - I think you sound a bit sad? you don't have to. Thank you for all your great work for EU4! Hope to have you around this game in the future, besides the studio tinto! The DD Changes are looking great- the unit modell is very nice as well. I had the fear that australia would be to crowded and unrealistic but I think it looks like a good balance with the representation of the aborginals.
Take the uncolonized provinces for europeans longer for walking through? I guess it wasn't easy to cross them in that times.

What Tech group are the nations? The polonysian tech 2?

Are there also unique events for the aboriginies? Or the other nations when they get in contact with the aboriginies? I really think that would be needed.

Best wishes.
Haha, I hope I didn't sound too sad! I admit I did feel a bit wistful writing this since I had actually made this content quite a long time ago now and EU4 development is a bit of a distant memory to me at this point. Glad you've enjoyed the content I've brought to the table!

As mentioned before, Aboriginal Australians have their own tech group. There are mutual missions between the Australians and the Indonesians to get in contact with each other, rewarding them with some cash, claims, and the Aborigines gain access to new Dreaming Stories if they can turn the tide and become the dominant partner in the Makassar trade.
 
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Awesome, really looking forward to see this in game. Would you share a bit more info about the Aboriginal tech group? What are the starting penalties, features (if any), etc? Thanks!

Edit: also, which government type will the Aboriginal tags get?
 
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Do you or other content creators plan to introduce Australian culture to the game, with roughly similar mechanic of birth with Americans, Mexicans and Brazilians?
 
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Yesssss some genuine work into Australia, and not just from a colonial standpoint. Love it.
 
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Awesome, really looking forward to see this in game. Would you share a bit more info about the Aboriginal tech group? What are the starting penalties, features (if any), etc? Thanks!
Well, the visible land of the tech group can be seen in the screenshots and they have their own unit tree. The units progress through Australian history, from the various hunting and warfare tools of the pre-colonial era through to the war tactics of the brutal and bloody struggle against the invading British.
 
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I would be interested to read the localization descriptions for some of the Palawa ideas. I don't believe that any of the Tasmanian clans had a written language during EU4's timeline, they did have great oral traditions and petroglyphs. They were much more isolated then their counterparts north of the Bass Straight so I am not sure if a tech bonus is appropriate. Idea cost might make more sense. Some of the other points raise similar eyebrows without context.

Either way glad to see a bit of love for Australia and am looking forward to it.
 
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What government do they use?
 
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So, we putting Peru's and Brazil's historical importance for the timeframe on the same level as Australia now? :confused:

And this really pushes what can be possibly classified as a tag, or how much an specific region or tag groups needs to cover to get a specific religion. Africa sure needs more than the highly bizarre ''Fetishism'' megareligion, not to mention areas like SA.
This is a strange breed of whataboutism.
Oceania gets a nice overhaul, and the reaction is to complain that it is now more detailed than South America and Subsaharan Africa?

These changes look very nice - and South America and Africa deserve a similar treatment in the future.
 
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What government do they use?
I've left that up to the good team at Tinto, but I believe they are using many of the new mechanics for the Americas.
Are these using the "stateless society" government reform we saw in a earlier Dev Diary?
No. While some Australian nations were very decentralised, I wanted fighting back the Europeans to be a viable player fantasy and Stateless Society seemed way too punishing, and not accurate for all nations on the continent.
That's basically Oceania Expanded but worse.

Question, why the hell do this aboriginal have ideas as strong as top tier nations? Can you balance something?
Well, as the author of Oceania Expanded I am disappointed you feel my second go at Australia doesn't measure up to the first.

The ideas are nice and punchy because you really have to struggle uphill to get them. You spend so much time struggling, I felt it would be a nice reward to give them some damn good fighting power once you've got there.
 
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I don't think you mentioned it, but what government type do these tags use? Since you mentioned the federation in the north, is it the same as North American natives?
 
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not sure if this is the right place to post this but could you please change courthouses/ town halls to not take up a building slot or incorporate deleting buildings into the macro builder? the late game is quite tedious having to delete buildings manually. Otherwise I'm seriously looking forward to this DLC. Keep it up!
 
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This looks great. A decent compromise between history, gameplay and fun.

Given this, when are we getting the south African Dev diary :p given its somewhat similar in Voidness in the current game
 
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