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EU4 - Development Diary - 5th of October 2021

Hello and welcome to the 4th Dev Diary for the upcoming Africa update. For this Dev Diary we return to the new content for 1.32; to be more precise, we will delve into the tropical Congo Basin. Afterwards we shall take a look at the Horn of Africa again to give you a status update of the region. Without any further ado, let’s get started!

We begin with a rather compact mission tree for Kongo.
dd_kon_missions.png

The mission tree is split into three parts, which lead into two endgame missions with strong rewards. The first three missions from the right are classic conquest missions to unify the Kongolese culture group. Highlights of these missions are the expansion into the Zambia area, a colony in Lega, and permanent claims on the East Africa region.

The second column from the left deals with the establishment into a proper kingdom and its relations with the Europeans, as they try to colonize Africa. The highlights here are +75 support for Feudalism in your capital from the mission “Loango and Ndongo’s Fate”, and permanent claims on all provinces in Africa, held by a country with its capital in Europe.

The first column handles the religious concerns of Kongo and is very orientated on Fetishism. Every single mission reward is designed around the Fetishist faith. Should you switch your country's religion, you will lose the modifiers from this column. Additionally, the column allows you to gain a little bit more out of the Fetishist faith.
The mission “Meet the other Cults” allows your heir to follow a weaker version of your unlocked cults.
The cult for an heir has however only 50% of the effect. As an example: Cwezi as your cult for your ruler would give you +20% Improve Relations. For your heir it would be only +10% Improve Relations, which is still considerable.
You will lose the cult modifier for your heir should they ascend to the throne or should they die.

The mission “Shamanistic Alliances” fires the following event for you:
dd_kon_heir_cults.png

Your shaman can visit on your command a different cult and unlock them for your country. Hovering over any of the options will show a small tooltip telling you what the cult’s modifier is so you don’t have to look every single one of them up on the Wiki.
Cults from other religions are only available if you know of any country following this religion. Because of that you have the last option, which enables a decision to activate this decision later on again.
Also important to note: I think this is the first time we have a vanilla event with more than 6 options. You can scroll through the options using the scrollbar on the right side.

Speaking of religions for Kongo: The event for Christian missionaries reaching Kongo has received a facelift!
dd_kon_another_text_same_effect.png

The event “Foreigners arrive in Kongo!” gets triggered as soon any European country discovers Kongo. Because it is not limited to Portugal only, it has four different descriptions for the cases that the Kongolese get visited by either the Iberians, the Pope, another Catholic country or, in fringe cases, by a non Catholic country.

What makes the event special however is that it affects your mission tree. By inviting the missionaries, you replace the first column of missions with Catholic missions at the cost of 1 stability and 20 Prestige. Also a random owned province becomes Catholic too.
dd_kon_catholic_missions.png

The first mission requires you to convert your whole country to the Catholic faith. Because one of your provinces is already Catholic you could use rebels to do the job for you. Alternatively you can let the visiting missionaries do the job instead. After the event “Foreigners arrive in Kongo!” you will periodically get the following event if any Catholic country knows you, you are not Catholic, and you have not finished the mission “Repel the Christians”:
dd_kon_missionary_event.png


The event is a little bit special as the two options have a negative effect attached to them depending if you have chosen to become Catholic or to stay Fetishist.
Eventually your king will convert to Catholicism too if the dominant religion in your country is Catholic.
dd_kon_king_converts_event.png

Both choices give you one last time to reconsider your religious decision you picked earlier. Both options can replace the missions again, but if you choose to do so you will lose 3 stability, so it is recommended that you pick the playstyle you want early on.

Highlights of the Catholic missions is the purchase of a cardinal from a European ally or from the Pope himself by completing the mission “Cardinal for Kongo”. Of course you will have to bribe the pope with 1000 Ducats, but the reward sure is worth the effort:
dd_kon_cardinal.png

Also, while we are on the topic of Catholicism: there is another balance change for them, which is more fitting to the Catholics than -1 Tolerance to Heretics.
dd_kon_catholic_change.png

Finally a quick word regarding the final two missions and their rewards. “Protector of Africa” is quite simple as it “just” asks you to banish all the Europeans from Africa as well as having a really stable empire, giving you +10% Morale of Armies and Navies permanently.
The mission “Africa’s Hegemony”, which requires you to conquer great parts of Southern Africa, has a more unique mission reward.
dd_kon_hegemon.png


Before we finish the Dev Diary, let’s take a quick look back at the Horn of Africa as there are some new changes.
First thing: Adal has its own specific missions, though not as many as its neighbor Ethiopia. They should help AI Adal survive against Ethiopia better and expand into its Somalian neighbors.
dd_ada_missions.png

Highlights of the missions are an early army modifier which decreases Land Maintenance by 5%, gives 0.5 Yearly Army Tradition and, if Adal is at war with Ethiopia, increases Morale by 5% and Manpower Recovery Speed by 10%.

Adal also received some ideas unique to them too. Though it is debatable whether they would help AI Adal survive as we want to avoid giving a strong military bonus right at the beginning. Still, Adal deserves its an own set of ideas:
Code:
ADA_ideas = {
    start = {
        land_maintenance_modifier = -0.1
        trade_efficiency = 0.1
    }
 
    bonus = {
        diplomatic_reputation = 1
    }
 
    trigger = {
        tag = ADA
    }
    free = yes
 
    ada_our_infinite_struggle = {
        manpower_recovery_speed = 0.1
    }
 
    ada_a_monarchial_imamate = {
        legitimacy = 1
    }
 
    ada_zeila_and_harar = {
        global_trade_power = 0.15
    }
 
    ada_mujahiduir_cavalry = {
        cavalry_power = 0.05
        cavalry_cost = -0.1
    }
 
    ada_unite_the_clans = {
        years_of_nationalism = -5
    }
 
    ada_yahu_yahu = {
        land_morale = 0.1
    }
 
    ada_embrace_the_cannons = {
        artillery_power = 0.1
    }
}
Next is the addition of a generic Horn of Africa idea set, which gives the five tags finally something better than +2.5% discipline:
horn_of_african_ideas = { start = { stability_cost_modifier = -0.1 global_tax_modifier = 0.1 } bonus = { prestige = 0.5 } trigger = { culture_group = cushitic NOT = { primary_culture = somali } NOT = { primary_culture = tigray } NOT = { tag = ETH } } free = yes horn_of_african_punt_legend = { trade_range_modifier = 0.2 } horn_of_african_aksumite_legacy = { global_unrest = -1 } horn_of_african_highland_cultivation = { development_cost = -0.05 } horn_of_african_oromon_warriors = { infantry_power = 0.1 } horn_of_african_religious_melting_pot = { tolerance_heathen = 1 } horn_of_african_cushitic_language = { improve_relation_modifier = 0.15 } horn_of_african_religious_defensive_nature = { defensiveness = 0.2 } }
Of course our formable Somalia has also gained some unique ideas too!
Code:
SOM_ideas = {
    start = {
        may_perform_slave_raid_on_same_religion = yes
        cavalry_power = 0.1
    }
    bonus = {
        capture_ship_chance = 0.33
    }
    trigger = {
        tag = SOM
    }
    free = yes
    SOM_land_of_punt = {
        stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
    }
    SOM_african_silk_road = {
        caravan_power = 0.2
        trade_steering = 0.1
    }
    SOM_african_minting = {
        inflation_reduction = 0.15
    }
    SOM_zeila_and_berbera = {
        center_of_trade_upgrade_cost = -0.1
    }
    SOM_blue_nile = {
        global_supply_limit_modifier = 0.33
    }
    SOM_indian_merchants = {
        merchants = 1
        mercantilism_cost = -0.25
    }
    SOM_faithful_to_allah = {
        missionary_maintenance_cost = -0.2
    }
}
Shoutout to @verinityvoid and @nephilim2k for helping out with the ideas!

Another change we made is addressing some setup issues. First we have changed the terrain in the Mogadishu and the Northern Swahili Coast area, changing four provinces from steppes and savannas to farmlands.
dd_ada_terrain_changes.png

We also adjusted the climate of the region too.
dd_ada_climate_changes.png

Finally a quick update regarding the Ç̌äwa unit:
dd_eth_cawa.png

Additionally Ethiopia has access to two estate privileges, which modify the role of the Ç̌äwa even further:
  • Cawa Peacekeeper:
    • Land Maintenance Modifier: -15.0%
    • Rebel Suppression Efficiency: +25.0%
    • Movement Speed: -10.0%
  • Cawa Conquerors:
    • Discipline: 2.5%
    • Recover Army Morale Speed: +10.0%
    • Reinforce Cost: +25.0%

Alright, that’s it for today! Next week @Pavía will cover new monuments for 1.32. Have a nice week!
 
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Glad to see my Adalite ideas in there!
Is making those provinces into farmlands really a good idea? I mean for the gameplay maybe, but historically does this look like farmlands? https://www.google.pl/maps/@-0.7988359,42.0814096,543571m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=pl
To give a short answer, yes. The land across Pate and Lamu was owned/used by Pate, Lamu, Siyu, and Manda as farmland for the islands (they grew grain and transported it to the islands).
The lower Shebelle was very good for agriculture, but I can’t recall specific examples off the top of my head.
 
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Nice to see some added flavour. None of this will bloat the game so its a win all round (unlike adding tags and provinces etc, which is generally a good thing, but can slow the game down)
 
Thanks for the Dev Diary! I've got a few questions :)


The mission “Africa’s Hegemony”, which requires you to conquer great parts of Southern Africa, has a more unique mission reward.
dd_kon_hegemon.png
Is the effect regarding the penalties part of a new command, a sneaky culture group change or is it just a modifier applied on the provinces (with the relevant on_actions etc.)?

Will there be more changes to terrain and climate not revealed quite yet? (Fezzan having a single temperate province that is not coastal and is considered a desert)

Will the 'Cult for the Heir' mechanic be available to more fetishist nations?

Will nations anywhere be able to acquire Cardinals naturally now, or is the Kongolese cardinal a one-time thing? (I remember the provinces that the cardinal selection is drawn from being quite specific)

Also, great to see mention and credits given to the modders in the community ;)
 
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I see you've added a new playable country, Ogaadeen
Will the Nubian region also gain some new countries?
Will the provinces in Nubia get redrawn?
And the countries that I would like to see in the Nubian region are:
Abdallabi
Daju
Tunjur/Darfur
Banu Kanz/Kokka
 
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I like most everything here, but I’m having a hard time getting excited over an African pack that is basically just missions and flavour events tied to missions.

Still, no more generic ideas is nice and terrain reconsiderations are sweet and sorely needed across the continent. Will we see some of those for the regions of Africa already discussed?
 
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Thanks for the Dev Diary! I've got a few questions :)



Is the effect regarding the penalties part of a new command, a sneaky culture group change or is it just a modifier applied on the provinces (with the relevant on_actions etc.)?

Will there be more changes to terrain and climate not revealed quite yet? (Fezzan having a single temperate province that is not coastal and is considered a desert)

Will the 'Cult for the Heir' mechanic be available to more fetishist nations?

Will nations anywhere be able to acquire Cardinals naturally now, or is the Kongolese cardinal a one-time thing? (I remember the provinces that the cardinal selection is drawn from being quite specific)

Also, great to see mention and credits given to the modders in the community ;)
1. Modifiers used by on_actions.
2. Maybe if time allows us. I cannot promise that we will touch every area of the map regarding climate and terrain though.
3. I don't want to spoiler too much, but I can say that Fetishism will get some nice improvements in general. So 'Cult for the Heir' and other scripted mechanics will be available to more Fetishist countries indeed, though they will acquire them differently then through mission trees.
4. It's a one-time thing.
 
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Is there a way we can buff those Somalia Ideas a bit? They seem extremely bad, for both SP and MP. The only "relevant" stuff I really see here is +1 Merchant and -0.15 Inflation and the Pirate stuff ofc. But thats still so incredibly weak and just a bit booring imo.
 
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Nice! Looking forward to this, and to the monuments next week!

permanent claims on all provinces in Africa, held by a country with its capital in Europe.
I felt myself wondering about this mission reward. I assume this is for the mission "Banish the Europeans". If I recall correctly, similar mission rewards for other countries (e.g. Hungary with Ottoman provinces) grant permanent claims on provinces held at the moment of finishing the mission. As such, this would not cover any provinces Europeans gain after finishing the mission and would still cover any provinces the Europeans lose to other non-European nations. Both of these feel kind of weird to me, given my interpretation of the idea behind the mission.
Would it be possible to, instead of these permanent claims, unlock a casus belli on European nations holding territory in Africa?
 
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that's only for Ethiopia the cawa units? they seem quite good

How come? Slower reinforcement and more expensive reinforcement me as that you will have to pay more and for longer until the regiment is back at full strength. For what? Less attrition and less shock received? Both are intended to preserve your men but then you have a penalty where it takes longer to replenish lost men...

I guess they will be great for sieging and not much else. Does +25% rebel supresion really helps? Maybe on higher difficulties but I doubt it would help much on normal. The 15% maintenance reduction is great but how many will you be able to effectively field them?
 
Overall really nice DD, although a bit late.

Love the changes to the Catholic faith bonuses and Kongo's mission tree looks interesting. Would it possible to mod the Foreigners arrive in Kongo events to China and East Asia to simulate Christian missionary activity that region during the period?
 
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I really like the DD - thanks for also putting some love into adal and adding estate privilegs for ethophia. It would be great if the african estates in general would be called different, have different icons and some different agendas and privilegs. This would really be great for immersion in a immersion DLC :)

I also like the congolese events - do the christians get a counterevent?

Hopeing for lots of more events - also iam excited that there will be new monuments

The only thing I don't like is the timing fot the DDs. :D A while ago the plan was around 10 MESZ, now you never know if its in the morning or in the afternoon :D
 
How come? Slower reinforcement and more expensive reinforcement me as that you will have to pay more and for longer until the regiment is back at full strength. For what? Less attrition and less shock received? Both are intended to preserve your men but then you have a penalty where it takes longer to replenish lost men...

I guess they will be great for sieging and not much else. Does +25% rebel supresion really helps? Maybe on higher difficulties but I doubt it would help much on normal. The 15% maintenance reduction is great but how many will you be able to effectively field them?
-15% shock damage is really good in the first half of the game. So slower reinforcements are sort of needed to balance it out a bit. The rebel stuff is pretty pointless but also extra Disciplin looks nice
 
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Hovering over any of the options will show a small tooltip telling you what the cult’s modifier is so you don’t have to look every single one of them up on the Wiki.
Also, a brief shout-out to this kind of small QoL feature; much appreciated!

By inviting the missionaries, you replace the first column of missions with Catholic missions
I recall a similar thing being mentioned in a previous dev diary (and this already being used in some mods). I really like this way of opening up different avenues for nations! Thanks for making both Fetishist and Catholic viable through the mission tree! This seems like a good precedent :)
 
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Huge updates to the Horn of Africa and Kongo! but I want to ask you kindly @Ogele Is there gonna be something for Nubians tribal states? I really like them because of their region and their rich history date back to the times of pharaohs. I hope you will answer me thank you!))
 
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“Protector of Africa” is quite simple as it “just” asks you to banish all the Europeans from Africa as well as having a really stable empire, giving you +10% Morale of Armies and Navies permanently.
What is the actual requirement? Like any tags that have a capital in the European continent? Would Morroco start exempt but then become a target if they form Andalusia?
 
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