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EU4 - Development Diary - 6th of November 2018

It's Tuesday, and that means it's time for another EU4 dev diary. This week and next I’m going to be showing off some of the new mission trees, events, and national ideas coming in the 1.28 ‘Spain’ update and the accompanying Immersion Pack.

NB: Most mission icons are currently using placeholder art

Let’s start with the star of the show, Spain itself:

spanish missions.png


The Spanish mission tree is available to nations beside Aragon that form Spain, while Castile immediately has access to a reduced version of the tree prior to forming Spain.

For the most part these missions follow Spain’s historical expansion overseas; from the Pillars of Hercules to California and the Philippines, the Spanish Empire was one of the largest the world has ever seen. Driven by the quest for gold and silver, Conquistadors such as Cortez and Pizarro will join your service to lead the conquests of Mexico and Peru. You’ll also be encouraged to spread the word of God in the New World by establishing Holy Orders in your colonies.

Spain will also have opportunities to expand in Europe. If the Iberian Wedding or Burgundian Succession don’t work out for you, permanent claims on Naples and Wallonia will help you seize your rightful inheritance through conquest. With a foothold in the Netherlands, Spain can then pursue powerful Personal Unions with both England (depending on their religious choices) and Austria, with the ultimate goal of establishing a Universal Monarchy.

We’ve also split up the National Idea sets for Castile and Spain, as we did for England and Great Britain in Rule Britannia:

Spanish national ideas:
Code:
SPA_ideas = {
    start = {
        land_morale = 0.15
        global_colonial_growth = 25
    }
 
    bonus = {
        discipline = 0.05
    }
 
    trigger = {
        tag = SPA
    }
    free = yes        #will be added at load.

    devout_catholisism = {
        papal_influence = 2
    }
    inter_caetera = {
        idea_claim_colonies = yes
        colonists = 1
    }
    gold_fleet = {
        global_tariffs = 0.15
        global_prov_trade_power_modifier = 0.1
    }
    spanish_armada = {
        heavy_ship_cost = -0.1
        leader_naval_manuever = 1
    }
    spa_casa_de_contracion = {
        envoy_travel_time = -0.33
    }
    spa_cortes = {
        free_adm_policy = 1
    }
    siglo_de_oro = {
        prestige = 1
    }
}

 spa_casa_de_contracion:0 "Casa de Contratación"
 spa_casa_de_contracion_desc:0 "We must extend the reach of the House of Trade of the Indies. Our colonial agents must have a presence in every part of the world to ensure the smooth functioning of our empire."
 spa_cortes:0 "Rein in the Cortes"
 spa_cortes_desc:0 "Each constitutent Kingdom in the Spanish realm has its own corte, an assembly of the most powerful elements of society in the region. There is often tension between the Crown and the Cortes over such issues as taxation and regional autonomy. We must rein in these institutions so that they primarily serve the Crown rather than their own interests."

Castilian National ideas:
Code:
CAS_ideas = {
    start = {
        land_morale = 0.15
        missionaries = 1
    }
    bonus = {
        artillery_fire = 1
    }
    trigger = {
        tag = CAS
    }
    free = yes        #will be added at load.
    the_reconquista = {
        army_tradition_decay = -0.01
    }
    spanish_inquisition = {
        global_missionary_strength = 0.02
    }
    cabildos = {
        production_efficiency = 0.1
    }
    inter_caetera = {
        idea_claim_colonies = yes
        colonists = 1
    }
    infantas = {
        diplomatic_reputation = 1
        heir_chance = 0.33
    }
    salamanca_scholars = {
        global_institution_spread = 0.1
    }
    nueva_planta = {
        yearly_absolutism = 0.1
    }
}

 cabildos:0 "Cabildos"
 cabildos_desc:0 "Representing the interests of the cities, the 'Caboldio' councils have a wide variety of functions and duties. They are responsible for both advocating the interests of the city to the Crown and for many aspects of local governance. We must continue to establish Cabildos in newly-founded or newly-conquered cities, particularly in the New World where the need for Castilian institutions is felt most severely."
 infantas:0 "Infantas"
 infantas_desc:0 "The Princes and Princesses of the Crown are among our most valuable assets. They can be sent as royal envoys, married off to secure alliances, or appointed as regents when the need arises. It is important that we ensure that our monarch's loins continue to bear fruit."
 salamanca_scholars:0 "School of Salamanca"
 salamanca_scholars_desc:0 "Based in the University of Salamanca, the School's interests lie in fields as diverse as theology, economics, and political philosophy. As one of the leading schools of thought in the Catholic world, its entrenched presence in Castile ensures that our nation is always at the forefront of intellectual affairs."
 nueva_planta:0 "Nueva Planta"
 nueva_planta_desc:0 "It is time to assert true royal authority in the realm; under a single set of laws and a common language, a renewed and centralized Castile will directly appoint officials and enshrine the absolute rule of the monarch."


aragon missions.png


Aragon has an entirely different focus, with a distinct Mare Nostrum theme. An Aragonese player will be encouraged to dominate the Mediterranean both militarily and economically. This mission tree will take Aragon into southern France, Italy, the Maghreb, Egypt, Anatolia, and Greece.

Aragon also has access to several purely economic missions. By establishing trade dominance in the Genoa node and developing the city, Valencia will gain access to the rare Silk trade good as well as a sizable bonus to production of this luxury resource. Completing Aragon’s economic missions will reward the player with the versatile ‘Golden Century’ modifier, giving a 1% reduction to all monarch power costs for 100 years.

portugal missions.png


Portugal’s mission tree is larger than any other in the game besides Great Britain with Rule Britannia. Like the Spanish mission tree, it is largely concerned with the recreation of Portugal’s historical overseas empire, particularly in Brazil and Asia. Missions have been added for the conquests of Malacca, Oman, Ceylon, and other ports in the East. When Portugal has discovered the Far East they will have the opportunity to negotiate for the purchase of two historically important ports: Macau and Nagasaki. In Brazil the Portuguese player can lead the Bandeirantes in the search for gold in Minas Gerais and acquire an increased chance to discover Gold as a trade good in all of their new colonies.

brz.jpg


The times were not always kind to Portugal. In 1807, in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars, the situation became so dire that the Portuguese court abandoned Lisbon, fled to Brazil, and made Rio the new seat of government. This will be represented in the game as a decision available to Portugal should they find themselves in dire straits. Your tag will change to Brazil, and Portugal will be released as a junior partner controlling your remaining European provinces. Note that by doing this you will lose access to Portuguese missions.

Not shown but will be in the final version: taking the decision will also change your primary culture to Brazilian.

Navarra missions.jpg


Finally we have Navarra. Navarra’s mission tree will be entirely free for anyone playing on the 1.28 ‘Spain’ patch. As you might expect, this mission tree takes the player down a very different path than history intended. Navarra must reclaim its unjustly stolen coastline, and from there pursue an invasion of France that can culminate in a Personal Union. With access to the sea, the New World beckons. In homage to the time-honoured strategy of migrating to the Americas to escape the cutthroat politics of Europe, Navarra will have the opportunity to move their capital to Terranova if they so choose.

Some of you may have noticed that Navarra’s starting monarch is also Aragon’s designated heir in 1444. A new event chain will bring Navarra under a Personal Union with Aragon if Navarra remains independent upon the death of King Afonso. If Navarra is being controlled by a player, they can of course choose to accept this union. But a truly ambitious player can instead reject the union and instantly gain a Restoration CB on Aragon.

nav_event.jpg


That’s all for today! Next week I’ll be back with more mission trees and national ideas with a focus on North Africa.
 
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I am going to write this suggestion independently, because suddenly I think it's good enough and could be lost among all the posts:

Now that we have missions, tie the unlocking of national ideas to being successful on 2-3 missions per national idea (that should be at least moderately difficult, or "mid to late" in the mission tree), and THEN you still have to buy it. So that, in order to unlock Elan for France, you should be successful and 2-3 missions (missions that are related to land warfare) and then you can buy it with Mil points, unlocking a national economic idea should be possible only after satisfying 2-3 specific missions that let you build that part of the country identity and then buying it, etc....

I know this involves buying a mission tree for each country, but this is the best metaphore for "building your national identity", and this building process should be complete near the end of the game.
 
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It’s getting better. Praying for some new Portuguese NIs.
 
It is very weird that Aragon start to form Spain will be much more powerful than Castillian start since you can use both of their mission trees. Also castille mission tree doesn’t contain any PU with Portugal but Aragon has. Also Spain ideas don’t have extra missionary which is also sad, keeping Castillian ideas might work better in general and they should be changed
 
What about Aragonese involvement in Saint Sava? "On 15 February 1444, Stephen signed a treaty with Alfonso V, King of Aragon and Naples, becoming his vassal in exchange for the king's help against Stjepan's enemies, namely King Stephen Thomas of Bosnia, Duke Ivaniš Pavlović and the Republic of Venice. In the same treaty Stjepan promised to pay regular tribute to Alfonso instead of his tribute to the Ottoman sultan, which he had done up until then." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Saint_Sava
 
For those wanting to speculate about that: Portugal isn't actually supposed to be able to see that decision in its present circumstances. It's something exciting, but also not something Portugal should be able to see while it owns Lisbon. Hotcode!
Form Custom Independent Colonial Nation?
 
Still in need for a good reason to not buy this DLC on a discount.

I thought they learned from two consecutive negatively-reviewed Immersion Packs. A lot of people just insta-buy things, doesn't mean it's any good. Quite the contrary; just more updated buttons and updated modifiers in already existing mechanics that shouldn't even carry the DLC, nor its pricing. We need something groundbreaking and new which doesn't deal with modifiers or just adds some buttons to already-existing mechanics. Where's the creativity?
 
This week and next I’m going to be showing off some of the new mission trees, events, and national ideas coming in the 1.28 ‘Spain’ update and the accompanying Immersion Pack.

Events? It’s only one. The Aragonese succession.

Events triggered by mission completion do not count, since they can be triggered any moment in the game based on when the player wants to take the reward of a mission.
 
Well, this just makes playing in Iberia even more OP. I find it curious how these last immersion packs, both in Russia and Britain, have a tendency to powercreep and railroad the game for the players. There's obviously a cynical element as well - the most played nations are those which get the DLC's. Paradox is milking it, don't you think?`

Not that i mind, though. I'll still be buying this because i can. But, y'know, better functionality is generally more appreciated than just flavor and missions, it's clear to see.
 
It's Tuesday, and that means it's time for another EU4 dev diary. This week and next I’m going to be showing off some of the new mission trees, events, and national ideas coming in the 1.28 ‘Spain’ update and the accompanying Immersion Pack.

NB: Most mission icons are currently using placeholder art

Let’s start with the star of the show, Spain itself:

View attachment 415498

The Spanish mission tree is available to nations beside Aragon that form Spain, while Castile immediately has access to a reduced version of the tree prior to forming Spain.

For the most part these missions follow Spain’s historical expansion overseas; from the Pillars of Hercules to California and the Philippines, the Spanish Empire was one of the largest the world has ever seen. Driven by the quest for gold and silver, Conquistadors such as Cortez and Pizarro will join your service to lead the conquests of Mexico and Peru. You’ll also be encouraged to spread the word of God in the New World by establishing Holy Orders in your colonies.

Spain will also have opportunities to expand in Europe. If the Iberian Wedding or Burgundian Succession don’t work out for you, permanent claims on Naples and Wallonia will help you seize your rightful inheritance through conquest. With a foothold in the Netherlands, Spain can then pursue powerful Personal Unions with both England (depending on their religious choices) and Austria, with the ultimate goal of establishing a Universal Monarchy.

What Milan, Bohemia (not me btw), the Portugal PU (the current unreliable RNG one that has historical basis)?

The English one is more fictional and more OP. Spain needs to be at least more accurate and if possible as elaborate.
 
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For those wanting to speculate about that: Portugal isn't actually supposed to be able to see that decision in its present circumstances. It's something exciting, but also not something Portugal should be able to see while it owns Lisbon. Hotcode!

Is it a decision exclusive to Portugal or generally available to countries?
 
The ideas of the Spanish Navy think they are worse than the previous ones, a cost of 10% cheaper in the construction of heavy ships is not comparable to the 10% attack bonus .... With this Spain loses Naval weight. It was already in worse condition than the British Royal Navy, now even more so

Especially so if you consider that money is generaly not an issue for Spain (as a result of trade and colonies). So they are giving you a bonus for something that was not an issue to begin with.
 

“The capital will move to Rio de Janeiro if owned, or else to a random province in the Brazil colonial region.”

Wait what? We could find ourselves with a 1/1/1 inland capital just because we do not have Rio de Janeiro but instead we own a godly-developed Bahia??

This should be changed ASAP. The new capital would be the Capital of the Brazil Colonial Nation that Portugal has. Not Rio de Janeiro because “railroading” or else too bad you’ll play the lottery.

This makes no sense.
 
The chances for Austria being the winner in the Burgundian Inheritance should be higher now that there is a option for Spain and Austria to become a personal union.

There should be the ability to tag switch via personal unions by letting go of one country. This would allow for a lot of interesting achievements as well.