EU4 - Development Diary - 7th of July 2020

[neondt]

I recently read the Art of Not Being Governed, and it certainly got me thinking about lots of interesting gameplay for SEA. Neondt, I'd be curious if you've read it and if it has had any influence on these designs?

One thing specifically I'd like to see, is something representing the relationship between the hill tribes and the sedentary agricultural states (the main topic of the book). It seems like the hill tribes could fit well in the reworked estate system. Can you comment at all on that, or any other new estates for SEA?



I feel like this is a limitation of EU4. Culture and culture groups are used to guide the politics of both the AI and player, but often times the relationship is reversed. Politics influences the formation of what we now think of as age-old cultures. I suspect you might have similar thoughts, given your quoting of "natural" Vietnamese expansion.

I've never encountered that book before, but I will absolutely check it out. If you've seen my Dithmarschen mission tree you'll know I have an interest in anarchist literature. Would be interesting to represent ungoverned people in a less "memey" way. There won't be any new estates coming in the 1.31 update, but I can certainly see this becoming a government reform and/or a national idea set.

And yes culture groups in EU4 are messy and arbitrary. They're an eclectic mix of gameplay and historical considerations, bound by a very binary system. It's unfortunately just the nature of the mechanics and I don't see a change coming any time soon.

One last question, will there be any Champa content? It's a really interesting country with a unique culture, religion, etc. It would be interesting to see some sort of mission tree concerning a Cham resurgence.

There will probably be some Champa content. Haven't written it yet but I'd like to create a small mission tree for them at least.

 

[neondt]

I hope this means the development malus for tropical provinces will be scrapped. It makes little sense when by the mid-late game Dhaka and Ayutthaya had swollen to about a million inhabitants each, larger than any city in Europe.

It won't be scrapped, but it will be mitigated. More on that later.

I think that the Province named Sip Et is incorrect. It is incorrect folklore etymology that the name was Sip Et but misread as Roi Et.

The province name should be Roi Et, according to nowadays historian consensus.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[neondt]

This is fantastic!

Did you also correct the religous setup in Laos?

I can't say I'm well versed on religion in Laos. What do you think needs to change?

I've been researching Southeast Asia a fair bit for a mod I've been working on for some time, and I've compiled a couple of things that should be tweaked or added.
Nguyen Thi Anh should really be a 4/2/2 queen consort with Bang Co Le being the heir.
Nguyen Xi should be a two star general, around 2/3/2/4 siege specialist because of the tactics he invented.
Trinh Kha should have events relating to his power but could also be a level 3 statesman, half off and born in Thanh Hoa.
Sukhothai should be under a personal union (this is iffy because they are not Christian) but it's weird that your vassal has the same king as you and that he may die at a different time.

Hoping they fix that Bang Co Le is magically 22 despite being born in late 1441.

Interesting. I'll look into these things

 

[neondt]

Unfortunately, the people of the Philippines at this time period didn't even have a national identity to speak of. The name "Philippines" was even given to the islands by Spanish explorers. The people had very regionalistic tendencies even well after the Spaniards consolidated the islands into one colony.

On the topic of the Philippines though, will there be any updates for that region? Whether it be tags, mission trees, events, or provinces? I always found the location of Tondo a bit odd considering that Tondo and Manila are located extremely close to each other in real life.

It's not really planned but it's vaguely within the scope of the update. It's on my radar but kind of at the bottom of the priority list. Lots to get through before I could justify thinking about the Philippines.

 

[neondt]

I think the province on a map named LAKHON/Lakhon in the Lan Na Kingdom is incorrect, it should be Lampang/Khelang Nakhon. The old name of Lampang was Khelang Nakhon.

You're right, it should be Lampang.

 

[neondt]

Lampang native here. Lakhon technically isn't a wrong province name; it's a shortened form of either the name Khelang Nakhon or Lampang Nakhon, similar to how Nakhon Ratchasima is shortened down to just 'Khorat.' Considering that Khorat is the current name of the province containing Nakhon Ratchasima, I think it's perfectly fine to have Lampang/Khelang Nakhon as 'Lakhon.' Additionally, the Thai Wikipedia page on Lampang province calls the old town of Lampang 'Wiang Lakhon;' "เวียงลคอร"

Fair enough. I'll go with Lampang though since it's a little more recognizable.

 

[neondt]

MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED! PRAISE THE GOOD LADY OF LA VANG!

No, really, I've been asking for a good SEA overhaul since Mandate of Heaven.

Also, is this being done by the new folks over at PDX Tinto? They are taking over EUIV soon, right?

Currently it is being done by me. Tinto comes later.