Welcome to the fourth development diary for Europa Universalis 4: El Dorado. Today’s topic is the mythical city of El Dorado itself, or rather the system of land exploration that may just result in your conquistadors finding one of the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. We’ll also be discussing a few other things such as the addition of merchants from Colonial Nations in the expansion and the addition of a large number of DHEs (Dynamic Historical Events) in the free patch.


Hunt for the Seven Cities
In the first Development Diary for El Dorado we talked about Naval Exploration and how you could send your ships on missions to explore certain sea zones or explore a particular coastline. El Dorado has a similar system for land exploration that we call ‘Hunt for the Seven Cities’.

As the name indicates, this system is only available in the New World, and using it is as simple as sending an army led by a conquistador to the Americas and hitting the ‘Hunt for the Seven Cities’ toggle in the unit view. While this toggle is on, the conquistador will automatically explore his surroundings, uncovering terra incognita, fighting natives, and stopping to rest as needed.

While a conquistador is exploring in this manner, a large number of events can happen - your conquistador might run out of food, trade with friendly natives, or uncover a lead on where to find one of the Seven Cities of Gold, the Fountain of Youth, or other mythical places that Europeans believed could be found somewhere in the New World. If your intrepid band stumbles upon such a lead, several more events are unlocked as your conquistador follows the clues to an end that can involve failure and death, failing to locate your goal but finding something else of value instead (such as searching for El Dorado but finding Lake Guatavita), or actually locating your objective! You will also be given chances to abandon this quest, should you wish to employ your conquistador in a more traditional manner.

Of course, finding the Fountain of Youth won’t actually make you immortal, much like finding El Dorado doesn’t mean you’ll encounter the golden empire of legend. You will find something of great value that will give a permanent boost to tax income, increased trade efficiency, prestige or other such bonuses.

View attachment HuntFor7Cities.jpg

Colonial Merchants
Another addition in the El Dorado expansion is a perk for colonial empires that want to bring the riches of the New World back to their home shores. For those with the expansion, every colonial nation of more than ten provinces that an empire has as a subject will give the overlord an extra merchant.

View attachment ColonialMerchant.jpg

Inland Trading
Way back in the Wealth of Nations expansion we reworked inland trading. We've further developed that idea by introducing something called ‘Caravan Power’. Caravan Power is a simple addition on the amount of power you gain in an inland node from having a merchant placed there, and is gained from the total tax value of your country up to a maximum of 50. So, a country with 30 total base tax will have +30 power in all inland nodes.

The old bonuses to having a merchant present inland and steering towards inland are gone, and have been replaced with bonuses to Caravan Power. This means that a dozen one-province countries with five merchants each can no longer drain away most of the value of Ragusa simply through their combined trade power bonuses.

View attachment CaravanPower.jpg

Events
Also part of the free patch is a huge number of Dynamic Historical Events for South- and Mesoamericans, with over 40 events just between the Incas and Aztecs, bringing lots of life and flavor to the New World for everyone.

View attachment AztecEvent.jpg

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Europe doesnt produce any luxury goods that they would want to import, which is what the trade companies do, which is why trade only flows from the places that produce luxury towards the wealthy middle classes of europe who create the demand

That is a rather ignorant statement/assumption, in a world where a westernized Africa has actually managed to conquer there (IE you are necessarily ignorant of what such a world would be like, because such a world is fantasy anyway). You're projecting demand and luxury goods in such a world? That's not even possible to do.

Trade company region there for a western Africa or Asia is every bit as plausible as it is in reverse. When you alter history that much, you also alter goods and demand.

 

[EldritchBolt]

There is nothing a subjugated europe could produce in that situation that they could not make themselves. Cotton, spices and such need hot climates and wont grow in europe.

The only luxury europe has in wine which even then only grows in a handful of places. Otherwise it would just be subjugating europeans and forcing them to export grain to africa/aztec allowing you to grow larger populations. But there would never be a trade company managing this - it wouldnt make any sense

 

[Mikalos]

That is a rather ignorant statement/assumption, in a world where a westernized Africa has actually managed to conquer there (IE you are necessarily ignorant of what such a world would be like, because such a world is fantasy anyway). You're projecting demand and luxury goods in such a world? That's not even possible to do.

Trade company region there for a western Africa or Asia is every bit as plausible as it is in reverse. When you alter history that much, you also alter goods and demand.

Somewhere else becoming dominant doesnt change that europes big things were wine in a few places in the south, some gold, and a crap ton of grains and sheep. Oh and fish, but once protestantism happens that loses its value (I find it amusing that 1444 sized Bohemia and a few other OPM germans going heretic is enough to collapse the fish prices)

Theres a reason they had to go out and find luxury goods elsewhere, europe is incredibly poor in this regard. its like setting up a trade company to move the grain america produces.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Somewhere else becoming dominant doesnt change that europes big things were wine in a few places in the south, some gold, and a crap ton of grains and sheep. Oh and fish, but once protestantism happens that loses its value (I find it amusing that 1444 sized Bohemia and a few other OPM germans going heretic is enough to collapse the fish prices)

Theres a reason they had to go out and find luxury goods elsewhere, europe is incredibly poor in this regard. its like setting up a trade company to move the grain america produces.

Wine, then forced labor and conquest have a funny way of altering how things develop and what gets produced.

 

[penco]

That doesnt make any sense whatsover

Europe doesnt produce any luxury goods that they would want to import, which is what the trade companies do, which is why trade only flows from the places that produce luxury towards the wealthy middle classes of europe who create the demand

So Europe is just a useless lump of land that produces nothing? I'm pretty sure Europe was cranking out lots of products that other people in the world would have loved. Manufactured goods especially, but in terms of resources already in-game I'd say textiles, naval goods, furs, wine, and slaves. Even if China/India/Japan didn't import these much in history, it is very conceivable that they would if they were in a position where they weren't getting shafted by the Euros.

Somewhere else becoming dominant doesnt change that europes big things were wine in a few places in the south, some gold, and a crap ton of grains and sheep. Oh and fish, but once protestantism happens that loses its value (I find it amusing that 1444 sized Bohemia and a few other OPM germans going heretic is enough to collapse the fish prices)

Theres a reason they had to go out and find luxury goods elsewhere, europe is incredibly poor in this regard. its like setting up a trade company to move the grain america produces.

"Luxury good" is a very relative term. I doubt the people in Indonesia thought spices were a luxury, but the Euros did. And the Euros probably thought wine was pretty commonplace, but the Asians might have thought it was an exotic luxury.

 

[EldritchBolt]

Manufactured goods

Thats dumb. Thats incredibly dumb.

The British Empire did not become an economic superpower by building factories in its conquored territories and giving those areas good economies - it kept those places doing terrible "RGO" labour while building all the factories at home.

Theres a reason the dutch revolt happend and if the africans did as you are suggesting they would get the same result - you absolutely can NOT allow your minions to have the superior local economy and then leach from their wealth.

In regards to textiles, theres a reason there is an event that lowers all the european wool value and its because once they found cotton and silk noone who was anyone wanted to wear wool clothes so that is meaningless as well.

In regards to slaves that wouldnt work for the simple reason that the africans/aztec would be invading as an equal power so it would be equivalent to spain going to war with france over borders. If you started enslaving euros you would get a ressurection of the holy crusades with the whole continent banding against foreign invasion, the only reason it worked in africa was because the local african kings were complicit in the slavery because they didnt want to get #rekt and the local power structures let everything go smoothly - only "undesirable" africans were enslaved so the others didnt mind which wouldnt be the case with an invasion of europe on eqaul terms - you would need africans showing up with power armour and las-guns for that to work

 

[TheMeInTeam]

If you started enslaving euros you would get a ressurection of the holy crusades with the whole continent banding against foreign invasion

Not sure what you take 300+ AE with every nation there to mean then.

 

[filippos22]

Excited about this, especially about the hunt for El Dorado.

 

[Yxklyx]

...
Can Trade Companies be semi-independent as CNs are? e.g.: trade power and production income (over 100%) for overlord >< tax income, manpower, production income (under 100%) for trade company (it can't build light ships and send merchants))

They are to a slight extent right now. There are those events where they want you to expand and if you don't you get penalized.

 

[penco]

Thats dumb. Thats incredibly dumb.

The British Empire did not become an economic superpower by building factories in its conquored territories and giving those areas good economies - it kept those places doing terrible "RGO" labour while building all the factories at home.

Theres a reason the dutch revolt happend and if the africans did as you are suggesting they would get the same result - you absolutely can NOT allow your minions to have the superior local economy and then leach from their wealth.

In regards to textiles, theres a reason there is an event that lowers all the european wool value and its because once they found cotton and silk noone who was anyone wanted to wear wool clothes so that is meaningless as well.

In regards to slaves that wouldnt work for the simple reason that the africans/aztec would be invading as an equal power so it would be equivalent to spain going to war with france over borders. If you started enslaving euros you would get a ressurection of the holy crusades with the whole continent banding against foreign invasion, the only reason it worked in africa was because the local african kings were complicit in the slavery because they didnt want to get #rekt and the local power structures let everything go smoothly - only "undesirable" africans were enslaved so the others didnt mind which wouldnt be the case with an invasion of europe on eqaul terms - you would need africans showing up with power armour and las-guns for that to work

Man you really take things out of context.

First off, I am not talking about the Europeans building factories in their conquered territories. I am talking about exporting things they manufacture domestically to their conquered territories. See the definition of "mercantilism." Or just exporting to Asia in general. You know, just plain exporting. This is one of the basic ideas of trade. If you think it is nonsense for Europe to export things, I don't know how to argue with you.

Second, we are talking about hypothetical scenarios where the Europeans are not dominant. If some Indian nation is in a position to build a trade company in Europe, we have already established by that point that we are looking at an alternative history in which basically all the points you made are moot.

 

[EldritchBolt]

1 - First off, I am not talking about the Europeans building factories in their conquered territories.

2 - If some Indian nation is in a position to build a trade company in Europe, we have already established by that point that we are looking at an alternative history in which basically all the points you made are moot.

1- Neither was I...

2 - Pure fantasy, we are not talking about an alternate history in which india is dominant, we are talking about an eu4 in which india is westernised which means equal not dominant. In any case the points are not moot, whichever country produces the manufactured goods is the dominant nation. India could not EVER be in a situation to build a trade company in europe because that would not EVER be the correct administrative procedure, the correct adminisrative procedure would be something more like a colonial region or vassal-hood

 

[Mikalos]

So Europe is just a useless lump of land that produces nothing? I'm pretty sure Europe was cranking out lots of products that other people in the world would have loved. Manufactured goods especially, but in terms of resources already in-game I'd say textiles, naval goods, furs, wine, and slaves. Even if China/India/Japan didn't import these much in history, it is very conceivable that they would if they were in a position where they weren't getting shafted by the Euros.

.

i dont think you understand why all the factories making those goods were in europe and not in the colonies

"we're gonna invade europe, because they are better at economics than us ,and only they can make finished products" is literally what you just said

 

[penco]

1- Neither was I...

Yeah you actually were:

The British Empire did not become an economic superpower by building factories in its conquored territories and giving those areas good economies - it kept those places doing terrible "RGO" labour while building all the factories at home.

2 - Pure fantasy, we are not talking about an alternate history in which india is dominant, we are talking about an eu4 in which india is westernised which means equal not dominant. In any case the points are not moot, whichever country produces the manufactured goods is the dominant nation. India could not EVER be in a situation to build a trade company in europe because that would not EVER be the correct administrative procedure, the correct adminisrative procedure would be something more like a colonial region or vassal-hood

Why is it that it makes sense for a dominant Europe to put trade companies in India but not for a dominant India to put trade companies in Europe?

i dont think you understand why all the factories making those goods were in europe and not in the colonies

"we're gonna invade europe, because they are better at economics than us ,and only they can make finished products" is literally what you just said

WTF are you talking about? I don't even know how to interpret what you said in a way that is relevant to this discussion. I'm saying that in an alternative history where Asia dominates Europe, it is conceivable that Asians import European goods. How is that such nonsense you guys?

Again, WTF?

 

[Mikalos]

Because you're talking about finished goods - europe made them because they were the center of the trade network that the goods went too to be finished, not because the goods were in any way european: A asia dominant network would have the finished goods be made in whatever asian country you are in. all you'll be getting from europe is what they already have: Grain wine and sheep. Woooo!

in game terms it makes even less sense - europes trade goods are set. you'll be making a trade company for a lot of grain and sheep. a lot of good that'll do your india besides feeding it, and you could already do that via a vassal state that wouldnt be complaining about the lack of money coming in.

Unless you want europe to be the only place that makes manufactured goods, which is one heck of a rascist thing you got goin there

 

[chrnno]

Meh, these talks of alternate histories reminds me of a game I had in 1.6(or 1.5 not sure). Ottomans got ridiculously lucky with pretty much everything and had an Empire spanning from Austria to Malacca.

 

[EldritchBolt]

1 - Yeah you actually were:

2 - Why is it that it makes sense for a dominant Europe to put trade companies in India but not for a dominant India to put trade companies in Europe?

3 - WTF are you talking about? I don't even know how to interpret what you said in a way that is relevant to this discussion. I'm saying that in an alternative history where Asia dominates Europe, it is conceivable that Asians import European goods. How is that such nonsense you guys?

Again, WTF?

1 - No, I was talking about why it is ridiculous for india to put factories in europe and import european goods after conquering europe and using the BE as an example of a "proper" subjugation, follow the discussion

2 - This has been said time and time again - because a trade company is something where you trick the locals into doing grunt work, base their economy on this grunt work then keep them like this because they cant afford the shock of changing. Picking spices is trash work which fundamentally adds nothing to their economy except that we paid them to do so, meaning they never develop their own systems because it always remains easier for them to buy our manufactored goods. This is a trap hard for them to escape as doing so means first abandoning the luxury business in order to get a real economy, which people will oppose because although it is best for the nation it means that the peoples quality in life is going to drop for "only" 20 years or so in order to improve your nation which is nothing to an eu4 god-player but is a good chunk of their life in which they can no longer afford lovely imports they have grown accustomed to. Europe cannot be made in to a "trade company" region exporting manufactored goods because that is a wealthy persuit and creates self sufficiency.

3 - What he said is the entire fulcrum of the discussion. It is 100% relevant. Europe has nothing to export except in a situation in which it has superior technology. If asia were dominant, they would build their own factories and no need imports.

 

[chrnno]

Europe has nothing to export except in a situation in which it has superior technology.

Sure it has. There are people in Europe thus slaves are one thing it must necessarily be capable of exporting.

 

[Mikalos]

Sure it has. There are people in Europe thus slaves are one thing it must necessarily be capable of exporting.

well, yes, but i could say the same about any region

 

[Hiram_Maxim]

Sure it has. There are people in Europe thus slaves are one thing it must necessarily be capable of exporting.

There's also copper, iron as well as gold in Spain, Austria and Kosovo. Europe produces lots of important goods and not just grain and sheep.

 

[EldritchBolt]

As I have already said, the export of slaves from africa was only possible because they had local power structures WANTING to export slaves from their "undesirable" classes to which noone objected. What you are talking about is a total invasion and mass enslavement that would - as I have said - required power armour and las-guns not a merely westernised india with EQUAL technology.

As EU4 does not allow the power balance to shift - only equalise it is therefore impossible to turn europeans in to slaves without the entire continent - millions and millions up in arms, far in excess of the comparatively small standing armies.