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Europa Universalis IV - Development Diary 9th of August 2022

Good afternoon and welcome to today’s Developer Diary! Today’s topics are new Achievements and Moddability expansion, as well as further discussion on the Idea groups changes proposed by the community and our QA

But first, we’ve got a cool Stream for you!
Tomorrow, Wednesday the 10th between 10am and 6pm CEST we’ll go live with the Europa Universalis IV segment of this year’s Grand Campaign! So head on over to our Twitch channel tomorrow and join us!


Read more here: https://pdxint.at/3p5vuqp



Achievements


Brick by Brick
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Starting as Denmark, enact the Unified Kalmar Monarchy government reform and own the entire Scandinavian region as your cores.

This achievement flows nicely with the gameplay elements introduced in 1.34 and ties well into a nice playthrough as Denmark, with a lofty goal in mind!


Super Trooper
achievement_super_trooper-gigapixel-low_res-scale-2_00x.png


Starting as Sweden, enact the Allotment System government reform, have 80 regiments of Carolean raised at the same time with at least +40% infantry combat ability.

Let the Swedish new Carolean units teach you all abbaout combat ability!


Assembly Instructions Needed
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Form Scandinavia and revoke the privilegia of the Holy Roman Empire while being the Emperor.

The manual is surely lying, how am I supposed to put together a large administrative body of dozens of different nations with different goals and agendas in just 15 minutes!?


Holy Horder
achievement_holy_horder-gigapixel-low_res-scale-2_00x.png


Starting as the Teutonic Order, form the Mongol Empire while having the Holy Horde government reform enacted.

Why yes of course, starting as the theocracy of the Germanic Teutonic Order, turning into a special Holy Horde and subsequently resurrecting the Mongol Empire is not the end of times, it’s a legitimate strategy! History at its finest! /s


For the Emperor!
achievement_for_the_emperor-gigapixel-low_res-scale-2_00x.png


Form Prussia or Germany, have the Empire government rank and 40.000 Marines raised at the same time.

Prussia is one of the - if not the most - powerful military powers in the entire game. Its soldiers are of unparalleled discipline and combat prowess, one could even say these marines’ ability reaches beyond outer space!


The Freest Man in the World
achievement_the_freest_man_in_the_world-gigapixel-low_res-scale-2_00x.png


Ensure that no colonized province in the world produces slaves while having the War Against the World Doctrine government reform enacted.

The era of free pirates is upon us! Wealth, fame, power are nothing to people if they do not own their freedom first and foremost!


Crossing the Finnish Line
achievement_crossing_the_finnish_line-gigapixel-low_res-scale-2_00x.png


Release and play as Finland in 1444 and have a direct land connection to the Cape while your capital is in Nyland/Uusimaa.

Is it really border gore if the border is a straight line?


Purify the Temple
achievement_purify_the_temple-gigapixel-low_res-scale-2_00x.png


Starting as Riga, enact the Salvific Plutocracy government reform and raid the heretic church of Rome.

Riga receives an interesting and quite large mission tree for its size, now accompanied with a cool new achievement for a flavorful and fresh playthrough! We <3 Riga!


Almost Prussian Blue
achievement_almost_prussian_blue-gigapixel-low_res-scale-2_00x.png


Starting as the Livonian Order, form Livonia and own the territory of the North German Confederation as core provinces.

A new achievement to support a splendid new mission tree for the Livonian Order. Now imbued with style due to Livonia’s new color, it’s an old familiar color but it checks out.


Let it Go!
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As Norway, have your capital in the Canada region while not owning any province in Scandinavia.

Traverse through the snowy locales of Canada with the brand new mission tree for Norway and leave behind your European lands. The cold never bothered you anyway!


Hanukkah Mutapa
achievement_hannukah_mutapa-gigapixel-low_res-scale-2_00x.png


Starting as Mutapa, convert to Judaism and celebrate a festival.

It means no worries for the rest of your campaign! It’s a problem-free philosophy!



Modding Additions

The second part of this Developer Diary will be dedicated to the various additions and new script goodies we are adding with 1.34. In total, over 40 new script parameters have been added to best help the modding community expand its amazing work, a love letter sort of speak. So, in the spirit of showing off some of the cool new script additions, let’s take a look at some of them.

Modifiers and Effects:​


- set_bankruptcy = <tag> The tag gets instantly bankrupt
- Added reasons_to_elect which adds additional modifier for HRE election reasons
- Added morale_damage and morale_damage_received that works similarly to fire_damage and fire_damage_received during combat
- Added military_tactics modifiers which allows you to increase this value given by the military tech.
- Added max_hostile_attrition
- local_garrison_size = <float> - modifies the local garrison size of the province as long it has a fort to begin with, see the "garrison_size" modifier for reference
- global_attacker_dice_roll_bonus, local_attacker_dice_roll_bonus, global_defender_dice_roll_bonus, local_defender_dice_roll_bonus, own_territory_dice_roll_bonus, global_trade_goods_size

ramparts.png


Modifiers both local and country-wide take a good bit of the spotlight for 1.34 with interesting new one such as the dice roll for defenders, attackers and own territory. This new modifier will add another layer of depth to military-related rewards of events, missions and decisions should you wish to mod them in.

What’s more, some new modifiers we are excited to play around with are local garrison size, giving more defensive capabilities to smaller nations with defensible terrain and military_tactics, a very potent modifier that decreases the casualties your side takes during battle. A small note here, this modifier always applies as a percentage to the base amount (0.5) thus a 10% increase would always amount to essentially +0.1 military tactics.

Rule Modifiers​

In the EU IV Wiki there’s a portion of the Modifiers page dedicated to the so-called Rule Modifiers. Up until now, these were hardcoded to only appear either in Ideas or Age Bonuses. However, with 1.34 and onwards we will be able to utilize them as normal country modifiers! Some of the cool modifiers included are the ability for units to ignore fort zones of control, attack bonus in provinces with the same terrain as capital province and allowing ships to repair in coastal sea zones adjacent to owned provinces.

rulemodifiers.png

Triggers (requirements):​

- any_war_enemy_country/all_war_enemy_countries
- gives_military_access_to = <country scope> (returns true if the country gives the specified country military access
- receives_military_access_from = <country scope> (returns true if the country receives military access from the specified country
- gives_fleet_basing_rights_to = <country scope> (returns true if the country gives the specified country fleet basing rights
- receives_fleet_basing_rights_from = <country scope> (returns true if the country receives fleet basing rights from the specified country
- added has_naval_doctrine = <doctrine key> or "any"

triggers.png

The idea behind adding these trigger checks is to help save time from long and performance-intensive scope checks for requirements such as all_war_enemy_countries. Furthermore, checking for countries that give any type of access would only serve to further imbue missions and new modding works with more freedom to create content as it’s visualized, without having to cut down or resort to “duct tape” solutions. Lastly, a personal favorite is the check for naval doctrine, a trigger I am very much looking forward to using!

Miscellaneous​


Mercenary armies will now have descriptions so you can write the story behind some of the most legendary hired arms during the timeline of the game. This change aims at adding an increased sense of roleplay and help the player see the mercenary armies as a unique and alive part of the game, not just some faceless troops to be thrown into battle :D In this instance, the description is used to declare that the Swiss mercenaries will not cost any Army Professionalism:

descmerc.png

Golden Ages now have the ability to be extended (in the form of months) and even be reset as part of a new effect “reset_golden_age = yes & extend_golden_age = <months>”

golden age.png

The Breakthrough mechanic will also appear in the game, however by default it will be turned off (read more in this Developer Diary about Breakthrough). However, the system is in place and modders can activate and tweak it on demand via the “defines” file.

breakthrough.png

Aggressive Expansion can now be granted as an effect as add_aggressive_expansion and reverse_add_aggressive_expansion. Moreover, this effect can be affected by a parameter to simulate AE taking culture, religion etc into account.

Monuments will be able to have descriptions, conditional modifiers (if X applies you get Y else get something else as a modifier) and even have region-wide effects on top of province, area and global effects.

region modifier.png

We went ahead and added a new console command, namely “remove_country <TAG>”, behold its effect!

Before:
before.png


After:
after.png

(Sweden will still fight and win its independence, subsequently annexing the entirety of Scandinavia despite the fact that it does not exist anymore - still not overpowered ).

Finally, we have converted all the stats of special units. They used to reside in the “defines” file, now they are static modifiers which are more moddable:

static hussars.png

Having advisors give scaling bonuses based on their level will also be a reality with 1.34, a change we are most excited about! For example, you can have Advisors grant -5% Mercantilism Cost per level, for a total of -25% at level 5:

scaling advisor.png

Overall, 1.34 adds a very healthy number of new triggers, modifiers and effects to play around with and we are looking forward to seeing how they will be utilized both by our colleagues as well as the modding community. Do bare in mind that the modding additions showcased here are still a work in progress and only reflect a portion of what we are adding for 1.34 due to us wanting to keep this Developer Diary from being 20 pages longer and only showing off some of the highlights!



Idea Groups

And now here @Pavía , talking (again) about the balance changes for the upcoming update.

After going through all the feedback we received from the community a in the last couple of weeks, and more internal testing about the changes, this is going to be the final version of the Idea Groups changes for 1.34 Update:
  • Economic Ideas:
    • Bonus now gives -10% Development Cost instead of -20%.
  • Innovative Ideas:
    • ‘Optimism’ now also gives +1 Leaders without Upkeep.
    • 'Formalized Officer Corps' replaced by ‘Expanded Policies’, now granting +1 Free Policies.
  • Espionage:
    • ‘State Propaganda’ now also reduces Covert Action Relation Impact by -100%.
    • 'Agent Training' now gives -15% Advisor Cost.
    • ‘Vetting’ now also grants -0.2 Yearly Corruption.
    • 'Privateers' now give +25% Chance to Capture Enemy Ships instead of +25% Embargo Efficiency.
    • ‘Audit Checks’ replaced by ‘Blackmailing’, now granting:
      • Reasons to Accept Vassalization +15.
      • Monthly Favors Modifier +33%.
    • Bonus now gives Rebel Support Efficiency of 100% instead of 50%.
  • Exploration Ideas:
    • ‘Free Colonies’ now gives +10% Settler Chance.
    • ‘Global Empire’ now also gives +25% Treasure Fleet Income.
  • Trade Ideas
    • ‘National Trade Policy’ now also decreases Promote Mercantilism Cost by 25%.
    • Bonus now also gives +10% Loyalty of the Burghers/Vaisyas
  • Aristocratic:
    • ‘Noble Knights’ now gives -20% Cavalry Cost instead of 10% and +15% Cavalry Combat Ability instead of 10%.
    • 'Serfdom':
      • National manpower modifier now giving +15% instead of +33%.
      • Adding -5% Development Cost.
    • 'International Diplomacy': Replacing +1 Free Leader Pool for -25% General Cost.
    • ‘Noble Connections’ now increases mercenary manpower by 25% instead of 20%.
  • Divine:
    • 'Martyrs' now gives +20% Manpower in True Faith Provinces instead of +15% Global Manpower modifier..
    • 'Servants of God' now gives -5% Development cost.
  • Horde:
    • 'Horse-lords of the Steppes' now also gives +10% Cavalry to Infantry ratio.
    • Bonus now also gives +10% Tribes Loyalty Equilibrium.
  • Indigenous Ideas:
    • ‘Controlled Burns’ from Indigenous Ideas gives now +15% National Manpower Modifier instead of +20%
  • Plutocratic:
    • 'Tradition of Payment'
      • Replacing +10% Mercenary Manpower for -20% Mercenary Cost.
      • Mercenary Discipline now gives +5% instead of +2.5%.
    • 'Free Cities' now also gives -5% Development Cost.
  • Naval Ideas:
    • ‘Naval Glory’ now also gives +1 Impact on Siege.
    • ‘Oak Forests for Ships’ now also gives +10% Ship Durability.
    • Bonus now gives -100% Naval Barrage Cost instead of +10% Ship Durability.
  • Offensive Ideas:
    • ‘Grand Army’ now gives +10% Special Unit Force Limit and +15% Land Force Limit Modifier instead of 20% Land Force Limit Modifier.
  • Quality Ideas:
    • ‘Quality Education’ now also gives +0.5 Navy Tradition.
  • Quantity:
    • 'Levée en Masse' now gives +25% National Manpower modifier instead of 50%.
    • Bonus now gives +25% Land Force Limit Modifier instead of +50%.
Policies:
  • Economic - Quantity:
    • No longer gives -10% Development Cost, instead it gives -10% Land Maintenance Modifier.
  • Innovative - Quality:
    • Now gives Infantry Combat Ability +15% instead of +10%.
  • Aristocratic - Espionage:
    • Now gives Cavalry Combat Ability +15% instead of +10%, and +10% Noble Estate Loyalty Equilibrium.

On top of that, we’ve made a few small balance changes here and there, implementing feedback we’ve received in the last DDs; most of them we already commented on in there , so I don’t want to make this one longer.

And speaking of, this is going to be the last Development Diary of this cycle. Most of the team here at Tinto will be going on vacation in the next few weeks, so we’re making sure that in the following days all the content gets as polished as possible for the release, and some team members will also be taking care of the preparations during this period. We know that there will be speculation about the dates of the next DLC, but we want to be sure that we offer a high quality product; so hopefully there will be more news on this soon.

Thank you very much to everyone who’s been following us and participated in this cycle of DDs that began more than 3 months ago. We’re quite happy with the feedback we’ve received during it, and we’re also very excited about the new content and the update. See you!
 
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I understand the Quantity Nerfs but cutting the manpower in half felt a bit much? 33% felt fair to me. Honestly it was the force limit rather than the manpower that made Quantity problematic (especially when the Ottomans, who already get 33% FL, take it so often), so I'd be happy to trade a lower force limit for a higher manpower pool. Failing that, maybe buff the manpower recovery of "The Young Can Serve"?

The problem with quantity was the manpower bonus and not the force limit. Hopefully this change will turn manpower back into a thing you actually have to manage even if you take quantity.
 
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For the achievements, could we add time limits to a couple? I think that makes them a bit more interesting - particularly the conquer tons of stuff ones which get boring once you're half way there.

Crossing the Finnish Line seems a good candidate (maybe 1650?) . Holy Hoarder might be good too, but there's already the Khaaaan one. Maybe the Livonian order one at 1700?
 
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Do you mean +5% development efficiency, or -5% development cost?
-5% Development Cost. We have aligned the government-based idea groups to give that modifier, to make them more interesting. The only exception is the Horde ideas because... Well, the Hordes have their own mechanics regarding development. But we have also added the Cav/Inf Ratio to them, to compensate for that.
I love that someone at PDX reads One Piece. What a great series!
Yes! This is also a homage to our fellow @elkronk , who left the Studio a few months ago and was a big fan of it.
 
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And now here @Pavía , talking (again) about the balance changes for the upcoming update.

After going through all the feedback we received from the community a in the last couple of weeks, and more internal testing about the changes, this is going to be the final version of the Idea Groups changes for 1.34 Update:

Have any changes been made to the pulse events for idea groups for 1.34?
 
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Great dev diary! And what do you think guys, about adding +20 acceptance in case of threaten war to espionage ideas. This feature is useless now and also espionage are still to week even with advisor cost. From roleplay perspective it also make sense.
 
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I still have the problem with brandenburg that i can't automatically form preusen with 300 dev. later in the game i can't even state all historical provinces because the -50% debuff doesn't allow it. Is there a possibility that you negate this debuff for germanic provinces or through the brandenburg gate?

espionage should have a debuff in morale/discipline as an idea. Something like "free propaganda/decomposition: -5%/10% morale" for enemy states.
 
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I remember there was quite a mess with 1.32 achievements that required country not existing in 1444 (Saruhan, Mongol Empire, Hawaii), making them impossible until hotfix. What is the exact achievement condition for "Release and play as Finland in 1444"?
 
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Great DD! Love that the feedback has been taken into account when tweaking ideas and policies. However, its nice to hear that Tinto is taking their time on this release its nice to see and hear that you guys are learning from your mistakes and working to avoid them again. I can't wait to get more info on this DLC! Here's to a successful release.
 
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I would like to say that I wish Scandinavia got a few more provinces. I know you have said you would never add more provinces to the game anymore, but this region really has some huge provinces that could need to be cut in half. In Sweden you could split up Stockholm and Hälsingland, and in Denmark you could split the big island of Sjælland into 2 aswell. Make the city of Copenhagen it's own small province like Lübeck and then the rest of Sjælland is it's own province. (Very similar to how the Regions in Denmark work).
The game has over 4000 provinces and making 3-4 more provinces will not hurt.
In regards to Sjælland/Copenhagen I would also love to know why it is not a center of trade? Copenhagen is litteraly the biggest tradecenter in Scandinavia, and the city's name is litteraly 'Merchant Harbor'.

Anyway, keep up the good work. I cannot wait for the release of this update and DLC.
Yeah, probably making Iceland 3 provinces and the top of Denmark's Jutland peninsula its own province
 
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Right. Load new game, immediately enter “remove_country ULM”, got it.
 
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Overall I really like the changes in the upcoming patch, and I'm super curious how they will play out, but:

-Imo the quantity is nerfed to the ground. Most of the ideas in that group are average at most, and if you were to keep the 25% manpower I would add/buff something else; at this state getting the whole idea group for a few bonuses isn't really worth that. E.g. I would change the -10% Regiment Cost for something like -10% Reinforcements Cost - that would make it better + would still fit with the whole theme of quantity.

-Please change the slider on "Sell ships" interaction, it is garbage, and when you play in a challenging way, the difference of couple of ducats on a single ship does make a difference.

-When you are fighting a battle and have a bonus from fighting on certain terrain it shows a red minus under your army - just a small QoF change.

-Adding negative manpower - for example when having an event that steals my MP, and you can exploit it, by spending it on queuing the regiments, and than deleting it when the event goes away. You can have the negative Monarch Points, so why not MP?

-The images of the achievements seem a little bit odd? I don't know if it's just me, but the style of them looks pretty different to the most of the current ones.

-I like the way you went with the Espionage, but for me it is still the weakest (useful, so not counting Naval when playing Switzerland) idea group. Maybe a little change to the policies it gives?

-I m not sure how the combat will pan out, but the Defensive ideas seems a little underwhelming at the current state.
 
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