Tinto Talks #45 - 8th of January 2025

[Johan]

I don't think that +50% movement cost should be green...

fixed 1h ago now

 

[Johan]

How do % modifiers stack? Additive or multiplicative?

additive like all our GSGs

 

[Johan]

Many terrain types affect frontage, with fixed numbers from -1 to -4. How large is max frontage in general? Does it grow with ages, tech or something else? If it's like 10 at start and 50 at end, is it realistic to have a fixed frontage modifier for terrain, or would a percentage modifier be better?

10 per box

 

[Johan]

If you have a fort in a mountain will it still have a ZoC in the winter (when armies may not be able to move into the location to siege it)?

Separately, can I take the opportunity to ask if owners of fort locations will always have the defender bonus even if they’re moving to intercept an army already there?

yes and its controller for fort.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

So location ids are just numbers and each one has an actual name as well?
That should be easier to work with than if locations are named something like x809F60...

In the script we almost always refer to the location by a name instead of a numerical id. Makes it muuuch easier

 

[Johan]

So it's possible for Baltic Sea (and I guess also for Mediterranean Sea) to freeze during winter and thus it can turn from sea to land, where it's possible to walk over with armies? Or it depends on the climate itself, where it requires certain temperature?

yes, can happen in parts of the baltic.

 

[Johan]

What does lack of precipitation mean in the game?

we will talk about it in the weather dd

 

[SaintDaveUK]

My question would, does that block vision for the 'controller' of the land? Can an enemy hide an army in my forest? Could they once they occupy it? What is the base field of vision?

Countries always have vision in:

• land they are present in, e.g:
  • controlled land including occupations of foreign land
  • colonial charters
  • buildings
  • units
• owned Core locations
  • even if they are occupied during war

Blocked vision from terrain counts only for peering into adjacent locations that you are not currently present in.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

Sorry, just to clarify. If you had troops next to a forest would you not be able to see the forest location itself and anything behind it, or just anything behind the forest?

Units have vision in their current location and (by default) any directly neighbouring locations.

If one of the neighbours is forest or mountains, they cannot see into that neighbour.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

When it comes to 'vision' what informs vision? Like is that only for troops? Would I have vision in all the jungle provinces I own or no? Would captured forts have vision that's blocked off? I also assume that vision from boats is cut off right? Would I get vision on vassal or allied provinces?

Multiple things give vision and the exact algorithm is a little complex, but these terrain modifiers that block vision mostly counts for vision into uncontrolled neighbouring locations.

The simplest rule is that you usually have vision over locations and armies that you and your allies control, and the location modifiers affect non-controlled locations next to them.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

How moddable is this system? If I wanted to add a fourth layer of terrain variation called level of magic or something would that be possible?

The 3 types of terrain are quite hard coded as they impact the visuals and also so they are optimised, but you can add custom modifiers to locations like "Heavy Magical Activity" that has more or less the same effect as a terrain type.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

Does that mean that you don’t explore adjacent tiles if they are that terrain, but you do if they are other terrain?

Doesn't impact exploration and terra Incognita, it only impacts tactical fog of war. You will know that there is a location with a forest there. You can even see the fort and city there. But you can't see if there is an enemy army hiding there.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

Oh, also as the son of a Scotsman, can you tell me the rationale for removing the Highlands terrain type?

IIRC the EU4 Highlands terrain basically represented sparse hills, which is modelled in Caesar with Sparse vegetation in Hills topography.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

Would certain climates and terrains increase or decrease demand for goods? Like beer and silk for hot places and coffee and wool for cold places?

We have some things like that, pops demand more fur in climates with higher maximum winter for example. Suggestions for more things like that are welcome

 

[SaintDaveUK]

So say I build like a bank (don't know which buildings I can build in foreign locales, I assume banks) I'll always have vision in that province, even if an enemy occupies it?

Also do I get vision on allies and vassals?

Unsure about how occupation affects buildings in foreign locations, I'll have to check. Yes you get vision in allies and vassals.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

Do certain demands also change not only by climate but per season, for example requiring more "turrón" or "polvorones" as Christmas aproach?

Joke aside though, does demand of certain goods change per season too?

No, pop demands are calculated per year because we found that when fluctuating by the month it was too unpredictable for the player and also not very performant.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

Can you add more variants to a terrain type? For example a new topography.

Yes it's easy to expand.

 

[SaintDaveUK]

Can vegetation be modded back onto sea tiles or is this hard coded?

I believe it's hard coded for performance reasons currently

 

[SaintDaveUK]

So, if a location is arctic mountain it has -%135 population capacity so there would be no population to harvest goods produced there. How this situation works? Are there any arctic mountain locations?

An example in Iceland showing some other things that impact population capacity.

Furthermore, the absolute number never dips below 1000 even if the modifier does happen to add up to -135%

 

[Johan]

Should wetlands have any sort of life expectancy penalty to represent malaria/mosquitoes? (It might have to be climate dependent though)

malaria is another thing