[MOD] Regional Immersion and Cultural Enrichment - a cultural flavor pack collection, sequel to Cybrxkhan’s Immersion Packs

[cybrxkhan]

BAMIAN FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #3​

Besides new rulers, there will also be a few new courtiers, which Clue 3 touched on.

---

Clue #3: Surprisingly for some, Jews lived in this region in medieval times. A new courtier is an 11th century Jewish notable from here, when a mighty, cultured dynasty ruled it (he also doesn't have an English Wikipedia page).

Besides rulers, new characters include a few Jewish courtiers in Khorasan. The Afghan Geniza, a collection of hundreds of medieval Jewish documents found in caves in Afghanistan, contains some manuscripts that deal with an influential, elite Jewish family based in Bamian in the early and mid 1000s. Their most prominent member was a certain Yehuda ben Daniel, who may have served as a local official for the Ghaznavid Dynasty. His son, Siman-Tov, thus appears in the game as a Ghaznavid courtier.

Ultimately, the Afghan Geniza is a valuable source on the lives of the medieval Jews in the Eastern Iranian world, and attests to this community's major presence in this region centuries ago. Currently, there are no Jews left in Afghanistan as of 2021.

 

[cybrxkhan]

BAMIAN FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #4​

Today we cover the last teaser clue. A dev diary and perhaps release will be out very soon, if all goes well!

---

Clue #4: Many invaders passed through this region over the centuries; some even adopted the local culture. Many also often reinforced a legendary defensive structure guarding this region dating back to ancient times.

Shahr-e Zohak was a major fortress city in the Bamian Valley, and even in its ruined state is clearly one of the most impressive fortifications in the region. Benjamin Rowland, a 20th century scholar of South Asian art history, called Shahr-e Zohak the "Afghan Krak des Chevaliers." A new decision lets you repair it to boost Bamian's defenses regularly.

Based on archaelogical evidence, it was probably built sometime during late antiquity, and was occupied by successive rulers for centuries, including the Hephthalites, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, and Timurids. There are many legends associated with the site, such as that of Genghis Khan destroying the fortress completely and massacring all its inhabitants as revenge for his favorite grandson who was killed during its siege.

 

[cybrxkhan]

RICE 1.11.1 "Hindu Kush" is out with a mini-flavor pack::
Bamian: Valley of Light
Steam Workshop Download | Github Manual Download | Paradox Mods Download
Bamian Dev Diary
Discord Server | Twitter | Official Website
​

“To the north-east of the royal city [of Bamian] there is a mountain, on the declivity of which is placed a stone figure of Buddha, erect, in height 140 or 150 feet. Its golden hues sparkle on every side, and its precious ornaments dazzle the eyes by their brightness.”
- Xuanzang, 7th century Chinese pilgrim and monk, on the larger Bamian Buddha statue

I'm happy to announce the 11th anniversary of the release of the first version of VIET for CK2, and in celebration, RICE's newest mini flavor pack has just been released - Bamian: Valley of Light! As always, remember you may need to unsubscribe and resubscribe for mods to update properly (multiple times if necessary). I've also posted the dev diary for the Bamian Flavor Pack (click the link to view).

Major features of this update include:

• Visit the Bamian Statues, even as a non-Buddhist
• Repair the fortress city of Shahr-e Zohak
• More historical Eastern Iranian characters
• New historical aspirations in 1066
• ... and much more!

Thank you everyone for your support over these past 11 years for VIET and RICE - here's to many more years!

Spoiler: Changelog

• Added Bamian Flavor Pack: Valley of Light
• Added 3 Middle Eastern soundtracks
• Added historical aspirations for 2 characters in 1066: Qawurd, the last Seljuk Prince, and Isleifur, the first bishop of Ireland
• Added Sher Bamiyan dynasty for the rulers of Bamiyan in 867
• Added Sa’id, ruler of Andarab in Tokharistan in 867
• Added Jewish courtier Siman-Tov to Ghaznavid court in 1066
• Added new struggle catalysts and effects from LoP’s struggle to RICE’s struggles
• Decision to construct a Qanat now grants you extra prestige and the county modifier lasts longer if you have the Irrigation Experts tradition
• Decisions to repair the watchposts of Wakhan and Karakorum will now continue to appear even when they are not normally available
• Removed unneeded RICE_sea_character_names, RICE_sea_dynasties and sea_religion_steppe localization files in non-English localizations
• Changed most Theravada in Afghanistan back to Mahayana
• Increased the chances of getting a Sephardi merchant when spawning Jewish Trans-Saharan merchants
• Switched out Mountain Homes for Pastoralists for the Turco-Hephthalites
• Nerfed Yaqub Saffarid and his brothers’ modifiers
• Yazidi head of faith is now hereditary
• Replaced all Tribal Government triggers with government flag triggers for improved compatibility with mods that add governments
• Nasir Khusraw content now uses PI’s new Nasir Khusraw character, rather than the old duplicate
• Disabled Tapama Djenepo character from spawning when moving Jenne (and adjusted pilgrimage to her tomb accordingly to mention her offscreen) to potentially reduce bloat/lag issues*
• Fixed several Polabian equivalent cultures in CE not getting the Wendish Confederations tradition when playing with CE
• Fixed edge cases where expedition leaders would be unable to do other activities if they became rulers
• Fixed a bug where Ali ibn Asad, the Badakhshanid ruler in 1066, spawns a random extra son
• Miscellaneous bugfixes

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #1​

Work is starting for RICE's first flavor pack in Italy, so here's the first preview of the Sardinian Flavor Pack!

The flavor pack's subtitle, Reign of the Judges, refers to the judicati or judgedoms, the local polities that ruled medieval Sardinia whose kings or queens were called Judges. A new tradition represents their rule as well as other aspects of medieval Sardinian politics and society. Similarly to the unique Norman and Khuzi traditions, the Sardinian tradition can also be upgraded via a special decision to provide further bonuses, depending on what direction you choose for the island to take - but more on that in the next preview.

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #2​

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Today I bring to you another preview of the WIP for the Sardinia Flavor Pack.

Although Sardinia is nowadays part of Italy, it was connected to many other parts of the Mediterranean in the ancient and medieval period. It was at one point a frontier region of the Eastern Roman Empire, for example, and had cultural ties with North Africa, its inhabitants even considered similar to North Africans in some medieval sources. While the island eventually fell into the orbit of the Latin West, you can take it on a different trajectory. What do you think Sardinia's orientation should be?

 

[cybrxkhan]

RICE 2023 YEAR IN REVIEW​

Merry New Year!

In celebration of another successful year for RICE, I've made a little timeline covering some of the major highlights and releases of RICE over the past year. And what a year it's been! With 9 flavor packs, 2 new struggles, and flavor for everywhere from India to West Africa and the Vikings Normans, this has been another year of growth and new content for the mod.

Hopefully, 2024 will also bring even more flavor. As discussed elsewhere, the first slew of planned 2024 content for RICE are the Sardinia and Omotic flavor packs. Something big™ is also planned for ModCon in April/May, but more news will be out when the time comes.

Thank you all for your support as always!

 

[Flockingbird]

Thank you for your amazing work! Here’s wishing you a wonderful year!

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #3​

Time for the first preview of 2024. As some of you know, RICE tries to include flavor applicable to a broader area or group in many of its updates. This update add broader flavor for Italy through the Palio Horse Race activity, representing a range of historical palios and similar events in the region, like the Sa Sartiglia in Sardinia.

Our first records of Palios date back to the medieval period. During medieval era and Renaissance they were important religious and civic occasions, often associated with Saints' feast days. Most modern palios and equivalent horse races are recent inventions, or reinventions of older traditions, though a few have survived for centuries. The oldest extant Palio, in Siena, is attested in the high medieval era, but its current form dates back to 1633.

 

[NoCreativity]

There seems to be a bug in the Tarim Basin flavor pack with the animal fights. For some reason, the activity never concludes properly, and so you're stuck with the "planning an activity" flag for the rest of the character's life. I'm not good with code, but I'm going to crack open the files to see if I can figure out how to fix it.

 

[cybrxkhan]

There seems to be a bug in the Tarim Basin flavor pack with the animal fights. For some reason, the activity never concludes properly, and so you're stuck with the "planning an activity" flag for the rest of the character's life. I'm not good with code, but I'm going to crack open the files to see if I can figure out how to fix it.

Seems like I forgot to comment that one out for some reason even though I did that for all the other activities. Made a note to fix that, thanks!

For now, if you still want to fix it in your game, type in the following console command:

effect remove_character_flag = planning_an_activity

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #4​

Time for the next Sardinian preview!

One aspect of history I wish to show with the Sardinia Flavor Pack is medieval Sardinia's connections to North Africa. Our good friend Soraya, a modder and researcher for the Rajas of Asia and Fallen Eagle mods, helped me discover a fascinating bit of trivia: a group of medieval Sardinians established a town called Sardaniya not too far from Kairouan in North Africa, that survived for a few centuries. They may have been the descendants of North African Christians who fled to Sardinia generations before.

Anyways, they're represented via a small decision that can only be done once globally and places a county modifier in your realm, that may also lead to occasional courtier spawns.

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #5​

An earlier preview showcased a decision to choose Sardinia's orientation, and "upgrade" the Judicati tradition. Each of the decision's four options unlocks a unique, simple flavor decision in Sardinia.

The Catholic decision, for instance, simulates rebuilding and reforming Sardinia's Church to be more in line with Rome. Historically, the growth of the Latin church in Sardinia often involved polities in mainland Italy, particularly the Republics of Genoa and Pisa, who intervened in the island's affairs more and more after the decline of Byzantine authority. It would be unfortunate if these arrogant patrician families got funny ideas while helping you rebuild the church....

 

[Lordinquisitor]

I´m looking forward to the Sardinia Flavor pack.

This is one area i know nothing about and which currently offers nothing special in gameplay. Which is a shame, because it´s position on the map is very unique and the history and culture of the region, very likely, too!

Rice is, aside from new DLC releases, the only thing which makes me take a break from Elder kings.

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #6
​

In today's preview, we touch on the Palio horse race activity.

Rulers whose cultures have access to palios (such as the Italians and Sardinians) can take a decision to start a major Palio, representing a more established, famous Palio tradition like the Palio in Siena in real life. Over the course of the later medieval period, certain cities' palios such as the ones in Siena gained prominence, and the event became a important part of their yearly calendar. Most commemorated religious figures or events, but some also commemorated secular occasions.

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #7​

The Sardinia flavor pack will introduce a new innovation unique to the Sardinian culture and its descendants called Condaghes.

Condaghes were a type of administrative document used in medieval Sardinia's judicates, generally used in the context of financial and legal acts related to religious institutions like churches or monasteries. In some cases, they were even used in legal cases centuries after they were made. Though few have survived to the modern day, they are an invaluable resource for scholars seeking to understand Sardinia's medieval history and the older stages of the Sardinian language.

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #8​

Today we go back to previewing the Palio flavor for Italy in general.

In late medieval and Renaissance Italy, powerful families kept large stables of race horses for occasions like the palio races as a way to compete with rival houses for prestige and glory. By taking a new decision to invest in Palio racehorses, you can improve the chances of victory for jockeys racing in your family's name when you host a Palio activity.

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #9​

Today's preview looks at the nuraghe, the famous megalithic monuments and settlements of Sardinia. Although built and constructed during the Sardinia's prehistoric/Nuragic period, they were occasionally inhabited during later periods. For instance, some nuraghe had so many medieval ceramics that archaeologists initially thought these ceramics were from the Nuragic era.

A new special building, Su Nuraxi, will exist in the barony of Isili at game start to represent the nuraghe tradition. One of the most impressive examples of nuraghes, the site is currently the only UNESCO world heritage site in Sardinia, and is about 25 minutes' drive from present-day Isili.

 

[cybrxkhan]

SARDINIA FLAVOR PACK PREVIEW #10​

For today's preview, we go back to the Palio activity for Italy in general.

Though it is optional, both host and guests can, at a cost, send one of their house's horses to participate in the race. The chances of your horse winning are higher if you previously took the decision to invest in palio racehorses, and how much money you are willing to spend at the start of the activity. In contrast to modern survivals or revivals of the palio, in medieval and Renaissance Italy, participating horses/jockeys usually were supported by noble families seeking to gain greater prestige and status.

 

[cybrxkhan]

RICE 1.11.2 "Eleanor of Arborea" is out with RICE's first Italian flavor pack:
Sardinia: Reign of the Judges
Steam Workshop Download | Github Manual Download | Paradox Mods Download
Sardinia Dev Diary
Discord Server | Twitter | Official Website
​

Eleanor of Arborea (1347-1404 CE) was one of the last independent judicati, or judges, of medieval Sardinia. She is known for resisting the Kingdom of Aragon’s attempts to exert greater influence over Arborea, and for the Carta de Logu, her legal code which was still in force in Sardinia until 1827.

This update adds RICE's first Italian flavor pack - Sardinia: Reign of the Judges! Work has started on the next flavor pack for the Omotics, though a small hotfix may follow in a week first. A dev diary has also be posted to Reddit (see link above), covering the update's major features, which include:

• Upgradable Judicati tradition - determine Sardinia's orientation!
• Palio horse race activity and decisions for Italy
• Some flavor for North Africa and the Afro-Romans
• And many more flavor decisions, events, and more for Sardinia!

Spoiler: Changelog

• Added Sardinian Flavor Pack: Reign of the Judges
• Added 3 Italian themed soundtracks
• Updated RICE’s Tuareg culture to make use of the new North African DLC assets
• Added Mount Damota (in the county of Damot) as a holy site for Omotic and Aksumite paganism
• Added Kasdanianism (South Mesopotamian paganism) (from my work in The Fallen Eagle, research by Soraya)
• Expeditions and discovering Greenland/Vinland now give a bit of renown for the expedition leader if they have a dynasty
• Greenland, Sri Lanka, and Nile river flood notifications now have their own unique message icons
• Amazigh pagan courtiers are spawned in Waddan at game start to represent pagans attested as late as the 11th century in Ghirza
• Waddan is now Amazigh pagan in 867
• Yazidism and Yarsanism no longer “emerge” if RICE is run with TFE
• Changed Adoricism to other tenets for various faiths (due to vanilla limitation where only Hausa and Akan faiths can reform while still keeping Adorcism)
• Nerfed Al-Umari’s MAA maintenance bonus
• Nerfed the Salterns of Guérande modifier in Britanny
• Nerfed renown bonus from the dynasty modifier rewarded for completing the Normandy struggle
• William the Conqueror’s Pope Alexander modifier now gives opinion bonus for Christians in general, rather than just Catholics
• Removed culture requirements for the Pilgrimage to Beverley pilgrimage activity to be consistent with other local pilgrimages not having culture requirements
• County of Bamian no longer automatically converts to Islam in 867 if the starting ruler decides to become Muslim
• Starting the Normandy struggle via the vanilla decision now also changes your dynasty and/or house name to “de Normandie” like with RICE’s decisions/interactions
• Allaqi now starts off as a castle rather than tribal holding if you are non-tribal, so that rulers can benefit from the Wadi Allaqi Mining Settlement as appropriate
• Xossism (Omotic paganism) now is polygamous rather than monogamous
• Reduced costs of some African activities
• Ruler of Jabal Quzlum is now turned to clan/feudal if they weren’t before so that they can properly use the Smaragdus mines special building
• Decisions to Patronize the Neo-Platonic Academy in Harran and Make Offerings to the Moon Temple are now also available to rulers with counties in the region even if their capital isn’t in it, but they’ll have additional requirements
• Fixed various activities’ participants having the horse riding animation even when they’ve arrived at the activity destination
• Fixed some decisions saying they require tribal government when they require *not* being a tribal government (it’s a vanilla loc bug but I did a little workaround for now)
• Fixed Whaling decision spamming error log messages about coastal counties for some reason
• Fixed requirement text for the decision to Collaborate with Indian Ocean Pirates showing the wrong dynasty legacy needed
• Fixed potential bug with Tocharian Animal Fight activity blocking access to other activities
• Fixed Goat Sacrifice activity not giving stress for certain traits depending on intent
• Fixed decision to build Christian buildings not giving renown if you built a large church or monastery
• Fixed decision to Reopen the Temple of Kalabsha requiring owning Aswan to view, instead of Kalabsha
• Fixed Turco-Hephthalites appearing early when using TFE
• Miscellaneous bugfixes

 

[Slime99]

Hi, I would like to ask if it would be possible to do something for the Bangande and Pre-Dogon people of Dogonland, and while you're at it the Dogon people themselves. They are completely unrepresented right now and I think it would be interesting if they could be implemented in the game somehow.