Also, having only one asian spice (pepper) does nothing to represent the spice trade internal to Asia (which I think was the main problem with having a single spice good)
Yeah, I agree that this solution is not very good; I think they are trying to make the base feel listened to, while waiting for launch and community testing before adding complications. I can see that spice trade can be a DLC by itself, adding flavor and mechanics to a whole bunch of things (like charter locations, trade companies, colonial ventures and more). I would have added cloves to be honest, with very little demand and very high price.
Hopefully they at least change south saharan spices to pepper.
I don't really think it's an issue of DLC fixing this, but that they overlooked some large implications of their setup, and they can massively improve it with almost no additional development outside of rearranging the three goods they have. If the performance cost to having additional goods is enough that they don't want to just add a fourth spice good, then DLC can change nothing but doing this same rearranging, at least so far as the goods themselves are concerned. Additional mechanics and the like I can see added, but the spices should be in the best state they can be, given the number of goods that can be afforded to them.
I actually think that combining tea and coffee would have somehow made more sense than this arrangement. I definitely agree, though. As things stand, if the market mechanics make any sense, European and Middle Eastern demand for spices should end in India. There's no need for them to explore further to get different spices.
It's not perfect in my view, but finally we have some level of Asian spice trade! Being as opinionated as I always am on this topic, you can read my thoughts here.
| Good | Spices | Locations |
|---|---|---|
| Pepper | Long Pepper, Black Pepper, Melegueta pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger | India, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, China, West Africa |
| Chili | Chili, Vanilla | Central America |
| Saffron | Saffron | Europe (Few), North Africa (Few), Middle East, Kashmir |
| Cloves | Cloves, Nutmeg, Mace | Maluku Isles |
It might seem odd to call it that when there are three other goods representing spices. Personally I'd be fine with it.
It's meant to represent the Saffron grown in Spain, Austria, Britain, Italy and France, among others I am likely forgetting. Most saffron should still come from Iran, though.
Thank you. I didn't know that saffron was grown in Europe. I am especially surprised about northern Europe.
It mostly comes from Mediterranean Europe, to be fair. Spain and Italy are particularly well known for their saffron. Otherwise it seems to grow well in valleys which are also good for growing grapes, because it was (And in some cases is) grown in the the Wachau in Austria and France's winelands. England is the strangest one, for sure, with most growth being in the town of Saffron Walden, Essex (Which was renamed as a medieval marketing ploy in the 1500s.)
I guess if we don't hear from Johan about making sure that there's pepper and not Saffron on the Pepper Coast, the Grain coast - the coast named for Grains of Paradise, Melegueta pepper - at least we have the West Africa feedback to look forward to.
Saffron is nothing but a species of crocus with other crocus species being native to Europe whose pistil can be used as saffron as well but far less effective (both in taste and colour). Where the native European crocus grows the Saffron crocus will grow as well and with both being Alpine plants that means even quite far up north at lower elevations.
Definitely, I meant "DLC-related patch". I think adding cloves/nutmeg and cinnamon/cardamom would be the best gain with minimal effort
