Road map for Morgenröte
Salve and welcome to the New Year! I wanted to take today as an opportunity to look into the future of Morgenröte and detail something that awaits you
in the coming weeks and months. This "road map" is intended to go into a little more detail, but is based on the points presented from the beginning.
The first goal I see is that Elgar is finished. As already mentioned, the music pack is just an accompanying part of Elgar. The music of the 19th century is a formative element of that time and still has an impact today. Verdi, for example, was considered a cipher of the Risorgimento, the prisoner's chorus from Nabucco was considered the secret national anthem of ununited Italy; Wagner's music not only had a broad mass impact artistically, but also represents the spirit of an entire epoch. The fact that opera houses and performances were considered a potential risk of revolution shows that the social event "music" was an elementary part of the Victorian age - historically, as well as in the spirit of Victoria 3, which wants to see itself as a social simulator.
A basic idea is that the composers you hear (for the most part) are also present in the game. There are supposed to be composers who travel from opera house to opera house and spend a certain amount of time in one country before they break up their tents and travel on. Such stays should be associated with specific events. These composers are cosmopolitan and can also be employed on a permanent basis, with special options in your opera house. In proportion to the five musical eras of the Elgar soundtrack, there are said to be two such composers in each era. While at the beginning Berlioz and Donizetti are only to be recruited in the western European heartland, at the very end personalities such as Prokofiev and Rachmaninov are to be exiled worldwide under certain conditions. Quite a number of the events in Elgar will be inspired by the composer events from GMU, but not only.
GMU Events from 2012, the Beethoven festival and the composers will return for Elgar, the other events will return later
In addition, the era that includes Victoria 3 is strongly characterized by its national spirit, which means that there were not only composers who were looking for a national style, but also had an interest in making national music and were therefore very attached to their homeland. In addition to the dynamic employment of composers, there should therefore also be deterministic historical events and journals. Grieg's Norwegian Dances only belong to Norway, just as Brahms's German Requiem belongs to Germany, Johann Strauss' waltzes to Vienna and Tchaikovsky's "1812" to Russia.
In addition to the music in particular, Elgar should prepare the cultural area in general. Although it's mostly about music, I want to align the tech tree a bit with Victoria 2 to have leeway in the future when it comes to adding literature or painting events. Elgar will therefore permanently change the technology tree in the society area. Here I am attempting an experiment that I already hinted in “Le Verrier”: namely technologies that cannot be obtained through the orthodox route. And in addition: mutually exclusive technologies!
Researching Realism AND Irrationalism will give you the option to get one of the three art directions in ear three (cyan blue). The option will depend on the status of your society and state as a whole.
That's right: your nation WILL develop an artistic focus as the game progresses. In addition to realism, there is also irrationalism, which represents the spirit of Schopenhauer, Wagner and Nietzsche and thus the opposite side, which has hitherto been rather inadequately represented. If a nation possesses both technologies, a journal entry is started which, depending on the social, political and cultural orientation of a nation, decides whether the country is affected in the direction of Impressionism, Expressionism or Art Nouveau. Once it has taken one path, the other direction is out of the question. The subsequent technology (such as Art Déco as the successor to Art Nouveau) is then certain. A country can therefore only explore two of the six art movements before they all flow into modern mass culture.
The idea is that different events and journals can be triggered depending on the orientation of the country. For example, France WILL see no Debussy unless it chooses Impressionism. I would like to emphasize that these aesthetic directions are to be understood as artistic as a whole: Certain books should only be published if one has taken a certain direction. The possibilities for the future are obvious.
One concept that I don't yet know how viable it is but that I would like to implement would be a sort of score of how high a country's music culture is. In the long term, I'm longing for a third rating called "Culture" (since EUIV, by the way) alongside military and economy. I will at least try to set up such a value experimentally to see how useful such a scale is. In principle, it would be desirable to collect culture points in all cultural spheres instead of mere prestige, which would be charged separately. But I guess I don't have the time and energy to set something up like this; I therefore set myself the limited goal that one might be able to look at a top 10 list of the most musically outstanding countries.
Curtiss is based on
a last expansion of GMU, which unfortunately hasn't been released. While I realize that many players are currently not getting past the year 1900 and may not even see the beginning of the changing elements, this expansion is deeply personal to me. In principle, I think that in all Victoria parts, the last third of the game not only falls short in terms of gameplay, but also in terms of flair. The charm of the 20s and 30s, a feeling for Art Deco, the golden age of airplanes and thus the last age of pioneering spirit and adventurism is neglected - it is no coincidence that the 1920s and 1930s are the starting point for many films adventures (Indiana Jones is the most famous example).
I don't usually play alternate scenarios, although I admire the great work and creative spirit behind such projects; if I had a pitch for such a scenario myself, it would be set to the late 1910s to late 1930s, in which one could play in a mix of Miyazaki's Porco Rosso, Disney's Talespin, and a healthy dose of Art Deco/Diesel punk and would have to survive in a fictional world of city republics, authoritarian empires, air pirate conglomerates and democratic sanctuaries. Curtiss is therefore primarily a homage to the spirit of the aviation pioneers of those years, which still accompanies us in literature and film to this day.
Projected aviation tech tree (military) for Curtiss
First the structural. So far I've mainly expanded the technology tree in the areas of society and production. Curtiss will restore balance. Camera and film are to be outsourced to production in Elgar. The zeppelins are also outsourced – namely to the military. Because in Curtiss there will now be one for aviation for the military in addition to a naval and an army tree. The reconnaissance balloons, which played a role in the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, will be available even before airplanes. Instead of a single technology for aircraft, Curtiss will bring a more nuanced breakdown.
It really starts with early aviation. While aviation was primarily of military importance at the beginning, civil aviation will also play a role with modern aviation at the latest. And as you can see, there is a separate technology for seaplanes, probably the most wonderful phenomenon of the first decades of the 20th century. As you can imagine, the technologies first unlock airfields, then airports, as well as different aircraft models that are supposed to be different from the usual biplanes.
In addition to the economic aspects that an airport brings with it, there will be many events related to the "Golden Age of Flight". My personal highlight: The Schneider Trophy. This is a historic air race between the great powers, held by seaplanes. A nation had to win the cup three times in a row to keep this prestigious trophy forever. The Schneider Trophy was not only a coveted object whose achievement was a matter of national honor, but also stimulated the development of aviation and was accompanied by new records.
Schneider Trophy event from a test version in Victoria 2
The Schneider Trophy is said to be a regular event from circa 1915 for all major powers that have researched seaplanes (at least five nations must have researched the technology). I had modeled the following events for Vicky 2, whether and to what extent I use them is still unclear, but a guideline. The number of flight techs, having a character with a pilot trait, the number of ports and airports, and aircraft factories should all play a role in the chance of winning a race.
In addition, other historical events are planned, such as the first transatlantic flight that works dynamically and therefore does not always have to be carried out by Charles Lindbergh. There should also be “Pilot” as an additional trait. I have yet to see to what extent it is possible to model events in battles that deal with air combat, but this is only a secondary idea at the moment. There is already an event from Paradox, but I think it can be significantly expanded.
Event list from a test version in Victoria 2
Oh yes – and zeppelins! We need more journal entries and events for Zeppelins.
Just a few central words about this project. If there's one thing I don't like about Victoria 3, it's when Both Sicily founds Italy in the 1840s. Not only because both Sicily had no historical interest in this foundation or because the 1840s are clearly too early. More importantly, an Italian peninsula ruled directly and indirectly by Austria cannot come to terms at all. In short: as long as the Habsburgs are in Tuscany and Milan, the second most important city in Italy, is under foreign rule, there is absolutely no thought of anything being founded that calls itself “Italy” without Radetzky invading with his troops.
Back then,
I built in some basic mechanics for GMU that make the Italian unification more historical and plausible. This included the first Italian war of independence with the revolts in Milan and Venice, when the 1848 revolution broke out and Hungary revolted against Austria. These mechanics should also appear again in Manzoni.
At the same time, however, Manzoni will have something in store that should fundamentally change the way and whether Italy is united, namely a “risorgimento” value per Italian state. Historically, there have been states where the elite have been far more willing than others to champion an Italian nation-state. Small Italian states with a high Risorgimento value are more willing to give up their independence and merge into a unified Italy, larger states with a high Risorgimento value will assume their leading role as Italian unifiers – or not.
But what determines this value? These include, above all, political reforms. Liberal states in Italy were more willing to join national movements (the absolutist government in Naples was not – which does not mean that the player can reform Sicily in a way that unifies Italy after all; but then with some work!). The prosperity and literacy of the population, especially the middle class, will also play a role in how eager countries are to reach an agreement.
Additionally, many events from GMU that used to affect the Consciousness of the Pops will instead affect the Risorgimento value. These events will give Sardinia-Piedmont a slight edge, which should steer the AI in the right direction in particular.
Events back in GMU. The composer events will be available in Elgar.
One goal is also to emphasize Austria's role more clearly. I've seen Victoria 3 games where Austria helped Risorgimento candidates unify the boot - sacrificing its secundogenitures in central Italy. Instead, it should be interesting for Austria to avoid unifying Italy. I can imagine Austria starting with a positive modifier if it dominates Italy and losing it if it loses its supremacy over Lombardy and Italian unification becomes possible.
What I no longer want to see is an Italy that is founded peacefully without any action - and without Lombardy at all. Such a merger should only be allowed under one condition, namely the idea of an Italian federation,
as nurtured by the "Neoguelphes" - and thus a possibility that should only be open to the papal state. Sardinia-Piedmont or the Two Sicilies, on the other hand, should not avoid a confrontation with Austria, whether through diplomatic pressure or in direct military confrontation.
I have numerous other ideas for Italy and Italian unification, which I would discuss in more detail when we come to the topic. Otherwise, I remain with the announcement that I intend to import all cultural events from GMU: this applies to writers like Pascoli and Leopardi, scientists like Guglielmo Marconi, the appearance of Gabriele D'Annunzio (both as an artist and as a soldier), the excavation of Pompeii, the establishment of the Vesuvius observatory, the possible return of Foscolo and much, much more.
The Cathedral of Cologne
The first events and decisions I ever made public was the construction of the Cologne Cathedral. In the 19th century, the completion of the cathedral was a national and historical concern. The construction of the cathedral will be both lengthy and expensive (which was historically the case). In terms of gameplay, it is intended to be the counterpart to the Eiffel Tower. It's about a few small decisions/events/journals that I'll add in between, possibly with/after Elgar.
The only thing that's holding me back so far is the fact that I'm unfortunately not a graphic designer and I find it extremely difficult to model 3D buildings. And without this option, things are only half as nice. Maybe I'll find someone who's willing to give me a hand with this...
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Those would be the plans for the next updates! How much time I can find and how steadily I can mod Victoria 3 over the next few months is uncertain at this time, but I'm hopeful that Elgar should be ready by the end of January and Curtiss by the end of February.
