Yes we do indeed read, though we don’t always post as said in the post you were linked above. We really appreciate the feedback and ideas we get here even if we don’t always comment.
So first to make things clear I am a content designer, I deal in research, events, maps, the starting setup, etc. What you propose is mostly game system related things aimed for a game designer or game director such as @DDRJake which is why my post doesn’t address all that you wrote
I do have a question that might clarify your suggestion for us:
Currently how legalist or mystic your country is is measured by how far towards the poles you are. This also affects the strength of the bonuses. How is this different from the extra slider you propose?
I also have a comment on this but I will put it in spoilers as it’s a bit beside your point. Still it might clarify what we intend the system to be:
So first to make things clear I am a content designer, I deal in research, events, maps, the starting setup, etc. What you propose is mostly game system related things aimed for a game designer or game director such as @DDRJake which is why my post doesn’t address all that you wrote
I do have a question that might clarify your suggestion for us:
Currently how legalist or mystic your country is is measured by how far towards the poles you are. This also affects the strength of the bonuses. How is this different from the extra slider you propose?
I also have a comment on this but I will put it in spoilers as it’s a bit beside your point. Still it might clarify what we intend the system to be:
This is not at all true to our implementation of the system and imo not to history either:
If you want to generalize most Muslim countries in 1444, Shi’a as well as Sunni, leaned towards mysticism, with Sufism being very influential in the Ottoman Empire as well as among the Timurids and the Muslim princes of India.
As the Safavid, Mughal and Ottoman empires grew they shifted towards legalism promoting a stronger and more stable state instead of empowering heterogemous mystic groups. The sharpest shift was for the Shi’a Safavids who started out as a Sufi order themselves but ended up legislating against mystics and importing Shi’a scholars to create a sturdier legal framework for their state once they had consolidated their territory.
For the Ottoman Empire the shift was more gradual and less dramatic. In India mystic Islam was perhaps the most influential, a lax interpretation of religious law was always advisable with Muslim minorities ruling Hindu majorities. Legitimacy through support from Sufi masters was very common there and to some extent worked on both Muslim and Hindu subjects (though obviously much less the latter). Sufis are also intimately associated with the conversion of areas in Bengal in this timeline to Islam.
Over time as Muslims became more entrenched and numerous even here there was a shift towards legalism, especially in the Mughal Empire which also needed to promote stability and a legalist legitimacy for its rulers rather than one founded on support from Sufis and other mystic groups (one could see the divine faith of Akbar as an extreme attempt at this though some might disagree).
This, along with a shift in public opinion among many Muslims in the 1650s (a trend present in the game through the “neo-Sufism and traditionalism event), is likely part of the reason we see Aurangzeb suddenly forbidding alcohol and smoking at court, reinstating the jizya and reserving offices for non-dhimmi. He even compiled a law collection that is used in parts of the world to this day.
Of course this (but hardly this alone) made it very evident to the many non Muslim stake holders in the empire that its use would become much more limited to them and together with its massive overextension this is part of the reason it started to crackle much more quickly soon after.
This is all horribly simplified, there were also legalist states in India in 1444 and for instance the Rassids weren’t mystics, etc. That’s why we have it as a slider to allow for diversity and variance.
If you want to generalize most Muslim countries in 1444, Shi’a as well as Sunni, leaned towards mysticism, with Sufism being very influential in the Ottoman Empire as well as among the Timurids and the Muslim princes of India.
As the Safavid, Mughal and Ottoman empires grew they shifted towards legalism promoting a stronger and more stable state instead of empowering heterogemous mystic groups. The sharpest shift was for the Shi’a Safavids who started out as a Sufi order themselves but ended up legislating against mystics and importing Shi’a scholars to create a sturdier legal framework for their state once they had consolidated their territory.
For the Ottoman Empire the shift was more gradual and less dramatic. In India mystic Islam was perhaps the most influential, a lax interpretation of religious law was always advisable with Muslim minorities ruling Hindu majorities. Legitimacy through support from Sufi masters was very common there and to some extent worked on both Muslim and Hindu subjects (though obviously much less the latter). Sufis are also intimately associated with the conversion of areas in Bengal in this timeline to Islam.
Over time as Muslims became more entrenched and numerous even here there was a shift towards legalism, especially in the Mughal Empire which also needed to promote stability and a legalist legitimacy for its rulers rather than one founded on support from Sufis and other mystic groups (one could see the divine faith of Akbar as an extreme attempt at this though some might disagree).
This, along with a shift in public opinion among many Muslims in the 1650s (a trend present in the game through the “neo-Sufism and traditionalism event), is likely part of the reason we see Aurangzeb suddenly forbidding alcohol and smoking at court, reinstating the jizya and reserving offices for non-dhimmi. He even compiled a law collection that is used in parts of the world to this day.
Of course this (but hardly this alone) made it very evident to the many non Muslim stake holders in the empire that its use would become much more limited to them and together with its massive overextension this is part of the reason it started to crackle much more quickly soon after.
This is all horribly simplified, there were also legalist states in India in 1444 and for instance the Rassids weren’t mystics, etc. That’s why we have it as a slider to allow for diversity and variance.