I'm not quite sure where this suggestion should go, but to my understanding of Byzantine history (which is rather deep) the situation as it stands in 1419 is totally flawed and misrepresented in the game by a number of different factors.
For starters, the Despot of Morea should in no way be part of Byzantium in the begginning. It was for all intents and purposes (As this game portrays things) a separate vassal state of the Ottomans.
In reality, at 1419, the 'Byzantine Empire' was no more then a poor city. Its once unlimited deep coffers had been pillaged long ago. It was a relic that was actually allowed to live on thanks to the benevolence of the Osmanlis.
The province that is called Thessalonika in the game was in actuality mostly controled by the Turks up to the walls of Constantinople. There were a few Genoese/Venetian trading ports but that was it.
Trabazon is also misrepresented in the game.
PROPOSED CHANGES:
When the Ottomans capture the city of Constantinople there is a number of changes. Thessalonica, Macedonia, Smyrna, etc, become turkish/sunni. In historical reality, these provinces were already for all intents and purposes TURKISH. They could accurately however be displayed as 'Orthodox' in religion prior. So as I see it, the game shoud start with all these provinces Turkish but orthodox. When Constantinople is acquired, the religion can be changed to Sunni.
Morea and Byzantium should start out as a seperate countries that are vassals to the Turks. This way they can form no other alliances and the Turks won't molest them. With Thessalonika already Turkish, the Byzantines won't be able to recruit 40,000 man armies from loans at the drop of the hat. To put it frankly...The 'Empire' no longer had the ability to recruit from the countryside and the cities themselves were half depopulated. They relied ENTIRELY on MERCENARIES which are already represented in the game. The starting army should also be HALVED.
Morea should get the current Byzantine monarch list. Konstantinos reign should be extended 20 years. He was a great man and would've had a charmed reign if he had come a century earlier. There was a completely new leader/general list made up in the EEP forums by some stout individual. A Byzantium that lives past 1453 should get these. They are terrific.
Trabazon should start with very good relations with those countries around it. These states and Trabazon were -very- close in that they frequently allied and both saw the Turks as their main enemies. I would raise the relations that Trabazon/Georgia has with Ak,Dulkadir, Karaman by some 150+, perhaps even beginning allied. These states were able to give the Ottomans a decent fight, as it is, they -never- ally in the game.
Lastly, give the Ottomans events that break the vassal status of Morea and Byzantium in 1452.
There are some objections that could be raised about making Byzantium/Morea vassals to the Turks if scrutinized close enough, but based on the level that EUII represents, it is the most accurate way to show their relationship.
If people feel so strongly about somehow, the Byzantine empire being able to rise like some mighty phoenix out of the ashes, then they should make events that change the province cultures back from Turkish to Greek once they conquer and survive past a certain point. The Byzantines at the very least should lose all their CBs except for the few Greek speaking provinces around them. Even they gave up all claim to Anatolia (I.E, modern day Turkey) before their end. The only thing Byzantium could ever survive on as would be a Italian Cityesque entity in the Black Sea if they threw off their venetian/genoese shackles...and managed to invent the machine gun.
For starters, the Despot of Morea should in no way be part of Byzantium in the begginning. It was for all intents and purposes (As this game portrays things) a separate vassal state of the Ottomans.
In reality, at 1419, the 'Byzantine Empire' was no more then a poor city. Its once unlimited deep coffers had been pillaged long ago. It was a relic that was actually allowed to live on thanks to the benevolence of the Osmanlis.
The province that is called Thessalonika in the game was in actuality mostly controled by the Turks up to the walls of Constantinople. There were a few Genoese/Venetian trading ports but that was it.
Trabazon is also misrepresented in the game.
PROPOSED CHANGES:
When the Ottomans capture the city of Constantinople there is a number of changes. Thessalonica, Macedonia, Smyrna, etc, become turkish/sunni. In historical reality, these provinces were already for all intents and purposes TURKISH. They could accurately however be displayed as 'Orthodox' in religion prior. So as I see it, the game shoud start with all these provinces Turkish but orthodox. When Constantinople is acquired, the religion can be changed to Sunni.
Morea and Byzantium should start out as a seperate countries that are vassals to the Turks. This way they can form no other alliances and the Turks won't molest them. With Thessalonika already Turkish, the Byzantines won't be able to recruit 40,000 man armies from loans at the drop of the hat. To put it frankly...The 'Empire' no longer had the ability to recruit from the countryside and the cities themselves were half depopulated. They relied ENTIRELY on MERCENARIES which are already represented in the game. The starting army should also be HALVED.
Morea should get the current Byzantine monarch list. Konstantinos reign should be extended 20 years. He was a great man and would've had a charmed reign if he had come a century earlier. There was a completely new leader/general list made up in the EEP forums by some stout individual. A Byzantium that lives past 1453 should get these. They are terrific.
Trabazon should start with very good relations with those countries around it. These states and Trabazon were -very- close in that they frequently allied and both saw the Turks as their main enemies. I would raise the relations that Trabazon/Georgia has with Ak,Dulkadir, Karaman by some 150+, perhaps even beginning allied. These states were able to give the Ottomans a decent fight, as it is, they -never- ally in the game.
Lastly, give the Ottomans events that break the vassal status of Morea and Byzantium in 1452.
There are some objections that could be raised about making Byzantium/Morea vassals to the Turks if scrutinized close enough, but based on the level that EUII represents, it is the most accurate way to show their relationship.
If people feel so strongly about somehow, the Byzantine empire being able to rise like some mighty phoenix out of the ashes, then they should make events that change the province cultures back from Turkish to Greek once they conquer and survive past a certain point. The Byzantines at the very least should lose all their CBs except for the few Greek speaking provinces around them. Even they gave up all claim to Anatolia (I.E, modern day Turkey) before their end. The only thing Byzantium could ever survive on as would be a Italian Cityesque entity in the Black Sea if they threw off their venetian/genoese shackles...and managed to invent the machine gun.
