Hello everyone!
I can't deny that, from what has been revealed so far in the DD, this game excites me a lot!
Probably with future DD we will discover that the developers have already thought about it, certainly with better ideas; however I think this moment, with the development still in progress, is the best one to give suggestions, so here are my ideas:
1) The title of Marquis could be introduced. We may have the opportunity, similar to EUIV, to promote a count who owns a border county (or at least 2-3?); this title should confer an intermediate prestige between count and duke, reduce taxes (not -100% of the EUIV, but perhaps -50%?) but increase the levies (+ 50%?) while also increasing the number of troops that the Marquis can get from his buildings (+ 30%?) and confer some bonuses to his soldiers' statistics and to his fort defence, maybe even a small bonus to the character's martial ability. AI may also tend to give military education to the Marquis' heirs.
You could impose a limit on the number of marquises (perhaps proportional to the rank, or the extension of your kingdom) or let the player decide whether to take the risk of making too many vassals more powerful. Obviously the Marquis would lose these bonuses if he obtained a duke title.
2) The title of Grand Duke could be introduced, for those who simultaneously possess 3+ Duke titles. It could be a nominal title that is automatically generated (taking its name from the duchy of the capital?), giving extra prestige, or simply a modification to the name with which the character is known, without giving any bonus, just to make the game world more varied. Furthermore, the title of grand duke could be converted into that of prince, if the character were independent rather than vassal.
3) Surely many have said it, so I won't go into this, but surely ships should not be used only for transportation and also for naval combat.
Maybe they could also serve to block the coasts (as in EUIV) to cause economic damage, canceling in that area the bonuses of imports and the income of exports (see point 4); however trade routes should not be canceled, but on standby, so that you don't have to manually reset them after the war.
4) As above, this too will have already been said, but I would like the trade not to be limited to the merchant republics. I don't think of something elaborate like the EUIV system, but maybe something similar to I: R, with goods that give provincial and national bonuses, and surpluses (calculated on the duchies or kingdoms, like the provinces of I: R) that generate income if they are exported, otherwise prosperity for the area in question.
In feudal governments they could have a commercial radius limited to neighboring countries, and to those distant only a few maritime areas (or within a certain radius, calculated on the distance between borders or between capitals); in this way, the merchant republics, rather than having the exclusive right on trade, could have a greater range of action, perhaps through the old system of commercial bases. They may also have an income bonus that they get from trading (like EUIV's commercial efficiency).
The diplomatic aspect could become more interesting if the possibility of having commercial bases depended on the level of opinion that there is with the owner of the barony; so the republics would have an interest in having good relations with the countries in which they want to create (and maintain) bases to expand their economic influence, and the feudal would have the same interest in the prosperity bonuses that the commercial bases should give to the barony in which they are (maybe even to the neighboring ones, or to the county or even to the duchy).
5) This too I imagine has been proposed, but I think that the loans should not be limited to the Jews (who in any case should give a loan proportionate to the income or size of the kingdom, instead of always giving 300 gold, as in CKII).
In my opinion, each of the 5 families that govern each republic could, in addition to taking care of their businesses, invest part of their earnings in banking activities, providing loans to the European nobility, to make money with interest. The interest could have a standard value or be agreed from time to time; I also think that, to make loans more risky, the interest should not be based only on the initial capital, but should be recalculated every year on the sum of the capital and interest accumulated up to that moment.
For the classic problem of the money back guarantee, different systems could be considered:
- automatic installment payment (as in EUIV), is the simplest, but least interesting solution (and which excludes the aforementioned progressive increase in interest).
- serious malus in the opinion of the other rulers against those who do not honor their debts within the established time (5 years? 10 years? Agreed from time to time?); maybe the malus could be progressive and get bigger if you persist in not paying. In this way you would risk having increasingly aggressive enemies and friends who could refuse to defend us or even break the alliance.
- after the established time, the banker obtains claims on a certain number of counties (proportional to the size of the debt), and can ask his doge to assert them, if he has sufficient strength, otherwise sell them to one or more feudal realms. It could also be estimated that when the loan is requested, guarantees must be agreed, which could be counties, to be conquered by the aforementioned methods, or artifacts that the banker will not return if the debt is not paid within the agreed times.
The third option is the one I prefer.
6) Although it has already been announced that the republics will not be playable at the moment, I hope they will be in a future dlc, and perhaps the aforementioned banking activities could make the gameplay more interesting, being able to use their wealth to influence European politics, financing someone rather than someone else, or with the possibility of canceling debts of powerful rulers in exchange for favors (in proportion to the size of the debt?), and thus obtaining their help to conquer something, or to force someone else to repay a debt bigger, with the threat of an invasion.
In the same way I would like to make theocracies playable too, but I have not yet managed to find a way that works, in a game based on dynasties; maybe someone will do it.
7) Being this game based on dynasties, it seems logical to me that the game ends when the family dies out, and I love the fact that if you lose all the titles you can continue with a relative who has other titles elsewhere; however when the aforementioned relative does not exist, instead of losing the game, I think that there should be another chance, giving the head of the family the opportunity to use the wealth accumulated by the various members of the dynasty (or house, with the new system), to recruit an army and try to take back their titles. After all, AI does it, with our brothers and cousins who go abroad and then return with an invasion; why shouldn't the player have this opportunity?
Alternatively, or rather in addition, this system could also work on the basis of friendships, with the possibility of asking a powerful friend to assert their claims. On the other hand, if you were the best friend of a great emperor, it would be logical to flee to his court and implore him to get you back what is yours, right? This would give more depth to the system of friendships, and also of rivalries, since I think getting this help is more likely if your friend is also an enemy of who stole your titles.
Likewise, the pope could fight to return the throne to a very pious character, or he could use a favor with a powerful ruler to get him to do it.
If you don't have enough money and friends, or if the invasion fails, then you've definitely lost the game.
8) Since from DD it seems that the developers, compared to CKII, are focusing more on the aspect of the RPG, I would like the concept of the treasure chamber to be expanded in that direction.
It could be divided into five rooms, one for each character skill:
- the armory (martiality), with weapons, armor and maybe horses.
- the wardrobe (diplomacy), with crowns, scepters, jewels, cloaks and robes.
- the museum (administration), with artifacts, paintings, relics, etc.
- the laboratory (intrigue), with poisons, love filters, various potions, and perhaps the secrets discovered about the other characters.
- the library (erudition), with the various books, of course.
While in the museum, in the laboratory and in the library I think there should be no slots, getting the bonuses of all objects, in the first two rooms you could add the classic mannequin with the slots to be filled with what you want to wear.
In the armory I don't expect to see a slot for each piece of armor as in the RPG, but there could be one for the armor (or two, one for the helmet and one for the rest of the armor), one for the mount and two for weapons, with the possibility of wearing a weapon and a shield, two weapons, or a two-handed weapon, to choose whether to focus on the safety of the character or on his lethality. Maybe some weapons could be limited to certain cultures, such as the two-handed ax for the Norse.
In the wardrobe there may be slots for the crown, the scepter, the ceremonial sword, the cloak, the dress, a medallion and one-two rings.
Personally, because of my passion for gems, I would like there to be a set of rings:
- sapphire (diplomacy)
- ruby (martiality)
- emerald (administration)
- amethyst (intrigue)
- diamond (learning)
Alternatively, the diamond could give bonuses to all skills, and topaz or aquamarine could be used for learning.
I would have a lot of fun collecting them all and then choosing which one to wear based on the need of the moment.
Obviously I don't think that the objects should appear in the shops as in the GDR, the current system of commissioning them to a craftsman is fine, but I would add the tailor, and the objects should cost much less (though giving smaller bonuses), so that not twenty generations are needed for a family to accumulate a number of treasures worthy of a king!
In my opinion, the risk of destruction of objects during the succession should also be eliminated, because it makes no sense that when your father dies his things disappear for no reason from their pedestals! Instead, to limit the excessive accumulation of bonuses over the centuries (apart from the aforementioned reduction of bonuses) there may be two mechanisms:
- the classic RPG system, in which each object requires a certain level of its ability to be used.
- give artifacts scalar bonuses, which depend on the level of the character in the relative ability; the bonus is null with skill 0 and gradually increases up to a maximum bonus if the skill exceeds a certain value (20? 15?).
The first method, even if we all know it, is less realistic because, if it can work with weapons and books, in which if you are incapable you cannot handle or understand them, instead it does not make sense that you do not know how to wear a crown if you have low diplomacy.
I like the second system more, because a majestic crown worn by a charismatic person inspires even more respect, instead worn by an unpleasant it makes it just an important rude.
In short, this mechanism would make it more important to give a varied education to their heirs, because it will also influence how much they will benefit from the advantages offered by the artifacts that the family has accumulated over time.
Obviously this is what I would like to see in the game, this does not mean that others like it, nor that these are really good ideas, but I hope that at least something can perhaps be of inspiration to the developers to get something good from it.
I humbly apologize for my bad english.
Thanks for your attention and good evening to all!
I can't deny that, from what has been revealed so far in the DD, this game excites me a lot!
Probably with future DD we will discover that the developers have already thought about it, certainly with better ideas; however I think this moment, with the development still in progress, is the best one to give suggestions, so here are my ideas:
1) The title of Marquis could be introduced. We may have the opportunity, similar to EUIV, to promote a count who owns a border county (or at least 2-3?); this title should confer an intermediate prestige between count and duke, reduce taxes (not -100% of the EUIV, but perhaps -50%?) but increase the levies (+ 50%?) while also increasing the number of troops that the Marquis can get from his buildings (+ 30%?) and confer some bonuses to his soldiers' statistics and to his fort defence, maybe even a small bonus to the character's martial ability. AI may also tend to give military education to the Marquis' heirs.
You could impose a limit on the number of marquises (perhaps proportional to the rank, or the extension of your kingdom) or let the player decide whether to take the risk of making too many vassals more powerful. Obviously the Marquis would lose these bonuses if he obtained a duke title.
2) The title of Grand Duke could be introduced, for those who simultaneously possess 3+ Duke titles. It could be a nominal title that is automatically generated (taking its name from the duchy of the capital?), giving extra prestige, or simply a modification to the name with which the character is known, without giving any bonus, just to make the game world more varied. Furthermore, the title of grand duke could be converted into that of prince, if the character were independent rather than vassal.
3) Surely many have said it, so I won't go into this, but surely ships should not be used only for transportation and also for naval combat.
Maybe they could also serve to block the coasts (as in EUIV) to cause economic damage, canceling in that area the bonuses of imports and the income of exports (see point 4); however trade routes should not be canceled, but on standby, so that you don't have to manually reset them after the war.
4) As above, this too will have already been said, but I would like the trade not to be limited to the merchant republics. I don't think of something elaborate like the EUIV system, but maybe something similar to I: R, with goods that give provincial and national bonuses, and surpluses (calculated on the duchies or kingdoms, like the provinces of I: R) that generate income if they are exported, otherwise prosperity for the area in question.
In feudal governments they could have a commercial radius limited to neighboring countries, and to those distant only a few maritime areas (or within a certain radius, calculated on the distance between borders or between capitals); in this way, the merchant republics, rather than having the exclusive right on trade, could have a greater range of action, perhaps through the old system of commercial bases. They may also have an income bonus that they get from trading (like EUIV's commercial efficiency).
The diplomatic aspect could become more interesting if the possibility of having commercial bases depended on the level of opinion that there is with the owner of the barony; so the republics would have an interest in having good relations with the countries in which they want to create (and maintain) bases to expand their economic influence, and the feudal would have the same interest in the prosperity bonuses that the commercial bases should give to the barony in which they are (maybe even to the neighboring ones, or to the county or even to the duchy).
5) This too I imagine has been proposed, but I think that the loans should not be limited to the Jews (who in any case should give a loan proportionate to the income or size of the kingdom, instead of always giving 300 gold, as in CKII).
In my opinion, each of the 5 families that govern each republic could, in addition to taking care of their businesses, invest part of their earnings in banking activities, providing loans to the European nobility, to make money with interest. The interest could have a standard value or be agreed from time to time; I also think that, to make loans more risky, the interest should not be based only on the initial capital, but should be recalculated every year on the sum of the capital and interest accumulated up to that moment.
For the classic problem of the money back guarantee, different systems could be considered:
- automatic installment payment (as in EUIV), is the simplest, but least interesting solution (and which excludes the aforementioned progressive increase in interest).
- serious malus in the opinion of the other rulers against those who do not honor their debts within the established time (5 years? 10 years? Agreed from time to time?); maybe the malus could be progressive and get bigger if you persist in not paying. In this way you would risk having increasingly aggressive enemies and friends who could refuse to defend us or even break the alliance.
- after the established time, the banker obtains claims on a certain number of counties (proportional to the size of the debt), and can ask his doge to assert them, if he has sufficient strength, otherwise sell them to one or more feudal realms. It could also be estimated that when the loan is requested, guarantees must be agreed, which could be counties, to be conquered by the aforementioned methods, or artifacts that the banker will not return if the debt is not paid within the agreed times.
The third option is the one I prefer.
6) Although it has already been announced that the republics will not be playable at the moment, I hope they will be in a future dlc, and perhaps the aforementioned banking activities could make the gameplay more interesting, being able to use their wealth to influence European politics, financing someone rather than someone else, or with the possibility of canceling debts of powerful rulers in exchange for favors (in proportion to the size of the debt?), and thus obtaining their help to conquer something, or to force someone else to repay a debt bigger, with the threat of an invasion.
In the same way I would like to make theocracies playable too, but I have not yet managed to find a way that works, in a game based on dynasties; maybe someone will do it.
7) Being this game based on dynasties, it seems logical to me that the game ends when the family dies out, and I love the fact that if you lose all the titles you can continue with a relative who has other titles elsewhere; however when the aforementioned relative does not exist, instead of losing the game, I think that there should be another chance, giving the head of the family the opportunity to use the wealth accumulated by the various members of the dynasty (or house, with the new system), to recruit an army and try to take back their titles. After all, AI does it, with our brothers and cousins who go abroad and then return with an invasion; why shouldn't the player have this opportunity?
Alternatively, or rather in addition, this system could also work on the basis of friendships, with the possibility of asking a powerful friend to assert their claims. On the other hand, if you were the best friend of a great emperor, it would be logical to flee to his court and implore him to get you back what is yours, right? This would give more depth to the system of friendships, and also of rivalries, since I think getting this help is more likely if your friend is also an enemy of who stole your titles.
Likewise, the pope could fight to return the throne to a very pious character, or he could use a favor with a powerful ruler to get him to do it.
If you don't have enough money and friends, or if the invasion fails, then you've definitely lost the game.
8) Since from DD it seems that the developers, compared to CKII, are focusing more on the aspect of the RPG, I would like the concept of the treasure chamber to be expanded in that direction.
It could be divided into five rooms, one for each character skill:
- the armory (martiality), with weapons, armor and maybe horses.
- the wardrobe (diplomacy), with crowns, scepters, jewels, cloaks and robes.
- the museum (administration), with artifacts, paintings, relics, etc.
- the laboratory (intrigue), with poisons, love filters, various potions, and perhaps the secrets discovered about the other characters.
- the library (erudition), with the various books, of course.
While in the museum, in the laboratory and in the library I think there should be no slots, getting the bonuses of all objects, in the first two rooms you could add the classic mannequin with the slots to be filled with what you want to wear.
In the armory I don't expect to see a slot for each piece of armor as in the RPG, but there could be one for the armor (or two, one for the helmet and one for the rest of the armor), one for the mount and two for weapons, with the possibility of wearing a weapon and a shield, two weapons, or a two-handed weapon, to choose whether to focus on the safety of the character or on his lethality. Maybe some weapons could be limited to certain cultures, such as the two-handed ax for the Norse.
In the wardrobe there may be slots for the crown, the scepter, the ceremonial sword, the cloak, the dress, a medallion and one-two rings.
Personally, because of my passion for gems, I would like there to be a set of rings:
- sapphire (diplomacy)
- ruby (martiality)
- emerald (administration)
- amethyst (intrigue)
- diamond (learning)
Alternatively, the diamond could give bonuses to all skills, and topaz or aquamarine could be used for learning.
I would have a lot of fun collecting them all and then choosing which one to wear based on the need of the moment.
Obviously I don't think that the objects should appear in the shops as in the GDR, the current system of commissioning them to a craftsman is fine, but I would add the tailor, and the objects should cost much less (though giving smaller bonuses), so that not twenty generations are needed for a family to accumulate a number of treasures worthy of a king!
In my opinion, the risk of destruction of objects during the succession should also be eliminated, because it makes no sense that when your father dies his things disappear for no reason from their pedestals! Instead, to limit the excessive accumulation of bonuses over the centuries (apart from the aforementioned reduction of bonuses) there may be two mechanisms:
- the classic RPG system, in which each object requires a certain level of its ability to be used.
- give artifacts scalar bonuses, which depend on the level of the character in the relative ability; the bonus is null with skill 0 and gradually increases up to a maximum bonus if the skill exceeds a certain value (20? 15?).
The first method, even if we all know it, is less realistic because, if it can work with weapons and books, in which if you are incapable you cannot handle or understand them, instead it does not make sense that you do not know how to wear a crown if you have low diplomacy.
I like the second system more, because a majestic crown worn by a charismatic person inspires even more respect, instead worn by an unpleasant it makes it just an important rude.
In short, this mechanism would make it more important to give a varied education to their heirs, because it will also influence how much they will benefit from the advantages offered by the artifacts that the family has accumulated over time.
Obviously this is what I would like to see in the game, this does not mean that others like it, nor that these are really good ideas, but I hope that at least something can perhaps be of inspiration to the developers to get something good from it.
I humbly apologize for my bad english.
Thanks for your attention and good evening to all!
Last edited: