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Greetings, citizens.
It is my pleasure to provide you with the last SPQR ranking for 2020!
This week's first-place goes to a familiar fellow of SPQR, I named IsaacCAT, whose thread "Rulers' Diplomacy" got 11 votes.
Then comes Gatkramp's thread , "Scripted historical characters", which proposes some historical characters are scripted to appear throughout the game. He got 8 votes.
The third and last place in the ranking goes to Slavicist and his thread entitled "Depict government bonuses in the Select Government window" which got 5 votes.
That's all for this week, dear citizens! I remind you that the SPQR will be on break next week. Don't hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity to fine-tune your suggestions to post them starting December 28th
Once again, I wish you a wonderful holiday season, and I'm already looking forward to some exciting reading when I get back!
It is my pleasure to provide you with the last SPQR ranking for 2020!
This week's first-place goes to a familiar fellow of SPQR, I named IsaacCAT, whose thread "Rulers' Diplomacy" got 11 votes.
Preface: this suggestion arises from this thread from @Mr.Wiggles asking to improve the diplomacy part of the game
Observation: the game negates the characters importance on diplomacy and only considers national variables to decide the possible outcome.
Suggestion:
Diplomacy shall represent a negotiation table where the nations' current rulers decide about their relations. Thus, I suggest adding personal factors from rulers to the decision process. Moreover, I suggest that negotiations become an uncertain event that will make diplomacy riskier for players:
For clarity, diplomacy does not include the following actions: Declaration of Wars, Demand Military Access, Covert Actions and Relation Actions. Because these actions do not require a negotiation between parties.
- Players will have to prepare the negotiation table considering national factors but also its current leader and the other nation leader attributes and relations.
- The outcome is not determined beforehand, there is a chance of failure.
- This system creates unexpected developments as other nations proposals will be decided by negotiation, challenging the player to disentangle unwanted diplomatic relations.
View attachment 661858
How:
When a nation ruler makes a diplomatic proposal to another nation ruler, there are three outcomes that are mutually exclusive:
Depending on each proposal, each outcome will have a probability function of different variables. First, I will explain every variable. Second, I will give two examples with different scenarios.
- The ruler accepts and a treaty/agreement is achieved P(A)
- The ruler does not accept and will not listen to the same proposal for five years or until there is a new ruler P(B)
- There is no agreement and negotiations are broken P(C) until next time
The variables involved in diplomacy can be summarized in personal and national factors:
- Variables:
Personal factors:
National factors:
- Charisma: represents the character’s ability to charm and persuade others. This factor adds +0.01 * (Charisma points of the ruler making the proposal) to the P(A).
- Popularity and Prominence: represent the fame of both characters and their ability to sell the deal to their people. These factors add +(Sum of Popularity and Prominence of both rulers)/8000 to the P(A)
- Friendship: if both rulers are friends add +0.1 to the P(A).
- Personality Traits: same traits add +0.01 to the P(A). Opposite traits add +0.01 to the P(B).
- Health Traits: if the ruler making the proposal has any health trait, add +0.01 to the P(B) except for Fair trait that adds +0.01 to P(A)
- Status Traits: any status trait adds +0.01 to P(A)
- Fatigue: represents the tiresome feeling to listen to the same proposal. This factor adds +0.05 * (5 – years since last time this proposal was submitted) to the P(B). After five years since the same proposal was presented for the last time, fatigue is 0 and it cannot go negative.
- Corruption: is a measurement of the character’s willingness to engage in underhanded practices and creates distrusts to both parties. This factor adds +(Sum of Corruption of both rulers)/2000 to the P(B)
- Rivalry: if both rulers are rivals, add +0.1 to the P(B)
- Influence: represents the power of successful past dealings between the nations. This factor adds +0.01 * (number of successful past treaties between the nations) to P(A).
- Diplomatic Reputation: increases the likelihood that other nations will consider your diplomatic proposal, add +0.01 * (Diplomatic Reputation of the nation making the proposal) to P(A)
- Different Rank: smaller nations will be intimidated by larger nations, add +0.01 If Positive Rank difference to P(A). However, bigger nations will dismiss smaller nations, add +0.01 If Negative Rank difference to P(B).
- Culture and Religion: Same religion add +0.01 to P(A), different religion add +0.01 to P(B). Same Culture Group add +0.01 to P(A), different culture group add +0.01 to P(B).
- Opinion: it is easier to sell an agreement to a favourable public opinion, but it can be done against it, too. Add + (If Positive Sum of both nation opinions)/8000 to P(A) or add + (if Negative Sum of both nation opinions)/8000 to P(B)
- Common Threat: united against a common enemy, add +0.05 to P(A).
- Diplomatic Relations: if our nation has paved the way before with improved opinion or send gift, it can help on the negotiations, add +0.01 to P(A). On the contrary, if we have sent an insult, add +0.01 to P(B).
- Competing power: we have the same interests and working an agreement will be more difficult, but possible. Add +0.05 to P(B).
- Has Border: in some proposals having a common border will factor in the decision, add +0,01 if positive to P(A) or add +0,01 to P(B) if negative.
- Capital distance: in some proposals this can be of importance to decide, add +0.01 * (Capital Distance)/200 to P(B).
- Relative Strength: like different rank, it is an indicator or military might that can intimidate smaller nations but not bigger nations in some proposals. add +0.01 If Positive Relative Strength to P(A). Add +0.01 If Negative Relative Strength to P(B).
- Exceeding Diplomatic relations: exceeding the number of available diplomatic relations will add +0.01 * (Exceeding Diplomatic relations) to P(B).
We will use the same scenario for two examples:
- Examples:
Personal Factors: Our ruler has 12 Charisma and 195 Popularity + Prominence points. The other ruler has 7 charisma and 125 Popularity + Prominence points. They are not friends nor rivals and share no traits. However, one ruler is lazy and the other one is Energetic. Both have one negative health trait, gout and Depressed. No status traits. The proposal has been submitted already this same year and it was dismissed but not refused. The sum of both leader's corruption is 15 points.
National Factors: we have had no other treaty before; thus, influence is 0. Our nation diplomatic reputation is 3, theirs is 0. There is a positive difference of rank. Culture and Religion of both nations are different. Sum of Opinions is negative 126 points. There is a common threat. We have not improved opinion, send a Gift nor Send and Insult. We are not competing power. Capital distance is 50 but we share borders. Relative Strength is positive. They will exceed their Diplomatic relations limit.
Example 1:
Offer Alliance From our ruler to the other ruler.
The resulting probabilities for each event are the following:
View attachment 661856
- P(A) = (All Personal Factors + Influence + Diplomatic Reputation + Different Rank + Culture and Religion + Opinion + Common Threat + Diplomatic Relations) = 12*0,01+(195+125)/8000 + 0+0,01*3+0,01+0,05 = 0,25
- P(B) = (All Personal Factors + Culture and Religion + Opinion + Competing Power + Exceeding Diplomatic relations) = 0,01+0,01+0,05*(5-0) +15/2000 + 0,01+0,01+126/8000+0,01 = 0,32
- P(C) = 1-P(A)-P(B) = 0,43
Example 2:
Request for Help from the other ruler to our ruler:
This other example is a new diplomatic action suggested by @Mr.Wiggles in this post that allows a country engaged in a war to try to call in another country to help win the war in exchange of some sort of vassal relation. Because this system is not deterministic, this option will not always produce an escalation to Ancient World War I.
We will consider the same factors as in Example 1, and the resulting probabilities for each event are the following:
View attachment 661857
- P(A) = (All Personal Factors + Influence + Diplomatic Reputation + Culture and Religion + Opinion + Common Threat + Diplomatic Relations + Has Border + Capital distance) = 7*0,01+(195+125)/8000 + 0+0,01*0+0,01+0,05+0,01 = 0,18
- P(B) = (All Personal Factors + Culture and Religion + Opinion + Competing Power + Has Border + Capital Distance + Exceeding Diplomatic relations) = 0,01+0,01+0,05*(5-0) +15/2000 + 0,01+0,01+126/8000+0,01+0.01*50/200 = 0,33
- P(C) = 1-P(A)-P(B) = 0,41
Implementation:
We have two scenarios:
Strategies:
- The player can make a proposal to another nation. The game tooltip will inform the player with the current chances calculated using the above factors. If the player decides to bring forward the proposal, the system will generate a number [0,1] and inform about the outcome to the player in the next screen.
- The player receives the proposal from another nation. The game can present the odds before the outcome with a nice portrait of the two rulers and nation flags. Then, the system will generate a number [0,1] and inform about the outcome to the player.
Because Influence and Charisma are very important, player will have to pay attention to their ruler and other rulers to increase the chance of success. Also, player will be able to achieve higher rates of success by working over time the influence factor.
The other national factors do not escalate, except for the capital distance for obvious reasons.
Acknowledgements:
I have taken ideas from this thread:
Expansion through diplomacy
We know diplomacy played a very BIG part in roman expansionism. This aspect os completely lacking in game as of now, and seems a complex matter. How would you handle it?forum.paradoxplaza.com
Other players have identified this issue and have ideas about improving diplomacy here:
The player should control a single family, not the whole state
Basic Concept: I doubt this is a totally new idea here on the forums. I think it's in fact how I thought the game would work in the first place, when I first heard of it. I don't know how far such an has been brainstormed, whether within the...Diplomacy Spitballing
I was initially hesitant to talk about Diplomacy when I saw that a Vassal overhaul was already in the works, but it looks like that has been paused for now. War overhaul could easily stray into Diplomacy itself, but for now I'll assume that...
Then comes Gatkramp's thread , "Scripted historical characters", which proposes some historical characters are scripted to appear throughout the game. He got 8 votes.
The third and last place in the ranking goes to Slavicist and his thread entitled "Depict government bonuses in the Select Government window" which got 5 votes.
That's all for this week, dear citizens! I remind you that the SPQR will be on break next week. Don't hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity to fine-tune your suggestions to post them starting December 28th
Once again, I wish you a wonderful holiday season, and I'm already looking forward to some exciting reading when I get back!
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