Saturday, February 9, 2019

Italy Megacampaign: Part 00: 1444: Modpack and Campaign Goals

Google+ is shutting down soon, so I'll be posting my AAR on this blog. There are no comments per picture, but it's close enough.

The modpack starts with:

  • EU4 1.28.3 (latest patch)
  • Fun and Balance
  • Missions Expanded
  • Dynamic Ages
  • Better UI
  • (no mods changing trade nodes except for tiny unrelated South America tweaks)

Tech groups are back:

  • tech groups are back roughly comparable to earlier patches - penalty to all tech, but lower for adm/dip and higher for military; also penalty for institution spread and embracement cost
  • on the other hand lack of institution penalty is reduced to 25% (feudalism still at 50%)
  • institution embracement cost doubled for everyone
  • institutions can only start in Europe, but last 3 institutions still quickly spread from every trade port / manufactory / university
  • overall this mostly fixes late game tech spread
  • it only slightly inconveniences Eastern/Ottoman/Muslim - they were up to or close to best tech in every simulation game
  • it significantly inconveniences Indian/Chinese/East African, and they'll generally fall behind a bit
  • Ming, as long as it keeps mandate and tributaries, it will keep up on tech regardless thanks to all the money and free points - and advanced Ming helps its whole region
  • horde, new world, West/Central African natives are pretty much screwed, as they should be

And some experimental code like:

  • increased warscore cost for outright taking land
  • reduced warscore for for releasing countries, cancelling vassals, force converting, and such
  • none of CBs hard-block anything, so you can humiliate rival or trade war and take land in them (for full cost)
  • big HRE emperor buffs, as flat modifier proportional to number of princes, so it matters a lot early game, and is very minor late game
  • every religion can spread by trade policy (trade company regions only)
  • ramped up unrest and rebels a bit in various small ways, but nothing crazy - rebels will be bigger nuisance
  • unrest varies by age (discovery: -1 own +1 heathens; reformation: -1 own +1 heretics; absolutism: +2 everyone; revolutions: +4 everyone) - otherwise late game everyone had so many bonuses there were no rebellions
  • rebels more likely to be dangerous separatist or zealots, fewer pointless particularists

Plan for this campaign is to start as Venice and establish dominance over Mediterranean trade. Then try to get my hands on New World and/or Indian trade.

At some point I'll probably form Italy and stop being merchant republic. I might also flip religions, probably to Protestant, Reformed, or Orthodox, as I'm not going to be on best terms with the Pope.

I might at some point tag switch to one of my New World colonies.

I'd like to continue until 1821 and then export this game to Vic2 and then maybe to HoI4, but there are many technical difficulties preventing this.

My initial enemies will be countries holding significant Mediterranean coastline, like Aragon/Naples, Ottomans, and the Mamluks. Other powers like Castile, France, Austria, Hungary also encroach on rightful Italian soil, but we can come to some arrangements.

It all brings memories of my Venice EU3 campaign, where I became a monarchy and unified the HRE, for my first time ever I think. Those were good times.

Venice start. Lack of love from Hungary bothers me for sure.

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