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The West - A Dynamic Colonial Overhaul for Europa Universalis IV

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I think that the idea in the OP is excellent, and really quite elegant. I would like EU4 to have an overhauled colonial system, and this sounds like a great way to do it. Having seen the developer diaries so far, I am doubtful that anything this innovative is in store for us, however, which is quite unfortunate. It sounds as if we're going to get the same old system as before, except that now the colonist is an envoy rather than a replenishing resource. The OP's idea would certainly be far superior to EU3's old system.
 
JasonOfArgos said:
There is no reason why it couldn't be modeled as a separate nation. Whether the colonial center is a separate nation from the start, or a certain level of reform creates a TAG for them would be determined in balancing. Playing as colonies (loading up a start before 1776 and playing as the US) should be possible. Right now the concept is as simple as possible so as to have it actually have a chance of being implemented. A dynamic TAG system is long overdue, as I've mentioned in other posts. Frankly, with the high possibility of there being a Country Designer DLC, I would bet that a dynamic TAG system will also be implemented. It is just so simple to add. T00 - T99 would be more than enough tags. Every current tag uses letters, so it wouldn't cause any issue major issue.

With dynamic tags being necessary for a Country Designer, they can EASILY be used for colonies as well. Not to mention that an official CK2->EU4 converter would benefit tremendously from such a system. So would unofficial converters.
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Dynamic tags would also allow for much better civil wars.

When it comes to colonial colony names, they were generally named after the terrain, an explorer, a leader, a liberator (if a revolutionary nation), or the homeland. Like the Bahamas, Colombia, Louisiana, Bolivia, and New England. The continents as a whole would be named America, Meiguo, or Al-Nihaya, depending on which cultural group discovers it first. The first group of colonies to revolt together would get to call itself by the continent's name (because it's multiple colonies in confederation they're justified, like the historical US). Some general naming rules:
1) The first Explorer of that nation in the area may be used once.
2) The first Conquistador in a region may be used for that region.
3) Any ruler may be used, but a revolutionary state will abandon it for their revolutionary leader's name.
4) Revolutionary leaders will replace "New Motherlands" and "Ruler-topias".
5) It's a toss-up between the Conquistador/Ruler/Terrain.
 
Grifen88 said:
That said, there is no reason that this cannot be overhauled in a future expansion pack.
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True, but looking at CK2, expansions seem make a new group playable. If this was added to the game upon release, they can make an expansion for colonies instead. Making it so you can only colonize after buying a DLC would be too much. Being able to play as a colony, however, would be PERFECT for an expansion.

Also, if colonization is just ported from EU3, I would spend 10+ hours a day modding this system in and release it. :p If it is available free as a mod, it is a bit difficult to justify paying for an expansion.
 
GregElSho said:
Really? Look at the ruler designer DLC for CKII :p
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Ruler designer is a success because of the ease of access it provides. You don't need to know how to mod or read a guide. All you have to do is install ruler designer and it is all streamlined. Even if you are adept at modding, Ruler Designer is still useful. Trying to mod the perfect portrait without using ruler designer at all could take a while. It also helps immensely for multiplayer customization.

With Steamworks in EU4, mods will be just as easy as DLCs to install. Click download and you're done.

Thats exactly why I would buy a Country Designer DLC for EU4. Sure, it is easy to mod in a country. It is much simpler to use the built in system and support the company at the same time.
 
On the subject of dynamic colonies:

There are two issues I see with regards to dynamic colonies. One is that post-colonial nations need not have similar borders to the historical ones. The other is that nations founded by different cultures will probably have different names.

I suggest that the devs use MiscMods as a model. Each region of the New World will have a few different nations assigned to it, corresponding to different culture groups. I'll understand if they want to keep the numbers of such nations low - 3-4 per region, with one being a catchall for everyone else.

Of course, there should be ways to prevent colonial separatism. After all, only a few colonies actually broke away in EU's timeframe - most did so later. For that matter, there are still colonies today.
 
Meshakhad said:
On the subject of dynamic colonies:

There are two issues I see with regards to dynamic colonies. One is that post-colonial nations need not have similar borders to the historical ones. The other is that nations founded by different cultures will probably have different names.

I suggest that the devs use MiscMods as a model. Each region of the New World will have a few different nations assigned to it, corresponding to different culture groups. I'll understand if they want to keep the numbers of such nations low - 3-4 per region, with one being a catchall for everyone else.

Of course, there should be ways to prevent colonial separatism. After all, only a few colonies actually broke away in EU's timeframe - most did so later. For that matter, there are still colonies today.
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Sounds good, a few nation tags for "historical" nations that can pop up and a few general tags as well. That way you can have your favorite historical country pop up or a randomly generated name (based on the mother countries' culture) in any given game. Gives a nice balance between railroading and randomness.
 
Meshakhad said:
One is that post-colonial nations need not have similar borders to the historical ones.
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Could I ask why? I'd much prefer to have borders defined by cultures, religion or original owners' zone of influence than arbitrary historical lines that won't make much sense in most games.
Borders fluctuated quite a bit in the Americas before stabilizing anyway.​

[Edit: Oops, nevermind. My bad.
Thanks to TheDarkMaster for correcting me and my lack of attention. "Need not" is a form I'm really not used to, sorry. ^^' ]
 
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GregElSho said:
Could I ask why? I'd much prefer to have borders defined by cultures, religion or original owners' zone of influence than arbitrary historical lines that won't make much sense in most games.
Borders fluctuated quite a bit in the Americas before stabilizing anyway.
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I think they said that the nations that separate should not have borders based on the historical nations.
 
I was gonna make a similar post... you beat me to it, it'd appear.

My biggest gripe is how "predetermined" most of the colonies are. And with many, I'm cool with it... historical nations forming where they actually did, that makes sense. However, those are the only possible break-aways. I'd love to see, for example, Russia historically go on to try and gobble up the western coast of North America. And then, if more successful than in real history, Russia manages to more firmly establish it's American holdings, I'd love to see a new nation try and form from it.

And in Africa, we should see something similar to the foundation of the Boer Republics or even later South Africa (which, I know, well beyond the game's timeframe but shouldn't be impossible), and colonists breaking free of their mother country to form a nation ruled by the minority European settlers. Though African colonization in this time period as a whole could use a do-over from EUIII, as much as I like to see "Kurlandian Africa" scrawled across the map.
 
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