Welcome to another development diary about Europa Universalis IV. This time we talk about something that will be in the next major patch we do.

One of the parts of the game that has not changed much since eu1 is the concept of technology groups and technological development around the world. We’ve added concepts like westernising, and tweaked that one, but in the end Europe has a huge advantage from day 1, and lots of fun gameplay options are limited the further away you are.

So this is what will happen in 1.18, when it is released this autumn..

A nation’s technology group no longer affect technology research.

There is now a concept called Institutions, which will affect your technology research. There are seven different institutions that appear over the game, and if you don’t get them to spread into your country and then get embraced by your government, your technology costs will slowly rise.

Each institution will appear in a province fullfilling certain factors, and then slowly spread around the world. The nation owning that province will gain prestige and monarch power.

Every year the penalty for not having embraced an institution will grow by 1%, so there is a gradual process.

When an institution has spread to at least 10% of your development, you can embrace it in your government, removing the penalty permanently, and also giving a bonus to your nation. The cost to embrace depends on the amount of development in your nation without the institution.

All institutions spread over borders (including 1 seazone away), if relations are positive, and the spread is based on development in the province getting it. There are also lots of other factors related to the spread.

So which are the the seven institutions then?

Feudalism
This is present from the start in almost all the world, except among the hordes, new world and sub-saharan africa. It will slowly spread into neighboring lands, but it is not quick.
Bonus: Gives 1 extra free leader.
Penalty: 50%


Renaissance
This appears in Italy after 1450, in either a capital or a 20+ development province. It will spread quickly through high development in europe, particularly through italy, but can only spread into provinces that have feudalism already.
Bonus: 5% Cheaper Development & 5% Cheaper Buildings
Penalty: 20%


Colonialism
Appears after 1500 in a port province in Europe, who’s owner has the Quest of the New World idea, and have discovered the new world. And will spread very quickly through any port in countries with colonies.
Bonus: +10% Provincial Trade Power
Penalty: 20%


Printing Press
This arrives after 1550, most likely in germany, but can happen in any protestant or reformed province. It will spread quickly in Protestant and Reformed territory, but also into capitals with dip tech 15.
Bonus: 5& Cheaper Stability
Penalty: 20%


Global Trade
This arrives after 1600, in a center of trade in the highest value trade node, and will spread quicker into provinces with trade buildings.
Bonus: +1 Merchant
Penalty: 20%

Manufactories
This arrives after 1650 in a province with 30 development and a manufactory, and will spread quicker into provinces with manufactories.
Bonus: +10% Goods Produced
Penalty: 20%

Enlightenment
Arrives after 1700 in a province that either is a seat of a parliament, or is a province in europe owned by a monarch with at least 5 in all stats. Universities & Parliament Seats spread this institution.
Bonus: 25% Cheaper Culture Conversion
Penalty: 30%
​

What does this mean?


The progress of Europe is not guaranteed, but most importantly, a nation in Asia or Africa is no longer crippled from day 1, and forced to avoid spending power on ideas and development.

------

We’re constantly tweaking the spread factors, but here are some screenshots from mid 18th century in a hands-off game from this morning.

This is the institutions mapmode, where green are provinces that have all the enabled institutions, and yellow are don’t have them all.

And here is the technology mapmode, of the same game.

Some other aspects that has changed include the following
- New World Native Reforming will give you all institutions that the one you reform from has.
- Trade Companies are available to all technology groups.
- Lots and lots of triggers on western techgroups have been changed to check for specific relevant institutions.

 

[Darkath]

yes.. and so has colonising other territories.

Should printing be available in china then ?

Why are you linking colonization to tech research at all ?

 

[Johan]

Please, please make this as moddable as possible. Allow us to add new ones (we'll figure out the UI) and make the effects, penalties and spread conditions fully scriptable

Its 100% moddable.

#######################################
# New World
# 
# Colonising is good.. mkay.-.
#######################################
new_world_i = {
    penalty = 0.2        #20% penalty   

    bonus = {
        global_prov_trade_power_modifier = 0.10
    }



    history = {
        OR = {
            AND = {
                is_year = 1500
                continent = europe
                owner = { has_idea = quest_for_the_new_world }
            }
           
            AND = {
                is_year = 1600
                continent = europe
            }   
           

        }
    }
   
    can_start = {
        is_year = 1500
       
        continent = europe
        has_port = yes
        owner = { 
            has_idea = quest_for_the_new_world 
            OR = {
                north_america = { has_discovered = PREV }
                south_america = { has_discovered = PREV }
                new_world = { has_discovered = PREV }
            }
        }

    }
    start_chance = 5        #in 100 for when a province can_start
   
   
    on_start = institution_events.3
   
   
   

   
   
    can_embrace = {
        always = yes
    }


   
    embracement_speed = {
   
        modifier = {
            factor = 1
            scale = yes
           
            any_friendly_coast_border_province = {
                new_world_i = 100
            }
        }
       
        modifier = {
            factor = 0.5
            scale = yes
            custom_trigger_tooltip = {
                tooltip = tooltip_neighbor_port_province_new_world
                has_port = yes
                any_neighbor_province = {
                    new_world_i = 100
                }
            }
        }
       
        #Port provinces in countries with colonial subjects
        modifier = {
            factor = 10
            custom_trigger_tooltip = {
                tooltip = tooltip_has_colonial_subject_in_new_world
                OR = {
                    has_port = yes
                    is_capital = yes
                }
                owner = {
                    num_of_colonial_subjects = 1
                    any_subject_country = {
                        is_colonial_nation = yes
                        OR = {
                            capital_scope = { continent = north_america }
                            capital_scope = { continent = south_america }
                            capital_scope = { continent = new_world }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
       
        #After activiation spreads also to owners of Colonial Empires in Asia
        modifier = {
            factor = 10
            custom_trigger_tooltip = {
                tooltip = tooltip_has_protectorate
                OR = {
                    has_port = yes
                    is_capital = yes
                }
                owner = {
                    num_of_protectorates = 1
                }
            }
        }
       
        modifier = {
            factor = 5
            scale = yes
            custom_trigger_tooltip = {
                tooltip = tooltip_colonial_overlord_new_world_i
                OR = {
                    has_port = yes
                    is_capital = yes
                }
                owner = {
                    is_colonial_nation = yes
                    overlord = { has_institution = new_world_i }
                }
            }
        }
        modifier = {
            factor = 10
            custom_trigger_tooltip = {
                tooltip = tooltip_new_world_i_embraced
                owner = {
                    has_institution = new_world_i
                }
            }
        }
    }
   
    ai_will_do = { #Cost of embracing institution must be lower than this factor * last month's regular income. (Or it has a more than long term goal...)
        factor = 24
       
        modifier = {
            factor = 0.25
            is_at_war = yes
        }
    }
}

 

[Johan]

Should printing be available in china then ?

Why are you linking colonization to tech research at all ?

No.

its not the invention of it, but the concept of how it changes things.

 

[Zwirbaum]

From my earlier post @Johan - What determines when country can be protectorated or be made as vassal? Same as what determines potential rivals? (Now it is tech speed difference, what it will be when 1.18 arrive?)

 

[Melville]

That is a huge change. My only hope is that it will be properly balanced when the patch is out.

 

[Dnote]

This looks really good. Is 1.18 just a patch or does a DLC accompany it?

Seems like that will be the ideal time to return to EU4 after copious amounts of Stellaris and HOI4.

 

[Teonod]

No.

its not the invention of it, but the concept of how it changes things.

Yeah, because it only truly changes something when the change happens in Europe.

 

[perhje]

Is it only me that see the parlament building in the first screenshot?

 

[NeoT]

I love the changes towards institutions. But it still looks way too eurocentric. What are the Chinese starting institutions? By at least half of the time period portrayed in EUIV China had more advanced technology and also institutions that would be more growth friendly. Printing Press was used for printing paper during the Song dynasty for example. Manorialism had mostly dissapeared during the Ming and Qing.

I would propose that at least the early institutions (Renaissance and Colonialism) being remade or something and be replaced by other institutions (or equivalent) that can also be triggered in Asia. The later ones it would be more accurate to centre them to Europe and maybe relate them with the capitalist institutions being created in Europe (Stock Exchanges, Mass agricultural wage labour, Cartesian dualism, etc.)

Kenneth Pommeranz in his Great Divergence ended up a little biased towards China, but he did make some good points regarding institutions.

 

[Gaussia]

This is an impressive solution to a difficult problem. Really looking forward to playing with it.

 

[Zwirbaum]

This looks really good. Is 1.18 just a patch or does a DLC accompany it?

Seems like that will be the ideal time to return to EU4 after copious amounts of Stellaris and HOI4.

It will be (probably with 99%) as usual accompanied by the DLC - which looking at the planned time of release (Autumn further reinforces that idea - and also that each even (beside Res Publica) version number since 1.4 and Conquest of Paradise is a DLC)

 

[Arcaian]

Did I miss something here, or how do these spread to the New World? They spread only one seatile away according to the OP, and as far as I know the only way to get to the New World with one Sea Tile gap is through Alaska, which seems a ridiculous way to spread. Do colonies automatically have all institutions of the founding nation or something?

 

[Twoflower]

Colonialism should really not be linked to tech. If anything colonialism was enabled by better technology, as in victoria 2 with life rating, but not the other way around.

Well, in a way, colonialism is enabled by technology in EU4 - reaching at least admin level 5, and ideas somehow represent technology as well. I think that linking it to technology is not implausible - the exploration and colonization of the Americas, Asia and Africa was something that hugely affected the development of European society, introducing new crops, societal concepts and a better understanding of the world as a whole.

 

[Johan]

It seems to me that this might be the best change to EUIV ever announced (competing with forts and autonomy) - The idea of institutions is simpy brilliant. The addition would be nice even if it had no effect on techs, but only gave the other bonuses, and its effect on tech speeds makes the whole "tech-cost"-group much more interactive and interesting.
A couple of questions:

1) You say institutions only spread to neighboring provinces (seazones included), does that mean that an institution won't spread to the overseas provinces of a nation which has adopted that institution, unless those overseas provinces border some nation with the institution? I ask because it has implications for whether Western conquerers in e.g. India will be spreading Western Institutions

2) Related to the above, how did Uzbek (in its capital) and Malabar (all over) get all the institutions in the screenshot?

3) Since Westernization is gone, and given that institutions only spread over borders, is there anything a far away nation, say, Japan, can do to actively promote the spread of "European institutions" to its country (beyond conquering enough provinces with the right institutions)?

1) If you embrace it, it appears in all your provinces.

 

[Super-Soviet]

So if I'm trying another doomed attempt to make Ryukyu a thing, and I start off colonising first chance I get, do I still have to wait till I make contact with Europeans for the colonialism institution?

 

[Johan]

From my earlier post @Johan - What determines when country can be protectorated or be made as vassal? Same as what determines potential rivals? (Now it is tech speed difference, what it will be when 1.18 arrive?)

Same as before.. tech speed difference.

 

[Dnote]

If positive relations are required, could for example, France and Aragon being rivals prevent spread of Institutions to Castille?

 

[Johan]

This looks really good. Is 1.18 just a patch or does a DLC accompany it?.

Big dlc

 

[Gosig]

This is one of the best changes to the game!

 

[loup99]

Well, these changes will surely have a huge impact! I'm happy to see that you are continuing to improve and overhaul the game continuously, and listen to the community. I do however hope that the confusing wording of "Printing press" in the 1550's will be changed, and that you will make use of these changes to add a lot of flavour related to the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Linking government types to the Feudalism institution and being able to replace it would be interesting.

Colonialism should really not be linked to tech. If anything colonialism was enabled by better technology, as in victoria 2 with life rating, but not the other way around.

It is only the "colonialism" institution that is though, not the colonisation functionality itself. Or do you mean the colonisation distance?