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EU4 - Development Diary - 5th of October 2021

Hello and welcome to the 4th Dev Diary for the upcoming Africa update. For this Dev Diary we return to the new content for 1.32; to be more precise, we will delve into the tropical Congo Basin. Afterwards we shall take a look at the Horn of Africa again to give you a status update of the region. Without any further ado, let’s get started!

We begin with a rather compact mission tree for Kongo.
dd_kon_missions.png

The mission tree is split into three parts, which lead into two endgame missions with strong rewards. The first three missions from the right are classic conquest missions to unify the Kongolese culture group. Highlights of these missions are the expansion into the Zambia area, a colony in Lega, and permanent claims on the East Africa region.

The second column from the left deals with the establishment into a proper kingdom and its relations with the Europeans, as they try to colonize Africa. The highlights here are +75 support for Feudalism in your capital from the mission “Loango and Ndongo’s Fate”, and permanent claims on all provinces in Africa, held by a country with its capital in Europe.

The first column handles the religious concerns of Kongo and is very orientated on Fetishism. Every single mission reward is designed around the Fetishist faith. Should you switch your country's religion, you will lose the modifiers from this column. Additionally, the column allows you to gain a little bit more out of the Fetishist faith.
The mission “Meet the other Cults” allows your heir to follow a weaker version of your unlocked cults.
The cult for an heir has however only 50% of the effect. As an example: Cwezi as your cult for your ruler would give you +20% Improve Relations. For your heir it would be only +10% Improve Relations, which is still considerable.
You will lose the cult modifier for your heir should they ascend to the throne or should they die.

The mission “Shamanistic Alliances” fires the following event for you:
dd_kon_heir_cults.png

Your shaman can visit on your command a different cult and unlock them for your country. Hovering over any of the options will show a small tooltip telling you what the cult’s modifier is so you don’t have to look every single one of them up on the Wiki.
Cults from other religions are only available if you know of any country following this religion. Because of that you have the last option, which enables a decision to activate this decision later on again.
Also important to note: I think this is the first time we have a vanilla event with more than 6 options. You can scroll through the options using the scrollbar on the right side.

Speaking of religions for Kongo: The event for Christian missionaries reaching Kongo has received a facelift!
dd_kon_another_text_same_effect.png

The event “Foreigners arrive in Kongo!” gets triggered as soon any European country discovers Kongo. Because it is not limited to Portugal only, it has four different descriptions for the cases that the Kongolese get visited by either the Iberians, the Pope, another Catholic country or, in fringe cases, by a non Catholic country.

What makes the event special however is that it affects your mission tree. By inviting the missionaries, you replace the first column of missions with Catholic missions at the cost of 1 stability and 20 Prestige. Also a random owned province becomes Catholic too.
dd_kon_catholic_missions.png

The first mission requires you to convert your whole country to the Catholic faith. Because one of your provinces is already Catholic you could use rebels to do the job for you. Alternatively you can let the visiting missionaries do the job instead. After the event “Foreigners arrive in Kongo!” you will periodically get the following event if any Catholic country knows you, you are not Catholic, and you have not finished the mission “Repel the Christians”:
dd_kon_missionary_event.png


The event is a little bit special as the two options have a negative effect attached to them depending if you have chosen to become Catholic or to stay Fetishist.
Eventually your king will convert to Catholicism too if the dominant religion in your country is Catholic.
dd_kon_king_converts_event.png

Both choices give you one last time to reconsider your religious decision you picked earlier. Both options can replace the missions again, but if you choose to do so you will lose 3 stability, so it is recommended that you pick the playstyle you want early on.

Highlights of the Catholic missions is the purchase of a cardinal from a European ally or from the Pope himself by completing the mission “Cardinal for Kongo”. Of course you will have to bribe the pope with 1000 Ducats, but the reward sure is worth the effort:
dd_kon_cardinal.png

Also, while we are on the topic of Catholicism: there is another balance change for them, which is more fitting to the Catholics than -1 Tolerance to Heretics.
dd_kon_catholic_change.png

Finally a quick word regarding the final two missions and their rewards. “Protector of Africa” is quite simple as it “just” asks you to banish all the Europeans from Africa as well as having a really stable empire, giving you +10% Morale of Armies and Navies permanently.
The mission “Africa’s Hegemony”, which requires you to conquer great parts of Southern Africa, has a more unique mission reward.
dd_kon_hegemon.png


Before we finish the Dev Diary, let’s take a quick look back at the Horn of Africa as there are some new changes.
First thing: Adal has its own specific missions, though not as many as its neighbor Ethiopia. They should help AI Adal survive against Ethiopia better and expand into its Somalian neighbors.
dd_ada_missions.png

Highlights of the missions are an early army modifier which decreases Land Maintenance by 5%, gives 0.5 Yearly Army Tradition and, if Adal is at war with Ethiopia, increases Morale by 5% and Manpower Recovery Speed by 10%.

Adal also received some ideas unique to them too. Though it is debatable whether they would help AI Adal survive as we want to avoid giving a strong military bonus right at the beginning. Still, Adal deserves its an own set of ideas:
Code:
ADA_ideas = {
    start = {
        land_maintenance_modifier = -0.1
        trade_efficiency = 0.1
    }
 
    bonus = {
        diplomatic_reputation = 1
    }
 
    trigger = {
        tag = ADA
    }
    free = yes
 
    ada_our_infinite_struggle = {
        manpower_recovery_speed = 0.1
    }
 
    ada_a_monarchial_imamate = {
        legitimacy = 1
    }
 
    ada_zeila_and_harar = {
        global_trade_power = 0.15
    }
 
    ada_mujahiduir_cavalry = {
        cavalry_power = 0.05
        cavalry_cost = -0.1
    }
 
    ada_unite_the_clans = {
        years_of_nationalism = -5
    }
 
    ada_yahu_yahu = {
        land_morale = 0.1
    }
 
    ada_embrace_the_cannons = {
        artillery_power = 0.1
    }
}
Next is the addition of a generic Horn of Africa idea set, which gives the five tags finally something better than +2.5% discipline:
horn_of_african_ideas = { start = { stability_cost_modifier = -0.1 global_tax_modifier = 0.1 } bonus = { prestige = 0.5 } trigger = { culture_group = cushitic NOT = { primary_culture = somali } NOT = { primary_culture = tigray } NOT = { tag = ETH } } free = yes horn_of_african_punt_legend = { trade_range_modifier = 0.2 } horn_of_african_aksumite_legacy = { global_unrest = -1 } horn_of_african_highland_cultivation = { development_cost = -0.05 } horn_of_african_oromon_warriors = { infantry_power = 0.1 } horn_of_african_religious_melting_pot = { tolerance_heathen = 1 } horn_of_african_cushitic_language = { improve_relation_modifier = 0.15 } horn_of_african_religious_defensive_nature = { defensiveness = 0.2 } }
Of course our formable Somalia has also gained some unique ideas too!
Code:
SOM_ideas = {
    start = {
        may_perform_slave_raid_on_same_religion = yes
        cavalry_power = 0.1
    }
    bonus = {
        capture_ship_chance = 0.33
    }
    trigger = {
        tag = SOM
    }
    free = yes
    SOM_land_of_punt = {
        stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
    }
    SOM_african_silk_road = {
        caravan_power = 0.2
        trade_steering = 0.1
    }
    SOM_african_minting = {
        inflation_reduction = 0.15
    }
    SOM_zeila_and_berbera = {
        center_of_trade_upgrade_cost = -0.1
    }
    SOM_blue_nile = {
        global_supply_limit_modifier = 0.33
    }
    SOM_indian_merchants = {
        merchants = 1
        mercantilism_cost = -0.25
    }
    SOM_faithful_to_allah = {
        missionary_maintenance_cost = -0.2
    }
}
Shoutout to @verinityvoid and @nephilim2k for helping out with the ideas!

Another change we made is addressing some setup issues. First we have changed the terrain in the Mogadishu and the Northern Swahili Coast area, changing four provinces from steppes and savannas to farmlands.
dd_ada_terrain_changes.png

We also adjusted the climate of the region too.
dd_ada_climate_changes.png

Finally a quick update regarding the Ç̌äwa unit:
dd_eth_cawa.png

Additionally Ethiopia has access to two estate privileges, which modify the role of the Ç̌äwa even further:
  • Cawa Peacekeeper:
    • Land Maintenance Modifier: -15.0%
    • Rebel Suppression Efficiency: +25.0%
    • Movement Speed: -10.0%
  • Cawa Conquerors:
    • Discipline: 2.5%
    • Recover Army Morale Speed: +10.0%
    • Reinforce Cost: +25.0%

Alright, that’s it for today! Next week @Pavía will cover new monuments for 1.32. Have a nice week!
 
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Cawa colour looks epic! But is that the same as Cossacks?
Right now, yes. The Ç̌äwa are currently using a placeholder background color.
at this point i just ask: what's with semien and the jews? the jews deserve some love and better bonuses and semien is quite a challenging but fun start
Don't worry, we have them on our radar ;)
 
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Did you reconsider your decision on map changes already? I still can't believe you updated regions nobody asked for (looking at you Emuland), but left Africa with borders dating back to Art of War.
 
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Is there a mistake in this, because of the four shown events none of it refer to the foreigners as non Catholics?
How does this work if the nation you met is not Catholic? (The rare edge case you mentioned.) Do you still get the swap to Catholic missions, or would it go to the religion of whoever it was that you met?
The idea is that the text refers to missionaries, who fled from a non-Catholic country - hence the text and the effect sill revolves around Catholicism for Kongo. It is a really rare fringe case however, so you will not see this text a lot of times as it would require an early death of the Iberians and a very early reformation.
As Kongo you will still swap to Catholicism with the Catholic missions. The mission text is mostly for flavor purposes.

I am very sorry for being unclear here.
Are those the last generic ideas gone?
Well, every country in the 1444 setup has no longer generic national ideas. There are still some countries, which could be released and have generic ideas (like Kerman and Yazd in Persia).
 
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By the way, is there going to be any focus on smaller nations in subsaharan Africa? so far it's just been the big boys, we're only missing Kilwa and Mutapa in that list but they'll probably get something.
With smaller nations I mean like for example the great lakes region, there are only small fry there so judging by the dev diaries so far it's possible that region could be overlooked entirely.
Yes! We've already been working on some content for smaller, but not less important, African countries. We will be talking about that in one of our next DD's.
 
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Hi everyone, quick update! As today is the National Day of Spain, we're on a day off, so DD will be delayed until tomorrow. But stay tuned, as we will talk about the new upcoming Monuments for 1.32, and a couple more things (Grandest Lan, I've heard?).
 
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Thanks for the Dev Diary! I've got a few questions :)



Is the effect regarding the penalties part of a new command, a sneaky culture group change or is it just a modifier applied on the provinces (with the relevant on_actions etc.)?

Will there be more changes to terrain and climate not revealed quite yet? (Fezzan having a single temperate province that is not coastal and is considered a desert)

Will the 'Cult for the Heir' mechanic be available to more fetishist nations?

Will nations anywhere be able to acquire Cardinals naturally now, or is the Kongolese cardinal a one-time thing? (I remember the provinces that the cardinal selection is drawn from being quite specific)

Also, great to see mention and credits given to the modders in the community ;)
1. Modifiers used by on_actions.
2. Maybe if time allows us. I cannot promise that we will touch every area of the map regarding climate and terrain though.
3. I don't want to spoiler too much, but I can say that Fetishism will get some nice improvements in general. So 'Cult for the Heir' and other scripted mechanics will be available to more Fetishist countries indeed, though they will acquire them differently then through mission trees.
4. It's a one-time thing.
 
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Glad to see my Adalite ideas in there!
Is making those provinces into farmlands really a good idea? I mean for the gameplay maybe, but historically does this look like farmlands? https://www.google.pl/maps/@-0.7988359,42.0814096,543571m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=pl
To give a short answer, yes. The land across Pate and Lamu was owned/used by Pate, Lamu, Siyu, and Manda as farmland for the islands (they grew grain and transported it to the islands).
The lower Shebelle was very good for agriculture, but I can’t recall specific examples off the top of my head.
 
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Highlights of the Catholic missions is the purchase of a cardinal from a European ally or from the Pope himself by completing the mission “Cardinal for Kongo”. Of course you will have to bribe the pope with 1000 Ducats, but the reward sure is worth the effort:
Should other non-European nations baptized by events (e.g. Mayan, Japanese) also get a similar option?
 
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Can Hausaland be made into a formable tag, it's already in ck3 and many rulers in the Hausa states sought to unify the region with varying degrees of success. Also I think the states should be split as there were 7 primary Hausa states rather than the 3 in the game. Also Kanem needs some love too as the great Idris Alooma had relations with the ottomans and Bornu was an important and enduring state in the region existing alongside both the Mali empire and long after the timeline of the game. Overall while it's good to see Africa get some content it's quite lackluster overall and as a member of the growing African paradox fanbase I hope we get a lot more content in the future.
 
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Nice! Looking forward to this, and to the monuments next week!

permanent claims on all provinces in Africa, held by a country with its capital in Europe.
I felt myself wondering about this mission reward. I assume this is for the mission "Banish the Europeans". If I recall correctly, similar mission rewards for other countries (e.g. Hungary with Ottoman provinces) grant permanent claims on provinces held at the moment of finishing the mission. As such, this would not cover any provinces Europeans gain after finishing the mission and would still cover any provinces the Europeans lose to other non-European nations. Both of these feel kind of weird to me, given my interpretation of the idea behind the mission.
Would it be possible to, instead of these permanent claims, unlock a casus belli on European nations holding territory in Africa?
 
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Can we add unique units to the macro builder and template soon? It's becoming very click-intensive once you start manually adding unique units.

Also, can we get unique ideas for Algeria? Theme'd along a naval march?
 
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Could you balance Christian nations by reworking the council of Trent? That -80 opinion of heretics is insane and makes diplomacy almost imposible. I hate to play in the HRE now. I love all the ideas that you posted here by the way. You are making the game much more interesting adding flavour to all nations. I would love next DLC could focus on the baltic region and also I would love if you could give Mameluks unique mission tree and flavour becuase it is located in Africa too. Thank you for all. Do not forget to change Council of Trent please!!
 
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The event “Foreigners arrive in Kongo!” gets triggered as soon any European country discovers Kongo. Because it is not limited to Portugal only, it has four different descriptions for the cases that the Kongolese get visited by either the Iberians, the Pope, another Catholic country or, in fringe cases, by a non Catholic country.
Is there a mistake in this, because of the four shown events none of it refer to the foreigners as non Catholics?
 
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What makes the event special however is that it affects your mission tree. By inviting the missionaries, you replace the first column of missions with Catholic missions at the cost of 1 stability and 20 Prestige. Also a random owned province becomes Catholic too.
How does this work if the nation you met is not Catholic? (The rare edge case you mentioned.) Do you still get the swap to Catholic missions, or would it go to the religion of whoever it was that you met?
 
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