EU4 - Development Diary - 7th April 2016

[Jorlem]

@Johan, this needs to be looked at, don't you think? Sailors cap should perhaps be a soft limit (which can be exceeded but growth stops once exceeded) that slooowly declines to the defined limit (though I'm not sure it must decline/fade). The way it's implemented right now requires too much perverse micromanagement. I'm all in favor of such, generally, but in this case it just feels very wrong.

You did read the OP, right? Because it has been addressed:

- When mothballing a fleet, sailors no longer needed are now returned to the country's sailor pool (up to max sailors).

 

[grommile]

As far as gameplay mechanic for RC's, the Make Ruler into General button is a fantastic example. Without the threat of an RC, making your ruler into a general has no extra consequence beyond the normal stab hit for a ruler dieing normally.

Actually, if your ruler (or heir) is a general, and they die in combat, you take a -1 stab hit, which in the case of the ruler of a monarchy is on top of the -1 stab hit for having your ruler die at all. Thus, it is almost never worth making your ruler a general, and if you have Aristocratic and Influence in your idea group plans anyway you should probably take them as early as possible so that you can enact an Oligarchic Republic and never have to deal with any of the inane equine excrement attached to monarchy ever again.

Especially if you aren't Christian (PUs are just about worth putting up with the risk of having your ability to engage in the primary gameplay activity taken away for up to fifteen years at a stretch, and that's assuming you don't run into one of the heir-death events that is valid during regency) or Nahuatl (if you are Nahuatl you are allowed to declare war during regency so that long regencies do not automatically and inevitably condemn you to DOOM).

 

[TheMeInTeam]

As far as gameplay mechanic for RC's, the Make Ruler into General button is a fantastic example. Without the threat of an RC, making your ruler into a general has no extra consequence beyond the normal stab hit for a ruler dieing normally. A 1 stab hit for placing the leader of a country in harms way without securing a proper replacement for the most important position in the country is laughable.

It would seem you have confused the issue. RC punishes you with not playing for up to 1/10 of the timeline at random, even if you never make a ruler a general once. Also, you're wrong. Not only does death in battle give -2 stab, at some point, making ruler a general is preferable so he dies before event RNG kills your heir, which is the most common cause of CTD by a wide margin...er I mean regency councils.

Let me know which decisions I can make that reasonably hedge against regency councils, which further constrain agency.

They moved switching late enough in the game where you can still be screwed by it, used to be you could just go republic instead, and even there I'd not make rulers generals typically.

 

[bbqftw]

The inconsistency is in people saying they are the supreme ruler of a country, but yet there is gameplay mechanics such as Estates, autonomy, and Colonial Nations.

As far as gameplay mechanic for RC's, the Make Ruler into General button is a fantastic example. Without the threat of an RC, making your ruler into a general has no extra consequence beyond the normal stab hit for a ruler dieing normally. A 1 stab hit for placing the leader of a country in harms way without securing a proper replacement for the most important position in the country is laughable. Without the threat of RC's, the button becomes a routine action every time your leader turns 15 to receive a free general. With RC's, it is a decision that must be made along side a risk that could follow. Allowing routine creation of a general out of your leader without regard to the readiness of the 2nd in line is poor game design, bad game mechanics, and ahistorical. All 3 things EU4 tries NOT to be.

It's like this guy doesn't even realize that old heir death events are the main causes of regency....

 

[sunder77]

RC punishes you with not playing for up to 1/10 of the timeline at random, even if you never make a ruler a general once.

The game lasts longer than 150 years.

 

[sunder77]

Regency Councils take away my ability to engage in the primary gameplay activity, and replace it with...

...

... oh. Nothing at all. How exciting.

The fact that you cannot engage in the primary gameplay activity doesn't mean there is NOTHING to do. There are other gameplay activities. The fact you CHOOSE not to engage in them is YOUR choice of how you play the game. Not poor game design.

 

[Basterbane]

Like what? Tell me, Mr. Sunder77, what he could have done instead of speed 5 while going to go make something to eat.

Rent out condottiery for cheap to mess with other nations, when your employers turns the war in his favour and its been 18 month since the contract signed end it and offer more troops to loosing side just to watch their lands burn. Can you scorch earth as condottieri?

 

[sunder77]

Several things that take no thought. Got it.

If you think war in this game takes a deep amount of thought, I feel for you. It's not quite as bad as in CK2 where bigger army wins no matter what, but it's damn near close.

 

[grommile]

I have to laugh at the anti-Regency Council crowd. Do you clowns cheat ironman when other bad stuff happens too?

Broadly speaking, none of the other bad stuff consists of game mechanics telling me I'm not allowed to play the game.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

This is not HOI3. War is not the only game mechanic.

That's true, this is EU IV, where expansion by warfare is the primary game mechanic.

 

[grommile]

This is not HOI3. War is not the only game mechanic.

It contains more interestingness than the rest of the game put together.

 

[CassCD]

- Removed historical neutrality between Portugal and Aragon

Will Portugal and Aragon return to being historical friends or are they going to become just like any other two nations?

 

[grommile]

Just FYI, effect is almost always a noun in English while affect is usually a verb, so here you want "affects it". Just a little pet peeve from reading way too many poorly written science papers.

Ironically, in this particular case, "effect" is merely dubious rather than actually wrong. Things that affect your Corruption may well effect Corruption in your country.

 

[grandadmiralbob]

What was the Regicide event?

An event where someone would kill your king and you would get an insult CB on them.

 

[Atlantians]

Yes.

I don't know who sneaked that in.

@DDRJake.

 

[brifbates]

How is a RT penalty the obvious way?

1) effectiveness-the threat is real (so to speak) as RT penalties and the risk of government collapse are something anyone playing a MR will be aware of as it is a game-changing occurrence if not planned.

2) From a realism standpoint it makes sense. More and more territory means bigger problems getting everyone voting in a timely fashion thus leaving more and more effective power in the apparatus and less in the people (see current USA and that is with vastly better communications systems). Ideally it would be limited more by distance/travel time but there's no method in-game to apply effects that way.

 

[Basterbane]

1) effectiveness-the threat is real (so to speak) as RT penalties and the risk of government collapse are something anyone playing a MR will be aware of as it is a game-changing occurrence if not planned.

2) From a realism standpoint it makes sense. More and more territory means bigger problems getting everyone voting in a timely fashion thus leaving more and more effective power in the apparatus and less in the people (see current USA and that is with vastly better communications systems). Ideally it would be limited more by distance/travel time but there's no method in-game to apply effects that way.

Merchant Republics government collapse should be a disaster. You trigger it by being on low RT and having more states than limit allows. Otherwise even on 0 RT and being under the limit would not force government form change. MR wont suddenly vanish leaving Trade League nations for dead.
If however disaster would activate you get decisions to reform society into either monarchy or other form of republic with some small penalty. Disaster would be just a place holder to unlock decisions and would provide same penalties you now get as MR going over the province limit.

 

[Hoodwalker]

Speaking of localization, the inherit Burgundy (as Reichsnation), has the buttons "Leave it be." and "Missing Localizaton!" in the english version

 

[A Secret Friend]

This DD says a lot about Paradox interest in product quality.

I would love to see DLC/patch not needing hotfix the day after.

It would be ideal, sure. But getting a hotfix so quickly is a close second.

If the game works in the end, it doesn't really matter whether the working condition was achieved with a swift fix or not.

 

[Cymsdale]

Could you tell us what makes you take the non-negotiable stance when it comes to nerfing?

Arrogance?