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EUIV - Development Diary - 10th of September 2019

Good morning. Welcome to our third and final dev diary on the 1.29 Manchu Update. With only a week to go until release we have a lot to get through today. Topics will include Japan, Korea, Central Asia, and whatever else I didn’t squeeze into the previous dev diaries.

The 1.29 Manchu Update will release on Tuesday the 17th of September.

First, a minor correction: I mistakenly stated that the Mukden Palace modifier would appear in Beijing. It will actually be applied to your current capital, wherever it is.

I’ve seen a good few comments in previous dev diaries about a certain Ming loyalist named Koxinga. During the Manchu conquest Koxinga was able to flee to Taiwan with a portion of the army and fleet. There he founded the Kingdom of Tungning, from which Koxinga aimed to eventually retake the mainland. Though Tungning survived for over two decades, it was eventually conquered by the Qing, thus becoming integrated into the Empire of China for the first time in history.

koxinga.jpg


For all you pirate lovers, we’ve added a new province and a new Daimyo to Japan. Located on the island of Tsushima, the So clan will have the option to become a Pirate Republic after the Wokou incident has happened. These pirates will now be seen terrorizing the coasts of Korea and Japan.

dd_wokou.png


One more thing from me today: following the collapse of the Four Oirat, the constituent tribes were left to fend for themselves. One of these tribes, the Dzungars, eventually came to dominate great swathes of the Steppe and even controlled parts of Tibet. The Dzungar Khanate became a thorn in the side of the Qing dynasty that would trouble them for over a century.

dd_dzunghars.png


Now I’ll hand you over to @Ofaloaf , who has a juicy new Japanese mission tree to show you among other things.

----------------------------------------------------------

It is indeed the juiciest. Hey folks, @Ofaloaf here with another mission tree for you guys to take a gander at. This time we'll be talking about an overhaul to the Japanese mission trees.

Our current mission trees for Japan and the Japanese Daimyos are somewhat limited in scope. Both have two linear chains that accompany the main generic missions, and that's it. Those few missions are good, but there's only a handful of them and they don't interact with each other all that much.

So! It was obvious what should be done: Recompile all the missions together into one tree and add some more missions on top of them all.

japanese_missions.png



Japanese Daimyos and Japan proper now share the same mission tree behind them. Thing is, the new tree is gated- only the first few rows of missions are can be completed by a mere daimyo. To continue further, an aspiring daimyo must first become shogun and thus complete the 'Win Political Supremacy' mission, after which they can begin flexing their muscles a bit. An ambitious shogun may try to immediately invade Korea, but a patient one can first consolidate their hold on the land of the Rising Sun, actually form Japan, and then go nuts with the rest of the mission tree. A truly united Japan has lots of opportunities for expansion and development, from further conquest in East Asia, growing commercial interests at home, and a shot at some colonization on both sides of the Pacific. All in all, the new combined Japan tree should give daimyos something to do while still encouraging them to aim for something greater than control of their provincial fiefs.

An expansionist Japan might get to encounter some other changes that the Manchu Update will introduce.

old_and_new_siberian_areas.png


Here’s the old (top) and new (bottom) area map of eastern Siberia

Eastern Siberia has had its areas consolidated, making Siberian colonization just that much easier for Japan and making it take that much longer for a colonizer to hit the state limit by colonizing that region.

central_asian_provinces.png


Old (top) and new (bottom) map of Central Asia.

Further to the west, Central Asia's provinces have had a minor overhaul, breaking apart old provinces like mega-Barnaul and making it much harder to fortify the Central Asian frontier. It's the steppes, I've been to the steppes, they're big and hard to defend and have very very porous borders. More provinces in that region, even if they have very low development (and these certainly do), help make static defenses a little harder to pull off and encourage a bit more roving warfare that keeps bouncing back and forth across the border, which is appropriate for the region at that time.

But that’s not all that we’re adding with this update. For the pièce de résistance, I’ll pass this dev diary on to @Caligula Caesar.

----------------------------------------------------------

Hi all, @Caligula Caesar here, and it’s time to talk about Korea! In EU4 as things stand in 1.28.3, Korea is a fairly powerful nation: With a 6/5/5 ruler, no cultural penalties to worry about and plenty of smaller nations to the north to expand into, their gameplay could hardly be described as difficult. Elements of this are exacerbated in 1.29: The Jurchens are now even more fragmented at game start, and Ming is likely to implode in the 16th century, giving you the ideal opportunity to claim part of all of China. However, in history, Korea was not an expansionist state (at the start of our period, Korea already had almost exactly the same territory North and South Korea still hold today, and there were no serious attempts to expand its territory), and Korea was not particularly strong owing to crippling internal strife that erupted at regular intervals.

With this in mind, we felt that Korea needed some special treatment, so its mission tree would be supplemented with flavour events to represent certain internal challenges the country faced. The conquest-based tree shouldn’t be particularly extensive (although what they ended up with is more than enough) and there should be a greater focus on internal affairs than is usual for our mission trees. The result was this:

koreamissions.png


The main conquest tree is fairly straightforward. The first task is to take Mount Paektu, which as with the Manchu (as mentioned last week) is a holy site for the Koreans, granting +1 tolerance of own faith and +0.5 yearly prestige. After that, an ascendant Korea is tasked with subduing the Jurchens, who historically would invade Korea when Korea sided with Ming during the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. While doing this, you will be helped along the way by several modifiers: For instance, “Restore Goguryeo” (referencing the old Korean kingdom that had existed almost a thousand years before) will give you -20% culture conversion costs on Manchurian provinces you directly own for the next 50 years. Once Korea has expanded northwards somewhat, they might also consider expanding westwards and claiming the Celestial Throne as their own; doing this will grant -15% development cost, +1 yearly prestige and +0.03 mandate growth for 20 years.

The tree also provides for expansion into Japan. Given the importance of naval power to both defence against Japan and as a means to conquer the island, the first mission is to build a large fleet: At least 30 galleys and 5 heavy ships. This done, Korea will gain claims on parts of Japan that it neighbours via sea provinces. If you can contrive to annex a few of these provinces, you will gain claims on the southern half of Japan up to Kyoto. By capturing Kyoto, you can then exact the perfect alt-history revenge on Japan:


korea1.png


Finally, to ease the suffering of the Japanese and ensure there are no historical grievances, being Confucian, you might want to harmonise with Shinto to gain +1 stability (there are fallbacks for if you aren’t Confucian, they involve making all of Japan be your religion).

Now, to move on to the various non-conquest missions that were added, there are several different categories of further missions. One group is based on defence: Building a strong army and navy, shoring up the vital relationship with the Chinese Emperor and fortifying the nation. These will be particularly useful for Korea if the start doesn’t go your way: For instance, “The Righteous Army” (a reference to the peasant armies that repeatedly rose up in defence of Korea when the country was invaded) requires you to be at war with a country that has at least 1.5x the army strength and will give you 1.5x your yearly manpower as a lump sum. “Harness the Seokjeon” (a Korean game involving participants throwing rocks at each other – ouch!) gives you an 80-tradition general if you manage to gain 7.5% discipline – always useful in a pinch. “Restore the Northern Wall” basically needs you to upgrade your starting fort on the Manchu border and will give that province +2 manpower and +25% local defensiveness; holding 4 fortresses will then complete “The Hermit Kingdom”, giving -15% fort maintenance for the rest of the game. Finally, “Fire the Hwacha” (a reference to early Korean artillery used to good effect against the Japanese in the 16th century) requires 30% of the army to be artillery and will give you +25% land fire damage for the next 20 years.

A further, but smaller group is based on trade. At the start of our period, the trade with Japan flourished, though it would decline as time went on and both countries became more isolationist. These missions will reward you for encouraging trade, giving various temporary trade bonuses for controlling the trade with Japan. Similarly, there’s two missions based on settling land: First the recently conquered provinces in the north-east which had only been held by Korea for a few decades, then generally “Expand the Homeland” to somehow make there be 30 provinces with Korean culture. Both missions grant handy prestige and diplo power bonuses.

Finally, the centrepiece of the Korean mission tree is that which focuses on internal cohesion. Historically, several interrelated issues plagued the Korean state. Firstly, the peasants were increasingly destitute due to overtaxation and would often flee their land to avoid debts they couldn’t pay, in turn weakening the state as it struggled to raise tax income. Secondly, the somewhat stagnant Yangban ruling class was increasingly challenged by the “Neo-Confucians”, who sought to introduce new ideas. After several purges of the Neo-Confucians around 1500, a regular rhythm of factional strife emerged: The weaker faction would seek to displace the stronger one by any means possible and purge all its enemies, only for disputes among the victors to lead to a rift in their faction and a new factional dispute.

To bring these challenges to the player, we added several events and related missions, which you have to fulfil to mitigate the effects of the events. The first of these is “The Plight of the Peasantry”, essentially a race against time to get 6 development in all Korean provinces (i.e. add 18 development spread across the country). Failing to manage this by 1470 will lead to you suffering this event:

korea2.png


If the event happens, completing the mission will remove the modifier instead and stop this event from happening in the 1550s:

korea3.png


For the AI’s sake, the modifier is removed by the second event (in which case the effect is just +15 legitimacy).

Parallel to this, from 1480 you will start getting events about the rise of the Neo-Confucians and factionalism:

korea4.png


We repurposed the estates to be two factions of Yangban and one of Neo-Confucians (just in time to have to rework this system for 1.30):

korea5.png


After the above event has happened, the existing Literati Purge events will happen, with some changes: Now you can choose who to purge.

korea6.png


Finally, once the third purge event has happened, you can solve the whole crisis by managing to please all your estates: Two need to have at least 70 loyalty and one at least 50 loyalty. This is not an easy task, however, since you cannot get past the literati purges without seriously upsetting at least one faction, and this event will repeat every twenty or so years to remind you of the crippling factionalism:

korea7.png


Once you have completed this mission, along with “Expand Hanseong” and “Develop Korea” (the latter needs all your Korean provinces to have 200 development, up from the starting 130), you can finally look to achieve true national self-reliance:

korea8.png


This done, you will be buffed by -2 national unrest, -10% stability cost and +2 diplomatic reputation, which will surely help you lead Korea to its full potential!

That’s it for Korea for now. I was also responsible for the national idea sets we added with 1.29 Manchu. First of all, we decided to split up the Manchu ideas into a progression from the moderately strong Jurchen ideas to the militarily rather potent Manchu ideas to the also extremely potent but more balanced (i.e. not solely focused on military) Qing ideas:


Code:
MJZ_ideas = {
    start = {
        land_morale = 0.1
        global_manpower_modifier = 0.15
    }
 
    bonus = {
        land_attrition = -0.1
    }
 
    trigger = {
        OR = {
            tag = MJZ
            tag = MHX
            tag = NHX
            tag = MYR
            tag = EJZ
        }
    }
    free = yes
 
    sons_of_the_mountain = {
        hostile_attrition = 1.0
    }
    jurchen_pigtail = {
        horde_unity = 0.5
        legitimacy = 0.5
        global_unrest = -1
    }
    jurchen_foreign_service = {
        leader_land_shock = 1
    }
    jurchen_border_skirmishes = {
        manpower_recovery_speed = 0.2
    }
    jurchen_many_wives = {
        heir_chance = 0.5
    }
    jurchen_warlords_generosity = {
        improve_relation_modifier = 0.25
    }
    the_jurchen_banners = {
        amount_of_banners = 0.15
    }
}

MCH_ideas = {
    start = {
        leader_land_shock = 1
        land_maintenance_modifier = -0.05
    }
 
    bonus = {
        land_morale = 0.15
    }
 
    trigger = {
        tag = MCH
    }
    free = yes
 
    united_three_jurchens = {
        global_manpower_modifier = 0.15
        core_creation = -0.15
    }
    manchu_eight_banners = {
        amount_of_banners = 0.25
    }
    the_manchu_alphabet = {
        global_institution_spread = 0.05
        stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
    }
    the_later_jin = {
        horde_unity = 1
        legitimacy = 1
    }
    link_with_the_mongol_dynasty = {
        cavalry_power = 0.15
    }
    manchu_chinese_learning = {
        mil_tech_cost_modifier = -0.1
    }
    seven_grievances = {
        ae_impact = -0.1
    }
}


QNG_ideas = {
    start = {
        core_creation = -0.2
        ae_impact = -0.1
    }
 
    bonus = {
        advisor_cost = -0.15
    }
 
    trigger = {
        tag = QNG
    }
    free = yes
 
 
    expand_the_banners = {
        amount_of_banners = 0.3
    }
    the_green_standard_army = {
        manpower_recovery_speed = 0.15
        global_manpower_modifier = 0.15
    }
    pigtail_or_death = {
        global_unrest = -2
    }
    qng_bogda_khan = {
        years_of_nationalism = -5
        legitimacy = 1
        meritocracy = 1
    }
    the_chinese_rules = {
        administrative_efficiency = 0.05
    }
    qing_viceroyalties = {
        state_maintenance_modifier = -0.15
        global_autonomy = -0.05
    }
    the_ten_great_campaigns = {
        land_morale = 0.15
        prestige_from_land = 0.5
    }
}

 MJZ_ideas:0 "Jurchen Ideas"

 MJZ_ideas_start:0 "Jurchen Traditions"

 MJZ_ideas_bonus:0 "Jurchen Ambition"

 sons_of_the_mountain:0 "Sons of the Mountain"

 sons_of_the_mountain_desc:1 "According to the foundation myth of the Jurchen people, the first Jurchen prince was the offspring of a heavenly maiden residing on Mount Bukari (known as Mount Paektu to the Koreans) who was impregnated by a fruit dropped by a magpie.\n\nThat prince's descendants know our inhospitable land intimately, and will gladly die protecting it from their enemies."

 jurchen_pigtail:0 "The Queue"

 jurchen_pigtail_desc:0 "For generations, Jurchen men have worn their hair in a distinct manner known as a 'queue', shaving the front of the head and braiding the rest into a pigtail. This has helped to foster a sense of brotherhood between the diverse Jurchen peoples."

 jurchen_border_skirmishes:0 "The Borderlands"

 jurchen_border_skirmishes_desc:1 "To maintain our independence, we have had to protect our borders against the neighboring Chinese and Mongols on many an occasion. These border wars along with the many internecine conflicts have given birth to a nation of fiercely independent tribes and feared warriors."

 jurchen_many_wives:0 "Wives and Concubines"

 jurchen_many_wives_desc:0 "Owing to their practice of taking a multitude of wives and concubines, the Jurchen warlords are never short of potential heirs to inherit their conquests."

 jurchen_foreign_service:0 "Foreign Service"

 jurchen_foreign_service_desc:1 "We have traditionally lived in the shadow of our neighbors in the Great Ming, who have often sought to exert influence over us. Many a Jurchen prince has practiced the art of war in their service."

 jurchen_warlords_generosity:0 "Generosity of the Warlord"

 jurchen_warlords_generosity_desc:0 "The Jurchen warlord is ready to give lavish gifts of slaves, wives and property in order to win others to his cause. His large number of offspring allows him to offer a ready supply of brides to woo foreign dignitaries and potential defectors."

 the_jurchen_banners:0 "Jurchen Banner Armies"

 the_jurchen_banners_desc:0 "Reorganize the army of tribal clans into a force to be reckoned with and establish the feared Jurchen banner armies."

 the_later_jin:0 "The Later Jin"

 the_later_jin_desc:1 "The Manchurian state traces its roots back to the Great Jin of the 12th-13th century, which held sway over northern China until the Mongol conquest. The new, restored Jin seeks to emulate the conquests of its predecessor and restore the glory of the past."

 manchu_chinese_learning:0 "Chinese Learning"

 manchu_chinese_learning_desc:0 "Our scholars have translated Chinese military treatises such as Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' and Lü Shang's 'Six Secret Teachings' into Manchurian, allowing our warlords to become well-versed in the theory of military strategy."

 seven_grievances:0 "The Seven Grievances"

 seven_grievances_desc:1 "Over the years, the Manchu people has built up a long list of grievances against the Han - a list that could be seen to justify military action to depose their current rulers."


 QNG_ideas:0 "Great Qing Ideas"

 QNG_ideas_start:0 "Great Qing Traditions"

 QNG_ideas_bonus:0 "Great Qing Ambition"

 expand_the_banners:0 "Expand the Banners"

 expand_the_banners_desc:0 "By allowing Han and Mongol peoples into the Eight Banners, a large and powerful multi-ethnic force available at the whim of the Qing Emperor is established."

 qng_bogda_khan:0 "Bogda Khan"

 qng_bogda_khan_desc:0 "Unlike the Ming, the Qing Emperors have no qualms regarding the acculturation of 'barbarians' and actively seek to integrate them into the Empire. For instance, while known as Huangdi (Emperor) to the Han, the Qing adopt the title of Bogda Khan (wise Khan) when among the Mongols."

 qing_viceroyalties:0 "The Viceroyalties"

 qing_viceroyalties_desc:1 "We have expanded the late Ming system of viceroys, which focused on protecting the northern border, into a system of eight permanent viceroys covering the majority of China. The viceroys have considerable military and civilian power in their provinces, effectively acting as the Emperor's regional governors and thereby simplifying the administrative system of the Empire."

 the_ten_great_campaigns:0 "The Ten Great Campaigns"

 the_ten_great_campaigns_desc:1 "Our conquest of China has allowed those living on the fringes of the Empire to rise above their station. A series of campaigns must be led to restore order to these territories and extend the Great Qing's power over our enemies."


A second focus was the Mongol hordes. These nations already had very strong NIs through the horde ideas, but nevertheless it was a bit boring that they were the same for each nation, so we added a set each for the Oirats, Mongolia (the starting tag, not the Empire) and Chagatai. The aim was to make them fairly equivalent in strength to the original Horde ideas. As you can see, they still use some of the Horde ideas, since those were well-written and appropriate for all Mongols, so removing them and replacing them with some other idea would have just meant having to come up with something that would probably not have been as good quality.

Code:
OIR_ideas = {
    start = {
        cavalry_power = 0.20
        core_creation = -0.20
    }
 
    bonus = {
        leader_land_shock = 1
    }
 
    trigger = {
        OR = {
            tag = OIR
            tag = ZUN
        }
    }
    free = yes
 
    fearsome_warriors_of_tumu = {
        leader_land_manuever = 1
        cavalry_cost = -0.1
    }
    life_of_steppe_warrior = { #also used in Horde ideas, KHA_ideas
        land_attrition = -0.20
    }
    the_four_oirats = {
        horde_unity = 1
        legitimacy = 1
    }
    todo_besheg_script = {
        technology_cost = -0.05
    }
    OIR_great_khans_legacy = {
        ae_impact = -0.15
    }
    defiance_of_the_dzungars = {
        discipline = 0.05
        manpower_recovery_speed = 0.15
    }
    glory_of_conquest = { #also used in Horde ideas, KHA_ideas and CHG_ideas
        global_manpower_modifier = 0.25
    }
}


KHA_ideas = {
    start = {
        global_manpower_modifier = 0.25
        years_of_nationalism = -5
    }
 
    bonus = {
        land_maintenance_modifier = -0.05
    }
 
    trigger = {
        tag = KHA
    }
    free = yes
 
    ghostly_horses_of_the_plain = {
        cavalry_power = 0.20
    }
    ikh_mongol_uls = {
        ae_impact = -0.15
    }
    life_of_steppe_warrior = {
        #land_attrition = -0.20 (effect taken in OIR_ideas)
    }
    northern_yuan = {
        core_creation = -0.25
    }
    yams_of_the_great_khan = {
        envoy_travel_time = -0.25
        reinforce_cost_modifier = -0.15
    }
    mongolian_mobility = {
        leader_land_manuever = 1
        movement_speed = 0.1
    }
    MNG_kheshig = {
        leader_land_shock = 1
    }
}

CHG_ideas = {
    start = {
        cavalry_power = 0.20
        harsh_treatment_cost = -0.2
    }
 
    bonus = {
        land_maintenance_modifier = -0.05
    }
 
    trigger = {
        tag = CHG
    }
    free = yes
 
    the_mountain_khanate = {
        hostile_attrition = 0.5
        land_attrition = -0.10
    }
    CHG_border_wars = {
        land_morale = 0.05
        manpower_recovery_speed = 0.15
    }
    sons_of_chagatai = {
        diplomatic_annexation_cost = -0.15
    }
    CHG_chagatai_literature = {
        prestige = 1
    }
    tradition_of_conquest = { #also used in horde_ideas
        core_creation = -0.25
    }
    CHG_constant_scheming = {
        diplomats = 1
    }
    glory_of_conquest = {
        #global_manpower_modifier = 0.25 (effect taken in OIR idea)
    }
}

 OIR_ideas:0 "Oirat Ideas"

 OIR_ideas_start:0 "Oirat Traditions"

 OIR_ideas_bonus:0 "Oirat Ambition"

 fearsome_warriors_of_tumu:0 "Fearsome Warriors of Tumu"

 fearsome_warriors_of_tumu_desc:0 "The Oirats are skillful and feared horsemen, capable of embarrassing far vaster infantry-based armies with their greater maneuverability. The sound of hoofbeats drumming across the plains shall strike fear into the hearts of our enemies!"

 the_four_oirats:0 "The Four Oirats"

 the_four_oirats_desc:0 "The Alliance of the Four Oirat Tribes binds the Western Mongols together. Made up of the Dzungars (or Choros), Torghut, Dörbet and Khoshut, it first emerged in 1399 and has held firm ever since, allowing a powerful Oirat state to emerge Central Asian Steppe."

 OIR_great_khans_legacy:0 "Legacy of the Great Khan"

 OIR_great_khans_legacy_desc:0 "There are many among our people who remember the exploits of our people under the leadership of the Great Khan. They would wish to emulate these and reclaim his legacy - but this time, the Khan should be an Oirat, not one of the Eastern Mongols."

 todo_besheg_script:0 "Todo Besheg Script"

 todo_besheg_script_desc:0 "The Todo Besheg or 'Clear' Script adapts the Mongolian script to ensure that all sounds in the spoken Oirat language can be distinguished in it, as well as making it easier to transcribe Sanskrit and Tibetic languages. It will be a considerable boon to us in our administration and in spreading knowledge acquired by our neighbors and foreign subjects."

 defiance_of_the_dzungars:0 "Defiance of the Dzungars"

 defiance_of_the_dzungars_desc:0 "The Dzungars or 'left hands' are the most fearsome tribe of the Oirats. Widely hated and feared by our enemies, they will fight to the last man, woman or child rather than surrender to a foreign ruler."


 KHA_ideas:0 "Mongolian Ideas"

 KHA_ideas_start:0 "Mongolian Traditions"

 KHA_ideas_bonus:0 "Mongolian Ambition"

 ikh_mongol_uls:0 "Ikh Mongol Uls"

 ikh_mongol_uls_desc:1 "As the original Mongols, we Mongols of the Ilkh Mongol Uls ('Great Mongolian State') see ourselves as the primary heirs to Genghis Khan's great empire. Given the slightest chance, our people would seek to emulate the exploits of the Great Khan and reclaim his legacy, reuniting the once-vast territories of the Mongol Khanate."

 northern_yuan:0 "The Northern Yuan"

 northern_yuan_desc:2 "In the 13th century, Kublai Khan conquered China and founded the Yuan dynasty. Claiming Genghis' title of Great Khan as well as that of the Emperor of China, the Yuan state was sometimes known as the Empire of the Great Khan. Although eventually defeated by the Ming, who confined our power to Mongolia itself, memory of the Yuan lives on, as does the ambition to reclaim the Celestial Throne if ever the chance should arise."

 ghostly_horses_of_the_plain:0 "Ghostly Horses of the Plain"

 ghostly_horses_of_the_plain_desc:0 "The prowess of the Mongolian horsemen is renowned across the entire world. Our enemies will tremble with fear at the sight of a dust cloud in the distance, fearing that it might signify our cavalry's approach!"

 yams_of_the_great_khan:0 "Yams of the Great Khan"

 yams_of_the_great_khan_desc:2 "In order to ensure that messengers could travel fast enough to keep up with Mongol armies, Genghis Khan instituted a system of relay stations or 'yams', which were set up every 30-60 km to provide food, shelter and spare horses for Mongol army messengers. This allowed messages to travel as fast as a horse can gallop, with fatigue no longer slowing the speed a messenger could travel. By these means, our empire was able to overcome the logistical problems caused by the vast scale of the Pax Mongolica - at least temporarily."

 mongolian_mobility:0 "Mongolian Mobility"

 mongolian_mobility_desc:2 "Each of our soldiers typically maintains 3 or 4 horses, allowing them to change horse each time their mount becomes tired and so travel at high speed for days without stopping. Furthermore, their extra mounts provide them with food reserves through mare's milk as well as horsemeat, making our armies far less vulnerable to starvation than other, so-called civilized nations' armies. This allows us to outmaneuver our enemies with ease, covering a staggering amount of territory in shorter periods than they had believed to be possible."

 MNG_kheshig:0 "The Kheshig"

 MNG_kheshig_desc:0 "The Kheshig once formed the formidable bodyguard of the Great Mongol Khan. Their descendants will continue to protect the Khans of Mongolia as they ride into battle against their people's foes!"


 CHG_ideas:0 "Chagatai Ideas"

 CHG_ideas_start:0 "Chagatai Traditions"

 CHG_ideas_bonus:0 "Chagatai Ambition"

 the_mountain_khanate:0 "The Mountain Khanate"

 the_mountain_khanate_desc:0 "The Chagatai Khanate lies sheltered between Lake Balkhash and the Tian Shan Mountains. It is a harsh and unforgiving land, one which our people can harness to use as a weapon against would-be invaders."

 sons_of_chagatai:0 "Sons of Chagatai Khan"

 sons_of_chagatai_desc:0 "The current Khan of Chagatai traces his line back to Chagatai Khan, the second son of Genghis Khan, who once ruled these lands and established a powerful Mongol successor state. Although that empire has now been broken up between Chagatai, Yarkand and Transoxiana, the current Khans can still claim considerable legitimacy by appealing to the legacy of their ancestor."

 CHG_chagatai_literature:0 "Chagatai Literature"

 CHG_chagatai_literature_desc:0 "The Chagatai language of the eastern steppes is widely used as far afield as the Timurid Empire as the carrier of the thoughts and ideas of the great Mongol lineage. We must promote the use of our ancestral language and allow the Chagatai literary tradition to flourish."

 CHG_border_wars:0 "Ceaseless Border Wars"

 CHG_border_wars_desc:1 "Boxed in between the Empire of China, the Timurids, the Uzbeks and the Oirats, we face a constant struggle to maintain our borders. Our ever-vigilant soldiers have plentiful opportunities to hone their skills in battle, giving birth to a battle-hardened warrior people ready to reclaim the legacy of the Great Khan."

 CHG_constant_scheming:0 "Scheming Nobility"

 CHG_constant_scheming_desc:0 "The constant power struggles between the various princes, local noblemen, cities and tribes in the Chagatai Khanate have produced a nation of highly-adept schemers and politicians. If we can put aside our quarrels and channel this energy towards outsmarting our enemies, it would be a great boon to our people."

Finally, a few of the more interesting tags involved in our rejigging of East Asia got some ideas:

Code:
SOO_ideas = {
    start = {
        trade_efficiency = 0.1
        trade_steering = 0.2
    }

    bonus = {
        navy_tradition = 1
    }
 
    trigger = {
        tag = SOO
    }
    free = yes        #will be added at load.
 
    soo_wakan = {
        global_own_trade_power = 0.25
    }
    soo_tradition_of_wakou = {
        galley_power = 0.1
        navy_tradition_decay = -0.01
    }
    soo_fight_for_tsushima = {
        naval_morale = 0.2
    }
    soo_bahan_ship = {
        privateer_efficiency = 0.2
    }
    soo_tough_negotiator = {
        diplomatic_reputation = 1
    }
    soo_port_improvement = {
        naval_forcelimit_modifier = 0.25
        sailor_maintenance_modifer = -0.05
    }
    soo_elementary_school = {
        technology_cost = -0.05
    }
}


 SOO_ideas:0 "So Ideas"

 SOO_ideas_start:0 "So Traditions"

 SOO_ideas_bonus:0 "So Ambition"

 soo_wakan:0 "Wakan"

 soo_wakan_desc:0 "Wakan, Japanese settlements in the southernmost part of the Korean peninsula, are the only official gates recognized by the government. If we manage to control them by protecting the settlers, we can monopolize Korean trade."

 soo_tradition_of_wakou:0 "Wakou Tradition"

 soo_tradition_of_wakou_desc:0 "While we appreciate lawful and peaceful trade under official certificate, we need to prepare worse situation with military tension. Fortunately, our piracy tradition could help us to solve problems with power."

 soo_fight_for_tsushima:0 "Fight for Tsushima"

 soo_fight_for_tsushima_desc:0 "Laying between the Asian continent and the Japanese islands, our homeland Tsushima and its sea zone are the place where countries clash and fight hard. May our fleets be strong, so that we can not only defend our country, but also expand it!"

 soo_bahan_ship:0 "Bahan Ship"

 soo_bahan_ship_desc:0 "Our privateer ships, called Bahan, are feared by flying the flag of Hachiman. Nobody won't intercept our fleet protected by this the war god!"

 soo_tough_negotiator:0 "Tough Negotiators"

 soo_tough_negotiator_desc:0 "We are a melting pot of different cultures, and know the difficulty of negotiations between different peoples. Even in a harsh and seemingly endless war, we must try to find diplomatic solutions."

 soo_port_improvement:0 "Port Maintenance"

 soo_port_improvement_desc:0 "We are traders in foreign countries, but now is the time to consider opportunities for expansion overseas. Let us improve our ports so that we can construct a sizable military fleet."

 soo_elementary_school:0 "Elementary School"

 soo_elementary_school_desc:0 "Elementary schools are important for children's basic education. They are the next generation and must bring our country into a new era."


Code:
evenk_ideas = {
    start = {
        hostile_attrition = 1
        province_warscore_cost = -0.1
    }
 
    bonus = {
        trade_efficiency = 0.1
    }
 
    trigger = {
        primary_culture = evenk
    }
    free = yes
 
    evenk_family_brigades = {
        land_attrition = -0.1
        movement_speed = 0.05
    }
    evenk_reindeer_herds = {
        trade_range_modifier = 0.15
    }
    event_self_sufficiency = {
        years_of_nationalism = -5
    }
    evenk_siberian_resources = {
        build_cost = -0.1
    }
    evenk_mongolian_deel = {
        possible_mercenaries = 0.25
        merc_maintenance_modifier = -0.1
    }
    evenk_love_of_the_forest = {
        leader_land_manuever = 2
    }
    evenk_new_ways_to_hunt = {
        fire_damage = 0.1
    }
}


 evenk_ideas:0 "Evenk Ideas"

 evenk_ideas_start:0 "Evenk Traditions"

 evenk_ideas_bonus:0 "Evenk Ambition"

 evenk_family_brigades:0 "Family Brigades"

 evenk_family_brigades_desc:0 "Many of the Evenk people live in family brigades that intimately know the lay of the land and the wild foods of the area. They are able to survive in even the most inhospitable environments and move through their territory with ease."

 evenk_reindeer_herds:0 "Reindeer Herding"

 evenk_reindeer_herds_desc:0 "The Evenk practice of reindeer herding allows us to travel great distances to trade furs, wild foods and goods, and be ever resourceful in the struggle to survive in the barren landscape that constitutes our home."

 event_self_sufficiency:0 "Self-Sufficiency"

 event_self_sufficiency_desc:0 "The Evenks can survive anywhere and will readily teach foreigners these skills, enabling us to absorb others into the Evenk way of life."

 evenk_siberian_resources:0 "Siberian Resources"

 evenk_siberian_resources_desc:0 "The natural resources of the Siberian tundra and taiga provide the materials to build many things, facilitating the development of towns."

 evenk_mongolian_deel:0 "Mongolian Deel"

 evenk_mongolian_deel_desc:0 "By exchanging our furs for the traditional Mongol clothing, the deel, we can better attract Mongolian Mercenaries because we are similar in appearance to their lords. They come to us in droves, allowing us to make ready use of them against our enemies."

 evenk_love_of_the_forest:0 "Love of the Forest"

 evenk_love_of_the_forest_desc:0 "Nobody knows the forest of the land like we do. We are able to move swiftly and silently. Our leaders have learnt to traverse terrain others would consider treacherous with ease, something we can use this to our advantage in battle."

 evenk_new_ways_to_hunt:0 "New Ways to Hunt"

 evenk_new_ways_to_hunt_desc:0 "Trading basic firearms for our furs and reindeer, we have discovered new ways to hunt and win in battle. Firearms can fire greater distances than our traditional bows and do more damage than our knives."


Code:
CSH_ideas = {
    start = {
        global_manpower_modifier = 0.25
        production_efficiency = 0.10
    }
 
    bonus = {
        prestige = 1
    }
 
    trigger = {
        tag = CSH
    }
    free = yes
 
    shun_humble_beginnings = {
        manpower_recovery_speed = 0.1
    }
    shun_dashing_king = {
        diplomatic_reputation = 1
    }
    shun_hidden_treasury = {
        interest = -0.5
    }
    shun_obedient_to_heaven = {
        land_morale = 0.1
        stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
    }
    shun_perfection_of_sieging = {
        siege_ability = 0.10
    }
    shun_from_sticks_to_guns = {
        infantry_power = 0.15
    }
    shun_claim_to_the_mandate = {
        imperial_mandate = 0.03
        meritocracy = 0.5
        legitimacy = 0.5
    }
}


 CSH_ideas:0 "Great Shun Ideas"

 CSH_ideas_start:0 "Great Shun Traditions"

 CSH_ideas_bonus:0 "Great Shun Ambition"

 shun_humble_beginnings:0 "Humble Beginnings"

 shun_humble_beginnings_desc:0 "The Shun dynasty began as a rebellion against Ming authority, an uprising of farmers and peasants weary of being bled dry by the tax collectors of their overlords. Our people will gladly take up arms rather than be forced to suffer further hardship and famine."

 shun_dashing_king:0 "The Dashing King"

 shun_dashing_king_desc:0 "The leader of the Shun has been nicknamed the Dashing King. By officially adopting this title and using it in our dealings with foreign dignitaries, we can boost our reputation both domestically and abroad."

 shun_hidden_treasury:0 "Hidden Treasury"

 shun_hidden_treasury_desc:0 "We have abolished the old grain taxes payment system, allowing the rural Shun lords to keep more of their revenues, with which they can pay their soldiers to fight, their farmers to farm, and their diplomats to represent them abroad. This additionally means there is money available should we need to borrow some."

 shun_obedient_to_heaven:0 "Obedient to Heaven"

 shun_obedient_to_heaven_desc:0 "The chosen name of our dynasty means "obedient to heaven". In keeping with this name, our troops have taken an oath of loyalty to our ruler, who they view as one with heavenly capabilities. As such, they are willing to train harder and become more disciplined to ensure a glorious outcome to their battles."

 shun_perfection_of_sieging:0 "Perfection of Siegecraft"

 shun_perfection_of_sieging_desc:0 "We have found new ways to make use of gunpowder in siege warfare and developed effective methods of scaling and breaking fort walls. With these methods, we can successfully lay siege to even the strongest forts, and easily capture and control provinces in wars."

 shun_from_sticks_to_guns:0 "From Sticks to Guns"

 shun_from_sticks_to_guns_desc:0 "Our troops have been drilled in the usage of both hand-to-hand and ranged weapons. Proficient at using sticks, swords, knifes, bows and guns, our soldiers can fill any role we might require of them. Their versatility gives them the ability to dominate the battlefield."

 shun_claim_to_the_mandate:0 "Claim to the Mandate"

 shun_claim_to_the_mandate_desc:0 "Although our dynasty emerged from humble origins, through our strength and justice we have won noblemen and commoners alike to our side. We are now seen as worthy claimants to the Mandate of Heaven, a legitimate ruling dynasty of the land of China."


Welcome. @DDRJake here. Since our team Content Design have been expositing the large gameplay and content additions to 1.29 Manchu, I’m here to balance that out with some additions that won’t have an impact on the gameplay, but are important nonetheless.

Firstly, Europa Universalis IV will be adopting the new Paradox Launcher. This launcher’s first debut was with Imperator:Rome, and now Europa Universalis will be having its own version of it:

1.29 Launcher.jpg


This is the new launcher and for now, the new launcher functions very much like the old one. You can launch the game through Steam, toggle which mods you want to use, adjust your language and resolution, and so on. Eventually it will include a lot of new features designed to help you get the most out of your Europa Universalis experience.

Secondly, with the release of 1.29 Manchu, some users will notice a slight difference on the select nation screen.

1.29 screens 1.jpg


We’re well aware of the staggering number of expansions and other DLC that are available for EUIV, but find that exposure and clarity on their content is severely lacking and cannot be solved on the storefronts alone. We often read community posts about which DLC are worth buying for x nation and many cases of uncertainty as to what features are actually present in each Expansion. To that end, Expansions and other DLC that the player does not own will be recommended for certain relevant nations, accompanied with explanations of what features are present in the DLC. For example, anyone choosing to play as my favourite nation the glorious Great Horde, will have a small icon appear by the nation’s flag, explaining why The Cossacks Expansion may be of interest to you.

Clicking on any of these will show a swanky screen with details on the DLC, Nations of interest for said content and any other related expansions. For example, if you select the Rule Britannia icon:

1.29 screens 2.jpg


Our hope is that players can be better informed about fitting content and expansions for their campaigns without having to trawl through less than ideal digital storefronts. All this information is available in the nation-select select screen (they won’t appear in any way during gameplay) so if you are not interested in these or already own all the content that you want, you can completely ignore them and jump straight into the game.

I mentioned earlier that “some users” will notice these changes. For at least a limited time, only a certain % of players will see these DLC information screens. We at Paradox will be running this experimentally to see if they indeed prove to improve your experience and to be of any interest to users, and the best way to measure that is to make it available to a random group, so we can gauge reception against those who do not.

And that’s the end of our dev diary! We hope you enjoyed reading this series on the 1.29 Manchu Update, which releases next Tuesday. Next week’s dev diary will contain the full changelog for the update, which will include a variety of bugfixes in addition to the content revealed in this dev diary.
 
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Firstly, the peasants were increasingly destitute due to overtaxation and would often flee their land to avoid debts they couldn’t pay, in turn weakening the state as it struggled to raise tax income.
Korea had the least tax in Far East as its political parties attacked each other for not being “Confucian” way. It was mainly done by relatively young bureaucrats who dominated inspection bureau.

However, this political system was broken in 18th century and effective tax was skyrocketed in 19th country, though it was still less than those of China and Japan. What you said was done at 19th century and should be handled at VIC3, not EU4. In most of EU4 timeframe, taxation of Korea was immoderately low except some years such as when grand king dowager had power.

High taxation and flee of peasants were not the reason why Korea didn’t have expansion policy. Korean bureaucrats thought that a government should tax as less as possible and war, construction, richness, etc should be banned from their Confucian heaven. If a king wanted to expand to territories which had no use and was full of bavarians, those bureaucrats would think “Our king is insane!’, as a king of Joseon was forced to become the greatest Confucianist in the world.


Secondly, the somewhat stagnant Yangban ruling class was increasingly challenged by the “Neo-Confucians”, who sought to introduce new ideas.
In EU4 timeframe, every one of Korean Yangbans were Neo-Confucianists. What you said is very weird, as it is similar with “A was challenged by A.”


a regular rhythm of factional strife emerged: The weaker faction would seek to displace the stronger one by any means possible and purge all its enemies, only for disputes among the victors to lead to a rift in their faction and a new factional dispute.
You should know that this leaded political soundness in Korea and that “purge” was not that massive after mid 16th. After Sejo of Joseon claimed throne without any rightness, he and his descendants gave privileges to their pro-faction. It caused a century(from mid 15th to mid 16th) of massive purges but after that, disputes among political parties became relatively smaller and acted as a safety against corruption. As I said above, this system was broken at 18th and Joseon got its worst days in 19th century when that dispute was annihilated.

“Freedom from factional strife” was a disaster for Joseon. How can it be a mission for a road to Greatness?


If the event happens, completing the mission will remove the modifier instead and stop this event from happening in the 1550s:

index.php
This happened when great king dowager had in power.


Parallel to this, from 1480 you will start getting events about the rise of the Neo-Confucians and factionalism:

index.php
The stability of Korea was disrupted by Sejo of Joseon.


We repurposed the estates to be two factions of Yangban and one of Neo-Confucians (just in time to have to rework this system for 1.30):
Again, all Yangbans were Neo-Confucianist. I’m curious that how you divided scholar-bureaucrats in Joseon but I’m certain that it isn’t done well.
 
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^ Your criticisms might be valid, but more broadly I think nearly everyone agrees Korea needed a nerf considering it eats Manchuria practically every game. And I'm curious to still if it still happens in 1.29 tbh.

The problem seems to be that you have a major negative modifier. It starts in 1470 and the rebellion fires in late 16th century.

I know, but still, I don't think the peasant uprising should be another one of those rebel non-event that happen several times in any regular game. Having three 20K stacks (a peasant stack can be beaten with an army 1/2 it's size) would make things more interesting.
 
I really like the fact that you are ever more boldly integrating events and missions, even creating whole narrative chains with them. I hope the future mission trees continue to make use of this practice.
 
Unfortunately making Korea any stronger than it is currently means that they will routinely conquer all of Manchuria.
You can just give Korea massive debuff such as -50% tax, -50% production, -50% trade in exchange for giving it more development. Current development is extremely low and ahistorical, especially compared to Manchuria.

For Munjong of Joseon, you can buff him and add rebellion of Sejo of Joseon who was one of worst king of Joseon.
 
Well, I'm ecstatic about the general changes made to Asia, honestly modifying Ming so the implode 2/3 of the time is enough to please me. However, I do not think that the changes made to Korea will stop it's expansion into the Manchu, which is a shame.

As a frequent Japan player, I hope that it'll get some flavour. Still, if Ming doesn't tributary everyone there might finally be a chance of smooth entrance into Asia without licking chinese feet.
 
I want to make it clear that, short of granting Manchu a bunch of farmland CoTs with Golconda gems, it doesn't really matter how much steppe development you add to the region, they do not make up for getting rid of a gold mine. In the bigger picture, it does not matter that much (in SP) as Manchu should expand quickly. But it really makes me wonder what makes you think that adding a bunch of steppe development in the Girin node could make up for a pre 1450 gold mine?
I see no problem.
 
I don't think a lot of people are noticing this, but Korea's getting a huge nerf this patch. Sure the flavour event might make the nation a more fun nation for the player, but

A. Manchuria getting a development buff
B. Ming exploding
C. Bunch of negative events that bother expansion

Is not a good outlook for an already over nerfed nation that's been on the chopping block of "Nobody wants to see Korean Manchuria" too many times.

Korea right now has 130 development (confirmed to be the same this patch) compared to its constant existential crisis, Japan, having 380. Now up until now the (unusually) stable Ming has managed to stave off Japanese expansion towards the peninsula (hence Korea's opportunity to expand towards Manchuria) but now that Ming explodes when it passes its first reform, the tiny 130 dev nation with no military ideas has no actual defence against the Japanese space marines.

And on top of this, the only path for Korea to grow (Manchuria) is seen as nonsensical by most of the playerbase, hence the pile of purge events that Korea gets this patch to stop its expansion.

The most optimal solution would be to buff Korea's development/naval ideas so that it doesn't get insta annexed by Japan as soon as Ming explodes, but also giving it a starting nerf/government form that restricts expansions/promotes tall growth until the player/AI manages to reform. (-80% development cost/+40% coring cost along with a base development of around 200~250 could work?)

This way, Ming explodes, Qing has plenty of time to form (unless the Manchu AI does some retarded stuff), Korea stays within its peninsula and could maybe even home grow itself the Renaissance and other institutions, spreading it to East Asia.

EDIT: I see that a lot of people disagree with me, then what does the general consensus want from Korea? I'm actually curious, if it isn't a tall Korea that stays within the peninsula.
 
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And on top of this, the only path for Korea to grow (Manchuria) is seen as nonsensical by most of the playerbase, hence the pile of purge events that Korea gets this patch to stop its expansion.
Or you can just conquer Ming. With a great ruler, decent development and economy, and what seems like a stronger Oirat you can pull of the tactic of attacking Ming after the first reform even easier than before. Steal Beijing and money and you are on straight path towards being the strongest nation in the region.
 
Very smart. Big brain :). Very productive.
I have engaged in forum discussions for hundreds of times and consistently almost on one understood what I was saying when talking about strategy and replay ability. With this in mind one could think I am a nut job or simillar but then my work speaks otherwise. So it is either an issue with my English or something else. I say it is something else. Regardless the aftermath was almost always a colossal waste of my time like this post.

The bottom line is that I still care enough with EU IV and this is why I still bother to post here which also ends up being a big waste of my time since clearly no one cares or even can see what I see.
 
Or you can just conquer Ming. With a great ruler, decent development and economy, and what seems like a stronger Oirat you can pull of the tactic of attacking Ming after the first reform even easier than before. Steal Beijing and money and you are on straight path towards being the strongest nation in the region.

That's actually an option that I haven't thought of, good point. Now that Ming dies post first reform, another expansion path opens up. Hmm...
 
I have engaged in forum discussions for hundreds of times and consistently almost on one understood what I was saying when talking about strategy and replay ability. With this in mind one could think I am a nut job or simillar but then my work speaks otherwise. So it is either an issue with my English or something else. I say it is something else. Regardless the aftermath was almost always a colossal waste of time like this post.

The bottom line is that I still care enough with EU IV and this is why I still bother to post here which also ends up being a big waste of my time since clearly no one cares or even can see what I see.
I say your English is a major part of the problem. It's not clear what you say and on top of that you make it way more confusing by adding a lot of sarcasm. I need to read your messages a few times to even understand what they are about, and I am pretty certain I still don't get it.

Just don't use sarcasm and people will understand what you mean more often.
 
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I see no problem.

Someone already explained it

"Since we now offer gasoline on the drinks menu, there is less need for water."

I don't really mind a nerf for the Manchu position, but its concerning when a net nerf is not seen as a nerf.

There is more to land utility besides raw dev count. Subconsciously when we conquer land we are evaluating the following metrics:

* projected short term (~30 yr) profit+power increase per development - for even same religion land this value is quite low in the early game as to maximize this you are still raising autonomy to dodge the rebel spawn. Typically, fighting even single cycle rebels easily makes your short term profit+power ratio *negative*, especially for poorly built / poor trade position areas like the initial Manchurian one.

For wrong religion land its almost guaranteed to be negative in the early game as you cannot feasibly dodge a rebel spawn.

"We're taking a loss, but making it up in volume!" is what more dev often ends up being. Which is often okay, as the land will pay off in time and your loan cap still increases, so it still helps for debt-fueled expansion.

Naturally, gold mines top the charts in this department and you can even lower the autonomy and tank the rebel spawn and still come out of ahead.

* projected short term return per dip dev. You're pushing renaissance, so the dip dev is substantial, and this is early game, we don't have much TE / PE / Tsteering modifiers to leverage non gold dip development.

Once again, gold is an all star.

* projected power+profit per coalition pressure

gold is highest here.

* projected power+profit per corruption/embracement cost.

Not nearly as relevant but gold wins again by far.

I realize to people who play the game, this may seem like a restatement of the obvious (once again, I'm just explicitly stating what we take for granted), but I hope this was helpful to explain why more dev cannot make up less gold mines in a lot of cases. Its not something that's obvious from purely watching AI games to be sure.
 
You can just give Korea massive debuff such as -50% tax, -50% production, -50% trade in exchange for giving it more development. Current development is extremely low and ahistorical, especially compared to Manchuria.

For Munjong of Joseon, you can buff him and add rebellion of Sejo of Joseon who was one of worst king of Joseon.

Yeah, and then people would just tag-switch every game.
 
I say your English is a major part of the problem. It's not clear what you say and on top of that you make it way more confusing by adding a lot of sarcasm. I need to read your messages a few times to even understand what they are about, and I am pretty certain I still don't get it.
Yeah it is interesting that while streaming ppl say my English is really good, often better than the English of some native speakers. It is only on this forum and on reddit that I have communication "issues". Maybe because things are so obvious to me that I think other ppl can also see it. Like the banners with -50% reinforcement rate, who the hell is gonna use that inside enemy territory without having a 6 manouvre general? Annoying to use equals not using at all unless I am desperate. A wasted opportunitty and one less thing to look forward to when thinking about a new run. I could go on and on and on and on.... and on wrt post 1.26 EU IV. A shame.

We can see a pattern here, keep going, you might arrive at the root of the problem.
That did not work, try again.
 
Korea right now has 130 development (confirmed to be the same this patch) compared to its constant existential crisis, Japan, having 380.

Conquering Japan as Korea is so EZ PZ it's not even funny. Wait for the archipelago to consolidate a bit so that you don't have to deal with the 6 FL and 10 000 MP every country in the game gets, then attack while the last few remaining daimyos are at war. Abuse straits to lure the their armies into stackwipes.