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Welcome back to a new Dev Diary! I am Aldaron and I am the other new Content Designer in Paradox Tinto. Happy to be here with all of you, adding a bit more information to that which my colleague @skingrado shared last Tuesday.

During the last Dev Diary there were two questions that were repeated a few times and that hopefully I will be able to answer today:

  • What about Western America?
Well, we cannot just add everything we have done to a single dev diary, but do not worry, because today we’ll show you a bit more, this time devoted to this area of North America that you people asked for.

  • Will there be any work on the rest of America?
The focus of this expansion is not the rest of America, but as a matter of fact, we added a mission for those nations with the Religious Reforms feature.

So without much preambles, and before we start, I would like to remind everyone a last tiny thing. As my colleague said last Tuesday, we have divided North American Natives into 6 of the 9 cultural areas that are normally used in anthropology when studying these people. Dividing them in cultural areas has given us the opportunity to group several TAGs into a common core and at the same time add diversity to the area.

MISSIONS:

As you might know, one of the less fun things when playing natives was the mission tree. You had the general mission tree, but you could not fill it due to the limitation natives have! Well, no more. As part of the work on natives, we have created a new general mission tree adapted to Natives, with some interrelationships between several of the missions and the addition of some new ones to make them more engaging. This mission tree is available to every native nation, from the Northwestern Pass to Tierra del Fuego.

1606204192958.png

(Notice that all icons are still placeholders).​

Besides, as you can see in the previous image, we have added a small mission (Reform our Religion) for the three more advanced native groups (Aztec, Inca and Maya) to deal with their mechanics, despite them not being the focus of the expansion.

1606203947425.png

Continuing with last week’s trend, here we have the specific regional mission tree for those natives whose living developed in the Great Plains of North America. This group includes the several Sioux tribes (such as Lakota or Dakota [Sioux ingame]), the Shoshone or the Wichita. This group’s focus revolves around hunting bison and would evolve to a horse riding culture after contact with the Europeans. Without any doubt the most iconic Native American group of people.

Some highlights of this tree include:
  • Gathering all that available food from the wild that will improve your economic power.
  • Befriending those around you will help you with your federations.
  • Capturing those horses from the Europeans will greatly improve your capacity to combat over them.

1606203975409.png

If Plain Natives were a rather peaceful people before contact, Northwestern ones were pretty much the contrary. Raidings were a constant in the life of these people and would bring their canoes to capture slaves as south as California. But war and slavery were not the only thing Northwestern natives would focus on, they had a complex social culture that involved showing wealth of to their own people or to foreigners as a way to celebrate their power (the Potlach Ceremony) or showing respect to ancestors or shaming enemies with their elaborate totems.

Some highlights of this tree include:
  • Remembering the ancestors and their deeds to unite your people under your rule.
  • Boasting about your wealth to bring your allies closer to you.
  • Showing your strength and using that fear against your enemies.

NATIONAL IDEAS:

Pretty much as with Mission Trees, we have divided National Ideas into Regional National Ideas that will fire for TAGs belonging to certain regions.

In this DD I will present two of the six regional sets.

Since California was forgotten in the previous section, I will start with them.

California is the smallest cultural region in North America but with a very pronounced personality. Despite being mostly sedentary people, living in a very rich region, Californian Natives did not rely much on agriculture and despite their population density (it is estimated it was the biggest in NA) they were not very warfaring. Their NIs relate to their own development and diplomatic expansion.

Code:
california_native_ideas = {
    start = {
        autonomy_change_time = -0.25
        same_culture_advisor_cost = -0.5
    }
   
    bonus = {
        years_of_nationalism = -5
    }
   
    trigger = {
        primary_culture = yokuts
    }
    free = yes
   
    division_as_a_strength_cf = {
        num_accepted_cultures = 1
        promote_culture_cost = -0.25
    }
    basketweaving = {
        production_efficiency = 0.05
    }
    tribelets = {
        diplomatic_upkeep = 1
        stability_cost_modifier = -0.10
    }
    forest_gardening = {
        development_cost = -0.10          
    }
    kuksu_cult = {
        religious_unity = 0.5
    }
    rock_art = {
        prestige_decay = -0.01
        global_unrest = -2
    }
    medicine_men = {
        land_attrition = -0.10
    }
}

Back to the Northwest, these people had a different angle on how they saw life and their NIs are more devoted to warfare and expansion.

Code:
nw_native_ideas = {
    start = {
        development_cost = -0.10
        heir_chance = 0.5
    }
   
    bonus = {
        army_tradition_decay = -0.01
    }
   
    trigger = {
        OR = {
            primary_culture = athabascan
            primary_culture = chinook
            primary_culture = haida
            primary_culture = salish
        }
    }
    free = yes
   
    raid_warfare_nw = {
        infantry_shock = 0.5
        rival_change_cost = -0.2
    }
    brother_salmon = {
        tolerance_own = 1
    }
    potlatch = {
        improve_relation_modifier = 0.2
        global_unrest = -2
    }
    mother_and_father = {
        female_advisor_chance = 0.1
    }
    totem_poles_nw = {
        prestige_decay = -0.01
        stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
    }
    canoe_people = {
        leader_land_manuever = 1
    }
    division_as_a_strength_nw = {
        num_accepted_cultures = 1
        promote_culture_cost = -0.25
    }
}

EVENTS:

Different regions will have access to different events, and some common ones. This week we will show a few of these regional events and we’ll call it a day for now.

1606204499094.png

Californian Natives had their own secret cults that should you pay the price for them would bring you some wellbeing.

1606204635645.png

Diplomacy in the Plains is not always easy.

1606204707435.png

The Potlach was a massively important ceremony for the Northwestern Natives. Choosing to celebrate it or not could have consequences.

You might have noticed that both my colleague and me have shown a small selection of missions for you. After the release you will have the chance to discover the other two regional mission trees (SE and California) and several TAG/culture specific ones, find some Easter eggs here and there and several other goodies. Stay tuned and see you next week!
 
Happy to see the new studio in full swing. Tribes have never interested me much, and I'm guessing this applies to most people seeing the limited amount of responses in this thread.

That said, I'm really looking forward to what you, as Tinto, have in store for us. I'm also happy to see responses from the devs in thread likes these. It's communication like that that gives studios an edge on their competitors, so I'm hoping to see continuation on that front.

Anyway, I'll be sure to try out a tribe once in next patch.
 
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Thanks for your work, @Aldaron and @skingrado ! I'm happy to see that various native cultures are getting some additional flavor and missions of their own.

That said, missions have always kind of been of secondary importance to me, relative to bringing new tags and more geographical complexity into the game. Is there any chance of you adding additional tags and provinces in the Pacific Northwest, as well as some impassable terrain to reflect the Cascade Range (perhaps while chipping away at the massive void that is the Great Basin wasteland, which has always struck me as both boring and inaccurate)? I'd be happy to supply any information that might be helpful to you (I've worked a fair amount with the tribes of this region).

Also, while I appreciate the thought you put into the new idea set, I worry that it's a pretty strict downgrade from the preexisting Pacific Northwest ideas, which are as of 1.30 among the best in the Americas. The new ideas would honestly make me less excited to play as Pacific Northwestern tribes, not more, so I really hope some of the bonuses and their values are reconsidered.

Edit: I misread the 50% infantry shock as 5%, so I amend that. I'm unsure whether it'll be as good as the 10% morale and 5% discipline granted by the existing idea set, especially late game when shock and infantry are a lot less relevant, but I do appreciate how much more unique and flavorful it is. The first paragraph still stands, though.
 
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What about minorities expulsion, will it be fixed?
Yeah, I noticed today that the Free Colonies idea gives -100% expel cost and the Exile Colonial Companies government reform gives -30%. Seeing how everyone even considering that reform will already be taking Colonial Ideas, it seems pretty pointless. The bonus should be changed to something like reduced colonial subject liberty desire or higher tariffs.
 
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will natives who already have their own, non-generic ones keep them? Like Salish
I sure hope so. The new ideas are way, way weaker than the ideas they currently have. I've been hyped to play Chinook ever since I read the first dev diary about the Americas, but if they get a worse idea set, I'll be a lot less interested.

Edit: I misread the 50% infantry shock as 5%, so I amend that. I'm unsure whether it'll be as good as the 10% morale and 5% discipline granted by the existing idea set, especially late game when shock and infantry are a lot less relevant, but I do appreciate how much more unique and flavorful it is.
 
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>
> Metz said:
> Can the NA tribes adopt religions from the Aztecs or Mayas?

> Also, any chance that impassable terrain will be added in South America in the future (The Andes)? It would help shape colonization bett

Sorry but this is not in the focus of this expansion.
That's a shame but understandable, hopefully they can add at least impassable terrain in some smaller patch to SA since that alone would help alot. That said, any chance since you guys are touching NA right now, that you could split the big wasteland between california, mexico, louissiana and cascadia, so it is easier to colour?
(even if it just means having 2 wastelands, like how the siberian wasteland is split into several ones)

As it is right now, even if you colonize all the area around, because of the specific colonial nation borders, nobody claims that wasteland, and in a more normal game with random disposition is equally hard, leading to games in wich almost the whole world or the whole of america is neatly painted (by one country or more) except for that wasteland.

I get that is a unhopsitable area, but it really isn't that much more unhopsitable or was colonized much later than other areas like the patagonia, the western sahara or the interior of borneo, that are either straight up colonizable or much more easily "painted" than the rocky mountains/mojave one.
 
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Side note: I remember a patch or two ago devs agenda was complete removal of increased core creation from any NI in the game. However, today, while browsing countries that have achievement I’ve didn’t managed to do, I’ve noticed that Pueblo still has this junk. Probably some natives still has this modifier. Will this be addressed in the update?
 
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So I noticed 2 things:
1) Smells like Teen Spirit mission? Is that an Easter egg that's gonna change?
2) In the "Peace on the plains" event picture, the text has a typo - should be "think", not "thing"
 
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Yeah, I noticed today that the Free Colonies idea gives -100% expel cost and the Exile Colonial Companies government reform gives -30%. Seeing how everyone even considering that reform will already be taking Colonial Ideas, it seems pretty pointless. The bonus should be changed to something like reduced colonial subject liberty desire or higher tariffs.
If you combine these two, you get -130% expel minorities cost and colonies to which you expel minorities will earn you money as long as they are not over your colony limit.
 
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I misread the 50% infantry shock as 5%, so I amend that. I'm unsure whether it'll be as good as the 10% morale and 5% discipline
You misread again.
It's neither +5% Infantry shock or +50% infantry shock, its quite literally +0.5 infantry shock. Its a static modifier.

land_shock +0.5 and land_shock_recieved +0.5 would be the equivalent of Spain's "Shock Defense" Age bonus (except +50%, which would be very OP, about +15% Discipline by the early game, but still around +10% Discipline by the late game)

infantry_shock +0.5 is the equivalent to Spain's Artillery Fire +1.
it might look half as good on paper, but considering your tech 6 infantry only has 1 or 2 Shock-Fire pips, this is basically a +25% or +50% infantry combat ability by the time you unlock it, which is insanely OP, but falls off really fast.
By tech 8 its already only a +10% IC, which is alright.
By tech 12, its only +5% IC, which is very weak.
And it only gets worse from there.
 
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I have a technical question, so I'm not sure if you can answer that:

How is the "native" status being changed ingame, mechanic wise (if at all)?
Any chance the religious reform mechanics (for Nahuatl, Mayan and Inti) can also be used for non-natives in Custom Nation Games in the next patch?
 
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I know this has probably been asked a million times, but I don't think we've gotten an answer yet (as fair as I know). Seeing as North America is getting a rework, will there be at least some improvements to colonies and colonial nations? I would please like to see at least a couple from one of my previous suggestions as a lot of them are just QoL fixes imo.
Considering these reworks and the new religion in Australia, can we possibly see some changes to colonial nations? I would really love to see this:
  • Colonies should be limited to expansion in their region. Perhaps add events and liberty desire for them wanting to expand further as was the case with the Thirteen Colonies wanting to expand west. Colonies should also try to focus on the coast before pushing in and a bit better at colonising across ocean (e.g. Caribbean and Australia).
  • Colonies don't switch colour when you form a different tag. I'm not sure if it was a bug, but my colonies as Holland didn't become orange upon forming the Netherlands.
  • Western Amazon and that basin in California (forgot it's name) wastelands don't get coloured when colonies follow the proper borders of the regions.
  • Subjects' colonies don't integrate into your colonies when inheriting a PU or annexing vassals. I know people like the extra merchants, but I prefer prettier borders.
  • Colonies also no longer convert religion and culture for some reason, probably because of the introduction of expulsion. Perhaps you could even use holy orders like edicts for territories and trade companies to act as a religious centre limited to a state (should help with making Philippines Catholic as Spain).
  • Colonial Nations should always have the primary culture and religion of the overlord upon formation. I noticed that when I expelled Catholic Francien to Louisiana as Anglican Britain, the CN had that culture and religion, possibly because of where the capital spawned.
  • Colonies should also gain a ton of liberty desire if their parent nations is almost fully occupied, and there is historical precedent with Napoleon's occupation of Spain. Colonies in general should get more liberty desire (perhaps through DHEs) during the age of revolution, not less! This would definitely make New World formables more common and prevent Portugal consisting of one Pacific island, running a huge subject in the New World.
  • You should be able dictate the capital of your colonial nation, making the first one free. This is just so that I can set the historical capitals if I wanted to, dictate more defendable or developed land, or even one of the Seven Cities of Gold.
  • Colonial nations should automatically seize colonies, if possible, in their area.
 
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