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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!
 
Assuming that the "Sunset Invasion"-mission has you invading Europe, surely it should be called "Sunrise Invasion" instead, since you will be invading the land from which the sun rises? A Sunset invasion from the American perspective would be going after Japan or China, no?

It's a reference to the achievement and, in turn, to CK II's expansion, is it not?

I guess one could argue that enough time has elapsed since said DLC came out and this meme isn't strong in the EU IV so that it justifies still using it for a mission in 2020 (or 2021).
 
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Assuming that the "Sunset Invasion"-mission has you invading Europe, surely it should be called "Sunrise Invasion" instead, since you will be invading the land from which the sun rises? A Sunset invasion from the American perspective would be going after Japan or China, no?

From an Euro-centered game perspective, the Invasion from the sunset is occuring (and not ''of the sunset'').

Just guessing...
 
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  • 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.

Yeah, sorry, as I said a couple months ago, it is completely ridiculous that the dev team has decided that only half of the continent deserve and update. This will be even more ridiculous if/when the rework in oceania is announced.
Ignoring the tribal SA when updating tribal nations,a region that hasn't been updated for more than four years is just ridiculous. This only show the massive bias and complete disregard for anything that is not "mainstream".
 
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Yeah, sorry, as I said a couple months ago, it is completely ridiculous that the dev team has decided that only half of the continent deserve and update. This will be even more ridiculous if/when the rework in oceania is announced.
Ignoring the tribal SA when updating tribal nations,a region that hasn't been updated for more than four years is just ridiculous. This only show the massive bias and complete disregard for anything that is not "mainstream".

Also, consider that El Dorado introduced unique -- payed -- content to that area of the world and how their unique mechanics have been broken and reliant on exploits pretty much since their release.
 
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Is the flavour text for the events final, or is it placeholder text that is going to be rewritten by a fluent English speaker before release? If the latter, then that's fine but it would be nice if you could mark it as such. If the former, then honestly that isn't good enough. Slightly broken or stilted English is fine for something like a dev diary, but not for a product that you charge money for.
 
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Cotinuing to like this fleshing-out of North American natives. Good balance of historical accuracy (and respect for native cultures) and fun. Some fresh blood from the Tinto team might have been just what the game needed.
 
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.

View attachment 655365
(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.


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.


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.

View attachment 655366
Californian Natives had their own secret cults that should you pay the price for them would bring you some wellbeing.

View attachment 655367
Diplomacy in the Plains is not always easy.

View attachment 655368
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!
Some of the mission titles have an Achievement feel about them.
 
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I wanted to check that the native ability to build cavalry in the entirety of the Americas is disabled now until European contact?

Yeah, sorry, as I said a couple months ago, it is completely ridiculous that the dev team has decided that only half of the continent deserve and update. This will be even more ridiculous if/when the rework in oceania is announced.
Ignoring the tribal SA when updating tribal nations,a region that hasn't been updated for more than four years is just ridiculous. This only show the massive bias and complete disregard for anything that is not "mainstream".

Actually, North America and South America are both continents in their own right. The Americas altogether are a landmass. So, only half of the landmass is being given an update.
 
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Shock fire has little to do with pips.

+0.5 infantry shock starts out as a 250% increase at tech 0, becomes a 43.5% increase at tech 11 and ends a 23% increase at tech 32.
Although +0.5 Infantry Shock doesn't change shock pips at all (as you suggested) it is slightly connected - the actual damage done multiplies the pip balance (including die roll, generals, and terrain) by the modifier. This means that shock modifier is more useful on units with shock pips. As infanty are generally very balanced between fire and shock pips this holds its value well (though probably around a 10% increase in infantry power rather than 23% by game end).

I'm still of the opinion that adding these static modifiers is a bad idea, that +1 Artillery Fire and +0.5 Infantry Shock are too good (possibly okay for a North American, like someone else said it gives an incentive to play them). And they scale completely differently and unintuitively compared to every other modifier, just look at how many comments before got the effect confused!

It is my opinion that the modifiers were there to give a baseline that changes over time, upon which modifiers like Combat Ability and Shock/Fire Damage/resistance are multiplied. The +0.5 Infantry Shock could instead be +15% Shock Damage (they have no cavalry to start, and artilery has negligible shock, so this is effectively +15% Infantry Shock that is intuitive and doesn't lose effectiveness later).
 
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What's broke about them?
Well I don't know if this is 'broken' or not, but revolutions take waaaaaay too long to spread. Simply uniting the subcontinent as an Indian nation means that the revolution will take an entire decade to spread enough for you to crush/accept it, which means you just have to kind of sit there and watch your national autonomy rise. According to the wiki, the centre takes 33 days to convert one province. If you have, let's say, 1500 provinces, this means you'd have to wait 27 years for you to be even able to start dealing with the revolution. Considering how the age of revolution starts around 1720~1730, this means that you barely get 50 years of revolutionary gameplay.

It gets even worse if you're playing 'wide', because the revolution apparently also has a time limit. In my failed Third Way run the Centre of Revolution spawned in Bengal, proceeded to spread the revolution to a large chunk of my land, and then fizzled out because it 'didn't spread enough'. I just had to sit with a bunch of my highest development provinces at like 50% autonomy for nothing.

It also removes any previous government reforms, which makes it unattractive for certain nations (Prussia/Ottomans/Rum/Austria/Russia), while downright horrible for others (Mughals, Mongol Empire).

The AI also has no idea how to deal with it. Like, at all.

And of course the unforgettable, Revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary revolutionary Bohemian Canada.
 
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Yeah, sorry, as I said a couple months ago, it is completely ridiculous that the dev team has decided that only half of the continent deserve and update. This will be even more ridiculous if/when the rework in oceania is announced.
Ignoring the tribal SA when updating tribal nations,a region that hasn't been updated for more than four years is just ridiculous. This only show the massive bias and complete disregard for anything that is not "mainstream".
On South America i'd love to see them expand the Amazon basin, contrary to its popular image as a vast untamed wilderness it was actually for the most part a managed forest with organized tribes who practiced slash and char agriculture and inadvertently created some of the richest and fertilised soils in the world. The accout of friar Gaspar De Carvajal who took part in the first western exploration of the basin by sailing down the Amazon river encountered numerous tribes. I could write an essay of a rant on on the topic of how badly the pre columbian Amazon are represented in EU4 and how to include them.
 
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What's broke about them?

centre of revolution did not go revolutionary ? tough luck crushing it. you were a +3 stab country in war torn europe ? tough luck because you don't get the revolution disaster and have to WILLINGLY drop your stab and waste paper points just to get it and crush it or perpetually get stuck in a state of high autonomy. that's bad design and needs to be fixed.

Thanks for disagreeing with me asking what's wrong with them. Now could you answer the question?

Uh sorry for having a life and not constantly monitoring the forum for your questions ?
 
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centre of revolution did not go revolutionary ? tough luck crushing it. you were a +3 stab country in war torn europe ? tough luck because you don't get the revolution disaster and have to WILLINGLY drop your stab and waste paper points just to get it and crush it or perpetually get stuck in a state of high autonomy. that's bad design and needs to be fixed.



Uh sorry for having a life and not constantly monitoring the forum for your questions ?

Apology accepted. I know 30 seconds of your time is very valuable.
 
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