Imperator - Development Diary - 18th of February 2019

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Trin Tragula

Design Lead - Crusader Kings 3
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Hello and welcome to another Development Diary for Imperator:Rome!

Today we will be looking at Tribes once again, this time tribal migration in particular.
For a repetition on how tribal politics and Centralization works see this previous Development Diary.

One thing that stands out about many of the tribal societies we represent in Imperator is that they would at times migrate quite far away, settle in completely new locations and build themselves a new society elsewhere. In some cases this was a slow process where the influence of one tribal entity spread to nearby areas, but in others it was a more drastic movement of people from one place to another.

One such example is the creation of the Galatian states in Anatolia, new realms founded by Celts from the European mainland in Central Anatolia. Other examples abound in Germania and even the Pontic Steppes.


Migration
marchingsouth.png

In the game all Tribal Chiefdoms will have the ability to migrate, and all Tribal states can become a Tribal Chiefdom if they reach a sufficient degree of decentralization.
Migration can be initiated in any city that has at least 3 pops, for a base cost of 100 Oratory power (reduced by negative Centralization), by clicking on the Migrate button in the city section of the province interface.

Migrating will turn up to 20 of the pops in the city into Light Infantry. This creates an army that can move around like any army, except it does not require military access to cross foreign lands. All types of pops can be used to create a Migration cohort but once settled (see below) always turn into Tribesmen. To migrate is to let go of any old specialized roles they may have had in their original location.

Even if a country loses its last city it still remains playable as long as the Migration units remain, meaning you can quite literally uproot your entire society and resettle somewhere else.


Settling
settle.png

Any army that has more Migration cohorts than there are pops in its current location can settle in that location. This will turn all Migration units into Tribesmen of your culture and religion and settle them in this city, taking ownership of it, even if it was owned by someone else beforehand. In order to be able to settle the location must also either be uncolonized or under your control in a war.

Using this tribes can quickly establish themselves in a new region, creating a new life far from where they started. Much like colonization settling does not turn locals into your culture or religion, which means this newly created settlement may have to deal with some unhappy pops among its locals.

Pillaging
pillage.png

An army containing Migration units can also use the Pillage unit ability when in foreign owned cities. This will give the city a 5 year penalty to population growth and commerce and will give direct additions of power based on the number of pops living in the city and its current Civilization level.

A city cannot be pillaged again as long as the penalty has worn out.


Germania
germanywhere.PNG

(Screenshot showing where the Germanic cultures can be found currently)​
And with that we move on to one part of the map where this mechanic is very readily available. In our start of 450 AUC all countries in Northern Germania are Tribal Chiefdoms, and they all start at -50% Centralization or less, meaning that Migration is not just available, it is also quite efficient.

From a historical standpoint Germania in 450 AUC/304 BCE is one of the most poorly documented places we have on the map. While larger cultures and trends have been observed, and while we know a fair bit about what was going on later in time, we cannot know for sure about any details at our start. For this reason this region is among the more speculative included in the game. For that matter deciding what should start settled and owned by a “country” and what should be populated but unclaimed at our start is not easy. We have arrived at what we hope is a balance that will best facilitate a historical feel to the area, one where the abilities you have in the game to migrate and colonize can be of good use, while still allowing the more noteworthy tribal entities that existed to be playable.

Like in tribal regions elsewhere the Germanian tribes will have access to formable countries such as Suebia or Saxonia.


Western Germania:
WestGermania.png

The part of northern Germania that is closest to Gaul, often called the Jastorf culture area. In 450 AUC this region is inhabited by a wide variety of tribal states, some will later be found in far from these locations while others will remain familiar to this setting. Had the writings of the explorer Pythias of Massilia survived we might have known more but all we can say with certainty is the start of the game this is a dynamic region with a great variety of outcomes.


Starting Countries:
politicalgermany.png

  • Frisia: Medium Sized Tribal Chiefdom on the western edge of the Germanic region. Would eventually push south and west, where they came in contact with the Roman Empire.
  • Angrivaria: Small Tribal Chiefdom surrounded by stronger neighbors. Would remain active in the area into imperial era.
  • Cheruscia: Tribal Chiefdom on the southern edge of this region. Perhaps most known for, along with neighboring tribes, defeating the Roman commander Varus in the Teutoburg forest in 9 AD, shortly after the end of this game. In 304 BCE nothing of that is predetermined however and this is just one of the tribes contesting this region.
  • Chaucia: Germanic Tribal Chiefdom in the region between the Ems and Elbe. Like the Cheruscia they are largely known for things that would transpire long after the start of our game.
  • Fosia: Smaller and slightly poorer neighbors of Cheruscia.
  • Marcommania: Strong Tribal Chiefdom that would in time migrate south to modern Bohemia.
  • Langobardia: Tribal chiefdom controlling part of the Elbe. Their later day relatives would migrate far to the south.
  • Reudigna: Small tribal chiefdom just south of the Jutland peninsula.
  • Anglia: Small Tribal chiefdom south of the Jutland Peninsula. Would many centuries later settle in the British Isles.
  • Aviones: Another Jutlandic tribe, in modern North Frisia.
  • Eudosia: Tribal chiefdom, probably the sma people that is later simply known as the Jutes.
  • Teutonia: Tribal chiefdom in northern Jutland. Came to clash with the Roman Republic, along with Cimbri in the Danubian river area and even as far south as Italy.
  • Cimbria: Like the Teutons the Cimbri fought the Romans around 100 BCE, but at our start they are one of the many Jutlandic tribes, far away from Rome and any other mediterranean states.


Baltic Germania:
eastgermanyterrain.png
Moving east along the baltic we reach the eastern end of the Jastorf area as well as a number of other cultures into one of the parts of Germania that is the furthest away from the Mediterranean. Hence little is actually known about local politics. Like the Germanic region to its west this is a region divided under a variety of tribes, some which would carry the embryo to later more famous groups such as the Vandals, Goths or Suebi. This region is remarkable for its high availability of Amber, that would later spread


Starting Countries:
eastgermanypolitical.png
  • Varinia: Staunch Germanic tribe in modern Mecklenburg and Pomerania.
  • Semnonia: Suebi Tribal Chiefdom in the central Germanic region.
  • Rugia: Small tribal chiefdom with supposed roots in northern Scandinavia.
  • Lugia: The Lugi are often identified with the later Vandals. In 450 AUC they are a moderately powerful tribal chiefdom in northern Germania.
  • Lemovia: Small tribal chiefdom with close ties with Lugia and Rugia.
  • Bastarnia: Powerful tribal chiefdom in modern day Poland. Would in time migrate south and come into conflict with the Roman Republic in the Carpathian region.
  • Gothonia: Small tribal chiefdom in modern Pomerelia. One of the possible ancestors of the in the future so famous Goths.
  • Sciria: Small Tribal Chiefdom by the Vistula river.
  • Aestuia: Baltic tribal chiefdom on the eastern side of the Vistula, and the only Baltic culture and religion playable country at the start of the game.
 
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@Trin Tragula
What is the reason that you want a gap between the Gaul and Germania?

Otherwise Herulia was a tribe that formed along the Sea of Azov and not in Scandinavia.
The Burgundians weren't really from Scandinavia, either. Early myths of the Burgundians don't contain a Scandinavian origin, and, only after the Langobardian origo gentis, did the Burgundian include that, too. Their first mention by Plinius also precedes any traceable migration from peninsular Scandinavia.
Raumaricia should also be removed because it was a petty kingdom of the 6th century AD. (see https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...of-february-2019.1153355/page-3#post-25175660 )

Irminonic and Suebian are the same, too.

EDIT: I've been preparing a suggestion for the last few days:
GermaniaMappa.png
 
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Nice dev diary thank u so much @Trin Tragula :)

Will AI tribes also migrate/settle in controlled territory as well? How often would they do so? Cos it seems in the Dev clash AI tribes seemed static and fixed to a certain area. Only Johan uprooted his entire nation :)
 
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@Trin Tragula
What is the reason that you want a gap between the Gaul and Germania?

Otherwise Herulia was a tribe that formed along the Sea of Azov and not in Scandinavia.
The Burgundians weren't really from Scandinavia, either. Early myths of the Burgundians don't contain a Scandinavian origin, and, only after the Langobardian origo gentis, did the Burgundian include that, too. Their first mention by Plinius also precedes any traceable migration from peninsular Scandinavia.
Raumaricia should also be removed because it was a petty kingdom of the 6th century AD.

Irminonic and Suebian are the same, too.
I imagine it is to provide a buffer area so that we can migrate and settle tribes nearer the Rhine. If everything is filled up migration won’t be able to take off.

Also I’m not sure but with this arrangement does it seem that the Roman Empire’s borders are more defined? As if they are clearly setting out the border so we can recreate the Empire. I quite like it from a Rome perspective :)
 
I imagine it is to provide a buffer area so that we can migrate and settle tribes nearer the Rhine. If everything is filled up migration won’t be able to take off.

Also I’m not sure but with this arrangement does it seem that the Roman Empire’s borders are more defined? As if they are clearly setting out the border so we can recreate the Empire. I quite like it from a Rome perspective :)
But it's not really historical, as archeology tells us that there was no larger migration of Germanic people apart from the Teutons, Cimbri and Bastarnians. I don't really fancy mechanics that are applied to the wrong people, ungrounded on history. The proper Germanic migration period was far, far later.
 
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But it's not really historical, as archeology tells us that there was no larger migration of Germanic people apart from the Teutons, Cimbri and Bastarnians. I don't really fancy mechanics that aren't based on history, as the migration period was far, far later.
The whole game is built on mechanics that is not historical correct, otherwise the game would probably not be fun to play if even playable.
 
The whole game is built on mechanics that is not historical correct, otherwise the game would probably not be fun to play if even playable.
I meant that mechanics are applied to people to whom they didn't really belong historically. The Galatians, Pannonian Celts, Bastarnians and all the other steppe nomads would be somewhat correctly depicted this way, but not the bulk of the Germanic people like the Frisians and Chaucians.
 
I meant that mechanics are applied to people to whom they didn't really belong historically. The Galatians, Pannonian Celts, Bastarnians and all the other steppe nomads would be somewhat correctly depicted this way, but not the bulk of the Germanic people like the Frisians and Chaucians.
Everyone that have the Tribal government can potentially migrate and if monarchies and republics can become tribes you may see stuff such as Roman migrants.
 
Sadly no Thuringii tribe in the game. I mean they only apeeared hundreds of years later, but still would be cool to play his "own tribe"

For Germania itself, I wonder how effective it would be to unite all german tribes into on nation, then one after another pull them togehter in less and less high pop cities, and them migrate with all germanic pops at once somewhere.
 
Everyone that have the Tribal government can potentially migrate and if monarchies and republics can become tribes you may see stuff such as Roman migrants.
Yes, but that's not the point I want to make. If those tribes ended up in a region into which there was no large migration, then they should start just where they were first encountered. Northern Germania and most of central Poland should just be covered by tribes, therefore. As anything else would imply migrations that did NOT happen.

Sadly no Thuringii tribe in the game. I mean they only apeeared hundreds of years later, but still would be cool to play his "own tribe"

For Germania itself, I wonder how effective it would be to unite all german tribes into on nation, then one after another pull them togehter in less and less high pop cities, and them migrate with all germanic pops at once somewhere.
They forgot about the southern part of the Jastorf culture in which the Hermunduri and the Marcomanni were found. Some say that the Thuringians name derives from the Hermunduri, but more relate it to Tyr.
 
For Germania itself, I wonder how effective it would be to unite all german tribes into on nation, then one after another pull them togehter in less and less high pop cities, and them migrate with all germanic pops at once somewhere.
Each city can only create up to 20 migrants at once so cities above 20 pops don't have much advantage here. However the game do greatly encourage you to build massive provincal capitals as only the capitals get the surplus bonus from the trade goods and building stacking can greatly boost the efficiency of the pops. However being a tribe at negative centralization make the above difficult to achieve due to low civilization but on other hand easy to setup.

Having capitals with like 500+ pops is extreamly potent because each of the pops will get boosted by all the surplus and the buildings, starvation can be avoided with graneries and growth goods.

Likely they should nerf the tribes a bit because building cities that is 20 times large as historical Rome is maybe a bit insane. We are basically talking about cities that may be larger than the World largest cities today. If a tribe conquer for example the Selucid empire, they can move the whole population which may have been like 40 milion people into a single city.
 
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Is there a cooldown on the migration ability, or is it possible to re-emigrate right after settling somewhere ?
Is there a condition on the cultures and religion of the population about to migrate from the city ?
Since all migration units are turned into tribesmen of your culture and religion on settling, can it be used as as way to convert up to 20 pop ?
 
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Please Paradox, as Northern Europe is in fact a guesswork by this time, could you add the Franks (or the Salians to be more precise) near the Frisians or anywhere else up in Europe? As we already have Anglia, Burgundia, Saxonia, Suebia, Teutonia, Langobardia, Guthonia, Dania... a simple Francia added on the map would be awesome!

Edit: I see there is a province named Salia near Frisia, but is empty like most Germany...
 
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I meant that mechanics are applied to people to whom they didn't really belong historically. The Galatians, Pannonian Celts, Bastarnians and all the other steppe nomads would be somewhat correctly depicted this way, but not the bulk of the Germanic people like the Frisians and Chaucians.
that is not how history works especially if you look at alternative history. if you want a total reproduction of our historical timeline, then play another game maybe. there was always a chance for tribes to migrate. why should it not be the case 300 bc but 300 ce?