The issue in Imperator was much more pervasive than it is in EU4.
EU4 has other aspects that function largely independent of mana (diplomacy, trade, colonization, religion, etc), and you do have a way of influencing its generation (advisors, estates, focus).
In Imperator, pretty much everything was tied to mana, with their use being very imbalanced and you not having a way to influence the generation besides cash (which EU4 deliberately avoided doing in a unlimited fashion as to get a tighter design and avoid snowballing).
That said, could mana be implemented better in EU4? Most definitely.
In my opinion, the problem with mana isn't mechanical (they work fine as a system), but in abstraction.
I feel a great disconnect between mana generation and their use, as in "what exactly is going on to create this resource?", a resource I can use to both integrate a newly acquired province or raise stability.
It's hard to wrap my head around, it creates the situation of Schrodinger's mana, where you don't know what exactly the bureaucrats of the country were doing until they finish doing it and you observe the results (i.e. click core or raise stability button).
A much better system I can see is that of monthly investment, where you designate a X amount of mana per month to a task, with the time depending on how much you invest per month and the cost of that task (raising stability should take less time than getting an idea at the same investment, for example).
You'd only have so much mana to assign around (no need to change how it is generated), so the opportunity cost is there, but now the gap between generation and use is bridged, you're fully aware of what the bureaucracy is doing at any given time.
This wouldn't even change the balance of the game, as the rate which you gain mana is still the same, all that would change is that you'd need to commit long term to your spendings.
I feel that this might be a much bigger problem for role-players than min-maxers, and as a role-player myself, it really bothers me.
It is absolutely appalling to me how you can be overrun by rebels, all estates disloyal and unrest through the roof, and still be sitting there at +3 stab.
This was one thing Imperator was correcting even before the mana changes, changing the value from -3-+3 to 0-100 and making the boost be gradual instead of instantaneous.
EU4 has other aspects that function largely independent of mana (diplomacy, trade, colonization, religion, etc), and you do have a way of influencing its generation (advisors, estates, focus).
In Imperator, pretty much everything was tied to mana, with their use being very imbalanced and you not having a way to influence the generation besides cash (which EU4 deliberately avoided doing in a unlimited fashion as to get a tighter design and avoid snowballing).
That said, could mana be implemented better in EU4? Most definitely.
In my opinion, the problem with mana isn't mechanical (they work fine as a system), but in abstraction.
I feel a great disconnect between mana generation and their use, as in "what exactly is going on to create this resource?", a resource I can use to both integrate a newly acquired province or raise stability.
It's hard to wrap my head around, it creates the situation of Schrodinger's mana, where you don't know what exactly the bureaucrats of the country were doing until they finish doing it and you observe the results (i.e. click core or raise stability button).
A much better system I can see is that of monthly investment, where you designate a X amount of mana per month to a task, with the time depending on how much you invest per month and the cost of that task (raising stability should take less time than getting an idea at the same investment, for example).
You'd only have so much mana to assign around (no need to change how it is generated), so the opportunity cost is there, but now the gap between generation and use is bridged, you're fully aware of what the bureaucracy is doing at any given time.
This wouldn't even change the balance of the game, as the rate which you gain mana is still the same, all that would change is that you'd need to commit long term to your spendings.
I feel that this might be a much bigger problem for role-players than min-maxers, and as a role-player myself, it really bothers me.
Don't forget stability, the worst offender by far.
It is absolutely appalling to me how you can be overrun by rebels, all estates disloyal and unrest through the roof, and still be sitting there at +3 stab.
This was one thing Imperator was correcting even before the mana changes, changing the value from -3-+3 to 0-100 and making the boost be gradual instead of instantaneous.
