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Doomdark

Chief Creative Officer
Paradox Staff
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Apr 3, 2000
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I hope you've all had a merry Christmas! As promised, in this week's dev diary I'll talk about the differences in gameplay between normal feudal lords and Merchant Republic Patricians. Now, they are called Merchant Republics, so you would expect them to trade, and that is precisely what they do.

The_Republic_03_Trade_Post_Buildings.jpg

Patricians can build a special type of holding called a Trade Post in any coastal county. Trade Posts have a fort level and a small garrison, but they do not provide a levy. They can be upgraded with buildings like normal Holdings. Most importantly though, they have a significant income, based on the total tax value of the county in which they are built. They also provide a modest income boost to all cities in the county. Trade posts can link together to form Trade Zones, which is simply an area (on land and sea) of connected Trade Posts. The bigger the Trade Zone, the bigger the income bonus (with diminishing returns.)

The_Republic_04_Trade_Post_Interface.jpg

So, what is the catch? Well, there can only be one Trade Post per county, setting the stage for an eventually bitter struggle for control over them, both between rival Republics and rival Patricians. There are several ways of taking over or destroying a Trade Post:

  • You can plot against rival Patricians to take over their trade post
  • You can declare wars to simply seize a trade post, both from a rival Patrician and from another Republic
  • As a feudal lord, you can declare an Embargo War on a Republic. If successful, all their trade posts in your territory are destroyed, and you get a lot of money out of it (if they are infidels, you also get Piety.)
  • As a Doge, you can ask a feudal lord to declare an embargo war on a rival republic for a suitable sum of money. If he or she agrees, you will join the war as an ally, and if you lose, YOU must pay war reparations.
Embargoed republics cannot build new trade posts during the lifetime of the embargoer. Also, republics cannot have trade posts in each other's territory.

The_Republic_05_Ask_to_Embargo.jpg

There is another catch: the more distant a county is from your territory (regular Holdings), the more expensive it is to build a Trade Post there. Therefore, republics need to establish political as well as mercantile control over strategically located coastal counties. Fortunately, Merchant Republics have access to special Casus Bellis to allow this, in addition to the usual Holy Wars, etc. They can declare wars to seize a coastal city, and then they can declare a second war to seize the entire county (since they hold a city there), although that is not necessary to extend their trade range.

The net effect of all this is that Trade Posts, while very lucrative, are easily lost and will be fiercely contested. However, Merchant Republics will be far richer than feudal lords with a comparable amount of territory and they will not hesitate to use lots of mercenaries (incidentally, the AI in general is now more inclined to use mercs, and we've added more of them too.)

That's it for now. I will not be around to answer questions on this one since I'm still on holiday... so I'll just wish you all a really

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[video=youtube;Ohjqt0q7m3s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohjqt0q7m3s[/video]
 
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Some developers answer me this please:

Will non-merchant republic countries be capable to build Trade Posts?

The Crown of Aragon had in the XIV/XV centuries dozens of them, the 'Sea Consulates', all around in the Mediterranean, and it was not a merchant republic.
 
Mhm why did they change the name of ragusa to dubrovnik? It's the same and it's still in the wrong map location, ragusa/dubrovnik belong where spalato is now.
 
In your last screenshot, Genoa is a vassal of the HRE. What happens to the trade republic mechanisms in that case? While the three Italian republics can realistically be portrayed as independent countries, the Hanseatic League should typically be a vassal of the HRE, no?
 
You know what I mean. Construct trade posts on land.

@Doomdark. How about this:

  • Allow all states to construct trade posts. Even Feudal states. Even counties. However, grant a massive bonus to Republic's income with them, and make it so expensive that vassals will rarely build them. Why? Well, trade was a very essential element in the Medieval era, even for kings.
  • An event similar to the one that fires when a Holy Order wants a barony should fire if someone wants to establish trade. For example, 'Traders from X seek to establish trade with us. [Trade with X would greatly benefit our economy.] [No trading with the scum of X!]. This should not fire for the top liege but the character in control of the province.
  • Trading should boost opinion and factor in to the AI's reluctance to declare war. Not make it impossible, but attacking someone you are trading with doesn't help the economy.
  • Overland trade structures. How would this work? You could build these in provinces adjacent to those you or your vassals control and beside trade structures you control. This would create an overland trade route. Why? Overland trading was a thing, you know.
  • Grant Nubia, Abyssinia and Egypt these overland trade structures. Why? First, the money would give them a much needed buff, and second, the AI's reluctance to attack trade partners would make it a good representation of the Baqt, allowing Nubia and Abyssinia to survive as historical. This may unfortunately also buff Egypt, but with a few tweaks to their income that could be fixed.
  • Enable all other republics! No excuse with overland trade.

I'll think of more later.

From the first thread. C'mon, you know it can work! Don't you want to simulate the importance of Nubia and Ethiopia? The Baqt? The Novgorod Republic? The Silk Road, which went overland through Persia?

Ooh, that's another point:

  • Gives the Seljuks a desirable buff
 
Seljuk's don't need another buff. They are already too powerful.

Half the time they get beaten up by the Fatamids, bro. Call that balance? Historically the Fatamids were about to collapse, meanwhile the Turks went all the way through Armenia and Anatolia.
 
Daaaaamn doomdark, you look smexy in that video....


....also <insert praises for an excellent dev diary here>

I need that chair though, seriously.
 
From the first thread. C'mon, you know it can work! Don't you want to simulate the importance of Nubia and Ethiopia? The Baqt? The Novgorod Republic? The Silk Road, which went overland through Persia?

Ooh, that's another point:

  • Gives the Seljuks a desirable buff

Listen to these wise and ambitious people, paradox. You have the power to make this game even better !
 
An interesting dev diary, I also like the fact the concept of distance is added in the relation to tradeposts.

One final remark, here in the Netherlands we also have a 'second' Christmas day (today).:D
 
Half the time they get beaten up by the Fatamids, bro. Call that balance? Historically the Fatamids were about to collapse, meanwhile the Turks went all the way through Armenia and Anatolia.
That's because the Fatimids are overpowered as is, it is not the Seljuk's that lack power. In fact when you nerf the Fatimids the Seljuks mop the floor with the Byzantines 90% of the times, then there's the odd 9% stalemate and 1% where the Byzantines are somewhat successful.