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EU4 - Development Diary - 16th of February 2021

Hello everybody and welcome back to another EUIV dev diary and it has been a while for me!

Shortly before EUIV moved over to sunny Barcelona, I devoted some of my time to reworking Australia as I felt the current map of the continent was a bit lacking and very annoying to own what with all these little unconnected islands amidst the wasteland. On top of that, the continent being an entirely uncolonized block of nothing before colonialism seems a little inaccurate, given how lively the continent actually was before the Europeans arrived.

So, first thing to note is that Australia is now entirely connected through colonisable provinces, with the great Pilbara now connecting the north and west of Australia.
20210215172646_1.jpg

Another important rework comes in the form of the new states Australia now enjoys. What I wanted out of this is I wanted Australia to be on par with the other colonial regions in the game in terms of province count and strategic importance.
20210215170805_1.jpg

When shaping the states and provinces, I wanted to hit a nice balance between pre and post colonial Australian borders, so state borders are largely determined by colonial Australian state boundaries, while provinces are more determined by the distribution of Aboriginal peoples. All provinces also have both their Aboriginal and colonial names depending on who owns the province.
1613408346626.png

The Australian Gold Rush can now be yours, with Australian provinces enjoying a high chance of gold and some provinces in the south having a chance for gems, and a few key provinces able to produce coal.
20210215172855_1.jpg

Next, I’ll highlight some of the playable nations down under. Up north we have the Larrakia Federation composed of all of the top-end nations you see here, with Larrakia and Tiwi enjoying a unique set of national ideas. The Larrakia federation was responsible for much of pre-colonial Australia’s wealth through trade with the Makassarians. This trade also brought with it some Islamic influences, though the Aboriginal people of Australia never fully converted.
20210215170717_1.jpg

LAR_ideas = {
start = {
global_trade_power = 0.1
trade_efficiency = 0.1
}

bonus = {
global_ship_trade_power = 0.2
}

trigger = {
tag = LAR
}
free = yes #will be added at load.

LAR_makassar_trade = {
merchants = 1
global_foreign_trade_power = 0.1
}
LAR_federation = {
diplomatic_upkeep = 2
}
LAR_dreaming = {
global_autonomy = -0.05
}
LAR_dowed = {
legitimacy = 1
republican_tradition = 0.2
global_unrest = -1
}
LAR_ceremonial_scarring = {
shock_damage = 0.1
}
LAR_hospitality = {
diplomatic_reputation = 2
}
LAR_kenbi_land_claim = {
core_creation = -0.15
}
}

TIW_ideas = {
start = {
female_advisor_chance = 0.75
shock_damage_received = -0.2
}

bonus = {
leader_land_shock = 1
}

trigger = {
tag = TIW
}
free = yes

TIW_yiminga = {
may_recruit_female_generals = yes
global_manpower_modifier = 0.2
}
TIW_dreaming_totem = {
tolerance_own = 2
}
TIW_kulama = {
production_efficiency = 0.1
}
TIW_purrukapali = {
naval_tradition_from_battle = 0.5
}
TIW_marriage = {
heir_chance = 0.5
global_unrest = -1
}
TIW_isolationism = {
land_morale = 0.1
}
TIW_one_people = {
culture_conversion_cost = -0.25
}
}

Moving along down south we have the Eora people, the original inhabitants of the Sydney area.
EOR_ideas = {
start = {
diplomatic_reputation = 1
light_ship_power = 0.15
}

bonus = {
num_accepted_cultures = 2
}

trigger = {
tag = EOR
}
free = yes

EOR_lifestyle = {
naval_morale = 0.15
}
EOR_bands = {
state_maintenance_modifier = -0.25
}
EOR_enduring = {
religious_unity = 0.25
tolerance_heathen = 1
}
EOR_protect = {
manpower_recovery_speed = 0.1
global_sailors_modifier = 0.1
}
EOR_sacred = {
own_coast_naval_combat_bonus = 1
}
EOR_pemulwuy = {
land_morale = 0.15
}
EOR_berewaldal = {
merchants = 1
global_foreign_trade_power = 0.1
}
}

The Kaurna people, first inhabitants of Adelaide.
KAU_ideas = {
start = {
female_advisor_chance = 0.75
global_tax_modifier = 0.3
}

bonus = {
development_cost = -0.1
}

trigger = {
tag = KAU
}
free = yes

KAU_totemic_matriarchy = {
may_recruit_female_generals = yes
tolerance_own = 2
}
KAU_pangkarra = {
governing_capacity_modifier = 0.1
}
KAU_coastal_pangkarra = {
global_ship_trade_power = 0.2
}
KAU_redgum_shelters = {
build_cost = -0.15
}
KAU_communal_ownership = {
global_unrest = -2
}
KAU_old_tjilbruke = {
stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
reform_progress_growth = 0.15
}
KAU_south_australia_act = {
core_creation = -0.2
}
}

Palawa, first people of Tasmania.
PLW_ideas = {
start = {
stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
land_morale = 0.1
}

bonus = {
monarch_military_power = 1
}

trigger = {
tag = PLW
}
free = yes #will be added at load.

PLW_oyster = {
production_efficiency = 0.1
}
PLW_dual_identity = {
legitimacy = 1
num_accepted_cultures = 1
}
PLW_darwin = {
shock_damage = 0.2
}
PLW_parlevar = {
ae_impact = -0.15
}
PLW_writers = {
technology_cost = -0.1
}
PLW_survivors = {
fire_damage = 0.1
}
PLW_enduring = {
manpower_recovery_speed = 0.25
}
}

Kamilaroi, one of the most populated collective of Australian nations.
GMI_ideas = {
start = {
land_morale = 0.1
shock_damage = 0.1
}

bonus = {
land_forcelimit_modifier = 0.33
}

trigger = {
tag = GMI
}
free = yes #will be added at load.

GMI_sacred_caves = {
core_creation = -0.15
}
GMI_land_of_languages = {
num_accepted_cultures = 2
}
GMI_fertile_soils = {
development_cost = -0.1
}
GMI_dhulu = {
diplomats = 1
envoy_travel_time = -0.25
}
GMI_matrilineal_lineage = {
legitimacy = 1
republican_tradition = 0.2
female_advisor_chance = 0.5
}
GMI_familial_law = {
global_autonomy = -0.05
}
GMI_red_kangaroo = {
global_unrest = -2
}
}

I would have loved to have made ideas for all nations in Australia, but alas time was not on my side there so if you do not have unique ideas, you will get the shared Aboriginal Ideas.
generic_aboriginal_ideas = {
start = {
tolerance_own = 1
stability_cost_modifier = -0.1
}

bonus = {
shock_damage = 0.1
}

trigger = {
culture_group = aboriginal_australian
}
free = yes

aborig_art = {
prestige = 1
}
aborig_fire_stick_farming = {
development_cost = -0.1
}
aborig_walkabout = {
movement_speed = 0.1
}
aborig_outback = {
land_attrition = -0.1
}
aborig_sacred = {
global_tax_modifier = 0.1
}
aborig_dreamtime = {
religious_unity = 0.2
}
aborig_music = {
improve_relation_modifier = 0.2
}
}

But Aboriginal culture is not a single monolithic entity, so it has been divided into its own group. If we were being entirely accurate about this, almost all provinces in Australia would be their own culture, so some generalization has been done for gameplay purposes.
20210215173636_1.jpg

On top of all these new nations, the Aboriginal Australians also have access to the new Alcheringa religion! Most commonly known to colonizers as “Dreamtime”, Alcheringa refers to the vast distinct religions found among the Australian population. Though each people usually have their own distinct faith, most Australian faiths have a concept of “Dreamtime” or “The Dreaming”, a time of myth and legend that simultaneously occurred in the distant past and continues to occur around us every day.
20210215173412_1.jpg

Every Aboriginal people has their own pantheon of gods and “Dreaming Stories”. Alcheringa uses a system similar to the Fetishist cult system, with new stories becoming unlocked via missions.

These missions vary in what you must do, from defeating enemies in battle, to building an oceangoing vessel for the first time, to turning the Makassar trade on its head and dominating trade in the Moluccas.

The Aboriginals also enjoy all new unit models.
image (21).png


That’s all for this week, hope you all enjoy my last hurrah of EUIV content.
 
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All provinces also have both their Aboriginal and colonial names depending on who owns the province.
Finally! Hungary was getting lonely being the only nation with dynamic province names in Australia.

I also love how you can cross the continent without having to ship your troops everywhere. And is that a strait crossing I see between Mainland Australia and Tasmania?
 
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Finally! Hungary was getting lonely being the only nation with dynamic province names in Australia.

I also love how you can cross the continent without having to ship your troops everywhere. And is that a strait crossing I see between Mainland Australia and Tasmania?
Hungary had dynamic names in Australia?!?!?
 
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Hey Meka66 - I think you sound a bit sad? you don't have to. Thank you for all your great work for EU4! Hope to have you around this game in the future, besides the studio tinto! The DD Changes are looking great- the unit modell is very nice as well. I had the fear that australia would be to crowded and unrealistic but I think it looks like a good balance with the representation of the aborginals.
Take the uncolonized provinces for europeans longer for walking through? I guess it wasn't easy to cross them in that times.

What Tech group are the nations? The polonysian tech 2?

Are there also unique events for the aboriginies? Or the other nations when they get in contact with the aboriginies? I really think that would be needed.

Best wishes.
 
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Tiwi Ideas"]TIW_ideas = {
start = {
female_advisor_chance = 0.75
shock_damage_received = -0.2


Please add something like reduced advisor cost or at least +1 advisor to the female advisor tradition, just so it doesn't feel like a dead idea. Sure shock damage received is great but I would prefer female advisor chance being at least a small boon rather than a pure detriment so as to balance another strong idea.
 
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In the Kaurna ideas, there is "global_tax_modifier = 0.3". This quite an unseen high number, even if it is supposed to balance out the useless female advisor chance.
I am positively surprised by the amount of content prepared for Australia. I would've never thought it would get a religion, let alone one with actual mechanics (even if a bit re-used). There is also a the number of national ideas (including a group idea) and models.
 
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Please add something like reduced advisor cost or at least +1 advisor to the female advisor tradition, just so it doesn't feel like a dead idea. Sure shock damage received is great but I would prefer female advisor chance being at least a small boon rather than a pure detriment so as to balance another strong idea.
Maybe you didn't notice, but the shock damage received bonus is double the expected amount, which counterbalances the useless female advisor idea.
 
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What I wanted out of this is I wanted Australia to be on par with the other colonial regions in the game in terms of province count and strategic importance.

So, we putting Peru's and Brazil's historical importance for the timeframe on the same level as Australia now? :confused:

And this really pushes what can be possibly classified as a tag, or how much an specific region or tag groups needs to cover to get a specific religion. Africa sure needs more than the highly bizarre ''Fetishism'' megareligion, not to mention areas like SA.
 
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Will there be a unified Aboriginal Australia tag?
Nope. I did try to find anything resembling a unified Australian identity before the arrival of the Europeans, but no such thing exists. Having an Aboriginal Australia tag would be a bit like making a "Europe" tag. The concept of continental unification is a very modern one, even the Australian colonies operated as separate entities for the longest time.
Finally! Hungary was getting lonely being the only nation with dynamic province names in Australia.

I also love how you can cross the continent without having to ship your troops everywhere. And is that a strait crossing I see between Mainland Australia and Tasmania?
Yes, the strait was added after my time on the project was passed so I'll have to refer the Tinto team as to what the motivation for its existence is but I suspect it's just so both colonizers and Australians can easily access any rebels or wars that show up on the island.
What tech group are they in?
They are in the new Aboriginal tech group.
In the Kaurna ideas, there is "global_tax_modifier = 0.3". This quite an unseen high number, even if it is supposed to balance out the useless female advisor chance.
I am positively surprised by the amount of content prepared for Australia. I would've never thought it would get a religion, let alone one with actual mechanics (even if a bit re-used). There is also a the number of national ideas (including a group idea) and models.
You underestimate my enthusiasm haha. This was all done out of my own time shortly after the release of Emperor, and calling the plethora of Aboriginal faiths "Animist" felt like a gross misrepresentation of how faith functioned in Aboriginal societies. I felt that if I was to represent them at all, I should do it as best as I am able.
 
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FINALLY!!!!!! Australia gets some content! Too bad Wurundjeri won't be getting unique ideas (From Melbourne, just in case you are wondering, so Wominjeka!)
Yes, I would have liked to have given unique ideas for all of the Aboriginal nations, having a generified "Generic Aboriginal Ideas" felt like a gross over-generalization, but was a bit of a necessary evil to save me some time.
 
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Love it! Also from Melbourne (Naarm) and very pleased to see these changes.

For what it might be worth: the province that you've got listed there as 'Port Albert' would probably be more accurately labeled 'Gippsland'. The settlement at Port Albert was a very early one, but that whole region of eastern Victoria was even by then (and is still to this day) called Gippsland.

The state regions are a little odd too - Victoria extending as far north as Bathurst won't make anybody happy! Noting the design preference to have five-province states, you'd almost be better off having Victoria as Melbourne / Bendigo / Port Albert + Tasmania, then giving 'New South Wales' both Bathurst and Bogong (which would maybe be better labelled as Wagga Wagga or Cootamundra?).
 
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