Imperator Dev Diary 2020-14-12: The Longest Diary

[Slavicist]

Greetings all!

Today, you’ll be taken through a deep dive into the Antigonid mission trees coming in the Heirs of Alexander Content Pack.

Before we get started on that, however, I have a few housekeeping points to mention. Firstly, this will be the last dev diary of the year, as we are now leading up to Christmas vacations. Secondly, this also means that indeed, Marius and Heirs of Alexander will not be coming this year. This is a -very- comprehensive update, and we are going to take the time to get it right.

Yet you came here not for housekeeping, but for content; and content we shall provide.

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Some of you noticed this button in an early version of the UI rework - the time has come to explain more.

Selecting Heirs in Monarchies

No longer will the line of succession be an immutable certainty, altered only by accidental death.

For a hefty cost in resources and perceived legitimacy; you will be able to grant your approval to anyone in your ruler’s direct line of succession. As you might imagine, this may have consequences amongst the other successors…

This minor feature was something we’ve wanted to add for a while, and in the course of doing so, it became apparent that this allowed for the creation of an additional government type; namely, an elective monarchy.

Elective Monarchy

Strictly speaking, there were no traditionally elective successions that we know of during our starting time period (yes, that is a challenge - prove me wrong!), however, the election of Kings was a tradition which exists in many of our core nation’s histories - including Rome.

Monarchy government types will be able to enable Elective Succession with a Law, as with all other succession types.

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This variety of succession law greatly reduces all ordinary contributions to succession value; and instead gives all eligible characters in your nation a ‘vote’ towards the next monarch, chosen from amongst their valid successors.

The factors behind their preference for any given candidate are quite wide, including difference in stats, culture, religion, and quite prominently: age.

You will still be able to anoint a chosen candidate with the Anoint Successor feature, however this will be much less impactful than it is in other succession types.

In practice, elective monarchies can result in an unpredictable succession that yields you a monarch of advanced age - why would this be good?

Well, aside from being pretty fun, and encouraging out-of-the-box thinking in order to manipulate elections, successors in Elective Monarchies do not receive a pretender loyalty malus: they put all of their energy into getting themselves elected, and not stirring up trouble.

Unit Models

We’re not all the way there yet, but here’s a preview of the Scythian Levy:Legion models:

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And the Iberic culture group Levy:Legion models:

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And now it’s over to @Chopmist to take you through the Antigonid mission coming in the Heirs of Alexander DLC, in our latest attempt at creating the longest dev diary known to man.

/Arheo

Could you please share information as to what exactly is the status of the Great Wonders content? Is everything from the previous dev diaries still in plan? Will the customizable GWs be a part of the HoA expansion pack?

 

[Martocticvs]

After I realised it would be months before the release I broke my Paradox Paradox and just went back to playing Imperator. I'd rather wait another 9 months and have a perfect and incredibly comprehensive update.

This will be me shortly, as I'm growing tired of CK3 (feel like I've done pretty much everything you can, in a single play-through).

I'm guessing we've probably seen the majority of the new mechanics by this point, and you're focusing more on balancing etc, hence the gradual shift over to content-heavy DDs. Looking good though and excited for 2.0. No need to rush it out, better to take a little extra time and make sure it's good and hopefully you will start attracting people back, and new people in.

 

[PDX_Chop]

I hope that the AI Antigonids can also go either of these pathways, ie maybe collapse and form antigonid Macedon, be strong etc?
...
also, what do u mean when u can be a protectorate over the League of Corinth? Are there proper leagues now or am I looking too much into it?

The AI can go both routes, but it will be more likely that they will collapse historically - the first option
It is possible that they don't break apart at all or go to Macedon, though there is obviously no guarantee when the AI is in charge

I meant "protectorate" I'm afraid the League of Corinth will be a single feudatory subject under the Antigonids

 

[Todie]

Nice. I think I like this new thing with elective monarchy and ability to name a successor

I tend to not look very closely at the mission trees before I actually play with them...

Something I’ve thought about regarding mission outcomes though, from a mechanical point of view: migration attraction.

the usefulness of this stat is wholly dependent on the territories eligibility for migration-target-seeking as well as the migration speed of those locations (and indirectly, what pop types inhabit them - as tribesmen migrate 60x faster than slaves with the base mig-speed numbers from patch 1.5)

I like migration attraction as a concept, but I think boons to it would carry more consistent meaning in gameplay if they were coupled with temporary provincial boons to migration speed. I also think +2 attraction is too low to be considered very meaningful, as unfilled pop-capacity tends to be the dominant factor.

Happy holidays devs et al.

 

[Argead33]

Great update! Interesting to see the major Diadochi get more customization.

 

[augustuscaeser2]

This is looking great. Io Saturnalia!

 

[MohawkWolfo98]

The AI can go both routes, but it will be more likely that they will collapse historically - the first option
It is possible that they don't break apart at all or go to Macedon, though there is obviously no guarantee when the AI is in charge

I meant "protectorate" I'm afraid the League of Corinth will be a single feudatory subject under the Antigonids

Thanks! Either way, these new missions looks great! I cant wait to play it

 

[WillemDeZwijger]

Good stuff! The lack of a proper Antigonid collapse was really hurting gameplay in the Anatolia region and this is a very nice way of simulating it with lots of possibilities to keep it fresh.

 

[Alekscool]

Is Selecting Heirs in Monarchies free update or part of Heirs of Alexander?

 

[Gilbert95]

Overall nice changes for the succession. Missions are interesting and I like how dynamic they are.

I also noticed (maybe we saw this before and i missed it) in the first screenshot of the missions, we see the mission window takes up much less screen real estate, which is a good improvement. I hate having to constantly move things around to see the territories referenced in the missions. This also probably helps explain why they dropped the arch/niche to save space. But they will need a new mission complete icon for the flag notification, as it is currently an empty arch

 

[svalan_i_dalen]

Are there locales or common programs that use YYYY-DD-MM as the date format?

I've often standardized on YYYY-MM-DD as the date format for communicating within a geographically distributed project teams to dispel any ambiguity that might arise from local date formats. Is it

stackoverflow.com

 

[Slavicist]

Salve! Joe from Content Design here, and it’s my turn to take you through some of what we’ve been cooking up for our upcoming expansion: Heirs of Alexander. This time it’s missions for the Antigonid kingdom, with some other content treats thrown in. This is probably my favourite Diadochi realm, featuring towering personalities, compelling what-ifs, and an interesting underdog story.

Antigonus the One-Eyed’s is an often overlooked Diadochi state (heh), remembered for its defeat at Ipsus and outshone by the more enduring Seleucids and Egyptians - despite the fact he enjoyed decades of dominance, had an immense impact, and left a gripping story of fortune’s cruel reversals.

His domain’s disappearance only a few years after our start date offered an interesting design challenge, with only the preceding history and what the ancient historians wrote of the characters to guide their immediate objectives. I wanted to allow for the interesting possibilities of an alternative-history Antigonid victory, as well as the historic flight of the dynasty to Macedon after Antigonus’ defeat, and of course please those who just want the big yellow ‘fridge’ to crash and burn as quickly as possible.

In the end, the Antigonids received three mission trees, the first two focusing on their historical struggles in our period, and the third offering some alt-history fun.

Antigonus’ Vision
By the game's start, Antigonus has already spent the twenty-nine years since the battle of Issus slowly consolidating his power from Celaenae, his capital in the satrapy of Phrygia, and at this point the fall of his kingdom was perhaps difficult to imagine.

Having remained in the west of Alexander’s empire, Antigonus was not caught up in the excesses and adventures of the eastern expeditions. As a member of Philip II’s generation, he perhaps viewed these ventures more soberly than the younger royal companions he would later face, especially given the murder of his closer contemporaries Cleitus the Black and Parmenion by the king.

Having already almost lost everything fleeing from the regent Perdiccas soon after Alexander’s death, Antigonus has reconquered his holdings and beaten the Perdiccan satraps of Anatolia, including the famed Greek general Eumenes, whom he chased all the way to Media. Persia has since been abandoned to Seleucus, the satrap of Babylon, but, despite this, Antigonus rules over a vast realm, stretching from the Hellespont to the Euphrates and Judea.

He has recently declared himself joint basileus - king! - with his son Demetrius after the naval victory over Ptolemy at Salamis, simultaneously elevating his dynasty from petty nobility to royalty, claiming his lands as independent from the authority of Cassander in Macedon, and introducing his heir to his eastern subjects early to ensure a smooth transition upon his death.

To guarantee his dynasty’s survival, he looks to reverse recent setbacks in the Diadochi wars and develop his new capital Antigoneia as a center of power at the crossroads of the east, ensuring the fruits of decades of statecraft are not seized by Alexander’s jumped-up bodyguards and remain in the family.

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The main branches focus on the long-held ambition of securing Greece, starting with the strategic city of Corinth, and on keeping the other Diadochi in check, with diplomatic and economic opportunities along the way.

Antigonus’ relations with the Greeks, particularly the Athenians, Ionians, and Aeolians, is one of his main legacies, epitomized by his Tyre proclamation, which promised to protect the autonomy of all Greek cities. His overtures not only secured alliances, but also provided vital manpower to bolster the Macedonian armies depleted by decades of war.

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Many of the later great cities of Syria were arguably merely renamed by the Seleucids, and were in fact originally settled by Antigonus using veterans of the Argead army, which passed to his command from Antipater’s at Triparadisus. For example, Apamea was originally given the reassuringly Macedonian name of Pella.

Avenging the recent setbacks of his mishap-prone son Demetrius will be a pressing concern, the defeat at Rhodes being particularly galling given Ptolemy’s involvement.

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Ultimately, the Antigonids will aim to unite all Greece, revive Philip’s League of Corinth as a protectorate, and declare themselves as the true successors of the Argeads.

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Of course, all that is moot if our favourite cyclops fails to hold his strategic bastions or cannot conquer Corinth from Cassander before he dies.

The Antigonid Cause Wavers
As before, falling short will trigger an event, but whereas in the past the Antigonids had to choose between releasing Asia to Pergamon or taking a large hit to their stability, subject loyalty, and legitimacy, I wanted to better depict the consequences of the real-life ‘post-Ipsus’ partition, splintering the Antigonids in predictable but differing ways depending on their chosen path and drawing the other Diadochi into conflict over its results.

The Antigonids can now decide to go west and stake a claim to the turbulent Macedonian heartland by forfeiting Asia to the other Diadochi, or to hold on to a diminished core of eastern territories but lose their sway over Greece.

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Going west, the Antigonids retain only Greece, Cyprus, and the Phoenician city of Tyre, with the Diadochi carving up their other territories as they did historically. Caria and Cilicia go to the short-lived satrapy of Cassander’s brother Pleistarchus, though Macedon may also choose to take the land themselves, while Thrace receives the vassal satrapies of Sardis and Phrygia, ruled by the treacherous governors Docimus and Phoenix who defected from the Antigonids after their defeat.

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Historically, Demetrius and his son Antigonus II went on to dislodge the heirs of Cassander and other pretenders in Macedon, their family ruling there until those garum-guzzling Romans ousted Antigonus the One-Eyed’s great-great-great-grandson Perseus a century and a half later - not a bad innings. As a result, going west is required to unlock the next mission tree, which I’ll discuss soon.

Going west will also temporarily halve legion and ship upkeep, allowing the Antigonids to maintain a semblance of power despite their territorial losses, though their subjects will not be happy to remain under their thumb.

Staying in the east on the other hand will now cost them Greece, Cyprus, Bithynia, Asia, Palestine, and the Euphrates - if they still hold them that is - along with the old stability and other maluses.

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What’s that? The third option? Well, if failure isn’t your jam, you can always game on. Per-game-on. (Please forgive me.)

That’s right, you can switch tags to the newborn satrapy of Pergamon, ruled by the Attalids (if they are still around) as subjects of Thrace. If you do, the Antigonids will be taken over by the AI and splinter along the lines of their first option.

Pergamon will of course be created shortly after the partition of the Antigonids anyway if you do not wish to play as them.

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In the fallout, if not before, you may also see Mithridates stake his claim to northern Anatolia, and it is now possible to play as a Mithridatic Pontus by starting as Cius or Pontus and interacting with new events.

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These changes to the Antigonids splintering, Pergamon, and Mithridates, are part of the Marius patch and thus will not require the Heirs of Alexander expansion.

Macedonian Aspirations
As explained above, this mission will only become available if the Antigonids have failed to achieve their objectives and choose to abandon the east, continuing Demetrius’ campaigns in Greece. I wanted to give the player a choice between surviving in Syria or returning to Macedon to carve out a new home, and add content that not only allows for the fall of the Antigonids but adds to the game as a result of it. It’s also an interesting challenge to give up one of the largest Hellenistic realms and start again from scratch.

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The main branch focuses on conquering Macedon, with diplomatic options based on historical events and the ability to complete certain Greek focused tasks from the previous mission if they were not completed before Antigonus’ death.

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Historically Demetrius was well treated by the other Diadochi immediately after Ipsus, their diplomacy with him indicating that his legitimacy and usefulness as a rightful king was not diminished by the near total loss of his lands; Seleucus going so far as to marry Demetrius’ daughter, though the warm relations quickly faded once it became clear her father had not accepted defeat.

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By securing Thessaly, the historic port city of Demetrias may be founded as a bastion of Antigonid power in northern Greece, and a lasting stamp of Demetrius’ influence on the region.

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Given the right circumstances, the Antigonids can also benefit from the infighting of Cassander’s sons in their quest for Macedonian clay as they did historically...

Antigonid Birthright
The final tree relies on the second having been completed, and gives the Antigonids an incentive for alt-history reconquest, returning to reclaim their lost lands in Asia.

This imagines a scenario in which the Antigonids are more daring and less willing to forfeit their dynasty’s achievements than historically, allowing them to move your center of power back to Antigonus’ capitals and avenge the defeat of your founder, if you so wish.

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The branches of this tree guide you in reconquering important parts of the old kingdom such as Cyprus, Phrygia, and Phoenicia, creating a dominant naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean once more, and recreating the historical subjects you may have lost previously, such as the Ionian and Aeolian Leagues, if so desired.

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Claiming the land of your ancestors will of course prove the ultimate victory of the Antigonid dynasty as Macedonian successors, whatever defeats they may have suffered in the past, and finally avenge the treachery of those who betrayed Alexander’s most capable successor.

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Phew. If you made it this far, your patience will furnish you well until the release of the Marius patch and Heirs of Alexander expansion. Until next time!

And what about army units of the Diadochi? How will they look for the owners of the Hellenistic World Flavor Pack? Is it being reworked / will all the Diadochi (save for Egypt) get updated armies?

 

[Don Wing]

Cool great DD as we got used to!

- just remember to change the velite for rome (wich is beautifull, but not representative) as the levy model.

 

[herrickrcw2]

Wooow wonderful DD!

Take your time IR team for this update, just look how everyone is complaining about Cyberpunks bugs at release.

2.0 is looking fantastic! I can't wait to purchase the DLCs.

I wish the team a merry Christmas and I hope that they can rest during the holidays.

 

[SupremTurtle]

NIce. This change will probably allow a more historical timeline, in contrast to the current one, where the antigonids either gets completely destroyed through civil wars and rebellions or they completely dominate the region.

 

[Kahldris]

Choose your own successor yes!!!!!
I have yet to play phyrgia or antigonids as we call it now. Last update with the culture stuff started to put them on my radar but now will have to play them for sure!

This update is going to be my favorite for sure.

 

[Princess Stabbity]

Wheee! I'm so happy we're getting more succession types! I'm hoping that means one day we'll have the proper Battle Royale succession for Imperial Rome n_n

 

[GloryGloryByzantium]

I loved that you can change tags and became Pergamon, very cool!

I was hoping there would be a way to play as them without modding the game. This is a nice compromise, although I feel it a little odd that I would have to play as the Antigonids and intentionally choose certain decisions to make it so. From my reading, Pergamon existed as a city-state-treasury at game start and was always pseudo-independent.

 

[GloryGloryByzantium]

As before, falling short will trigger an event, but whereas in the past the Antigonids had to choose between releasing Asia to Pergamon or taking a large hit to their stability, subject loyalty, and legitimacy, I wanted to better depict the consequences of the real-life ‘post-Ipsus’ partition, splintering the Antigonids in predictable but differing ways depending on their chosen path and drawing the other Diadochi into conflict over its results.

With the new Alexander CB, is it likely that many of these lands will already be lost during the 4th war - assuming that event chain still fires as it currently does?

by forfeiting Asia to the other Diadochi

Plutarch notes that Demetrios escaped to Ephesus immediately after Ipsos. If they go West, what is Ionia's relationship to the Antigonids?

As a result, going west is required to unlock the next mission tree, which I’ll discuss soon

Does going east only allow for the first mission to be fulfilled? And I assume that if the Antigonid cause does not waver and they manage to defeat all rivals somehow, that there will be other missions available which are hinted at below?

Yes that's true, though there is another mission tree available for any successful Diadochi that they will also have access to - to be discussed later

 

[Plaid Shirts]

The UI is starting to look pretty polished. That continues to be the highlight of the upcoming patch for me.