March of the Eagles Developer diary 3: Keep your friends close & your enemies closer

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Johan

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“You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.”
Napoleon Bonaparte

Welcome to the 3rd developer diary for March of the Eagles! So, by now, you know that your goal in the game is to dominate Europe.
But how do you accomplish that goal? Be prepared - it is not only about warfare.
You will need to get allies, keep an eye on your enemies and use diplomacy and make coalitions to reach your goal.
Just like in the rest of the games from Paradox Development Studios, as you play March of the Eagles, countries will make diplomatic offers to you, such as coalitions and peace offerings. You, of course, can make the same sorts of offers to them; picking and choosing who you want to be your friends or enemies. You can increase your relationship with another country by sending a diplomat on a mission there, or send an insult them, depending on whether you want them as a friend or as an enemy. Enemies won't accept an invitation to join a coalition, while friends will be happy to join. You can of course also try to sabotage relations between countries ;)

Enemies
- If a country has a very low opinion of you, they will be your enemy. Countries that feel threatened by you will tend to have a lower opinion of you and might become your enemies.

Friends
- Any country with a high opinion will be your friend and will be more willing to join your coalition against your enemies or targets. A friend can sometimes feel threatened by you but they won't act against you if your relation is high enough before they realize how dangerous you might be.

Neutrals
- Countries that do not perceive you as a threat and have neither a low nor high opinion of you are considered neutrals. They will probably not declare war on you or help any coalition aligned against you.

Diplomats - Diplomats are your spokesmen that present your offers to other countries and negotiate on your behalf. Without diplomats, you cannot do any diplomatic actions at all, including declaring war or forming a coalition. You will gain one or more diplomats each month; they can be as valuable as an army in the field. So I suggest you use them wisely…

I´ll scratch your back, if you… Coalitions
– A coalition is a loose alliance of nations that have come together for a common cause. In a coalition, each member promises that the involved countries will support each other in war. But don´t put all your trust in a coalition. Prepare for the fact that you can be betrayed. And you can betray as well. Sometimes it is not mutual trust, but simply a way to keep friends close and enemies closer.
There can only be two coalitions, one against the dominant naval power, and one against the dominant land power. If possible, the other dominant power leads that coalition, otherwise it may be the most prestigious country. The game starts with a British Coalition and a French Coalition, but if either of these powers are ousted and the coalition destroyed, they will be replaced.

Stab your friend in the back?
- Dishonoring a coalition call to arms will cause you to lose prestige, but sometimes is the wise thing to do if you aren't ready for war or if you'd like to see that coalition friend cut down a bit. And keep in mind that if you are allied with two countries, that does not mean that they will be allied with each other.

Coalition members
- Coalition members that have a high opinion of you cannot declare war against you and might join you in any war. Coalitions are an insurance policy as much as a military pact, allowing you to protect your back with their promise of non-aggression as well as the hope that they will send military assistance when it's needed.

A Call to Arms!
– Coalition members will not automatically join any war you are fighting. You will need to ask them if you want their help. If you are at war, you can call upon your coalition members to join you in the war against the enemy country. We've said in earlier developer diaries that March of the Eagles is about the transformative power of war, how the pressures of continental conflict force nations to adapt their ways and rethink traditional alliances and power structures. So war is what drives this game forward. Even if you try to stay peaceful, major powers will inevitably find themselves the target of invasion – and you can't really establish dominance without using the sword and musket to do it.

We hope that has given a little insight in the delicacies of diplomacy and the nuances of relations in March of the Eagles. Next week, I´ll delve deeper into expeditionary forces, until then ..

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Nice, thanks!

There can only be two coalitions, one against the dominant naval power, and one against the dominant land power.

What happens, if there is no dominant land/naval power (i.e. none of the powers controls 7 out of 11 key cities)?
 
Nice, thanks!



What happens, if there is no dominant land/naval power (i.e. none of the powers controls 7 out of 11 key cities)?

Then no new coalition can be formed.
 
I really like the first quote, really clever.
 
"Diplomats - Diplomats are your spokesmen that present your offers to other countries and negotiate on your behalf. Without diplomats, you cannot do any diplomatic actions at all, including declaring war or forming a coalition. You will gain one or more diplomats each month; they can be as valuable as an army in the field. So I suggest you use them wisely…"

Hmmmm . . . it's a pity that it appears that the emisaries system is not being used for diplomacy here, the Napoleonic era was rich with examples of prominent and skillful diplomats who made a big difference (Canning, Metternich, Caulaincourt, Castlereigh). It would, I think, be more fun to send Metternich out to seduce the Princess of Bohemia than to spend what appears to be the equivalent of diplomacy points to gain +1 influence there.

Or have I misread this? Will the diplomacy system be 'personalised'?
 
Very nice work ! I can't wait to test it :)

(To the french community : i just translated this devdiary. Look at the link in my signature ;) )
 
Interesting the coalition system... It's been said to be exported to EUIV, and I think it's a good idea. It could give the balance that this game needs in what concerns geopolitical issues. It could be useful also in Victoria 2 (in a expansion, maybe...).
 
How does MAKE PEACE work?

Will It be like EU3 or Victoria2 that permit the members of a coalition making peace with the enemy one by one? Or will the members of a coalition do not accept any peace demands until the dominant country make peace?

Will the dominant country only ask what he need without thinking of the goals of other members of a coalition? Or should they realize the goal of other members of a coalition?
 
The Austrian CoA looks Russian to me :p I get so confused when I look at these pictures.
 
The Austrian CoA looks Russian to me :p I get so confused when I look at these pictures.

I do believe it is the more historically correct version, for this time period at least.

With reference to the dev diary, should it not be easier to form coalitions and change alliances. The diplomatic relations of the Napoleonic era were somewhat "schizophrenic" with nations being at war with each other year, switching sides for a few years and then switching sides once again. Are such relations possible in this game?
 
Shouldn't it be Bratislav at the beginning, or something like that?
 
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