Mare Nostrum Sets Sail April 5 - Video Dev Diary outlines coming changes

[BjornB]

Paradox Development Studio has decided that Mare Nostrum, the newest naval themed expansion to their best-selling historical strategy game Europa Universalis IV, will leave port on April 5, 2016.

Mare Nostrum adds new depth to many parts of the classic empire builder, including new options for the merchant republics. These tiny financially motivated states can now form Trade Leagues, uniting their commercial might in a military and a mercantile alliance that makes everyone richer and stronger.

The expansion also introduces new mercenary options with greater control over your naval missions, the chance to rent your armies as condottieri, and the ability to share maps with your neighbors.

A new developer video with Creative Director Johan Andersson outlines some of the coming changes.

And, even if you pass on buying Mare Nostrum, April 5 will also be the occasion for a substantial free update for all Europa Universalis players. This massive patch will add new features, which will enhance the player experience. The update will include:

• Map Expansion: Greater detail to Ireland and sub-Saharan African, especially in the Congo and East Central Africa, and new “States and Territories” system
• Espionage Reworking: Your diplomats can now build spy networks in enemy nations, from where you can fabricate claims on enemy holdings or undermine them from within.
• Interface improvements: Better tooltips overall, and naval blockades are now more obvious on the map
• Naval Combat Changes: better morale system and increased chance to capture enemy vessels
• And even more changes to game balance, AI and modding triggers

Price: €14:99 - Go to product page

 

[GizahNL]

Shut up and take my moneys!!!

How much of my moneys will you be taking though?

 

[romothecus]

Great! Can't wait to see all the bug fixes this will bring, too!

 

[grandadmiralbob]

Nice! Hyped for the map changes.

 

[thissideup]

14,99€/$! Woot!

I'd have guessed that the price tag will definitely be 20, with all the new additions and mechanics! Thanks!

 

[GiftGruen]

Shut up and take my moneys!!!

How much of my moneys will you be taking though?

Video says 14.99€.

 

[Phibs]

*winds up to throw cash*

May a cyclone of money descend on thee and cause thee whiplash!

 

[Golladan]

14,99€/$! Woot!

I'd have guessed that the price tag will definitely be 20, with all the new additions and mechanics! Thanks!

You mad. There are barely any new mechanics in the DLC.

 

[londoner247]

What is "Unconditional Surrender" in the context of this game, which Johan mentions briefly in the video? That's not been in any of the Dev Diaries or other stuff I've seen about Mare Nostrum so far.

 

[thissideup]

You mad. There are barely any new mechanics in the DLC.

Well personally I wouldn't say that a fairly big map expansion (including many new tags), changes to the oversea's mechanic, complete rework of espionage, rework of the navy system, completely new trade league mechanic and a new rent-out-your-army mechanic are "barely any new mechanics". But then again I was looking for exactly those mechanics ever since I got into that game...

 

[Arizal]

Did I heard in the stream yesterday that States were going to be based on smaller regions, or did I dream it?

 

[Golladan]

Well personally I wouldn't say that a fairly big map expansion (including many new tags), changes to the oversea's mechanic, complete rework of espionage, rework of the navy system, completely new trade league mechanic and a new rent-out-your-army mechanic are "barely any new mechanics". But then again I was looking for exactly those mechanics ever since I got into that game...

However the map changes, changes to overseas mechanic, complete rework of espionage and rework of the navy system are all in the free patch. Not the DLC. And free patch changes have no effect on the DLC price.

 

[Arizal]

However the map changes, changes to overseas mechanic, complete rework of espionage and rework of the navy system are all in the free patch. Not the DLC. And free patch changes have no effect on the DLC price.

Isn't the timeline in the DLC?

 

[Golladan]

Isn't the timeline in the DLC?

I believe so.

 

[thissideup]

However the map changes, changes to overseas mechanic, complete rework of espionage and rework of the navy system are all in the free patch. Not the DLC. And free patch changes have no effect on the DLC price.

Not entirely true. (a) based on the DDs, without purchase of the DLC you will not get a bulk of the espionage options (although if I remember correctly, back when the rework was announced, it was said without the DLC you will still have the old espionage system, it seems they changed that for compatibility reasons). Also the way I understood it most Navy options (like the Return-Home-When-Damaged-This-Much) is part of the DLC, only basically the morale and sailors systems are free.

(b) The contents of the free patch always influences how much a DLC will cost, because simply: how else would they be able to finance the free stuff? The simple reason why it is free is just compatibility - you cannot add new mechanics without changing existing ones. This is particularly true if you strive to balance the game for everyone to make it enjoyable. An example given multiple times that I've seen is in CK2 the retinue system. Although very nice in the eyes of the Devs, it made balancing the game in general much harder long-term, as it was only a feature of the Purple Pheonix DLC not the patch. In other words it's not mere benevolence why much new content is free, it's just necessity of PI's business model. So if you buy a DLC you always subsidize it's free content.

 

[imperial.]

I know for a fact people were complaining about the price of the DLCs. So knowing that Paradox has listened and taken this to account as well as the work they have put in always puts a smile on my face . Thanks Paradox. Will be purchasing your content as usual because you guys actually listen to us consumers. win/win.

( this is saying something from a person who boycotts a lot of companies.) Respect & Trust is a great thing to accomplish.

 

[Golladan]

Not entirely true. (a) based on the DDs, without purchase of the DLC you will not get a bulk of the espionage options (although if I remember correctly, back when the rework was announced, it was said without the DLC you will still have the old espionage system, it seems they changed that for compatibility reasons). Also the way I understood it most Navy options (like the Return-Home-When-Damaged-This-Much) is part of the DLC, only basically the morale and sailors systems are free.

(b) The contents of the free patch always influences how much a DLC will cost, because simply: how else would they be able to finance the free stuff? The simple reason why it is free is just compatibility - you cannot add new mechanics without changing existing ones. This is particularly true if you strive to balance the game for everyone to make it enjoyable. An example given multiple times that I've seen is in CK2 the retinue system. Although very nice in the eyes of the Devs, it made balancing the game in general much harder long-term, as it was only a feature of the Purple Pheonix DLC not the patch. In other words it's not mere benevolence why much new content is free, it's just necessity of PI's business model. So if you buy a DLC you always subsidize it's free content.

(a) Back when spy rework was explained in the DD, we were told it was part of the free patch. And we were told of 2 out of 4 spy actions that will require MN. Espionage rework is part of the free patch. Four spy actions (Sabotage Recruitment, Slander Merchants, Steal Maps, Corrupt Officials) are part of the DLC.

(b) There was a dev diary where Paradox told us how they price their DLCs. They told us that the free patch stuff is never factored into the price. So unless they're lying....


PS: Before someone starts assuming I'm arguing about the price tag. I'm not. I am only arguing against @thissideup's "I'd have guessed that the price tag will definitely be 20, with all the new additions and mechanics" comment. In other words, I'm arguing that the DLC doesn't include enough content for a $20 price tag.

 

[thissideup]

(a) Back when spy rework was explained in the DD, we were told it was part of the free patch. And we were told of 2 out of 4 spy actions that will require MN. Espionage rework is part of the free patch. Four spy actions (Sabotage Recruitment, Slander Merchants, Steal Maps, Corrupt Officials) are part of the DLC.

(b) There was a dev diary where Paradox told us how they price their DLCs. They told us that the free patch stuff is never factored into the price. So unless they're lying....

I stand corrected!

We never factor free content into the price - while Art of War came with a mega map rework, this had nothing to do with its $20 price tag, and neither did the Random New World rework influence the Cossacks price tag. We set our price purely according to the actual features you are getting for paying for them.

Must have missed that part. Although it does beg the question how they do finance free stuff then. So they might, as you have said, not factor the free stuff into the price tag, I do however still stand by the point that whatever you do pay for a DLC, you subsidize free content for the future nevertheless.

 

[Praetorian44]

It's great that they've made navies easier to manage, and have reduced the effectiveness of naval doom stacks. The sailors mechanic is great too. However, it is really unfortunate that they didn't do anything to change the fact that navies are largely irrelevant, and nowhere near as important as they were historically. Given that the focus of this expansion is the naval game, I really expected them to do something about the fact that I can have a world empire without a large navy to support it.

 

[Destinyfaker]

whats the price ?