As much as I like the idea of mod-like DLCs to prolong the game's lifespan, I personally would rather see content based changes which focuses the player on unusual goals. In other words, a DLC which allowed actions which are not normally permitted or kept track of.
KEEPING TRACK OF NEW OBJECTIVES
- BLOOD FEUD - a DLC where the player took control of a member of one dynasty and was assigned the goal of wiping out another dynasty, whose AI was intent on killing the player's relatives. Now, this might just highlight the flaws in the assassination system, but it would be a mechanism the game doesn't track now, but could do pretty easily.
- BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE - If the HRE usually ends up with just two or three families, a political DLC could track and score the spread of power within the HRE (or Catholicism, or whatever). The player's goals would change to propping up damaged dynasties. Think of it as a continental England.
- MY FAMILY ROCKS - we probably do this already, but related to the balance game, increase the benefits of putting relatives on other thrones.
GIVING US NEW POWERS
- If the Aztecs can invade Europe, why can't I deliberately change the culture of my possessions or the borders of my de jure Kingdom or the religions of others? A DLC with options/buildings that allow the player to do certain ahistorical things that many of us try to do anyway would be interesting, at least to me.
- Bribing potential courtiers/spouses - I have zero problem with the main game limiting who we can pilfer from abroad, but pilfering is something people like doing, why not offer it as part of a DLC?
- Font research - let's face it, how many wars have started just so we can increase our font size on the map? Clearly, direct research should be permitted to cut to the chase. Better still, there should be a mission to reduce the font size of our rivals, mwahahaha!
- Collapse of civilization - yeah, we can't just DoW without a valid CB because our vassals would revolt at such un-Christian (or un-whatever) behavior. But what if Europe became, you know, evil? Or at least decadent. A DLC which replaced the normal rules of declaring war with something lessprissy exacting and rational, with attendant downsides to Feudal loyalty. Think of it as Mongol Hordes from Europe, Genghis Matilda, Kublai Norbert. No rules, just fight.
I think of these as like adding Capture The Flag type content to a normal shooter - give players another game style to allow him to keep playing the same basic game, but with new purposes. Maybe these ideas all suck
some might be just mods waiting to be rejected because they suck, but I'd like to see more than new names and artwork, or DLCs which have to make the same sense as the basic game. These couldn't really be part of a universal update. I also realize that mechanically some would make too basic a change and perhaps be broken by patches (pilfering spouses and courtiers would have to override future patches optimizing the mechanics to these things, for example), but some should be workable if they're interesting to players.
If DLCs can be wild in some ahistorical ways, why not get wild in ways that players have been trying to work around from the start?
KEEPING TRACK OF NEW OBJECTIVES
- BLOOD FEUD - a DLC where the player took control of a member of one dynasty and was assigned the goal of wiping out another dynasty, whose AI was intent on killing the player's relatives. Now, this might just highlight the flaws in the assassination system, but it would be a mechanism the game doesn't track now, but could do pretty easily.
- BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE - If the HRE usually ends up with just two or three families, a political DLC could track and score the spread of power within the HRE (or Catholicism, or whatever). The player's goals would change to propping up damaged dynasties. Think of it as a continental England.
- MY FAMILY ROCKS - we probably do this already, but related to the balance game, increase the benefits of putting relatives on other thrones.
GIVING US NEW POWERS
- If the Aztecs can invade Europe, why can't I deliberately change the culture of my possessions or the borders of my de jure Kingdom or the religions of others? A DLC with options/buildings that allow the player to do certain ahistorical things that many of us try to do anyway would be interesting, at least to me.
- Bribing potential courtiers/spouses - I have zero problem with the main game limiting who we can pilfer from abroad, but pilfering is something people like doing, why not offer it as part of a DLC?
- Font research - let's face it, how many wars have started just so we can increase our font size on the map? Clearly, direct research should be permitted to cut to the chase. Better still, there should be a mission to reduce the font size of our rivals, mwahahaha!
- Collapse of civilization - yeah, we can't just DoW without a valid CB because our vassals would revolt at such un-Christian (or un-whatever) behavior. But what if Europe became, you know, evil? Or at least decadent. A DLC which replaced the normal rules of declaring war with something less
I think of these as like adding Capture The Flag type content to a normal shooter - give players another game style to allow him to keep playing the same basic game, but with new purposes. Maybe these ideas all suck
some might be just mods waiting to be rejected because they suck, but I'd like to see more than new names and artwork, or DLCs which have to make the same sense as the basic game. These couldn't really be part of a universal update. I also realize that mechanically some would make too basic a change and perhaps be broken by patches (pilfering spouses and courtiers would have to override future patches optimizing the mechanics to these things, for example), but some should be workable if they're interesting to players.If DLCs can be wild in some ahistorical ways, why not get wild in ways that players have been trying to work around from the start?
