Suggestion thread for fun *non*dramatic game redesign

[st360]

For people who don't know, yesterday a game developer said:

A dramatic design change for eu4 would be insanely risky right now from both a codebase and a player perspective.
Ideally I'd want to rip out lots of systems in EU4, and rework them, but with how things are, its not really feasible, not for the scope of this game.

In my opinion, the dev diary wasn't disliked because "its not a dramatic design change". Would populations and logistics in the game be cool? Maybe. But a lot of people just want a DLC where they can play EU4 slightly differently.

Remember when merchant republics where introduced? Instead of conquering land directly, you make vassal one province custom trade cities. You ally small countries in a league and have this weird powerful defensive alliance where your country is more focused on keeping a web of alliances than province blobing or having a big army.
When hordes where introduced you got a crazy government form where you conquer a province, loot it and then - often simply give it back to the enemy!
When China was introduced, you got a new type of loose vassal with big drawbacks but more valuable resources given to its overlord. I could go on, like confederacies or Aztecs needing to conquer and "collapse" to grow more powerful.

Even when people criticize these mechanics, its often a matter of number balancing (merchant republics are too weak, tributaries don't give enough resources).

People like "mechanics" like this because they change the way EU 4 is played. A new button that gives 30 majesty every 10 years doesn't do that.
Are these mechanics really that hard to code for today's EU 4? I know that the game is getting more complex, but trade leagues are basically just alliances. Hordes just have 1 button for razing and a weird legitimacy that goes down. Tributaries are just defensive alliances with vassal loyalty.

I get that game developers have to keep a higher standard than a mod, but there are amateur mods that have more complex mechanics than these.


I would like to say than I am NOT asking for migrating populations and dynamic trade good prices in EU 4.
Instead of "push a button for +5% more merchants" I just want a single, slightly more ambitious "government reform" that changes play styles up a bit:

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Naval DLC: With a new naval doctrine your armies get +5/10/15% morale in coastal provinces if the enemy nation is 50/70/90% navaly blockaded by your fleet.

Imperial DLC: Governing is easier, but you can only use vassal and tributary rulers as advisors and generals, with their stats deciding on how good they will be. Makes vassals angry or weaker, so you might not want the best person you could get.

Tribes DLC: You need to have 100% war score with 5 nations to fully raise tribal legitimacy, so you mind as well declare on the weakest enemy alliance web you can find. Both bonuses and penalties for tribal legitimacy are more impactful, since the rulers war glory is more important in tribes.

Colony DLC: Your reinforcements cost 20% less manpower and gold for every large protectorate you have in colonial areas, but you cant own land or vassals in colonial areas.

Espionage DLC: A idea group where you can declare a war for a diplomacy-slot-free personal union on every 4 province nation or smaller. They don't give you money or join wars and you automatically inherit them after 50 years. Its a pretty powerful way to expand, especially on nations with lots of cores to reconquer. Maybe you get penalties to diplomacy or army morale for dishonorable behavior?

Jains DLC: Declaring war gives -1 stability -30 legitimacy. Liberating nations gives +1 stability +20 legitimacy. Liberating nations and returning cores doesn't cost diplomacy points. Bonuses to vassal integration, penalties for conquering provinces.

Diplomacy DLC: At 80 prestige you can declare yourself a emperor of a super region (Siberia, North Africa, Subsahara, Indonesia) and try to diplomatically unite it (like a much simpler Holy Roman Empire mechanic). Defend the nations living there, and they will eventually join your nation willingly. Have a Indian continent HRE game, with a big bonus for successfully uniting your corner of the world in peace!

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Would all of these mechanics be too hard to implement? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm honestly asking. To me, a few of them even seem like less work than some Leviathan features.

What do you guys think? Post your ideas for simple new features that would result in reasonably different, fun, new playstyles.

 

[Piotrzeci]

I am not sure about it. I like unique playstyles, but a large portion of the playerbase judges it purely by how optimal it is and not just how it feels. I am not saying balance isn't important; playing something competitive is much more fun than overwhelming everyone or being underpowered, but it's not as important.

I don't like playing as a horde. The idea of razing development for short term gain hurts me and I hate being really large or running a deficit that is satisfied with profits from wars. But a lot of players enjoy them, because they are very strong.

I sometimes like playing a Buddhist nation, returning cores to my vassals and constantly breaking allies of my rivals by making them release nations with no DIP cost is quite unique, not optimal but unique.

I sometimes like playing as EoC, it's different and feels more like being this self centered isolationist Chinese empire than expansionist state like everywhere else.

I sometimes like playing as a Confucian nation and harmonizing faiths over time.

I sometimes like playing an Iqta and being heavy on having vassals which I get rewarded for.

And yet I so often hear that most of these things are dreadful, that as Korea you need to convert to Shinto ASAP, that as Manchu you never reform as to stay a horde, that Yuan needs to destroy EoC to avoid taking it, that playing a Reformed nations is a terrible idea...

I like unique mechanics even when they are little, but I don't think that it is how much of the players feel.

 

[Ninking]

Would love a Culture DLC which introduces dynamically created cultures and more fluid culture groups. Playing Sweden and turned Mexico into a colony? See the creation of Swexicans. Playing Lithuania and conquered Persia? Perthuanians!

 

[Livigy]

One simple to implement idea I would like to be expanded upon is having more decisions to pursue similar to confirm thalassocracy, sure it is locked behind an idea group people don't like but it does provide a bonus and an objective that anyone could achieve that could be replicated in other ways. For example the uniting a 'region' any region could provide a permanent reward for that region. Or even some weird pacifistic goal like have all tags in a subcontinent have over 100 positive relations with you as a diplomatic goal. Or maybe humiliate the same rival 3 times to create a stronger form of antagonistic relations or a permanent power projection bonus etc.

Sure it may not be a major mechanic change and it is just another button press but those small goals and incentives can open up different playstyles and act as encouragement outside of missions that can be applied to all tags equally. From what I gather from some of the negative feedback about the playing tall mechanics is the desire to have other peacetime/non expansionist goals and objectives to work towards and not have the focus on just development.