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« on: October 15, 2016, 07:58:07 pm »
I've been considering if opening a new late medieval/early gunpowder BoP would be worth it. But before that happens, I'd like to gauge with the people who had played AoE or other similar BoPs how much interest they might have. Here's some of the ideas I've had for a new game:
- AI nations and units/armies would receive a slightly reduced success in mustering and combat rolls, meaning player controlled nations will have a slight advantage overy the AI. This allows players to take on ambitions that may otherwise be limited, but still give them a challenge in the process.
- Addition of governor roles in larger nations. For prime example, if the game started in 1650, Spanish Habsburgs would own Belgium, Naples, Sardinia, Milan, and some of Burgundy. However, those territories outside of Spain proper can be governed by players, who can then separate from the crown if they play their cards right, potentially taking other lands in the process.
- Expanding on the point above, I would like to see the addition of a Claims system. If you're not familiar with Paradox strategy games, a Claim is something you need in order to declare a war. However, a Claim in a BoP like this would act a bit different. There are three types of Claims; de jure, inheritence, and pacification. De jure claims include anything your active nation or character has a "national right" to. For instance, Prussia would have the de jure right to lands immediately between Brandenburg and Danzig (citations needed) that they do not already own. In the case of inheritence claims, a prominent member of the Habsburg dynasty could attempt to claim the Austrian or Spanish lands they don't already control, or even take the seat of the crumbling Holy Roman Empire. This can also be smaller, like one ruler wishing to take the lands their recently made dead relative once possessed. And finally, pacification claims can be gained by a nation that borders another nation that has declared a serious and unjustified war on another nation. While this type if claim does not yield the most reward in terms of land, it might help better the relations between your nation and your neighbors if you manage to muzzle a threatening nation. Of course, you don't need a claim to declare a war, but declaring wars without a claim may give a pacification claim to one or two of your powerful neighbors. Additionally, if you have a claim and press it, neighbors that would oppose that war and normally join in against you are unable to. To help start wars, each player can attempt once per year to fabricate a claim, typically with a low success rate.
- The Ottomans: Europe had sweated and bled over the Ottomans plans for controlling Europe, and for the Slavs, Germans, and Italians it was a big issue. In order to balance the game and control how nations would behave, I imagine the Ottoman Empire to be controlled by the AI, following events at certain times and receiving rolls similarly to how other AI nations would, meaning the Ottomans will likely win many battles and even wars at the start, but the more players involved in fighting against them, the bigger the odds are of them actually stopping it.
- Expansion on economy and technology. While not as complicated as it may seem at first, these two additions could add a lot towards a BoP. Simply put, each province will start with a set economic rating based on their real life equivalent's economy at the time. Generally, cities generate a lot of revenue, but require a siege to take (meaning the city will recieve a debuff if taken), while farmlands are required for large armies and development projects (like roads, bridges, etc.), and castles are typically an economic drain but obviously add to defense of a provence. A provence can have only one city if big enough, and up to five or so castles depending on its size, but the more defense there is, the more food and money the owner needs. A nations overall yearly wealth is shown in this equation: Treasury = (Average of all income sources - Costs for armies/construction) + Previous year's treasury. While that's how to conduct the wealth, the whole system would be a pretty simplified system until an exact amount of money is needed. For reference, in AoE, a nation like Sweden or even Venice wouldn't have to be closely tracked, but a nation like France or Switzerland would often need to be, as they had more investments being made in infrastructure, technology, and military improvement. The majority of the time, though, it will just be educated estimations. Better economies mean fuller treasuries, which means a number of things, including the affordability of technological advancements. The majority of these come in the form of military improvements, like better firearms and artillery and equipment for horseriding, but others include better roads and sturdier walls. Some can even be both; improving your fleet to both fight well and sail quickly for trade can improve both aspects (Galleons and Fluyts for example).
Of course, this seems way more complicated than other BoPs, but it would only be as in depth and complicated as an individual wants to play it. Let me know what you guys think.