Economy Overhaul
In this version, the economy has been rebuilt from the ground up. Two new mechanisms are introduced: production and trade.
Production
Each tile has a tile output (grain, wood, iron ore and livestock), determined when generating the map. Upgrading tile production will increase the tile output. Part of the goods are paid in goods tax (10%-50% tax rate, adjustable) and the remaining can be used for production.
The production chain is managed at the provincial level - there's no need to micromanage each tile. Provincial production capacity can be increased by research or building (workshop). Goods tax also applies to each production.
The final tier of goods can also be used for a set of new actions that boosts Stability and War Power. Apart from production and actions, goods can be traded as well.
Trade
Merchants from provinces post trade offers every year. Every province has an export offer (Goods -> Gold), an import offer (Gold -> Goods) and an exchange offer (Goods -> Goods). Trade Capacity (how many goods per trade) and Trade Profit can be increased by research.
Each trade lasts for 5 years, and a new trade can be made every 2 years. However, when a state of war (direct attack or through war coalition) exists between your province and your trade partner, the trade will be cancelled immediately and the cooldown will not be reset. This brings more strategic depth to war, diplomacy, and economy.
Building Rework
Now each tile has a limited building slot, which can be increased by research. And instead of a fixed construction cost, buildings have a construction cost (which is much lower than before) and a monthly maintenance cost. With these changes, the "build them all" strategy no longer works. Instead, buildings need to be carefully planned based on tile and provincial needs.
Overextension Simplification
Previously, overextension includes governing overcapacity and all non-core tile upgrades. This makes coring a tile almost a no-brainer. To add more strategic layer, I am simplifying how overextension works. Now overextension only consists of governing overcapacity. And non-core tiles simply require more governing cost (+100%). With this change, if you have enough governing capacity, you might be able to put off coring a tile and spend your administrative point somewhere else.
Automation
To reduce the amount of micromanagement, I'm introducing automation in this patch. Automation is run every month, and there are two in this patch:
- Automatically Settle Unrest
- Automatically Pledge Support
Other Changes
- When revoking a social class privilege, there's no longer a loyalty penalty.
- Consul election is now every 2 years (instead of every year). It might not be historically accurate (Roman consul elections are annual), but game balancing needs to take priority.
- A new covert action, "Reveal Election Backing" is added - this will reveal a province's support in the upcoming election, giving you more information on how to best pledge your support.
Future Plans
With this patch, I feel the gameplay framework is in a good shape. Next, I am focusing on making more content, which includes more research, more buildings, more events. I am also adding more flavor content to each province. The goal is to have a public demo in June, which will focus on Lugdunensis.
The playtest is still on and is available to all. If you want to join before the public demo, join our Discord server and give me a ping!