Hey everyone, welcome to another Developer Diary! Before we get to the content, we would like to let you know that we have gathered a lot of feedback regarding last week’s Diary from various sources, and are extremely happy that the new Central European content generated feedback and positivity! Despite that, there have been some concerns and requests, so before we move on, let’s take a look at what has changed since then, thanks to this feedback:

• Hungary is now a (re)formable nation for tags with Hungarian or Transylvanian primary cultures.
  
• Hungarian conquest missions no longer require Hungary to be an independent nation, which should make them a much more attractive subject.
  
• The 'Serbian Despotate' Tier 1 government reform now grants access to the Order of the Dragon.
  
• We have added the 'Bohemian Commonwealth' optional cosmetic country rename as a reward of the namesake mission.
  
• The decision to form Romania was updated to account for the map changes introduced in Emperor. It now correctly requires the province of Tolcu instead of Silistria.
  
• The Aztec ‘Blood’ mechanic is now named ‘Tonalli’.
  
• The 'Tēlpochcalli' Academy Local Organization now gives a +5 Governing Cost Increase instead of -1 Building Slots in the entire area.
  
• The Personal Union Casus Belli on Poland for Austria requires them to have less than 400 development instead of less than 300, making it less harsh on the player.
  
• The 'Universal Empire' incident can now be acquired by a Spanish Emperor as well, and it should have harsher penalties.
  
• To address the concerns regarding the weakness of the Hussite HRE path and the princes converting to Protestantism, we have tweaked the event which will now make them less likely to convert if the player manages to convert a sizeable portion of the HRE to Hussite.

That said, let’s move into today’s new content, which is centered on very different Middle Eastern nations.

-------------------------------

One of the most requested countries, this last bastion of the Ayyubids is slated to receive a plethora of flavorful content. From missions to events, government reforms, and more, let’s take a deep dive at what’s in store!

Although the Ayyubids were of Kurdish origin, they were under ample Arabic influence, and most of their country was Arabic. In order to represent it, they have been given a new T1 'Ayyubid Dynasty' government reform, which negates the unaccepted culture modifier in all owned Levantine provinces. In other words, all Levantine cultures which are not accepted will be treated as accepted.




Note: As usual, all Art in the Developer Diary is placeholder.

Rounding off our setup changes is the new lore startup screen which explains the history of the dynasty from the Rise of Saladin until 1444 as well as the standard of Saladin, replacing the old flag. Lastly, Hisn Kayfa will gain access to the “Ayyubids“ cosmetic name which has been highly requested. It is unlocked through their new mission tree, and unlocking it will also empower your national ideas, akin to Great Armenia from King of Kings.



The mission tree was designed with flexibility in mind, allowing players to choose their path without being constrained to any specific outcome such as the formation of any tag. While there's ample content for those wishing to remain as the Ayyubids, players are also free to pursue other formables such as Egypt, Arabia, Timurids, Persia, or Mughals. The core focus of the mission tree revolves around restoring the Ayyubid Sultanate and vying for control of the Caliphate, offering claims stretching from Khorasan to Andalusia.

In regions historically not under Ayyubid control, the mission tree provides branching paths. Players can opt to conquer Persia and Anatolia for additional claims and temporary rewards, or alternatively, cultivate alliances in those regions and have allies complete missions on their behalf, unlocking enduring benefits. Approximately half of the missions are geared towards strategic development, including securing alliances, bolstering military strength, revitalizing Baghdad, controlling the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, and even constructing the Suez Canal.




The Ayyubids after recovering their hegemony over the Middle East!

-------------------------------

Hormuz & Oman, despite their geographical proximity in the Arabian Peninsula, showcase distinct playstyles shaped by their religious beliefs and cultural traditions. Hormuzi merchants wield influence across India, Persia, and Arabia, leveraging their trade prowess, while Oman is renowned for its shipbuilding expertise and stands as one of the two starting Ibadi nations in the game. In a manner reminiscent of the dynamics between Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu from King of Kings, both nations share a common end goal in their mission trees, yet their approaches feature subtle distinctions tailored to their unique attributes and strengths. Let’s take a closer look!



Given their aforementioned close proximity, Hormuz and Oman inevitably find themselves in a struggle for dominance as they seek to expand into Arabia and unite the peninsula. Despite their mercantile focus on expanding power in India and Southeast Asia, both nations recognize the importance of controlling their immediate surrounding provinces. Consequently, the rewards for uniting Arabia, while significant, tend to be more generalized to accommodate the broader ambitions of these trade-oriented nations.



The trade aspect of their mission trees introduces a new Government Mechanic known as 'Arabian Mercantilism' for both nations. This mechanic empowers them to enhance their merchants and overseas outposts, enabling them to efficiently direct the lucrative trade of Asia into Arabia without extensive overseas conquest:



The lower section of the tree delves deeper into this unique mechanic, offering missions that can be completed without the need for extensive territorial conquest, aside from in India. Rather, players must focus on accumulating trade power in specific trade nodes. The rewards are particularly enticing; players can trigger the Spice Trade event independently of European involvement in the Indies, and even enact Thalassocracy much earlier and without the necessity of investing in idea groups.



As we showcased at the beginning of this section, the Omani and Hormuzi content hosts key differences when it comes to their mission trees. As such, divergent paths emerge for tackling their respective challenges. For instance, Hormuz will bolster provincial trade power in their fortified provinces, whereas Oman will incorporate a more pronounced religious aspect into certain missions. However, both nations will share access to a distinctive reward: the ability to establish the 'Arabian Traders' privilege, granting players the freedom to select bonuses tailored to their strategic preferences:



On the right side of the tree, a distinct branch unfolds for each nation. Hormuz, leveraging its ties within the Timurid Empire, will find a dedicated path focused on Persia, recognizing its significance as a pivotal trade node in the region:



For Oman, the branch will center around their renowned establishment of the Sultanate of Oman-Zanzibar. Players will embark on missions aimed at asserting dominance over the trade in the region, while also laying the foundation for their own formidable marine corps:




-------------------------------

Historically, the rulers of Trebizond established a tradition of marrying into Muslim families, such as the Turkomen Aq & Qara Qoyunlus. This was a pragmatic solution to gain alliances to protect the declining Komnenid realm. Trebizond has received a new 'Empire of Trebizond' Tier 1 government reform as a part of the free update, which includes a new modifier that increases the heathen countries‘ opinion of Trebizond, and the owners of the DLC will also receive access to the new 'Heathen Royal Marriage' which will allow Trebizond to create royal marriages with heathens despite being Christian.




While extensive cultural or provincial overhauls are not feasible, we have introduced the Cappadocian culture. This culture can be established in Anatolia through the new mission tree of Trebizond, as well as via the King of Kings mission tree of Byzantium. Furthermore, in order to increase the representation of the Greek population in Anatolia, we have turned the province of Samsun into a Greek Orthodox province with a Trapezuntine core, since the province was only conquered by the Ottomans some 20 years before the start date. Lastly, Greek dynamic province names now also apply to Pontic and Cappadocian cultures.




The mission tree's central objective is the restoration of Byzantium. Progressing along this path empowers the 'Komnenian Restoration' modifier, which evolves with each completed mission. The culmination of this effort is the conquest of Constantinople, which permanently enhances the modifier, offering benefits to core creation cost, army tradition, and prestige decay. Additionally, forming Byzantium through the new Trapezuntine mission tree grants significant amounts of monarch power.




The Caucasian branch of the mission tree focuses on asserting control over the region of the Caucasus, offering players the option to achieve this goal through military conquest or diplomatic means, where allies control the territory. Each method of completion yields different rewards. Additionally, players are tasked with securing their Caucasian borders by pacifying the hordes to the north. This branch also introduces the ability to integrate the Georgian culture into the Byzantine culture group:



Some more highlights around the mission tree revolve around:

• Hellenization of Anatolia. Trebizond will be able to convert the Anatolian region to Hellenic cultures – Greek, Pontic, and Cappadocian through events.
  
• Referencing the historically close ties between the Komnenian dynasty and the Crusader states of the Levant, a small mission branch has been added. This branch involves liberating Cilicia, resulting in the local culture shifting to Armenian and excluding Armenian provinces from Hellenization events. The culmination of this branch is the liberation of the Holy Land, unlocking a Tier 2 ¡Crusader Nobility' reform with beneficial modifiers and allowing players to release Jerusalem as a vassal regardless of age and religion.
  
• Another branch of the mission tree focuses on Genoa and the recovery of Perateia, the Trapezuntine Black Sea colonies. Initially burdened with an estate privilege symbolizing Latin dominance over the Black Sea trade routes, Trebizond must either forge an alliance with Genoa or expel them from the region to rid itself of this constraint. Similarly, the mission tree presents various options for dealing with Theodoro, offering the chance to vassalize them through an event or to seize the province by force, unlocking a permanent local modifier.

-------------------------------

The Principality of Theodoro is one of the hardest starts in this DLC, having to combat the Hordes, the Ottomans as well as the Italians, they will have to use clever diplomacy and some newfound tools if they are to survive.



The mission tree centers on the expansion into neighboring lands. Players will have opportunities to subjugate the Tatars in the North and engage in conflicts with the Byzantines and Ottomans in the South, providing them with the option to proclaim themselves as the true emperors of the East. Additionally, they can utilize their connections in Russia to pursue diplomatic relations with the Muscovites, culminating in the 'Gothic Invasion'.

Starting missions will primarily focus on conflicts with Genoa. Historically, the Gavras dynasty of Theodoro experienced a gradual decline in influence, leading to their eventual annexation by the Ottomans. This will be represented through the introduction of a new privilege, the Italian Coastal Influence, which imposes penalties on sailors and trade power until resolved. Moreover, Genoa will gain 20 trade power in the Black Sea as long as this privilege remains active. These initial missions offer two paths for completion: either through conquest by expelling the Italians from Crimea or through diplomacy by fostering friendly relations with them.



Regarding their relations with the hordes, Theodoro takes a unique approach. Rather than focusing on the Gothic culture, which is only present in one province, they can opt to integrate with the Tatars. This strategy enables them to gain bonuses for their Cossacks and strengthen their steppe provinces economically.



Furthermore, as descendants of one of the Byzantine families that once served under the Komnenos, players will have the opportunity to press their claim and set sail south to conquer Constantinople. In doing so, they will earn various rewards aimed at demonstrating to the people of the Balkans and the Aegean the superiority of Gothic ways.



The image above highlights a distinctive tier 1 government reform, alongside a unique diplomatic action. However, in actuality, Theodoro has access to two tier 1 government reforms, the other being the 'Merchant Aristocracy'. Reflecting the quasi-republican nature of this merchant nation, this reform has been introduced, granting Theodoro the ability to establish trade posts and enhance their economic foundation from the outset.



The 'Recruit Foreign General' diplomatic action addresses Theodoro's historical reliance on hiring foreigners to lead their armies due to their minuscule population. While the use of mercenaries is represented through buffs in their ideas, the diplomatic action fills the gap for hiring foreign officers. With this action, players can pay an ally one year of their income, and in exchange, the ally will appoint a general for Theodoro's army. The general's stats will be influenced by the ally's army tradition and their opinion of Theodoro.



Given the Gavras family's ties to Russia, a small branching mission path is available, providing players with options for their Russian diplomacy. They can opt for a peaceful approach, forming alliances that culminate in the ability to recruit Streltsy. Alternatively, they can pursue a more aggressive strategy by pressing their claim to the Russian throne, leading to substantial expansion of their realm.



Finally, upon completing all tasks, players gain access to the 'Gothic Invasion' mission. After humiliating the Holy Roman Emperor and solidifying their position as an empire, they unlock a unique casus belli. The 'Gothic Invasion' casus belli functions similarly to the Imperialism one, with the distinction that it is limited to European provinces only.



Thank you for tuning into another Developer Diary, as always your feedback and comments are incredibly vital and appreciated as we fine-tune the content! Next week Markus will discuss and showcase new content around the Hordes of Asia!

And of course, today's diary wouldn't be complete without a Father Lorris comic:

Hello folks! Today's Dev Diary covers some key central European countries, Austria, Bohemia, Hungary & Germany.

As you can see, all of these countries received some Mission Trees before in the Emperor DLC. Therefore we decided that these nations should receive a touch-up, that is, an update similar in scope to that which Spain received during Domination. Thus, the main idea was not a total overhaul, but preservation of the core skeleton of their old tree, improving and expanding it where needed, and adding additional flavor and as many important historical things as possible that could not fit into their old mission trees.

Unfortunately, this Developer Diary is simply too long to share directly here on steam, so if you are interested,

To amend our misgivings of making you click links, we present you this weeks comics by FatherLorris:


Next week PDXBigBoss will be back with Hisn Kayfa, Hormuz, Oman, Theodoro and Trebizond. Have a wonderful day!

Hello and good afternoon! Today we will be taking a look at the content we have in store for Venice, Italy, and the Netherlands. All three of these countries have many gameplay aspects in common, trade, maritime prowess, and, to some degree, colonization. Either as important proponents of history, as is the case for Netherlands and Venice, or as valuable gameplay additions in Italy’s case, these countries are due to receive new content with the upcoming DLC.

Reaching its apogee of power during the 15th century, the Most Serene Republic of Venice is located in the heart of maritime activity, with a strong grip on its home end node. Following an illustrious history, La Serenìssima stands as one of the most influential Italian states. At the cusp of the Renaissance, the prosperity of the arts & culture gives way to the blooming and rise of new artists, architecture and traditions. To the south, the remnants of Rome are ripe for the taking, between the forces of the Republic and the Ottoman Turks. To the North, the imposing shadow of the Holy Roman Emperor as he struggles to maintain Italy in his decentralized Empire. The peninsula will soon be the home to a bloody struggle, as prospecting conquerors eye each other’s land with covetous greed. Venice’s content has been crafted with attention to detail, historicity, and the telling of a grand story around Italy’s most celebrated republic during the game’s time frame. Andiamo!



The new content for Venice comes packed with a tree armed with lots of new missions. These will branch and cover various aspects of the Republic’s history, ranging from the Italian wars, conquests in the peninsula and beyond, to maritime expansionism, internal development, the cultivation of the arts and culture, and even colonization. But wait, there’s more! Venice also now has access to a brand new government mechanic, the Council of Ten. Alongside that, the narrative of your game will be enhanced with the introduction of new events around Venice’s (and her people’s) most celebrated accomplishments ranging from theatre to Titian and the Loredanian Academy.

Starting off, the upper third of the tree will be focused on internal matters, starting with the introduction of the Council of Ten, your primary adversary in domestic affairs:


Note: Note: Historical insights is one of the grand themes of the content around Venice, showing the why’s and the how’s of various political, military and cultural events!


Note: ALL ART in this Developer Diary is placeholder.

Opposed to the Doge’s influence and attempts to lead Venice into wars or even autocratic rule, the Council’s Authority for Venice will commence at around 90%, placing the Doge in a difficult position. Throughout your play through, this mechanic will have a prevalent spot in your decision-making, and be affected by the various generic and unique events that may occur as well as mission rewards and interactions. Should the council’s authority surpass the 90% mark, it will forbid the Doge from commencing any offensive wars and have further severe repercussions, as shown above.

It is worth noting that a council would be more compliant and at ease, should the Doge’s stats are low, whilst a competent Doge will cause the Council to react, increasing its authority passively.

The three interactions tied to the Council of Ten are a representation of the ruling faction and its abilities. Venice has access to the Aristocrats, the Traders, and the Guilds. Each interaction is an exchange between the Doge and the faction in power. You grant them crownland and political power. In return, you may gain powerful short-term benefits:

Both the Aristocrats and Traders will demand crown land for their respective estate alongside monarch power, whilst the Guilds will demand Republican Tradition alongside monarch power. In return they will grant a great variety of bonuses that allow for versatility, from development in the capital, to government reform progress and even marines or galleys in Venezia. Along with the aforementioned grant of ships, troops, or development, the interactions will also lower the authority of the Council, with each faction having unique interactions available.

Moving on, a substantial amount of this branch’s missions are associated with historical events, showcased through their rewards:


Note: The second option grants the same reward. It goes into detail about Venice, architecture, and the Renaissance for those who wish to learn more about it!


Here are a few other missions and their associated rewards from the first part of the content:


The culmination of this branch ends with the event:





Note: Changed your mind after having the event and want your old colour/name back? You can do so with the “Restore our Name” / “Restore our Colour” national decisions!

And here are the ideas of the Golden Republic:


The second branch will deal with the outward expansion of the Republic, and the various fronts in Italy, the Mediterranean and beyond. Early on you will be tasked with choosing the specialization of your military, with options that range from favouring the land army, to favouring the Navy or Mercenary groups.

The Standing army branch will imbue your selection of current Military advisor with a powerful permanent bonus, as shown below:


Note: Hmm, maybe that Siege Ability needs some nerfing, 3%? What do you think?
The second mission will grant an interesting modifier for Venice:


The Mercenary path will improve the effectiveness of its associated Militarization mechanic and grant access to a unique new decision, turning Venezia to the administrative capital of your mercenary army:



The final possible path, focused on the Navy:



The conquest path involves many avenues for expansion, events and interesting modifiers:




The final branch follows an alternative-history path of Venice spreading its mercantile and maritime grasp beyond the Mediterranean, with routes to Aden, India, China, and even the Americas:



Finally, Venice has access to the “Into the Red Sea” mission which may facilitate and accelerate the construction of the Suez Canal in the Red Sea, allowing access to their fleets for exploration, conquest and trade purposes. The mission will require cooperation and alliance with the Mamluks, and the breakdown of diplomacy between the two countries will restore the Mamluk cores in the two associated provinces, leading to war:


Whilst we are on the Italian peninsula, let’s take a look at Italy herself. In line with the calibre of content featured in Domination, Italy is due to receive new and revised content. Many of the core tenets of the mission tree have been kept, but they have been revised and expanded upon, let’s take a look!



As in the Emperor variation, the mission tree places much focus on the restoration of the Roman Empire, unification of Italy both politically and economically and reforming the military. Besides that, there is a subtree concerning continuing renaissance and a branching mission tree about which of the two
end-nodes you choose to favour.

Structure-wise, the mission tree is quite similar to that of Byzantium, not just in the general theme of Roman Restoration, but also in the way it is designed. The mission tree makes use of evolving modifiers, incrementally building up the "permanent modifier" that is the reward for your efforts. Later missions in the conquest offer age-timed modifiers, encouraging swift and relentless conquests.
Get those modifiers while you still can!

The leftmost branch about Risorgimento forces you to develop your core territories in Italy Region and to
unite it politically. At the end of this tree, you shall claim your spot as one of the Great Powers:





The mission tree also has 3 missions about your military, starting with a possibility to maintain a Condottieri-based army then tasking you with modernizing the Galleass (increasing their available amount, their fighting power or allowing them to transport troops) and upgrading your Alpine defences. Here's the "Adapting Our Military" mission reward:



Before we move on, the other mini-branch left between us and the economic missions concerns the Renaissance. Your first mission tasks you with developing the Birthplace of the Renaissance (in this case Lucca) 10 times and requiring you to be ahead of time in all technologies:




Lastly, the missions about Economy & Trade, beginning with Economy. This portion of the mission tree is concerned with achieving parity between the economies of the north and south while also pushing Italian goods onto the world markets. Notable is also the inclusion of Camillo Benso Cavour as an Statesman advisor, who, while outside of the game's time frame, we found fitting to include due to his role in the Risorgimento and early politics of Italy.





Finally, the branching missions about trade. In order to get started, you need to gain a sizeable trade income of 300 Ducats, 30 Centers of Trade and 3 Trade nodes with at least 80.0% trade share, the reward mainly giving you the ability of to select your new mission tree:



Besides the mission tree you choose, your choice will also have an impact on the privilege you just unlocked! Let's go over the two branches, beginning with the Venetian branch, focusing on funnelling the trade from the near and further east to the markets of La Serenissima:



The Venetian Supremacy focuses on establishing the Venice trade node as the richest in the World and with at least 150 Trade Node Value, something you will probably be close to. "Eastern Markets" force you to dabble in the affairs of the Eastern Mediterranean, gaining 80% Trade Share in Egypt, Aleppo and Constantinople. Lastly, "The Journey to the East" requires you to build the Suez Canal and to funnel the trade from the West Coast of India through the Gulf of Aden, here's what rewards that brings you:



Let's explore the Genoese branch now:



This mission tree is in many ways analogous to the other one. "Western Favoritism" is the same as "The Venetian Supremacy" but refers to Genoa instead. "Plus Ultra" requires 80% trade share in Tunis, Valencia, and Sevilla. "The Italian Discovery" is all about creating a Colonial Empire in the New World. Here's what you might expect:


During the start date of EU4, the Low Countries were mostly under the Burgundian Crown, with only a few of them still independent. The nation of Utrecht is fighting against the growing influence of Philip the Good of Burgundy, while Frisia has established itself as a state with waning noble power for quite a while. For that reason, some of their starting minor missions will have a different reward depending on which nation you started as:






After unifying most of the Low Countries, and completing the above missions, you’ll be able to form the Netherlands earlier than usual. This was done in order to not block the player from getting access to the rest of the content, and continue on a flow of gameplay, uninterrupted by artificial barriers. The mission "Je Maintinendrai" will alleviate the Administrative Tech 10 requirement and grant you a bonus to your development cost, discipline and valuable claims to solidify your borders across the Low Countries region.



The moment you form the Netherlands, you will gain access to three missions revolving around competing against England. “Supremacy in the Channel”, “Relations in Britain” and “Glorious Revolution”. Once you completely overshadow England/GBR in every aspect of government (development, trade share in the Channel, etc.), you will be able to launch the Glorious Revolution and claim their throne.


Later on in your campaign, when you hit tech 20, should you have England or Great Britain as a Personal Union still, you’ll be able to form the United Crowns nation, with a unique colour, as well as unique ideas, as shown below.


Note; This will also be available in the base game

The ideas shown above (barring the traditions and ambition) are a pure mixture of the two nations and as the United Crowns, you will have access to the flavour of Great Britain, England and the Netherlands (such as events).

In 1441, during the Treaty of Copenhagen, the Dutch were able to secure the grain trade of the Baltic Sea. However, they had to pay a sizeable amount of reparations. For that reason, there is a branch dedicated to the Hanseatic rivalry with the option to gain more access in the Baltic through diplomatic means, or through the sword.



The Dutch had a unique character that pertained to the organization of their military. For example, the army they founded during the 80 Years War, the Staatse Leger, was a defensive force with impressive capabilities. Considering the size of the Low Countries, this force was able to react fast against an invading force. In addition, the Dutch were experts in the art of engineering. They established the Fixed Garrisons System that would delay any invading force, and men such as Menno van Coehoorn would be hailed as pioneers of modern siege warfare.



However, as impressive as the above may be, the primary focus of the Dutch military lay within its navy. From the Five Admiralties, which all had their own interests, to their all-purpose Flyut Vessels, to their grand admiral Michiel de Ruyter. The Dutch naval flavour focuses on dominating trade and crushing your maritime rivals, establishing an empire that rules throughout the oceans.



The 1.37 content for the Netherlands offers new tools for the player to engage in the development of urban cities across the Low Countries. As most Dutch players prefer a historical path which pivots towards a tall and colonial gameplay, new content in the form of reforms, missions and more has been added to add substantial depth and flavour during the game. Much of this revolves around the Dutch reclamation of land as well as the Seven Provinces on which the Republic organized itself.



The colonial flavour that the Netherlands has to offer is quite extensive. The mission branch will focus more on setting up outposts in order to reach the spice in the Indies. In addition, the Netherlands has now access to one of the most requested additions: The VoC. You can now establish the VoC as a Commercial Enterprise similar to the East India Company. I’ve also given them new Subject Relationships, allowing for customization of your new Commercial Enterprise.


Note: We opted to go for a light version of the typical Dutch colour.

Lastly, the internal management of the Netherlands has received additions. The Religious and cultural branch of the mission tree (Re-Organizing Clergy, Low Countries Universities, etc) now provides you with more tools to increase your tolerance of heretics and promote more humanist ideas, as were the teachings of Erasmus. There are mentions as well of the artistic achievements, such as their Baroque Architecture or the Northern Renaissance.


There are now more ways to play with Dutch factionalism. New Government Reforms have been added for the player to take sides with the Statists or the Orangists. There is also a small branch dedicated to this conflict between those two factions, and the rewards there depend on which one you decide to side with, maybe eat an opposing prime minister or two whilst you’re at it.



Note; This event will be part of the base game.

Lastly, the Netherlands now has more events, most of them revolving around Great Men and a few about some other Dutch architectural feats. These will also be available in the base game and are a great way to complement an already well-fleshed-out country like the Netherlands.


Note: These Events will also be available through the base game!

Thank you for reading today’s Developer Diary! We will be back next week with the countries of Austria, Germany, Hungary as well as Bohemia with Pintu!

Before you go! We have another absolute banger of a comic from FatherLorris:

While the European kingdoms are leaving the Medieval period and starting their centralization to the modern states, the New World these soon-to-be colonizers will discover is already home to other empires. The heart of Mexico is settled by the Nahuatl empire of the Aztecs, led by the great Moctezuma I who aims to centralize the Triple Alliance and establish a realm that drives fear to the hearts of its enemies. The Mayans, once controllers of the jungles of Chiapas and Guatemala have retreated to the Yucatan peninsula. Their once great realm is now splintered into a series of city-states, not all too unlike the Italian domains. In the heights of the Andes reigns the many different Inti kingdoms. One of them, Cusco, will be destined to unify the region under the rule of Pachacuti and his descendants, forming the first Incan Empire.

Welcome to our newest Development Diary for the upcoming DLC. Today, we will take a look at the content for Central and South America - namely the Aztecs, the Mayans, and the Incas. As always, all values you see here are NOT final. So without further ado, let us get started.

First, we shall take a look at Mexico and a few setup changes there:


The Mexico Trade Node has received some additional Centers of Trade, as well as a new province modifier added to a few selected provinces that represent the mining of obsidian. This is, however, only limited to those of the Mesoamerican technology group:


Next are some changes to the country of the Aztecs. They now start with the Empire rank instead of the Kingdom rank and their starting ruler, Moctezuma I, also starts with the guaranteed “Legendary Conqueror” personality trait.


However, the Aztecs were never as centralized as EU4 can realistically depict it. Historically, they were more an alliance of the city-states instead, though Moctezuma I was on his way to centralize the state. As such, the Aztecs also start with a new privilege:


Now let us take a closer look at the mission tree:

Note: Mission icons are still placeholders and will be of course replaced with the proper images for the release.

The mission tree is separated into 3 big chunks. The first block at the very top is about dominating the Mexican region, and as such is the main bulk of your New World conquest. The biggest highlight of this part is the opportunity to buff your Moctezuma progressively more as you continue through your missions.

Note: We might add a Monarch Lifespan modifier to these rewards so your Moctezuma can enjoy his newfound powers for a little bit longer. We also might consider changing his starting situation as a general into an event to further increase his survivability.

The second subtree is all about your government and, of course, your blood tribute to the gods. Some highlights from this part are the following:


Now a few of you might have noticed that certain keywords such as “Blood” and “Mesoamerican Tributaries” have been mentioned. These are part of the new government mechanics the Aztecs will now start with:

Note: The art is still work in progress.






The “Demand Sacrifices” peace option always requires a 50% War Score and grants 10 Blood.


Next are the Mesoamerican Tributaries which is a new subject type available to all Mayan and Nahuatl countries. You establish them with a new peace treaty:



They act just like normal tributaries, though you can sacrifice their ruler and you can annex them. On that note, all of your conquest missions in Mesoamerica can be completed via these tributaries or vassals.

Last but not least, the final subtree is all about the economic and military affairs of the Aztecs. I should also probably mention here that there are no Jaguar special units and a tease for them was not intentional whatsoever. With that being said, here are some highlights of these missions:


Note: these missions are more long-term based as you will require some higher advanced technologies to complete them. Also, the Telpochcalli Academy will probably have its Possible Number of Buildings penalty replaced.

Before we move on to the next country, one quick note for all the non-Aztec Nahuatl countries: as there was time for only the Aztec mission tree itself, every Nahuatl country gets a decision to adopt the Aztec mission tree if they conquer the Aztecs and own the Mexico provinces themselves.


Moving on to the Mayans, every Mayan country gets a small mission tree at the start which helps you out for the formation of the Mayan Confederation:

Note: With “Venus” we mean the planet Venus. That was localized before finding the name “Chac Ek” or “Noh Ek” to use instead. Will be fixed before release.

Highlights of these missions are the “The Sign of Venus”, “Campaigning Season” and “Reforming our Society” which have evolving rewards. Every time you unlock a Religious Reform, these three missions get reset (in other words “un-completed”) which allows you to complete them again. Their evolving modifier gets upgraded whenever you complete the missions again.

Another change to the Maya formable is that you now need only 2 Mayan Religious Reforms instead of the full 5. However, forming the Mayas will still be rather painful as whenever you enact a new Religious Reform you get a 5 year penalty to your Manpower Recovery Speed (-10%) and your Harsh Treatment Cost (+100%) which also disables the ability to Increase Autonomy and manually decrease War Exhaustion. You also gain +3 War Exhaustion whenever you undergo a reform.

Once you form the Maya you get the following mission tree:

Note: we are aware of the mission title leaving the GUI here. Will be fixed before the release.

Similar to the Aztec mission tree, the Maya one is about unifying Mesoamerica under your banner, as well as focusing on the economic improvements of your empire.

I will focus now on mentioning some highlights of the mission tree which are the following missions:




With that, we finish the Mayans and will now take a closer look at the Incas. The first thing that needs to be mentioned is that the map of the Andes does NOT get any additional provinces or tags. This also means that there are no new wastelands too. There are, however, some small setup changes. Similar to the Aztecs, Pachacuti starts with the “Legendary Conqueror” personality trait but has been reduced to a 4/3/5 (down from 5/4/6). The missions Cusco has received are similarly structured to the ones of the Aztecs as they buff your starting ruler:


Some early highlights in the mission tree are the following:


The decision to colonize the provinces requires you to defeat the local tribes and have 50 Ducats ready. Using the decision will then start a Frontier Colony in said province, and this decision can go far along the Andes as you can see in the following screenshot:

Note: All the green-striped provinces are ones you can colonize via the decision.[/center]

Additionally, you also have access to the following estate privilege:


Once you form Inca you gain the following mission tree as a whole:


While you have the original Cusco missions about the conquest, you also get four additional, smaller subtrees that have their own focus.

The first small subtree is about the Mitma - a policy of forced resettlement of the border provinces. The highlight here is the following reward:


Another subtree is about the religious nature of the Inca, highlighted by the following reward:




You might now notice that “Regenesis of History” mentions “Mummified Rulers”. As you can see, the Incan religion has an interesting and unique quirk which is the fact that your dead ruler is de jure still alive. They get mummified and continue to participate in all of your governmental activities. To represent this in EU4 you will now always trigger the following event upon your ruler’s demise:


The third subtree is about gold, idols, and economy represented by the following mission rewards:

Finally, the last subtree focuses on developing your lands and your military, giving you the following rewards:


And with that, we conclude the Incan missions. However, we are not entirely done as all the aforementioned countries get one mission subtree which is all about the so-called Sunset Invasion:


These missions are always at the very bottom and follow one major theme which is the invasion of Europe and Asia by the American powers - both main culprits of colonizing the new world in many EU4 campaigns.

I won’t go too much into detail with those missions as they are mostly focused on large conquest campaigns. However, some rewards are worth mentioning:


Last but not least, Fatherlorris' comic:


That was it for this week. Thank you all for reading today’s Development Diary! My colleague Big Boss will continue next week with a DD on the Netherlands, Venice, and Italy.

Hey all! Community Ambassador Ryagi here. EUIV has been busy preparing for 1.37, for more on that check out our 1.37 roadmap Dev Diary. But today we're not here to talk about what we have in store, but what some of the creative EUIV's modders have been cooking up! This time we're covering a brand new Alternate history total overhaul mod, Gods and Kings:




Gods and Kings started out as a personal project between a few friends. We wanted to create a mod featuring a more expansive and better representation of various religions around the world. In fact, the working name for the mod was More Religions until just before release. This idea expanded towards an alternate timeline which can better serve the interests of showcasing different faiths. As we developed the setting, we moved toward focusing on things that are rarely usually discussed in these alternative history mods: a directed focus on the Early Modern period, rather than calling back to earlier times. A lot of us are history buffs, and our team has knowledge that covers most of the major areas.


As the name implies, we have worked on both the secular and spiritual side of the world, as can be seen here in the map. We have a completely redone world map, politically and demographically, with few regions left untouched. Nearly every region was set up to include some kind of interesting way of playing out, either as a “narrative,” or for potential gameplay.

With over a thousand provinces added, the scope of our mod is truly global in what it seeks to change.

You can fight for the philosophical and religious destiny of China or lead the Holy Roman Empire to greatness as a Polish emperor. Reunite the nomadic tribes from the western Blue Horde to the eastern Northern Yuan, or colonize the new world of Reisland as the prosperous Mali or Japanese Empire.

The focus of our mod was to create something familiar but foreign, but with more in depth global representation, we decided to increasingly make the world of Gods and Kings less eurocentric.
This is done through the institutions, trade nodes, and colonial powers. Gameplay wise, we are more aiming for a Vanilla (But More!) experience and not aiming for any extreme overhauls.

We have added in several new institutions, which start in the east and the spread in the west. We added in new trade nodes, focusing on the rise of colonial powers outside of Europe such as Mali and Japan, and have added in new colonial regions to reference that as well.






The first and foremost aspect of our mod is the sheer amount of new religions we have added in - from the old Christian heresies to esoteric Buddhist cults and many flavors of paganism, there are many to investigate. I will showcase five of them here, with some unique mechanics.

Qizilbashi

A sect representing the form of Islam as propagated by the Safavid Order of Ardabil. Centered on the city of Ardabil, propagandists have brought the faith to large swathes of Turkic tribes in northwest Iran and eastern Anatolia, known as the Qizilbash. This religion utilizes a reworked Guru mechanic.

Shinbutsu

This religion is an amalgamation of the various schools of Buddhism in Japan, from Zen to Pure Land, that existed alongside traditional ancestor worship. It is located entirely within Japan. This religion reworks the old Isolationism to represent the syncretism of Japanese faith and local traditions.

Tengerleg Shashin

The culmination of years of interfaith dialogue & tolerance. The Divine Faith of Tengerleg Shashin seeks to bring together the various faiths of the Empire into one syncretic belief. Tengerleg Shashin is built on the central belief that there is no incorrect path to ascertaining the noble truth of God.

Maitreya

The Maitreyan faith is a branch of Buddhism centered around the millenarian Bodhisattva Maitreya, who shall appear when the world is the farthest away from the Dharma and bring it back into the light. A prominent force in the Red Turban Rebellions, the movement remained prominent throughout the 13th and 14th centuries and found its home in the southern Song state by 1444. It utilizes an entirely new mechanic - the Maitreyan Authority mechanic, granting rewards for the player to discover on their own!

Fraticelli

Fraticelli were a sectarian group that split from the Franciscans on grounds concerning apostolic poverty. They were declared heretical near the turn of the 1300's but continued to expand within the religious communities, especially the more ascetic types. In the current version of the mod they utilize fervor mechanics, but they have a new mechanic in development, the Apostlic Poverty Mechanic. Although we are showcasing it under Fraticelli, this will be a shared mechanic between Wycliffite (Lollardy), Adamites, and Waldensian as well.


Religious Schools
Eagle eyed readers will have probably noticed the religious schools in each of those shots - almost every religious group now has access to this mechanic, ranging from local catholic traditions to language or cultural practices!



We have a decent amount of content already in the mod. These range from mission trees to disasters and flavor events. We have large scale disasters such as the Hotoku War in Japan, a large scale rebellion against the dominant Emperor of Japan.


Meanwhile, across the pond, major battles occur during the Hungarian Civil War, rocking the heart of central europe as each faction vies for power.


In addition to these changes, we have also updated some core mechanics. Trade Goods have been expanded to include new items such as Rice, Saffron, Cheese, and many more.


Many of these trade goods are natural - some, however, must be spawned in using Goods Upgrade buildings, a new feature to improve and change trade goods.


By building a Winery building you can turn a simple Rice producing province…

…into a Rice Wine producing province!


We hope to represent a more tailored flavor in economic events and missions with these simple new additions!


The tags highlighted here already have completed mission trees - each with different events, rewards, and flavorful mechanics to go along with them. The tags shaded have a unique generic mission tree shared with regional tags.


Sicily:
[expand type=details][/expand]

Navarra:
[expand type=details][/expand]

Song:
[expand type=details][/expand]

Byzantium:
[expand type=details][/expand]

Ifat:
[expand type=details][/expand]

1.1 - Monarchs and Messiahs

Yesterday, February 29th, we launched our 1.1 Patch. Here are a few of the updates in it!

Mali - The Golden Empire
With the discovery of the new world just beyond the horizon by Mohammad Qu in the 14th Century, Mali is geared to expand and conquer the new world, becoming a colonial powerhouse while integrating the Farma, local officials and rulers for the region.



Balkh - The Sons of Negudar
A remnant of the Mongol Invasions, the Qara‘unas seek to unite their realm and prevent it from fracturing - before preparing their fated conquest of India.


Mae Nam - Sons of the Mother River
The faithful of Mae Nam seek to defend their great river from the prying hands of the Khmer - all while seeking to expand their religious traditions and ways.


Qurtubah - The Heirs of Al-Andalus
With the failure of the reconquista, the taifas that emerged at the end of the Almohad Empire have had time to coalesce and unite under a single banner - and with this, they seek to conquer Iberia, and bring it under their heel.


Overall, our 1.1 Patch has added dozens of new government reforms, over a hundred events, new mechanics regarding Factions and the minting of coin, and even a brand new religion mechanic.


Gods and Kings is the product of developers who really want to add more to the experience, and we do that by contacting and working with amazing artists to help fully flesh out the mod.

The mod features over 50 new religious icons, drawn by both the fantastic Nametag and Claivin.

We also have some Great Projects that have artwork done in house

The Castle of Carcassonne

The University of Oxford

The new update will change some things - for example, Mission icons will get a unique coloration.


Similarly, we will have unique Faction Art for both Mali and Egypt




We even have our own theme song, created by Utopia himself March of the Divine.

Please check out his channel!

Gods and Kings is still a very new project, so please stay tuned for new stuff - announced and unannounced. We have just released our 1.1 update and would love new players! If you want more updates:
- Join our discord
- Check out Gods and Kings on the steam workshop
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114240232

Thanks for playing!

Hello, and welcome again to a new series of EUIV Dev Diaries! For those of you who don’t know me yet, I joined Paradox Tinto a couple of years ago as QA, and I’ve transitioned in the past months to the position of Associate Producer. I’ve been pretty much involved in the development process of the new content for the 1.37 update, in a very exciting (and different) experience from my previous duties as QA. For this Dev Diary, I’ve synced with @Pavía, our Content Design Coordinator, to speak about the new content.

So, it’s been some time since the last DD, but we now are ready to start sharing with you the plans we have set for the upcoming DLC. We’ve learned the lessons from the development of King of Kings, and we’ve decided to start today by showing the overall plan for the new content, to correctly set the expectations about what to expect from the start. Without further ado, there will be 3 main areas we want to focus on: America, Central Europe, and Central Asia. Let’s start, then!​



Although the American nations received new mechanics and features in some previous DLCs (Conquest of Paradise, El Dorado, Golden Century, and Leviathan), we thought that it probably was the region with the most outdated content in terms of flavor, so a new revisit to it would be very much on point. The focus for it would be similar to that of the previous DLCs, from Origins to King of Kings, aiming to get more depth and replayability to nations with already well-established mechanics, such as the Incas or the Aztecs. On top of this, we also wanted to add some more additional content in Central America to the Mayan area.

You may have noticed that we’ve not mentioned any Colonial Nations, and that’s on purpose. Leviathan already implemented a new set of mechanics for them, and we feel that the experience of adding more flavor to play with any of them wouldn’t be so rewarding compared to other nations, so we decided to skip them, to be able to devote more development time to other regions that had also been very requested by the players.​


The Andean Empire of the Incas was a great pre-Columbian nation with a rich history that was not fully portrayed in EUIV until now. With the release of this new expansion, the Incas will be able to experience new missions that involve unifying their land, exploiting the gold and valuable resources produced in the Andes, honoring the sun god Inti, and preparing for upcoming invasions.


The valley of Mexico has a clear dominant power. The Aztecs have recently established their domain and their specialized troops, such as the mighty Jaguar Warriors, are determined to control all of Mesoamerica. With the new DLC, we are going to emphasize and recreate the differences between them and their neighbors, allowing them to expand their control and create new tributaries using the Flower Wars, offer fresh blood sacrifices, and prepare the Aztec society to face the newcomers from Europe.

​

The main purpose of the gameplay with Mayans will be to prevent the full collapse of their civilization, in the so-called Post-Classical Age. To do that, we are giving them more flavor and paths to unify all their neighbors under one ruler, taking advantage of the Yucatan jungle and the profitable trade in the region, while setting new objectives outside of it.



We’re back in Europe, again! Why is that, you may wonder? The main reason is that we had plans to develop even more content initially planned for Domination, but we had to prioritize the countries properly to ensure that we would get them in for the DLC. That’s why we decided to cut some of the initially planned content and wait for a better moment that would allow us to fully develop our initial design ideas. The time for it has come, and we’ve focused on 3 areas in this region. On the one hand, in the Empire itself, the Netherlands is receiving content in line with what a Great Power deserves to have, while Austria is also receiving an update in line with that of Prussia, as the previously existing content from Emperor was quite wide; this is complemented with more content for the Germany formable country. The second area is Italy, in which we’re also adding more content for Venice, one of the most popular Merchant Republics, but also for the formable Italy country itself, which will add a layer of gameplay to the different Italian countries. Finally, we’ve also reviewed the content for Eastern Central Europe, essentially for Bohemia and Hungary, which will be potential candidates to become a Great Power if deciding carefully which path to follow.​


The forums have been flooded with requests for more content related to the Netherlands in the past few years. It is fair because as we said, it was in our initial plans for Domination; therefore, we’re now adding a substantial amount of new content. The Netherlands had a powerful presence in trading through the merchant and war fleet, and we aim to enhance their abilities to control the most important trade nodes, interact with other great powers of Europe, colonize while setting the unfamous VOC and WIC while promoting the Dutch culture to a new level.


The Habsburgs were always ambitious, seeking more power and control. With the introduction of the new mission tree, the Holy Roman Emperor will now have more ways to deal with both internal and external vassals, allowing them to extend their control over territories such as Hungary, Bohemia, Naples, Burgundy, Castile, Poland, and more. To manage all these thrones, unique features will be added to Austria, allowing them to interact with their junior partners. Additionally, a new formable will be created that may create some headaches for the Austrians.


As with the soon-to-be-mentioned Italy, the primary objective of the German content is to enhance the late-game experience. Germany would need to unify their region, conquer neighboring lands, industrialize their cities, and manage any revolutions that may occur. It is worth noting that there will be variations in the flavor of the game depending on the specific German country that manages to unify all the land, creating some different gameplay from this.


The Most Serene Republic of Venice was one of the most prominent nations in 1444. With the Renaissance in full swing, we have added new missions, events, and more content to interact with various illustrated characters, while reaping the benefits of their mighty trading fleet. Even if Venice can expand its trading empire across the Mediterranean, it might not be enough, and they may need to explore new territories beyond their current reach to further bolster the positions of the Serenissima.

​

We’re trying to address some of the shared requests for Italy, making for a longer campaign, with more diverse gameplay options. In the new DLC, we are trying to solve this issue and give extra flavor to the Italian nations that finish their missions trees and more. While not being a historical country in our time frame, their scope will be a mix of historical borders and goals plus an extra of what ifs regarding their glorious past. The main paths are going to be the conquest of the rest of Europe and becoming the true Roman successor, industrializing the Italian Peninsula, and dominating global trade.


In the Hungarian mission tree available with Emperor the main focus for this country was about conquering the Balkans. However, with the new expansion, we’ll improve it to provide more options to increase the Hungarian control over neighboring regions. To achieve this, Hungary would need to confront Poland, Austria, the Ottomans, and other further territories such as the Teutonic Order and Naples. But, at the same time, they must also take care of their internal affairs by improving infrastructure and strengthening the economy.


Bohemia is a nation that has not been significantly changed for some time. However, with the new update, we plan to introduce better and more engaging missions that allow Bohemia to interact with the Holy Roman Empire and make the Bohemian crown a main contender for it while improving the Hussite Wars outcome, and giving a deeper touch to the religion and the kingdom. Additionally, we are expanding the options to expand the domain of Bohemia to include the Balkans, Germany, Poland, and beyond.



The final region we’ll tackle is Central Asia. This is also a legacy of previous designs that initially we’d like to implement both in Domination and King of Kings, but that we had to skip in favor of the other countries. We have a divide between countries aspiring to become Great Powers (the Timurids and Mughals), the Hordes (for which we’ll implement differential regional content and branches), and some Middle Eastern player and dev favorites that we were very requested in the past few months: Hisn Kayfa, Hormuz & Oman, and Trebizond. And, of course, we also have Theodoro! It might not be either in Central Europe or Central Asia, but… Well, maybe with their new content, they might be a power to reckon with in these regions…​


The descendants of Timur start in a precarious situation. With the new design, we aim to recreate the administrative chaos that was due to the Mongol succession laws. If they manage to overcome the myriad of successor estates existing around the death of Shah Rukh, their fates are going to be attached to the paths they decide to follow. Create a new Nomadic country, being able to reclaim their ancestral lands, or accept new traditions and try to consolidate a new domain and power in Persia.


This Gunpowder Empire born from an offspring of the Timurid dynasty is primarily focused on conquering the Indian subcontinent. However, we aim to incorporate a new flavor that would allow for a more interesting management of their internal affairs, such as the mansabdars. Additionally, the Mughal Empire will undertake new goals to enhance its economic and cultural standing.


The nomadic lords of the steppes are an important addition to the content of this DLC. We have decided to make some of their goals accessible to all the Hordes, while other parts of the content will be exclusive to specific regions. Therefore, the Western Tatars, Central Moghulistan, and the Eastern Mongols will have new paths enabling them to conquer new lands and raze them to the ground, as a proper Khan should aim to do!


The golden age of the Ayyubid dynasty came to an end a long time ago. Hisn Kayfa is surrounded by heathens, pagans, and minor dynasties, but also by powerful countries ready to crush them if not prepared to tackle them. To restore the former glory of the Caliphate and reclaim Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, Saladin's legacy requires a more ambitious mission tree.


The once powerful and prestigious Komnenoi family now only retains their name. Trebizond has lost its dominance in the Black Sea, and the remnants of the Byzantine Empire are close to collapse. However, they might still be able to reclaim their lost territories, extend their control over the Black Sea and Anatolia, and take back Constantinople, either from the Palaiologos or from the heathens.


Theodoro is a nation that faces a challenging start. To survive, they must defeat neighboring Hordes, Turks, and Slavs. The new campaign will enhance the flavor of this heroic contender for the control of the Black Sea. Raise the banners, and a new Gothic invasion might go on once again!


The prosperous nations of Hormuz and Oman in the Arabian Peninsula have mainly relied on trading within the Persian Gulf to prosper and become wealthy entrepots. However, with the new opportunities presented to them, they might be able to expand their horizons and potentially establish a global trade empire that controls the trade and land in Arabia, East Africa, and India, extending their influence across the Indian Ocean.


That’s all about the new content for 1.37! Thanks for those of you reading us again, we’re very excited about receiving your feedback about this roadmap! And next week, we’ll start with proper development diaries, showcasing the new content for America: the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas! It will be a meaty Dev Diary, for sure!

*Edit* A post publishing addition for you, as a new FatherLorris comic just dropped!

First, a quick announcement for those who have been waiting: we will be starting dev diaries back up again next Tuesday 27th! We’re excited to begin sharing with you all that we’ve been working on since King of Kings.

With that aside, another announcement to let you know that we’ve just released another community music back - EUIV: Sounds from the Community: Kairi Soundtrack Part III.

This new Community Music Pack includes 13 new songs from Skye Kairi Sawler, a composer previously featured in two other music packs for Paradox Interactive’s flagship historical grand strategy game.

Inspired by the soundtracks of classic strategy games from the late 1990s and early 2000s, Kairi draws on the music from the many cultures you can play in Europa Universalis IV, crafting a musical landscape that mixes themes from Eastern and Western music in a way authentic to the Europa Universalis IV experience.




https://store.steampowered.com/app/2591320

We've just released some beats to revoke the privilegia to with the Europa Universalis IV: Utopia Holy Roman Empire Music Pack.

We’re excited to have teamed up with composer Utopia and producer George Hammond once more to bring you these tracks inspired by the mighty Holy Roman Empire. This music collection adds ten new songs to EUIV that highlight the vibrancy and majesty of the HRE at the peak of its power.

We hope you enjoy this music pack, guaranteed to rouse the conqueror within.

Listen to a preview here:



Here are some words from the creators - plus some links to where you can find more of their work:

===========

"Greetings Emperors!

George and I have been cooking up a special treat for you to finish off 2023! This is a pack of ten original songs that covers some of the most iconic moments in the Holy Roman Empire's early-modern history. There are five intense tracks for war, and five gentle tracks for peace; all ten integrating seamlessly with the existing game music. You will hear the Prussian space marines come rolling in; you will hear the mighty pen of Austrian Diplomacy as it strikes yet another strategic manoeuvre; and you will hear the legacy of Holy Roman Emperors past, present and future come forth to celebrate your next coronation.

Production of this music has been a huge undertaking, and George and I have really enjoyed bringing this to reality. The end product is far deeper and richer than I ever imagined, and is a nice nod back to the original magic of Utopia. So join us! And immerse yourself with the power and glory that your most Holiest and most Roman Empire deserves.

Enjoy!
~ Utopia"

Utopia's website: https://utopiamusic.net/

===========

"It’s really exciting to finally be able to share what Utopia and I have been hard at work on over the last few months, and I really hope that you all enjoy the music! It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Utopia and Paradox on this project, and it’s an experience I’ve learnt a lot from. Utopia and I have painstakingly worked to create these 10 tracks for you all, going backwards and forwards over every little tiny detail, but we can confidently say that the final result is a thousand times better than what we could have ever imagined when we first started working together.

I especially found it very fascinating reading up on the history of the Holy Roman Empire and the German nations within it in preparation for this set of tracks, and it was really interesting to see how Utopia had interpreted the events and institutions of the HRE in his music, and this is one of the main things I’ve loved about my work on these projects, as it’s so inspiring listening to and sharing different methods and ideas with other composers, and seeing the work that results from working together.

To a happy 2024!
~ George Hammond"

George's website: https://georgehammond.myportfolio.com/

===========


https://store.steampowered.com/app/2602580

Greetings everyone! It’s been a while since the last Europa Universalis IV Developer Diary, but we didn’t want to end the year without reaching out one more time, in order to share with you a retrospective view not only of 1.36 and EUIV: King of Kings after its release, but of what has happened to EUIV in 2023 as a whole. Let’s get started!




Last week we released patch 1.36.2, fixing several issues reported after 1.36 ‘Byzantium’ release. We’re so far quite happy with the stability and level of quality of this update, so we’ve decided this will be the last patch for it. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t issues that need to be fixed, or that there aren’t going to be any new ones that arise; but we will be tackling them in the 1.37 update, which is planned for the first half of 2024.

Apart from that, we’re quite happy with the reception of the King of Kings Immersion Pack. It has reshuffled new content to a region highly demanded by the community, and we think this is reflected across several aspects, from direct community feedback to the number of players, etc. We’re very thankful for that! And as there were demands for more Middle East-focused content, we'll definitely work on that in 2024.




We also released in April the other main Expansion of this year, EUIV: Domination. It was very different from other previous ones, as it was thematically focused on most of the Modern Age great powers at once, for which we created a great amount of content. It was released along with a quite ambitious update, 1.35 ‘Ottomans’, as touching so many different regions and aspects of the game at once made balancing one of the most challenging issues to tackle on it. As we were aware of this, we planned for a longer Post-Release Support, and we were able to release 3 hotfixes and 2 patches up until early July.

Nonetheless, Domination was a total blast for us, as it allowed us to work and update the content for the most important countries in the game, something very demanding, but rewarding as well. And, again, we need to thank the community for the reception of this DLC, as it was a great success!




This year we released two standalone Music Packs. The first was the free-to-download 10th Anniversary Community Music Pack, a remaster of 10 songs composed by Utopia and produced by George Hammond to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the game. The other is Utopia’s Holy Roman Empire Music Pack, which we release this Thursday, December 21st! Great music that comes from the EUIV community itself.




A new experimental type of DLC that we released in June was the History Lessons for China and Japan. Available in the game’s internal music player, we collaborated with two experienced podcasters, Laszlo Montgomery from ‘The China History Podcast’, and Isaac Meyer from ‘The History of Japan Podcast, to craft them, and approach a new immersive experience for the game - listening to a History podcast while you play it!


This year was marked by the great milestone of the 10th Anniversary of Europa Universalis IV. Johan, the game’s original and current Game Director, made a retrospective of its development back in August. I just want to add on top of that that it’s been a great pleasure and honor for the whole team of Paradox Tinto to have worked on it since the studio was founded, working closely with the other involved Paradox departments.


Having the opportunity to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the game, our Community Team organized different activities during the month of August to get even closer to the community. The main one was the launch of a new official server on Discord, making for a new place to engage with other players and fans of the game, and with us, the developers, as well!

Other than that, the community could also celebrate its passion for the game in yet another edition of the Grandest LAN hosted at the magnificent Czocha Castle, in Poland. Our friends at Turbolarp prepared yet another great edition of the yearly EUIV event, and both the players in the castle but also those watching the streams at Twitch could experience another amazing and fun multiplayer experience.



That’s all for 2023, and for today! It’s been an exceptional year for Europa Universalis IV, and all the people working at Paradox Interactive and Paradox Tinto just wanted to thank you all, and wish you Happy Holidays! We’ll be back with new Dev Diaries around February, see you then!

We've just reworked much of our bundles on Steam - meaning lower prices and more relevant content.

Almost all of our existing offerings have been streamlined, consolidated, or revamped to be more thematically consistent.

The most significant changes have been to the Ultimate Bundle and Starter Pack (now the Starter Edition), which have seen much of their content rearranged; for example, the Ultimate Bundle has had cosmetic packs removed and repackaged into the new Prestige Collection. These bundles are therefore now better organised (and cheaper!):

• Starter Pack (US$89.96) → now Starter Edition (US$49.99)

A package specifically curated to give players a strong starting point with EUIV. Includes the base game, a content pack, and two major expansion packs that add greater depth and more strategic options to the game.

• [NEW] Prestige Collection (US$89.95)

A package designed to truly bring the game to life with immersive visual & audio elements. Includes the base game, music & unit packs, history lessons, and more.

• Ultimate Bundle (US$425.36) → Ultimate Bundle (US$319.30)

The most comprehensive collection of EUIV expansions, boasting years of content. Includes the base game along with almost every expansion and immersion pack currently available.

Please note, these prices (and the discounts expressed) may vary depending on your local currency, and any already owned content.

You can view these bundles along with the many others that we’ve reworked over at our store page. As mentioned, almost all of our bundles have been tweaked, and hopefully better suited to players’ needs, reflecting how EUIV has grown since we first put them on the store. We hope you enjoy them!

Edit: It's come to our attention this hasn't been made super clear, but content included in our Ultimate Sprite Pack can indeed still be purchased separately!

https://store.steampowered.com/sub/977591/
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/36958/Europa_Universalis_IV_Prestige_Collection/
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/22085/Europa_Universalis_IV_Ultimate_Bundle/