phaethon16
King
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2013
- Messages
- 722
I think that if they make a Hungary DLC, they should take it as an opportunity to re-do the Into the Renaissance Scenario a bit. The reason I want a deluxe version is because it really is one of my favorite scenarios, but there are a few problems that I have found with it.
1) The difficulty level varies too much from civ to civ, with Austria being extremely easy and Russia being extremely hard.
2) There really is no penalty to switch to Protestantism; in fact, there are a ton of bonuses, so Catholicism is rather weak.
3) It's less fun to play some of the Eastern Orthodox or Muslim nations, because they are a little isolated on the map.
First of all, I think it would add a lot if they added four civs to the scenario, namely Portugal, Venice, Poland, the new Morocco, and (theoretically) Hungary. I know the first three are in BNW, but if you release this is a DLC where the scenario is only available if you own BNW and G+K, then it's fine. They need to add these civs for a few reasons, but mainly because it helps create competition amongst the civs that don't have any currently, such as Austria, Sweden, and France to a certain extent. Austria always runs rampant unless you invade, but with Hungary and Poland closing off their eastern border, Austria would have a little more competition. Sweden would finally have competition that's not constantly fighting the Mongols, and the Turks would have a European to invade after the Byzantines. Venice should be there just to shake things up with the CS, and Portugal is absolutely necessary in making sure France doesn't control the Iberian Peninsula, and that Morocco has another option as far as invasions go. Seriously though, every game I've played Spain has been weak, and France steamrolls through Iberia, founding the majority of cities. Portugal would be a nice counterbalance.
Hungary would be something along of the lines of the civ in my signature, though the World Congress portion would be changed to the Council of Trent (see below.) The reason for this is because it's sort of a Medieval ability, mimicking the decentralized rule of quite a few medieval/Renaissance empires. It doesn't have to be the civ I came up with, just something along the lines of a vassal-creating civ, so we can have vassals but not have it be a new gameplay mechanic that's available to everyone.
Next, the counter-reformation. One thing that struck me was that throughout the scenario, you couldn't really interact with religions, as far as founding them. I though that was weird, considering that this was the time that Christianity began to get really diverse. So, my solution has two parts. One, counter-reformation, and two, have people found their own branch of Protestantism. Martin Luther's 95 theses would still happen randomly, but after that, up to four different sects of Protestantism could be founded through Great Prophets, but you'd have to unlock the Reformation social policy first. (Anglican Church, Calvinism, and Zwinglism, and Lutheranism but all would have a similar Protestant symbol.) The way it would work is that no matter what you found, they all have the same Founder Belief, the enhancer belief and one of the same follower beliefs, but you can choose the other two beliefs. (Founding a Protestant religion starts you with 5 beliefs automatically.) Protestantism has a higher influence level than Catholicism, but Catholicism would now have a defense against this.
After at least 2 Protestant religions were founded, the Council of Trent would convene, starting the Counter-Reformation. The way this works is that the ally or owner of the Vatican becomes the host of a World Congress type council, that consists of all Catholic Nations, but instead of getting votes from CS you get votes from having a large Catholic population. (The HRE vote still goes though, so CS are still useful.) The Council of Trent meets every 10 turns, and votes to replace Catholic beliefs with other beliefs. The reason to do this is because the beliefs you can choose from are normal-type beliefs with added on abilities that can reduce Protestant influence rates. That's where the difference in Protestant beliefs comes in, because different Counter-Reformation beliefs would directly counter certain Protestant beliefs, so you can target one branch of Protestantism. Eventually, if you modify Catholicism enough, you can re-absorb a certain sect back into the Catholic Church, eliminating the sect. The Council also acts as a normal World Congress, but with different resolutions, such as what nationality should the Pope be (for more faith per turn and more votes), whether to declare war on a heretic nation, or some of the more typical stuff like embargoes, banning luxuries, and electing a head of the Council. (The other person to propose things would be the largest Catholic nation, population-wise.)
As well as the other major systems added like trade routes and diplomats (which would be used in figuring out how other people will vote in the Council of Trent,) other, smaller things would be added too. For instance, Byzantium would start with three cities to make it more of a threat and challenge for the Muslim players, and the Great Work system would be a little different. Great Works can be gifted by allied CS, and they produce faith and religious influence in your cities, as well as culture (but no tourism, that would be turned off.) The last thing I was thinking was more African and Muslim CS, for more diversity. Add Baghdad, Tripoli, Cyrene, etc.
So, these are my ideas for a deluxe Into the Renaissance Scenario that would come as a part of a Hungary DLC, with the main stuff being new civs added, enhanced Protestant play, BNW stuff, and the Counter-Reformation.
1) The difficulty level varies too much from civ to civ, with Austria being extremely easy and Russia being extremely hard.
2) There really is no penalty to switch to Protestantism; in fact, there are a ton of bonuses, so Catholicism is rather weak.
3) It's less fun to play some of the Eastern Orthodox or Muslim nations, because they are a little isolated on the map.
First of all, I think it would add a lot if they added four civs to the scenario, namely Portugal, Venice, Poland, the new Morocco, and (theoretically) Hungary. I know the first three are in BNW, but if you release this is a DLC where the scenario is only available if you own BNW and G+K, then it's fine. They need to add these civs for a few reasons, but mainly because it helps create competition amongst the civs that don't have any currently, such as Austria, Sweden, and France to a certain extent. Austria always runs rampant unless you invade, but with Hungary and Poland closing off their eastern border, Austria would have a little more competition. Sweden would finally have competition that's not constantly fighting the Mongols, and the Turks would have a European to invade after the Byzantines. Venice should be there just to shake things up with the CS, and Portugal is absolutely necessary in making sure France doesn't control the Iberian Peninsula, and that Morocco has another option as far as invasions go. Seriously though, every game I've played Spain has been weak, and France steamrolls through Iberia, founding the majority of cities. Portugal would be a nice counterbalance.
Hungary would be something along of the lines of the civ in my signature, though the World Congress portion would be changed to the Council of Trent (see below.) The reason for this is because it's sort of a Medieval ability, mimicking the decentralized rule of quite a few medieval/Renaissance empires. It doesn't have to be the civ I came up with, just something along the lines of a vassal-creating civ, so we can have vassals but not have it be a new gameplay mechanic that's available to everyone.
Next, the counter-reformation. One thing that struck me was that throughout the scenario, you couldn't really interact with religions, as far as founding them. I though that was weird, considering that this was the time that Christianity began to get really diverse. So, my solution has two parts. One, counter-reformation, and two, have people found their own branch of Protestantism. Martin Luther's 95 theses would still happen randomly, but after that, up to four different sects of Protestantism could be founded through Great Prophets, but you'd have to unlock the Reformation social policy first. (Anglican Church, Calvinism, and Zwinglism, and Lutheranism but all would have a similar Protestant symbol.) The way it would work is that no matter what you found, they all have the same Founder Belief, the enhancer belief and one of the same follower beliefs, but you can choose the other two beliefs. (Founding a Protestant religion starts you with 5 beliefs automatically.) Protestantism has a higher influence level than Catholicism, but Catholicism would now have a defense against this.
After at least 2 Protestant religions were founded, the Council of Trent would convene, starting the Counter-Reformation. The way this works is that the ally or owner of the Vatican becomes the host of a World Congress type council, that consists of all Catholic Nations, but instead of getting votes from CS you get votes from having a large Catholic population. (The HRE vote still goes though, so CS are still useful.) The Council of Trent meets every 10 turns, and votes to replace Catholic beliefs with other beliefs. The reason to do this is because the beliefs you can choose from are normal-type beliefs with added on abilities that can reduce Protestant influence rates. That's where the difference in Protestant beliefs comes in, because different Counter-Reformation beliefs would directly counter certain Protestant beliefs, so you can target one branch of Protestantism. Eventually, if you modify Catholicism enough, you can re-absorb a certain sect back into the Catholic Church, eliminating the sect. The Council also acts as a normal World Congress, but with different resolutions, such as what nationality should the Pope be (for more faith per turn and more votes), whether to declare war on a heretic nation, or some of the more typical stuff like embargoes, banning luxuries, and electing a head of the Council. (The other person to propose things would be the largest Catholic nation, population-wise.)
As well as the other major systems added like trade routes and diplomats (which would be used in figuring out how other people will vote in the Council of Trent,) other, smaller things would be added too. For instance, Byzantium would start with three cities to make it more of a threat and challenge for the Muslim players, and the Great Work system would be a little different. Great Works can be gifted by allied CS, and they produce faith and religious influence in your cities, as well as culture (but no tourism, that would be turned off.) The last thing I was thinking was more African and Muslim CS, for more diversity. Add Baghdad, Tripoli, Cyrene, etc.
So, these are my ideas for a deluxe Into the Renaissance Scenario that would come as a part of a Hungary DLC, with the main stuff being new civs added, enhanced Protestant play, BNW stuff, and the Counter-Reformation.
