Hellenism Salesman
Emperor
I understand your choice of Yugoslavia as a Modern Age Balkan civ, but I have some comments.For the Modern Civ, again a few options are available:
- Romania, Bulgaria's northern neighbour which gained independence around the same time (though was consistently a weaker power)
- Serbia, which was under Austrian control for most of the Modern Age
- Yugoslavia, which is probably the BEST choice objectively speaking, but is also very recent choice
- Austria-Hungary which isn't slavic at all, but had most of the Balkans within its sphere of influence.
I agree it is a good civ for this scenario, especially because it opens up many, many new paths for the region, and I agree it is very recent, arguably too recent.
I’ll first treat the name “Yugoslavia” more narrowly, as the name of (a) specific state(s), though I’m aware literally means “South Slavia.” Basing the Modern Age’s historical breadth on its victory conditions, it ends with the conclusion of WWII and the development of nuclear weapons. This means that half unified Yugoslavia's lifespan- the more familiar half to Western, especially American audiences, no less- is beyond the scope of the game. I am not terribly concerned with constricting the game for Americans' sake, but Firaxis does not hold my opinions.
Assuming that a more narrow Kingdom of Yugoslavia civ made it into the game, I don't think it would fulfill the role of "unified Slavic Balkan endpoint" all that well. The real Kingdom of Yugoslavia was notoriously Serb-dominated. It was ruled by a Serbian monarchy with Serb politicians who physically fought- and on one occasion brazenly assassinated- politicians of other ethnicities and interests during sessions of parliament. This is not to say that Serb rule was anywhere near as brutal or unfair as some rulers of the region were, but rather to point out that if a civ narrowly defined to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were added, it would really just be the Kingdom of Serbia in disguise. And considering that Serbia existed longer and was a nation able to establish and maintain their independence while sandwiched between the two biggest powers of the region, I think they would be worthy of the spot.
However, Yugoslavia exists as more than just a polity. It is both a geographic term and a thought movement. If a Modern Yugoslavia civ were to represent the region more broadly (like a sort of "blob" similar to "Celts"), I think it could actually work quite well! The civic tree could progress through the movement's different forms, progressing from Illyirianism to Jugoslavism proper. It also opens up the possibility for uniques from all ethnicities that the term entails, and would allow players to role-play "wars of independence" from a concurrent Austria-Hungary civ.
TL;DR: I would approve of a Modern Age Yugoslavia civ if it were designed to encapsulate the region as a whole rather than represent any given state. However, if Yugoslavia were added and was based solely off of the short-lived Kingdom of Yugoslavia (or the later Socialist Republic), I think Serbia would be a better choice for the Modern Age instead.
(and this is coming from the Croatian history guy!)
Edit: For anyone curious, these are my preferences for the region:
All civs could begin with the Avars, a Slavic blob civ, or Illyria.
- Croatia -> Austria-Hungary/Yugoslavia
- Serbia -> Yugoslavia or Serbia -> Serbia (I don't know what the difference in naming convention would be)
- Bosnia -> Ottomans
- Duklja -> Yugoslavia
- (Unsure for Slovenia who is also relevant to this discussion)
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