The "Emptiness" of Events

[Stalker0]

I would argue that the event system is the beating heart of the old world game. And there are many events with all sorts of interesting ideas.

But I think there is a fundamental problem with the system right now, and that is the simple "cap" on how strong most events are allowed to be.

I can get a +2 to this stat, give a trait to this person, a +2 legitimacy, etc. Those are fine, but right now that is the vast vast majority of the events, to the point where the decisions don't feel meaningful. Sure getting a +1 military on my leader will give me a bit more training...but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't make that much difference.

More legitimacy is good especially in the early turns. Past that... its not that big a deal.


I think events just need to have more meat, and perhaps traits as well. I don't want a -2 legitimacy, I want something that will cut my legitimacy in half, potentially creating rebellion in my kingdom. I don't want someone to take a -40 relationship penalty, I want them to openly declare against me if I choose against them. I don't want a +2/-2, I want a +6/-6, a complete change of a character that could have major consequences to the game.

Ultimately as interesting as the story can appear, the mechanics don't really help you stay invested. So I would love to see many events just ramp up in bonuses and penalties. Not every one, its fine to have a few minor ones. but there should definitely be more defining events and interesting decisions, not ones that are just a stack of +1s here and there that barely move the needle.

 

[PiR]

I see what you mean, but that would require to decrease the number of events I think. If all were very impactful, having such game-changing decisions every couple turns would drive the player crazy.

 

[Taefin]

Are you by any chance tutoring your heirs? Stats get pretty high pretty quickly and a +/-2 wisdom on an 11 wisdom character is at like a +/-6 on 6 wisdom character (I didn’t do the math but give or take). Likewise the change class events (like zealot to judge) can have pretty dramatic effects of the scale you are talking. I find that not every game do the events feel like they could break things wide open, but sometimes they do, especially if things are already on the edge, like a race for an ambition or battling family and religion happiness. Especially when handing off the throne the smaller values start to feel big again, at least for me. But they are somewhat limited in variety, and it feels more like drawing a card from a familiar board game. Getting the free techs and the ones that push me closer to war feel among the most dramatic. Oh and the “one of these characters will hate you unless you have this trait, chose wisely” ones can get pretty wild, though the effect often takes a dozen years to really take shape.

 

[nolegskitten]

There are increasing returns and a single stat point can have a huge effect, if anything stats effects might be too strong.
There are also events that can change a character completely (for example switching leader archetype is game-changing).

 

[Stalker0]

So as I've been moving up in difficulty, I have to admit I was wrong.

Those early resources are really valuable, and so even small stat bumps can be very good.

I do think events still need help past turn 100, but that is less events and just more that the game is often getting over by then.

 

[nolegskitten]

I see what you mean, but that would require to decrease the number of events I think. If all were very impactful, having such game-changing decisions every couple turns would drive the player crazy.

There is a setting where you can increase or decrease the number of events if that is something you'd like to tweak. It's at "moderate" by default, but you can rack it up to "high" or go down to "low". Events can also be disabled.

 

[PiR]

Thanks!!!