INTRODUCTION
Due to a disappointing conception of Italian civilization, which translates in-game into frustrating, counter-intuitive and non-performing mechanics, such as basilica expeditions, the functioning of the Lombards, or the underperforming archaic infantry (yet initially seen as the strength of the Italians), as well as a lack of coherence with regard to a nation that didn’t exist before Age 5, but also conceptual gaps in civilization that reflect poorly, except for cards and technologies, the extreme particularity of Italy and the city-states that made it up.
So, I’d like to go beyond balancing issues, for which at this stage simple changes would be enough to make the Italians more balanced, in order to address conceptual problems, which I believe even simple balancing changes could not rectify.
So, although a classic European conception of Italy has been envisaged, and this may be sufficient in the eyes of a majority, I would nevertheless like to propose with this redesign, different conceptual, gameplay and balancing perspectives while keeping in mind the gameplay framework in which Italy must remain faithful. I’ve also tried to minimize the addition of new assets and designs, even though the temptation to introduce new units remains very strong.
Also, with this redesign, Italy remains Italy with its tricolor flag, because even though the design will focus on city-states, the Risorgimento will be reinvested as a symbolic high point in a nation where Italy, previously geographical and ethnic area, will become political.
Ultimately, I wanted to suggest not so much a playable, possible and fun redesign as a series of ideas that could open up new perspectives for future changes. Having said that, I remain lucid about this topic, which could fall into oblivion because it’s so long and seems out of sync with a new dlc arriving at the end of the year. In any case, the pleasure was all mine!
PS: The cost of each technology is mainly indicative.
BALANCING
Lombard recast:
Quick reminder of interest rates:
food: 0/10.
wood: 25/40.
gold: 25/25
The complete functionning of lombards here: How do Lombards work?
Additional lombard functionality: Withdraw funds.
The idea behind this redesign is to make the most of your conversion profits, which will be automatically stored in your lombards.
With these profits, you can either withdraw the total amount accumulated or make them grow in your lombards. The profit scale and earnings are shown here:
Total profit / gold generated (with genoese technology):
1000 t.p: 2g/s (1w/s)
2000 t.p: 3g/s (2w/s)
3000 t.p: 4g/s (3w/s)
4000 t.p: 5g/s (4w/s)
5000 t.p: 6g/s (5w/s)
So you’ll have to choose between continuous gold production by storing your profits in your lombards and more punctual withdrawals of your profits in case of emergency for exemple.
Gold is injected directly into your economy, while your accumulated profits cannot be used unless you withdraw the funds, in which case the gold generation rate will be reset to zero, as it is not possible to withdraw only part of the profits. So if you withdraw the funds, your lombards will no longer produce gold. To do this, you’ll need to convert the right type of resource at the right rate to make profit again.
The cap on accumulated profits is 5000 resources, as is the cap on total resource conversion.
The redesign would also make the usury’s card more attractive, as well as giving you control over your investments and a view of the profits you make.
Cards :
[delete line] Papal arsenal: -33% research points
[add line] Fencing school: +50% build time of papal units
[modification] Advanced lombards: resource conversion speed: 100% → 50%.
[modification] Uffizi: send a lombard instead of a basilica. Does not increase their build limit. But still allows their exp generation.
[modification] Freemasons: architects’ build speed: +45% > +30%.
[delete line] Heavy paveses: Pavisiers hit points +10%.
[transfer] Capitalism: becomes a technology of the Republic of Florence
Technologies :
[modification] Carabinieri church technology: wood cost 2000 → 1500. Ships 10 → 15 carabinieri.
[replacement] Risorgimento church technology replaced by Sicilian Revolution [Age 4]: your villagers become Sicilian revolutionaries! cost: 500 f, 500 w, 500 g (the icon illustration keeps a certain coherence and is more in keeping with the Albertuto statuo)
[remove] Ghost technology -20% build time for papal units when you go to age 4.
[added] [Age 4] Lombard technology Medicis diplomacy: financers of states you control grant you an additional expedition:
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Commune of Bologna: Bolognese financers
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Republic of Genoa: Genoese financers
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Republic of Florence: Florentine financers and Siennese financers
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Papal States: Monte di pietà
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Kingdom of Sicily: Palermitans financers
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Duchy of Milan: Milanese financers
Units:
[transfer] Schiavone unit from basilica to lombard, still available at age 2. Cost: 25 f, 80 gold.
[modification] Removes the malus in Pavisier’s melee attack against the heavy cavalry x0.75 → x1
Buildings :
[delete] Basilica architectural heritage passive skill.
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AGE 2
COMMUNE OF BOLOGNA
Delivers a university wagon
Your architects build buildings 25% faster
University technologies :
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Altabella: your outposts are transformed into torri, which have a better range and field of vision, to the detriment of their attack. They also generate a small amount of gold (each torri adds 0.20 to the coin generation rate. Max: 1.60)
Cost: 150 g, 200 w -
Observation post: increases the range of your ranged infantry by +1 when located near torri.
Cost: 200 f -
Casatorre: each torre grants 5 population units. Also increases torri build limit by +2.
Cost: 250 w, 100 f, 100 g -
Bolonese fencing school: reduces rate of fire in melee of your Pavisiers, Pikemen (Tercio) and Schiavone
(1.5 → 1.2).
Cost: 350 g, 350 f
University: produces free architects at a slower rate (60s). Increases the experience gained from completed buildings by 50% built near the university. Also generates exp net (0.50xp/s).
Outpost → Torri: ranged dam. 30 → 20; range: 24 → 30; field of view: 32 → 40
REPUBLIC OF FLORENCE
Deliver 250 Crates of Food and a lombard wagon
Converts resources 10% faster for every lombard you own.
Technologies:
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Capitalism: you invest in the lucrative sheet’s trade: receive a small quantity of gold until the end of the game (adds 1.75/s to the coins generation rate).
Cost: 250 g -
Medicis tax pressure: you raise taxes to support your military campaign: each villager you own pays you 10 gold (can be activated once per age).
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Luxury partner: between the city of Florence and the Papal States, there’s a lot of collusion: cost of papal units -125 gold.
Cost: 150 g -
Marine insurance: recover 50% of resources invested for every fishing boat, caravel and galleass destroyed.
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Indulgent loan: lend 600 gold at an exorbitant rate to a reckless young prince: receive 0, 300, 600, 900 or 1200 gold at the next age.
Cost: 600 g
REPUBLIC OF GENOA
Delivers an Arsenal Wagon
Genoese Merchants can be trained at the port
Technologies :
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Carta pisana: reveals the location of enemy ports and maritime resources for 15 seconds (can be activated once per age).
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Steel armature: Galleass gain 15% extra hit points.
Cost: 250 w -
Genoese mercenaries: neighboring states needs your Pavisiers for their future military campaigns: receive 10 gold for each Pavisier you train.
Cost: 200 f -
Reinforced helmet: grants 0.10 additional ranged resistance to the Pavisier and increases his hit points by 15%, also increases his cost: 35/50 → 50/65.
Cost: 200 g, 300 w -
Loggia dei mercanti: you now generate wood instead of gold at a lower rate in your lombards.
Cost: 350 g -
[Age 3] Age of the Genoese: every minute of play (up to 10 minutes) receive from your home city a shipment of 5 Pavisiers, a chest of 200 gold and a tome of 150 xp (cannot be combined with Conca d’oro technology).
Cost: 1000 g
Genoese Merchant (cost: 70 gold; build limit /5):
- A merchant in garrison in a Caravel will ammass resources faster (x2.5) cumulative.
- For a heavy price in gold, negotiate a 20-second maritime ceasefire with the merchant (reload time: 5 minutes).
Cost: 500 gold (cost increases by 20% after each use). - Merchant can gather gold from mines and plantations at the same rate as villagers
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AGE 3
PAPAL STATES
Delivers 3 priests and 4 papal guards
Unlocks papal units in your basilica
Transforms your university into a basilica
Technologies:
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Papal domination: the city of Bologna is now under Papal States control: architects build buildings 75% slower, but papal units train 25% faster.
Cost: 250 f, 400 g -
[passive skill] Excommunion: the Pope has excommunicated your opponent’s monarch, lowering the morale of troops near your basilica: around it enemy units move 30% more slowly.
Cost: 150 g -
Papa-Re: for each technology, receive a Papal Guard instead of a settler.
Cost: 250 g, 250 f -
Postquam verus: your priests now become cardinal-priests who heal nearby units in area. They are also faster: speed +30%. area: 1.5.
Cost: 250 g, 100 f
Note: Papal units will no longer occupy the home city expedition queue, since your choice to age up with the Papal States is already counted as an expedition. On the other hand, to keep a balance and ensure that Papal units are support units, and not your main army, their training time should stabilize at around 1 minute, 1 minute 15 (you have the possibility to reduce the build time with a papal technology). Now you have the option of training your units in every basilica you own. I have, however, reduced the limit on the number of basilicas to two, for balancing reasons.
KINGDOM OF SICILY
Delivers a covered wagon
Your Pikemen become Sicilian Tercios who replace them in the barracks
Technologies :
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Conca d’oro: for 180 seconds, you gather food 30% faster from berries, hunting and mills. also grants 10 fattened sheep (can be activated once per age).
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Syracuse fortification: unlocks bastion and increases the hit points of walls and buildings by 20%.
Cost: 500 g, 250 w -
Ancient ghibellines: increases build time for papal guards by 75%, but reduces build time for tercios by 25% and halberdiers by 15%.
Cost: 250 f, 250 g -
Breadbasket: convert your agricultural income into defensive buildings. Three options available: 500 food: 2 battery towers; 1000 food: one fort; 1500 food: one fort and 2 battery towers.
Sicilian Tercio: melee damage +10%; speed +5%; training time: 27s > 32s.
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AGE 4
DUCHY OF MILAN
Delivers a royal embassy and 2 falconets
Unlocks the House of habsburgs in your embassy
Technologies:
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Economic Capital: increases lombard build limit from 5 to 7.
Cost: 200 g -
Brescia steel: musket infantry hit points +10%; artillery hit points +10%.
Cost: 300 g, 300 w -
Milan textile industry: increases range resistance of your Austrian line infantry by 0.10 and Bersaglieri by 0.05. Cost: 350 g
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Intensive production: increases the production speed of bombard in your factory by 25% and reduces its pop by 1. Cost: 250 f, 250 w, 250 g
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AGE 5
RISORGIMENTO
Deliver 18 Redshirts
Redshirts are trainable in your Town center
Your settlers turn into Redshirts (settlers remain trainable in Town center)
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NEW CARDS
[Age 4] Genoese bankruptcy: you’re up to your neck in debt and decide to escape with the rest of the treasure: receive 400 gold for each lombard. They are then destroyed. Lombard build time is now 300% longer.
[Age 2] Rialto market: Galleass and Caravels can now be trained in groups of two.
[Age 3] Condottiere genovese [team, infinite]: deliver 7 Pavisiers to your entire team.
[Age 2] Bolognese financers: deposit 800 of food in your lombards.
[Age 3] Palermitans financers: deposit 1000 of food in your lombards.
[Age 4] Milanese financers: deposit 1500 of wood in your lombards.
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Tercio of Sicily (but he could gets the same design as Spanish Tercio)
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Torri from Bologna (as it could have been in the dark age) and from San Gimignano
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University of Bologna
