First of all, as many already know, the trait and ancillary systems in RS2.1a were never really completed in accord with the vision that Calvin and a number of us had for it. Calvin's passing left us in a quandary, and Tone and myself were forced to learn about traits and ancillaries in order to even begin working on them....but too late for the initial release of RS2.
The intended vision for the RS2 trait system was to include a historically correct and comprehensive Roman Leadership system like no other ever made for RTW. Calvin had started implementing this, and Tone finished the 'first draft' of it for RS2's original release. But a trait system for the Romans was not going to be the end of it....we wanted interesting and and comprehensive leadership systems for every faction\culture, and a lot of background work had been done for this before we released RS2. There were just no 'hands' to implement them. So after RS2 was released, and after a few bugs were taken care of in the 2.1a Patch, Tone and I started working on the traits. Tone expanded and perfected the Roman Leadership system, and I started digging through gobs of information to bring together all the suggestions and ideas for all the other factions...and then put them into usable form in the game. The end result was specific leadership systems for:
1. The Romans
2. All of the Greek factions (with special modifications for each one, including the new swap factions: Syracuse, Bosporan, Massalia and Bithynia).
3. A new trait system (albeit, rather simple compared to the Roman one) for the new swap faction: The Republic of Capua.
4. New traits for Parthia and Armenia.
5. A specific trait system for the Nomadic factions (Scythia and Sarmatia).
7. A specific system for Carthage.
8. A specific system for the Celtic factions (Arverni, Belgae, Boii, Gallacei...and the new swap faction: The Galatians).
9. New traits for Dacia and the Cimbri.
So in effect, every faction got new traits and ancillaries, and special attention.
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The next part of the 'vision' that Calvin and I had often discussed concerned fixing some things we found annoying and silly in RTW, as well as issues that caused a lot of imbalance once traits started kicking in in a big way during the campaign. One of those issues concerned 'silly' traits or ancillaries that were a part of 'someone's' sense of humor in either the thing itself, or its description. Every single trait and ancillary was examined, it's description altered where necessary to make it sound professional, clear and of value. And a number of things were just plain removed.
Perhaps the biggest issue we wanted to deal with, however, was what we called 'bonus stacking', and the ultimate creation of numerous 'super-characters' in the game leading to a wealth of money pouring in and 'ho-hum' battles with Generals who were all alike, and all 10 star Generals.
Governors became supremely 'bonused' just by the player building something, and\or progressed in good or bad traits to the top levels with almost no effort at all. There became a huge disparity between the good and bad characters, with the good ones vastly outnumbering the bad ones. Maybe some people liked that, but we felt it was unrealistic and were determined to correct this. It required a better understabding of how the triggers for traits worked, and seeing how they assigned things. Then implementing measures to 'use' that to our advantage.
A good example is the Trait 'Good Administrator'. This is a powerful trait for a character, and ultimately leads to what everyone likes: more, and lots of, money. To look at the triggers for this trait in the original RTW, you'd 'think' there was nothing wrong with how this trait was being dished out. The 'chance' for the game assigning it varied from 3 to 31% given various events or conditions happening or being met. The problem is that all of this 'checking' and possibility of assigning this trait occurs EVERY SINGLE TURN. So if you multiply the chance of a trait being assigned times the number of times the game checks and 'could' assign it, you arrive at what was happening....numerous characters getting the trait 'just because' the game finally assigned it to them. And, because this is such a powerful trait, it was corrected in a special way by creating another trait that can be assigned to a character that will prevent him from ever getting the Good Administrator trait. Not a 'Bad Administrator'...which is handled separately...but just a hidden trait that prevents the trait from being given.
The overall goal here (and hopefully the desired effect) is balance. We wanted to see the game create some bad characters, some really good characters, and the bulk of them would just be 'normal' characters with good points and bad that offset the 'bonus stacking' so common in RTW.
For that reason, many, many traits are built upon the foundation of 'Personality' traits. These were already in the 1st release, but were not functioning as intended. These were meant to help determine and sort out what kinds of traits a character could, or could not get. For example, a character who has a 'harsh' or hotheaded personality is much less likely to get a 'Kind Ruler' trait (if at all). Nor would a conceited or dishonest character. This doesn't necessarily mean the character is useless or 'all bad'...it just means he will be prevented from getting certain traits based on his personality.
Likewise, a Personality Slow character isn't going to be all that 'intelligent'....yet he may well be great in other areas. And, since the ancillaries are written to compliment this scheme, a character with a 'deficiency' is more likely to get a 'helper ancillary' in that area. So a Bad Farmer may get an ancillary that helps him farm better. An average or bad administrator may get an ancillary that helps him administrate better. Just a few examples of how we tried to 'balance' characters and prevent super-heros.
Another change is in the separation of characters according to their purpose (or how the player uses them). Generals and Governors will now be vastly different in what kinds of traits they can get. 'Governing' traits are almost exclusively assigned to Governors. Battle traits to Generals. That doesn't mean they can't ever switch roles...it just means that dependent on where they are and what they are doing, the assignment of traits is different.
Now, I know that some players don't like to use Governors by and large...preferring to just 'automanage' settlements. Well, I have to tell you that in this system there will be a 50% tax penalty for a settlement with no governor. This is to 'encourage' the use of Governors and basically make the system work. Putting a Governor in a settlement will offset that penalty. Other characters in that same settlement who are NOT the Governor can get 'some' traits, but they will not get most of the governing ones. So it will best to use extra characters to govern settlements or command armies (or accompany a General in an army).
Battle Generals are exactly that....fight battles and the character will progress (assuming he wins some of them
). Progression in all military command leadership careers or levels depends on a 'battle_counter' trait that advances in levels as the General wins battles. The better the win, the quicker the advancement. The Roman system is a bit different, as they still use the 'GoodCommander' trait that assigns the 'stars'. A Roman character can advance through the ranks BOTH by winning battles and receiving awards, and through the battle_counter. All others strictly use the battle_counter. And here again, the object is to be more realistic. You'll probably not see too many 10 star generals or Alexanders and Caesars. You'll see a lot of 'normal', capable Generals who can win battles for you, but only the rare General who picks up all the 'goodies' in his lifetime (in terms of traits) will be a 10 star general. This is intentional.
Generals who get the 'coward' trait...a major bug in RS2.1a.....will now be treated differently. The trait will be seen less, and even if the General does get it, he will have the opportunity to 'redeem' himself and become a capable general. He will never be a high star general, but he can still be useful after fighting and winning some battles so that his troops see him in a better light.
Still another 'difference' players will see in RS2.5 is that some traits will not actually be 'attributes' of the character himself. Rather, they will be 'helpers' or officials attached to his office. This will be particularly evident for the Greeks, where they are a lot of of offices attached to governors.
RS2.5 Beta Official Preview Thread and Information:
Originally Posted by Tone
