How the Crowns impact the game and how to get them
The effects of the Crowns
1) Having a crowned Faction Leader is the major determinant of the Loyalty of the generals being away from the capital. Having a crown by the ruler is a condition in some triggers concerning loyalty of the generals. As a result, having a crowned ruler is indispensable for building-up a large kingdom: without them, the generals will lose Loyalty quickly as they’re away from the capital. By the same token, they’re also a major requirement to keep big kingdoms together. A great king may conquer and have 20+provinces-kingdom. But when he dies a weak FH may accede to the throne, prompting the generals to lose loyalty quickly. It’ll be therefore essential for the new FL to assert his authority and to get crowned quickly. If the player is prepared for this (he keeps all essential provinces, the FH would have relevant features, be in the vicinity of the capital etc.), then acceding to the throne should take place immediately after the FL death, securing loyalty of the generals.
2) Having a crowned Faction Leader limits the unrest (turmoil) in all settlements, from most of the sources (see the code here).
3) Having a crowned Faction Leader limits the speed of the points of aggressivity accrueing and thus how fast the relations with the other factions deteriorate.
4) Crowns disable many negative events as they are coded with the condition that the FL is not crowned (eg. the Bedouin or Catalan or other raids will not happen if the FL has the crown).
5) Direct benefits are also non-negligible. A generic set of the benefits is [Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1, LineOfSight 2], then perhaps one other crown-specific benefit will be added for each. For a ruler ascending the throne that +2 Authority may be the decisive factor whether the nobles start plotting and potential usurpers appear (Civil war) and also if they’re happy with the king (Civil strife).
6) The crowns are also de facto an intermediate goal of the game. The players will be likely to steer their expansion to get a crown so that they’re able to expand further. Therefore the historical expansion in the SSHIP will be beneficial for the player.
7) They’ll be another “chrome” of the game as they’re now.
Here is an example how does having the crown limits the Aggressive expansion script (there's such part for each settlement):
Conditions to get a Crown
A) The faction consists of all required provinces (described in the entries below) OR his father left him Strong Legacy (he had a Crown or made 2 points in legacy (see here) from the other sources).
B) The faction leader is eligible for a coronation
..... he must not be a „Regent” or “Usurper”
..... he must not be Diseased, AbsentMinded, Idiot, Senile, Quite Mad or Utterly Insane.
..... he's got attributes/traits: [Piety 6+ and Authority 6+] (we may also come up with other sets of traits – please propose if you’ve got an idea)
..... the kingdom is not bankrupt
C) Coronation
..... The eligible FL must spend a end his turn in the relevant settlement.
..... The necessary building exists in the settlement - for most of the factions it will be a church / mosque / temple of a the level of Large City (Cathedral, Jama); while for the Pagans it will be a temple for a Large Town (I wanted to make it a City, but there temples for Large Towns and then for Large Cities).
..... Money: the ceremony costs a lot of money, perhaps 20k or so (see discussion here).
E) Additional conditions (eg: the Catholic faction must not be excommunicated).
https://i.imgur.com/6wLZhsz.jpg
Additional information
* there're "pop-out windows" with the relevant information appearing in the game what makes is quite easy for the player to get his bearings. No need to pore over any manual - just read the windows and have a look at the description of the traits on the Faction Leader - everything is described there.
* the AI doesn't know the crowns exist but it still may get them. The requirements have been lowered in this case thus quite a few crowns may be received when a medium AI faction develops into a bigger faction.
* having a crown will be costly - maybe 5k a turn subtracted
https://i.imgur.com/V6DBdby.jpg
Modification plans and infos
Modification plans and infos
The need for modification
The Crowns (of HRE, England, France, Poland, Balts etc.) introduced in the Stainless Steel were not the subject to modification in the SSHIP. However, such a modification is needed for a few reasons:
ˇ the names of the settlements changed in the SSHIP and now it’s not technically possible to get some crowns (eg. settlement changed its name or stands now for a settlement in another part in the world);
ˇ some crowns are really messed up (eg. the Crown of Italy – many sets of crowns, crown available for the Abbassids etc);
ˇ there’re big variations in the ease of getting them: for some factions they’re available almost from the beginning (eg. HRR), for some are very difficult to get (Spain);
ˇ the crowns remain to be mostly “chrome” – without impacting seriously on the gameplay;
ˇ I consider many issues related to them to be a-historical (while the SSHIP is about history).
What will be modified now:
ˇ Bugs will be fixed so that all the existing crowns will be obtainable.
ˇ The sets of provinces that are conditions to get each crown will be adjusted. The choice will be made both on their “historicity” and on the “gameplay” needs (see entry for each crown). In general, the numbers of provinces required for each crown will be balanced (between 12 and 18, with two outliers: England 10, HRE 21).
ˇ Benefits of the crowns will be modified, and also the relevant triggers in the traits will be introduced.
ˇ The names of the crowns and possibly the descriptions and the pics will be modified to be more historical (but I need the assistance here of the player to get precise information).
ˇ Requirements for the player and the AI will vary: as the AI doesn't know the crowns exist, he'll have a much shorter list - just core factional provinces.
I still have some dilemmas:
* how many benefits should be related to a crown? Maybe it should be Authority 1, LocalPopularity 1, LineOfSight 2 + faction_specific?
(the LoS is non-negligible given the FogOfWar system we're going to implement in the next version of the SSHIP)
What would be modified if somebody would help:
ˇ New crowns would be added.
ˇ Crowning ceremony would be added into the game (a pop-up window).
ˇ Maps for each faction with the provinces highlighted would be put into the information panel of each faction.
A few issues worth mentioning
ˇ In the original Stainless Steel system not all crowns are available for all factions. On the contrary - usually, a crown is available to only 1-3 factions. The first reason is the number of code lines (why to have so many triggers if it's unlikely to happen). The second reason is historicity. I hesitated why not to allow many more factions to have the same crown (eg HRE, Kiev, Hungary would be able to attain the crown of Poland). I decided it’s not worth doing it for the following reasons: 1). unnecessary additional modding work, expanding the code too much would have made the turns longer, and players rarely play for so many regions so that they would get to this point; 2). for the gameplay just one crown is enough for the loyalty effects on the generals; 3). there's a limit of 8 ancillaries and there're a few special ancs for the Faction Leaders - no more space for the additional crowns; 4). it wouldn't be historical in many cases; descriptions of many crowns wouldn't be pertinent; 5). the most obvious examples are actully dealt with: there are a few cases where a few factions compete for one crown (Norway & Denmark, Italian factions, Rus, Spanish) and at least one faction has two alternative crowns (Aragon: Aragon on Spain).
ˇ In exceptional cases - what it’s historically plausible - I've made some factions eligible for two different crowns (Lithuania-Poland and England-France). However, this all the related hassle would mean that is unlikely to happen for other reasons than a player’s whim.
ˇ There’ll be no “lesser crowns” like Ireland, Wales, Burgundy, Aragon or Bohemia. They don't fit the framework.
ˇ The crowns are meant only for the player – the AI doesn’t know they exist and won’t gain them otherwise than accidentally.
ˇ The balance between historicity and gameplay must always be found. From the gameplay perspective, the crown is meant to make it possible to build a kingdom bigger than 15-20 provinces. Therefore the number of provinces required to attain a crown will be between 10 (for factions in the vast territories) and 16, with some exceptions.
Ideas for further modifications
ˇ Coronation ceremony – the visuals must have been done for the other mods (eg. HIMA); it’s for sure possible to introduce them to the SSHIP.
ˇ Potential new crowns (badly needed):
...... Khagan of the Steppes (Cumans): very few provinces would be needed to allow Cumans functioning in the current Loyalty setting. This is a badly needed solution as the Cumans may have very difficult time due to the vast distances. A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Russia crown available to the Cumans with their set of conditions.
...... Crown of the Caucasus (Georgia) – the Georgians are not eligible for any crown and they’ll have a difficult time expanding. A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Russia crown available to the Georgians with their set of conditions. Please note: Georgia does have a crown in 097.
...... Tsar of Serbia – Serbia is in the same situation. However, there's no example from history how to make a big Serbian crown of more than 10 provinces in the SSHIP style. I think making the Byzantine crown available to them (with the set of provinces only in the Balkans) would be the right thing. A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Byzantium crown available to the Serbians with their set of conditions. Please note: Serbia does have a crown in 097.
...... Sultan of Anatolia (Rum) - same situation as with Serbia and Georgia. There’s the crown for the Turks but it consists of the provinces much more to the east. This crown would also be available for the Zenghids as a different direction of their expansion. Alternatively, they wanted the crown of Byzantium, so maybe it's right just give them access to that crown. A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Turkish crown available to the Rum Seljuks with their set of conditions. Please note: Rum does have a crown in 097.
...... Crown of the Levant – available for all Catholic nations, but mainly for the Kingdom of Jerusalem (that currently doesn’t have access to any crown). This crown would also enable to have a country split into several parts (eg. through an additional trigger abolishing the Near/Far Loyalty). A stop-gap solution – to make the faction playable – will be to make the Egypt crown available to the Crusaders with their set of conditions. Taking into account the crusades of 13th century, the Egyptian provinces will be included. Please note: KoJ does have a crown in 097.
ˇ Potential new crowns (we can cope without):
...... Crown of the Mediterraneum – an alternative direction of expansion for Aragon, Piza, Sicily, and Venice. Would include coasts of eastern Spain, southern Italy, central north Africa, maybe Greece. An alternative to this crown would be “Dominium Maris Mediterraneum”. No stop-gap solution needed – they all already have an access.
...... Crown of the Moors – to make the Moors more historical. It would include southern Spain (Al-Andalus), Baleares, Northern Africa up to Tripoli. No stop-gap solution needed – they all already have an access to the crown of Spain.
ˇ Two-tier system: king’s crowns (10-15 provinces, as they're now, but with limited number of provinces) and a few "imperial" crowns (20-30 provinces):
- HRR (HRE/France): Charlemagne type - current Germany, France, and northern Italy.
- ERE (Byzantium, Serbia, Georgia): mid 11 century with Southern Italy, Anatolia, Armenian Highlands, Caucasus.
- Sultan of the East and West (Seljuks, Abbasids, Zenghids, Fatimids): Malik al-Masriq wa al-Magrib - as Tughril Beg claimed the lands of the Fatimids).
- Tsar of All Russias (Kiev/Novgorod): Ivan IV + type, with the steppes and Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltics.
- King of the Empire of the North Sea (England, Scotland, Denmark): Crown of Cnut - British Islands and Skandinavia,
- Commonwealth (Poland, Lithuania, Hungary) - Crown of Jagiellons - somehow as it was (well, not really effectively) at the beginning 16th century with Kiev Ruthenia, Bohemia and Hungary.
- Crown of Habsburgs (Castille, Aragon, Portugal, Sicily?) - Spain, Italy, Burgundy, Netherlands.
A trait “Imperial Loyalty” would be created allowing even bigger conquests. However, I consider this modification to not necessary.
Such a two-tier system features in the TLK mod for Medieval 2, in the Thrones of Britannia TW, or in the Crusader Kings II.
ˇ Other ideas:
...... trait “seen Rome” for an FL who ended a turn in the province of Rome would be a requirement to get the HRR crown. A similar solution for the Sultan of Turks (Baghdad), Egypt (Mekka – made the Hajj). The existing traits "Pilgrimages" will be used to this end.
...... for certain factions create Yes/No events enabling being crown in another settlement. Eg. for HRE: the nobles offer enabling getting it in Speyer (with the cathedral), for Poland: in Krakow with the Marienkirche lvl2. Very easy to code as the even would produce a counter, and then then counter would be a requirement in the EDCT.
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EDIT: note for the SSHIP 097 (published October 2020):
- the plan described here has been implemented (with some modifications);
- in particular, the new crowns were created, the lists of provinces were updated, the requirements were modified, the additional costs were added, the coding behind all these mechanisms have been updated;
- the changes consist mainly of limiting the number of provinces (with some sacrifice to historicity): for the benefit of gameplay the number of provinces is kept around 12;
- each faction has now access to a crown and can see it in-game (a map in the faction panel);
- there're information windows poping-out and exhaustive descriptions of the traits - both on conditions to get a crown and also on the effects thereof.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jurand of Cracow
A few arguments why no more than 1 crown:
- for the gameplay just one crown is enough for the loyalty effects on the generals,
- the code would be far more complicated, it's not worth doing it - there're much more pressing needs,
- it wouldn't be historical in many cases; descriptions of many crowns wouldn't be pertinent,
- there's a limit of 8 ancillaries and there're a few special ancs for the Faction Leaders - no more space for the additional crowns
- there are a few cases where a few factions compete for one crown (NO & DK, Italian factions, Rus, Spanish) and at least one faction having alternative crowns (Aragon: Aragon on Spain).
Crown of Skandinavia (Denmark, Norway)
crown_scandinavia
Current situation
Name: King of Scandinavia
Number provinces: 8
Factions having access: Denmark, Norway.
Concept: historical ambitions of the Danish kings, but without future expansions around the Baltic sea (Finland, Estonia or Mecklenburg).
How easy to get: easy: natural expansion, fought between 2 nations.
Provinces missing: Kalmar.
Is pic correct: ?
Modifications’ ideas
New concept: historical spheres of influence of Norway, Denmark and Sweden (eg. Kalmar union, Baltic territories, perhaps also northern British Islands), ie whole Scandinavia plus Finland. Possible also: Northern Scotland, Meklemburg, Estonia, and even Pomorze. Pro memoria: even in 15c. there were king of the Kalmar union claiming rights for the Northern Island (Hebrides and Orkneys, I suppose).
Gameplay perspective: easy difficulty: standard number of provinces, need to destroy one faction and start wars with 2-3 others, need to make seaborne invasions. Both Norway and Denmark start very small what adds to the difficulty. However, the possibility of fast travel across the sea makes 12 provinces easy. North Scotland gives some spice to the fray, should also be somewhat easy against the AI that is not very skilled at conducting sea-born invasions.
Name of the crown: Norrœn Krone
Title of the ruler: Norrœnkonungr
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: current 8, Kalmar, Meklemburg, and for Denmark: Finland, Estonia; and for Norway: Northern Scotland.
Number of provinces: Denmark 12, Norway 11.
Place of coronation: Roskilde (SSHIP 097: both DK and NO; in 098 also Bergen for Norway (Bergen: The city's cathedral was the site of the first royal coronation in Norway in the 1150s, and continued to host royal coronations throughout the 13th century.)
Building required for coronation: cathedral.
Factions able to get it: Denmark, Norway.
Pic to be used: https://i.imgur.com/AuDwMcG.jpg
Ideas for distant future: none.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly? Substantially.
Denmark: 12 provinces
https://i.imgur.com/o2n2KUD.png
Norway: 11 provinces.
https://i.imgur.com/HEU4YU9.png
Status: implemented as shown on the pics and described above.
Crown of Russia (Kiev, Novgorod)
crown_russia
Current situation:
Name: Tsar of Russia
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number provinces: 15
Factions having access: Kiev, Novgorod, Cumans.
Concept: perhaps from 17-19c. as it includes Kernave, Bolghar, Sarkel, and Azaq. Obviously, it not a concept fit for the Cumans.
How easy to get: very difficult because of many provinces, large distances between them and many enemies around. There’re also many factions fighting for those provinces (Kiev, Novgorod, Lithuania, Cumans, Poland). Easier for Kiev (central, many provinces, natural expansion directions), very difficult for Novgorod (natural expansion is slightly different: also west, few provinces at the beginning), very difficult for the Cumans (northern provinces)
Provinces missing / redundant: many redundant and many missing.
Is pic correct: ?
Modifications’ ideas
New concept: historical Rus from 11-15 c. (heritage of Volodymyr and ambitions of the various rulers in 11-13th centuries).
Gameplay perspective: difficult because of the distances and the need to destroy one faction and wage wars with 2-3 others. For Kiev it can be simple though, while for Novgorod more difficult.
Name of the crown: Shapka Monomakha (Monomakh's Cap)
Title of the ruler: Veliky Knyaz
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: Pskov, Polock, Novgorod, Turov, Goroden, Volodymyr, Halych, Kiev, Tschernigov, Pereyaslav, Smolensk, Suzdal, Rostov, Ryazan. One may also consider Turku (area of Novogrodian expansion) and Tmutarakan (literary historical place of a Rus settlement 10-14c.), but I don’t think it’s indispensable. Given the size of the Rus lands I’d be inclined to lower the number as much as possible.
Number of provinces: 14.
Place of coronation: Kiev (Zoloti Vorota, city lvl3 - for both Kievan Rus and Novgorod); Novgorod (cathedral, city lvl4, only for Novgorod faction).
Building required for coronation: Orthodox Cathedral / Zoloti Vorota.
Factions able to get it: Kiev, Novgorod.
Pic to be used: to be checked and/or proposed by the players.
Ideas for distant future: make a condition for the first appearance of the crown to have a marriage with a Byzantine princess. Or just an alternative condition: be married to Byzantine princess and has good relations with the Byzantines (or be ally of) – without any province requirements. Or maybe having "Byzantine relations" would lower the requirements for getting the crown.
Maritime ambitions (not related to the crowns, to be used in future, only 2 provinces): Novgorod, Chersonesos.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.
https://i.imgur.com/IMkWTvb.png
Status: implemented as shown on the pics and described above (14 provinces).
Crown of Britain (England, Scotland)
crown_england
Current situation:
Name: King of Britain
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 8
Factions having access:
Concept: British islands. Achieved in the modern times, but convincing. The French territories belonging to the English faction should indeed not be included.
How easy to get: very easy: after conquering one other faction it’s available for Scotland and England. And the territories are in the usual, inevitable direction of expansion.
Provinces missing: Caen is now Norwich (missing), Nottingham is now Lincoln (redundant-missing), Aberdeen is now Coimbra (redundant) – which means you cannot get the crown.
Is pic correct: ?
Modifications’ ideas
New concept: Crown of the Normans - in style of Henry II +: the British Islands and western France. Look at some discussion here.
Gameplay perspective: moderately difficult, you need to fight the other British faction and France.
Name of the crown: in French or Latin? How it should be?
Title of the ruler: ?
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: add Rouen, Norwich and Lincoln, remove Nottingham and Aberdeen (that are not somewhere else on the map, not in Britain). Add also other provinces in France: Bordeaux, Poitiers, Angers, Roazhon. Clermont is excluded to keep the crown simpler, with 14 provinces. However, Scotland won't have those French provinces as requirement.
Number provinces: England: 14, Scotland: 9.
Place of coronation: London (England), Edinburgh (Scotland)
Building required for coronation: English: The Tower / Scotts: Edinburgh Castle.
Factions able to get it: Scotland, England.
Pic to be used: tbc.
Ideas for distant future: none
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly? Substantially.
England: 13 provinces.
https://i.imgur.com/EvkqTiM.png
Scotland: 9 provinces.
https://i.imgur.com/e8MAOfv.png
Status: implemented as shown on the pics and described above.
Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
crown_hre
Current situation:
Name: Holy Roman Emperor
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 11
Factions having access: HRR.
Concept: lands of Germany plus Bohemia. Some lands currently held by HRR are not included, some lands historically belonging to HRR either.
How easy to get: for the moment – very easy: only neutral Praha and Polish Stetin are not initially in the HRR possession, the rest is already there.
Provinces missing / redundant: perhaps some German provinces. No Italian province is included which would make for a historical “empire”.
Is pic correct: looks fine: the right one.
Modifications’ ideas
Modding desiderations: difficult to choose. On one hand, the historical HRR is much larger and more provinces should be included also to create at least a minimal challenge for the gameplay. However, then the number of provinces should be not comparable to the other crown thus bad for the gameplay.
New concept: "Regnum Theutonicorum": the core of the HRR, speaking a sort of German language.
Future concept: the provinces of the Holy Roman Empire where the emperor had some real power in the early Middle Ages (or rather influence – this was power without a state, as Gerd Althoff put it), even with Burgundy, Northern Italy, and also Bohemia and (?) Prussia. If ever implemented: the crowning ceremony would be near Rome (?).
Gameplay perspective: available almost from the start of the game.
Name of the crown: Reichskrone
Title of the ruler: Keiser
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: as on the pic.
Number provinces: 16.
Place of coronation: Coelln (instead of Aachen) - one may also consider other requirements, like existence of the Cathedral of Speyer or such.
Building required for coronation: Cathedral.
Factions able to get it: HRR.
Pic to be used: looks fine: the right one.
Ideas for distant future: if the two-tier system would be implemented, then the second-tier would encompass the big, historical HRR: all its provinces in 13th century (basically: more Slavic), while the first-tier would have been smaller (minus the current French and Italian)
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.
https://i.imgur.com/H4MgLvF.png
Implemented with 16 provinces. (no Italian, French and Bohemian provinces)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jurand of Cracow
Quote:
Originally Posted by
helmersen
Hi, guys! First of all great mod, but I have to say this crown thing really confuses me. I don't get why the faction leaders don't begin as kings and emperors (they were?), and second, the map is a bit confusing to me. As the HRE, it seems difficult to get a crown because I have to conquer a ton of provinces in every direction for some reason to get my crown, all the while my generals' loyalties begin at like 0-2? Won't they rebel immediately? I just don't get it haha, so if someone could explain it in simple terms that would be great!
Crowns - for gameplay reasons: 1. to give the player an intermediate goal of playing, 2. not to give any faction too much headstart. Maybe reading
this post would make it clear.
HRE - (a) yeah, HRE is problematic for a crown as it should have one perhaps from the beginning. For now, it's a artificial for the gameplay (to give the player the goal of playing the game), that the ruler doesn't have the crown, (b) loyalties - yes, they may as (1) historically it was very difficult to keep your realm together with all those squabbling nobles (think how it ended in mid-13th century), (2) for gameplay: HRE is so powerful faction that it would conquer all territories around if not for internal problems.
The generals - I hope some would rebel quickly giving a challenge to the HRE. It's been reported that civil wars erupt after the death of the current ruler. This is intended - to give the player a challenge.
Crown of Spain (Aragon, Castille, Portugal, Almoravids)
crown_spain, crown_aragon
Old (v.092) situation:
Name: King of Spain
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 12
Factions having access: Aragon, Castille, Portugal, Almoravids.
Concept: only historical Spanish provinces (15c plus today’s style: Aragon, Castille, Al-Andalus), no French, no Portugues. Portugal can gain the crown, which didn’t happen in history, but is convincing.
How easy to get: on geography: a natural direction of expansion, “packed” in one region, close to each other; however it’s fought among 4 factions what makes it difficult to achieve.
Provinces missing: Sevilla, Valladolid, perhaps Silves, Coimbra, Lisboa and also Palma.
Is pic correct: ?
Modifications’ ideas
New concept: Spanish ambitions that were achieved at the end of 16th century: the whole Iberic peninsula (including Portugal and Baleares).
Gameplay perspective: average difficulty: many provinces, fought with many nations, but geographically packed making it a natural expansion for each of the 3 nations.
Name of the crown: Corona Ibérica
Title of the ruler: Imperator totius Hispaniae
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: Santiago, Leon, Burgos, Pamplona, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Valencia, Murcia, Toledo, Badajoz, Cordoba, Granada plus Sevilla, Valladolid, Coimbra, Lisboa, Silves, Palma.
Number provinces: 18.
Place of coronation: Castille: Toledo; Portugal: Lisboa, Aragon: Zaragoza, Granada, Toledo or Palermo.
Building required for coronation: for Castille: Alkazar in Toledo / for Portugal: Alkazar in Lisbon / for Aragon: Alkazar in Toledo, Granada, Zaragoza and also Palazzo dei Normanii in Palermo.
Pic to be used: tbc.
Ideas for distant future:
Maritime ambitions (trait that is not related to the crowns, to be used in future, only 2 provinces): Barcelona, Lisboa.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.
Current (098) situation:
Eventually, I've decided to go for smaller number of provinces and diferentiation of the between factions.
Aragon has technically a separate crown, but also access also to the Corona Ibérica.
Leon has two sets of provinces for gaining the crown.
Portugal - 13 provinces.
Place of coronation: Lisbon, and Jerusalem as for any other Christian faction.
https://i.imgur.com/g1t1QiD.png
Leon - 15 provinces or 13 provinces as in the map for Portugal
Place of coronation: Toledo, and Jerusalem as for any other Christian faction.
https://i.imgur.com/P9e8uD7.png
Aragon - 12 provinces for own crown or 15 provinces for the Corona Ibérica.
Place of coronation: Toledo, Granada, Zaragoza, or Palermo, and Jerusalem as for any other Christian faction.
https://i.imgur.com/MxDkZq3.png
Status: implemented in 0.97, places of coronation updated in 0.98.
Crown of Italy (Venice, Pisa, Sicily)
crown_italy
Current situation:
Name: King of Italy
Effects: Authority 3, Command 1, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1.
Number cities: 13.
Factions having access: Sicily, Venice, Abbasids (since they replace Milan) – there’s some mess with one set of triggers.
Concept: Italian peninsula, notably without Rome.
How easy to get: easy.
Provinces missing / redundant: Roma, hmm.
Is pic correct: ?
Modifications’ ideas
New concept: any concept based on the political divisions wouldn’t make much sense. The concept here is a geographical one: whole Apennine Peninsula plus the islands minus Rome (as the seat of the Pope). Additional conditions for coronation may be added (“seen Rome” etc.). One may also think if not to add: Zara, Ragusa.
Gameplay perspective: the most difficult part is to cope with the pope and the HRE. The rest is easier.
One of the problems associated with this crown is that there's an ancillary "Iron Crown" in the game. It's a relic. I'm leaving it in for the moment.
Name of the crown: ?
Title of the ruler: ?
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: as on the pic.
Number provinces: 14.
Place of coronation: Lombardy (historically: Pavia).
Building required for coronation: Campo dei Miracoli lvl5: Church with Baptistry and Tower for Pisa (ie: City level but after some investment), San Marco for Venice, Palazzo dei Normanni for Sicily.
Factions able to get it: Venice, Pisa, Sicily.
Pic to be used: tbd.
Ideas for distant future: tbd.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.
I didn't have time yet to elaborate here , but in the patch there'll be crowns with 5 maps as I've decided to go for smaller number of provinces and diferentiation between factions:
Sicily: 13 provinces for the Land version, 12 for the Maritime version
https://i.imgur.com/WSlqLQR.png
In-game this one is slightly different: no Jerusalem, Corinth, Arta, but Thessalonica, Tarabulus.
The reason is both the gameplay (Jerusalem is too far and conquering it would have meant getting into war probably with many local factions), and historicity: think of AD 1185 and conqest of Thesallonica (and the war one century earlier also of 1084). Tarabulus (and many cities in Tunesia) were in Sicilian possesion in mid-12th century, before the advent of the Almohads.
https://i.imgur.com/zNhSD0I.png
Pisa: 13 provinces for the Land version, 12 for the Maritime version
https://i.imgur.com/r7RWeEa.png
https://i.imgur.com/OPoZYvX.png
Venice: 14 provinces for the Land version, 11 for the Maritime version
https://i.imgur.com/g7swrop.png
https://i.imgur.com/DGTDFs9.png
Implemented in 097.
Crown of Turks (Seljuqs, Abbasids)
crown_turks
Current situation:
Name: Sultan of Turks
Number cities: 20.
Factions having access: Seljuqs, Abbasids.
Concept: dominions of the Great Seljuqs at the end of 11th century. It was the (brief) hight of their rule and they didn’t control in full all these territories at the same moment. Too broad concept for the SSHIP gameplay.
How easy to get: difficult, many factions to war with.
Provinces missing / redundant: many, it’s better just to start from scratch.
Is pic correct: ?
Modifications’ ideas
New concept: potential Seljuk ambitions in the mid-12th century. Of course, you don't have much lands in the east that Sanjar ruled over (however thinly), but it's still a great landmass. This is mainly because of the gameplay: it’s already a vast territory, especially as compared to Europe. Also, a compromise between Seljuqs and Abbasid ambitions should be found. One of the questions is if to include al Basra and al Wasit. It's there, but maybe not?
Gameplay perspective: still difficult due to the vast spaces and number of the enemies. And the Mongols will come soon.
Name of the crown: ?
Title of the ruler: Sultan of the Turks
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Provinces: as on the pic.
Number provinces: 15.
Place of coronation: Baghdad (or Isfahan?)
Building required for coronation: Jama.
Factions able to get it: Seljuqs, Abbasids.
Pic to be used: tbc.
Ideas for distant future: second-tier crown would be needed.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.
--------------
The concept has been implemented into the SSHIP as two separate crowns, with requirements as below:
Crown of the Turks:
https://i.imgur.com/H5huryb.png
Status: implemented with 15 provinces.
A crown of the Caliph:
https://i.imgur.com/xJuqvBl.png
Status: implemented with 12 provinces.
Crown of Egypt (Fatimids, Zenghids)
crown_egypt
Current situation:
Name: Sultan of Egypt
Number cities: 17
Factions having access: Fatimids.
Concept: historical ambitions of the Fatimids and other dynasties, never achieved and very grandiose. From the point of view of the gameplay definitely too broad, as they include whole Mesopotamia.
How easy to get: difficult, many factions to war with.
Provinces missing / redundant: too many to change, it’s better just to start from scratch.
Is pic correct: ?
Modifications’ ideas
New concept: Ayyubids at the high of their power at the end of 12th century – ie on the death of Saladin. The number of provinces is still very high, and challenges abound (there’s a need to kill off two factions), but geographically it’s more packed and makes more sense. The Fatymid ambitions were much wider (with their homeland of Ifrikyia and even Sicily).
Gameplay perspective: difficult due to the distance and the need to fight many enemies (in practice, there'll be more provinces as the Holy Land will be taken just by way of getting north and east). The traditional lands in Ifrikyia should be defined as a end-goal of the campaign.
Name of the crown: Crown of al-Misr
Title of the ruler: Sultan of al-Misr
Effects: Authority 2, Law 1, LocalPopularity 1 and tbd
Place of coronation: Al Quahira.
Building required for coronation: Al-Azhar Mosque (the upper level of the university building).
Provinces: as on the pic.
Number provinces: 15.
Factions having access: Fatimids, in the future: Zenghids.
Pic to be used: tbc.
Description: to be developed by the players.
Ideas for distant future: none
Memo for future: has this crown been analyzed thoroughly?: Partially.
https://i.imgur.com/5ziW64O.png
Status: implemented with 14 provinces.