Questions regarding a simple feudal system idea using building. Is it possible?

[Jackbob]

I guess that somebody already got this idea before, but I was thinking about adding a building called "Royal Estate" or something which would represent the establishment of royal control in a previous vassal province. A very simple feudal system mechanism. The building would be very expensive (which would represent the efforts needed from the crown) and take long time to construct. It would also lower the happiness in the province (to represent the opposition from the vassals losing their lands to the king) and only be available in high era and onwards. My idea is that provinces without this building (ie provinces ruled by vassals) would be useless financially, but when controlled by the crown (with building contructed), they would generate money as they do in vanilla. This means that large empires don't have to be richer that smaller, since the smaller ones could be more centralized (more "royal estates") and the bigger ones more feudalism oriented (less "royal estates").

The list below is how I want the building to work in the game, and I'm wondering if any experienced modder could tell me if these things below are possible and is so, how they can be done. You don't have to explain to much, since I know a little about modding (I've been adding factions and units), just what files should be edited and how.

I want the building to kind of "lock up" income from the province, meaning that before the building is built, the province will not earn money from farms, markets etc. Is this possible.

I also want the building to be destroyed when the province is conquered, so that the conqueror can't benefit from the efforts made by the previous owner. I noticed that holy buildings always gets destroyed if conquered by another faith, can I do the same with this building but making it destroyed regardless of faith.
Alternatively, I may create one building of this kind for each faction, so that you don't have to rebuild this building when you retake your province. I wonder, in that case, if it's possible to make a building that only works with a specific building (so that HRE can't benefit from a French Royal Estate, thus they have to contruct one of their own).

My final question is if it is possible to create a new resource, like gold, that's invisible. And when you construct this building (that would in this case work like a mine) a symbol appears (a crown or something) just like mining towers appear on top of gold recources when you contruct mines.

I would be very happy if you could help me with this idea, thank you.

[Jackbob]

I think I'll do it another way instead using the income_bonus effect, so don't mind the text above.

My one and only question is now very simple: How can I lower the income produced from farms, markets, taxes etc? I want the base income to be very low and then I'll use the income_bonus effect for my new building, that will increase the income by several hundred percents.

[Quark]

I believe that \data\descr_settlement_mechanics.xml controls growth and economy of buildings.

[Jackbob]

Ok, thanks. I'll look that up.

EDIT: Ok, I checked the file and could someone explain to me what the these things mean? For example:

<pip_modifier value="0.8"/>
<castle_modifier value="0.5"/>
<pip_min value="0"/>
<pip_max value="16"/>

[Quark]

It depends which section your taliking about, eg

<factor name="SOF_DISTANCE_TO_CAPITAL">
<pip_modifier value="1.1"/>

Reducing this value reduces the effect of unrest from being far away from your capital.

I would just go through the list looking for farm and trade and make the pip_modifier value smaller, staying within the range stated by the other two.

[Jackbob]

Ok, thanks for helping.

[Snipafist]

Ok, thanks. I'll look that up.

EDIT: Ok, I checked the file and could someone explain to me what the these things mean? For example:

<pip_modifier value="0.8"/>
<castle_modifier value="0.5"/>
<pip_min value="0"/>
<pip_max value="16"/>

pip_modifier value is the how much each "pip" counts as, or how powerful the effect is

castle_modifier value (or city_modifier as well) adjusts the effect from the base. So in your case, castles only get half the bonus a settlement would (0.8 x 0.5 = 0.4).

pip_min value is how low it goes. In this case, it bottoms out at 0 and can't go negative (most things can't go negative anyways).

pip_max value is how high it goes. In this case, it reaches a value of 16. If this is the distance from capital order hit (like I think it is), that means it has a maximum of a 90% penalty to order, as each pip normally counts for 5%, so 5x16=90%.

To answer any future questions, anything that has SOF in front means "settlement order factor", SIF means "settlement income factor" and SPF means "settlement population factor"(growth rate), so keep these in mind.

[Jackbob]

Thanks alot!

Edit: I can't figure out how to get my building (called Royal Control for the momen) to work properly. I want it to raise the existing income in the province by like 1000%. I do not want it to add more tradeable goods like markets or upgrade farms, since ordinary market and farming buildings would be useless financially.
How can I raise the existing income generated from normal financial buildings? Should I use scripts or is there a bonus effect in the EDB file that can do that?
Thanks.

[Point Blank]

The way I simulate the feudal system in my install is simple but probably a reasonable abstraction.
Ok, you will know all the following, but bear with me a moment: How do we define feudal units, ie vassals? They have obligation to the lord for a period of service each year/turn. The lord resides in the castle. He gives the vassals tenured land (fiefs) in return for the service, that is the cost to the lord. So how do we simulate this in M2TW?
-We have the lord and his castle already.
-We simulate the giving of lands by paying a one-time recruitment cost, but in this case we could call it a tenure agreement.
-We simulate the ongoing obligation of the vassal by making it a free upkeep unit at the castle, which is easy to do in the EDB/EDU.
-We keep the replacement rate and pool size of these units low.
-If the vassal/feudal unit ends the year away from castle, it has clearly been in the lord's service that year/turn for a greater period that its nominal obligation, and an upkeep cost of some variety must then be paid.
Note that these units are recruited by the castle, not the barracks or stables. By recruiting at the castle we are simulating the gathering of nobles/landowners seeking tenure etc from the castle lord.
Units I have identified as 'feudal' and worked in to my EDU/EDB so far:
Mailed Knights
Polish Nobles
Boyar Sons
Hungarian Nobles
Byzantine Cavalry
Sipahis
English Huscarls
Theigns
Dismounted Polish Nobles
Huscarls
Dismounted Huscarls
Feudal Knights
Sipahi Lancers
Dismounted Feudal Knights
Dismounted Boyar Sons
Dismounted Sipahi Lancers
Dismounted Feudal Knights
Dismounted Polish Knights
Dismounted Polish Nobles
Polish Knights
Noble Swordsmen
Noble Knights
Imperial Knights
Chivalric Knights
E Chivalric Knights
Dismounted Noble Knights
Dismounted Chivalric Knights
Dismounted E Chivalric Knights
Dismounted English Knights
Dismounted Portuguese Knights
Portuguese Knights
I only have this system in operation until the timurid invasion, which is a reasonable time to end the feudal system, so in the EDB:
free_upkeep bonus 1 requires event_counter timurids_invasion_warn 0
Wooden castle gets 1 free upkeep, castle 2, fortress 3 and citadel 4, simulating the larger lands under control of these structures.
Besides making life easier for the AI, this is a good reason to keep castles, rather than just barracks/stables, able to recruit. Its a reasonable abstraction. It also makes life easier for overstretched economies.

-PB

[Jackbob]

Ok, is it easier to make it random then? So that a Royal Control building pops out in any province owned by the faction?
And can I make it so that Royal Control always gets destroyed when the settlement is conquered. I want to prevent the player from getting financial advantages by rushing on the enemies' royal demesne.

[alpaca]

Unfortunately you can't destroy buildings. However you can disable UI parts so the player has to destroy some of these buildings if he wants to continue playing, which is basically what I'm doing for Anno Domini (that won't work for the AI though).

[Jackbob]

Hmm, I still can't get the provinces with Royal Control to work.
This is the capability for the corn exchange building in the EDB file:

            capability
            {
                agent merchant  0  requires factions { northern_european, } 
                agent merchant  0  requires factions { middle_eastern, } 
                agent merchant  0  requires factions { eastern_european, } 
                agent merchant  0  requires factions { greek, } 
                agent merchant  0  requires factions { southern_european, } 
                trade_base_income_bonus bonus 2
		trade_base_income_bonus bonus 8 requires building_present_min_level royal_demesne royal_control
                agent_limit merchant 1
            }

But the province still doesn't generate more trade money with Royal Control built..
I want it to generate a small sum without the building and when it gets it, it should earn alot more.

[Jackbob]

Ok, I managed to make the trade income increase work. But are there any bonuses for farming income and tax income?
I tried these taxes_base_income_bonus bonus and farming_base_income_bonus bonus but that doesn't seem to work.
So now, I got a temporarly solution that only increases trade income and adds a income bonus of 1000 florins. But I would really like to increase taxes and farming as well.