Italia Dominatus is a mod I have begun work on which has several aims:
- To accurately reflect the political strife and history of the Italian Peninsula during the early middle ages up to the renaissance.
- To create a campaign experience very unlike that offered by vanilla Medieval II and most mods.
- To try to address the problems I see with the basic Total War formula, and to create a consistent challenge, while still making a enjoyable campaign.
- To suck away all my free time and drive me crazy with un-logged CTD's.
The Background
There are few times in history as well suited to a war game then medieval Italy. Feuding city states absorb, aid, destroy, and betray each other at the drop of a hat. Great Powers from abroad invade en masse periodically, setting up client kingdoms that fold the moment they turn their head. Mercenaries and Nomadic Peoples flood in, carving out kingdoms for themselves wherever they can.
How It translates
I've modeled the game in concept after Europa Unviersalis- The factions do no start out balanced, but instead are divided into various groups as would have been hopefully accurate at the time.
I choose 1061 as the start date because it offers the greatest diversity of factions- the Byzantines have just retaken settlements stolen by the Guiscards, the Muslims still maintain a tenuous foothold in the south, and the northern states are seemingly more divided then they would ever be.
In terms of great powers, we have
- Hungary, who would meddle mostly unsuccessfuly in Italian affairs for years.
- The Byzantine Empire, who maintain a slowly decreasing hold on the eastern part of the Italian Penisula
- The Holy Roman Empire, who though in name includes most of Northern Italy, has little power there and frequently invades to attempt to assert its dominance. They will periodically invade as a horde.
- The Papal States.
- France (emergent)
- Spain (emergent)
- Ottoman Empire (emergent)
In terms of Non-Italian Lesser Powers, we have
- The Zirid Dynasty (Emirate of Tunisia)
- The Emirate of Sicily
- Kingdom of Croatia
- Giudicato of Logudoro (Sassari)- Sardinian independent state.
- Kingdom of Croatia
- Kingdom of Serbia
In Terms of Italian lesser powers and city states, we have
- The Republic of Venice
- The Duchy of Savoy
- Marquisate of Verona
- Marquisate of Tuscany
- The Duchy of Spoleto
- The March of Calabria and Apulia
- Principality of Salerno
- Genoa
- Milan
- Sicily
- Naples
- Pisa
Note that there is still room for 5 factions. I will be working on adding a few emergent factions and perhaps, if I get motivated enough, make a separate renaissance provincial campaign. I am very much still learning about this period in history- if anyone has any faction suggestions I'd love to hear them.
Gameplay Focuses
There are a few factors about this mod that will, hopefully, make it into a very different playing experience. While first and foremost will be extreme disparity in power between a kingdom and a city state, I will also be focusing on certain mechanics:
Economic Warfare
Trade has been integral part of the success, and failure, of most Italian factions throughout history - as such, trade income, especially sea trade, will be the lifeblood of your faction. At the same time, blockades, interruption of trade routes, devastation, war- these will be majorly devastating economic factors. I want to make economic warfare a very real, and viable, possibility- by upping dependence on trade, and subsequently making devastation and blockades something that need to be dealt with immediately. If you, you know, wanna live.
In the same vein, merchants will be much different in this game. Going with the logic that they represent great traders and not just some guy selling wood in the forest outside town, and that Italy at the time was essentially the merchant capital of much of the western world, merchants will be far more expensive and powerful- and fighting over a comparatively limited number of resources. This represents the struggles between guilds and family's and factions as they tried to they murdered, muscled, and bought each other out. Each resource will give a lot of money- but everyone will be fighting for them.
Condottiere
Mercenaries were a big part of warfare in medieval Italy, a fact Machiavelli much lamented. As such, I am going to attempt to expand and heavily populate the mercenary system, taking cues from historical region and time line factors. Every faction will have access to a revised and expanded mercenary system- but for the Italians it will be where the majority of their really powerful or unique units come from. If the AI can handle it, I would like to have a massive global Italian mercenary pool, with units that re-enter the pool once disbanded- creating a separate struggle between factions to buy up the best mercenaries and deprive the enemies of theirs.
Mercenaries themselves will have reduced morale, be cheaper to hire, but more expensive to maintain.
Citizen Militias
Italian city states, perhaps because the legacy of the roman empire, often employed citizen militias to defend their cities, and with limited success, attack their rivals. While these militia's grew more organized and effective throughout the years, even in the early middle ages you occasional hear about them.
All cities and castles, to a lesser extent, will have larger free-upkeep allowances. Italians will have access to a special class of militia units- cheap, limitedly competent, easily raised, these units represent the mass of defenders that can be drafted in defense of a city with an armed populace. They will, however, have increased support cost- they are intended for city defense, where their upkeep is free. (Note: This feature is pretty dependent on the AI's ability to handle it.)
Recruitment
I will be looking to limit and change the recruitment system to more reflect the reality that, if you 20,000 army is massacred, you cant just wait two years and have another one. While I find limited recruitment systems to be generally more annoying then fun in games, I will be looking for a way to ensure that big, powerful, rare units stay that way, and that every battle is an important one- but not at the expense of enjoyment.
Nobles/Guilds
Italy has a rich history of inter family warfare, rebellion, betrayal, and failed and successful seizures of power. When noble families or powerful guilds were spurned or disrespected, they did not take it laying down. As such, I will be attempting implement a method by which serious rebellions and problems can be created by spurning the wishes of the guilds and family. I'm not sure if this is possible, but it would be cool (as I see it in my head.)
Unique Units
Since the various Italian factions are, for the most part, made up of exactly the same people and only separated by a line on a map or the title of the man/woman in charge of where they live at the moment, their unit lists will be roughly the same. Their will, of couse, be differences between Norman Italian, and northern Italians, and lombardic/french italians, but for the most part your units will be the same.
So, what will make it not horribly boring and redudant?
Firstly, the massive mercenary system means that, if you have the cash, you will never be limited to merely your own unit pool.
Secondly, the unit roster for the Italian factions, as provided to me by Jaguar6, is massive, and will result a more devolped and diverse unit count then found in any single faction in vanilla, or any mod i've played yet.
As if that wasnt enough, each important or historic city will provide its current owner with the ability to recruit a certian type of unit. So, owning Genoa as an italian faction, will let you train the superior Genovese crossbowmen. There will be approx 12 of these units, and furthermore, I will be scattering a few 'easter egg's around- whose to say that every now and then the Zirid Caliph won't import some elephants from southern africa, or a byzantine firethrower won't be tempted away by the promise of gold? Such things will not be commonplace (expect to pay through the nose), but they are hardly ahistorical
Previews
Help
Though I pretty much want to make this mod myself (not to be a dick, but I want to make the mod I want to make, and my work style would probably drive people crazy anyway) thier are lots of things I could use help with, if anyone wants to give.
These are things the I need:
- Unit list for the Italian factions (provided by Jaguar6)
- Unit lists, and historical information on the Zirids (building names, ideas for traits and ancillaries)
- Unit lists, and historical information, on the Byzantine Empire (building names, ideas for traits and ancillaries)
- Unit lists, and historical information on the Kingdom of Hungary (building names, ideas for traits and ancillaries)
- Unit lists, and historical information on the Kingdom of Croatia(building names, ideas for traits and ancillaries)
- Unit lists, and historical information on the Kingdom of Serbia (building names, ideas for traits and ancillaries)
- Information on mercenary companies that would serve as inspiration of historically accurate mercenaries.
- Traits, ancillaries, and special buildings for the Italian factions.
- Language translation- similar to Europa Barbarum, I would like to have the names of the kingdoms, units, buildings, and all that in the native langauge as much as possible.
- More as a realize the need for it.
Contributors
These people have been invaluable in the help they have given me-
- Wildog, for allowing me the use of his map, and then letting me screw with it.
- Jaguar6, for countless units lists and historical information.
Italia Dominatus
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