Faction Priorities??

[hpsauce13]

So i was Lithuania, in a tight spot, at war with poland and pretty much everyone else. So i send a diplomat to poland hoping for peace and realise their priorities are peace

so i try and get some 'compensation' money out of them, however they say they're not interested after a few cheeky demands. No problem so i reload and try again. then WTF? the priorities have changed to unknown, and theres no peace for me!

So can anyone tell me what affects the faction priorities? or are they just randomly generated

[bɑne]

I've noticed that reloading seems to change / default diplomatic values - once I saved before vassaling, decided to redo the deal and after reloading suddenly the vassaling was no longer possible. Maybe someone else had similar experiences - could be that "priorities" are generated on the ai turn.

[Fair Prince]

I've noticed that reloading seems to change / default diplomatic values - once I saved before vassaling, decided to redo the deal and after reloading suddenly the vassaling was no longer possible. Maybe someone else had similar experiences - could be that "priorities" are generated on the ai turn.

I also experimented this thing in the past, albeit with vanilla M2TW - reloading before a diplomatic negotiation may have indeed some effect on the outcome. I wanted to buy Vienna from the HRE and when I tried it right after ending the turn, they sold it for a relatively good price. However, being a perfectionist, I saved the game just before the business, but once I haggled with them again after reloading (with the hope of pushing down the sum a bit), something must have changed as they began to ask for a higher price - and whenever I reloaded this savegame, the city always cost more.

I think the aforementioned priorities must have been regenerated, that's why it could have happened. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing: looks like the continual saving/loading procedure before negotiations comes at a price. It's not substantial, but it's there.
We can even call it 'reload-tax' or 'reload-penalty', I suppose...
(Edit: there may also be positive effects of this, though I haven't noticed any yet.)

[Caesar Clivus]

I'm thinking bane is correct. Reloading has a resetting effect on many things in the game. I'm wondering if because you reloaded, the game had no data to go on and so Poland's priorities was instead "unknown". I'm curious: if you still have that saved game, reload it, hit end turn and then engage in diplomacy. See if the priorities have changed.

[hpsauce13]

i dont actually have the savegame (some itunes updates caused it to go AWOL) but i remember in the turns afterwards i couldnt get peace, although that maybe down to the fact i besieged one of their settlements that turn

[Caesar Clivus]

i dont actually have the savegame (some itunes updates caused it to go AWOL) but i remember in the turns afterwards i couldnt get peace, although that maybe down to the fact i besieged one of their settlements that turn

Quite possibly.

[hpsauce13]

But what actually influences what the factions want, is it scripted that certain factions will be more aggressive, does it change from one faction leader to another or is it simply random?

[HolyDevil]

it's like when i send spies with like 88% chance or even 95% then they die, im WTF, so i reload, only to find out, that no matter how many times i reload the game, they ALWAYS die, in ANY mission i send them, seems the game gets stuck somehow on that fail option, once you end the turn, everything is back to normal

quite wierd imho

[bɑne]

it's like when i send spies with like 88% chance or even 95% then they die, im WTF, so i reload, only to find out, that no matter how many times i reload the game, they ALWAYS die, in ANY mission i send them, seems the game gets stuck somehow on that fail option, once you end the turn, everything is back to normal

quite wierd imho

Once you hit end turn a different random number is generated changing the outcome of the 95% missions - at least thats how I explain that situation. I think moving another character (in the same turn) before attempting the spy mission should also alter the random number which is mainly responsible for determining the outcome. Seems the dice in the game are stuck on one outcome unless somebody (else) moves... btw the same system is used in Civilisation 4 unless you select "generate new random number on load".

[Fair Prince]

I think moving another character (in the same turn) before attempting the spy mission should also alter the random number which is mainly responsible for determining the outcome.

I can confirm bane's statement.
What's more, as far as I know, it not only affects the outcome of missions but also the auto-resolved battles and the 'end of turn effects' as well (with the latter I mean those traits, ancillaries and events you get/lose when you push the 'end turn' button).

[soulson]

So i was Lithuania, in a tight spot, at war with poland and pretty much everyone else. So i send a diplomat to poland hoping for peace and realise their priorities are peace

so i try and get some 'compensation' money out of them, however they say they're not interested after a few cheeky demands. No problem so i reload and try again. then WTF? the priorities have changed to unknown, and theres no peace for me!

So can anyone tell me what affects the faction priorities? or are they just randomly generated

This can also happen if the faction is bankrupt.

[Stolet]

I would guess a faction that is in a lot of wars and is losing it's regions has "Peace" as a priority. In the early game, most factions start with "Trade" cause they want to build up. When they build up, priorities start getting more military, that would be pretty logical.

[bɑne]

I can confirm bane's statement.
What's more, as far as I know, it not only affects the outcome of missions but also the auto-resolved battles and the 'end of turn effects' as well (with the latter I mean those traits, ancillaries and events you get/lose when you push the 'end turn' button).

Thanks for mentioning that - move a character to much and next turn your faction leader is alcoholic
Reloading and moving a character before turn end was one of my most used "cheats" in Rome before I figured out the use of the console (and a way to nerf traits by modding).

[JorisofHolland]

Thanks for mentioning that - move a character to much and next turn your faction leader is alcoholic

This gives me a crazy idea, if there is a counter for reloading at least.
Would be like this: when you reload, your FL get's one point - when you reload again (later moment though) it increases, until a certain treshold, at which the trait appears. Something like "Big Brother's watching you". (But perhaps I'm just a bit to tired.)

[Fair Prince]

Thanks for mentioning that - move a character to much and next turn your faction leader is alcoholic
Reloading and moving a character before turn end was one of my most used "cheats" in Rome before I figured out the use of the console (and a way to nerf traits by modding).

The alcoholic trait is a good example, but a lot more can depend on a reload, and I think some may underestimate its usefulness.
New births, deaths, proposals, random events, character movements, finances, and new missions, among other othings, can all be influenced. Sure, it takes a lot of time and patience to always save and reload, but for the perfectionists, it definitely worths it.

Personally, I don't consider it cheating, it's more like, you know, taking advantages of certain 'loopholes'...

[JorisofHolland]

Personally, I don't consider it cheating, it's more like, you know, taking advantages of certain 'loopholes'...

Which is called 'exploiting'.