Fans suggestion thread for future releases

[Roma_Victrix]

A humble suggestion for future releases, part of a post taken from my thread about Paleohispanic written scripts and the influence of Greek and Carthaginian alphabets on the semi-syllabary writing systems of the native Iberians and neighboring Celtiberians who minted tons of coins to keep up with the war effort between Rome and Carthage:

I think it would be cool if EBII had some sort of economic reform event for Iberia dated to the Second Punic War, given the amount of coinage in circulation due to the war effort. The Romans had their Iberian allies pumping out minted coins to pay recruited soldiers and the Carthaginians were doing the same with their allies in ancient Spain. Coins were minted beforehand, but the scale of it at the end of the 3rd century BC was unprecedented. Not sure how game mechanics would work for that beyond small economic bonuses for any factions holding Mediterranean Spanish territories, but it would be interesting to reflect that in the game.

I think it would be neat if factions who controlled certain provinces in the Iberian peninsula gained a small economic boost dated to the time of the Second Punic War. Of course, if this would hypothetically be accompanied by a message scroll explaining this. The Second Punic War radically transformed many local economies of towns and city-states in the eastern half of Spain, most of which were already heavily interconnected via trade and cultural exchange well before this point. The influence of these greater Mediterranean powers was felt in many ways, but in terms of game mechanics it should involve greater finances to purchase and recruit more of those shiny looking new mercenaries available in Iberian rosters. Just a thought!

[Roma_Victrix]

When you upgrade a small port at Rhegion to a regular port, you suddenly lose the ability to recruit the trireme/bireme fleet of patrol ships. This was probably an accident on the part of the EBII team, something worth fixing if that's the case. Or perhaps it was intentional sabotage by a saboteur trying to troll us.

[QuintusSertorius]

When you upgrade a small port at Rhegion to a regular port, you suddenly lose the ability to recruit the trireme/bireme fleet of patrol ships. This was probably an accident on the part of the EBII team, something worth fixing if that's the case. Or perhaps it was intentional sabotage by a saboteur trying to troll us.

I'm pretty sure that's fixed in the current build, but I will check.

EDIT: Yes, it was fixed.

[Roma_Victrix]

Good to know! It's a minor issue, but something worth fixing.

Aside from that, I notice in the current version there are a huge amount of rebels that appear each year across your territory. It's a considerable uptick requiring lots of extra troops handy to deal with the miscreants. Is this part of an effort to distract, drain resources, and slow down the player's progress and expansion? It's a wee bit excessive, though. Perhaps toning it down just a bit would be nice, as I don't remember rebels being this much of an obstacle beforehand. Or is this an earnest effort to simulate civil wars and the type of brigandage that plagued the Roman Republic before the greater stability of the Empire?

[QuintusSertorius]

Good to know! It's a minor issue, but something worth fixing.

Aside from that, I notice in the current version there are a huge amount of rebels that appear each year across your territory. It's a considerable uptick requiring lots of extra troops handy to deal with the miscreants. Is this part of an effort to distract, drain resources, and slow down the player's progress and expansion? It's a wee bit excessive, though. Perhaps toning it down just a bit would be nice, as I don't remember rebels being this much of an obstacle beforehand. Or is this an earnest effort to simulate civil wars and the type of brigandage that plagued the Roman Republic before the greater stability of the Empire?

There's a revolts script which replaces the "bandit" spawn. It should only be noticeable if you have a lot of provinces, because it's random, with a long cooldown on an individual province basis. It's to simulate the internal strife that existed everywhere, whilst also forcing the player to keep an eye on their interior. If settlements are left thinly garrisoned, they often attack.

[Shoebopp]

Some mentioned that Thraikian Mezenai (the lancers) were hellenized Thracian settlers, not the Raskumezenai (the skirmishers). Could all recruitment of Raskumezenai in hellenistic colonies thus be replaced by Mezenai? As well as buff the numbers of Mezenai to that of Xystophoroi, which is 70?

[Shoebopp]

Could KH be allowed to establish level 1 Polis (but not military colonies)? This would make thematic sense considering many greek city states sought to colonize new lands especially in the great Greek diaspora of the 700s BC. The only problem is that some EBII team members noted that the polis/military colonization buildings represents a centralized/royal policy of somewhat forcibly relocating Greeks to foreign lands. Though you could argue that once KH undergoes their reforms, they will have enough centralized power to do what royal dynasties do.

[Antiokhos Euergetes]

What you suggest is true, but the Kh is not really a koine is it? It's actually represents the symachoi the Athens, Sparta, Rhodes and the Aitolian koine.
So technically they having separate boule etc would not have shared "government".
Even in the case of the actua Akaian koine we find Sparta very resistant to being incorporated.
I think I would like to see the three separate poleis being made more individual. Less similarities between Athens, Sparta, Rhodes. Perhaps if Thermon is captured it could have a very Aiotolion Koine structure and the same with Korinthos an Akaian Koine structure. Even perhaps the more you pursue a federal government the more likely that Sparta will revolt.

[Mamlaz]

Flaming javelins for at least one Iberian unit;

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Silius Italicus

[Antiokhos Euergetes]

Is there a possibility of simulating Eugetism, a particular popular display of power among Hellenistic monarchs. Perhaps buildings could arrive from time to time going options for building of temples in Athens or Delos etc or starting festivals etc The Basileos could gain epithet Eurgetes.
I think of Antiokhos IV and the Temple of Zeus

[Gigantus]

Enabling buildings based on scripted triggers is possible, giving it religious attributes (Zeus) however may cause game balance issues so other bonuses should be considered (order etc). These attributes can be reduced\removed over time again with scripted triggers as well.

To reduce it's presence to select cities one would require hidden resources (which EBII might have exhausted already) or otherwise unique buildings.

[Roma_Victrix]

Flaming javelins for at least one Iberian unit;

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Silius Italicus

WTF? That sounds insane. Awesome. Thanks for sharing (I repped you for another post recently, so I can't do so for this one).

I am also rather interested in the type of artillery the Romans and Carthaginians had in the Punic Wars. That's considering the accounts of Polybius about them tearing holes into each other's walls in Sicily well before existence of the counterweight trebuchet in the High Middle Ages (although ancient Warring States era Chinese had traction trebuchets). Perhaps the stone-throwing Greek Lithobolos and the Roman one talent ballista are good approximations of available artillery after all, not just the Greek Oxybeles and Roman Scorpio bolt throwers.

What you suggest is true, but the Kh is not really a koine is it? It's actually represents the symachoi the Athens, Sparta, Rhodes and the Aitolian koine.
So technically they having separate boule etc would not have shared "government".
Even in the case of the actua Akaian koine we find Sparta very resistant to being incorporated.
I think I would like to see the three separate poleis being made more individual. Less similarities between Athens, Sparta, Rhodes. Perhaps if Thermon is captured it could have a very Aiotolion Koine structure and the same with Korinthos an Akaian Koine structure. Even perhaps the more you pursue a federal government the more likely that Sparta will revolt.

I like the idea of Sparta being testy and rebellious, even within the Koinon Hellenon and especially during the federalizing koina reforms among league members, but this perhaps shouldn't be as extreme as Sparta being rebellious towards fellow Hellenistic yet still foreign ruling factions like the Ptolemies, Seleucids, Pergamum, Macedonia or Epirus. They resisted Philip II and Alexander the Great's League of Corinth, but one would think the Spartans would be able to stomach being part of a larger framework if they themselves were candidates for leading a koinon league as elected strategoi. For instance, the polis of Sparta had no problem being the leading member of the Peloponnesian League against the Delian League of Athens in the previous Classical period.

[Antiokhos Euergetes]

@Romantic_vitrix
I understand that, but think of Thucydides the Athenians and Spartans could not both be hegemon. The Spartans withdrew from the Persian wars, the Athenians grew in power. You know the story, then it's the Theban hegemony.
On the otherhand Boitian, Aiotolian, and Akaian Koion slowly grew in influence and expanded. Eventually Spartan became a threat again in the Peloponnese and it required Makedon to put it down.
Athens, contrary is a faded power that attacks Boitian Koion in the 160s and that about it.
The big resistance of Sparta is it believes in its right to hegemonic power in the peloponnese. It would never give up any sovereign power to become part of a koine.
Back during the persian wars Sparta was leader of a Symmachoi not a koine

[Shoebopp]

The Stasis building simulates Sparta, Athens, and other original Greek city states' butting heads with each other enough. -20% law, and a historical description seems to do it justice. Coupled with the Hellenic Autonomy building which simulates their, well, autonomy, and Hellenistic powers will have a pretty bad time keeping them under control

[Pooploop]

Guys, what's up with the getai light phalanx? I was in the middle of making personal mods on phalanx units in general and I noticed that that particular unit has no signifiers under its description. Normally, when you hover over a unit, a text box pops up with a brief description, its stats, and stuff like can withdraw, powerful charge, or can form phalanx, or effective against armor, etc. The Getai Light phalanx had a big blank under its description, so I got weirded out and didn't touch the unit at all with my personal mods. Is that particular unit bugged?

[Kilo11]

Guys, what's up with the getai light phalanx? I was in the middle of making personal mods on phalanx units in general and I noticed that that particular unit has no signifiers under its description. Normally, when you hover over a unit, a text box pops up with a brief description, its stats, and stuff like can withdraw, powerful charge, or can form phalanx, or effective against armor, etc. The Getai Light phalanx had a big blank under its description, so I got weirded out and didn't touch the unit at all with my personal mods. Is that particular unit bugged?

I can't remember exactly how the unit stuff is coded, but it might be missing its desc_short entry. At any rate, pointing it out is the best way to get it fixed, so good on you

[Pooploop]

Another thing is the Celtic Spearmen. Its description says it's a unit armed with spears and javelins, but is only armed with a spear. What's up with that?

[Lusitanio]

Another thing is the Celtic Spearmen. Its description says it's a unit armed with spears and javelins, but is only armed with a spear. What's up with that?

The description needs to be updated. Having the unit only using a spear and no javelin was a decision of the historians as that fighting style wasn't practiced by all.

[Roma_Victrix]

I have a couple of issues that could perhaps use some attention, highlighted by these screenshots. First issue: there is no such thing as 0 AD. There was certainly not a 0 BC, for that matter, just 1 BC per our historical Christian dating system (same for secular common era, BCE/CE). That being said, if I remember correctly, it only displayed 0 AD for a turn or so, and switched over to 1 AD or something.



Also, a strange occurrence with trigger dates for reforms in regards to my KH campaign: I received the KH reform message on turn 56 when it was obviously relevant for gameplay. However, long after the reforms had been implemented and I had built the highest level government building tree infrastructure, such as two founding poleis, I randomly received the message again on turn 307. This was totally out of the blue, so to speak. It then cycled through the regular messages about the stages of reform, even though they had long since been established. I'm guessing this is due to some sort of bug or error with trigger dates in one of the data files? Not a big issue, but it's a little silly to see this in 196 BC after I have already conquered the Mediterranean (and built various Polis tou ton Hellenon Koinou governments from Massalia to Antiocheia on top of earlier Symmachikon Koinon ones). Perhaps this happened because I built over the Congress of the Hellens (Synhendrion ton Hellenon) building at the capital Athenai with a founding polis government (Sympoliteia Hellenon)? And the game went all whacky because it was trying to reinstate the Congress or something? If so, it was obviously unavailable and these messages had zero affect on gameplay the second time that I received them.

[QuintusSertorius]

There are date-based fallbacks in the script to keep the reform going, if it messes up somehow. But they shouldn't trigger if they already happened.