Johan posted this yesterday:
Our approach to missions is a deliberate and evolving one, designed to enhance player experience without compromising freedom or immersion. While the current underlying code is an adapted version of the mission tree mechanics from Imperator, it's crucial to understand that this is merely a foundational element. Our primary focus right now is on building a truly deep and immersive game world, rich with flavour content, without relying on a set of guiding missions for key countries. This is not your late-era EU4-style Mission Trees.
To clarify a common misconception, I've previously stated that this game would not feature Europa Universalis IV-style mission trees. This distinction is vital. My statement was not a blanket rejection of all mission trees, but rather a commitment to avoid the highly prescriptive, often linear, and sometimes excessively ahistorical nature that EU4's system can impose. We are aiming for something far more organic and adaptable.
It's important to recognize that missions are just one part of providing engaging and flavorful content. Our game will feature a multitude of other types of compelling content, many of which are entirely unique to this title, including Situations, Dynamic Historical Events, International Organizations, and all the content that we’ve been showing to you in Tinto Talks and Tinto Flavour during these past months.
These elements, alongside our refined mission system, will contribute to a rich and replayable experience that goes far beyond simply ticking off objectives.
Ultimately, the role of missions in our game when we release it will be primarily pedagogical and introductory. We envision missions serving as invaluable learning tools and a core part of the onboarding process for new players. They will gently guide players through the game's mechanics, introduce key concepts, and provide initial direction.
However, they are not intended to force players onto predefined "rails" or dictate their strategic decisions throughout the entire game. Once players have grasped the fundamentals, they will be free to chart their own course, engage with the world on their own terms, and create their unique stories within our deeply simulated environment. This philosophy ensures that while missions provide a helpful starting point, they do not hinder the player's agency or the emergent narrative possibilities that define our game.
When it comes to flavor, as mentioned above, we have so many tools, with which we will be telling a country or region chronicles. As we expand on the story lines, situations as an example solves the old problems of “mission tree X for Country A is making mission tree Y for Country B feel silly”, by making content that involves multiple countries at the same time.
As you have all seen in Tinto Talks during the year, the unique country specific flavor in EU5 comes in many different shapes..
- International Organisations, like Catholic Church, High Kingship of Ireland, Tatar Yoke, etc
- Disasters like Rise of the Szlachta, Hook and Cod Wars, Ambrosian Republic, etc
- Characters like John Wycliffe, Mikael Agricola, Leonardo da Vinci, etc
- Advances like Wagenburg, Kungliga Postverket, Farari Corps, etc
- Unique Mechanics like Promote Mamluk, Appease the Gods, Raise a Bey Fortress, etc
- Cabinet Actions
- Buildings
- Diplomatic Actions
- Laws and Policies
- Estate Privileges
- Inheritance Rules
- Government Reforms
- Religious Mechanics
- Historical Events
- Units
- Parliament Mechanics
- Peace Treaties
- And much more…
