Some Practical Population Opinion Examples

More detailed examples of how opinion is calculated and can be changed

General Opinion Examples

So I focused a lot in other posts on how important “Opinion” was but I probably didn’t explain very well how it worked. Opinions are held in vectors usually called something like populationOpinions and characterOpinions and so forth. Each block in the vector is between the character or population selected and some other character or population.

Then it is a series of modifiers. Modifiers that always apply are added separately when presented to the player or calculated. The opinionModifier[x] in opinionsModifiers<> is usually something like the result of an action. “Flattered”, “Gift”, “Marriage”, “Foster Siblings”, “Spell Effect”, etc. with an associated value.

Calculated modifiers would be like Int Ideology::compareIdeology(Ideology* mine, Ideology* theirs). Then it would take the ideology value of each, get the difference and maybe an equation would modify that difference for each by a variable int ideologyDifferenceModifier. Then it’d sum that up and give you a result.

Population Opinion Of Leader Character

There are slightly different modifiers for character to character and character to population and population to population Opinions. So a population would compare their population type info like race and nation of origin and religion and so forth to the most direct character in the authority chain. These are all calculated rather than static Modifiers. Then they’d apply the getQualityOfLife() or w/e function which holds their food and goods satisfaction, their amenities stuff, etc.

You can assign rights, privileges, and obligations along any demographic category. Race, religion, origin, province, direct leader, and so forth. Taxes for instance. Or eligibility for conscription. Your occupation can also be used. Farmers pay this, merchants pay that, etc. Obligations have a variable opinion cost. Lacking political rights has a cost. You get a bonus for privileges.

There is a complex system that can represent Roman or Greek citizenship or other political systems with granular choices. Think of how Imperator 2.0 does things and then consider 4-8 times as many toggles and spectra and so forth for various things depending on my final code choices.

I think Imperator just has religion+culture to separate pop types. You can assign to cultures the highest class they can reach in a 5 tier system that is used for the entire world. Then you have 4 rights and a found colony decision. I don’t think you can do much with religion. Axioms as a fantasy game not focused on any part of the real world intentionally is going to have far more options.

Instead of top caste/class tiers you just have each kind of right. Can own land, own property, marriage restrictions, occupations, chance and options to form characters, access to state schooling, trading rights, inheritance, military status, can hold this or that or those jobs in the “adminstration” system, subsidies, and other similar things.

All those settings are considered for opinion of leader. I think I might separate happiness into something that adds to opinion in some circumstances but isn’t actually a part of opinion of a specific character.

Additionally actions can change opinion. Who gave or removed various statuses to a population? Do you make war with states with populations that are demographically similar? Do you appoint characters that are from similar populations to positions? Sure you are the same religion but do you promote the religion? How do the leaders if any feel about you?

For different tiers of authority there may be a modifier for opinion or like happiness an ancillary effect if they respect their direct leader and he respects you.

I’ll have another post out quickly about Opinion and potential associated character “character” traits and how those matter.