How to reduce the King's demands (spoiler)

[moriety]

Inside the "GlobalDefines" file located in the Assets--->XML files, of either the AoDII Mods folder, or the normal game folder (dependent on which you are playing) there are the following 2 entries:

TAX_INCREASE_CHANCE
20


TAX_RATE_MAX_INCREASE
5


The first relates to the percentage chance the King will make a tax demand per turn- it's set to 20% incredibly, just change the 20 value to the % chance you would like him to pop up.

The second relates to the maximum % increase he can demand- set to a 5% maximum increase above. If like me you feel this is crazy, change the 5 to a 1- he will now never demand more than a 1% increase each time.

Hope this helps other players who are also tearing out their hair at the frequency and amount of these demands!

[PrinceMyshkin]

In the endgame there is nothing better than 99% tax.

[moriety]

What? You actually like tax increases every 5 turns in a 900 turn game?!

[Dale]

Actually, tax increases on based on trade, nothing else. The more you trade, the more increases you'll get. So trading more with other colonies and natives will result in much less increases.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Moriety, you may reach a point of self-dependance, where you need money only to cover education fees.

I find the 99% bells and crosses increase a huge bonus -for the end game! So, a tax increase is not always bad.

Imagine theocracy with a 99% crosses boost, welcome to hammer paradise!

My only problem when I do this, is I have no other sources of income to keep my education going other than trading with native American tribes or other European colonists.

I have heard someone has created a bank building, where you could generate a limited amount of money -this would be something nice.

[moriety]

Well,
Since I've altered the values to both 1% I'm having a whale of a time- now I'm only paying the cash demands and have a tax rate of just 1%. I will alter the frequency of his appearance for tax increases upto a 6% chance in my next 900 turn game and see if it is balanced- getting production up and running takes me about 350 turns so I don't want to sell my first cigar with an 80% tax rate- I'll adjust it back down if 6% is too strong, regardless, knowing each increase is only going to be 1% is fantastic- just like the old game!

[PrinceMyshkin]

Moriety, are you sure Dale edited your post?

Some times stuff with weird charachters like <> appear in a strange way in this forum.

[moriety]

Hi Prince,

I literally cut and pasted the relevant lines- when I posted they looked fine- today they have changed (they are stripped-out). Perhaps the board changes them?

[EDIT] It does change them!- I've just seen this post- it's stripped much of the lines, my mistake and appologies!

Anyone have any ideas on what these commands do:

EUROPE_MARKET_CORRELATION_PERCENT
0


TAX_TRADE_THRESHOLD
200


TAX_TRADE_THRESHOLD_TAX_RATE_PERCENT
1000


TAX_TRADE_THRESHOLD_ATTITUDE_PERCENT
100



I suspect they are to do with the market and the tax as dale mentioned- I'd love to find the command that deals with the sensitivity of the market- and especially that dealing with silver!

[PrinceMyshkin]

Hey moriety,

No problem! Had the same problem with you once!

TAX_TRADE_THRESHOLD

For a set amount of traded goods, tax increases. The amount of goods will increase by a factor every time. So eventually more and more goods will be needed to trigger a tax increase. This threshold is proportional to the amount of goods, which are needed to trigger the first tax increase.

TAX_TRADE_THRESHOLD_ATTITUDE_PERCENT

This is a speculation here. The relations with the King will have an effect on taxes, and may effect the TAX_TRADE_THRESHOLD.

[Dale]

Tax appearances explained:

A tax rise will occur when you reach a trading threshold (bought/sold a certain number of goods). This threshold is adjusted for gamespeed, difficulty, AI (AI colonies get less tax rises) and King's attitude. But the base is always trade.

So whilst changing the King's attitude does affect when tax increases occur, it is actually trade which is the baseline key.

[moriety]

This really isn't tallying in with the effect of changing the two values I have altered in the first post. (both set to 1%).

I have played about 60-80 turns since changing them, and the same amount of goods have been produced and traded throughout this time, and prior to the change.

Since changing them I have had just one single tax demand for exactly 1%.

I urge you both to change those to values and see if you notice a difference. As I changed them mid-way through a game I will start the next with those values left unchanged and see if a change occurs to that which I am now experiencing.