Hulaku
09-13-2002, 09:05
I finally am making my way through the strat guide, and learning the assumptions and modelling behind the game. The only aspect I found myself completely disagreeing with was that in the list of vices and virtues, any attraction to art just results in a drain on the exchequer -- "Art lover" is -10% agricultural incomee, -10% trade; "Artistic leanings" gets you -5% of both; and a full blown "Artistic temperament" gets you bleeding a full -20% agricultural income and the same in trade.
Yes, sure, art costs money. But any history of art and patronage will show you that art produces tangible benefits in morale, nationalism, and zeal. This is why kings and courts competed to attract the best artists. Many rulers were Phillistines and boors as far as aesthetics were concerned -- they had no "Artistic temperaments"; but they spent money on art because it resulted in a magnification of their own glory, which resulted in a less restive populace, and so on.
Besides, much medieval art had religious themes as subject. So, at the very least, great art resulted in an intensification of zeal.
So -- come on, devs, a goodly chunk of cash spent on art should result in some sort of positive effect on the populace as well. Otherwise, your modelling seems to argue that medieval art was just frivolous consumption by the well-fed and well-heeled, and only that. Which is just... well, ahistorical.
-- Hulaku
Yes, sure, art costs money. But any history of art and patronage will show you that art produces tangible benefits in morale, nationalism, and zeal. This is why kings and courts competed to attract the best artists. Many rulers were Phillistines and boors as far as aesthetics were concerned -- they had no "Artistic temperaments"; but they spent money on art because it resulted in a magnification of their own glory, which resulted in a less restive populace, and so on.
Besides, much medieval art had religious themes as subject. So, at the very least, great art resulted in an intensification of zeal.
So -- come on, devs, a goodly chunk of cash spent on art should result in some sort of positive effect on the populace as well. Otherwise, your modelling seems to argue that medieval art was just frivolous consumption by the well-fed and well-heeled, and only that. Which is just... well, ahistorical.
-- Hulaku