This is a copy of a post I made on reddit, but as i read somewhere that we should post stuff here for the devs to notice, I'll copy paste it here.

Just want to share my idea for a contemporary culture that I think would make sense to include at some point, and could also be fun to play: A culture based on the modern Nordic nations.

TL; DR:

EQ: Public Office. Gives happiness in cities founded by you.

EU: Konekiväärikomppania. An infantry unit that receive extra strength fighting in home territories, depending on the happiness level of the city.

Now to the real wall of text. First of all a disclaimer: I’m Norwegian myself and totally aware that this idea might be super biased. Nevertheless, I think it might be a decent one (Hope this doesn’t fall under “self-promotion”...), so here goes.

Why base a culture on a few small countries with a combined population smaller than many other European states?

Primarily, because I’d argue that fame at present is more about developing your nation than expanding it, and statistically the Nordic nations excel at this. They’re consistently top ten on ratings such as the UN development index and the world happiness report. I think it would be cool if such aspects were represented in the contemporary era of the game! Additionally, compared to other proposed ideas consisting of several states, such as the EU, the Nordic countries have a much more cohesive common culture. E.g. there’s a Nordic blueprint on how-to-build-a-state, the so-called Nordic Model.

So what could a Nordic culture be like?

One factor which is often mentioned as particularly important for the “success” (I’m fully aware that whether the Nordic nations in real life are successful depends on your definition of success, but here I’m referring to above-mentioned statistics.) of the Nordic nations is a high degree of trust - in other people in general and in public institutions in particular. In-game I guess this is best represented by happiness (Which I think I’ve seen in the various YouTube videos I’ve seen from the early builds of the game). Enter: The Public Office EQ. This emblematic quarter improves happiness and also improves production depending on the happiness level (symbolizing the efficient governance possible in a society with a high degree of trust). Furthermore, as the modern Nordic Nations are built (mostly) on relative homogeneity in areas that have been under Nordic control since forever, this quarter can only be built in a city founded by the player.

As for the emblematic unit, it should also reflect a play style that is focused on developing your own provinces rather than taking provinces from other people. Let me introduce: Konekiväärikomppania. Meaning literally “machine gun company” in Finnish, this infantry unit , inspired by the winter war, would be intended for defensive purposes to deter any nearby aggressors from invading your country. This unit would have a bonus for fighting in home terrain, representing the effectiveness of Finnish soldiers in the winter war due to their intimate knowledge of their home terrain. Additionally they could receive strength fighting in home provinces with a high degree of happiness, which would synergies well with the EQ. It also makes sense as people living in a happy society might be more eager to protect their state from outside aggressors.

As this culture is another European one, I guess I’m not necessarily saying I’d like this one as one of the first ten, but maybe in an upcoming DLC. Curious to hear what other people think.