RICE Mod Dev Diary #62 || Oceania Flavor Pack - flavor for Papua, Micronesia and beyond!
>“We should not be defined by the smallness of our islands, but by the greatness of our oceans.”
- Dr. Epeli Hau’ofa (1939 – 2009), Tongan and Fijian Anthropologist
I'm Cybrxkhan, creator of the Regional Immersion and Cultural Enrichment (RICE) mod, which adds simple "Flavor Packs'' to different parts of the world. Today, I want to talk about RICE’s next flavor pack, previously announced in this trailer – Oceania: The Final Frontier. We’ll go over the grab bag of new content for various peoples of Oceania, from the on-map parts of Papua, to off-map Micronesia and beyond.
This update has been a huge collaboration with a couple mods, including my long-time partners, the Rajas of Asia team. Their team have been hard at work updating their mod from a Asian map expansion mod, to a general overhaul and map improvement mod. ROA’s map extends further east than vanilla towards Micronesia and the Solomon Islands, so this RICE update not only integrates much of ROA’s work with Oceania’s cultures and faiths, but expands on it too.
I’ve also received support from a long-time collaborator, After the End, a total conversation in the post-apocalyptic Americas. AtE has previously integrated some RICE content, with changes to fit their setting, but this is the first time that RICE will directly integrate content from AtE, mainly several South American cultures and faiths.
Lastly, before I go into the dev diary, I’m happy to announce that the results for the VIET/RICE 2025 survey and the Asian Flavor Pack poll, held at the end of last year, are finally out! You can view them here. Apologies to those who have been waiting for this for several months!
Feel free to also check my mods' website, discord, and twitter for more info, previews, and updates!
New Cultures and Faiths
The Oceania update includes the largest amount of cultures and faiths ever added for RICE in one update, though almost all are off-map. This includes roughly 100+ cultures and 20+ faiths that can potentially be encountered via courtier spawn events. Most were already added in RICE’s earlier update to 1.19, to ensure save game compatibility, but they currently don’t have any of the flavor discussed in this dev diary yet.
These spawn events don’t just offer a new courtier, however – you may gain various modifiers representing the knowledge and wisdom they bring from back home. Sometimes the modifiers are simple stat boosts; other times, they’re the main way to access unique content related to the Oceanic cultures, like new men-at-arms, or the decision to drink Kava (more on that later!).
The likelihood of these different groups appearing via events is loosely based on their distance from the edge of the game map. In the code, I’ve split them into five “categories” as can be seen in this map, which are increasingly rarer the further east you go into the Pacific. For instance, you have a decent chance of encountering courtiers from West Papua or some parts of Micronesia, but will rarely meet people from Papua’s eastern edge or Australia.
If you’re interested in increasing the chances of these encounters, a decision to Welcome Visitors from Oceania gives a minor modifier buff and makes the courtier spawn events more likely (with a small chance of a guaranteed encounter after some time).
A few new cultures, even those you’ll rarely encounter, have their own unique traditions. One example is the Manus culture (representing native Melanesians of the island of Manus north of Papua) which has the Enthusiastic Debaters tradition, based on how they greatly value learning and arguing about facts for the sake of it. An early anthropologist remarked, “They will, for instance, carry a useless fish jaw for months, in the hope of meeting a man with whom they had an argument about the number of teeth in the jaw of that particular species.”
There are also several new innovations available to these mostly off-map cultures, too:
- Andean Roads (South American)
- Fire Stick Farming (Australian)
- Pacific Navigation (Micronesian, Melanesian, Polynesian, Papuan)
- Quipu (South American)
- Sasi (Austronesian, Papuan)
- Songlines (Australian)
- Sweet Potato Cultivation (South American, Polynesian)
Polynesia, South America, Australia
But wait, you may ask – Polynesians? Andeans? Did those people even go into the playable parts of the map in the medieval era?
In reality, the Polynesians and South Americans likely did not. Cultures and faiths from remote Melanesia, Polynesia, and South America will NEVER appear in-game by default. They can ONLY be enabled via game rules, and even then, they will very rarely appear. Additionally, cultures that historically emerged later will only appear at appropriate dates – i.e., Maori only start to appear after c. 1300 CE.
I decided to add these cultures/faiths for two reasons. First, I wanted to offer alternate history fun. Second, I wanted an opportunity to expose folks to newer research on pre-Columbian contact between Polynesians and South Americans. There isn’t a smoking gun a la L’anse aux Meadows for the Norse presence in the Americas, but the growing body of evidence is too much to ignore in scholarship, such as DNA evidence suggesting contact between Polynesians and indigenous Columbians around 1200 CE.
Again, you will NEVER encounter people from Remote Oceania and South America normally. They must be enabled by game rules.
But wait, you say again, what about indigenous Australians? Some of you may be aware of contacts between Indonesian trepang traders and certain groups in northern Australia before British colonization. Although this trade reached its peak in the 18th and 19th century, initial contact may have happened earlier, and scholarship is debating when this happened: earlier estimates go back to the medieval period, and more conservative estimates in the 1600s or 1700s. Thus, indigenous Australians may rarely appear.
Biak and West Papuan Flavor
Out of all the new cultures and faiths in this update, the Biak will get the most focus. I probably could’ve called this a Biak Flavor Pack, but that wouldn’t be as marketable as an Oceania Flavor Pack, now would it?
The Biak are an Austronesian-speaking people originally from an archipelago in NW Papua, just a little off the game map. In the early modern era, and even into the Dutch colonial period, they played an important role in the history of eastern Indonesia, and they likely did similar activities during the medieval era if not earlier. The Biak were great navigators, idolizing those who sailed forth in search of adventure to trade, conduct diplomacy, raid, learn new ideas from others, settle distant islands, or any combination of these.
Each start date will add one fictitious, playable Biak landless adventurer to represent their presence in this region.
If you’re Biak, or any ruler in eastern Indonesia or the Philippines (Biak or not), you’ll have access to a new decision to Connect with Biak Adventurers. It’s similar to RICE's old Norse and Norman Settler decisions where you can get different bonuses for building up a relationship with the Biak. And like with Norse and Norman settlers, the Biak may demand more from you.
The Biak culture has two traditions. One of them, Papuan Adventurers, builds upon the aforementioned decision by giving it better bonuses, among other bonuses like letting you raid. The name of another tradition, Sing and Dance or Die, is not so much a threat, but the Biak idea that a person isn’t alive and living a good life unless they can sing and dance.
Besides this, the only new faiths that will appear on the map belong to two new religions: West Papuan religion with four faiths, and Moluccan (adapted from Rajas of Asia) with two. Each of these has a unique Ancestors' Embodiment doctrine that unlocks the Venerate Ancestors activity added in RICE long ago, regardless of, and provides further bonuses when you do that activity.
Moluccan:
- Gosimoism: Pre-Islamic beliefs of Tidore and Ternate in the northern Moluccas. Bonus legitimacy and vassal opinion when venerating ancestors.
- Nunusaku: Pre-Islamic beliefs of Seram in the central Moluccas. Same bonuses as Gosimoism.
West Papuan:
- Lamòlingism: Based on the pre-Christian beliefs of the Abui, the non-Austronesian, Papuan natives of Alor island close to Timor. Same bonuses as Gosimoism.
- Matutoism: Based on older religious traditions from the Fakfak region and parts of West Papua. Bonus county modifier boosting development and tax when venerating ancestors.
- Worism: Indigenous Biak beliefs. Bonus character modifier giving military and health boons when venerating ancestors.
- Wuon Cult: Religious cult of the Tehit people from Northwest Papua. Bonus character modifier giving scheme-related boons when venerating ancestors.
Environmental Conservation
A new innovation called Sasi Ceremonies is available to cultures in the Indonesian and Papua region. A few cultures (both off-map and on-map) such as the Biak and Maluku, among others, have by default at game start. It unlocks an activity called the Sasi Ceremony.
This is a catch-all for a common custom found in parts of eastern Indonesia and Papua, often known as Sasi (though it is known by various names in different languages, the term Sasi, from the Maluku islands, is often used for convenience) A certain area is or type of resource is "closed" for a period of time, such as one year; during this time, people can't harvest resources affected by the prohibition. For instance, if an area of coastline is closed, you can't fish there; or, you might be forbidden from foraging certain plants in a part of the jungle. Defying the sasi has grave consequences, as it was believed to anger the spirits or ancestors.
I debated several different ways to portray this in-game, and settled with making it an activity; traditionally, the closing and opening of sasi is often accompanied by various rituals and, when it ends, a celebration. You’ll select the county where the ceremony will take place; once it finishes, there will be a modifier for one year with mixed effects, like lowering taxes but increasing development. Roughly 1-3 years after the modifier is there, it will be replaced by a modifier for 10 years which has only positive effects to taxes and development. You’ll also get different bonuses depending on if you do a land or water sasi.
Micronesian Flavor
There is some evidence for limited interactions between parts of Micronesia and Southeast Asia before European colonization, so those cultures will get a bit of flavor in case you run into them or even want to play as them. To help you with this, fictitious Palauan and Yapese adventurers have also been placed on the map at game start, though these can be disabled with the game rule that disables all fictitious adventurers.
The Yapese have a tradition called Stone Money that unlocks a decision and trait related to stone money, or Rai. Though the practice dates back to at least the late medieval period, it likely existed in some form before that. As late as the 20th century, the Yapese would travel far, typically to the island of Palau, to acquire large limestone which they shaped into a disk with a hole in the center. The stones were used for currency, and their value came not only from its size or shape, but also from the oral history attached to the stone, such as who owned it in the past, or how many people died trying to haul it back to Yap.
If you take the decision, you pay an upfront sum, and might gain a larger sum of gold in return later on. If you succeed, you’ll get the Rai Stone Money trait and/or experience in that trait if you already have it, which provides further bonuses.
For more general flavor, there is a new decision to Support Communal Meeting Houses for several heritages, including Austronesian, Papuan, Micronesian, Melanesian, and Polynesian. In many Austronesian-speaking cultures, communal meeting halls, though they differ in architecture and artistry, play an important role in traditional life as the focus of religious, ritual, social, and political activities and interactions.
The decision lets you choose between supporting the meeting houses – and the social groups that meet in them – in varying amounts. Additionally, your culture’s ethos also determines the positive modifiers you get.
The Palauans have a tradition called Ranked Clubs that renames this decision to Support Ranked Clubs, and expands on these bonuses depending on which gender’s club you support. Palauan society was traditionally organized into men’s and women’s “clubs” that were further divided based on age, status, and personal achievements. Palauan men’s clubs would meet at so-called bai, a type of meeting house, but both men’s and women’s clubs could be utilized for a variety of communal projects. To reflect this binary division between men and women’s clubs, you’ll get to choose which gender’s club to support, with varying effects.
Stress Relief
This update also adds two new stress relief traits related to cultural practices in SE Asia and Oceania.
One trait, Betel Nut Chewer, has been adapted from Rajas of Asia. It is a negative coping trait similar to Drunkard in vanilla; in real life, the practice can cause medical issues especially in the long-term, such as oral cancer.
I’ve expanded on ROA’s betel nut flavor by adding a new decision to Chew Betel Nuts which lets you lose stress. It is available to characters with the betel nut trait or those of certain heritages (mainly in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania). If you don’t have the trait there’s a small chance you’ll gain it; this chance increases slightly each time you take the decision.
Another trait is Kava Drinker. It has an associated decision, to Drink Kava, which is available to most Oceanic heritages by default. Every time you take the decision, there’s a small chance you’ll gain the trait. Otherwise, the decision also lets you lose a little stress, and gain a slight opinion boost with guests and courtiers.
While there used to be reports of negative effects of drinking kava, these have been linked to improper preparation of the drink, and, per the World Health Organization, Kava drinking is considered safe in small to moderate amounts. In many cultures in Oceania and Papua, kava has an important social and religious role. This is reflected in the Kava Ceremonies tradition which is available to cultures of Oceanic heritages, and which a few Oceanic cultures get at game start. It grants additional bonuses to the kava decision.
Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian faiths additionally have a Role of Kava doctrine that interacts with the Kava mechanic. It has three doctrines with different effects:
- Social Role: decision is cheaper
- Ceremonial Role: decision is more expensive, but kava trait gives bonus diplomacy and legitimacy.
- Medicinal Role: decision is more expensive, but kava trait gives bonus learning and health.
Conclusion
That concludes our overview of the upcoming Oceania content! Thanks again to the Rajas of Asia and After the End mod teams for their help - please check them out if you have the chance!
I first thought of this flavor pack as a crazy fun thought experiment: what can you even add to the game when most of Oceania is off-map? While this update isn’t huge, and I’ve had to cut down on what content to add (for instance, I considered a more dynamic way, like a situation, to determine how much “contact” between off-map cultures would happen and which courtiers could appear), I still had a lot of fun researching and developing this update. It is planned for release sometime by the end of this month.
After the Oceania update, I have plans for further content in 2026, but it’ll be much more limited and small-scale compared to past years. I’ll become a father and welcome my first child at the end of this year, so though this doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll stop modding, my energy and time will be mostly focused on real life for a while – modding is meant to be an enjoyable activity, so I thank you for your continued support as I start the transition to the next phase of my life!
Selected Sources for Further Reading
Like last time, I am including a list of mostly academic sources I used in an unformatted, disorganized manner in a Google Docs file. You can view the sources HERE.
