1498 Florence

1498 Florence
Creators	Tom1923
Genre	Historical International
Candidates	Girolamo Savonarola Piero de' Medici
Canon Result	Inconclusive Papal Victory

1498 Florence is a mod written and coded by Tom1923 in which players take the role of Girolamo Savonarola, a late 15th century Dominican fundamentalist who for nearly four years from 1494 to 1498 was the de facto ruler of the Italian republic of Florence, the epicenter of the peninsular Renaissance. The mod is the earliest mod on the Loader chronologically, the second (after 1844c) in which a religious leader is playable, tied with 1864 to be the mod with the longest questionset per game and the second mod not to abjectly revolve around an election, after the mod 1964 - The Beatles. 1498 Florence is also the only mod currently released to take place in a non-extant nation or locality (excepting the Texas Republic in 1836TX, which is admitted into the union as the state of Texas).

Development

Production on 1498 Florence began in the late hours of June 2, 2023, when Tom wrote the mod's first question. The mod's Further Reading further iterates that the mod was first inspired by a book Tom was reading at the time, City on Fire by Lauro Martines.

Throughout the development process, Tom was advised by MassachusettsForStockdale, the creator of 1970 HI Senate and the host of the Discord's monthly Mod Jam. Nina (Vilvilea) also helped with simplifying the mod's endings system.

1498 Florence was the first mod Tom coded, and used Jet's Modding Tool during the process.

Tom first teased 1498 Florence with a post on the Subreddit on June 4. The post received 140 upvotes. The mod was originally slated to release July 1, but instead released in the early hours of June 29, when Tom concluded the development process and had received enough support from playtesters.

The Mod

1498 Florence features the first use of an intro section that changes the image per slide, code created by Nina. In total, 1498 Florence features seven intro slides, with one explaining the concept of the mod. On that front, the mod is conceptualized as more of a popularity contest than a traditional election, using the popular vote to simulate Savonarola's public support. Piero de' Medici features as Savonarola's opposition, but is not playable. In total there are three VPs; Girolamo Benivieni, Paolantonio Soderini and Paolo Vitelli.

In total, the mod has 24 endings, with the endings determined by your running mate. The endings are listed below:

Benieveni (The Church)

• The Apple (over 90%)
• The Moment Forever (over 64%)
• The Edicts of 1504 (over 62%)
• The Second Namesake Caeser (over 58%)
• The Florentine Reformation (over 56%)
• The Florence-Wittenberg School (over 54%)
• The Tragic Melody (over 52%)
• The New Caeser (over 50%)
• Immolation (over 10%)
• Freedom (over 0%)

Soderini (The State)

• Viva Tropico (over 90%)
• The Modern Utopia (over 64%)
• Nuova Roma (over 62%)
• Great Italia (over 58%)
• Casse d'Italia (over 56%)
• Familial Matters (over 54%)
• A City, Divided by the Dagger (over 52%)
• Failed Dogmas of the Lost Revolution (over 50%)
• Immolation (over 0%)

Vitelli (The Army)

• Mare Nostrum (over 64%)
• People and Liberty! (over 58%)
• Golfo Rosso (over 56%)
• The Florentine Reformation (over 54%)
• The Mercenary State (over 50%)
• Immolation (over 45%)
• Immolation (includes betrayal by Vitelli, over 2%)
• The Mutiny (over 0%)

Through the course of the game, Savonarola can also be killed in two distinct questions, leading to the following endings:

• Poor Friar
• The Inferno

The mod takes place from 1490 to 1498, with players navigating Savonarola's rise to power and subsequent fall durin that period, with the question answers often utilizing direct quotes from Savonarola. The mod is 50 questions long in total, beginning with Savonarola leaving home to join the Dominican friary and ending with Savonarola speaking to the gathered Florentines before his execution. In the mod several key events in Italian history take place, including but not limited to the invasion of Italy by King Charles VI of France and the strengthening of Papal power by Pope Alexander VI, who also serves as the mod's main antogonist.