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Europa Universalis IV |OT| A Game of Blobs
- Thread starter Toma
- Start date
OverturePT
Member
God bless Paradox. Time to get sucked in, as with all other EU.
Felix Lighter
Member
I need a Matrix style brain download for the mechanics and systems of games like these. I find myself very interested, I actually bought Crusader Kings 2 but hours and hours of fumbling around, having no idea what I'm doing is something I have a seriously hard time with. I don't know where this resistance to learning came from actually. I seem to have developed it over the last few years.
TiredGamer
Member
Dammit Gamefly, get your keys in already!
Also, anyone that has issues with not receiving their CK2 gift copy, go here and follow the instructions. It appears that only EU4 preorders on Steam got the giftable copy of CK2 (or vice-versa for GamersGate).
Also, check your email for the Call To Arms DLC keys, they've been sent out.
Also, anyone that has issues with not receiving their CK2 gift copy, go here and follow the instructions. It appears that only EU4 preorders on Steam got the giftable copy of CK2 (or vice-versa for GamersGate).
Also, check your email for the Call To Arms DLC keys, they've been sent out.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
Compared to most other games, it's pretty brutal. But EU4 seems to be one of the easiest to get into of the Paradox Grand Strat family. The way I learned to get into these games was by watching other people play them on youtube. They're really satisfying when you take the time to learn.
Possible? Yes, it's possible. Extremely difficult, but possible.
I've seen someone nearly conquer the globe as Iroquois in EU3.
For the newer player, there are a couple of things to do under the 'Options' tab to make your first games easier. Note that this is the 'Option' tab to the left of the screen, after you've selected 'Single Player'.
First, select 'Bonus' for the Player. This will give you boosts to your economy, military, and administration. It also gives a nice boost to lowering your Revolt Risk, so you're less likely to have internal problems.
Secondly, switch the difficulty down to Easy. The AI will still act normally to other AI nations, but they will be more passive toward you. You'll be less likely to be attacked, so the pace of warfare (at least the declaring part) is more under your control.
Finally, do a quick run as Castille and declare war on Grenada. This will let you see how military operations work and some of their consequences.
First, select 'Bonus' for the Player. This will give you boosts to your economy, military, and administration. It also gives a nice boost to lowering your Revolt Risk, so you're less likely to have internal problems.
Secondly, switch the difficulty down to Easy. The AI will still act normally to other AI nations, but they will be more passive toward you. You'll be less likely to be attacked, so the pace of warfare (at least the declaring part) is more under your control.
Finally, do a quick run as Castille and declare war on Grenada. This will let you see how military operations work and some of their consequences.
Which Paradox were nice enough to reference in the EU4 manual.
Hari Seldon
Member
The best way to learn is to go through the tutorials just to learn the interface. Then pick a good starting country. Portugal is great for this, and it happens to be one of the countries in the demo. Think about what you want to do as Portugal. You want to buddy up to Castile. So read up on diplomacy or ask on here. You probably want to maximize your income through trade, so do the same on trade.
You have three basic choices now.
1. You can pick off some small European states in Italy, just make sure you check who they are allied with. In order to do this, you need to read up on claims or casus belli
2. You can try to really dominate North Africa through military conquest.
3. You can play an exploration or colonization game, going to either the Americas or around the horn to East Africa and eventually Asia.
Just focus on a few areas of the game at a time, and don't let it overwhelm you. This is not Civ, you do not conquer the world in this game. It is perfectly acceptable to just "survive". Each strategy you take above will teach you something different about the game. Play a few games focusing on different things and you will have mastered the game.
Given the current Westernization, technological progression and stability mechanics, I doubt that would be possible in EU4, but it's definitely possible in EU3. While I didn't do nearly as well as Prawnstar, I managed to unite the Americas and conquer Europe as the Iroquois in EU3, so there is that.
Sickboy007
Member
Time to start my Genoese trading empire, and crush those pesky Venetians!
TiredGamer
Member
It really depends on if a person understands strategy gaming first and which side of strategy they're coming from. RTS players will probably be totally confused, while a 4X player might adapt to many of the concepts immediately.
Any tips regarding any of the new systems/tweaks in EU4? Brandenburg is typcially my first country when I start learning a new EU. Weird to think I will have done this four different times now. I feel old.
Looking forward to the hundreds of hours I'll be putting into SP & MP.
Best way to introduce new players is to have them watch Let's Plays or a good stream of the game being played. Really helps make the game easier to grok to the uninitiated.
Prophane33
Member
Can't believe I have to wait on this. Why couldn't this have come out 2 months ago!? Oh well, it will be that much sweeter when I pick it up later. I hope the Pre-order DLC is available for purchase at some point in the future.
Sickboy007
Member
Crimea is a goner, can't afford to pay the tributes to the Khanates with all the mercenaries I'll employ to subjugate Venice. Time to swap eastern possessions, buddies
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
Secure alliances with Austria and Poland at the start of the game. Don't conquer provinces unless you can core them pretty much straight away (~100 admin power saved up). It's better to be allies with countries you don't share borders with (and preferrably are a few provinces away from at your closest point) because when you conquer countries, the "aggressive expansion" relationship modifiers are based on how close you are to them. So if you conquer two provinces next door to somebody, they will get a huge penalty, while the guy three tiles away will only get a modest penalty.
Watch out for coalitions forming against you, and if they get to more than a couple of members that might be a sign to cool things off for a while. I have only put 70 minutes into my game so far, but it's working out pretty great. Haven't touched trade or naval stuff yet.
How/where do you see the coalitions against you and how do you get others to join a coalition?
PoweredBySoy
Banned
So what is the end game for this then? Are there victory conditions? Does the game end at a certain year?
Watching these Quill videos is getting me pretty excited. Game looks awesome. And yeah, starts to make Civ look like childs play.
Sickboy007
Member
1821 is the end game year, and there is a scoring system.
Basileus777
Member
Culture conversions are waaay too easy. It's pretty ridiculous. As France I'm already going around spreading the glorious cosmopolitaine culture through Brittany and the lowlands.
Fully agree, definitely needs a mod to balance it a bit.
Hari Seldon
Member
Yeah there is a scoring system, but there are just as many ways to play this game as their are countries. You can try to maximize your score, you can treat it as a historical simulator, and possibly most fun once you learn the game very well is to roleplay some extreme scenario (e.g. try to turn Europe Muslim as the Ottomans, make a Spanish North America, beat back the Euros as a Native American tribe, etc. etc.). The game nudges you along historical lines, but you can make your own decisions. It is purposefully not balanced, which makes it more fun.
PoweredBySoy
Banned
And how prominent is war in all of this? Generally speaking.... I don't mind going to war if need be, but typically in these kinds of games I like the empire building, expansion and trade aspects the most.
In other words, is there a peaceful or cultural victory condition, or does the largest blob always 'win'?
Okay, I think I see. Winning (score) isn't everything..... and I probably agree. Some of my most fun games in Civ was where I wasn't winning. Sometimes it's fun to just let it ride and see what happens.
Compared to EU, Civ has always been child's play. A lot of that has to do with how terrible the AI typically is in Civ games though.
I think it depends on the person. I found CK1 and EU3 were better introductions to the genre for new players than CK2 was. I think some folks can get lost in the dynastic management in CK2 whereas everything is surfaced a lot easier in EU. Watch some streams and then give the demo a shot. Unless you have someone to walk you through that will be the best way to get a feel for your compatibility with PDS games.
PoweredBySoy
Banned
It's true. =(
Alright, I'll d/l this beast tonight and jump in. I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions.
rockmanjoe
Member
I didn't play much of EU3, but damn, I can tell this new one is massively improved. Can't wait to dive into it!
Dance Inferno
Unconfirmed Member
Watching these videos now, this is some pretty interesting stuff. I remember trying to play the demo of Crusader Kings 2 and I was so far out of my depth that I uninstalled it after about 15 minutes. This game looks pretty fun, although I wonder how long it takes to beat a single campaign...
EU isnt about beating it usually. Just start a game, set yourself some goals (like defeating spain with portugal) and you have your own "goal" to beat. Thats how I usually play it at least, because otherwise the game barely has an end.
are you volunteering to walk me through it
Hehe. Other than a bit of time with the demo I haven't really been able to dig deep into the systems with EU4 so I don't know how good an instructor I would be. I'm sure I'd be able to explain the basic systems and stuff that hasn't changed much. Feel free to ask questions here and I'm sure those of us with previous experience will be able to answer any questions.
Mgoblue201
Won't stop picking the right nation
The best way for a novice to learn is to watch some Youtube videos; that's how I learned the basics of Victoria 2. If you have any specific questions, then you should post them (the Paradox forums are particularly helpful with questions) or simply PM someone.
Sickboy007
Member
I've never played multi in a Paradox game, but the various previews with all that backstabbing have me intrigued.
King Allant
Member
For me first time I ever play a paradox game(Heart of Iron 2) I just jump in and learn from playing it. Then I did the same thing for the rest of them(EU3, CK,CK2)
King Allant
Member
lol took me many time before I was able to have a successful game. Anyway can't wait to try out EU4
TiredGamer
Member
No left out Vicky.
That's what I did as well, what's wrong with that?
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
As another reference until a EU4 one goes up, this LP of EU3 is also good for general learning (not sure how much will carry over to EU4, but there may be some useful basics):
http://lparchive.org/Europa-Universalis-III-Divine-Wind/
Fragamemnon
Member
I went EU2->HOI2->EU3 and after that all points in between (with a soft spot for the black sheep Rome game). Seemed fine.
will start playing this tonight. Brandenbros indeed.
(note: I don't get the Civ derision in this thread. The games are so different as (for me) to be completely different genres).
will start playing this tonight. Brandenbros indeed.
(note: I don't get the Civ derision in this thread. The games are so different as (for me) to be completely different genres).
I am really glad I started with Eu3 before jumping into Vicky and I still havent managed to wrap my head around HoI. So just starting out with HoI seems kinda crazy to me (and awesome if you manage to do it successfully).
Well, I had a friend to teach me HoI2. After that I moved on to EU3 and Ricky (which I never mastered because it was hard as fuck).
Agreed.
Oh wow, you think Vicky is harder than HoI? I thought Vicky was quite hard too, but HoI just throws stones at me when I try to look at it. Maybe I need to give it another go once I got over my initial EU4 phase, or maybe some people just take easier to economics while others take easier to the military level of strategy.
Basileus777
Member
Maybe it's because I'm used to playing EU3 with mods, but it's so easy to rapidly expand in this game. Fabricating claims, coring, cultural conversions....these things can be done really quickly making that overextension penalty rather underwhelming. Granted I'm playing as France so I have an early advantage, but it seems like this game will have that same snowball effect that they were trying to design out.
I definitely think Eu4 is easier than Eu3 base game, but France probably isnt the best starting country to deduce that from. I'll give it more time to see how my opinion changes on that.
Also: Immensely looking forward to our first MP round since that will alleviate the "too easy" issue quite a lot if playing against humans.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
CK2 was surprsingly solid at launch. If EU4 follows suit, we should be fine.