-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Europa Universalis IV |OT| A Game of Blobs
- Thread starter Toma
- Start date
Do I need an explorer for that? Normal admiral/ships without leader dont have a chance to uncover TI? Because if I already have an explorer, I could just explore TI normally.
AbortedWalrusFetus
Member
So I bought this game on a whim last night. I've never played any game in the series but I enjoy strategy games. I've played a decent bit of Civ and the Total War series. It's already struck me that I might be in over my head just doing the tutorials, ha
Any tips for first-timers?
Edit: Also, is there a list of the factions that are playable? Is it just Europe? Or are Asia and the Americas available?
Any tips for first-timers?
Edit: Also, is there a list of the factions that are playable? Is it just Europe? Or are Asia and the Americas available?
EndcatOmega
Unconfirmed Member
CK2 saved game converter question: Is the starting tech level of European nations ever not 3 using it?
Sigh, I was hoping they finally got their act together. I've had very fun times playing EU3 multiplayer games with a large group of people (~8), but starting up the sessions was already a problem, let alone all the disconnects during the games.
How many games is it going to take Paradox to figure out online?
Basileus777
Member
Game is too long to bother. Plus the constant autosave stuttering is too big of an annoyance.
AbortedWalrusFetus
Member
Thanks I'll have to check some of these out.
Hari Seldon
Member
I don't know if admirals can do it. Conquistadors are technically needed for land based TI, such as inland TI, but explorers often uncover it by sailing past. They have a pretty high success rate in my experience. Usually on 2 or 3 passes I can uncover anything with an explorer.
This sound awesome! Would love to play with you guys, but I got the game off gamersgate which I guess might be a problem? Anyways, fun to read your story
Probably asking a dumb question here, but I've always found the EU series impenetrable, not even making it past the tutorials. Any reason to think this one would be different? I'm a Civ veteran, but for some reason this series didn't seem to have the logic and flow of that series...
Every country in the world is playable, but not all of them are made to be played, which means playing them can be pretty boring. I would recommend going with a European power, or maybe a Japanese faction.
The tutorials usually suck so I wouldnt bother with them. Just try to learn one game mechanic at the time. Dont care about trade, colonization, building stuff etc in the start. Try to start a game with something like Castille and learn how to conquer Granada. In that process you will learn alot about diplomacy and how warfare works, and you will probably be hooked. Then you can learn the deeper aspects of the game later.
Thanks, think I'm gonna dive in.
Hari Seldon
Member
Every country in the world that existed at that time is playable haha.
The quill vids and those vids that someone else linked are a great starting point. However just jumping in for a bit and then going back to the vids might help you more. Just follow along with the alert flags.
This is not Civ or Total War. Every country you pick will have a different "strategy". For some countries the only strategy is staying alive through gathering powerful allies. Some like Portugal are colonization and trade, provided you don't get overrun by someone else in Europe. Others are potential power houses that can take over Europe if you wait for the right opportunity.
It is up to you as a player to take stock of your country and pick and choose what you think you should do with it. Then learn the game systems that are involved with that goal.
Hari Seldon
Member
Don't listen to him, do the tutorials. They are super short and are worth it. The key thing to realize is that you are not going to learn how to play the game with them, you just get an intro to what you can do.
AbortedWalrusFetus
Member
I was wanting to play the Joseon dynasty under King Sejong the Great. Basically started in the year 1400. I guess the game only starts in 1440 though? I guess it is not to be.
And just ask here if there is something you want to learn more about! I would probably switch to the political map mode, as it will be easier to learn the warfare-part of the game that way. The terrain map looks really nice, but will probably be less useful for a new player than the political map imo.
Yeah, if you are lucky the timeframe will be expanded in an expansion later on. But honestly, I dont think this is the game to play if you want an interesting experience in the far east
Try something in Europe and I'm sure you will have fun!Lol, ok. I guess I just assumed they sucked like they always do in Paradox Games.
I'm doing the opposite with my ironman Aragon game - I got LUCKY with an early war against Castille and claimed Madrid and a bunch of central provinces. They've all been cored and cultured - just need to wait for my manpower to rebuild.
Hari Seldon
Member
Yeah that is critical for new players. Something I usually forget about mentioning because it is obvious for Paradox vets haha. Map Modes are highly important!
I usually rock political most of the time. Maybe switch to terrain if I'm planning a military offensive just to get a quick overview to see where there are mountains and such (for the exact terrain details you have to click on the province). In EU4 the trade mapmode is super important if you are playing a trading game. The diplomatic map mode is also very important, especially in a war with like 20 participants lol.
The "Q W E R" keys are hotkeys to switch among 4 of the mapmodes. You can customize which maps show up somehow.
Also "f" is the find province button. Very useful.
Hari Seldon
Member
Yeah a paradox vet will skip them, but a total newbie needs to learn the interface, like the mapmodes and everything. The short campaign tutorial is particularly useful, as it goes through Castille conquering Granada and then coring it and then converting the religion (IIRC).
This sound awesome! Would love to play with you guys, but I got the game off gamersgate which I guess might be a problem? Anyways, fun to read your story
If you buy through Gamersgate you still activate through Steam. You should be able to join their game via the Sever ID. You just have to coordinate with whoever your host is to get the ID.
EDIT: On my fifth Byzantium Iron Man game and I think this will be the last if it ends up like the last four.
I was trying Portugal for 5-6 times and never managed to do well in Morocco. I'll get back to them eventually, but I switched to a Castile game for now.
Yeah I know it does do some steam-stuff, but still thought it might be a problem. Then I'm definitely up for some mp!
I guess you are right. Nice to see that my thinking about what country to learn first is the same as Paradox!
I've actually never used that button as I'm a huuuuuuuuuge geography-nerd, so I havent really had a huge need for it. In EU1&2 they forced you to play on the terrain map, so I still use it once in a while, but generally I prefer to use diplomatic and political as you do. It looks really nice though, even though its not that usefull. Love how the mountain ranges, rivers etc are placed in a more or less correct way now.
Well I dont know if this makes you feel better or not, but historically, it was King Sebastians disastrous campaign in Morocco in 1580 that indirectly led to the iberian union with Spain and eventually the end of Portugese greatness - so you are not alone with this problem!
PLAY IT! EU3 is my second favorite game of all time, and with some luck (and a few expansions) this might even be better!
Hari Seldon
Member
When I attacked Morocco last night, I was having a super easy go of it, then I realized that someone else was trouncing them at the same time haha. Waiting for someone else to attack or for rebels to appear is a great way to pick off provinces without taking much in losses.
This. Deciding when to strike is the single most important thing to master in the EU-games.
Started a game with the Inca and everything was going ok, got my one pitiful colonist and began eating away at the surrounding provinces until you spotted the dreaded green: Portugal was coming.
In 1570 Portugal delcared war, In the span of a few decades and 2 wars I was left with 4 Provinces in a matrix of Portugal owned land, I managed to connect some of them getting the last few not colonized territories I could and was preparing for doom. But it didn't come.
I kept spamming Portugal with relationship boosting diplomatic actions, unsure if they were actually helping, but I had nothing else to do, while trying to quell all revolts but then around 1650 Spain absorbed Portugal (previously a vassal) and I was sure I was done for. Spain hated me, and I was running out of options but then the game decided to open some of them for me.
I think the entirety of the Spanish conquests in South and Central America saw pretty huge revolts, in my old territories a stack of 30k Patriots conquered close to everything and no response was coming from Spain. In something like 10 years I got back most of the territories I lost during the last 100 years and what was more interesting, I got provinces with Spanish cores in them which meant one thing: access to troops so far ahead of my own that I just disbanded my entire army.
Now I probably won't be able to keep this lucky streak up because I'm still surrounded by Spain and France and last time I tried starting the westernization process every province started revolting basically, but it's still something.
In 1570 Portugal delcared war, In the span of a few decades and 2 wars I was left with 4 Provinces in a matrix of Portugal owned land, I managed to connect some of them getting the last few not colonized territories I could and was preparing for doom. But it didn't come.
I kept spamming Portugal with relationship boosting diplomatic actions, unsure if they were actually helping, but I had nothing else to do, while trying to quell all revolts but then around 1650 Spain absorbed Portugal (previously a vassal) and I was sure I was done for. Spain hated me, and I was running out of options but then the game decided to open some of them for me.
I think the entirety of the Spanish conquests in South and Central America saw pretty huge revolts, in my old territories a stack of 30k Patriots conquered close to everything and no response was coming from Spain. In something like 10 years I got back most of the territories I lost during the last 100 years and what was more interesting, I got provinces with Spanish cores in them which meant one thing: access to troops so far ahead of my own that I just disbanded my entire army.
Now I probably won't be able to keep this lucky streak up because I'm still surrounded by Spain and France and last time I tried starting the westernization process every province started revolting basically, but it's still something.
Sakura
Member
I don't really buy that. Much of the area you cannot traverse or colonise, was traversed, explored, and colonised within the time frame of this game. And even if it wasn't, I don't see why that would matter. It's not like things are playing out exactly like they did in history. It just seems to be an artificial mechanic in place to stop me from just gallivanting straight from the west to the east, and instead forces me to slowly colonise all along the coast line until I reach the east.
Basileus777
Member
Is that an AI Byzantium?
If you don't want to believe the areas that are 'wasteland' weren't historically colonized/exploited to any significant degree within the period of the game that's fine. Regardless opening up those areas would also make the AI to colonize/expand in a less historically accurate fashion as well. Paradox provides enough flexibility for the system to play out in an ahistorical manner that it's hardly necessary to open up those territories as well. They try to make it lean toward the more historically successful countries and their favored methods of "play" as it were evidenced by the 'lucky' nations and other mechanics. I guess it's not impossible that we could see some of the wasteland open up in future DLC or patches so who knows what will happen. I don't really think it's much of a priority and it's a bit silly to complain about given that there are good explanations as to why that territory is excluded within the framework of EU.
Yes, this is single-player.
Huw_Dawson
Member
Who the hell was the monarch of the Ottomans? Mr Potato Head?
Sakura
Member
Right.
I can't colonise or even move through Saskatchewan, because it is a "wasteland". Even though it had Europeans exploring it in the late 17th century, and had permanent European settlements in the 18th century. Likewise, Alberta was explored and had a permanent settlement founded in the 18th century. I can't do anything in these places. To say that it is more "historically accurate" this way is kind of silly to me. If they want to stop fast expansion in these areas, they could have just made it bound to a tech, or make it so it is much harder to colonise land so far away from your home country. Or make it so you have to send an explorer to a region, and wait X number of years from them to report back.
Maybe they have just made colonisation too easy, considering me as Japan, can just quickly colonise area after area in the Americas, in matters of years. It's 1635 and I already have cities, shrines constructed, universities, etc on the entire west coast from Alaska to Mexico.
Who knows, maybe they made the mistake of looking at France the wrong way at one point.
Yeah, it's been something. Granted, I'm playing on easy since I'm a newbie, but still.
Since playing today some province of Crimea rebelled and joined me. I had no idea it happened. I noticed in the little info bar that I had 40K troops of "Liberation Army" or whatever that were getting hurt from attrition. I click on it and there was this little northern province in that lovely Byzantine red!
I think my luck is going to quickly run out through because the Mamluks are practically swallowing the Ottomans whole and are right up to my doorstep. It's not going to be pretty.
Hari Seldon
Member
Who are the Lucky nations? I turned that off in my game.
I think: France, England/GB, Castille/Spain, Sweden, Muscovy/Russia, Ottoman Empire, Austria and Portugal
I prefer it off as well, but can't turn it off on ironman, sadly.
Whoa, this is out already?? I'm out of the loop. Can anyone tell me how the optimization is on OSX (it's steamplay right...)? Because CK2 ran like absolute shit on MBA's out of the gate because Paradox didn't bother coding for the Intel integrated chipsets, despite this being anything but a graphical powerhouse. This is pretty important to whether I buy it or not atm.
Is there any way to get rid of missions? Maybe accepting and deleting them and then they wont pop up anymore? I mean you'd need to wait 5 years until you can choose a new one, seems like a fair tradeoff.
Sweet finally united all of the British Isles. Though the Scots don't seem too happy about it. So far rebels appear about once a year on one of their provinces, nothing I can't handle though. Anyway looks like my giving away my territory to France at the start without a fight might of been a bad idea. France has managed to gobble up quite a bit. Hopefully the coalition I joined will keep them in check.
Anyway I am enjoying the game quite a bit. Paradox did a really good job making things transparent. Still have a lot to figure out, but for the most part with the tool tips and hint system everything seems to be pretty well explained.
Anyway I am enjoying the game quite a bit. Paradox did a really good job making things transparent. Still have a lot to figure out, but for the most part with the tool tips and hint system everything seems to be pretty well explained.
I lied. On #9 now. So far in only one game have my allies joined the inevitable Ottoman war and that was the same game where I managed to get Athens, Naxos, and Rhodes beforehand. I'll manage this yet. Having a real tough time finding anyone to ally with other than the small Balkan countries. Was hoping to get Hungary but the -10 for being a different faith and the distance negative for an alliance means it's impossible even with maximum improved relations. Guess I have to hope the Ottomans randomly get stuck in a war one of these days or that some massive rebel uprising happens prior to their typical attack time year of 1451.