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Europa Universalis IV |OT| A Game of Blobs

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
So uhh quick question about buildings is it a good idea to just build all the basic ones(right now armory, temple, constable) in every province or is that a inefficient use of resources and I should just focus on some high value core provinces?

You wont have the money to build all the stuff right away anyway, but I do prefer building constables almost everywhere since its a steady stream of income over time, but you could easily do the math since it tells you how much it will make for you. My best province made me 2,70/year more with the constable, meaning it will pay for the 50 gold investment within 20 years. If the province only gives 0,5/ year, the investment will still pay for itself after 100 years.
Armories however dont really "pay" for itself and are only of use if you plan on recruiting fast from those provinces (borders especially), so those might be worth it on border regions with long fought wars.
 

Almighty

Member
You wont have the money to build all the stuff right away anyway, but I do prefer building constables almost everywhere since its a steady stream of income over time, but you could easily do the math since it tells you how much it will make for you. My best province made me 2,70/year more with the constable, meaning it will pay for the 50 gold investment within 20 years. If the province only gives 0,5/ year, the investment will still pay for itself after 100 years.
Armories however dont really "pay" for itself and are only of use if you plan on recruiting fast from those provinces (borders especially), so those might be worth it on border regions with long fought wars.

Okay thanks for the help.
 
Okay thanks for the help.

yeah it best to start building up your money and since your playing as england, building up a navy would be great so no foreign threat would be able to get in your territory and they will be helpful once you start colonizing africa,east indie and the new world.

Oh and is the Comet Sighted event in EU4?
 

Almighty

Member
yeah it best to start building up your money and since your playing as england, building up a navy would be great so no foreign threat would be able to get in your territory and they will be helpful once you start colonizing africa,east indie and the new world.

That's the plan. I plan to only get involved on the continent to prevent France, Spain, or the HRE from getting too powerful. A powerful navy and a vast oversees empire is my long term plan. Since this is my first real go in the EU series we shall see how well it goes.
 
That's the plan. I plan to only get involved on the continent to prevent France, Spain, or the HRE from getting too powerful. A powerful navy and a vast oversees empire is my long term plan. Since this is my first real go in the EU series we shall see how well it goes.

then good luck :) and beware those cursed comet sighted event.
 

wrowa

Member
I'm really fascinated by the Paradox games, but I'm a strategy noob. Is there something that resembles a newcomer-friendly Paradox title?
 
I'm really fascinated by the Paradox games, but I'm a strategy noob. Is there something that resembles a newcomer-friendly Paradox title?

well the europa universalis series had always with the easiest out of paradox strategy game. And from reading some poster comment that the tutorial is much better your best bet is EU4. I would tries the demo first to see if you would like it. And if you do the easiest country to start with are Castille, England, or Portugal.
 

Cocaloch

Member
I'm really fascinated by the Paradox games, but I'm a strategy noob. Is there something that resembles a newcomer-friendly Paradox title?

The Crusader Kings series is usually considered the easiest of the Grand Strategy Series. You just have a lot fewer systems to manage in general. So I would start with CK2.
 

Clevinger

Member
I'm really fascinated by the Paradox games, but I'm a strategy noob. Is there something that resembles a newcomer-friendly Paradox title?

I suck at strategy games but was able to figure out Crusader Kings 2 on my own. Plus it's probably cheaper.
 

Almighty

Member
I'm really fascinated by the Paradox games, but I'm a strategy noob. Is there something that resembles a newcomer-friendly Paradox title?

Probably Crusader Kings 2. It was the first Paradox game I was able to get into. Succession can be a bitch sometimes, but once you get a handle on that you are good to go.
 

Giard

Member
I couldn't get into CKII at all, but I can't wait to get this. I used to play Brunei for some reason in EUIII, I managed to do fairly well forming Malaya.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
01/01/1492 - Castile Ironman
AeN4OXB.jpg

Owning almost all of Spain and am about to colonize the US via Africa. Unfortunately Portugal started doing that too, but I should be faster. We'll see.
 

Sakura

Member
Wow I wish I hadn't bothered trying to westernise. It sets you to -3 stability, and the westernisation bar doesn't go up at all unless you are positive stability. That wouldn't be too bad in and of itself, but the cost to boost stability rises like 200%, and you constantly get events lowering it again. I got to 0 stability, then get an event that sets it back to -3...
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
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.

Why would you want to get rid of them? They give you nice benefits. If you want to get rid on the msg telling you to choose a mission, I think you can rightclick it.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Why would you want to get rid of them? They give you nice benefits. If you want to get rid on the msg telling you to choose a mission, I think you can rightclick it.

Because I currently have 3 missions I have no interest in doing, and I'd like to do a mission, just not the ones the game suggests currently.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
France just declared war on me, awesome. We'll see how that goes, I really should have entered that coalition against France before, sigh. Anyway, the war with France is postponed until tomorrow, different question though:
NvT1odP.jpg


What is that first mission supposed to be?

- The name says Spain should be christian. Alright, thats what I would like to do.
- The description says its for the whole iberian peninsula? Meaning I'd need to own the Portugal provinces too?
- And the last line says "Not one province... is christian", which technically means that there shouldnt be any christian province, which is the opposite of what the title says.

I'd love to know whether I really need portugal provinces for that, but the whole mission seems to have a weirdly bugged description.
 

Mgoblue201

Won't stop picking the right nation
Ironman game with Spain:
Had my first colony up and running in 1470. I've tried to stay out of wars, unless it involves the reconquista.
How can I get a country to vote for me as HRE? How do I know if I am making progress towards that goal?
Go to the HRE tab in the lower corner and hover your mouse over the elector's flag to reveal the exact criteria by which they're judging you. You can raise the score by improving relations, increasing your country's size and influence, getting the elector to trust you, etc. Unless you're actually in the HRE, however, you'll automatically get a -50 penalty to your score.
 

Clevinger

Member
France just declared war on me, awesome. We'll see how that goes, I really should have entered that coalition against France before, sigh.

Does the coalition trigger when you're getting attacked by the target too? Or is it only for when one of its members attack the target?
 
France just declared war on me, awesome. We'll see how that goes, I really should have entered that coalition against France before, sigh. Anyway, the war with France is postponed until tomorrow, different question though:
NvT1odP.jpg


What is that first mission supposed to be?

- The name says Spain should be christian. Alright, thats what I would like to do.
- The description says its for the whole iberian peninsula? Meaning I'd need to own the Portugal provinces too?
- And the last line says "Not one province... is christian", which technically means that there shouldnt be any christian province, which is the opposite of what the title says.

I'd love to know whether I really need portugal provinces for that, but the whole mission seems to have a weirdly bugged description.
It seems to be a double negative. Not not iberian peninsula is Christian. This is what it looks like in the text file:

success = {
NOT = {
iberian_peninsula = {
owned_by = ROOT
NOT = { religion_group = christian }
}
}
}

It's still confusing. lol. But I think it means Iberia must be Christian and not all owned by Spain.
 
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?

Watch YouTube lets plays and tutorials from
The following:

Frewd100
Arumba07
Quill18
Shenryyr2
Kailvin
 
There are some pretty interesting countries with unique national ideas that you can only see via the CK2 save converter.

This actually makes me want to use Sunset Invasion, I'd never thought that possible.
 

Ceebs

Member
Okay, I have a decent grasp on most of the basics, but I can't really figure out what I am doing wrong with my economy or even how to get going. I know if you can get to the point where you can build temples and constables it helps, but at the beginning of the game I feel like I am losing money even with army and fleet maintenance at the minimum.

For instance I started a random Scotland game and could only afford a single adviser without going in the red and trade was worthless since I only could use a single trade node to do anything. What in the world are you supposed to do there?

I suppose you could disband armies, but with England right there that does not seem wise.
 

ag-my001

Member
There are some pretty interesting countries with unique national ideas that you can only see via the CK2 save converter.

This actually makes me want to use Sunset Invasion, I'd never thought that possible.
Are these all the special ones, or just the ones found so far? I'm working on a Tuscan CK2 game to set up EU4, but I may alter my end goals if forming the kingdom or empire of Italy triggers a change from the genetic nation set.
 
Are these all the special ones, or just the ones found so far? I'm working on a Tuscan CK2 game to set up EU4, but I may alter my end goals if forming the kingdom or empire of Italy triggers a change from the genetic nation set.

There are probably more, but I'm not sure if they handle their own set of national ideas.
You'll probably start as Italy. But Italy can be formed normally in the game without a conversion so it's not unique.

On a different note, is there any way to make the call to honor an alliance or guarantee a pop-up? I can't find it in the message settings and playing on fast speed I'm dishonoring alliance unwittingly.
 

sueil

Member
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 findingmuch golden 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.

I assume you are blocking the straight at Constantinople? As soon as the game starts start building galleys and nothing else. You need every damn galley you can get. Galleys work better in coastal waters than larger ships. The Ottomans will of course declare war on you shortly which involves a bit of luck of how many galleys you got built in time. Then just siege there stuff without ever getting in a battle. You even get the Cold War achievement if you are lucky enough for them to have 0 troops on the European side at the time. Once you get that navy built in the first place enough to hold them off you are pretty golden for the rest of the rebuilding. In my game I got a lot of friendly rebels popping up in Ottoman territory that when they won I got the territory. I got Venice held territory the same way. Things start to snowball and then you are on your way to restoring the empire.
 

Mgoblue201

Won't stop picking the right nation
Okay, I have a decent grasp on most of the basics, but I can't really figure out what I am doing wrong with my economy or even how to get going. I know if you can get to the point where you can build temples and constables it helps, but at the beginning of the game I feel like I am losing money even with army and fleet maintenance at the minimum.

For instance I started a random Scotland game and could only afford a single adviser without going in the red and trade was worthless since I only could use a single trade node to do anything. What in the world are you supposed to do there?

I suppose you could disband armies, but with England right there that does not seem wise.
If it's anything like EU3, then there should be an event that will automatically give you free troops in a defensive war with England, so you could conceivably disband a few regiments or ships in peace time (England is in a weak position at the start date anyway, with the Hundred years War and War of the Roses). Other than that, playing as Scotland usually requires some sort of sacrifices in the beginning. Even if you maximum your stability (for +30% tax revenue) and trade value, Scotland is not going to make much money for awhile.
 

Kabouter

Member
01/01/1492 - Castile Ironman


Owning almost all of Spain and am about to colonize the US via Africa. Unfortunately Portugal started doing that too, but I should be faster. We'll see.

Not to be stating the obvious, but wouldn't it be incredibly easy for you to just gobble up Portugal? Or are they allied with some larger powers?
 

robjoh

Member
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.

What does it mean that a nation is lucky?

(I do not own the game, but I find it very interesting to read about it)
 

sueil

Member
Lucky nations get special bonuses to help them perform better. With Historical Lucky Nations it gives bonuses to nations that did well in actual history. To try to make them more closely follow their real life versions success. Random Lucky Nations gives lucky nation bonuses to random nations but not all nations are eligible to get lucky nation bonuses. If you play with lucky nations off you get weird scenarios like Aragon taking over Spain and England being defeated by Scotland.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Because I currently have 3 missions I have no interest in doing, and I'd like to do a mission, just not the ones the game suggests currently.

Ok, yeah then you just need to pick one of them and either fail it or cancel it.
 

Sakura

Member
Lucky nations get special bonuses to help them perform better. With Historical Lucky Nations it gives bonuses to nations that did well in actual history. To try to make them more closely follow their real life versions success. Random Lucky Nations gives lucky nation bonuses to random nations but not all nations are eligible to get lucky nation bonuses. If you play with lucky nations off you get weird scenarios like Aragon taking over Spain and England being defeated by Scotland.

I'm playing with historical lucky nations on and England was conquered by Scotland. I was pretty surprised.
 

robjoh

Member
Lucky nations get special bonuses to help them perform better. With Historical Lucky Nations it gives bonuses to nations that did well in actual history. To try to make them more closely follow their real life versions success. Random Lucky Nations gives lucky nation bonuses to random nations but not all nations are eligible to get lucky nation bonuses. If you play with lucky nations off you get weird scenarios like Aragon taking over Spain and England being defeated by Scotland.

Thanks for the information!
 

Kabouter

Member
I'm playing with historical lucky nations on and England was conquered by Scotland. I was pretty surprised.

It's never a guarantee, if you look at my game, the Ottomans disappeared entirely and Austria isn't exactly doing magical with its handful of provinces.
 

tylerf

Member
I'm glad ironman mode is a thing because I had no self control with regards to gaming the system in CK2.
 

Kabouter

Member
So achievements are only available with iron man mode? can I at least still play on easy if want to?

No. Ironman forces either medium or hard difficulty, handicap on none or AI and lucky nations to historical.

And yeah, I'm glad it's there because my self control isn't always where I want it either :p. I do wish you could turn lucky nations off though, I don't mind the other stuff as much.
 

Xater

Member
No. Ironman forces either medium or hard difficulty, handicap on none or AI and lucky nations to historical.

And yeah, I'm glad it's there because my self control isn't always where I want it either :p. I do wish you could turn lucky nations off though, I don't mind the other stuff as much.

Only normal or hard, and you can't give yourself a handicap either.

Hmm not sure if I am fit enough for that. Maybe I'll just start another game with Castile and see how it goes. At least I kinda already know their situation.
 

Almighty

Member
So uh what causes border friction and how can I get rid/minimize it?

Asking because I would like to ally with Denmark(who just swallowed up Norway), but my opinion of them is -175 do to -200 border friction, theirs is +25 with me so it is like one way border friction as well.. Which makes no sense as in my game England and Denmark have been well indifferent to each other so I don't see why there is any kind of friction.

Edit.

Well fixed the problem probably not cleanly, but fixed. Apparently Denmark owning Orkney was enough to piss off my people to no end. So fabricated claim, blockaded them mercilessly with my overpowering navy, took Orkney, Improved relations, and boom alliance.
 

Xater

Member
Ok you guys, I just got confirmation for my EU4 developer interview at Gamescom. So if you have any questions for the devs just ask them here and I will collect them.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Not to be stating the obvious, but wouldn't it be incredibly easy for you to just gobble up Portugal? Or are they allied with some larger powers?

I was planning on doing that eventually, but Aragon took me ages because of a 14 year long regency council. Currently I was in an economic phase where I was building tons of constables and temples and planned on taking on portugal after that, but unfortunately France just declared war on me, so Portugal will still take a while.

It seems to be a double negative. Not not iberian peninsula is Christian. This is what it looks like in the text file:



It's still confusing. lol. But I think it means Iberia must be Christian and not all owned by Spain.

So weird, but thanks for digging up the code.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Ok, yeah then you just need to pick one of them and either fail it or cancel it.

Will that get rid of that mission completely? Or will it just reappear?
 
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