Europa Universalis (request)

I don't even know how many of you have heard of series called Europa Universalis. It's a grandstrategy game, only for hardcore strategy fans. I'm one of those fans.

If you're fan of the series or just otherwise interested, I have a request. Could possibly follow this link and sign up, so I can get some bonus content for myself

http://signup.europauniversalis4.com/r/8b0b27c8b75

Oh and anyone want to talk about this great series?

Yeah I signed up

Although this looks ridiculously like Civilization 5...which I play

Oh if you start playing this thinking you're playing Civ 5, well, good luck. Civ 5 is arcade RTS compared to this. You know how in Civs your turns go by decades? Well this is real time, day by day for about 400 years. I've never gone more than 200 years myself... And all of nations are historical. There was some small German duchy in 1478? You can play it.

Trust me, it's nothing like Civ 5. Well they are both strategy games, but that where it ends.

Minting and inflation! my nightmares! Trying to get those tax offices up and running as soon as possible in order to reduce my inflation before it spirals out of control. Once set to 0 or something like 5%, adjust minting bar to 0% inflation and roll out the cash. If I have survived to this point, a lot of expansion is done, and that is when my "badboy' points rise up dangerously. Diplomats + one great idea later, I am also keeping those in check.

Btw, have you tried Victoria and/or Hearts of Iron? I don't know about you, but next to them EUIII looked like a walk in the park.

Registration done ofc!

I had no idea you played Paradox games too! I have played them and also Crusader Kings. And it is kinda funny that even if EU is way more complex than most games it's still by far most simple of the classic Paradox games.

I've never been big fan of Victoria series, timeframe and gameplay is not my type. Hearts of Iron in the other hand, oh yes! HoI2 more than than HoI3. The thing is if you give me option to let AI handle something or myself micromanage something, well, I don't trust AI. I once spent 3 hours before I even unpaused the game for the first time when I played the Soviets. When the war started and I was handling every singe brigade on the front from Arctic Sea to Black Sea, it just takes too much time.

So most played for me are EU and CK really, love the medieval era so CK is really good for me. And EU is just the right amount of micromanaging and everything else.

You should really give me some tips on Victoria and HoI, since despite pretty much mastering EUIII (have done quite cool stuff there, created Russia, Itally, even occidentalised an african nation!) I really hit a wall when I tried to play any of these...

And the AI actually makes sense, if they see you are weak, they will come at you with all they've got. I have played the occasional Total War game, and I am like wtf AI? Are you serious? Creative just go buy the AI from paradox and put it in your game! TW are so easy it is a disgrace to even call them strategy games.

Btw, there are some guys that are making superb vids about games, and they have done 5 episodes with games worth playing. Guess what, most games I have liked are on this list, Including EUIII and WoT. When I saw their lists I was like wtf? are they in my head or smth. These guys are good, I will make a topic about them and embed a couple of their videos.

@Ding: yes civ is nice, as a casual game. The simplified it soooooo much that the best version remains Civ2.

I've been playing Paradox games for years, lol, ever since the original Crusader Kings. EUIII is great fun, though these days I only play the MEIOU mod (I tried Magna Mundi and loved the concept, but went back to MEIOU in the end). I was a bit sad that the MM game collapsed, but that there's an EUIV comming out on the Clausewitz engine is very nice indeed - although I suspect that much like EUIII, it'll be the modding community that'll really bring it alive.

Let's make this clear. There is no such thing as mastering EU3. Impossible. I've seen guys who played it for 5+ years with thousands of hours put into it go like "Oh wow, I didn't know you could do that :O "

In Victoria can't help really played it "only" for little over 100 hours. HoI on the other hand...

HoI3 I've never finished the war really, I always end up micromanaging too much and I'm afraid I will kill my mouse before I even unpause. What I found useful is ...ummm.. cheating I don't mean going crazy and playing in godmode or anything too much. Just to allow you try stuff out and allow you to make some mistakes. Would it be worth to research this tech? Or build this unit composition? And so on. That's how learned to play EU3

And yes, AI is quite good. Really good when you think how complex the games are. For EU3 there at least used to be a mod that made it even better. "Balance of power" or something. Basically AI nations tried to keep the balance of power, weaker ones group together to create coalitions against the bigger ones.
I had a game where I created Russia early on and was steamrolling everyone. I installed the mod and suddenly half of Central/Eastern Europe formed a coalition of alliances against me. That mod made it far more interesting late game.

EU3 does have little bit of a problem with big just getting bigger without much problems, unless player does something about it. That mod basically stopped it most of the time. I don't know how long you have played EU3, but early on there was a problem of, LBBB (Le Big Blue Blob), France expanding early game and painting Europe blue. Then there was the problem of Ming blob eating all of Asia (which I defeated while playing as Russia, most epic rivalry I've experienced in any game. 5 wars lasting 150 years, ending in me conquering most of China and Ming breaking down to small rebelling factions). With the expansions those were fixed though.

Can't wait for EU4 really. I've read the dev blogs and it looks good so far. Anyway... what did you ask?

@Pointy, Ah yes the gloomy interface of CK1 and wondering why everyone hates me after grabbing all the titles... The lack of ingame BB meter really screwed me over when I started playing that game lol.

MEIOU is a great mod, my last games were with that mod. I can't even remember what happened to the MM game? Wasn't really following the news for a while and then it was just ...dead?

Vallu01 wrote:I can't even remember what happened to the MM game? Wasn't really following the news for a while and then it was just ...dead?

The team sorta collapsed, from what I gathered, when it emerged that they were waay behind where they needed to be, at which point Paradox basically pulled the plug. Sad, but they aimed for more than they could deliver in the end, which is a better reason than most for a game development failing.

PointyHairedJedi wrote:I've been playing Paradox games for years, lol, ever since the original Crusader Kings. EUIII is great fun, though these days I only play the MEIOU mod (I tried Magna Mundi and loved the concept, but went back to MEIOU in the end).

Never really got to like MEIOU. I mean the loading time, FFS. It just feels too clunky to me. I prefer the lighter touch of Death & Taxes.

PointyHairedJedi wrote:I was a bit sad that the MM game collapsed

The development of the game was a gigantic clusterfuck that basically led nowhere (at least on a medium term perspective).

Vallu01 wrote:I've seen guys who played it for 5+ years with thousands of hours put into it go like "Oh wow, I didn't know you could do that :O "

I consider myself pretty hardcore where EU (or wargaming in general) is concerned, and I still get to have my mind blown once in a while. Yesterday in an online game with a buddy (I'm Naples, he's Aragon, we're the PIMPS of this world and painting it like there's no tomorrow. Oh, and Burgundy has taken the place of France and basically turning this thing into a game against a Big Purple Blob) I've discovered that you can lock budget / investment cursors by double clicking them. MIND. BLOWN.

Other than that, yeah CKII is pretty good. Most well balanced Paradox game to date IMO.

Bayart wrote:

Vallu01 wrote:I've seen guys who played it for 5+ years with thousands of hours put into it go like "Oh wow, I didn't know you could do that :O "

I consider myself pretty hardcore where EU (or wargaming in general) is concerned, and I still get to have my mind blown once in a while. Yesterday in an online game with a buddy (I'm Naples, he's Aragon, we're the PIMPS of this world and painting it like there's no tomorrow. Oh, and Burgundy has taken the place of France and basically turning this thing into a game against a Big Purple Blob) I've discovered that you can lock budget / investment cursors by double clicking them. MIND. BLOWN.

That's a good example, I've had a lot of similar experiences. For those who don't know the tutorial in this game is... well tbh, shit. And with expansions it doesn't work. So you pretty much have learn from mistakes.

I've gotten sudden urge to install EU3 again... Or should I continue building my dynasty in CK2? Or finally finish WW2 in HoI3? Decisions, decisions...

Btw, 5 have signed up! (2 are actually my alternative emails ). I would need 5 more sign ups to get all of the in-game bonuses

I signed up. So I heard there's some gold to be given to those who sign up...

Vallu01 wrote:
Btw, 5 have signed up! (2 are actually my alternative emails ). I would need 5 more sign ups to get all of the in-game bonuses

I've signed up too but got all the boni (well, up to ten friends invited) for myself using an email alias generator (jetable.org).

signed up, well half, need to click verification link which i cant access at work will click it when i get home.

Got enough sign ups to get 3 out of 4 rewards. Next one would be at 100 sign ups, but somehow I don't see that happening It's '50 first get award' kind of thing anyway so they all taken anyway.
Thanks to everyone who signed up.

Out of interest how many of you are gonna get it when it comes out?

I played EU3 some time ago, didn't understand the dicks of it. But when I have the time to really get into it, I might like it more. And yes The Netherlands are the best country to be playing at all times

BehemothNL wrote:And yes The Netherlands are the best country to be playing at all times

Not at the start of the Grand Campaign though, they don't exist yet

Vallu01 wrote:

BehemothNL wrote:And yes The Netherlands are the best country to be playing at all times

Not at the start of the Grand Campaign though, they don't exist yet

I know, but then you can pick one of the 7 Dutch provinces! And I'll always pick Holland out of the other provinces

I've been actually thinking if we get 3+ who will get EU4 near the release date we could set up a MP game. Never done one myself as you used to require committed group for that, but now you have the hot join option. Would anyone be interested?

Bayart wrote:
I've discovered that you can lock budget / investment cursors by double clicking them. MIND. BLOWN.

Really? Poor you! I could never manage my game if I was not to lock the cursors, since by moving one back ALL move in the other direction... I guess what you did was move them all to 0 and adjust from there or smth. Man that should have been painstaking!

And Vallu, I would always be interested to platoon with you in EU IV!

Might be interesting to try it out someday. When is it coming out?

No official release date yet. Only info is on Q3 2013, maybe early Q3. So at least couple of months of waiting still.

Platoon in EU4...

Look up quill18 on YouTube (if you don't already know him).

He has done a series playing through 800 years of history in the various Paradox grand strategy games and they invited him to Stockholm for the press showing