Yeah, I've shelved EU IV for the time being it seems. F4 BMS is all I've been playing really, aside from a bit of the Witcher and the new Deus Ex. Today I picked up Elite Dangerous, and I know you play(ed) that one right? So I probably won't return to EU IV in the near future, though I still like reading your posts and following your empires.

About converting... I'm not sure. I've never attempted to flip as Sunni. I think it is possible, and that you were doing it right. I believe you need more than 50% of the new religion and then accept the rebels demands.

No problem, often get burned out on games after a while. EUIV being something of an exception.

Loved Elite Dangerous, though I don't play much last few months. Got stuck going nowhere with Empire/Fed ranks. So close/so far from getting my hands on a Cutter or Corvette.

Yeah, well, I'm just starting out and have yet to do anything other than the training. And I cannot say I am burned out of EU IV, just that I've chosen other games for the moment. I'll be back for sure.

Well I've just had a bit of a first, a corrupted save. Loaded up my Mamluks-Arabia game and as soon as the day ticks over I get a CTD... shame I was quite enjoying that run.

Too bad man. Can't recall that happening. Bad luck.

I blame Ottomans

Sounds like my next game should be Byzantium.

So I came across this guide on how to play as Etruria a small Italian state that has no cores and usually only appears in the Napoleonic wars start. I'm a big fan of small and obsure nations so I had to give this a shot, it's more time consuming than hard.

Unfortunately just a few in game days after I took control of my new nation Tuscany, my overlord, decides to get involved in two wars and lost them both. Off to a good start.

Cool. What do you mean they have no cores? They have one core, but no others? Or they start with no territory?

I played EU IV for the first time in 6 months. Decided to try Japan, though I have not purchased Mandate of Heaven, so probably missing a lot?

Chose Shimazu, who have awesome NIs, very militaristic. Probably not coincidentally, they are the same 'clan' I played in TW Shogun 2.

http://www.eu4wiki.com/Shimazu

Anyway, I restarted 3 times, as the first few didn't go well, and I got crushed. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England.

Haha, but yes, the fourth one stayed up, and by 1470 I had all of Kyushu and another one on Shikoku. But the Shogun has been snapping up everything else and since I'm new to Japan I can't be sure what will happen. I might have to hope he leaves me alone for a while (we have great relations currently) and maybe go Exploration to build up in order to take him on.

I don't know if it's because it's Japan, or they made changes, but the AE from these conquests is ridiculously low. Like I took one province for 3 AE.

Etruria has no cores at all in 1444, they must be created by separatist rebels under specific circumstances which pretty much never happens under normal circumstances. That or start in 1812.



Haha



Haven't seen any patch notes about AE but a coalition formed against me as Etruria. Hasn't happened in ages, of course this is northern Italy where taking one province can provoke half of Europe! Maybe it's because of the new-ish government changes to Japan?

I quit that game. I've played a lot of EU IV, and I've seen just about everything. I accept it all, come what may, and as an ironman player, that comes with the territory. No reloading because I got a raw deal or my amazing heir dies or whatever.

But I quit this one.

Things were going well. I had expanded from an OPM to take all of Kyushu and another province as noted earlier. I was allied to Uesegi (sp?). They decided to declare independence one day and I was thrown in to the war. Of course it's the two of us versus everyone else in Japan. I've been in these situations plenty of times before. They really weren't strong enough to declare, but with some luck and good coordination we could pull it off.

I had pumped dev to get Renaissance early and was two techs ahead of most everyone else, MIL 7 to MIL 5. I won a bunch of battles, but they were all for my territory, and eventually I ran out of troops and lost my army The AI didn't go after Uesegi at all, and Uesegi spent the entire war sitting on Kyoto with an army too small to actually seige it down. In the end they peaced out for war reps and one of MY provinces!

Screw that

Thanks for getting the Python reference.

Gave it another go, with better results, this time as Hokosawa. They start with four provinces, so a little easier than some others. Eventually I declared on the Shogun and took Kyoto. Soon after, only two were left, Uesegi and I. They were disloyal so I couldn't diploannex them, and to attack would mean severe hits to stab and war exhaustion, as they were my subject. Eventually I managed it by reducing their LD with development and I formed Japan and got the Chrysanthemum Throne.




Interesting Europe. Morocco invading Iberia. The AI actually formed Prussia, which is really rare, especially by Teutonic Order. Brandenburg running wild for a change. Poland all but gone and under Lithuania.




Hey SDE, I've noticed you playing Stellaris lately. I loved that game, for the first 100 hours, then I didn't like it as the weaknesses began to wear on me. What's the current state of the game. I haven't played it since a few months after it was released. What's your take on it?

Well it's been a while but I'm back. Sorry I didn't answer your question for several months I've had a new job and I'm spending a lot of time alone in my house, so I've been doing a lot of gaming. Just not EU4.

As to Stellaris, yes it's great at first but the weaknesses become more apparent as you go on. One of my biggest complaints is the feeling of 'sameness' after your 3rd or 4th game, even when using different ethics. I know EU and CK are similar in that regard but the feeling was never as obvious as in Stellaris. Still I'm enjoying it.

New game for EU. Hopefully I can do a step by step AR but I've never managed to actually stick though that, so we'll see.

I'll be playing as a Dutch minor, I chose Utrecht not for ideas but because it's a nice shade of yellow and was the first successful game I played back in EU3. Possibly the only successful one too...
No definite plans other than push for colonies in the East and hopefully unite the Netherlands. If I can create a 'Greater Dutch Reich Rijk, that'd be great.
Not sure about allies, but I'm going to ignore any requests from locals and focus as best I can on major players. Not England though, I have my own navy and the AI still can't handle invasions well.

Here's a quick shot of my start, bunch of mediocre allies, saving my last dip slot for France, who I am improving relations with. Also disbanded my cogs and will start to build armies soon. Haven't played for a while and I've forgotten a few things such as trade fleets and maintenance sliders. By 1448 we have good relations with the French and sign and alliance, they are already at war with England (restoration of union) but things are going well, so I won't really need to be involved. I might try to score some loot which should help out early game.

Edit: had a shot of the diplomacy screen. Can't see it?

Hey SDE, welcome back. Yeah, Stellaris... I so wanted to like it, and actually did for a while. But the combat is just terrible and I grew frustrated enough to drop it. I've kept one eye on it since, but from what I can tell that part of the game is more or less the same still.

I've done one run as Netherlands, starting with Holland. Was fun, though IIRC I had to start twice, first one didn't go so well, got the coalition smackdown. Here's what I managed to carve out by the mid-17th century



That shot shows me getting the Sinaasappel achievement : Get Orangists in power with 100% Republican Tradition, and owning a province in China. I invaded Taiwan to get it

Looking forward to your AAR.

Yeah, Netherlands is always interesting. I almost restarted myself but I'm going to try and push through anyway because I've got some decent rulers and I'm dumping points into development. I'm not going to worry too much about tech, I'm playing 'tall' and Utrecht is in an end trade node so lots of mercs, no need to be ahead in mil tech when I can just buy more soldiers.

Rulers, I'm an Prince-Bishopric so we pick our leaders in a semi-random fashion, usually gets good results. If possible I want a republic.


The results of the first war, I said things would be easy and at first they were. However the Pope and a few others peaced out, while Burgundy declared war against France. Things turned South quickly, while I was keeping my fleets away from the English (while still picking off the Portuguese) my army was engaged and destroyed by a force twice it's size, my emergency merc stack was wiped too and my capital and only province besieged. I hadn't even had the chance to raise stability past 1. Luckily England got hit hard by the war of the roses and we made a quick recovery.


Soon after (1465) I am again engaged in combat, this time helping my Saxon allies against Burgundy and her vassals plus Hesse. Normally I don't like helping useless allies but this was a good opportunity to smack down a future rival, who owns land I'm interested in. It was a back and forth war, where neither side really had enough troops to make things interesting. I lost three battles in a row and took a hit to my already low manpower. Loans aplenty. We did however manage to siege down their lands and force peace. Not bad but I was occupied again and my income, manpower, stability and prestige have tanked.
Interestingly the Ottomans have decided to subsidise me.

As a result of the previous war, Flanders has gained independence from Burgundy. They are allied only to Holland who is allied only to Flanders. This is perfect. Fabricating claims.



Burgundy inherits Brabant, while Spain simultaneously got the Burgundian succession.

So begins my first war of aggression. I got a little greedy taking three high development provinces. (84 warscore) Might want to keep my head down for a while...

Coalition smackdown was the end of my first run.

Are you in the HRE? I know one of the OPMs there is not in the HRE, but I can't recall which one.

Yeah Friesland is not in the HRE, I may have reloaded my save and been a bit more cautious, because about one month after that screen I got hit hard. Instead I force-vassalized Holland. Which also means Emperor Austria won't be asking for land back.

I forgot to mention I took defensive as my first group, because it's a good group and I almost always take it first. Second will probably be exploration but I might try religious too depending on how the situation unfolds.

Defensive is always a good bet. As you know it's my go-to group as well. The clear advantage it gives militarily over your neighbors early on is great.

It's a difficult region to expand in. As you see in my screenshot above, my nation was still relatively modest even 200 years in. The cost is so high and the AE is prohibitive. But it's rich, so playing tall is viable. If you can add some colonial conquest you'll be good to go. For whatever reason in recent versions, the AI seems to ignore North America early. And that's the only colonial region that can flow to you. A hostile England could be a thorn. Are you on good terms with France, Burgundy and Austria?