Just curious. Obviously there are quite a few strategy gamers here at SimHQ, and Total War seems most popular. I was a long time TW fan myself. But eventually it grew stale for me. I felt the TW games were light in diplomacy, politics, economy and well, everything but the tactical battle layer. Love the music though.

Even then, I found that the battles were too repetitive. Partly that's due to me, as I would always assume the same basic formation, and use the same basic tactics for each battle. Engage infantry in the center and slam the cav from the rear.

So I began looking for an alternative. I bought Crusader Kings 2, and loved it. The complexity and mechanics were amazing. But there is no tactical battle layer. Battles are fought as abstractions. Since I was so impressed with CK2 and Paradox games, I then bought Europa Universalis IV.

http://www.europauniversalis4.com/

EU IV is the best strategy game I have played, and it's a pretty long list. Paradox makes some fantastic games. I love the way the mechanics are interwoven. For example the income of a province might be affected by a dozen modifiers such as unrest, culture, religion, overseas, war exhaustion, overextension, infrastructure, policies enacted, trade network, form of government, and more. It's beautiful really.

The time frame of EU IV spans 1444 to 1821. The entire globe is represented, so if a nation existed in 1444, you can play it in EU IV. Paradox is great about supporting the game, with extensive DLC and continual patches, new features and improvements.

It is a very deep and complex game, but everything you need to understand it is in the tool tips. Mouse over everything and it's all explained. I never once cracked anything resembling a manual, though I am active on the Paradox forums and alot of info can be obtained there of course.

So I am trying to convince you to give it a try of course, I think if you are a strat gamer you really should. And maybe there would be some threads here about it if so!

A few months ago I started a thread that gives a brief glimpse in to the game play. Check it out here

http://SimHQ.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3960801/Europa_Universalis_IV_:_Tuscan#Post3960801

Not sure why that won't show as a hyperlink, but cut and paste it in to your browser to view the thread.

I played Europa Universalis Rome around the time it came out but never did really get into it. IIRC I went back to total war after losing a battle that I felt I should have won. I still have it, and have actually been considering trying it out again, after reading about one of their other titles on the SimHQ homepage.

Hey mate, still patrolling? Haven't seen an update lately.

Which Paradox titles are you referring to? I should check out the homepage I'd reckon.

I will say that EU IV is the most accessible Paradox title I have tried. Strat gamers are used to complexity of course, but the game is just so intuitive. To me it's an amazing game, and I'm just curious as to why there isn't much of a following here at SimHQ.

Thanks for posting the EU4 AAR, I'm trying to get into strategy games more, and picked up EU4 and Alea Jacta Est in recent sales, both look like a lot of fun hopefully once I can figure them out.

Hey DBond,

Yeah, I am pretty sure that the game I saw reviewed was the one to which you are referring, EU4. I took a look at it when I was looking through the write ups to find the MFG Crosswind rudder pedals. I really liked the look of EU:Rome but, as I said before, I didn't spend much time on it. I really should give it another shot.

No, I have not had the time to do any further patrolling lately. I still have one AAR that needs to be written, which I will probably get up sometime tonight. Hopefully I will find the time to take the ol' Gato back to Japanese waters. How about you? Any new stories on the horizon for you?

Not at the mo. When the Art of War DLC was released for EU IV I started playing it again and haven't been out on patrol for a bit. And it seems that the shots I put up for the OM reports are using most of the photobucket bandwidth and I don't want to pay for more.




Cool. If you have any questions fire away. It will seem daunting at first perhaps, but it's the sort of game you will get the hang of quickly. I recommend starting a primer game that you play for 20 or 30 years to get acclimated, then start over with what you have learned. Portugal is a great first nation to play. Keep good relations with Castile and you have a nice buffer against the rest of Europe and you can concentrate on trade and colonisation. England is a good first choice too, but you're hamstrung with a crap King and in the midst of the 100 Years War. I had a good game with Brunei if you want to play a Sunni nation that doesn't have many immediate threats.

France is another great choice, very powerful, but also the target of many nations but it gives you a taste of every facet of EU IV -- land war, naval war, diplomacy, politics, religion, everything really. Plus France gets great generals.

New DLC just released titled El Dorado

https://www.paradoxplaza.com/news/El-Dor...ou-Go-For-Gold/

Adds new features, and fleshes out Central and South America more.

And it adds certainly one of the coolest features for EU IV, a custom nation designer. This allows you to design your own nation, including the name, provinces, map color, flag/crest, ruler and heir (along with their MPs), and you can pick your national ideas, traditions and ambitions. The custom nation can be played in ironman but no acheivements are possible.

I created a new nation comprised of Palermo, Messina and Malta, with a despotic monarchy, Catholic religion and American culture with ideas bent toward infantry, idea and tech cost and unrest reduction. It's a great feature to add even more replayability to one of my most replayable games.

Steam sale going on for everything BUT el Dorado. I had a buddy actually gift me an extra key for III. Never really played it. I think I was simply not in the mood for that sort of game at that time. BUT...I just bought IV because this post made me remember that. Hope I like it.


http://store.steampowered.com/app/236850/ Oh free weekend or some such as well. Maybe I should have tried it first! muhaha. No I think from dinking around in III it may be just what the doctor ordered.

For $10 it's a bargain.

I've bought most of the main DLCs, but I haven't bothered with any unit packs, national monuments and that sort of stuff. I have Art of War, Wealth of Nations, Conquest of Paradise and American Dream, and of course the El Dorado DLC. I think that leaves Res Republica, and at a dollar I should get it during the sale.

Let me know how you get on with it Flashburn. It's a great strategy game, easily my favorite.

Which nation are you choosing to begin with?

Picked Scotland. So ya. No idea what I am doing. But you know, got it on with a nice Irish girl and well, the next generation in secure i guess. No idea why the only rival I can pick in Denmark?! I want to do that with Norway. Nice juicy Islands off my coast.

Need to go and do the tutorial campaign.

The rival system is a bit quirky, when they first added it you could choose any nation as a rival, but they changed it so only certain nations can be. It's dynamic though and you will get additional options later on.

It was essential to get that heir, as long as he isn't completely useless. Check out England's King if he hasn't bought the farm. Can't get worse than that.

I've not played Scotland, but of course England will be your biggest problem, especially if you are playing with Lucky Nations on, which it is by default. That gives England and another half dozen nations some significant bonuses with the goal of providing a more or less 'historical' outcome with traditionally powerful nations leading the way. After England finishes with the Hundred Years War they start off in, they are almost certain to turn toward you. They will probably get a mission to vassalize or annex Scotland. Good allies will be key (Connacht, Leinster, Denmark, France, Portugal?), and at the start France is guaranteeing your sovereignty, and they are always strong, though the problem is they can't challenge England at sea, and it can be difficult for France to come to your aid.

There is alot to learn in a game like this of course, but as I always say it's in the tool tips. Really, everything you need to know is in the tools tips, just mouse over anything and everything.

Well Scotland was totally not a good choice to go with while learning. Just can not get enough of an economy going. Made strides but the international tides keep messing things up.

Got an alliance with France right away. Which got me into a war with Burgundy. Send a pathetic 6 regiments to support the cause. Actually they did real well. My pathetic small navy ended up being bigger than theirs by a long shot too.

Then got drug into a war with England right at the end of the war with Burgundy. They where after Ulster, which I also had a treaty with. Oh and royal ties. So of course the English got lost and attacked my easier to get at butt. Lucky for me the Highlands just formed up in 12 regiments to support their king. And beat the crap out of an equal number of English ones a Kent. Then another 12 popped up and got tossed off the battlefield. oddly they ran to the southern coast of Ireland (another ally). So being royally annoyed, I ordered my guys in France to take over English controlled Normandy. France did not exactly help at all. I think they sparked a revolt in London. My Irish allies started attacking England everywhere they could get at. After my highlanders reformed, took over the bit O England proper. Started having to take mega loans from the bank and was trying to end the war. England just would not admit defeat. Finally took enough stuff of theirs that they would end the war. and then everything went to crap. I annexed 1 territory of England's and then the damned loans came due. Which I could barely cover. In fact all the cash I had. Could not do jack for years and then got damned peasant revolts! UGh. Since I had disbanded most of my army to pay the damned loans and had their budget at 50 percent. Well they got their butts kicked by pissed off Scottish peasants with pitchforks. Figures...

Think I am going to try a new start as the Ottoman empire. Should be a much easier go of it to learn. Far enough away from Europe proper to not get drug into things. But close enough to be a real pain in the arse. Maybe swing down south and gobble up everything along the Med to maybe Tunis if I can. Then be a royal thorn to them there nasty European barbarians. Ya,.... Ok I think its a good game. Certainly can suck you in.

Yes it really does. Once you get past the 'what the hell am I supposed to be doing' phase it really shines.

Great story about your Scottish adventures. Starting as a small nation is very challenging. You don't make any money and your armies and navies aren't strong enough to make a difference anywhere, aside from spanking little nations like Tyrone.

But for me it's the most rewarding, taking a small nation to powerhouse status. Two small nations I like to play are Tuscany, later forming Italy, and also Brandenburg, later forming Prussia. Brandenburg/Prussia troops are amazing.

I have played as Ottomans, and I think you are right, they are a fine choice. Unstoppable really, unless something drastic happens. They have good ideas and ambitions. And their traditions are I think +5% discipline and -33% core creation cost. Those are fantastic.

You can choose to go in any direction at the start, but in my game I looked to get Constantinople as soon as possible and attacked to the east and south, making a beeline for the Gulf of Aden, Jerusalem and Alexandria. No one can match you, and the only concern really is a big coalition, or having to fight on multiple fronts. Watch out for the Russians once that nation forms.

Here is a screen of my ironman Ottoman Empire after exactly 200 years to give you an idea of where I went in that game. I hadn't planned to take Italy, but it was there, so....





From this thread

http://SimHQ.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3960801/Europa_Universalis_IV_:_Tuscan#Post3960801

(Still can't get that to show as a link, copy and paste it in your browser)


As Ottomans I had a huge galley fleet to dominate the Med, and I like Humanist, Administrative and Religious idea groups for them especially, but those are all ADM groups, and ADM monarch points are the most precious.

Don't think taking over the Pope's house is a great idea as the Turks. LOL.

Yep, the Catholics were none too happy, might have had something to do with the Crusade called against us?

Actually managed to flip the Religion in Rome to Sunni, which is a bit of a kick in the pants innit? Well the infidels had it coming I'd say.

This really is quite a good game. i ended up dropping the Ottomans. Found it a little TOO easy going. Ended up picking England. Which seems to just get a mishmash of crappy leaders! But despite that I have now formed Great Britain threw largely diplomatic ways despite silly Scotland allying itself with France. Of course I got drug into a war with France that caused some issues with Scotland. but in the end still managed to form GB with vary little blood shed to include Ireland. Got in a Lovely fight with Denmark that had gobbled up Norway. And ended up getting everything off the coast to include Iceland. Which worked out great as I could now get to Newfoundland and start colonizing way earlier than i should have been able too. Had some delightful trade wars with Burgundy where I utterly smashed its fleets. Doing the same to France and taking all her colonies on the Eastern seaboard. Just Venice and the Hansa throwing a wrench in my plans as they took my colonies on Tortuga. Buggers where allied up with France. i did NOT expect them to cross the Atlantic and attack the Caribbean. Just smashed Venice's really dang big fleet of ships. Now trying to figure out how to get enough people to Tortuga to get it back. I have a fleet of transports, but they are back in England. My Army is not remotely strong and routinely get stomped on by the mainland Armies. Most of my combat power is in ships. Which indeed is over whelming.

So once this trade war in concluded its time to figure out how to merge the Native's into the empire. My policy is if they have Mohawks they will be equals. No Mohawks they will fall under the armies. Hmmm ya why not.

Indeed it is a fine game. A right proper strategy game I'd reckon. You've picked it up damned fast too. You've owned the game for what, less than a week?

A few tips, not that you asked, so forgive me. To help strengthen your army, build temples. For each 4 you build it raises your force limit by one. Manpower is important too, and the armory line will help with that, with the last two (Arsenal and Conscription Center) each adding an additional +2 to force limit. I tend to build the level 1 stuff in all provinces, and pick a few strategically located ones to build all the way up to Conscription Center. Army maintenance costs are tied to recruitment costs. So the cheaper you build them, the cheaper they are to maintain. So you want to do all of your recruiting from the same provinces where you are building the most armory line buildings.

Because it will be difficult to match the size of some of your enemies' armies, you can try to improve the quality of your own. Morale and discipline are both important, and my experience is that morale is more important in the early stages, and discipline in the latter. The quality of your Generals is extremely important. The biggest determining factor in how good a general you roll is army tradition. Army tradition is something I always concentrate on keeping as high as possible. If you get any events that let you choose between increasing tradition and something else, it's always a good idea to go with AT.

Great Britain gets some good ideas for the sea/naval aspect of course, with A Royal Navy and especially The Navigation Acts being very good. And both starting traditions are naval related.

It'a nice that you got a good jump on colonization. That can be very profitable. As England you want to concentrate on North America, since the trade routes from Chesapeake and St Lawrence flow to you. You will need a merchant in the Caribbean to redirect trade to Chesapeake, otherwise it flows to Sevilla and you won't get any. If you take Trade Ideas, having enough merchants isn't a problem, but if you don't then you might not have enough merchants to profit from the Caribbean trade.

You might already know this, but the New World is divided up in to various Colonial Regions. Once you have cored 5 provinces in a particular region a new Colonial Nation will form. You lose direct control and the new CN is essentially like a vassal, but with a few fundamental differences such as tariffs and liberty desire.

Don't know what year you're in, but brace yourself for the Reformation....

Just had the 13 colonies appear. =( Instant reduction in funds. Funny as I do not have 13 colonies total. And only 4 in what will be the US. Makes me want to considerate on what will be Canada. Although branching out to Africa is sounding good. Its getting gobbled up by Castile and Portugal. Note...Spain has not formed. Its looking like its not going to happen. Aragon has gobbled up a heck of a lot around the MED and is holding Castile off. And Burgundy holds half of France right now. Its almost 1600 in my game.

Don't really get the holly Roman Empire. The Protestant league is utterly dominating everything in mainland Europe. Including Rome.... LOL.

My big issue with my armies is linked to my Kings. Most of them have like no or next to no skill for military matters. So upgrading that aspect is incredibly behind mainland Europe. As for GB the Navy is not really linked to that, it has ended up way advance of everyone else. So when I get in a war I have to make sure no large Armies land anywhere. If to many troops that are way more advanced than mine get landed, I simply can not kick them out. To include out numbering the attackers by a large number. But no way am I landing my troops in mainland Europe. Those folks be CRAZY.

Going around Africa is a viable strategy if you have the colonization range to jump over whatever Castile and Portugal have taken. Have a look at the lower right and find the Triggered Modifiers. One is the the East Indian Trade Route, which can net you a nice boost to your trade. In my Portugal and Spain saves I always went to the East Indies. Provinces you take there are yours, there is no colonial nation mechanic there, aside from Australia. And the goods are spices, tea and china, which are valuable.

In one Portugal game I established a trade route from Philippines, through Malacca, diverted it to Zanzibar, and collected it in Cape Town. All tolled, I was bringing in about 500 ducats a month in trade alone, so it was well worth the effort.

As you're around 1600, did you convert to Protestant or Reformed? Or did you manage to stay Catholic?

As for the troops invading England... a couple things you can try is to use terrain that's favorable. Mountains, hills and woods give a malus to the attacker, as does having to attack over a river or at the landing itself. Of course, England isn't known for it's mountains, but still you can try and bait them to attack you in the best places. Keep reserves behind in another province, and when they attack you, quickly reinforce the battle.

But as England/GB the best thing to do is use your navy to attack them as they are vulnerable during the landing phase. If you are lagging behind in mil tech, you can use advisors to help bridge the gap, and if you have the Res Republica DLC you can choose a military focus to speed up the MIL MPs. But these things I'm sure you've found for yourself.