Europa Universalis IV: Who else is excited?

[Fat Hippo]

So, Europa Universalis IV is coming out next week, on the 13. of August to be precise, and I am really damn pumped. More pumped than any man reasonably should be to look at maps and ledgers for hours on end, but there you go. It's made by Paradox, the same guys who brought us Crusader Kings II, which some of you may be more familiar with, and it picks up the timeline in 1444, almost exactly from where Crusader Kings left off in 1453. It'll let you play till somewhere around the late 18. century.

What's more exciting is that there is going to be a way to import your save from Crusader Kings to Europa Universalis! Now, EU is of course radically different in its mechanics and even the way the provinces are drawn, so don't expect everything to be exactly the same. But if you, say, reformed the Norse religion and spread it across all of Europe, that should carry over to the new game. And if you had the Sunset Invasion DLC activated...well, that will have some interesting consequences.

As for the game itself, well, that would mean explaining a LOT of mechanics, so if you are interested in this kind of game, I'd recommend you watch the preview videos put up by Quill18 over on Youtube, since he somehow got exclusive permission to make these kinds of gameplay videos. He has a series of videos which is essentially an LP of England, and should show you what the game is all about. This will get you started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlcscBCW4DQ

 

[Fat Hippo]

its got incredible potential with the save game converter im also wondering how the integration with sunset invasion will go with the aztec empire rampaging across western europe

Well, for one thing the Indians won't be total pushovers, since the Aztecs have brought horses to America, and used their new cavalry to great effect against the other tribes. And from the events in CK II, it sounded like the Inca may have discovered gunpowder. So instead of simply steamrolling the Aztecs and Incas and stealing their gold like a European power usually would, they're going to put up quite the fight, it seems like. It's funny, since Paradox has usually tried to stick as close as possible to real events, and now they've created this strange new alternate version of history.

 

[hazabaza1]

Having attempted to play Crusader Kings 2 for at least a good hour or so, I can safely say I will have no fucking idea what's going to be happening.

 

[Fat Hippo]

Having attempted to play Crusader Kings 2 for at least a good hour or so, I can safely say I will have no fucking idea what's going to be happening.

Haha, fantastic.

I'm unusually excited. I actually preordered it. It's the first game I've ever preordered. Anywho, yeah, I'm trying desperately in Crusader Kings II to get my Persian empire up and running with the Zoroastrian religion but the bloody Turks, Arabs, Greeks and soon Mongols are seriously buggering me up. Not to mention rebels. Tell me, why do they think my sisters can do a better job than me but HATE that my heir, my daughter, is a woman? PAH. I just want a big damn empire with a religion that's somewhat rare by today's standards by the time the game ends. Is that too much?

Yeah, I've intentionally crafted an Irish kingdom following the Fraticelli heresy. The pope just recently declared a crusade on me, but I managed to fight them off with surprising ease. Of course, the British Isles are far more easily defensible than Persia, seeing as how it's surrounded on all sides by large and aggressive empires.

And I'm not even sure if the heresies are going to carry over to EU IV, or how they would be handled.

 

[Fat Hippo]

And in case you weren't sure if you wanted to play this game, Paradox made a flowchart, because everything is better in flowchart form.

 

[Weaver]

So, Europa Universalis IV is coming out next week, on the 13. of August to be precise, and I am really damn pumped. More pumped than any man reasonably should be to look at maps and ledgers for hours on end, but there you go. It's made by Paradox, the same guys who brought us Crusader Kings II, which some of you may be more familiar with, and it picks up the timeline in 1444, almost exactly from where Crusader Kings left off in 1453. It'll let you play till somewhere around the late 18. century.

What's more exciting is that there is going to be a way to import your save from Crusader Kings to Europa Universalis! Now, EU is of course radically different in its mechanics and even the way the provinces are drawn, so don't expect everything to be exactly the same. But if you, say, reformed the Norse religion and spread it across all of Europe, that should carry over to the new game. And if you had the Sunset Invasion DLC activated...well, that will have some interesting consequences.

As for the game itself, well, that would mean explaining a LOT of mechanics, so if you are interested in this kind of game, I'd recommend you watch the preview videos put up by Quill18 over on Youtube, since he somehow got exclusive permission to make these kinds of gameplay videos. He has a series of videos which is essentially an LP of England, and should show you what the game is all about. This will get you started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlcscBCW4DQ

I'm pretty excited! I actually went to Quill18's Toronto meetup and met him. He's an awesome guy!

 

[Fat Hippo]

"The religion system in Europa Universalis IV is totally different from Crusader Kings II, where each heresy is its own proper religion. Europa Universalis IV doesn?t support that, so unfortunately, you will get the parent religion after conversion."

Dammit! Oh well, at least I didn't have to fabricate all those claims and just used Holy War to conquer Britain instead. Still gonna seem weird being catholic again, after all those crusades and holy wars people declared on me.

 

[Fat Hippo]

Heads up: a demo for the game has just been released on Steam. You can play as Portugal (Colonization), Venice (Trade), Austria (Diplomacy) or the Ottoman Empire (Warfare) for 28 years of game time, with no saving or loading possible. That's not a very long time for this kind of game, but still, a good way to get a quick look at the game and the different aspects of play and see if it would tickle one's fancy.

 

[aggers]

ive always been more of a victoria guy but im excited for this, especially after they nailed crusader kings II

 

[tilmoph]

What's more exciting is that there is going to be a way to import your save from Crusader Kings to Europa Universalis!

Fucking hell yes, the Kingdom of Brittany, France, and Aquitane (Kingdom of the Triple Crown) shall live again! Let's see if we can get the de Rennes back to Bretons instead of this bastard German line I ended the game with. And assuming I don't commit suicide against the Golden Horde, The Empire of Britannia will see the dawn of the Industrial age.


...If only I hadn't blown pretty much my year's game budget during the summer sale. Oh well, I'll just buy it next year, it's not like it's going anywhere. Plus it'll be patched and DLCed out the ass, so that's cool.

 

[Abomination]

And in case you weren't sure if you wanted to play this game, Paradox made a flowchart, because everything is better in flowchart form.

The Paradox Marketing team is actually brilliant. After their Battleships trailer they've just kept knocking their advertising out of the park.

They're funny, classy and not stupid offensive like EA.

 

[Darks63]

Don't have much faith myself I like EU2 with its event system felt like you were living history and then changing it. I like starting as dying empires and fighting the odds and events to stay relevant and then become dominate like in one of my Timurid games.

EU3 stated the decision system which i disliked due to the conditions often being stricter which meant they often didn't happen at all. Also it became too sandboxie which is great in the CK series but in the EU, Hoi And Victoria games it was more about following the flow of history as long as it suited you.

Another thing that began with EU3 was releasing the game half done and then releasing the rest of it as expansions later on model that paradox has since gotten down to a science.

 

[spartandude]

I enjoyed establishing Welsh colonies in america in the first game, might try to do it with an asian country this game

 

[Fat Hippo]

ive always been more of a victoria guy but im excited for this, especially after they nailed crusader kings II

I've tried to get into Victoria II multiple times, but I just can't for the life of me get a proper grasp of the mechanics and how to influence the game to make what I want happen. Everything is so damn indirect and it takes 10 years before a decision makes anything actually happen. But maybe if they release a Victoria III and incorporate everything they've learned about interfaces and clearly presenting choices to the player, and they have learned A LOT in this respect, I'll finally "get" what Victoria is really about.

Don't have much faith myself I like EU2 with its event system felt like you were living history and then changing it. I like starting as dying empires and fighting the odds and events to stay relevant and then become dominate like in one of my Timurid games.

EU3 stated the decision system which i disliked due to the conditions often being stricter which meant they often didn't happen at all. Also it became too sandboxie which is great in the CK series but in the EU, Hoi And Victoria games it was more about following the flow of history as long as it suited you.

Another thing that began with EU3 was releasing the game half done and then releasing the rest of it as expansions later on model that paradox has since gotten down to a science.

From what I've heard, it's actually a hybrid of the two systems. You still have many decisions you can make, as long as you fulfill the prerequisites, but there are also many historical events, also dependent on certain factors. So for example, if you are playing as Spain in the 16th century and you've got tons of inflation because of all that gold you've brought over from the Americas, an event might happen causing a total crash of your finances and leading to bankruptcy, similar to what Spain actually faced in this time period. But you won't be randomly punished with these types of events, just because that's precisely what historically happened, even though it's nonsensical in this context, which I've heard was a problem with many people in EU2, though I haven't played it myself.

 

[MammothBlade]

Ho, I can't wait to crush the entire world under the Lion of Saint Mark!

Don't have much faith myself I like EU2 with its event system felt like you were living history and then changing it. I like starting as dying empires and fighting the odds and events to stay relevant and then become dominate like in one of my Timurid games.

EU3 stated the decision system which i disliked due to the conditions often being stricter which meant they often didn't happen at all. Also it became too sandboxie which is great in the CK series but in the EU, Hoi And Victoria games it was more about following the flow of history as long as it suited you.

Another thing that began with EU3 was releasing the game half done and then releasing the rest of it as expansions later on model that paradox has since gotten down to a science.

Ye of little faith! The Spanish inquisition would like a word with you!

 

[BlackStar42]

In related news, I wonder who's going to end up being the most irritating AI-controlled country. Austria, Burgundy, Bohemia, or the old favourite France? Place your bets folks!