Europa Universalis III

[phred]

Paradox is making EUIII.
Here's the announcement and some concept art at The Wargamer.
http://www.wargamer.com/news/news.asp?nid=3052#

release date is early 2007.


edit:
here's a Q&A at Gamespot
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/europauniversalisiii/news.html?sid=6144284

[Sjakihata]

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh

[Martok]

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh


:laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4:

I assume that was a scream of frustration, yes? ~;p

[BelgradeWar]

Let's hope they do a good job. I've played both EU I and II, and managed to win the game with pretty much every important faction. Despite being a great game, the re is sure a vast area for improvements - especially in military part. The introduction of different unit types (especially in term of quality) and more options for battle control would be nice. So it would be to have more options for building in provinces. And they should keep the good diplomacy model.

[Samurai Waki]

*Does a Little Dance in my Office and shrinks behind my desk after three people see me*:embarassed:

[Blodrast]

sounds great - it's a cool series, no reason not to continue it...

[phred]

As long as they improve the combat system, I'll be happy.
I get irritated just thinking about having to chase those defeated armies that "retreated" forward through your lines.

[ShadesWolf]

I hope we will get a Vicky 2.

EU2 is a great game I keep going back for more, so with the release of EU3 i'm sure it will be on my shopping list for Christmas.

[Vladimir]

Am I going to have to bring out my industrial strength fly swatter again?

[GoreBag]

Aye, that was awful. They don't do that in Vicky, or HoI2. So I imagine they won't do it in EU3.

They do it on occasion in HoI2.

[GoreBag]

It happens if a unit is defeated before it becomes entirely encircled. If the area where it is retreating is captured, and then the capturing units leave before the retreating units arrive, they will recapture the taken province. Of course, by that time, encircling them again is usually no longer a problem, but in pitched battles with thick lines on both sides, it can cause some very big problems surrounding pockets and supply routes.

[GoreBag]

Noted.

[phred]

a little more info and screenshots

http://www.wargamer.com/news/news.asp?nid=3196#

[Sjakihata]

Co-operative multiplayer mode allows several players to work together to control a single nation.

The great people and personalities of the past are on hand to support you. Take history in your hands and call personalities like Sir Isaac Newton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or René Descartes to your court.

Have more than a thousand historical leaders and over 4000 historical Monarchs at your disposal.


This is really good news, a good cooperative mode and a good touch of roleplaying element, I cant wait for this game to come out!

Edit: I dont like the map though, just looked at the screenies, it looks too much like the RTW map. I'd prefer the old map map.

[Mongoose]

Hmm, I've never played any of the other Paradox games, but I think I'll keep an eye on this one.:2thumbsup: the MP looks good at least...

[lancelot]

Im a die-hard paradox worshipper thanks to vicky and HOI2, Inever played EU 1 & 2...

But I have to say, I hope they raise the bar a bit with the graphics, those screenies didnt have me wetting myself...

Although I suppose it is early days yet...

[Samurai Waki]

The Map still appears to be Alpha or very Early Beta. So I think eventually it'll be much nicer looking.

[Sjakihata]

But I have to say, I hope they raise the bar a bit with the graphics, those screenies didnt have me wetting myself...


If you want graphic, dont get a paradox game, it would be like cheating yourself. If you want the best strategy (empire builder) game ever, do get a paradox game.

[Bijo]

What does my eye see? O, it's-- AN UPCOMING SP DEMO!

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/event/file_premier/index.php?premier=eu_iii

I'll download it sometime this week to check it out :yes: Until they've reached the last patch for M2TW (the time wherein I won't touch it at all) I need a new strategy game to plunge myself into.

[AntiochusIII]

I want my map back!!11!!1!

That map is so not Paradox. I can't stand it. A Total War or a Civilization with that map? Fine. A Paradox with that pseudo-3D thing? NOT fine.

But I'll get the game anyway. :laugh4:

[Yes, yes. I'm complaining about nothing against a glorious upcoming game. I know that. I just like to complain. This is the internet after all :balloon: ]

[Sjakihata]

Soon January 23 (26 for EU) is coming, the game will be released soon. Who else is getting it?

:balloon2:

[Lorenzo_H]

This seems to be a big game. I have never heard/played it before. After you've finished gasping in shock, could someone please explain the game and gameplay to me?

[Slyspy]

You take a country and lead it to glory. Or make it a great trading nation. Or a great colonial nation. Or you take a nation like Granada or Byzantium and see whether you can keep it alive. Or take the Aztecs on a conquest of Europe.

You control the economy, military, religion and diplomacy of your nation as well as its politic nature, and are free to shape it as you will. Want a totalitarian Catholic England or a liberal Protestant Spain? Well, with a bit of work, you can. Historical figures and events can make these distortions tricky, but the freedom is there.

The learning curve is a bit steep in Paradox games, but once you get the hang of them they are great strategy fare. Just don't try Victoria as your first Paradox game!

[Sjakihata]

Just don't try Victoria as your first Paradox game!


Why not? :laugh4:

Really, you can take any country you like and then you control its politics, economics, military, diplomacy and technology.

The diplomacy is very well made and you can form alliances and trade. It's the best grand scale strategy game.

[SwordsMaster]

It's getting here on the 2nd of February. Ah well, thats another 2 weeks.

[Vladimir]

If I have to play this one with a fly swatter in my left hand I'll be pissed. :furious3: But I am looking forward to it. :2thumbsup:

[Lorenzo_H]

Although this looks like a good game with considerable depth and strategy, it looks that I won't be getting it.

There are simply too many games out there to choose from. I already have enough though. Medieval 2 Total War and Civilization IV are enough to contend with for now. Although I would love to lead a Protestant Spain on a world conquering glory crusade, I can do it already in 2 fabulous games, can't I?

[FesterShinetop]

Demo is out at the usual sites!!
Pity I don't have time to try it until tomorrow... but I am sure some people will leave their impressions before that!!! :2thumbsup:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Although this looks like a good game with considerable depth and strategy, it looks that I won't be getting it.

There are simply too many games out there to choose from. I already have enough though. Medieval 2 Total War and Civilization IV are enough to contend with for now. Although I would love to lead a Protestant Spain on a world conquering glory crusade, I can do it already in 2 fabulous games, can't I?
It's...different. Paradox games are works of art. I personally believe that Civilization pales when compared to a Paradox game, especially Victoria or HOI2.

M2TW, IMO, you can't really compare to anything Paradox puts out. It's a different kind of game. You really have to try it. Once you do, there's no going back.

[AntiochusIII]

^ Agree with him, that.

Paradox Games are flexible to a very wonderful level. So you can go on a glorious Crusade with Spain in M2TW right? Well, can you go on a glorious Crusade with a Calvinist Spain while at the same time marching on Tenochtitlan, Samarkand, and the Chesapeake all at once? Oh, while you're on that, why don't you tinker with your government's degree of centralization a bit? And prepare yourself for an all-out war with England, too, since Elizabeth will soon be taking the throne over there.

~;)

[Lorenzo_H]

It's...different. Paradox games are works of art. I personally believe that Civilization pales when compared to a Paradox game, especially Victoria or HOI2.

M2TW, IMO, you can't really compare to anything Paradox puts out. It's a different kind of game. You really have to try it. Once you do, there's no going back.
Naaa Civilization isn't rated the 4th best game of all time for nothing.

In my mind, nothing can beat Civ. The depth it contains is so fascinating, and it also spans a larger time than EU from what I have seen. Don't get me wrong, I think EU3 looks like a brilliant game, and if I ever wanted a new game I would heavily consider it.

Oh and to me it seems that Paradox heavily favour Gameplay over Graphics, which I think is fine.

How is the multiplayer component? I would only really consider it if I could have a good LAN game with my bro...

[Sjakihata]

The MP is good. Although you can't complete a game in a few hours. When you play in the internet, it can take long, because you need the people to show up at the appointed schedule. If it's in LAN it's easier to coordinate playing times.

Also, it seems there is a new MP mode, something about cooperative controlling the same country.

[Dave1984]

I downloaded and played the demo last night out of interest. I'd never played any Paradox games before so I wasn't quite sure what I was to expect, and I can't say how it compares to EUII or anything like that, but I was thoroughly impressed with the level of detail and depth that I saw. The only thing I missed after two solid months playing M2TW was decent real time battles, but I guess EUIII isn't about the battles, it's about being a ruler.
I know it's been said alot on this board, and probably elsewhere, but if somehow someone could graft, Frankenstein-like, the M2TW battle engine onto this game then I'd be a very happy man :2thumbsup:

[SwordsMaster]

Played the demo as Castile. While the game remains true to the spirit of the series, there are some notable improvements, notably the standing with the Pope and the HRE if you happen to be a member. It is great the way these are reflected on the map: On one occasion, the Papal States that were allied with me, declared war on France and Auverne, and I decieded to support them. This resulted in the expulsion of french cardinals from the Curia, and assignment of spanish in their place, giving me the majority, and therefore the papacy, which gives some nice binuses.

Colonisation is also not too easy or overpowered. The only pity is that to build anything decent (factories and such), if you want to avoid inflation, the only option is take a load and then pay it back. Which may or may not be realistic, but it is slightly annoying.

Now there are several types of troops to recruit as well, giving different bonuses to attributes. Military and naval traditions are quite nice, giving that little extra bit of customisation, and compensating for those stab hits when a warmongering ally keeps dragging you in wars (read Papal States).

I like this game a lot, it is a natural evolution from EUII, although, of course there are thing that still need to be worked on. An option to reinforce only certain kinds of troops, or only certain armies would be nice. As would be a dependancy of Military traditions on not only the time spent at war, but also the military installations and size of armed forces.

Overall, and without seeing the whole game, I'd give it an 8.5/10

[Sjakihata]

Im playing a game of Portugal. Trying to focus on colonization and commerce. Im doing fine in the CoTs, however, I seem to be lacking funds to do any big time colonization. I get around 90 in yearly income. Austria is ruling the colonization game and seems to have an endless supply of funds. Is the AI simply making a high monthly income, thus increasing the inflation?

I like the national idea feature. It allow you to specialize your country in a nice way, getting little edges in trade (if that's your game), at the expense of land power and morale.

Havent quite gotten used to the map, I dont really like it. Also the interface seems kind of clumbsy. I prefer the old EU interface.

[The_Doctor]

Quick question:

What is the purpose, advantages and disadvantages (other than you lose land) of creating vassals?

[Sjakihata]

You can either create a vassal or demand some nation to become your vassal. By making a vassal you avoid revolt risk, religious conversion etc. Also, you get some of its income and it is your ally.

See it like outsourcing, it's basically what it is.

[screwtype]

But I have to say, I hope they raise the bar a bit with the graphics, those screenies didnt have me wetting myself...

What was wrong with them? They looked fine to me - better than the graphics I've seen in other Paradox games. Although the huge Total War-style army icons on the campaign map are a bit annoying.

The one thing I really don't like about Paradox games is the continuous time feature. I wish they'd give you an option for turn based play. All the same, this may well be my next purchase. I never got around to trying out EU II, partly because I had no documentation for it, so this will give me an opportunity to start with the latest version.

BTW, did I read in one of those links that this game is due out in February? I hope I read that right, I'm hanging out for a decent new strategy game.

[screwtype]

....

[ElectricEel]

BTW, did I read in one of those links that this game is due out in February? I hope I read that right, I'm hanging out for a decent new strategy game. It will be out on the 23rd of this month in North America, on the 26th in Scandinavia and Germany, on the 2nd of February in France, UK, and Benelux, and on the 10th in Australia (release dates for other locations aren't confirmed yet). Preorders are presently being shipped, and should arrive around the 23rd (depending on your location).

I've preordered it, having been convinced of Paradox's ability to make interesting grand strategy games from playing EU II and Hearts of Iron: Doomsday. Based on playing the demo, it does appear to be a major improvement from EU II. The game mechanics are more transparent, the gameplay options expanded and the game in general more dynamic, and the interface easier to use.

As others have said, the biggest strenght of this game is its open-endedness and flexibility. The game covers the entire world, and there are over 250 countries to choose from. You can start at any date between, approximately, the years 1453 to 1789; a lot of effort has been gone into research so the world is historically accurate at every starting date (there will be some errors and omissions, of course, since Paradox doesn't have unlimited resources). There are many options you can use to expand your nation's power; you can take terroritory and tribute through warfare, explore and colonize distant lands, gain wealth through trade, use diplomacy to strenghten your position, weaken your rivals through espionage, or focus on developing the infastructure of your provinces. There is no set goal, beyond making your nation stronger (the game keeps score). This isn't a world conquest game, like the Total War series is (though that can be done, if you wish to choose it as your goal).

The game is very moddable, and it is likely that Paradox will continue to patch and tweak it for years. That, combined with the open-endedness and flexibility, means the game will have a very long lifespan. I do not expect I'll have to regret buying this game.

I do recommend that people interested in the game try the demo. It has a few irrating problems that should be fixed in the final release, and only allows you to play up to 50 in-game years per game, but should verify if the game works on your system and give an impression of the gameplay.

[screwtype]

Actually, now that you mention it, your description of the size and "open endedness" of the game worry me a bit. I've never much liked open ended games. I like something that gives me a challenge, a few enemies to best, I've never liked the Sim City type of game where you just develop your empire for no other purpose than to develop it.

All the same, I'll give the demo a go, and if I like it I'll probably buy it anyhow, but it is a little disappointing to hear this news. "Monster" games rarely provide much of a challenge in my experience, because they are usually just too large and complicated to be properly playtested and balanced.

[AntiochusIII]

Actually, now that you mention it, your description of the size and "open endedness" of the game worry me a bit. I've never much liked open ended games. I like something that gives me a challenge, a few enemies to best, I've never liked the Sim City type of game where you just develop your empire for no other purpose than to develop it.It's more open-ended in what you can do than in the you-have-nothing-to-do sense, though. I know the feeling you're talking about when I play Sim City (where am I building that crappy city to? I kept asking myself), but the Paradox games -- except may be Crusader Kings, since it's so encumbered -- don't make me feel that way. I guess that's because I treat them as a chance for me to go and teach the French what it means to lose the Thirty Years War and half their nation to glorious Imperial Austria, which always make it fun.

Moreover, I think the event chains help a lot in giving the players a sense of somewhere that The Sims, Sim City, or some other too open-ended games (Morrowind?) lack. HOI2 is a prime example of that. Even if you play some obscure far-away country never historically touched by the wars, you'll still feel that the world is at war, and you'll naturally want to do something about it.

Of course, they aren't as focused as Civilization, but they're perhaps at least better in this sense than the Total War games we know and love.

[Dutch_guy]

Ehm, would anyone here know why my Demo of the game won't work ? The install is completed, and after clicking on the icon it gives me the classic windows error. Like sending a report to Microsoft 'll help me at all...

Is it a corrupt download*, or something else ?

* where did you guys download it from ?

:balloon2:

[screwtype]

Ehm, would anyone here know why my Demo of the game won't work ? The install is completed, and after clicking on the icon it gives me the classic windows error. Like sending a report to Microsoft 'll help me at all...

Is it a corrupt download*, or something else ?

* where did you guys download it from ?

:balloon2:

Sorry can't help you there, I DL'd it from some obscure website I googled, and I can't find it in the browser history because I was using a different browser which just decided to crash!

I've been playing the demo a few hours now, seems like you can play as long as you like but you can't save. I'm finding it really hard. I tried playing Scotland and instantly found that I had virtually no money to do anything, and next to no income either. So I took out a $400 loan and bought an income producing building in each province. All the other buildings are incredibly expensive - would you believe $900 or so apiece when my annual income is only about 50, and even that is barely enough to cover the annual loan interest!

I kept sending merchants to every trade centre I could find but they only ever seem to last a few days before they get knocked off and you go back to zero income from trade. Eventually I managed to scrape together just enough to send a colonist to Sierra Leone, but the colony had negative growth right from the start and I couldn't afford to reinforce it.

Eventually out of sheer desperation I recruited half a dozen regiments and tried attacking England. I managed to take Northumberland more by luck than good management but meanwhile an English army marched right past me and beseiged my capital. I tried to beat that army off but got totally trounced - in fact in all the battles I fought, I lost about 10 soldiers to every one of England's!

In the end, I just had to quit. It was obvious I was going to get nowhere. And this is all on "Normal" difficulty! I shudder to think what "Hard" might be like :/

[SwordsMaster]

Try France, they have a nicer income and you'll be able to do some more stuff.

[screwtype]

Oh Dutch Guy, check the readme file, it says something about some people having problems loading the game and how to fix it.

If that doesn't work, here's where I DL'd it from, I've never heard of this site before but it DL'd really fast, much quicker than some of the lousy commercial sites (which also make you register first).

Download link:

http://www.vgpro.com/games/pc/europa_universalis_iii

[screwtype]

Try France, they have a nicer income and you'll be able to do some more stuff.

Yeah, I noticed they're listed as a much easier faction to play, but I wanna play the bonnie Scots, dammit! :laugh4:

Anyhow, Scotland's difficulty level is about the same as England's, so you'd think they'd be a playable faction. Next time I'm going to take out that $400 loan, use the whole lot to build a massive army and attack England straight away to see how that works out.

Other than that, the only thing I can think of that might have been a mistake is that I didn't have enough patience. When I think about it I probably didn't play too long in terms of game time - maybe 10 or 20 years. It probably just seemed a lot longer because I was learning how the game worked.

One of the really annoying things that happened though, is that after my two five year loans expired, the game forced me to extend them. On reflection I guess this must be because I hadn't paid them off, I assumed I was paying them off the principal over five years but maybe I was only paying off the interest?

[FesterShinetop]

Well... it's a typical Paradox game allright... :inquisitive:
I always find it hard to get started in their games... you load up a game, it starts and I find myself looking at the map thinking "ok... now what...?" :laugh4:
So anybody got some good starting tips/strategies for the demo?

[screwtype]

Well... it's a typical Paradox game allright... :inquisitive:
I always find it hard to get started in their games... you load up a game, it starts and I find myself looking at the map thinking "ok... now what...?" :laugh4:
So anybody got some good starting tips/strategies for the demo?

Yeah, here's one. War is definitely the way to go for the Scots ~:)

For my second campaign I borrowed 400 gold and used it to buy a huge army of mercenaries and then sent them on a rampage through England. After a few years I had captured about half of England, and things were looking pretty good although the English army was growing.

Unfortunately, I neglected to keep a sufficiently close eye on my finances, and a couple of months before the end of the year (when you get your annual income) I ran out of funds and my entire mercenary army deserted! What was even more stupid about it is that I could have taken out another 200 gold loan if I'd been paying attention.

Anyhow, losing my army of course put me in an impossible situation so I quit the campaign. Well...maybe I wouldn't have quit, except you can't save a game in the demo.

If I hadn't made that mistake though, I was probably looking at capturing another wave of English provinces. By no means was I totally assured of victory though, because my stability was at rock bottom (-3 or something) and there was at least a small chance (about 1.5%) of one of my conquered English provinces rebelling, which could have made things a lot trickier.

All in all, a reasonably enjoyable experience, and one that certainly makes me think seriously about the purchase. One other little thing I noticed is that you can play an American native tribe, and I couldn't help wondering how well you might do if you captured most of North America by the time the Europeans got there! So there looks to be quite a few different faction options for gamers looking for a bit of variety. You're not stuck with just the Europeans to play by any means.

BTW in regards to your comment about finding Paradox games hard to get into - I don't know if it's my experience with HOI2 or not, but I pretty much jumped straight into this one without problems.

[Sjakihata]

You are only allowed to play to 1522. It's a bad idea to borrow money. Merchants needs a bit of micro-management. I chose a national idea that gave me 10% more chance of competing for merchants. I was dominating most of the valuable european CoTs. In Andalusia I got 80 docats. Had 5 merchants. I was playing Portugal and colonized south america.


One of the really annoying things that happened though, is that after my two five year loans expired, the game forced me to extend them. On reflection I guess this must be because I hadn't paid them off, I assumed I was paying them off the principal over five years but maybe I was only paying off the interest?

Yes, the interest isnt paying off the loan. It's just mainting it, paying interest. After five year, you are asked if you want to pay it off or extend. In order to pay it off, you need 200 ducats in your treasury. If not more interest is coming for you. I liked it better in EU2, whenever you had enough money to pay off the loan, you could do it. You didnt need to wait for five years.


So there looks to be quite a few different faction options for gamers looking for a bit of variety. You're not stuck with just the Europeans to play by any means.

Well, seeing as there are over 280 nations to chose from, I'd be surprised if they were all european. I cant wait to play the jappos, having a huge empire by the time the portugese and black thorne arrive :D


BTW in regards to your comment about finding Paradox games hard to get into - I don't know if it's my experience with HOI2 or not, but I pretty much jumped straight into this one without problems.

Having played, EU, EU2, Vicky and HoI:DD I find it also easy. However, my experience with HoI is near to useless. What I learned from Vicky and EU2 is what is helping me.

[screwtype]

You are only allowed to play to 1522. It's a bad idea to borrow money. Merchants needs a bit of micro-management. I chose a national idea that gave me 10% more chance of competing for merchants. I was dominating most of the valuable european CoTs. In Andalusia I got 80 docats. Had 5 merchants. I was playing Portugal and colonized south america.

You were pulling 80 ducats just from Andalusia? Phew, nice work. I saw that tech and chose conquistadors and explorers instead but I think that merchant tech will be a priority pick next time!

I disagree that it's necessarily a bad idea to borrow money though. IMO it's not a bad idea if you make good use of it. I had conquered half of Britain from my loan and was already almost breaking even, just from the growing territorial revenue and with very poor stability and no merchants whatever.


Yes, the interest isnt paying off the loan. It's just mainting it, paying interest. After five year, you are asked if you want to pay it off or extend. In order to pay it off, you need 200 ducats in your treasury. If not more interest is coming for you. I liked it better in EU2, whenever you had enough money to pay off the loan, you could do it. You didnt need to wait for five years.

Okay. I'm still trying to work out why it made a new 200d loan available to me though, because I don't remember paying off the principal on the previous one!


Well, seeing as there are over 280 nations to chose from, I'd be surprised if they were all european. I cant wait to play the jappos, having a huge empire by the time the portugese and black thorne arrive :D

Yeah there's obviously going to be a lot of variety and a lot more possible outcomes, unlike HOI where the world powers are already established. In EU you can probably build up an obscure faction from scratch, before the Europeans turn up.


Having played, EU, EU2, Vicky and HoI:DD I find it also easy. However, my experience with HoI is near to useless. What I learned from Vicky and EU2 is what is helping me.

The game mechanics are actually quite similar to HOI, but it doesn't look nearly as complex as Vicky. I took one look at that game and decided to avoid. Not only because it looked very complicated, but also because the fonts are so darned small I could hardly read them ~:)

Anyhow, the demo has definitely got me looking forward to the game. My only real concern now is whether or not it will be enough of a challenge. Time will tell I guess...

[AntiochusIII]

Well, seeing as there are over 280 nations to chose from, I'd be surprised if they were all european. I cant wait to play the jappos, having a huge empire by the time the portugese and black thorne arrive :DIf EUII is any indication, though, I'd think you'll have a hell of a time even surviving!

*mumbles something about bloody rebels, Paradox bias against legendary Japanese generals with weaker stats than your average European monarch, and bloody rebels*

[Antagonist]

Tried out the demo, seems fairly cool. I only briefly played EUII and never owned it but it seems true to the spirit whilst at the same time moving forward, a good thing. I played the demo 3 times, with the same three factions I had played in Crusader Kings (one easy, one medium, one hard) and had a good time with all of them. I wonder if you can import saves from previous games like you used to be able to?

Antagonist

[screwtype]

Looks like I won't have to worry about the game not being challenging enough either. I'm finding it very tough to repeat my first good performance against England. That King Henry is absolutely outrageous! He kills my soldiers at a rate of literally 100 to 1!

In my latest campaign I bought 20 regiments and marched 9,000 men apiece into two English provinces. Quickly won the first, but King Henry with only 2,000 troops was tearing my other army to bits, so sent most of my second army to help out too. Even outnumbered 6 to 1, Henry only just lost the battle. I lost 7,778 troops and he lost a paltry 174!

Then later in the campaign he did it again. He marched into one of my provinces with only 2,000 troops, I thought, you beauty, he doesn't know I've got a huge army just arriving before he gets there! So Henry gets there and he's facing 10,000 of my men-at-arms against his 1000 maa and 1,000 cav. Guess who won the battle? Yup, Henry again. I had to sue for peace and resign from the campaign :(

[Sjakihata]

If you outnumber you enemy with 10:1 the enemy army will simply surrender, evaporate from the map.

[screwtype]

Really? That sounds like an exploit, I'm not sure I'd want to use it.

Are you sure that's implemented in EU3 though, or are you just talking from your EU2 experience?

[Sjakihata]

Well, I never tried it myself, but I read on the official Paradox forum, that a developer said that and that it was WAD (Working as Designed). It's not an exploit, but it is supposed to reflect that on the battlefield that such a big army will press the lesser one to surrender. I think it is good, so that if a 10k army face a 1k army, the latter would retreat.

Edit: I found the thread at paradoxplaza: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=281820 it's post #13 by MrT. He is the guy who wrote the manual, so you can expect him to know what he is talking about.

[screwtype]

YEEEEAAAARRRRGH I DID IT AGAIN!!!! :furious3: :furious3: :furious3: :furious3: :furious3:

I had England on the ropes with only four provinces left but I was so busy chasing their stupid little armies around from province to province I FORGOT TO WATCH THE MONEY AGAIN!!! :furious3: :furious3: :furious3: :furious3:

The money hits zero and ALL MY MERCENARIES DESERT AND I HAVE NO ARMY. When there's 200 GOLD JUST WAITING TO BE BORROWED I LOST THREE HOURS PLAY AGAIN YEEEEAAAAARGH :furious3: :furious3: :furious3: :furious3:

This is a serious omission with this game IMO. The game should darned well WARN you when your finances are about to hit zero, not just spring it on you out of thin air! That's the second damn campaign I've blown because I forgot to watch the money and I'm REALLY MAD about it. Especially since I also lost another campaign with a frickin' POWER OUTAGE earlier today!

Oh, sod it, I've played this blasted game half the day and got absolutely nowhere. That's it I'm off to do something more useful. GRRRRRrrrrrr!

[Sjakihata]

Why do you keep getting mercenaries? Buy a regular army.

[screwtype]

Can't. Scotland doesn't have the manpower. If I didn't buy mercenaries I wouldn't have a fraction of the troops needed to conquer England. By the time I got a decent army, England would have one too. Buying a whole bunch of mercs right at the start of the game gives you a big advantage.

I figure once I've conquered all of England, or as much of it as I can, I can just disband most of the mercs and then be back in the black financially, then just use my home troops to put down any rebellions I might encounter.

Anyhow, it should be fine once I get the actual game, because the problem with the demo is you can't save your progress, which is what leaves you vulnerable to losing hours of gameplay when something goes wrong.

BTW, thanks for posting that link, it was quite an informative discussion. I've actualy changed my mind about the 10x rule now, because you often end up with piddling little enemy remnants in your rear in this game and being able to stomp them with a 10x stack is very useful! Otherwise you end up chasing them all over the map for months.

[screwtype]

I pre-ordered ~:)

Paradox is already shipping pre-orders so hopefully it won't take too long to get here. It's not officially released here for another couple of weeks and EB Games have never even heard of it, which is not a good sign. Pre-ordering helps me to avoid Aussie sales tax too ~:)

[Shahed]

Paradoxx have done it again. WHAT A FREAKING AWESOME GAME !

It's available for download via gamersgate:

http://www.gamersgate.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=95&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=14

ENJOY !!!

You can play Turks and Timurids in this game too..... BUAHHAHAHHAAHA !!!


EDIT:

HEY ! What is everyone's favorite nation in the demo ? I like the French, all the others somehow wreaked of hopelessness.

Also the 10:1 surrender thing is very wasteful in early game. There is hardly any province that can support 12-15K armies (which is essentially what is ideal) in early game. It makes mroe sense to use small 5-7K armies, suffer less attrition and keep marching.

[Lorenzo_H]

Alright, I have decided to give it a try. I'm downloading the demo...

[Sjakihata]

I have a natural inclination towards Portugal and Castile. I like exploration and colonization. Austria is an interesting choice as well.

I want to play Japan as well, form a huge empire before the european powers show up.

Edit:
I just discovered that Paradox have, on release day already released the first 1.1 patch (http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282550). Something other developers might learn from. Also their commitment to the forum is amazing.

[screwtype]

HEY ! What is everyone's favorite nation in the demo ? I like the French, all the others somehow wreaked of hopelessness.

The French are a much easier faction to play, but I did quite well as the Scots in my last demo campaign, capturing all of England and eventually annexing half of it to my kingdom.

For some reason I'm quite keen on the Scots, I have no idea why. I guess because I like playing the underdog, and because like England they have the advantage of being surrounded by sea.

I'd also like to play one of the Irish kingdoms at some stage, but since they are all single province kingdoms I imagine they'd be pretty tough.


Also the 10:1 surrender thing is very wasteful in early game. There is hardly any province that can support 12-15K armies (which is essentially what is ideal) in early game. It makes mroe sense to use small 5-7K armies, suffer less attrition and keep marching.

You don't really need the 10x thing to wipe out armies, all you need to do is keep pursuing the beaten army until you whittle it down to nothing. It also works better if you keep the provinces surrounding a province you attack occupied by a regiment, that way a retreating enemy army just bounces around from one occupied province to another, losing troops every time.

[screwtype]

I have a natural inclination towards Portugal and Castile. I like exploration and colonization. Austria is an interesting choice as well.

Yeah, now that you mention it, I'd like to try Portugal too. About the same strength as Scotland (maybe a bit stronger) and well situated for colonial ventures.

Outside Europe, I'd also like to play one of the native American tribes, looks like they are adjacent to heaps of empty provinces just waiting for colonization, so that would probably be an entirely different flavour of game.

In fact now it's occurred to me, I'll think I'll try one of them in my next demo campaign :beam:

...bummer, just found out the demo only lets you play one of the Euro powers. I guess the Sioux will have to wait!

[Sjakihata]

I just bought it from gamersgate. A direct download to you PC. So far Im loving it. Im playing Saxony starting in 1452. Im allied with Austria and Im trying to build a great Hansestadt republic. Focusing on land might and scientific development.

[Lorenzo_H]

I downloaded the demo, and although I didnt play it for long I would have if the graphics were any better!

[screwtype]

I just bought it from gamersgate. A direct download to you PC. So far Im loving it. Im playing Saxony starting in 1452. Im allied with Austria and Im trying to build a great Hansestadt republic. Focusing on land might and scientific development.

Lucky you ~:)

I was hoping to directly DL the game from Paradox, but there didn't seem to be an option for that, so I had to order a hard copy. Now I have to hang out a week or so for delivery :/

[screwtype]

I downloaded the demo, and although I didnt play it for long I would have if the graphics were any better!

Paradox is about gameplay not graphics. As opposed to some other game companies I could mention.

The continuous time system also takes some getting used to, especially when it comes to fighting battles, but once you get used to it it works fine.

[The_Doctor]

I'd also like to play one of the Irish kingdoms at some stage, but since they are all single province kingdoms I imagine they'd be pretty tough.

I tried Munster and it was rather challanging.


Has anybody got one of the nation events to happen?

[screwtype]

What do you mean, nation events?

The game generates its own nation events from time to time. Like different countries uniting under one crown and so on. Is that the sort of thing you mean?

[Dave1984]

Paradox is about gameplay not graphics. As opposed to some other game companies I could mention.



Although the game is so easy to mod that five minute's effort and you have a beautiful-looking game. I guess it's like having a car that runs beautifully but that comes with a fairly nondescript paint job- you can go and get it painted yourself, if you so wish, but it's really pretty unimportant. As opposed to a game that's like the most beautiful looking car you ever did see, but when you open up the hood all thats inside is a kid's crayon drawing of an engine*



*Thanks, Family Guy!

[screwtype]

Although the game is so easy to mod that five minute's effort and you have a beautiful-looking game. I guess it's like having a car that runs beautifully but that comes with a fairly nondescript paint job- you can go and get it painted yourself, if you so wish, but it's really pretty unimportant. As opposed to a game that's like the most beautiful looking car you ever did see, but when you open up the hood all thats inside is a kid's crayon drawing of an engine

You mean you can mod the graphics as well?

Quite frankly the graphics are fine by me. I think they look very similar in quality to the RTW campaign map so I'm not sure what people mean when they talk about dud graphics. If they want dud graphics, they should try playing one of the earlier Paradox games, EU3 is a big step forward if you ask me ~:)

[Dave1984]

You mean you can mod the graphics as well?




Yup, (in the demo, iI don't have the full game yet but from what I've hear there's very few differences in that respect) in the gfx folders for the unit models and the like and in the map folder for the map, although the unit textures are so small it's quite hard to change them much. I'm trying to get them as photo-realistic as I can, purely to go with the map textures. I started off replacing them all the map/terrain textures with the ones from M2TW which had a dramatic and enjoyable effect but now I'm experimenting with using actual satellite photography.

Even still, it's really just to pass the time more than anything becauseI find the game itself is immersive enough for the graphics to become negligible.

[screwtype]

Sounds interesting. Maybe you could eventually post your changes as a graphics mod at Paradox?

[Dave1984]

Sounds interesting. Maybe you could eventually post your changes as a graphics mod at Paradox?


I could, but I haven't looked into it, and I'm sure the idea is so simple that it must have been done tonnes of times before?

[screwtype]

It's certainly been done for other games, I don't know about Paradox, but if the graphics for EU3 are as easy to mod as you say, I guess it's only a matter of time before people start doing graphics mods for that game too.

Maybe yours will be one of the first!

[Dave1984]

It's certainly been done for other games, I don't know about Paradox, but if the graphics for EU3 are as easy to mod as you say, I guess it's only a matter of time before people start doing graphics mods for that game too.

Maybe yours will be one of the first!


Haha it'd be nice! I'll have to wait until te game arrives and see what I can do with it then, it's a shame it's a week or so after the rest of the world here.

[screwtype]

I just discovered that Paradox have, on release day already released the first 1.1 patch (http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282550). Something other developers might learn from. Also their commitment to the forum is amazing.

Yeah, Paradox's customer support is great.

Some nice changes in the patch, I particularly noticed these two:

If all possible locations that an army may retreat each contain an enemy army that exceeds it in size, the army will be disbanded. Note that every army in every province must be larger, otherwise the defeated army will retreat towards a province that has an enemy army that is smaller than it is.

The Outliner now has a separate section to show provinces that are colonies (but not yet full-fledged colonial cities). This makes it very easy to quickly select a province that you wish to further develop through sending a colonist.

The outliner is a very nice feature, and being able to select a colony directly from there is going to save quite a bit of messing around.

The changes to the retreat rules are welcome too. It does get pretty annoying when an army of less than 1000 troops takes half a dozen combats to eliminate, the new rule should make it much easier to get rid of them.

[The_Doctor]

What do you mean, nation events?

If you look in C:\Program Files\Paradox Interactive\Eu3 - DEMO\events
there are some text files called, BritishNation, EnglishNation, FrenchNation, GermanNation, IrishNation, ItalianNation, MughalNation, NetherlandsNation, PersianNation, RussianNation and SpanishNation.

After reading these files, I believe that if you are playing as a certain country and control certain provinces you will have to option to create and play as one of these new nations.

Example:
In the Irish Nation file it says:

country_event = {

id = 1010

trigger = {
NOT = { exists = IRE }
NOT = { has_country_flag = irish_nation_declined }
primary_culture = irish
owns = 372 # Ulster
owns = 373 # Meath
owns = 374 # München
owns = 375 # Leinster
owns = 376 # Connaught
war = no
}

mean_time_to_happen = {

months = 216

modifier = {
factor = 0.9
NOT = { centralization_decentralization = -1 }
}
modifier = {
factor = 0.9
NOT = { centralization_decentralization = -2 }
}
modifier = {
factor = 0.9
NOT = { centralization_decentralization = -3 }
}
modifier = {
factor = 1.1
centralization_decentralization = 2
}
modifier = {
factor = 1.1
centralization_decentralization = 3
}
modifier = {
factor = 1.1
centralization_decentralization = 4
}
modifier = {
factor = 0.8
idea = bureaucracy
}
}

title = "EVTNAME1010"
desc = "EVTDESC1010"

option = {
name = "EVTOPTA1010"
ai_chance = { factor = 75 }
change_tag = IRE
centralization_decentralization = -2
merchants = 1
random_owned = {
base_tax = 1
}
prestige = 0.15
}

option = {
name = "EVTOPTB1010"
ai_chance = { factor = 25 }
set_country_flag = irish_nation_declined
centralization_decentralization = 2
random_owned = {
base_tax = -1
}
}
}

[ElectricEel]

Some observations:

Focusing on trade and exploration can pay off big time. In my first game, as Portugal, I was getting over 1000 ducats per year from trade around, IIRC, 1525. To get this kind of income from trade, you need to focus on trade tech, explore to find far-off centers of trade, and colonize provinces with valuable trade goods. Good slider settings - naval, plutocracy - help. You need to focus on this to succeed, but it will make you one of the wealthiest and most advanced countries.

Monopolies seem impossible to maintain, in the above-mentioned game I kept getting my monopoly in Lisboa broken by the Iriquois. :dizzy2:

Apparently, for some reason, owning centers of trade that are not of your primary culture will increase the chance that other nations' merchants will kick yours out dramatically. This can be modded trivially in the 'static_modifiers.txt' file, but until you do that, or a patch changes this, avoid owning multiple centers of trade like a plague if you rely on trade to any extent... :no:

Leaders are extremely important (as Screwtype has already experienced). A leader with a good shock or fire score can alter the outcome of a battle dramatically, a good maneuver score can allow you to choose the time and place of battle, and a good siege score will cause sieges to go much quicker. This is why you should only use mercanaries when it is vital to the success of your strategy - only your regular troops will contribute to your military tradition when they fight, and military tradition determines the quality of the leaders you recruit.

[Antagonist]

I was playing it for hours yesterday, really burns the time away. I enjoyed Crusader Kings but only played EUII once or twice, so the system is still basically new to me, but I really enjoyed it.

My attempt to create a Norwegian colonial empire started well but collapsed after a while, sadly. I tried an Irish game with Tyrone (the poorest province actually) starting in 1515 or so and it went surprisingly well - rock hard to start off (you absolutely need a loan, and to take a massive diplomatic hit warring against your neighbours) but once you have 3 regiments or so they go down easily. The big problem is with England, you can take Dublin pretty easily but getting them to cede it to you properly is hard, you'll never get a high-enough warscore in Ireland alone so I had to invade Wales to prove the point. Once you have all the territories necessary for a nation event it still takes a long time, modified by things like centralization etc. The Kingdom of Ireland took about 20 years to come to fruition.

Anyway, fun. Can't wait to buy it myself. Too bad I forgot to get my saves from my friends' computer. :book:

Antagonist

[ChaosLord]

Well you all made EU3 sound good and I enjoyed HoI2/Victoria so I was going to buy this. Then I found out that EU3 a 2d strategy game REQUIRES 2.0 pixel shaders to run it all. Apparently Paradox is now in the business of either laziness or simply not caring if their old customers can run the game. Its really sad when my video card can run MTW2 but not EU3. If this is going to be the usual from Paradox from now on I won't bother with their games. I don't feel like having to upgrade every time they adopt some new standard from the bloated video card industry without need.

[AntiochusIII]

Well you all made EU3 sound good and I enjoyed HoI2/Victoria so I was going to buy this. Then I found out that EU3 a 2d strategy game REQUIRES 2.0 pixel shaders to run it all. Apparently Paradox is now in the business of either laziness or simply not caring if their old customers can run the game. Its really sad when my video card can run MTW2 but not EU3. If this is going to be the usual from Paradox from now on I won't bother with their games. I don't feel like having to upgrade every time they adopt some new standard from the bloated video card industry without need.Ouch. You can try and send them a (nice) letter explaining the predicament of old fans. May be they'll listen, who knows? Unlike most people in the business, they actually listen to their customers...

You might have a small chance of getting that up in the next patch or something.

And this thing only sounds better and better! Jeez people, I'm trying to stop the temptation here!

[screwtype]

Well you all made EU3 sound good and I enjoyed HoI2/Victoria so I was going to buy this. Then I found out that EU3 a 2d strategy game REQUIRES 2.0 pixel shaders to run it all. Apparently Paradox is now in the business of either laziness or simply not caring if their old customers can run the game. Its really sad when my video card can run MTW2 but not EU3. If this is going to be the usual from Paradox from now on I won't bother with their games. I don't feel like having to upgrade every time they adopt some new standard from the bloated video card industry without need.

From what I've read, the reason EU3 requires a decent graphics card is not so much the graphic requirements of the game, but because unlike most games they can't offload some of the graphics demands onto the CPU because all the power of the CPU is needed to run the game at a decent clip. In other words, a reasonable graphics card is needed to keep the CPU free of video demands.

Even on my PC, which is not too shabby at all in the hardware department, the game runs a bit slow - about 3 days per second, or a couple of minutes a year. That may not sound slow but in a campaign encompasing 350 years it adds up to a lot of time.

And anyway, Pixelshader 2.0 is pretty old by now. You can get a card with P2 very cheaply these days.

[Dave1984]

Even on my PC, which is not too shabby at all in the hardware department, the game runs a bit slow - about 3 days per second, or a couple of minutes a year. That may not sound slow but in a campaign encompasing 350 years it adds up to a lot of time.

.

Is that at top speed? I get about 3-5 days p/s at top speed but I'm going off it a bit because I'm starting to miss things.

[screwtype]

Is that at top speed? I get about 3-5 days p/s at top speed but I'm going off it a bit because I'm starting to miss things.

I've got an Athlon64 3000+ with a gig of RAM. Yes, I've heard that folks with faster CPU's are getting better performance, but 3 days/sec isn't too bad. Some people are apparently getting much worse performance.

[screwtype]

Bah! Those dirty backstabbing sassanachs sprung a suprise war on me, even though we had a royal marriage and +100 relations. And then I discovered a wonderful new game mechanic. If you have your armies on low maintenance, when a province fort is attacked it surrenders right away. My garrisons in Lothian and the neighbouring province surrendered after exactly three days. And to think that I spent literally years battering down English forts in my previous campaign...

Anyhow, that'll teach me not to honour my alliance with France in its silly little wars. I will have to do that next time, even if it does cost me a stack of stability points, because it looks like without a major alliance, Scotland is just too tempting a target for the English.

And to think I just scored a wonderful administrative monarch who gave me an incredible 40% increased chance to score successful colonizations! Not to mention the gold province I had just colonized...

Oh well, I guess the French didn't dub the English "perfidious Albion" for nothing :/

[ShadeHonestus]

Scotland is just too tempting a target for the English.

Try being the English on VH and getting wrapped up in a war of succession on top of the existing war with France and Brittany, only to have the opportunistic Scots and their allies Norway and Denmark attempt repeated invasions from the north.

First chance I get, Scots are going to cease to be.

It's my first game as a major power and its proving tougher than conguering all of Europe with any of the 2-3 province states.

Loved my games of Bavarian and Granada Conquests. :charge:

[ShadesWolf]

I must admit, I love this game...


Its the only thing im playing at the moment. That is when im not at work and I get some spare time :whip:

[Justiciar]

Well that settles it. As soon as this cold lifts I'm going to have to go out and buy it. Damn you, peers!

:furious3:

[discovery1]

You can get it direct to drive via gamersgate.

[Lorenzo_H]

I am going to, no matter how enticing, resist the temptation for now.

[RabidGibbon]

Heh, the only reason I've resisted the temptation so far is £$%^&*! pixelshader 2.0.

I cant wait for my current PC to explode, so I can justify buying a new one that can play all the funky new games that are coming out.

[frogbeastegg]

Does anyone know what you get in the collector's edition?

[Sjakihata]

You get a map of the world, the strategy guide (different than the manual), a gold hat on the forum and access to some special CE subforum. Maybe some other tidbits. I think a cd with sound track.


Anyway, it's sold out in most countries. Perhaps they have them in some stores.

[ElectricEel]

Apparently, collector's edition owners also get to vote on what kind of features go into future patches.

[frogbeastegg]

I found out that in the UK the CE is exclusive to the Game shops; nowhere else will have it. They had 4 copies left in my local shop ... it's £15 more than the standard edition! Gah! What they didn't have was the standard edition; all gone. What I don't have is a working desktop, and this cruddy old laptop couldn't manage to play EU2, let alone a game which requires pixel shader 2.0.

In addition to the guide, sound track, etc you get a sheet of Paradox logo stickers and a box done in that shiny metalic foil stuff, which looks very snazzy. The map is nice, but the province names are so tiny it's hard to read; disappointing. For £15 extra I'd expected quite a bit more - the 'official downloads' it mentions had better be good, or I'm going to feel somewhat ripped off. ~:( If only it'd been £5 more expensive then what's in it would be alright.

Not sure what the point of the soundtrack is. In all Paradox games I've played no only is the music easily available in MP3 form, it's open to being replaced or the playlist expanded. Unless they changed this in EUIII? I hope not; I liked being able to customise my soundtrack.

Roll on Tuesday, when the new desktop should arrive ...

[Slyspy]

They did change it: there is just one playlist for the whole game which is hardcoded so you can't change it. The only way to get a custom soundtrack in there is to replace the old tracks with the new selection while keeping the old track names.

Sadly the music is good but rather generic computer game music rather than the real music of EU2.

A bit disappointing really.

[Sjakihata]

Stop complaining will you. Mute the music in game, open any mp3/wma player and make your own playlist. Problem solved.

:book:

[phred]

One thing I noticed yesterday was that you can load a saved game as any country.
I was playing Aragon, took a break, and when I reloaded the game, I clicked on France just to see what would happen, and it let me play as France.

I'm still playing as France and am in a nice colonial war with Portugal for New England.

[Vuk]

Never played Europa Universalis; how is it?
What is it like?
Are there 3-D units?
How is it controled?
etc.?

[phred]

Never played Europa Universalis; how is it?
What is it like?
Are there 3-D units?
How is it controled?
etc.?

This is probably the best place to start.
http://www.europauniversalis3.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=33

here's the company line:
"Europa Universalis III delves deeply into the areas of exploration, trade, warfare and diplomacy. This epic strategy game lets players take control of a nation and guide it through the ages to become a great global empire. Unparalleled in its depth and historical accuracy, Europa Universalis III gives the player unprecedented freedom in how they choose to rule their nation from an impressive choice of over 250 historically accurate countries."

It's a bit like playing a Civ game on an earth map, except that the time frame is 1453 to 1789 and you can lead any country in the world. The gamemap has provinces like STW & MTW, but the warfare if fairly abstract. You engage in diplomacy, warfare, exploration, colonization. It has a lot of depth.
I would type more but am at work.

[AntiochusIII]

Vuk:

*How is it?*

Awesome.

*What is it like?*

It's often compared to Civilization and Total War. But, frankly, it's different from those two. Drastically. EUIII gets closer to Civ than EUII ever was, though. In the game, you lead a state -- any state that's on the map, which is pretty cool, as most states are represented. Saxony, Burgundy, Ayutthaya... -- and control its finances, armies, provinces, colonization, diplomacy, etc. It's very in-depth in those matters. Colonization is the big part of the deal, which sets it apart from other games.

You start with the world map; you choose a country on it, and the date you start (whenever between 1453-1789), and jump right in. Make it great. Be a rich mercantile state, colonize the world, or just plain well trample the rest of the Europe. Do whatever you want. You will be judged by your score at the end of the game in 1789.

*Are there 3-D units?*

Not in a TW sense, no. It has no field battles whatsoever: battles are abstract. And unit types are rather limited, representing a greater tactical doctrine rather than a TW unit. "Tercio" vs "arquebusier" kind of deal. Paradox has been promoting their transfer to 3D map, however; though the map looks, well, ugly. It's serviceable, though, and their games have never relied on the shine factor for the fun.

*How is it controlled?*

By mouse and keyboard...

By the way, does anyone knows which button can I press to open up the console? The old F12 doesn't work, and I just wanted to test some events out.

Damn Paradox for changing such a fundamental feature! Jeez, of all things to remove...

[Sjakihata]

One thing I noticed yesterday was that you can load a saved game as any country.
I was playing Aragon, took a break, and when I reloaded the game, I clicked on France just to see what would happen, and it let me play as France.

I'm still playing as France and am in a nice colonial war with Portugal for New England.

This is nothing new. That has always been the case in previous paradox games.

[phred]

Vuk:

By the way, does anyone knows which button can I press to open up the console? The old F12 doesn't work, and I just wanted to test some events out.

Damn Paradox for changing such a fundamental feature! Jeez, of all things to remove...

Try <ALT> + 21 (on the number pad)




This is nothing new. That has always been the case in previous paradox games.

didn't know that, thanks!

[Justiciar]

'tis very slow moving. Bordering on the tiresome. But fun, no less. Started a game as Friesland and had the majority of Europe turn on me after owning Münster and delivering a nasty blow to Burgundy. I like that you can change factions in the middle of a campaign, too. I've acctually started a game with a previously rebellious Wales.. as an independant, mostly peacefull Kingdom with a healthy economy and it's eyes on the Americas. :laugh4:

[Avicenna]

I would have gotten this game... but for the awful map. The old paradox ones are great, this I just can't stand.

[ShadeHonestus]

Never played Europa Universalis; how is it?
What is it like?
Are there 3-D units?
How is it controled?
etc.?

If it proves to be too simple for you, which most of the criticism has rung truest about EU3, then try Victoria or HOI, a lot more in depth micromanaging with this those two.

[scotchedpommes]

Had considered buying this game on impulse yesterday, but didn't due to the
only edition available seemingly being the more expensive. However, just
downloaded and installed the demo, and after having some fiddly issues with
the .exe, it would now seem I have to contend with a graphical problem.

From the moment the game starts loading, the display appears stretched across
the screen, so much so as to make only one half visible. Does anyone know how
I might solve this, and I would ask, [after briefly skimming the thread] does this
have anything to do with the aforementioned pixel shaders?

[Sjakihata]

Do you fulfill the minimum required hardware?

[Slyspy]

Had considered buying this game on impulse yesterday, but didn't due to the
only edition available seemingly being the more expensive. However, just
downloaded and installed the demo, and after having some fiddly issues with
the .exe, it would now seem I have to contend with a graphical problem.

From the moment the game starts loading, the display appears stretched across
the screen, so much so as to make only one half visible. Does anyone know how
I might solve this, and I would ask, [after briefly skimming the thread] does this
have anything to do with the aforementioned pixel shaders?

What hardware are you running it on?

Try checking the paradox forums, I've seen similar problems mentioned there (though annoyingly there is no search function).

[Lorenzo_H]

I found out that in the UK the CE is exclusive to the Game shops; nowhere else will have it. They had 4 copies left in my local shop ... it's £15 more than the standard edition! Gah! What they didn't have was the standard edition; all gone. What I don't have is a working desktop, and this cruddy old laptop couldn't manage to play EU2, let alone a game which requires pixel shader 2.0.

In addition to the guide, sound track, etc you get a sheet of Paradox logo stickers and a box done in that shiny metalic foil stuff, which looks very snazzy. The map is nice, but the province names are so tiny it's hard to read; disappointing. For £15 extra I'd expected quite a bit more - the 'official downloads' it mentions had better be good, or I'm going to feel somewhat ripped off. ~:( If only it'd been £5 more expensive then what's in it would be alright.

Not sure what the point of the soundtrack is. In all Paradox games I've played no only is the music easily available in MP3 form, it's open to being replaced or the playlist expanded. Unless they changed this in EUIII? I hope not; I liked being able to customise my soundtrack.

Roll on Tuesday, when the new desktop should arrive ...
I went into HMV yesterday. I could have sworn I saw the collectors edition - its the one that is all gold colour, right?

[frogbeastegg]

I went into HMV yesterday. I could have sworn I saw the collectors edition - its the one that is all gold colour, right?
It has the picture of a bunch of duelists instead of an explorer, and it has "collector's edition" under the main title. It's meant to be exclusive to Game.

I don't think it's worth the extra cost, to be honest.

[KARTLOS]

You can get it direct to drive via gamersgate.

i am having real problem with gamersgate.

after reading this thread i went out and bought it through them, but i have found the downloader is not recognising me when i try to login so i am not able to download it yet.

please could anyone who has downloaded it from gamersgate post a screesnhot of the downloader after you have logged in and are about ot hit downlaod so i can see what it should look like.

[KARTLOS]

It is now downloading properly after a day of stress. No idea what the problem was.

I am fairly new to paradox but as I understood it it is possible to use a converter to convert your save files from crusader kings to EU II so that you can continue with the same dynasty/ country.

Does anyone know if ther is a CK to EU III convertor? If so linkage please.

[Sjakihata]

No converter to EU3.

[Slyspy]

The older games converted because they basically used the same engine. You can go CK-EU2-Vicky-HOI2 if you like, although the conversion can be a little odd at times!

You can't do that with EU3.

[screwtype]

It is now downloading properly after a day of stress. No idea what the problem was.

I am fairly new to paradox but as I understood it it is possible to use a converter to convert your save files from crusader kings to EU II so that you can continue with the same dynasty/ country.

Does anyone know if ther is a CK to EU III convertor? If so linkage please.

Not yet, but someone is building one. They've posted in the PI CK forum. Sorry don't have the link, you'll have to search for it yourself if you want to read about it.

[Bob the Insane]

Bought and played lasted night (works fine on Vista if you are interested)...

I have EU2 in a drawer somewhere, same with HOI as I had great difficulty getting into them...

This time was different, I don't know, maybe the pretty gfx... :2thumbsup:

So it is now 1487 England is ruling a United Great Briton and Ireland. We have lost and ceeded Gascony to the French but have retained Calais despite repeated attacks by Brittony and a short occupaction by Norway (?!?)...

Taking Scotland was ammusing in that I invaded and successfully conquered all their provinces once and forced Vasselization on them only to have Brittony inherit the Kingdom of Scotland!?!?

Well I had Casus belli with Brittony so I invaded again and conquered all of Scotland again! But Brittony refused to ceed the territory so I was forced to invaid and occupy the rest of Brittony after which they agreed to terms ceeding Scotland to me...

Things I have noted, agreeing to alliances with small itallian or german states is a pain as they are constantly at war with someone on the other side of europe. Despite invaiding and occupying all the Brittony provinces I did not get the option to Annex in a peace treaty, any ideas??

All in all a lot of fun... Now to build up the economy and look for the new world!! :D

[screwtype]

Things I have noted, agreeing to alliances with small itallian or german states is a pain as they are constantly at war with someone on the other side of europe.

Be very careful about agreeing to alliance wars. If your ally started the war and you agree to join, then you cop the same stability hit as your ally. You can lose several stab levels in one shot!

Unfortunately, there is no simple way of figuring out what the stab hit might be. I hope they fix this in an upcoming patch, but it hasn't been mentioned yet.


Despite invaiding and occupying all the Brittony provinces I did not get the option to Annex in a peace treaty, any ideas??

You can only annex a one-province country. Otherwise, you have to be content with several of their provinces rather than all of them. Annexing countries also gives you quite a badboy hit apparently.

[SwordsMaster]

It does. There is an exception to this rule if you are annexing uncivilised nations though, as for example american-indian nations, some of the african ones, etc...

Diplo annexing apparently gives you a tremendous bb hit also. In my current game as Spain, i diploannexed France and suddenly all my alliances were broken, and basically I go to war as soon as the previous truce expires. With everyone in Europe! My only ally right now is the Pope.

[AntiochusIII]

Diplo annexing apparently gives you a tremendous bb hit also. In my current game as Spain, i diploannexed France and suddenly all my alliances were broken, and basically I go to war as soon as the previous truce expires. With everyone in Europe! My only ally right now is the Pope.Sounds like you crossed the badboy threshold. Welcome to the world of the Badboy Wars (tm), where everybody with a border to you and their grandmother will keep declaring war on you to no end. You can finish it only once you stand on the top of the world above mountains of corpses of national leaders or you maintain a defensive stance (i.e. no taking provinces whatsoever even in a defensive war) long enough to return to the barely not too evil badboy level. Giving up some provinces and/or liberate a few places would help.

Diploannexing is overall much, much less damaging to reputation than taking provinces in offensive wars, but can be very damning if you're annexing something like the Empire of Spain with all the many colonies that come with it, as you might as well jump from zero right up to the war-provoking badboy level in one shot.

[SwordsMaster]

Sounds like you crossed the badboy threshold. Welcome to the world of the Badboy Wars (tm), where everybody with a border to you and their grandmother will keep declaring war on you to no end. You can finish it only once you stand on the top of the world above mountains of corpses of national leaders or you maintain a defensive stance (i.e. no taking provinces whatsoever even in a defensive war) long enough to return to the barely not too evil badboy level. Giving up some provinces and/or liberate a few places would help.

Diploannexing is overall much, much less damaging to reputation than taking provinces in offensive wars, but can be very damning if you're annexing something like the Empire of Spain with all the many colonies that come with it, as you might as well jump from zero right up to the war-provoking badboy level in one shot.

Very annoying. It is quite pointless also, when places like Swahili that i haven't even discovered yet declare war. Or, in the latest instance, Russia landed a regiment in Spanish flanders. And Russia is landlocked and there are at least 4-5 countries between the two of us.

I am going for the Mountain of Corpses (tm) approach. I already own ALL of the american continent and most of Western Europe, as well as norther Africa from Ifni to Tunis. For as long as the Pope is behind me, i'll bring Catholicism to the infidels :laugh4:.

[ElectricEel]

There's a new patch out. Get it through the launcher, or from here (http://www.gamersgate.com/eu3/eu3_v1.2.1.exe). Paradox made a *lot* of changes (http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296885) in this patch, and it both squashes swarms of bugs and makes improvements to gameplay.

[Vladimir]

Wow, that crazy Sweed has been busy. Good to see! :2thumbsup: