Howdy, all. I'm quite the Europa Barbarorum neophyte (as in, I found it/downloaded it yesterday), and since I wasn't able to find a thread resembling "Why we did what we did," I was hoping I could throw a question or two out there and that somebody would be able to provide the answers.

(1) Primarily, I've noticed that everything is awfully expensive, both in terms of recruitment cost (or building cost for structures) and in terms of upkeep. As far as I can tell, there weren't any modifications made to the economic model for the game, so the player's ability to make money hasn't increased alongside these prices. Given the extreme attention to detail in the game, I'm sure there's an excellent reason for all of this--I just have no idea what it is.

(2) I've noticed a couple of mentions, while puttering around here, that EB is only balanced for Medium battle difficulty level. Given my ignorance of the effects of changing the difficulty levels (both for battle and for the campaign map), I don't really know what to make of this. Does increasing battle difficulty do nothing more than increase the statistical abilities of the AI units, or does it have any effect on the use of sound tactics during the battle? Parallel to that, although hardly restricted to EB, does changing the campaign map difficulty only affect AI finances and belligerence, or does it also impact strategy?

(3) Finally, I've seen a couple of questions about triggering reforms and the like, but they were clearly being asked by people with a greater working knowledge of what was (or might be) required than I am. Is there anything resembling a "manual" for the game where this and other such information might be found? If not, would anybody be willing to explain to me to requirements for the Polybian, Marian, and Augustan reforms?

Cheers.