Europa Universalis IV

[Luzur]

Alrightio, im gonna finish my latest game with Holland then and find every DLC i can get my hands on.

 

[Delterius]

10 russians for every finnish sniper, eh? Sounds unbalanced. Against the ruskies.

 

[Andnjord]

Compared to the previous DLCs (who were for the most part filled with a lot of "meh" and a little bit of good in them) this one has me reeeeally hyped. The amount of improvement it should bring to the game is staggering if they succeed in making it all work properly as for once they are working at bettering the base game instead of adding random pointless stuff (I'm looking at you Conquest of Paradise and your randomized world)

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Randomized square, more like.

 

[Andnjord]

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

Using continent generation is asking to be fucked in the ass. This feature hasn't been used once in any multiplayer session I've been in.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Even more of a mystery is why it was made in the first place. I doubt the target demographic wants a fantasy geography, unless it's a specific one.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

To emulate the faction that Europeans had no idea what the new world looked like and adapted to it. As it is right now, people just snipe specific new world locations as soon as they can, including using the Iceland trick, which is an absurd one.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Yes, but I think a more constructive method would be to randomize province base taxes, regional trade good possibilities, and colonization native statistics (and make natives more ornery and hard to get rid of in general with this setting). Heck, randomize New World trade routes and nodes.

 

[Andnjord]

To emulate the faction that Europeans had no idea what the new world looked like and adapted to it. As it is right now, people just snipe specific new world locations as soon as they can, including using the Iceland trick, which is an absurd one.

Exactly, the idea was a good one I think, too bad the execution was so poorly done. I used it once when it came out and then never used it again. I have never seen it used a single time in a AAR either, nor has it received any update, which goes to show its enduring lack of popularity.

Yes, but I think a more constructive method would be to randomize province base taxes, regional trade good possibilities, and colonization native statistics (and make natives more ornery and hard to get rid of in general with this setting). Heck, randomize New World trade routes and nodes.

Could work, but considering the result of the random new world you'd probably end up with nonsensical trade routes and tax distribution.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

Reminds me that, the French side of the Dominican Island was so rich, it outproduced the rest of the new world combined in sugar production, and it's GDP was something absurd. So much that it was worth more to the crown than their entire North American colony.

In the game you can't really do that. It's not even a trading province, but production is the real problem, it's just a second base tax and barely influences trade. It can't be gimped as much as trade, and it's flat across the world only initially depending on base tax. Population isn't a factor, neither is the fertility of the land (or whatever influences wine, textiles...). So you end up with an England that's as productive as France with 18th century borders, at equal development. Meanwhile, corruption is absent from the game, even thought it was a huge deal and is what led to the Bankruptcy of Prussia and France, contributing to Spain's descent into oblivion or made the Austrian crown really poor. You have autonomy but it typically disappears easily from your core land.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Corruption could be used for a neat mechanic for modelling bloated empires. Personally I think Development sounds like a good first step to a more nuanced economy and statebuilding in the game.

 

[Delterius]

If there's one thing I dislike about the New World experience it is the relationship between independence and 'Colonial Nations'.

The notion that there were powerful central authorities in the colonial empires of the XVI-XVIII centuries is kinda crazy. From New York to Buenos Aires, the XIX century was a time of seccession, civil war and bloody coups for a reason.

The Spanish most of all were always wary of powerful counterbalances to the metropolitan authority, which led them to adopt a 'divide and control' strategy that limited the power even of their own royal agents.

If anything, I wish colonial nations broke into various centers of political and economic gravity, tenuously united but always competing for national unity and territories.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

By development I meant province Building. I don't know what to think of this new mechanism. On one hand, it allows you to survive as a small country without necessarily being a trade success story.

On the other, monarch mana is bullshit, no matter how you twist this abstraction into some pseudo realistic governmental focus. What made Prussia strong militarily was that 80% of the state's budget was on the land army for a while. At the expanse of developmental projects, which after a while became very difficult to maintain. Not because they had level 6 monarchs invest their mana powers into military ideas since 1444. You could reform your army and bring it to any standards under two decades granted you paid the right price and were allowed to do so by the other military elites in the country.

 

[Andnjord]

Hello everyone. Today we’ll continue talking about subject interactions for Common Sense.


First of all. You can now always change the name and adjective of your colonial nation with a modify action on the subject screen.

Placate Local Ruler & Embargo Rivals, which we talked about last week, can of course also be done on protectorates and colonial nations.


Send Officers
This is a toggle that can be turned on/off on protectorates. When on, the overlord will pay an additional 33% of that nations land maintenance costs. However, their Liberty Desire is reduced by 10% as long as its on, and they get +20% Land Morale and +5% Discipline.


Divert Trade
This is another toggle on protectorates. While its on, you get 100% of their tradepower, but their Liberty Desire is increased by 30%.


Seize Territory
As you can’t integrate protectorates, but sometimes need some territory from them, you can now seize provinces from them. However, you need to have positive relation with them, and their liberty desire need to be below 50. The province you take have to be within coring range, and taking it will have severe impact on their desire to stay a protectorate.


Tariffs
Increase and Decrease Tariffs for Colonial Nations have been moved into this screen. Of course that is still accessible if you dont buy Common Sense.


Replace Governor
If a colonial nation is below 50% Liberty Desire, you can attempt to replace the governor up to once a year, but it will increase Liberty Desire slightly.


Start Colonial War
Now, you can always demand that your colonial nation (if at peace, and not having a truce), start a colonial war against someone they have a casus belli upon. Colonial Nations now also get casus bellis on all adjacent primitives.


Promote Investments
Trade companies have a toggle now, where you can increase the tradepower by 50%, for a small ticking increase of inflation.

Next week we’ll talk about new nations, new ideas and gameplay balance tweaks.

Here's a bonus screenshot of some possible Parliament issues for Great Britain..

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

Yeah let's simplify internal realm mechanism to minuscule modifiers.

 

[AngryEddy]

Start colonial war is something the game desperately needed, I couldn't tell you how frustrated I get when I control all of Spanish Brazil, and my super colony wont attack the 1 last dutch province for whatever reason.

 

[Kane]

Common sense is pretty rad.

 

[Luzur]

New DLC announced:

STOCKHOLM – May 8, 2015 – Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was the best selling pamphlet of Revolutionary America. Paradox’s Common Sense won’t tear down the pretensions of monarchy like Paine’s did, but it will give Europa Universalis IV new tools so players can manage the growth of their domains. With a focus on the art of ruling and national improvement, Common Sense adds depth to domestic rule and adds a number of major changes to diplomacy.

The most significant modification in Common Sense is the new provincial development system. Building space in a province is now limited by its terrain and Development Value. The more developed a province is, the greater wealth and power you can squeeze out of it. By spending monarch points, you can now customize your trading hubs or make great recruiting centers. Fewer, more powerful buildings means that every decision about construction has greater importance – if you want a manufactory and have no building slots in Champagne, what will you destroy?

This teaser video highlights another important feature: parliamentary rule.

 

[Makabb]

Common sense is not to buy all those dlcs

 

[Riso]

If you don't wait for a -75% sale you're doing it wrong, that's for sure.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

And I guess they do realize it as well, since Pdox DLCs (sans latest) are on sale seemingly all the goddamn time on Steam.

 

[Luzur]

Common sense is not to buy all those dlcs

LOL they get available in your local bay of swashbucklery in bundle form almost every month, just keep an eye out.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

Common sense is not to buy all those dlcs

LOL they get available in your local bay of swashbucklery in bundle form almost every month, just keep an eye out.

But they're not compatible with multiplayer, which is the only way this game is worth anything.

 

[Zzz]

Common Sense is out, and the DLC up to Art of War is 75% off on Steam.