Europa Universalis IV announced

[Lettow77]

I am quite excited for the new update. It is unfortunate timing that I just finished my Qara Qoyunlu campaign, but most games of EU4 I play tend to be in the central asian region. I am especially excited to play the new Timurid princedom that controls Samarkand.

It is nice to see Venice getting a glass bonus, too- Venice is overdue for an update of its own sometime, I think. A really underutilized nation in EU4.

[garbon]

I'm good with the Timurid changes and glad for the additional trade goods.

[Syt]

Looking at the Steam page I noticed that recent reviews are only 60% positive at the moment (70% total). Seems like Steam customers are unhappy with the DLC policy at this point, complaining about locking essential features behind paywalls.

[garbon]

I'm not sure I totally get that. I mean the game can be fun without buying them and there are always sales.

[Syt]

Not only that, if people are pissed that certain DLC features they don't have ruin the game balance they can revert to previous patches, too. But 80% or so of recent helpful reviews are just complaints about DLC.

[DGuller]

It's a really awful design.  I understand that Paradox has to figure out a way to monetize the replayability of its games, but having essentially infinite number of variations of the game is just plain confusing.

[garbon]

Aww, poor stupid baby.

[Syt]

Played some Castille yesterday. Did really well until I DOW'ed Navarra after a diplomatic insult and rejected France's request to make White Peace. I lost 1/3 of Castille to Navarra.

[DGuller]

Aww, poor stupid baby.

[Syt]

Played some England. Basically gave up the continental holdings so I could focus on British Isles, trade etc.

I start to feel, though, that while the game is reasonably complex and has quite a few tools, it seems rather limited in focus compared to CK2.

In CK2, if you stay a count or duke for a longer period of time you can still amuse yourself through intrigues, plotting, societies, trying to expand your family's influence etc. etc. As Republic I can dabble in trading posts and elections, as pagan I can go raid.

In EU4 it seems unless I work on expanding my territory (or work on expanding ability t expand) there's little for me to do. There's many options for expansion, granted, but there's no incentive to build a "tall" Empire.

[Syt]

As England I helped ally France beat up Burgundy. When the war was over, Scotland dow'ed me, took out my small "protect trade"/"hunt pirates" fleets before they could join into one and blockaded the channel so I couldn't bring my troops across the channel.

Jerks.

[garbon]

Interesting that the Middle East is a big enough draw that its getting its own expansion. Oh how things have changed from the early EU days.

STOCKHOLM - 03 October 2017 – Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio today announced Europa Universalis IV: Cradle of Civilization, a new expansion to the best-selling grand strategy game about exploration and empire-building in early modern history. For millennia, empires have battled over the deserts and valleys where humankind once took its first tentative steps towards to something larger. From Sennacherib to the great khans, the crossroads of trade and learning have also been the highways for armies and warlords. Now, in the shadow of the collapse of Timur's great empire, new powers are staking their claim to be the heirs to the Cradle of Civilization.

Cradle of Civilization adds greater depth to the Muslim nations that occupy the lands between the Nile and the Indus. With new governmental powers and game options, the major powers of the region will each feel even more distinct from each other.

Features in Europa Universalis IV: Cradle of Civilization include:

• Mamluk Government: In a diverse empire, where the slaves are now masters, new sultans must rely on cultural power to stay viable.
• Persian Theocracy: Persian nations can use the power of the faith to bolster their regime.
• Tribal Federations: The Black and White Sheep tribes in Armenia and Mesopotamia must expand to exploit the unity of local clans.
• Army Professionalism: The Age of Mercenaries slowly transitions to the Age of Standing Armies as you recruit new generals and drill your peacetime army.
• Iqta Taxes: Muslim governments can impose new taxes every 20 years for special bonuses.
• Trade Policies: Instruct your merchants to take actions in trade nodes to increase your trade power or military advantage.
• Islamic Schools: The wide range of Sunni and Shia disciplines offer unique perks to their disciples and transforms international relations across the Middle East.
• And Much More: The Cradle of Civilization expansion will be accompanied by a free update for all EU4 players, including a new map with many new nations.

To read more about these new feature, we recommend that you check out the Development Diary Archives.

Cradle of Civilization continues the Europa Universalis IV tradition of letting players explore new histories and cultures, giving starring roles to empires often forgotten in textbooks. Cradle of Civilization will be available in late 2017 for SRP of $19.99.

[DGuller]

How many fucking expansions are there?  I lost my count after male nostril.

[Josquius]

I lost interest a while ago too. The whole thing is getting too bloated.
I saw a video a few weeks back about where eu3 was better. I become tempted to start and EU 3 game.

[garbon]

I don't think its that big of a deal - you don't have to buy them to enjoy the game.