Europa Universalis V confirmed

[Syt]

They plan for some hotfixes, like levies being raised not demobilizing correctly or something.

[Josephus]

Thing about these things is they add mechanics but don't tell you how they work.

Like the complaceny mechanic. Do I have to read all the Tinto Talks? I can't be arsed to do that, or watch other people play on YouTube

[crazy canuck]

So they have told you how they work, you just can't be bothered to read their description of how it works? 

[Josephus]

So they have told you how they work, you just can't be bothered to read their description of how it works? 

Exactly 

[Syt]

Has anyone played 1.1? Any good?

New Tinto Talks is primarily about the upcoming Byzantium Immersion Pack 
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/tinto-talks-100-18th-of-march-2026.1909600/

But it leads with this info about the 1.2 patch:

1.2 'Echinades' focuses on a plethora of different quality of life issues, ranging from exposing hidden content to improving mapmodes, some balance changes, as well as some free content to the Balkan sphere, Orthodoxy, and the Holy Roman Empire. There are also lots of new free features related to economy, politics and diplomacy, and we have taken a long look at logistics as well.

I'll be revealing more details in future Tinto Talks.

[Syt]

Gave it a go as Kyiv. I took Chernihiv from Chernihiv when they tried to rebel against their overlords Bryansk and I got to intervene. Tried again when a neighbor rose against the Golden Horde ... but I messed up and ended up on the side of Golden Horde and got NOTHING.

Tried to build my economy (yay amber!) and keep my estates happy and balanced (I'm bad at this ). I created an independence CB against the Golden Horde and managed to get a decent amount of support to get the troop ratio into the positive. I declared war with bad timing. Bulgaria (a key ally) was slightly distracted by tryin to take bits of the Byzantine Empire, and it was five minutes to Plague.

In the course of the fighting, my entire army was eventually wiped out (the GH had 1500 or so professional troops that regularly wiped the floor with them, but the swarm of little armies that kept taking their land kept them busy. Still, I ended up losing my entire army AND manpower in the fight, and could only watch as the timer (720 days of GH not enforcing their wargoals) started ticking. At the height of the plague time ran out - I was free, Golden Horde exploded, and I was left with 0 levies and, thanks to plague, a mostly broken economy.

It's now 1353 and my troops slowly start ticking up again and I try to create a small hegemony in the debris of the GH, but without troops it'll take a while. I also need to weaken the nobility who sit at 45% power vs my measly 20% (and that's after enacting a law that strengthened the crown power). Obviously it didn't help that I married a commoner (I tried to find a royal marriage but kept coming up empty, and in my late 20s I got antsy). But at least my designated heir is ... slow. All this didn't help with legitimacy or stability, but I managed to avert a coup disaster.

It's janky, but I was reasonably enjoying myself. Maybe because I don't grasp the systems fully and don't notice the bigger fails. Still, only progressing 16 or so years in 3 or 4 hours ... yikes. Victoria has the great advantage of being able to finish a game in a weeked or less.

[Sophie Scholl]

Hmm... sounds a little better, but still not something I'd want to dive into. EUIV it remains for now! 

[Syt]

Did I mention that my ruler got a buff to prestige/military stats from joining the Hungarian king's chivalric order, though?

I find the art style takes some getting used to. I don't think Paradox uses AI art (they generally have pretty good art teams), but some of the illustrations have that golden-brown piss sheen that you see with a lot of AI slop, and I find it quite a turn off by now.

[Norgy]

I tried again, but realised I had forgotten everything about how the game works. 

[Josephus]

I tried again, but realised I had forgotten everything about how the game works. 

Yeah, that in a nutshell is why Paradox games are so hard. It's not like riding a bike. Plus, them changing the rules all the time doesn't help. I'd love to give VIC III a go after over a year off, but I know that would drive me insane trying to relearn.

[Syt]

I tried again, but realised I had forgotten everything about how the game works. 

That was me and Imperator Rome the other day

[Syt]

New dev diary, looking at economic changes coming with next patch:

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/tinto-talks-103-8th-of-april-2025.1916179/

City rights!

(I wish some of this was in CK3 - rights of different estates, city rights, monopolies, coinage rights ... )

[crazy canuck]

That would make me pick up ck3 again

[Norgy]

Okay, that lovely, lovely governor you can stash at some location with low control is not easy to earn.

But the Eastern Romans have become much easier to play. Having a few fleets and surviving until you can build coastal forts will give more control. However, getting the money to build something demands war.

I suppose control, culture and religion are the prime mechanics when looking to expand. Some YouTube dude had 130 subjects or so as Byzantium.

Ahistorical, obviously. The strengths of Byzantium were a monetary economy and not paying all your taxes with sheep and grain and Constantinople and its hinterland. It is hard to model a society that was very much a class society, but not really feudal.

I tried Norway again, and I do think the king Magnus is mis-represented, from what I know from history. It's a Swedish thing, as he spent more time in Norway than in Sweden.

That aside, having an army template is good. I have never made it past the 1500s as patches kept coming out.

I'll go for a new game tonight.

[Syt]

lSome YouTube dude had 130 subjects or so as Byzantium.

I believe that's just the meta - conquer territory, spin it off as vassals. Among other things, they will convert the provinces much faster (since each vassal will have their two cabinet posts to assign to this). Also, less worries about control, because they all have their own capitals.