Europa Universalis IV announced

[Viking]

I am having fun game with Venice.  Austria is happy to leave me alone (which iirc is a big change) and I am able to dominate trade in the Eastern Med.  My goal is to occupy some the provinces in Egypt so I can eventually build the Canal and get to the Orient through that route.

I'm running venice in an MP game where I am doing just that. The ottoman player is cooperative, understands the benefits of merchant republics and distrusts Slargos. It's 1491 and I have aleppo, alexandria, rashid and quena (on the red sea) all cored with me ready to go to india. 

[Tamas]

I am having fun game with Venice.  Austria is happy to leave me alone (which iirc is a big change) and I am able to dominate trade in the Eastern Med.  My goal is to occupy some the provinces in Egypt so I can eventually build the Canal and get to the Orient through that route.

I'm running venice in an MP game where I am doing just that. The ottoman player is cooperative, understands the benefits of merchant republics and distrusts Slargos. It's 1491 and I have aleppo, alexandria, rashid and quena (on the red sea) all cored with me ready to go to india.

See this is my problem. If Austria and OE are both players there is absolutely no legit reason to keep player Venice alive other than being a nice guy, which is in turn counterproductive.

[garbon]

I am having fun game with Venice.  Austria is happy to leave me alone (which iirc is a big change) and I am able to dominate trade in the Eastern Med.  My goal is to occupy some the provinces in Egypt so I can eventually build the Canal and get to the Orient through that route.

I'm running venice in an MP game where I am doing just that. The ottoman player is cooperative, understands the benefits of merchant republics and distrusts Slargos. It's 1491 and I have aleppo, alexandria, rashid and quena (on the red sea) all cored with me ready to go to india.

See this is my problem. If Austria and OE are both players there is absolutely no legit reason to keep player Venice alive other than being a nice guy, which is in turn counterproductive.

Don't merchant republics now increase trade or tax base or something for nearby provinces?

[Sheilbh]

If I were a Turk I think I'd mistrust Slargos.

[Tamas]

I am having fun game with Venice.  Austria is happy to leave me alone (which iirc is a big change) and I am able to dominate trade in the Eastern Med.  My goal is to occupy some the provinces in Egypt so I can eventually build the Canal and get to the Orient through that route.

I'm running venice in an MP game where I am doing just that. The ottoman player is cooperative, understands the benefits of merchant republics and distrusts Slargos. It's 1491 and I have aleppo, alexandria, rashid and quena (on the red sea) all cored with me ready to go to india.

See this is my problem. If Austria and OE are both players there is absolutely no legit reason to keep player Venice alive other than being a nice guy, which is in turn counterproductive.

Don't merchant republics now increase trade or tax base or something for nearby provinces?

Must be neglible compared to letting a monster grow next to you in Egypt

[Viking]

See this is my problem. If Austria and OE are both players there is absolutely no legit reason to keep player Venice alive other than being a nice guy, which is in turn counterproductive.

Austria's first move was to try and murder me
My first move was to ally Turkey

[Drakken]

Am I the only one that find the game stuttering hard around the 1490-1510?

[Zanza]

I started a new game as The Hansa. I was able to force-vassalize Pommerania after a couple of years and then force-vassalized Brandenburg after the AE from the first vassalization was pretty much gone within 10 years or so. I annexed Danzig ahead of the Poles and Danes that were fighting for it, then annexed East Prussia and another TO province. I have since integrated Brandenburg and Pommerania. I dominate trade in Lübeck, the Baltic Sea, Wien and Frankfurt. So, about 40 years into the game, I have the highest income of all countries (more than France). Austria (HRE) entered a coalition against me, but as I was careful not to declare against any coalition member (some OPMs), I never triggered a coalition war. I lack behind slightly in technology, but I guess that was worth it. Seems a bit too easy...

[Syt]

quill18 is playing Hansa in an MP game. By 1474 he's conquered pretty much all of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg, and kicked Denmark's ass in several wars, taking Holstein, Slesvig, Jylland, Fyn, Lolland, Bornholm, Gotland ... and he's already cored most of his early conquests.

First episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZxliKC6Ffk&list=UUbx1TZgxfIauUZyPuBzEwZg&index=48

[Zanza]

I've got cores on the three Pommeranian provinces, the four Brandenburgian provinces and the three Teutonic provinces and I should be around that date as well. I haven't attacked Denmark yet as they still control Sweden and Norway and until now I wasn't strong enough to attack all three of them at the same time and didn't have enough boats to block the straits either. Denmark is my next target though.

I'll also try to get Riga from the Lithuanians, so I have all high trade power provinces in the Baltic.

Not sure what's the best way to advance from there. Either conquer more of Northern Germany, e.g. force-vassalizing the three-province Cologne. Or expand into the Netherlands, but that necessitates a weakened Burgundy. Or expand towards Neva/Novgorod, to make sure I control the Russian trade. But that might cause endless conflicts with Muscovy.

[Syt]

Go crazy, and go colonial. 

[Zanza]

It's actually just 1469, all provinces are cored and Saxon, Pommeranian and Prussian are accepted cultures. My rivals right now are Teutonic Order and Denmark and I need to pick a third, probably Lithuania or Poland. I am stinking rich so I might just hire lots of mercenaries and try to destroy Denmark.

[Valmy]

It seems so absurd to see Hansa as a massive state with an effective central government.

[Zanza]

Go crazy, and go colonial. 

Maybe. I can only go for the Gulf of St. Lawrence node though as that's the only one that goes to the North Sea node which in turn feeds into Lübeck. Or I try to conquer Antwerp.
Let's see if Spain or Portugal colonize Canada very early. If so, I might just skip colonization completely as I don't enjoy it that much anyway.

And I took trade as my first idea set as I needed the money to expand this fast.

[Syt]

It seems so absurd to see Hansa as a massive state with an effective central government.

Not to mention that they went into decline around the time of the game start.