Europa Universalis IV announced

[garbon]

Yeah that list actually came from someone who saw the livestream or something like that.

[Syt]

The manpower change could help nerfing France.

[Zanza]

ADMINISTRATIVE IDEAS

Administrative
-10% adm tech cost instead of -10% inflation reduction cost

Humanist new idea group
+25% religious unity
-2 revolt risk
+3 tolerance to heretics
-10 years of nationalism
-50% accepted culture threshold
+33% better relation over time
+3 tolerance to heathens
-10% idea cost

DIPLOMATIC IDEAS

Diplomatic
-10% dip tech cost instead of claim time
Influence new idea group
+25% income from vassal
-33% claim fabrication time moved from diplomatic
-10% aggresive expansion
+5 dip rep
-25% envoy travel time, +10% imperial authority
+33% subejct forcelimits
+1 dip slot

Maritime new idea group
+1 naval tradition
+10% light ship combat ability
unknown
+50% naval forcelimit
-20% ship cost
+1 naval leader manuveur
+50% blokade efficiency
ships can be repaired in sea zone

MILITARY IDEAS

Naval ideas moved from diplomatic
+1 naval leader shock
+10% galley combat ability
+1 naval leader fire
+100% prestige from naval battles
-10% naval maintenence
+10% heavy ship combat ability
+15% morale to navies
+10% ship durability

Quality
+10% naval morale instead of light ship combat ability
-10% naval attrition instead of heavy ship combat ability

Offensive
-10% regiment recruitment time instead of manpower bonsu

Quantity
+50% global manpower
+20% manpower recovery speed
-10% regiment cost
-10% land maintenance
+25% naval forcelimit
-20% building power cost (monarch points)
-10% land attrition
+33% land forcelimit

[Zanza]

I played The Hansa for a total of 150 years now (1444 - 1594). I aggressively expanded east, west, north and south. Colonized most of Eastern North America and some random colonies in Africa and India. I am allied to France, Muscovy and England. I just destroyed the Ottomans and the Timurids without even breaking sweat in a war and occupied Constantinople. I've got almost as much manpower as France and a higher army force level. My naval force level is more than twice that of the next country. My income is way beyond anybody else. To make it short: The game got boring.

[Viking]

I played The Hansa for a total of 150 years now (1444 - 1594). I aggressively expanded east, west, north and south. Colonized most of Eastern North America and some random colonies in Africa and India. I am allied to France, Muscovy and England. I just destroyed the Ottomans and the Timurids without even breaking sweat in a war and occupied Constantinople. I've got almost as much manpower as France and a higher army force level. My naval force level is more than twice that of the next country. My income is way beyond anybody else. To make it short: The game got boring.

Time for MP then?

[Zanza]

No. For MP, I prefer short games. Like StarCraft or DOTA2 or so. I certainly can't commit to those weekly MP games for Paradox games as I rarely have time for that two weekends in a row.

[DGuller]

The most surprisingly boring game is Poland.  You'd think your very existence would be a consistently tenuous proposition, but in actuality, you can become a hegemon with a few button presses and a bit of time speed-5ing through the first 100 years.  That union with Lithuania is so OP.

[Barrister]

Well then in EU, the answer is: self imposed limits.

You're playing the Hansa, but you won't go beyond X self-imposed borders.  You will release countries as friendly vassals.  You will pursue some bizarre counter-productive strategy like trying to fight every war for your allies with no rewards for yourself.

Also - chose later starting points.  Start playing in the 1600s, and suddenly making it to the 19th century without conquering the world seems much more likely.

Or, pick bizarrely difficult goals.  World conquest with a one province minor, or whatever.

[Zanza]

I am probably too much of an opportunistic warmonger for that kind of role playing.

[DGuller]

Well then in EU, the answer is: self imposed limits.

You're playing the Hansa, but you won't go beyond X self-imposed borders.  You will release countries as friendly vassals.  You will pursue some bizarre counter-productive strategy like trying to fight every war for your allies with no rewards for yourself.

Also - chose later starting points.  Start playing in the 1600s, and suddenly making it to the 19th century without conquering the world seems much more likely.

Or, pick bizarrely difficult goals.  World conquest with a one province minor, or whatever.

Meh, that's boring.  The challenge imposed on you is much more interesting than the challenge you give yourself to keep yourself from getting bored.

[Barrister]

Well then in EU, the answer is: self imposed limits.

You're playing the Hansa, but you won't go beyond X self-imposed borders.  You will release countries as friendly vassals.  You will pursue some bizarre counter-productive strategy like trying to fight every war for your allies with no rewards for yourself.

Also - chose later starting points.  Start playing in the 1600s, and suddenly making it to the 19th century without conquering the world seems much more likely.

Or, pick bizarrely difficult goals.  World conquest with a one province minor, or whatever.

Meh, that's boring.  The challenge imposed on you is much more interesting than the challenge you give yourself to keep yourself from getting bored.

Disagree.  The challenge imposed on yourself is the most challenging one of all.

I'm not the EU master that some are, but I remember having great fun in EU3 playing Scotland where I was bound and determined NOT to conquer England and form Britain, but yet England would continuously attack me.  Eventually I seized and released every minor that could be released, THEN gifted additional provinces to those minors (and had to do some rebel whacking for them), where I could get England to the point where it was down to 3-4 provinces and could be vassalized by me.

It was amusing.

[Zanza]

I would attack England either during the HYW or at the latest during the War of Roses. I guess by about 1480, the United Kingdom of Scotland and England would be formed...

[Barrister]

I would attack England either during the HYW or at the latest during the War of Roses. I guess by about 1480, the United Kingdom of Scotland and England would be formed...

Well that's exactly it.  I could have (and did!) conquer England 4-5 times, but I resisted the urge to simply annex it on each occasion.

[garbon]

Meh, that's boring.  The challenge imposed on you is much more interesting than the challenge you give yourself to keep yourself from getting bored.

Probably not a good idea to play p'dox games as in most cases, the challenge is going to have to be one you give yourself.

[DGuller]

I guess it's just a philosophical difference.  To me, the need to give yourself a house rule is an indication of a bad game design.  Also, at the end of the day, a house rule is something that can be broken when the going really gets tough, and you face the prospect of suffering a severe setback.  No matter how much you resolve to not make use of the safety net, if you're high-wire walking, and you know the net is there, you will walk differently than if you knew it wasn't there.

That's why an Ironman mode is such a good invention.  You don't have to ever save-scum when playing a game.  But when you physically can't do it, as opposed to choosing not to do it, you tend to feel the weight of every big decision you make a lot more.