Europa Universalis IV announced

[Anatron]

I am playing with Hungary now.I have to say the westernization is not worth the efforts.I am like 20 years back becouse of the westernization process.And  when I finally reached western tech group after 30 years of nightmare,I   not recieved the megabonuses like id had in eu3.So nice,I rather remain eastern tech in multi then do this nighmare called westernization again  for nothing.

One more comment administrative monarch power is the most important in the hole game.Thats what is used all the time.

[Viking]

Anybody got a good primer on trade?

I found this

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?707915-Oooh-Shinies!-A-Guide-to-the-EU4-Trade-System

and quadrupled my trade income. Yes, I know it sounds like an ad for boner pills or a pyramid scheme, but this one works. Apparently understanding the mechanics makes all the difference.

Having conquered mexico and bits of india with england my 6 merchants operate as follows

1 - London collect - no ships, I own all provinces
2 - North Sea transfer - 10 light ships
3 - Bordeaux transfer - 10 light ships
4 - Mexico collect - no ships, I own all provinces
5 - Ceylon collect - 28 light ships
6 - nothing

[crazy canuck]

As Portugal I have cornered the world market in slaves and I'm receiving a +20% bonus to Global Tariffs. 

Yeah, Portugal is a lot of fun.  I just made the mistake of annexing Mexico  -  and now I need to start over after learning that lesson.

Also, looking over the Ideas of Castille, it doesnt seem to make any sense for Portugal to colonize any of the New world other than Brazil because it seems Castille will eventually take everything else anyway.  Thoughts?

I survived annexing mexico, my problem was annexing mexico while I had the time dependent claim on indian coastal provinces. I should NOT have done both at the same time.

How?  You would have had 200% overextension just by annexing Mexico.  Something you could have not decreased until they got into coring range.  That means stacks of 10-12 rebels popping up all over the place and continuously for the next few decades.  I smell the use of console cheats.

[Anatron]

Wow i just realized if you finish with westernization your eastern troops will also look like the western ones.
Another very interesting thing,not only players can do westernization.I just fighting against AI westernized Poland troops.

[Drakken]

Succeeded in breaking France as England, by leading a coalition war against it with Aragon, Burgundy, Brittany, Portugal, Scotland and all and crushing it at 100%. Peace treaty was Picardie for me, giving Luxembourg to Burgundy and Avignon back to the Pope, and liberating as many French vassals as possible (could free 7 of them), Which means I got a net -7 deficit on Diplomatic Points for 10 years because the treaty is enforced by me guaranteeing the lot of them. By 1504 I had a grand total of -100 Diplo Points in bank. Remember, peace treaties cost points. Do that math. 

My goal right now more or less consolidating my continental territories in Guyenne and Normandy, plus some missions who gave me opportunistic expansions in Ireland, Maine, and Hainaut. Except that now Aragon and Burgundy are in a coalition against me (Burgundy is pissed because I took Hainaut, which he couldn't even keep, and Aragon is pissed because, well, I'm bigger than Aragon). But since Burgundy is my ally ( ) he comes running after big brother now that Austria has declared war to expand into Zeeland.

I fuckin' love this game. 

[Maximus]

I wouldnt say that.  But the game, through its mechanics, certainly plays a lot more historically.

Ah, ok.

Well we'll see once I have time to play.

[Viking]

As Portugal I have cornered the world market in slaves and I'm receiving a +20% bonus to Global Tariffs. 

Yeah, Portugal is a lot of fun.  I just made the mistake of annexing Mexico  -  and now I need to start over after learning that lesson.

Also, looking over the Ideas of Castille, it doesnt seem to make any sense for Portugal to colonize any of the New world other than Brazil because it seems Castille will eventually take everything else anyway.  Thoughts?

I survived annexing mexico, my problem was annexing mexico while I had the time dependent claim on indian coastal provinces. I should NOT have done both at the same time.

How?  You would have had 200% overextension just by annexing Mexico.  Something you could have not decreased until they got into coring range.  That means stacks of 10-12 rebels popping up all over the place and continuously for the next few decades.  I smell the use of console cheats.

No console cheats. It was a frickin' pain. My overseas trade went to zero my lands were overrun with scots, welsmen, norwegians, irishmen and particularists. One neat trick is to let the particularists take everything and when they are an inch from enforcing their demands, then you give in. I wasn't earning income from occupied provinces anyways and I didn't have the army to recapture any of it soooo. no big loss there. Yes, I spent a few decades lying in a pool of blood inflicted by even minor revoters. If I could only somehow harness the manpower of the revolters...

I was stable rich and peaceful beforehand and I was a spastic case ripe for the picking if anybody had wanted. Fortunately nobody wanted to fuck me over. You probably want to take Mexico in two or even three bites rather than the one the game offers you.

[Viking]

BTW, now that I realize how trade actually works and I observe that France PU'ed Spain I can now go and play the ottomans...

[Tamas]

Wow i just realized if you finish with westernization your eastern troops will also look like the western ones.
Another very interesting thing,not only players can do westernization.I just fighting against AI westernized Poland troops.

yeah it's cool that the AI is attempting that Can help keep games varied.

[Tamas]

Also I agree with Admin Power. I mean, it's not like the others aren't crucial, but Admin seems to be tied most to your long term survival in the keeping-up race.

[Solmyr]

Succeeded in breaking France as England, by leading a coalition war against it with Aragon, Burgundy, Brittany, Portugal, Scotland and all and crushing it at 100%. Peace treaty was Picardie for me, giving Luxembourg to Burgundy and Avignon back to the Pope, and liberating as many French vassals as possible (could free 7 of them), Which means I got a net -7 deficit on Diplomatic Points for 10 years because the treaty is enforced by me guaranteeing the lot of them. By 1504 I had a grand total of -100 Diplo Points in bank. Remember, peace treaties cost points. Do that math. 

You can revoke those guarantees right away if you want.

[garbon]

I wouldnt say that.  But the game, through its mechanics, certainly plays a lot more historically.

Ah, ok.

Well we'll see once I have time to play.

Yeah they've just added back in more historical feel to every country. I believe in the case of the War of the Roses that if you are very stable and/or have an heir, then it doesn't occur.

That said, as Bohemia there was a big push towards getting me to become Protestant, but you always have an out as I believe that I could keep expending 50 admin power instead of selecting the option in events that were turning my provinces protestant.

[garbon]

If I could only somehow harness the manpower of the revolters...

That is so what I want to do! I totally had a time where I had no standing army just to build my MP back up as otherwise, the rebels would continue to eat up my little fledgling army.

[Viking]

If I could only somehow harness the manpower of the revolters...

That is so what I want to do! I totally had a time where I had no standing army just to build my MP back up as otherwise, the rebels would continue to eat up my little fledgling army.

Seriously, if some pipsqeek religious minority can produce 15k men instantly in one province every couple of months when the hell can't I with control of the state and the church muster much more than 200 dudes per month? Plus if they are revolting because of war exhaustion how the hell can they muster the will to fight based on an unwillingness to fight? The hidden true killer here is that WE reduces your manpower regeneration rate. You basically take a nose dive into a deep well and stay there much worse than before.

There does need to be some way to get emergency manpower out. A desperate call to arms with a hefty prestige hit along with a stab hit giving you 1 years manpower?

[Habbaku]

It does seem to be a rather strong attempt at design for effect.  The goal is clearly to get players to avoid fighting total wars in the Renaissance period, but I'm not sure if it is too strong a swing in that direction versus gameplay.  Have to wait to see how MP goes in that sphere--players can be both more and less reasonable than the AI...