Europa Universalis IV announced

[crazy canuck]

I am going to put my game as GB to the side for a while.  I am pulling in 76 gold in trade alone and I havent even moved on to the trade nodes of India yet.

Tried another game as Russia.  Pretty fun but after the first couple decades it gets very easy.  The only real challenge is exercising patience so the coalitions against me dont get too large.

[Queequeg]

Playing as Russia I found the 17th century constant warfare with the inevitable Ottoman Empire blob a bit dull. I cant even get the blob to break up in the Balkans because all of the region has been Islamicized.

[sbr]

I'm screwing around with an Ottoman game and I was pretty surprised how easy it was to convert Orthodox to Sunni in the 15th century.  I don't remember exact numbers off of the top of my head but like 5 years or something.

[Tamas]

I'm screwing around with an Ottoman game and I was pretty surprised how easy it was to convert Orthodox to Sunni in the 15th century.  I don't remember exact numbers off of the top of my head but like 5 years or something.

IIRC it is tied to Piety as well among other things and it is insanely easy to keep a high piety.

[crazy canuck]

Playing as Russia I found the 17th century constant warfare with the inevitable Ottoman Empire blob a bit dull. I cant even get the blob to break up in the Balkans because all of the region has been Islamicized.

I think I am going to be able to prevent it.  I forget what year it is but I am not near the 1600s yet and I have already occupied the Crimea.  I have allied with the Byzanteens and I have successfully prevented their removal from the game.

I went with the diplomacy idea first both to give that extra diplomat to help with incorporating my vassals and for the reduction on coring costs - which is a huge benefit for Russia.  Also in the early game I needed to spend my admin and military points on teching up.  It was a quick and easy way to build up the first Russian national ideas.  After that I took the defensive military idea.  The +1 to enemy attrition and increased fort defence meant I didnt have to worry as much about all my neighbours.  I got to pick off invading armies at my leisure, and collect money from them as punishment for daring to cross my sacred borders.

After that its becomes pretty easy.  Keeping piety at 0 means I have a very healthy cash flow.  I was going to take the economics idea but I dont really need it.  Instead I took the religious idea to help me convert all those muslims - and then those Heretics from the Latin Church.

[crazy canuck]

I'm screwing around with an Ottoman game and I was pretty surprised how easy it was to convert Orthodox to Sunni in the 15th century.  I don't remember exact numbers off of the top of my head but like 5 years or something.

Yeah, but then you take the hit for having such high piety.  Another option as the Ottoman player is to go the tolerance route and leave the religous minorities alone.  With a  high tolerance rate you dont need to convert to avoid penalties.

[Tamas]

What are the disadvantages of high piety? 

[crazy canuck]

What are the disadvantages of high piety? 

Go look at the tool tip....

[Tamas]

I am. Its all green as a field in Ireland.

[Tamas]

ah right so lack of piety is good in a different way than high piety. How... balanced. 

[Queequeg]

Jesus, the ECW has kicked me in the ass.  Spain and France have declared war, I'm looking at massive colonial conflict at -3 stab and 0 manpower.

[DGuller]

Jesus, the ECW has kicked me in the ass.  Spain and France have declared war, I'm looking at massive colonial conflict at -3 stab and 0 manpower.

You may be slightly fucked there.

[Anatron]

Jesus, the ECW has kicked me in the ass.  Spain and France have declared war, I'm looking at massive colonial conflict at -3 stab and 0 manpower.

You can still defeat them if you have enough gold.If you can, increase you stability to 0 fast.Hire mercenaries.I did the same when Great Britain pulled me into a war against France and Austria.Fortunatly the AI is too stupid to focus forces even in hard difficoulty so when 50k france  and 42 austrian army attacked northern Italy I hired 25k mercenary and attached to my 40k force. After that I completly destroyed the austrian forces then sieged 70% of Austia.Then Austria capitulated to Great Britain (the leader of my alliances).Shortly after France also capilulated and gave several colonies the Great Britain in North America.The idiot, arrogant France army  was too stupid to attack my forces during the war.All what they could reach during 2 years of war to siege a single fort of mine.I did it with almost 0 manpower (also with -3 military tech compaired to my enemies)  and has around 800 gold in stock so to manage the mercenary fee I started paralelly a war against Shawili where I collected like 7000 gold. :-)
Fighting against stronger powers like France,hireing mercenaries during the war is the key of victory.
The result of the war was a weakened Austria so after that  I pushed them out of Northern Italy too (Verona,Treviso,Friuli)Now I control 100% of Italy but I stay as Genoa I think ,because the ideas of Genoa seems better to me then the italian ideas.

Anyway whats the difference between normal and hard difficoulty?I dont feel anything compaired my normal and hard games.

[Syt]

Destructoid give 9.5/10:

http://www.destructoid.com/review-europa-universalis-iv-259939.phtml

I'm quite willing to admit that I've become obsessed with Europa Universalis IV. When I'm not talking about it, I'm desperate to bring it up, and when I chat to someone that I know for a fact plays it, I'll happily natter away for hours, regaling them with the history of my nations, demanding that they entertain me with tales of their own.

Paradox Development Studio has shown that it understands grand strategy like no other studio. Europa Universalis IV is the defining game in the genre, laying out the whole world in front of players and just letting them have at it. It's a polished, almost terrifyingly vast title that gets its hooks in you the moment you click on that first country, and simply refuses to let go. Now, if you don't mind, I've got some peasants to oppress.

[garbon]

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