Europa Universalis IV announced

[Tamas]

No it's not, because how is Spain supposed to get to Mexico in anything close to the historical timeframe then?

a hop through cape verde and brazil. Yeah, not historical, but hey.

[Caliga]

Oh don't worry, I've also colonized most of Brazil already.

My colonial empire (and it's 1529 in my game) also includes the Recife region, Demerara, Cumana, Panama, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, and the Rio de la Plata region.  The Portuguese have a large colony (six or so provinces) around Rio de Janeiro, and have started colonizing in the Antilles.  The French also have Martinique.  That's it in terms of the New World.  The French also have an African colony along the Sahel coast.  Predictably, as with all EU games ever, nobody has bothered with southern/eastern Africa and India.

edit: Forgot, I've also colonized St. Kitts and eastern Hispaniola.

1546.  All of central Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras conquered.  Overland explorers active in California and the rest of the American Southwest, as well as in interior Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.  Spanish ships have discovered the Galapagos, Hawaii, and Midway Island.  Coastal Colombia fully colonized.

Looking around, it looks like the French are colonizing Delaware and Maryland, and the Portuguese have Fernando Po and the Cape of Good Hope now.

This is the first time I've felt like EU has come fairly close to being realistic re: the colonial game.

[Anatron]

No it's not, because how is Spain supposed to get to Mexico in anything close to the historical timeframe then?

a hop through cape verde and brazil. Yeah, not historical, but hey.

They could add a decision /event for that.For example if Spain explore the caribe area till 1492,then he will get increased colonial range till 4 years or something.

[Zanza]

I play a game with The Hansa that I started before the patch and got Cape Verde before Portugal could thanks to fleet basing rights. I went on to colonize parts of Brazil, most of the Caribbean, conquered Mexico and the Shawnee, next are the Hurons. I also got Fernando Po and the Cape. My puny little Hansa is now all of a sudden the rival of England, Portugal, Spain etc. I have more income than France or the Ottomans.

[Anatron]

I play a game with The Hansa that I started before the patch and got Cape Verde before Portugal could thanks to fleet basing rights. I went on to colonize parts of Brazil, most of the Caribbean, conquered Mexico and the Shawnee, next are the Hurons. I also got Fernando Po and the Cape. My puny little Hansa is now all of a sudden the rival of England, Portugal, Spain etc. I have more income than France or the Ottomans.

Yeah but that was on singleplayer right?
In multiplayer Portugal player will never give you acces to its ports.

[Sophie Scholl]

Playing a game as Granada, I ran into an issue:  my heir died while a minor with a regency council as my "monarch".  Does this now mean that I'll have a regency council forever as my ruler, or will it trigger a new dynasty when the now dead heir would have come of age?  So far (1 year later) there hasn't been any resolution.

[Zanza]

Yeah but that was on singleplayer right?
In multiplayer Portugal player will never give you acces to its ports.

Yes. I specifically started the game with the idea to exploit port access to get to the Cape Verdian islands first. Without that, playing the Hansa would be very, very different from what I did in this game. It's 1560 in that game now and I established a first Hanseatic trade post in India, took most of the North American coastline, conquered all North American Indians and will soon have conquered the Aztecs and Incas too. I have more provinces than Spain, the Ottomans or Muscovy. Spain has inherited Portugal and Aragon though and is quite a monster.

[Liep]

Now, my HRE history knowledge is admittedly limited, but France has now been emperor for 2 terms. Would it have been possible to have an emperor that isn't also a member?

[Solmyr]

In 1519 both Francis I and Henry VIII were candidates. Charles V, who won, did not speak German and was primarily considered King of Spain (even though he was also Duke of Burgundy).

[Viking]

Gustav 2 Adolphus was also considered a candidate.

[Drakken]

In 1519 both Francis I and Henry VIII were candidates. Charles V, who won, did not speak German and was primarily considered King of Spain (even though he was also Duke of Burgundy).

Charles V was primarily considered Duke of Burgundy (especially Count of Charolais, which is the only title he kept after his abdication), which was part of the Empire. He himself, at least, considered himself Duke of Burgundy first and co-regent of Castille and Aragon second. So did the Castillans, by the way, who saw this young King as a foreigner and never really saw him otherwise until he spoke Spanish so well that it didn't matter.

Ultimately what decided the election was money - lots, lots, lots of money. Funnily Francis did the foolish mistake of paying them cash beforehand, so every elector assured Francis that they would vote for him so they would get paid. Charles raised Francis's bribes with more funds loaned to the Fuggers, but in letters of credit instead payable only after the election. 

Also, Charles V has never been King of Spain. he was effectively co-King and regent of Castille for his mother Juana. He wasn't even sole King of Castille until after her death at 1555 - when he decided to retire.

[Drakken]

Gustav 2 Adolphus was also considered a candidate.

That was a funny joke.

[Viking]

In 1519 both Francis I and Henry VIII were candidates. Charles V, who won, did not speak German and was primarily considered King of Spain (even though he was also Duke of Burgundy).

I'm pretty sure the fake quote has him speaking German to his Horse.

[Drakken]

I'm pretty sure the fake quote has him speaking German to his Horse.

He did learn German, but later in his life.

[Viking]

Gustav 2 Adolphus was also considered a candidate.

That was a funny joke.

There was no election during his prominence, leading cavalry charges can do that for you. The protestant electors fighting the emperor did hope to install him as emperor and potentially set up a parallel protestant empire. The concession of religious freedom in the treaty of westphalia did put an end to that ambition.