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Is EU3 fun yet?

Started by Faeelin, May 21, 2009, 05:37:10 PM

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Tamas

Quote from: Solmyr on June 02, 2009, 06:02:57 AM
Played England under MMP in the last few days. Started by making peace with France and giving them Gascony and Calais (keeping my cores on French provinces for later to buy them off if needed). Scotland immediately DOWed me but I managed to crush them, reduced them to Lothian and vassalized. Puttered about until the Reformation came, converted to Protestantism, country went to shit. Main wave of conversion happened under the otherwise unremarkable Queen Jane I. :D At the same time the Irish and France DOWed me and I honestly thought I was screwed, but it turned out that France is unable to land troops in Britain so eventually I made a white peace and crushed the Irish.
Once that was done I let some pretender rebels win and the next king James I was a prodigy (as was his son Henry VII). England is now well on the way to becoming a great power (although it devolved to a Duchy during all the clusterfuck, since prestige went through the floor). I'm steadily colonizing North America and have already conquered the Injuns there. Most of England and Scotland and part of Ireland are Protestant by now. Diploannexed Scotland and recently Leinster, thus taking over the British Isles entirely; now just waiting for cores on some Scottish provinces to declare Great Britain.

Anyway, this game illustrates my problems with MMP. European colonization is woefully late; Aztecs and Incas haven't even had contact with Europeans yet in 1600, Spain just barely began colonizing the Carribean and Argentina; Portugal painted Brazil green but ignored Africa and India; France started on Canada. I guess more expensive colonies are to blame, but it just doesn't feel right. Also, the eastern majors (Austria, Russia, Ottomans) are completely unambitious. Russia took over the other minors and is now just sitting there doing nothing; Ottomans took over the Balkans but have no interest in Hungary or Egypt; and Austria is still divided and has never been elected HRE (they are actually electing Protestants now). I hope MMP can fix these things somehow.

Russia prolly did not conquer the other minors: AI Muscowy annexes them by event at a given date

garbon

Quote from: Caliga on June 02, 2009, 07:20:36 AM
Colonization in the EU games is just flat-out broken and always has been.

I think one thing that has always harmed P'dox is not actually having wide knowledge of history.  You can't ever have an AI that will handle colonization properly, if you didn't actually know where you wanted it to colonize to begin with.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Caliga

 :huh: But whatever historical knowledge Johan and co. lack (and I'd never heard that accusation before) is made up for by beta testers, right? :unsure:

For example, in the Vicky beta they asked the testers to come up with random leader name files for every nation.  I personally did the ones for the USA, CSA, and I think Canada and the UK.
0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

Habbaku

Quote from: Caliga on June 02, 2009, 11:02:58 AM
(and I'd never heard that accusation before)

They don't even know how many days there are in February, so I don't expect much of them.
The medievals were only too right in taking nolo episcopari as the best reason a man could give to others for making him a bishop. Give me a king whose chief interest in life is stamps, railways, or race-horses; and who has the power to sack his Vizier (or whatever you care to call him) if he does not like the cut of his trousers.

Government is an abstract noun meaning the art and process of governing and it should be an offence to write it with a capital G or so as to refer to people.

-J. R. R. Tolkien

Caliga

0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

Barrister

Quote from: garbon on June 02, 2009, 10:54:17 AM
Quote from: Caliga on June 02, 2009, 07:20:36 AM
Colonization in the EU games is just flat-out broken and always has been.

I think one thing that has always harmed P'dox is not actually having wide knowledge of history.  You can't ever have an AI that will handle colonization properly, if you didn't actually know where you wanted it to colonize to begin with.

:huh:

Paradox has never struck me as being ignorant of history.  Far from it.

And in EU3 they appear to have tried quite hard to stay away from highly deterministic history ala "Portugal must colonize these areas and only these areas"...
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

garbon

Quote from: Caliga on June 02, 2009, 11:02:58 AM
:huh: But whatever historical knowledge Johan and co. lack (and I'd never heard that accusation before) is made up for by beta testers, right? :unsure:

I don't think that flavor things like random leader names have an large impact on historical performance. :P

Besides is p'dox concerned about historical performance? It seems that they create models of how they think states function and how to make warfare/economic fun and then let the chips fall as they may.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

garbon

Quote from: Barrister on June 02, 2009, 11:24:04 AM
:huh:

Paradox has never struck me as being ignorant of history.  Far from it.

They consistently fail miserably with regards to the rest of the world.  I have more thoughts on the colonization issue but I'm not at liberty to say them. -_-

That said, P'dox is certainly leagues above their competition. :thumbsup:
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

garbon

Quote from: Barrister on June 02, 2009, 11:24:04 AM
And in EU3 they appear to have tried quite hard to stay away from highly deterministic history ala "Portugal must colonize these areas and only these areas"...

That wasn't even the case in eu2. AIs often colonized random places much to the chagrin of many.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Habbaku

Quote from: garbon on June 02, 2009, 11:35:34 AM
AIs often colonized random places much to the chagrin of many.

Or didn't colonize at all, in many cases.  Paradox has a habit of having major systems (colonization, Victoria's immigration system, HoI's air/naval combat) being broken at the outset.
The medievals were only too right in taking nolo episcopari as the best reason a man could give to others for making him a bishop. Give me a king whose chief interest in life is stamps, railways, or race-horses; and who has the power to sack his Vizier (or whatever you care to call him) if he does not like the cut of his trousers.

Government is an abstract noun meaning the art and process of governing and it should be an offence to write it with a capital G or so as to refer to people.

-J. R. R. Tolkien

garbon

Quote from: Habbaku on June 02, 2009, 11:39:39 AM
Or didn't colonize at all, in many cases.  Paradox has a habit of having major systems (colonization, Victoria's immigration system, HoI's air/naval combat) being broken at the outset.

True, modders only discovered after a few years that eu2 AIs will not explore with more than one explorer at a time. :(
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Barrister

The EU3 "colonial range" thing is quite a surprise to me.

I'm trying to jump start some colonizing in my Venice game.  I'm in the 1450s, managed to discover a few places like the Canary Islands - but its outside my range. :huh:

I did go out an conquer Granada so by the 1480s it should be a core province, but even then I imagine thatt the Caribbean will be outside my range. :huh:
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

Crazy_Ivan80

Quote from: Barrister on June 02, 2009, 11:49:08 AM
The EU3 "colonial range" thing is quite a surprise to me.

I'm trying to jump start some colonizing in my Venice game.  I'm in the 1450s, managed to discover a few places like the Canary Islands - but its outside my range. :huh:

I did go out an conquer Granada so by the 1480s it should be a core province, but even then I imagine thatt the Caribbean will be outside my range. :huh:

concentrate on naval tech, take QotNW and see if you can find some colonial range boosting advisors. That should get your there.

Warspite

Quote from: Caliga on June 02, 2009, 11:02:58 AM
:huh: But whatever historical knowledge Johan and co. lack (and I'd never heard that accusation before) is made up for by beta testers, right? :unsure:

For example, in the Vicky beta they asked the testers to come up with random leader name files for every nation.  I personally did the ones for the USA, CSA, and I think Canada and the UK.

Haha, I remember that. As a joke I plucked random football players for a few of the names of some of the Balkan state leaders. I wonder if anyone fighting an independent Croatia in Vicky has found themselves squaring up against General Suker or Field Marshall Boban.  :D
" SIR – I must commend you on some of your recent obituaries. I was delighted to read of the deaths of Foday Sankoh (August 9th), and Uday and Qusay Hussein (July 26th). Do you take requests? "

OVO JE SRBIJA
BUDALO, OVO JE POSTA

ulmont

Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on June 02, 2009, 11:58:11 AM
concentrate on naval tech, take QotNW and see if you can find some colonial range boosting advisors. That should get your there.

Especially Quest for the New World, it gives an immediate +50% boost.

But yes, if you want to colonize early, you need to be able to jump off from the West Coast of Europe (or, even better, Iceland / Canaries / Azores).