Europa Universalis

[Rickard N]

Yeah, I just study where we DEVELOP the damn thingies!

 

cheers

/Rickard

[Rickard N]

Damn, this game is tough...

 

any tips?

 

/Rickard

[Douglas]

Check out the forums on the EU website, they're a big help. There's a lot the manual doesn't cover, I learned a lot by playing the Eire tutorial for about ten minutes and then moving on to the Revolutionary War, which taught me the basics of national defense in EU.

 

Some advice:

 

- Invest heavily in Trade Tech and Land Tech. These are the most important items in the budget throughout most of the game. A smaller but steady investment into the other categories will keep you up to speed, with a big investment in Stability if it drops below +2. Don't take much monthly income, it increases inflation. Try to make your yearly income last.

 

- Select "autosend merchants" in the Economics screen. And don't feel like a wuss for doing it. Just because something lightens your workload doesn't mean it is unrealistic. I doubt the courts of Europe dispatched merchants, the guys chased profits.

 

- Upgrade fortresses only in provinces on the front lines where the enemy is expected to attack, and where the supply limits are low and attrition is high (in the province info screen). This and maybe a harsh winter and enemy armies will wither away.

 

- Build mostly siege armies in Europe, with lots of infantry and cannon. Try to go for the enemy's capital if it is close by, and take it quickly to force a settlement and demand whatever provinces you've occupied so far. You'll also get access to their maps typically, expanding your view of the world and allowing colonists to reach the ends of the Earth.

 

- In the colonies, you can settle for small armies of infantry and cavalry. Use them to attack any natives with aggressiveness greater than 3 who are sitting in territory you want to colonize.

 

- Ignore the war taxes feature, losing stability bites. Take

a loan and demand cash on peace settlements to pay it back. But make the peace offer at the start of January. Unless the AI has just received its yearly income, it won't have much money in the coffers, and if you demand 250 ducats, they'll accept and just give you 34 or something.

 

- Avoid entering enemy provinces in winter at all costs. Don't bother trying to take Helvetia or 'Mighty' fortresses if you are even slightly uneasy about taking tremendous casualties.

 

- Offer royal marriage with anyone who will entertain the offer, with whom you have at least -120 relations. The exceptions? Obviously, don't make this offer to anyone you're planning to attack, an don't offer if your relations are between -10 and +10, because they're too indifferent to you.

[Rickard N]

Is there info about how the diplomatic stuff works ANYWHERE?

 

damn I'm confused!

 

/Rickard

[Guest Hans Engström]

No.

 

What do you need to know?

 

Never offer RM (Royal Marriage) to anyone indifferent -20 to +20 relations. Religion sliders affect relations long term (minimum tolerance for Islam, eventually all Muslim nations hate you).

 

To vassalize, relations of +190 for a while and you as leader of alliance with presumtive vassal in. Helps to have fought a war together. Vassalize for 10 years with relations never below +170 (if they fall the vassal may demand independence, by war) you should up relations to +200 and then annex. This si helped igf you have strong forces near their capital.

 

Hans

[Guest Murph]

I HATE IT! Blast it crashes a lot. Plus I really, really want to smack down France just once please......

[Guest Hans Engström]

Murph, are you running v1.09? I never crash now under that version (unless Iuse the cheat codes).

 

Hans

[Guest Murph]

v 1.10.

[Guest Hans Engström]

I actually had my first crash in 2 months today, but it was a case of force majeure, we actually had a power outage in the entire area we live in. Lost 20 years of gametime.

 

Hans

 

Murph, I'm guessing your computer is more 'tweaked' than mine is.

[Rickard N]

Hmmm, I guess Sweden isn't the easiest country to play eh?

 

/Rickard

[Guest Murph]

Yeah, the computer is a little tweaked. I'm playing Russia right now, and taking over Sweden since it is a major force that threatens by hegemony. Poland has been somewhat easy so far, but they are getting tougher.

 

Europa II is out, anyone playing it yet?

[Guest Hans Engström]

EUII is one the X-mas list for me. Besides, there's only ne patch out yet. I never buy a game until patch 3.

 

Hans

[Rickard N]

I still don't get the diplomatic stuff...

When I play I get NEGATIVE diplomativ points, WTF!

 

/Rickard

[Guest Murph]

Muhhahaha! Sweden grovels beneath my heel, Poland crushed, and Austria is occupied! Czar Murph I conquers all! Next is Denmark, then France!

[Rickard N]

The crash rate on this game must be huge! It crashes too damn often, or is it just me?

 

/Rickard

[Jim Martin]

Doesn't crash on me, but I'm getting mighty peeved. The bloody puter CHEATS (what else is new?)

 

When a 45,000 strong Russian army rolls up on a 19,000 strong Persian army, which should be flattened? Esp. when the Russians have 220 arty to the Persians 20? AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH!!!!

 

I am getting sick of seeing massive, "Strong" morale, technologically advanced formations of mine get routed by small, technologically inferior armies controlled by the computer. Once or twice, I can understand, but I've lost Astrakhan and a number of my other smaller southern provinces in SUCCESSIVE battles where I should have routed the f***ers.

[Guest Murph]

I HATE THIS FRIGGING GAME! I just said "one more turn" and looked up at the clock and was almost late for work. Mine crashes a lot. Jim, I share your pain. I have also had armies where everything but 300 cannon were dead. The only troops in that army were...300 cannons, no infantry left, and no cavalry.

[Guest Hans Engström]

Rickard, it's just you

 

EU II seems way cool, so much added diplomacy.

 

Hans

[Gregory]

Is your maintenance set to 100%? That happened to me several times.

 

Originally posted by Jim Martin:

Doesn't crash on me, but I'm getting mighty peeved.  The bloody puter CHEATS (what else is new?)

 

When a 45,000 strong Russian army rolls up on a 19,000 strong Persian army, which should be flattened?  Esp. when the Russians have 220 arty to the Persians 20?  AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH!!!!

 

I am getting sick of seeing massive, "Strong" morale, technologically advanced formations of mine get routed by small, technologically inferior armies controlled by the computer.  Once or twice, I can understand, but I've lost Astrakhan and a number of my other smaller southern provinces in SUCCESSIVE battles where I should have routed the f***ers.

[Jim Martin]

I've never tried playing EU head-to-head online, anyone care to? I'm in the Central Time Zone here in the States, and am currently unemployed, so my time is ahhhhhh, shall we say 'flexible'. Let me know.

 

Maybe we could get a TankNet multiplayer game going.

 

The world trembles....

 

[Edited by Jim Martin (29 Nov 2001).]

[Jim Martin]

Ahhhh, Portugal.

 

I decided to give the underdog of the Great Powers a try...and it's giving me fits.

 

Hardly able to scrape up enough money to send out one colonist per year, and I've pretty much maxed out my available trade venues. An expedition to the Far East is certainly in order, but I haven't any ports on the African Cape from which to base the expedition, and I'll simply lose any ships I send into the Indian Ocean. Colonization of the Cape is of course, a very expensive proposition, and fraught with perils of failure. Any suggestions for my poor Portugese?

[Jim Martin]

Well, I managed to make a successful go of Portugal, by upping my "To Treasury" in the budget...of course this played hell with inflation, but at least I managed to build an empire....Portugal's territorial possessions are just too meager for a decent tax revenue.

 

Unfortunately, Portugal's colonial dynamism runs out of steam around 1620 or thereabouts. After that, only one colonist per turn (due to the shipyard in Tago), unless I wish to convert to Protestantism (methinks Big Brother Spain would NOT like that...) and that would only give me an additional colonist. As of the 1650's, I've grabbed off two pieces of France...a France which is already being devoured bit-by-bit by Spain...less than half France's provinces remain in her control...

 

But, I don't get any more explorers now, and no conquistadors. There's just no love here. I've colonized the heck out of Brazil, and built some nice colonies in South Africa, while putting up massive trade establishments along the African coast. Slave revenue is up due to my sugar and tobacco plantations in S. America...but the Far East is closed to me, as I have no more expeditions to open it up.

 

I think I'm gonna go back to Merrye Olde Englande...at least I can do some exploration and exploitation with those guys...

[Guest Hans Engström]

You got a time slot free around 1700 Zulu on Wednesday the 5th Jim?

 

Hans

[Jim Martin]

Hans, I reckon I'll be free round then. You say you don't have an Instant Messenger? Unless you want to pay through the nose for international long distance calls, you might want to download one of the Big 3...AOL, MSN, or Yahoo! Messenger, name yer poison, I've got all three, and can provide you with my handle for any of them. Which scenario, and which country, do you wish to play?

[Guest Murph]

Playing the Turks, go into budget and set the slider for a higher stability. Each month it resets so that most money is going into the treasury. How do I make the d*mn sliders stay where I put them?