I already have EU I, II, and III with all of the expansions. Why should I buy EU-IV? Criminy, why don't I just wait for EU-6? What is there about IV that makes it worth buying when I have EU-3, fully expanded?
Because EU 5 and 6 aren't out yet.
Seriously though, because its a better version. For me, it's like CK2 vs CK1
Quote from: mikeck on August 14, 2013, 07:49:59 PM
Because EU 5 and 6 aren't out yet.
LOL! ;D
I would rep you if I could.
It more or less the same as EU3. But there are minor UI changes that goes a long way (like production).
Trade had a complete overhaul so I'm learning the ropes. But it seems to be better than Marchant spam method before .
Quote from: jomni on August 14, 2013, 09:20:30 PM
It more or less the same as EU3. But there are minor UI changes that goes a long way (like production).
Trade had a complete overhaul so I'm learning the ropes. But it seems to be better than Marchant spam method before .
There are many smaller improvements over EU3, too. Perhaps I just notice more of them because I had quite a few complaints about specific aspects of EU3 that were frustrating or yanked me out of the immersion.
One great example is ..>ZOMG NO MOAR RUBBERBANDING ARMIEZ!!11
I'm also enjoying the change to the 'Monarch Points' rather than the previous Culture Points and Great Persons. They seem to be used in a wider variety of advancement & building options, so more tough decisions to be made.
Quote from: mikeck on August 14, 2013, 07:49:59 PM
Because EU 5 and 6 aren't out yet.
But before EU5 and 6 are out --- there are still the inevitable two dozen DLC packs for EU4 to come!
QuoteSeriously though, because its a better version. For me, it's like CK2 vs CK1
Yeah, definitely akin to the jump from CK to CK2. Many of the basic stats and terms are still present, but the game mechanics got a much needed workover (along with graphics, UI, spit & polish).
In my opinion, CK1 to CK2 was a bug jump.
EU3 to EU4 is not such a if jump.
Well.. it is for me because I had a lot of complaints about game mechanics in EU3, many of which have been addressed in the latest. I had never played EU3 for such long stints as I have EU4, even when I first got the whole collection. It had too many problematic behaviors and mechanics that were never fixed or changed.
Graphics- or UI-wise, no. Not as big of a jump. I'm judging on gameplay.
I guess I played EU3 a lot and never complained about any of the mechanics.
So if they say fixed something in EU4, then I don't think of it as a fix but as a minor game play variation / evolution
Quote from: solops on August 14, 2013, 07:25:08 PM
I already have EU I, II, and III with all of the expansions. Why should I buy EU-IV? Criminy, why don't I just wait for EU-6? What is there about IV that makes it worth buying when I have EU-3, fully expanded?
How much do you
like EU3 though? If you really still enjoy it, you probably can pass on EU4, for the time being anyway.
I could never get into EU3, despite several tries. But I've already spent more hours on EU4 than I ever did in EU3. I'm not sure the advance is quite so dramatic as CK2 vs original CK -- CK2 is a quantum leap over the original, which is all but unplayable now. Fully tricked-out EU3 could still certainly be enjoyable.
But the more streamlined trade and economics of EU4 is reason enough to update, if (like me) you found those things frustrating in EU3. No more 'annual' vs. 'monthly' budget confusion. No more constantly having to check if your merchants are breaking into Centers of Trade. Information is just way more cleanly presented in EU4.
...I do kind of miss the 'city view' though. It was functionally pointless, but I liked zooming in to see what improvements my cities added. EU4 eliminated that...
I jumped in on EU 4 because I got suckered in after reading the dev blogs, watching some videos and then I found that I most likely would understand how to play EU 4, whereas EU 3 remained a big pile of numbers and buttons to me.
I like the era and always thought I should like EU, but with four it all starts to make sense. I, too, have put in much more time in 4 than I ever did in 3.
Quote from: Yskonyn on August 15, 2013, 02:45:33 AM
I jumped in on EU 4 because I got suckered in after reading the dev blogs, watching some videos and then I found that I most likely would understand how to play EU 4, whereas EU 3 remained a big pile of numbers and buttons to me.
Well looks like they did good marketing this time around. :)
If you know and understand EU3, then EU4 is not that different. You just have to "re-learn" the tweaked game mechanics.
All of the above, and think of it as an economic stimulus package for Paradox. :P
Quote from: jomni on August 15, 2013, 05:08:25 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on August 15, 2013, 02:45:33 AM
I jumped in on EU 4 because I got suckered in after reading the dev blogs, watching some videos and then I found that I most likely would understand how to play EU 4, whereas EU 3 remained a big pile of numbers and buttons to me.
Well looks like they did good marketing this time around. :)
If you know and understand EU3, then EU4 is not that different. You just have to "re-learn" the tweaked game mechanics.
All in all, 4 is simply much better than 3. Why not play the better (far better) and prettier game for $40? I suppose you could wait for a sale but you will eventually want to grab it. Don't go trying to convince yourself it is just and "update"...it's not. I Never got into 3 but I am loving 4.
^Great...just one more thing to keep me from committing to HOI3.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 15, 2013, 12:49:37 PM
^Great...just one more thing to keep me from committing to HOI3.
same problem here - 2 icons next to each other - which to press
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 16, 2013, 03:14:24 AM
same problem here - 2 icons next to each other - which to press
Dota 2. 8)
Quote from: mikeck on August 15, 2013, 11:58:04 AM
Why not play the better (far better) and prettier game for $40?
That's easy: $40
Not to mention all of the other money I have sunk into this franchise. I think I'll just wait for EU6. Maybe they will have it "fixed" by then. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the small fortune I already have sunk into Europa Universalis.
A small timeline of progression in my Denmark game. Ironman mode!
The Norwegian and Swedish nationalist rebels are constant but maybe they'll eventually give up. Fortunately my trade power is pretty damn good in the area so I'm not going broke with all the constant fighting with rebels and the occasional war that my Allies pull me into. 8)
Sproing!
1470 - Picking on Livonians and Teutons
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg832%2F9972%2Fh2s2.jpg&hash=d029cff21dfbc54d72b3a372f5b6ec64cb47663e)
1522 - Integrating along with more expansion into the eastern Baltic
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg819%2F5932%2F4int.jpg&hash=ed39ee3e76ae634d34438fff86831d1a35d06eb1)
1524 - Post-Unification
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg22%2F830%2Fdbp1.jpg&hash=39c897ee6c8a55c72e52964fdbdc2497d9e3afa0)
ha, brilliant, you can almost reach the UK from there!
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 16, 2013, 09:57:55 AM
ha, brilliant, you can almost reach the UK from there!
Oh god do the Brits hate me. They keep making claims on the Orkneys and bottoming out our relations. For some reason, after forming 'Scandinavia', they've eased off a bit so I'm pummeling them with hugs & kisses via Diplomacy to make them chill out. An earlier war they declared on me was just a painfully long & uselessly expensive ordeal that ended in a white peace after years of mangling his troop landings (and hiding my navy away in port!).
That first war drove me to allying with France, to make Britain think three times about DOW'ing me again. :D But now I gotta worry about the hordes of Novgorod, if they start getting uppity. Luckily I've been allied with Lithuania and Poland for quite awhile so that has shut them up at the moment too.
However.. the religious turmoil is in full swing. A portion of current rebel problem is caused by the Protestant and Reformist takeovers in many of my provinces. I'm just hoping I can switch to Reformist, or maybe Protestant, before long without the rest of Catholic Europe dropping our alliances and attacking me! :o
EDIT: Also note in those screenshots - the runaway blobbing is almost non-existant. By this time, in EU3, it would've been ignorant. Sure, the Ottomans and France are pushed out a bit more than historically at this point but they haven't taken over half the european mainland by now (nor the Khanates doing the same in Asia!) so it's a huge improvement from what I see.
novogrod and lithuania do look dangerous?
have you been off colonising anywhere?
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 16, 2013, 10:07:15 AM
novogrod and lithuania do look dangerous?
have you been off colonising anywhere?
Keeping Lithuania allied was touch & go since there was a bit of a dispute at one point, over having similar claims on a Livonian province or two. Luckily they never pressed it in war (partly because of the royal marriage penalties & such I suspect) so they ran out after 10 years. They're still a bit wary of me (Rival For World Domination diplo penalty is just one example/reason) so they're not as stalwart an ally as I'd like. Still.. they don't like Novgorod at all so that is pretty much what's keeping us from glaring at each other across the border.
I haven't been colonizing because I haven't taken the appropriate Exploration Ideas, in order to recruit explorers & such. I've been focusing on Trade, Diplomacy, and Economy Ideas thus far. It would take a long time to push my naval range out to any decent north american colonies and by that time, all the other colonizing nations would likely already be there. I'd be starting that race too late at this point, perhaps. However, I'm planning on exploiting the trade there once the other nations get it established so hopefully I can drain some of their trade away into my own trade nodes eventually. Maybe take a colony by force, far down the road, or rent the use of a port from a friendly colonial power if I need the extra 'trade range' (even though my Ideas give pretty good trade range bonus amongst other things).
i havent even started a game yet, but your last post is a great advert for the depth and immerssion in this game
Here's a nice big shot of the Trade map mode.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg89.imageshack.us%2Fimg89%2F1853%2Fayis.jpg&hash=96717ce19e66d073a5b10866c83959c6be2c1205)
I've given one of my Merchants the order to collect trade in the Baltic trade node. While it's not my home node (that's Lubeck), I now own so many of the Baltic provinces and their associated port/river entrance bonuses in that zone that my Trade Power is by far the most powerful there. So instead of telling my Merchant to 'push' my share of the trade in the Baltic node on up to Lubeck, I've told him to just collect there.
While there is a penalty for collecting directly from a node, it can be somewhat mitigated by Ideas you can spend Monarch Points to research (usually Diplo MPs but there may be some that cost Military MPs) and improving your Diplomacy technology levels (which cost Diplo monarch points). There are also numerous buildings for boosting Trade bonuses or trade power (amonst many other stuff) and those cost some ducats and buildings also cost a small amount of Administration MPs in addition to the money.
Anyway.. since The Hansa is running just about neck & neck with me for the lion's share of trade profits in Lubeck, it has been a tad bit more profitable for me to just collect directly from the Baltic sea trade node. I also have a merchant pushing a small amount of trade from Novgorod, downstream into the Baltic so that adds a little more to what I'm collecting there. Britain and I, along with the smaller nations in our respective trade zones, have pretty much split all of the North Sea trade away into our own.
I'm not yet sure if it would be more profitable to move my Novgorod merchant over to the North Sea, in a bid to siphon off more trade away from Britain to my home trade zone in Lubeck. It looks like it would, but then I would also want to send some light warships in to boost my trade power there, and pull even more, but I'm afraid such a trade patrol fleet would also be easy pickings for any potential enemy's main fleet once hostilities broke out - especially Britains! During our earlier war, the bastards managed to capture about six to eight Barques from myself and my allies' trade patrols, after jumping them with his super fleet. So military concerns are still factoring into my trade strategy. Nevertheless, it may be worth doing. Besides, I've tech'd up enough to build a better class of warships so it would give me an excuse to build the bigger, better, faster ones if I lost the oldies.
I'm also forging claims on Hamburg since it has two trade power bonuses (port & river delta or something) along with a huge tax base. So taking some of The Hansa's land and trade power will be quite profitable as long as I can catch them out of any big alliances. Hopefully the Holy Roman Emperor won't flip out.
Decisions, decsions. :D
If you are looking for a slower pace then try Portugal... I am playing them now and it is a trade/colonization country. You are isolated from the wars in Europe and only really need to keep Castile at bay relation wise. I have dominated the trading in the Med. and colonized S. Africa. Because of the nature of Portugal's position, there is a lot of periods of waiting...
Money is rolling in now and who knows... I maybe able to amass enough wealth to hire a merc army and challenge Castile.
PE
I'm going to restart my Castille campaign. I went for the Religion idea group first because I thought that the automatic CB against other religions you get from the first idea would give me entree into North Africa. I had to go to the Paradox forums to find out that it only applies to countries with which you share a border. I think this time I'll go with Exploration first, and switch to Religion after unlocking Conquistadors.
:)
Oh! It's goin' down!
I managed to get lotsa beefcake mobilized with this one. I'm pretty sure this will involve a majority of the ground & naval forces in western europe. 8) Unfortunately, my ally Poland was already at war - with the Ottomans even. So they won't be any help. But France.. that's another story.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg138.imageshack.us%2Fimg138%2F585%2F4jx2.jpg&hash=1e43185b46a61251cbb3ec6408b74b7b8f5fe56f)
The rebel-filled chaos of the Reformation has passed my country and I settled down to Protestantism. There's still a lot of mixed religions in Scandoland but one benefit of being Protestant is much more leniency against other religions, so there isn't currently much in the way of revolts. Also.. my income shot through the roof after that mess was done. Looks like all my Tax & Trade focus is now beginning to pay off. Even with being three over my Army Limit, and having all upkeep sliders max'd, I'm still bringing in almost 17 Ducats a month. ;D Time to crank out some shiny new warships!
From what I'm seeing and reading, this is a complete overhaul to what EU3 is. Reading your comments is making think about getting this sooner than later, especially since none of you are talking about any major bugs.
Nefaro, from your last screen shot, it looks like if you can keep the British Navy from gaining control, you may be able to keep most of her armies locked up in England. That should make it easier to win the war.
I find it more " polished" then CK2 actually. Feels like a completely new game.
Quote from: OJsDad on August 16, 2013, 04:04:08 PM
From what I'm seeing and reading, this is a complete overhaul to what EU3 is. Reading your comments is making think about getting this sooner than later, especially since none of you are talking about any major bugs.
Nefaro, from your last screen shot, it looks like if you can keep the British Navy from gaining control, you may be able to keep most of her armies locked up in England. That should make it easier to win the war.
It feels like an overhaul to me..... one thing is for sure, you have to watch yourself as the events can turn things around based on your decisions. CK2 was my favorite Paradox game followed by HOI3... but this one may take the top spot.
PE
Quote from: OJsDad on August 16, 2013, 04:04:08 PM
From what I'm seeing and reading, this is a complete overhaul to what EU3 is. Reading your comments is making think about getting this sooner than later, especially since none of you are talking about any major bugs.
Nefaro, from your last screen shot, it looks like if you can keep the British Navy from gaining control, you may be able to keep most of her armies locked up in England. That should make it easier to win the war.
Major bugs? Didn't they say there are crashing and memory leaks? So far I have only encountered 1 crash.
Quote from: OJsDad on August 16, 2013, 04:04:08 PM
From what I'm seeing and reading, this is a complete overhaul to what EU3 is. Reading your comments is making think about getting this sooner than later, especially since none of you are talking about any major bugs.
Nefaro, from your last screen shot, it looks like if you can keep the British Navy from gaining control, you may be able to keep most of her armies locked up in England. That should make it easier to win the war.
My warships were outdated and the British fleet had me outnumbered and outgunned until just recently.
In that big war, Castile and Portugal quickly joined Britain's side against my alliance. So I ended up having to fight Britain, Hansa, and Livonians practically by myself. Fortunately I was ready for them as I had bolstered my army up a bit before the fight. Didn't have time to build more Line ships, though, before the window for my sneak attack would close. Hansa and Britain had already been in a war for awhile so they were already pretty war weary. So my fleet still had to hide in port. I had forgotten about one of my trade patrol fleets and they wiped out all six light warships in it, but I had planned on building newer ones after the war anyway.
Things turned out okay. France beat the snot out of Castile and Portugal down south. Britain tried landing an army at Holstein but I was close enough to destroy it in short order. They tried sending another through the Frisian (Dutch) coast and the territories they had captured there, while still in that war. That second attack got a bit hairy because I didn't see it coming (the army came out of the fog of war) AND it teamed up with the whole army of the Hanse. If I hadn't concentrated my whole army in that area before hostilities, those two would've had their way for quite some time. I was impressed with how, after it's first failure, the AI's second try was from a different direction and used allied armies moving in unison! After beating that one, the Brits obviously had to do some new recruiting and these smaller armies were sent into the Baltic where they landed and started cap'ing Polish territory. While doing so, it also parked it's Navy off the shore and sent out a few of their light warships to try and sucker me into attacking them while they blockaded some of my ports.
It also capped part of (my) Iceland. Hopefully next time around, my fleet can go toe-to-toe, although I've not really had a need to go on the offensive overseas that much. I just unlocked the tech for a building that expands my naval forcelimits, if a naval arms race ever starts.
The war ended because I split my big armies up and took quite a few Hansa provinces, including the one in the war goal. Between that, and many battles won, I got Hamburg ceded to me and Britain paid me 160 Ducats for their meddling. ;D
I can't explain it too well, but EU4 is just wayy more interesting to play than #3 was. It helps that the AI behavior has improved in a few places, too. Not infallible but still a big improvement.
Quote from: jomni on August 16, 2013, 06:22:14 PM
Major bugs? Didn't they say there are crashing and memory leaks? So far I have only encountered 1 crash.
I've not crashed once, and have had the game running for at least four hours at a time. That doesn't help anyone with such an issue, of course.
The weird stuttering I experienced the first time I started a game eventually ended after a couple in-game years and hasn't come back. *shrug* I'm sure it never left for some people, but others have also said it came & went. Odd. The memory leak mention was just speculation on my part.. it's actually ran pretty good for long periods so that probably wasn't the cause after all.
I'm about to uninstall EU3 and put EU4 in my favorites in Steam. :D
I'm pretty convinced it's THE EU version to play.
Quote from: jomni on August 16, 2013, 06:22:14 PM
Quote from: OJsDad on August 16, 2013, 04:04:08 PM
From what I'm seeing and reading, this is a complete overhaul to what EU3 is. Reading your comments is making think about getting this sooner than later, especially since none of you are talking about any major bugs.
Nefaro, from your last screen shot, it looks like if you can keep the British Navy from gaining control, you may be able to keep most of her armies locked up in England. That should make it easier to win the war.
Major bugs? Didn't they say there are crashing and memory leaks? So far I have only encountered 1 crash.
I have only played a little but have not had any problems. I think with any game now you are going to have some people that have issue...and of course, others who want to find issues. At any rate, I am glad to see Paradox turn it around...this, CK2 and Warlock have been pretty solid and polished. I am hopeful for the HOI Cold War game coming out
It sounds like there's a lot to do and keep track of in the EU games. How did you guys start out? Is there a set pattern of how you play, or do you just go with the flow? I bought EU3 Chronicles when it was on sale for cheap, but now you guys are starting to get me interested in EU4.
I'm just a little worried that it is difficult to get into.
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on August 17, 2013, 09:26:42 AM
It sounds like there's a lot to do and keep track of in the EU games. How did you guys start out? Is there a set pattern of how you play, or do you just go with the flow? I bought EU3 Chronicles when it was on sale for cheap, but now you guys are starting to get me interested in EU4.
I'm just a little worried that it is difficult to get into.
Easiest thing I found to get into them is to just un-pause and let things happen. Go with the flow. Remember you really are just playing in a giant sandbox. None of the Paradox games are about "winning" like most strategy games. The thing to keep in mind in any of the paradox titles is that you are going to experience set backs. How harsh they are going to be will vary game to game. EU4 can be pretty harsh on the random events.
Quote from: Kushan on August 17, 2013, 11:34:03 AM
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on August 17, 2013, 09:26:42 AM
It sounds like there's a lot to do and keep track of in the EU games. How did you guys start out? Is there a set pattern of how you play, or do you just go with the flow? I bought EU3 Chronicles when it was on sale for cheap, but now you guys are starting to get me interested in EU4.
I'm just a little worried that it is difficult to get into.
Easiest thing I found to get into them is to just un-pause and let things happen. Go with the flow. Remember you really are just playing in a giant sandbox. None of the Paradox games are about "winning" like most strategy games. The thing to keep in mind in any of the paradox titles is that you are going to experience set backs. How harsh they are going to be will vary game to game. EU4 can be pretty harsh on the random events.
This is exactly how to play EUIV.... don't get too caught up into the numbers.. that can really take the fun out of it. Just like CK2, let the story unfold and one bad decision is not an end game.... just a set back.
PE
You definitely have to accept such setbacks over the course of a game.
But I wouldn't necessarily recommend just playing blindly, and not paying attention to the numbers. Fortunately everything has a tooltip pop-up with exact numbers and a small description of what you're looking at. There is also a handy 'Tips' helper window just above the minimap that allows you to click the '?' button and then click on any other button in the interface to bring up further in-game help info on how the mechanics related to said button works. You definitely don't need to constantly worry about all the little numbers, but you will want to learn what effect they have as you play.
Most of all, I recommend playing the Tutorials if you're not familiar with these games. They should get you off and running with the basics. Once you know those, you can definitely just start playing and trying stuff out. One great thing about these games is that there are many different options on who to start as so if you screw up really bad, it's not all that painful to start over fresh. In EU4, the Idea system has been organized so that you kinda customize your nation's strengths as you go, too, so there's always room for fresh experimentation.
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on August 17, 2013, 09:26:42 AM
It sounds like there's a lot to do and keep track of in the EU games. How did you guys start out? Is there a set pattern of how you play, or do you just go with the flow? I bought EU3 Chronicles when it was on sale for cheap, but now you guys are starting to get me interested in EU4.
I'm just a little worried that it is difficult to get into.
Play small countries first to learn the mechanics. Only problem is that the big boys will come bully you. By that time, you can end your game and start another.
I am not saying the numbers are not important... they are (probably look at them more than most), but don't let them put you off of playing. I would suggest playing Portugal as your first country. Just keep buttering up to Castile with a royal marriage and influence them.
PE
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on August 17, 2013, 09:26:42 AM
It sounds like there's a lot to do and keep track of in the EU games. How did you guys start out? Is there a set pattern of how you play, or do you just go with the flow? I bought EU3 Chronicles when it was on sale for cheap, but now you guys are starting to get me interested in EU4.
I'm just a little worried that it is difficult to get into.
I'm still learning. Watch as many Let's Plays on Youtube as you can. Then just jump in and play. It takes a while but it will eventually 'click'. That's how I learned Victoria 2. 8)
Remember that you are not going to "break" the game. Don't be afraid to press buttons and experiment to see what happens.
I had started to panic. My fourth Idea was a long way off when knowledge of other nations' exploration discoveries started pouring in. I had to save up nearly all my Administration MPs for hitting tech Admin Tech Level 14 and unlocking my fourth Idea slot. The only way to get a Colonist, if you didn't start with any, is to unlock the Exploration Idea line. So I had to make a beeline and kick off my colonization of the new world while the going was still good.
After making it, I had barely enough Colonization Range to make it to a couple provinces on the Greenland coast and a couple close to the mouth of the Hudson. Fortunately my unification with Norway had given me Iceland along with other islands including the Orkneys (Those were the start of England's hostility towards me.. they really want those despite not having a core there). So Iceland pushed my basic non-upgraded colonization range out there. After my first purchase in the Exploration idea line, I had a Colonist! Now to put them to work.
My first was up near the Hudson. I needed to get it and pay for Core on it so I'd have a base to colonize further south. I then tried colonizing Manhattan but the natives killed my infant colony (the butchers!). So I went with nearby Narragansett which has a tad less hostile natives. While that was going, I recruited a Conquistador to lead a small army to north america so as to wipe uppity natives out of my future colonies. I'm looking at you, Manhattan! >:( My goal is to vie for North America and attempt to dominate the Cheasapeake and Hudson Bays' trade nodes since they both have trade paths leading back to the North Sea, which I'm utterly dominating over Britain.
Initially going with Diplomacy, Trade, and Economics has been quite good to me, although I could probably have passed on Diplomacy since my hostile expansion in Europe has tapered off lately. There are large amounts of ducats rolling in so building improvements are steadily progressing. I've been slow at warring since it tends to hurt trade income and that's my bread & butter right now. The only issue I currently have is that I'm getting behind in 'Diplomacy' Tech since I spent so much raising my Exploration ideas up a few levels, in order to get faster colonization bonuses. Playing catch-up there has caused it to get a bit behind the curve, and Diplo Tech mostly corresponds to Naval and Trade advancements, buildings, and bonuses. It also doesn't help that my current regent's Diplo rating is the lowest she has but my next has a 4 so hopefully I can catch back up.
Russia formed and despite being very hateful with me, they've not dared attack. Having the BBB (France) covering your back is quite a deterrent even despite my own power. Haven't had anything from England either. I kept them busy for awhile by forcing them to release part of Ireland, in the peace agreement after our last war long ago. They spent some time building back up their navy and taking that back. Buahahah! It also looks like that set back their exploration, too! France has some nice trade goods on the South American coast. I'm talking tobacco, furs, suger, and GOLD. The bastards. All I've found in NA is ... fish. >:(
Enough with the yammering.. here's a big view of the current situation. I'm really impressed about how the AI nations have progressed by this point. It actually looks quite reasonable! If it were EU3 at this point.. omahgawd crazy blobs.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg829.imageshack.us%2Fimg829%2F6860%2Fwcxz.jpg&hash=60b3eb81a1ea3689cafe702238b516c4ce393380)
Tip:
Unless you're stuck with a ruler who has a craptastical Military rating, you can generally keep a couple Generals/Admirals at any time and still get enough Military MPs to advance your Mil tech level just fine, once you have advanced through the earlier military tech levels.
Unlike Admin and Diplo MPs, there isn't much extra advancements that Military MPs are spent on. Just building & upgrading Fort levels, mostly. So the main drain there is having military leaders - plan appropriately.
With passable Military MP income, as a western european tech group member with two or three generals/explorers/etc, I was finding that my points were building up so much that I was qualifying for Military Tech-ups at four, six, and even eight years ahead of their scheduled date. Having such a large tech cost penalty at those times, I just saved up the points while the years ticked away and the penalties dropped. Even upgrading most of my forts wasn' t enough to keep it from max'ing out. So keep in mind that if you find yourself getting ahead in Mil MPs, may as well get that Admiral or extra general and put them in one of your armies at some point after a war when your Army/Navy tradition is at it's highest. That will give you the best chances to get a higher-rated one.
I don't recommend doing this in the earliest game, but you should eventually start having enough surplus to support a small set of generals.