Have you Pre-Ordered Europa Universalis IV?

[Kushan]

- The map is just awesome.... the shadows, ships, units etc.... very nice!

I couldn't agree more. I would love to see things liek the changing seasons and map shadows converted back to CK2 (if possible). Even if it was a full paid expansion, I'd still pay for it just for the engine upgrades.

- Trade map mode is very useful and the Trade options of flow

Trade is still the area that confuses me the most. From what I can tell from my limited time playing the demo and watching lets plays, trade will always flow in certain directions. For instance you cannot reverse the flow of trade from the London trade node to the the Amsterdam trade node. I think the goal is to have the most trade in connected nodes and "steer" that trade towards your capital.

[Greybriar]

I have purchased every version of Europa Universalis that has been released. Due to the number of games on my gaming plate, I have hardly played EU3. By the time I got around to playing EU4, EU5 would be coming out.

So despite the urge I have to buy it, I think I'll pass on EU4 for now. It and all of its expansions/DLC will probably be offered in a compilation pack for less than half price within a year.

[WallysWorld]

I have purchased every version of Europa Universalis that has been released. Due to the number of games on my gaming plate, I have hardly played EU3. By the time I got around to playing EU4, EU5 would be coming out.
So despite the urge I have to buy it, I think I'll pass on EU4 for now. It and all of its expansions/DLC will probably be offered in a compilation pack for less than half price within a year.

That is exactly my thoughts as well. I've only played about 10 hours of EU III even though I've owned it for a number of years.

[sandman2575]

I broke down and pre-ordered over the weekend.  The first time I have ever pre-ordered any game.  Thus begins my descent on the slippery slope...

The clincher was definitely the CK2 converter.  Sounds fascinating.  In fact, playing through the EUIV demo has re-sparked my interest in CK2.  Didn't expect to, but I spent my weekend playing hours on CK2, really enjoying it again for the first time in many months. 

[PanzersEast]

- The map is just awesome.... the shadows, ships, units etc.... very nice!

I couldn't agree more. I would love to see things liek the changing seasons and map shadows converted back to CK2 (if possible). Even if it was a full paid expansion, I'd still pay for it just for the engine upgrades.

- Trade map mode is very useful and the Trade options of flow

Trade is still the area that confuses me the most. From what I can tell from my limited time playing the demo and watching lets plays, trade will always flow in certain directions. For instance you cannot reverse the flow of trade from the London trade node to the the Amsterdam trade node. I think the goal is to have the most trade in connected nodes and "steer" that trade towards your capital.

Trade is probably the most confusing part that requires some additional investigating.  But you are right, you can only try to steer the trade towards another zone by sending merchants and increasing your influence in another zone.  It appears that while you can do this, it can be difficult.

PE

[tgb]

- The map is just awesome.... the shadows, ships, units etc.... very nice!

I couldn't agree more. I would love to see things liek the changing seasons and map shadows converted back to CK2 (if possible). Even if it was a full paid expansion, I'd still pay for it just for the engine upgrades.

- Trade map mode is very useful and the Trade options of flow

Trade is still the area that confuses me the most. From what I can tell from my limited time playing the demo and watching lets plays, trade will always flow in certain directions. For instance you cannot reverse the flow of trade from the London trade node to the the Amsterdam trade node. I think the goal is to have the most trade in connected nodes and "steer" that trade towards your capital.

Trade is probably the most confusing part that requires some additional investigating.  But you are right, you can only try to steer the trade towards another zone by sending merchants and increasing your influence in another zone.  It appears that while you can do this, it can be difficult.

PE

I think I have a pretty good understanding of trade after reading the manual, spending too much time on the official forum (I can't believe how quickly it went from "OMG -this will be the bestest game EVAR" to "This POS is broken and dumbed down".  What a bunch of entitled whiners.), and several hours in the demo.

As I understand it, you only collect $ from trade nodes in which you have provinces.  The more provinces you have, the more $ your merchant can collect.  In nodes where you don't have a province, you can only steer trade, if the node is within your trading radius.  Trading radius can be increased through ideas, expansion, colonization, and perhaps through events.  Additional merchants can only be gotten through ideas and events.

The amount you can collect or steer is modified by your trading power. Trading power can be increased through ideas, events, and assigning fleets of small warships to protect your trade routes. I think just building small warships gives a bit of a boost.  That's why even in peacetime you should never lower naval maintenance if you are depending on trade, as lower naval maintenance will lower trading power.

[Kushan]

Trade is probably the most confusing part that requires some additional investigating.  But you are right, you can only try to steer the trade towards another zone by sending merchants and increasing your influence in another zone.  It appears that while you can do this, it can be difficult.

PE

I think I have a pretty good understanding of trade after reading the manual, spending too much time on the official forum (I can't believe how quickly it went from "OMG -this will be the bestest game EVAR" to "This POS is broken and dumbed down".  What a bunch of entitled whiners.), and several hours in the demo.

As I understand it, you only collect $ from trade nodes in which you have provinces.  The more provinces you have, the more $ your merchant can collect.  In nodes where you don't have a province, you can only steer trade, if the node is within your trading radius.  Trading radius can be increased through ideas, expansion, colonization, and perhaps through events.  Additional merchants can only be gotten through ideas and events.

The amount you can collect or steer is modified by your trading power. Trading power can be increased through ideas, events, and assigning fleets of small warships to protect your trade routes. I think just building small warships gives a bit of a boost.  That's why even in peacetime you should never lower naval maintenance if you are depending on trade, as lower naval maintenance will lower trading power.

Thanks tgb. So you want to steer trade towards nodes you control, then extract money out of that node.

I think setting light warships to patrol a trade route also gives a boost to your trade along that route.

As for the game being dumbed down, I don't think it is. I think its more accessible, in that the transparency to the under lying systems is easier to understand, but from what I can tell so far its still just as complex as any other Paradox game.

[PanzersEast]

As for the game being dumbed down, I don't think it is. I think its more accessible, in that the transparency to the under lying systems is easier to understand, but from what I can tell so far its still just as complex as any other Paradox game.

I don't feel it is dumbed down either... I think it has been stream lines and easier to get around the UI.  I feel like all the core is still there.  I am really looking forward to diving into the game as well as Elder Kings mod for CKII! 

PE

[tgb]

One other thing I wanted to mention is that I really like the new Monarch Point system. It leads to lots of difficult decisions.

[PanzersEast]

Funny thing is I fired up Warlock and thought to myself... What a $#%$# looking map  :P


PE

[Kushan]

Quill18 is streaming EU IV right now.

http://www.twitch.tv/quill18

[undercovergeek]

done - just waiting for the install button to appear

[hurryover]

Quill18 is streaming EU IV right now.

http://www.twitch.tv/quill18

It's a pre-release party. I wonder if I should bring my own beer.

[hurryover]

done - just waiting for the install button to appear

What faction are you going to play first? Or are you going tutorials?

I'm excited!

[Jarhead0331]

I have purchased every version of Europa Universalis that has been released. Due to the number of games on my gaming plate, I have hardly played EU3. By the time I got around to playing EU4, EU5 would be coming out.

So despite the urge I have to buy it, I think I'll pass on EU4 for now. It and all of its expansions/DLC will probably be offered in a compilation pack for less than half price within a year.

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