pardox games

[CooLDoG]

I love all of them. Can't wait for HoI4. Anyone else play their grand strategy games?

[Sudo_Nym]

Yeah, I've played a lot of CK2, but I play it as more of an RPG than a Grand Strategy; I like concerning myself in the affairs of a medieval family and the like more than trying to conquer the world.

Recently been trying to get into EUIV, but there's a lot of stuff to figure out. Playing as Portugal, trying to trade and colonize, and I have no idea how to optimize trade income and the like. Got a colonist on Cape Verde, though, which should get me to the Carribean and Brazil, I hope.

[CooLDoG]

Don't collect in your home trade node, instead send them to steer trade there. It will auto-collect at your node. The amount of trade that is steered is exactly = %of your power in node * money. Light ships boost this and are key to getting it away from the goddamn savage natives.

You can stop natives from destroying your colonies by putting an army on it. Also, you do not NEED to have a colonist active on a site in order for the settlers to increase. I try to keep the settlers per year at around 75-100 before I stop having my colonists there all the time.

Also, army composition is important. Don't have more cavalry or cannons than infantry otherwise you get a huge penalty.

I have about 200 hours into eu4 and I have most of the mechanics figured out, if you have any questions, just ask...

[CooLDoG]

also, the new beta patch hella buffed light ships for trade steering...

[TheButtonmen]

The amount of hours I spent on EU3 would disgust you.

I have about 200 hours into eu4

lol casual

[Sudo_Nym]

I know you automatically collect at your home port, yet it seems that you get more merchant power from collecting in your home port; i.e. I get more money by collecting than I get by steering. Besides Safi isn't really worth much. I figure that once colonizing happens, and the Carribean and Gold Coast start forwarding to Seville, it'll become more useful to steer trade. Also, Spain is taking half the money from Seville anyway, so I don't know what's going on.

[KaleiÐoscøpe]

Eu4 is addictive as shit... If it weren't for a full time job, I'd have more then my current 274 hours in it

[mykonian]

checked what my time in it was, but CD: 270 hours is ~2 campaigns.

I'm currently having two issues with the game. One, the campaign I had became a grind. Politically on the mainland I was locked in a bigger structure that I had trouble breaking out of (but which benefitted me as it made sure I never had to face the French alone). On the water otoh everything worked. The first is fair, but it meant in the near future there weren't any concrete things to do than colonising more and capturing more overseas.

The second is that I followed a timeline I was rather familiar with, first internal Dutch politics and the formation of it, later external and the bashing of heads with the big nations. Which was great, so many things and mechanisms were about right, politically, in trade. But that means that starting a new campaign (which would have to be some other nation) is bound to be less fun, as I won't be surprised by things happening as I knew them in real life. This annoys me. So currently I'm reading up on general history and maybe maybe I'll play the game again.

[CooLDoG]

after I blob out and the game becomes inevitable I just restart... So I have played multiple nations in the 200 hours...

[CooLDoG]

I know you automatically collect at your home port, yet it seems that you get more merchant power from collecting in your home port; i.e. I get more money by collecting than I get by steering. Besides Safi isn't really worth much. I figure that once colonizing happens, and the Carribean and Gold Coast start forwarding to Seville, it'll become more useful to steer trade. Also, Spain is taking half the money from Seville anyway, so I don't know what's going on.

merchants do boost your trade power. Early in the game it is viable to do this, but later you will want to reassign.

[TheButtonmen]

Austria is by far my favourite country, endless possibilities. They're also an incredibly strong nation making them a nice starting country for people to try after their initial learning games. You can mess around with becoming a trading superpower by going south and towards italy, try to setup a unified HRE, dismantle the HRE and fold the various city states into Austria and blob up, work with Hungary against the Ottomans and get into the middle east / africa and so on. Perfectly placed, strong enough to stand alone and amazing diplomatic opportunities and skills.

[Sudo_Nym]

I always have trouble with a country like Austria, at least in CKII. I like playing as a smaller nation and growing, not starting from a position of strength. I'd be playing as a one-province nation like I do in CKII, except that I've been told that's a bad idea for starting in EUIV.

[TheButtonmen]

I've played much much more EU then CK so your mileage may vary however you can pilot any nation (including OPM's) into world domination in EU if you're willing to put the time in however I'd start with larger ones for sure as OPM has a lot more down time where you're just waiting around then larger ones.

[mykonian]

I enjoyed being Frysland. You start in a backwater, you only have one big player around that otoh isn't really interested in you, so your main enemies are the other small nations close by who have the same idea. Then there's the hinterland of eastern Frisia which you can influence a little but don't really have the ability to dominate yet.

I mean, that's how it should be!

Also, level of detail: the ships had actually proper Frisian names. Some only the cities, but correctly spelled. Seriously amazing. I wonder what other cool stuff they put into the game.

[Sudo_Nym]

If nothing else, I really appreciate the level of detail they put into researching the various places, names, and histories of the countries.

I'm really tempted to try and take up a nation in the HRE, just to see what I can make of it, difficulty be damned. I do think it'll be hard to colonize anything as Prussia, though.

[KaleiÐoscøpe]

Yeah, creating Prussia is rough.

I decided to try Ming and now I get why it often falls apart. If your stability is negative rebels will pop everywhere

[theelkspeaks]

Played many many hours of EU3 and Magicka, my SO keeps trying to get me into CK II but it hasn't stuck yet. Also played a little of Cities:Skylines (another of SO's favorites), but not much yet.

[CooLDoG]

CooLDoGlandia is born!


trying to see if I can survive the big blue blob, probably will be able to if Brittany does not pick up an early ally. Went for military ideas and tech costs early so that I can compensate for my small size, interest to see how it works out.

Also, I feel like Austria is too easy unless you have a stupid goal in mind, for example own the new world.

edit: fuck the english:

[CooLDoG]

in the new patch France is pretty weak now. Evidence:


granted I had some help, but it seems like that if they lose one war then they are pretty much done for the rest of the game because everyone else will just start to attack them endlessly.

[Sudo_Nym]

Is that better or worse than blobbing?

[CooLDoG]

I don't know. From what I have heard on reddit and some youtubers (who talk to the devs about game balance) is that a weaker France leads to some more interesting situations. Although it increases border gore (just look at that shit up there) there a more, smaller power players now. It also removed the rather one dimensional strategy of ally France win game. On the other hand it means that Europe as a whole gets weaker due to the smaller overall powers so potentially the Ottomans have an easier go up north. Smaller nations have an easier go though, so it may balance out.

Right now I think that Poland is the strongest ally now, just my opinion...

[CooLDoG]

I want to do some testing to see if it always turns out this way or if me instigating multiple wars on France was the main cause.

[TheButtonmen]

Have you disabled lucky nations?

[CooLDoG]

^excelent point. I like to turn it on random. That could have potentially done it. HOWEVER, the fact that Castile and England (both lucky) usually end up snagging a piece of France seems to indicate that more is going on.

[CooLDoG]

just checked, for this game I set lucky nations to historical.