Orders lock in 72 hours.
Tech cap instituted! To prevent roflcopter snowballing, the leading power in a tech category can only tech up once per turn in that category. Everyone else can tech up to that leading powers limit if they have the funds. In other words, if Germany leads the world at Infra 10, they can only tech up to Infra 11; everyone else likewise can tech up only to Infra 11.
Feeling impatient with conversion? You now have the option to convert provinces for a sum of only 10 gold per province. Expensive
but with such a useful ability, it has to be. You can only convert 10% of your territory per turn, or 1, whichever is more.
==Update III: 1553==
Political Map
Religious Map
Stats Sheet
The oceans of the world now run red. The Caribbean has seen an escalation of its conflicts, with Arawak issuing its Kalingo allies an ultimatum to surrender their sovereignty or face destruction. Predictably, the Choctaw and Aztecs instead switched allegiance to the Inca forces, and a war now engulfs the Andes and Caribbean Sea; with Songhai threatening to involve itself in the war as well, the possibility of a war on three continents looms closely.
In Europe, the Germanic War has seen yet another escalation, with the Prussians declaring war on Poland while the rest of Europe was distracted fighting the Palatinate. The Palatinate and its allies have greatly wounded France, which sits on the verge of collapse, though the Papal States have used their allies to increase the size of their territory around the world. The Papacys victory is not entirely without cost, however: a short schism between the Papal States and Sicily has led to the annexation of Sicily into the Papal States, but has likewise seen the renunciation of Catholicism by the Dauphinois, Savoyards and Prussians. Even in states that remain loyal to Rome, people have registered in droves with Lutheran and Catholic Churches; many have dubbed 1553 a Second Reformation with how rapidly Catholic influence has declined in the face of the schisms aftershock.
Polands situation had been one of uncertainty, with the Poles having dominance on the seas to grant them an advantage and turn the tide. They were helped even further by the Lutheran League promising to block foreign fleets from sailing into the Baltic. Now that Prussia has renounced Catholicism, however, the Lutherans find themselves less inclined to draw out the conflict. While Rome continues to argue for a peace between Christians to prevent a powerful Islamic threat from arising, the pleas fall on deaf ears, and it has become apparent Europe will be in a war between the Church and the churches for some time.
The Song, Yakut, and Ottoman Empires all sit at the top of the geopolitical pile. Their involvement has the capacity to make or break any conflict they should involve themselves in.
