How is your EU3 Game going?

[Osmowstroyer]

Well, to answer your most important question: Minting causes inflation, i.e. making monthly income into ducats. Ideally you should rely exclusively on the yearly tax income for funds and use the monthly income for technology and stability investments.

This can be quite hard when colonising which is very expensive and some inflation in the early game can be necessary but 10% in 1423 is far too much. Mouse over the minting slider to see how much inflation increases or decreases per year.

Inflation can be caused by gold mines too, but this is only a problem for non-western nations, and by events. It can be reduced via centralisation, masters of mint, the national bank and some special building later in the game I think.

Well, I know that minting rise inflation, but, because of my stupid strategy, the census taxes were low and such. Now I am playing as castille and I am going quite good.

 

[Antilogic]

early game i find statesmen more useful, midgame master of mint, lategame diplomat

If I can, I take a statesman and a master of the mint with my first two adviser slots. The third is a flex, depends on what I can get. The +tech guys are a pretty good deal for most of the game unless you have a massive economy.

 

[civ_king]

If I can, I take a statesman and a master of the mint with my first two adviser slots. The third is a flex, depends on what I can get. The +tech guys are a pretty good deal for most of the game unless you have a massive economy.

Ah, I normally go with Artist, Mom and Philosopher

 

[chegel]

Philosophers are the most important for me for the whole game. In the very beginning I like those +tech advisors for government, production and sometimes trade. Masters of mint are for the early midgame after having some economy to speak of or for countries with free trade right from the start. Artists are good for some planned stability hits (change of government, religion, westernization etc.) and they are essential when taking the Patrons of the Arts national idea. Those guys that give military tradition are always great too.

 

[Nintz]

I keep a Mint employed 24/7. Even if he has to be lvl. 2 . I find them just too useful.

Other than that, I usually take a trade advisor early game to hit QFTNW before other nations, and maybe a statesman, though not usually. I tend to replace them with various other advisers based on my plans. A navigator, for example.

Artists, Philosophers, and Grand Marshalls I use as needed. Which is to say, not very often. My stability is almost never a problem (unless I am changing government or something) and prestige tends to at least stay neutral if I can secure a fur trading bonus. Legitimacy I've had problems with on occasion, such as when Holland or Sweden is forced to end their PU and have a nobody take the throne.

I actually am having quite a bit of success with aldermen recently. A passive bonus of +5% to production was huge when my economy was overwhelmingly production based.

 

[Quintillus]

How did you manage? Didn't you get spammed every damn day with massive revolts in random provinces?

I turned off alerts about rebels and battles, and automated my armies for rebel hunting. I also had a gigantic army at full maintenance fighting them - IIRC it was between 500,000 and 600,000. In sufficiently large stacks, they almost never were vanquished, and it was late enough in the game that supply limits were high.

However, it was rather boring. My stability was at -3 all the time. At first that was because of very frequent stability hits due to uber-infamy, but it stayed there because it cost about a gazillion ducats (actually more like 78,000?) to gain a stability point, because of a gigantic increase to costs because of infamy. So, obviously, I didn't try to invest in stability. When there were wars, I'd just take a hundred thousand troops or so for foreign wars, and leave the rest bashing rebels. But a lot of the time there weren't wars, as after being beaten thoroughly a few times, my neighbors stopped declaring war.

My tech level did fall from top-notch to middling-among-Latins because of this, though. Not so much because of inflation at 20%, but because my economy tanked without trade income and with considerably lower tax revenue.

Well, I have National Bank and Mint Master (reduces 0.12), in total would be 0.22, that's quite a lot, but, it doesn't serve me. I am in the year 1423, so I must start a new game. Too bad.

Well, not necessarily. The trajectory is quite bad - you are on pace for 176% inflation by the end of the game, which would be quite impressive. However, you aren't in dangerous territory yet - you just can't keep having it rise at that rate for too many more decades. 10% wouldn't concern me, and after all, you've probably gained some benefits from that. I've played with 20% for an extended time before, and it isn't that noticeable (harder to lead in tech, but you won't be left in the dust). The issue is the rate isn't sustainable - you'd have almost 42% in 1500, which would be having a major economic/technological impact (and at that point, also make it considerably harder to keep it in check).

Also, although I haven't played as Portugal or Castille, I'm pretty sure Castille starts off in a much stronger position. Your economic stewardship may be better, too, but it'll probably look quite a bit better regardless as Castille.

 

[Angst]

<artists> are essential when taking the Patrons of the Arts national idea. Those guys that give military tradition are always great too.

Why?

5

also in my current scotland game i have 30% inflation, partly due to poor planning, but still, i'm beating up the world

 

[Racsoviale]

Yeah high inflation doesn't really matter if you are beating up the entire world anyways.

 

[chegel]

Why?

5

also in my current scotland game i have 30% inflation, partly due to poor planning, but still, i'm beating up the world

Without an artist the event "Prospering Times" won't trigger. This is the one where you have to choose between getting a university or fine arts academy for 500 ducats or 200 ducats cash.

 

[Nintz]

That's useful, but I for one don't think it is mandatory by any means. A strong economy based off trade and production can get 500 pretty quickly. For example, the Navarra game I posted last page, I could get that in one month of minting. Thus, for that game, the artist doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

 

[chegel]

Well, but this very event is the main reason to take this idea in the first place; at least in my opinion.

I made a game as Navarra myself some time ago, if you would like to see the end result: Here you go.

 

[Nintz]

Which idea are you referring to exactly?

 

[chegel]

Which idea are you referring to exactly?

Patron of the Arts.

This here is the event:

Spoiler from empires.txt :

# Prospering times
country_event = {

	id = 1075
	
	trigger = {
		num_of_cities = 25
		idea = patron_of_art
		advisor = artist
		treasury = 500
		stability = 1
	}

	mean_time_to_happen = {
		months = 240

		modifier = {
			factor = 0.9
			NOT = { innovative_narrowminded = -2 }
		}
		modifier = {
			factor = 0.9
			NOT = { innovative_narrowminded = -3 }
		}
		modifier = {
			factor = 0.9
			NOT = { innovative_narrowminded = -4 }
		}
		modifier = {
			factor = 0.9
			advisor = philosopher
		}
		modifier = {
			factor = 0.9
			artist = 6
		}
		modifier = {
			factor = 0.9
			artist = 5
		}
		modifier = {
			factor = 1.1
			NOT = { artist = 3 }
		}
		modifier = {
			factor = 0.9
			stability = 2
		}
		modifier = {
			factor = 0.9
			stability = 3
		}
	}

	title = "EVTNAME1075"
	desc = "EVTDESC1075"

	option = {
		name = "EVTOPTA1075"			# Invest in a university
		ai_chance = { factor = 50 }
		treasury = -500
		random_owned = {
			limit = {
				NOT = { has_building = fine_arts_academy }
				NOT = { has_building = university }
				NOT = { has_building = refinery }
				NOT = { has_building = wharf }
				NOT = { has_building = weapons }
				NOT = { has_building = textile }
				is_colony = no
			}
			add_building = university
		}		
	}
	option = {
		name = "EVTOPTB1075"			# Invest in a fine arts academy
		ai_chance = { factor = 30 }
		treasury = -500
		random_owned = {
			limit = {
				NOT = { has_building = fine_arts_academy }
				NOT = { has_building = university }
				NOT = { has_building = refinery }
				NOT = { has_building = wharf }
				NOT = { has_building = weapons }
				NOT = { has_building = textile }
				is_colony = no
			}
			add_building = fine_arts_academy
		}
	}
	option = {
		name = "EVTOPTC1075"			# Investments are not an option at this stage.
		ai_chance = { factor = 20 }
		treasury = 200		
	}
}

 

[Osmowstroyer]

Do you play Divine Wind, or just the vanilla one?

 

[duralict]

I'm having a big problem where I can't seem to get casus belli to show up. At the moment I have two against Granada - the Reconquista, and they also sent me an insult, which is showing up as a little notification at the top of the screen. Only problem is, when I go to declare war, the casus belli selection list doesn't appear, and neither do the options about calling in allies. Here's a screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/o5p6d.png

What am I doing wrong?

 

[NBAfan]

I'm having a big problem where I can't seem to get casus belli to show up. At the moment I have two against Granada - the Reconquista, and they also sent me an insult, which is showing up as a little notification at the top of the screen. Only problem is, when I go to declare war, the casus belli selection list doesn't appear, and neither do the options about calling in allies. Here's a screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/o5p6d.png

What am I doing wrong?

You're only playing "Complete", which really isn't complete. You need to get the HTTT expansion to get the CBs.

 

[duralict]

You're only playing "Complete", which really isn't complete. You need to get the HTTT expansion to get the CBs.

Well, the game isn't really playable without the CBs available because everything's weighted assuming I can make use of them (and they're still showing up, and other factions are using them). Does that mean that the game's completely broken without buying the expansions (which, incidentally, aren't available for Mac), or is there a workaround?

 

[Racsoviale]

try to reload the game. sometimes stuff gets stuck. it can help to exit game and enter it again..

 

[chegel]

But you are declaring with a casus belli else there would be another -2. Before the system was improved you either had some casus belli against a nation and could declare war without stability penalty, besides those for royal marriages, breaking a truce etc. of course, or you did not and would lose some stability. You could not decide which casus belli you would use and I think it did not even matter.

I think allies would decide to join you or not without you having to ask them.

Better get HttT and DW, those improve the game extremely.

 

[NedimNapoleon]

MEIOU keeps crashing on exactly the 5th of January 1451 (in my Bosnia campaign). If I manage to save on that day before it crashes, I reload, and the game crahses 1-2 days later (6-7th) and I can continue this process forever.