Paradox Interactive games

[Ready_set_go]

You know, I think this might actually make the game more fun... knowing how to play. Thanks

Edit (Forgot to say Edit): With all these tips, I started a new game as England. I think I'm doing fairly well. The year is 1402, and I've annexed an Irish country and forced vassalization of Scotland (This was a mission). Is it normal for technology to take something like 10-20 years?

 

[Dachs]

Yeah, I never understood the school of thought that says "hey guys stumbling around, making an ass of yourself, and driving your country into the ground is the best way to learn". Uh, no, it's mildly embarrassing and makes me feel as though I'm wasting my time.

What I normally would suggest is reading a few good gameplay AARs to get a sense of how people who are good at the game play it, but unfortunately, over 90% (thus violating the famous law) of Paradox game AARs are garbage.

 

[GamezRule]

I would suggest starting a game as Castille or maybe even France to get used to the game. Deal with the navy later.

 

[Antilogic]

Austria and Castile are the two most overpowered countries in my opinion. Both are guaranteed to be monsters in any given game (Bohemia has a tendency to fall apart, France and Burgundy check each other, and England don't really dominate unless they have an overseas empire, especially in the latest versions where conquering Scotland is harder). Austria is probably in a better position since it's not right next to France, and can easily become HRE.

Austria and Castille are strong, but I've found Castille and France check each other. I've always seen Burgundy gobbled up by the French, but I haven't played too much in v5.1 yet (and I was Burgundy in my game, so that throws things off ). Bohemia is usually a snakey-looking beast.

Yeah, I never understood the school of thought that says "hey guys stumbling around, making an ass of yourself, and driving your country into the ground is the best way to learn". Uh, no, it's mildly embarrassing and makes me feel as though I'm wasting my time.

What I normally would suggest is reading a few good gameplay AARs to get a sense of how people who are good at the game play it, but unfortunately, over 90% (thus violating the famous law) of Paradox game AARs are garbage.

Most of the forum AARs are done by Turtledove wannabes. I can only read so much about how all history would change if every leader, irrelevant of stats or personality, was a Machiavellian power-gaming ultra-munchkin.

 

[Maniacal]

I find that Burgundy almost always gets eaten by France, but France usually has a pathetic navy (they have been at war with Austira and Croatia for nearly 100 years (at least?) in my current game, and neither side has a navy left now so they cant actually fight. France also has over 200,000 troops.

 

[Dachs]

Most of the forum AARs are done by Turtledove wannabes. I can only read so much about how all history would change if every leader, irrelevant of stats or personality, was a Machiavellian power-gaming ultra-munchkin.

It's not really that. I don't have a problem with AARs that don't aim to tell a story but to show how to play the game well. Endless victory makes for boring alternate history, but it's kind of the point of most strategy games. Most AARs don't do a very good job of showing how to play the game well, unfortunately. There are a few gems - like the German "Cabals" AAR for DH, or most Rensslaer AARs - which focus on just that, and which do it well and readably. There are a few that tell a decent story that isn't just a lolpwn game (like Ashantai's EU3 story focusing around that timetraveling bi woman, whatserface) and a few that tell a decent story that is (like anything Milites writes).

 

[mechaerik]

There's also (for Victoria II) Syni Kyiva, by Avindian. It may be the wrong game, but it works as a tutorial. badger_ken AARs also occasionally go into explanation of various game mechanics, especially his earlier ones, where you can see he's trying to learn the game.

 

[Ready_set_go]

Do you guys find that you usually play the game on a high speed? The tutorial said there would always be something to do... but I seem to find that, even in wars, I'm at the highest speed with the occasional pause to move troops and such.

 

[Maniacal]

Yep that's how I play, I'm too impatient not to. I'm really glad EUIII (and I assume HoI3 and V2) lets you pause with the spacebar instead of the pause button.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

I'm usually at the highest speed, and when I'm fighting a war I slow it down to the second fastest speed

 

[Ready_set_go]

Now I'm at a loss. It's been 10 years since I vassalized Scotland. I figured I would wait, invest money in them, and they would automatically get annexed by me when I pressed the "Demand Annexation" button. However, they refused. Is there something I'm missing here? I would have simply wiped them out, but I figured this was a better option because it was part of a mission.

Edit : I raised the relationship to 200 with gifts, and they accepted. Nevermind.

Ok I have a new question. How do I keep up with research? I looked at the ledger, and I have only leveled up Government, while Castille and France are almost all at level 4... My only level 4 technology is Government.

 

[Maniacal]

Yeah you need to have good relations with them and be a stable country. When it asks you if you want to do a diplomatic move it will say how likely another country will accept it (Very Likely, Likely, Maybe, Unlikely, Impossible).

 

[Antilogic]

Do you guys find that you usually play the game on a high speed? The tutorial said there would always be something to do... but I seem to find that, even in wars, I'm at the highest speed with the occasional pause to move troops and such.

This. I alternate between pause and high speed.

I also just started as Muscowy, and after thirty years I've managed to take some horde land, annex Ryazan diplomatically, and survived a war with Lithuania. Things are looking up. Bohemia is holding onto the Imperial title, and Burgundy has been reduced to two provinces due to French conquests and a massive Flemish uprising (Flanders has 5 provinces and is a viable state, allied with England and Austria).

 

[Dachs]

Incidentally, I hate Muscovy's name in vanilla so much that I decided to forgo achievements early on just so I wouldn't have to look at "Muscowy" all the time. Worst transliteration ever.

And if you bring up the fact that it's a German-style transliteration...**** off lol

 

[W|M]

What would you have named it?

 

[mechaerik]

Muscovy?

 

[Dachs]

Yeah, that. W isn't pronounced V in English.

 

[MajKira]

in multi player medium speed my friend plays as mostly agreed speed on EU3

 

[Racsoviale]

Regarding westerninizing in EU 3 HttT: I joined a LAN-game some friends had been playing as Mysore because they were biggest in India and I wanted to try something else than a European power. After having spent 50 years correcting the AI's mistakes and its gigantic inflation problem I began westernizing, I got to Muslem tech group pretty fast but now I am stuck and cant westernize any more even though I have a latin neighbour.
Why is this?

Note, I dont even have the westernise decision.

 

[Tee Kay]

It's probably a bug.

See here for details.