Welcome back to our weekly series of development diaries about Europa Universalis. This time we’ll talk about four new features that will be part of the next expansion.

Free Cities of the Holy Roman Empire
Now the Emperor can designate up to seven free cities in the empire. A free city is a one province minor with a minimum of 10 development.

Free cities provide Imperial Authority to the emperor, as well as manpower and income. A Free City also have some rather nice bonuses to their development.

If a Free City gains another province or leave the HRE. they lose the free city status. And a Free City is always a type of Republic, so countries that aren't a Republic will become one upon accepting Free City status.

A Free City is always protected by the Emperor if attacked, so be careful when expanding in the HRE. A Free City can never be the subject of another nation.

Of course, as the ruler of a OPM, you can always refuse the offer of becoming a free city, and the emperor can spend some Imperial Authority to revoke a cities rights.

Remove Electorate
The next expansion lets you get even more control over your electors. If your religion is now official in the Empire, you can now spend IA to remove the Electorate status of your disloyal Electors.

Pause Westernisation
Sometimes while you are westernising, you end up where you need to use your power for something else, like boosting stability, but currently you can’t. Now we have added the option to pause westernisation. You’ll still get the unrest from westernising, but there will be no events spawning while westernisation is paused. Most importantly though is the fact that your power is accumulating again instead of contributing to the westernisation process.

Retire Advisor
Have you ever sat there with a lot of money, but cursing the options you for advisors. In the next expansion, you can now spend the amount of money it would cost to hire an advisor, and permanently retire him. Within a month, if there is available space in your pool of advisors, you will get a random new one in the same category. Maybe you get the +discipline one you wanted..


Next week we’ll focus on Luther and Buddha.

 

[LoriKe]

Each one increases IA, so it'd get a bit ridiculous if you could have 40 of them.

But the really benefit from an imperial city isn't the IA but the overdeveloped provinces wich you will get after the last reform so it would be fine to have a litlle more of them, if not i suppose we could easily mod it, but you know it's another feeling if uyou play the game unchanged( at least for me).

EDIT:Those ninjas

 

[Umega]

Oh, I know you're intentionally hiding Italy from us! I wanna see it so badly!

I can see Piedmont province looks squished by Milan...

 

[eddyr]

Is it disableable then? I have 12 Free Cities in my mod and I would like to keep them all...


San Marino is a joke. Always has been.
Benevento is the Papal exclave within the Kingdom of Naples? If yes, then no.
Never even heard about Pontecorvo, but it's probably extremely small as well.
The ones I mentioned are at least large and important enough to be worthy of having provinces...

Nothing wrong with a bit of historical accuracy. San Marino was a republic alike Ragusa, Venice.. small or not they existed.

 

[jrgen3]

Nothing wrong with a bit of historical accuracy. San Marino was a republic alike Ragusa, Venice.. small or not they existed.

But there's a huge difference between something which is literally the size of a pixel on the map, and something like the Republic of Ragusa. San Marino would have to be magnified at least 30 times just to be barely clickable.

 

[eddyr]

But there's a huge difference between something which is literally the size of a pixel on the map, and something like the Republic of Ragusa. San Marino would have to be magnified at least 30 times just to be barely clickable.

It would involve some work, but on a personal note it's something I would add. Where there's a will there's a way.

 

[Panzergruppe]

Next week we’ll focus on Luther

Yay!

 

[Maeki]

Münster is splitted into 2 provinces, too.

 

[oblio-]

It would involve some work, but on a personal note it's something I would add. Where there's a will there's a way.

There is such a thing as "too much detail". This is after all a grand strategy game, if EU4 would have a representation for each micro state and tribe we'd have 100000 nations.

 

[SchwarzerKaiser]

By the way, it seems as if Franconian culture was added.

 

[jrgen3]

It would involve some work, but on a personal note it's something I would add. Where there's a will there's a way.

I know that's POSSIBLE to add, but it's completely pointless. I know because I have tried. I added it to VeF, because that was the only way to get my suggestion to add Andorra approved, but for the next major version, it's gone! San Marino has done nothing in history besides existing. Let's compare it to Ulm. Ulm, around 1500 had around the same population as San Marino has TODAY and it's area was about 14 times larger than San Marino's...

 

[eddyr]

There is such a thing as "too much detail". This is after all a grand strategy game, if EU4 would have a representation for each micro state and tribe we'd have 100000 nations.

Yeah there are many arguments against, it's just something I like on a historical level. It'd be pretty cool though to have 100000 nations.

 

[eddyr]

I know that's POSSIBLE to add, but it's completely pointless. I know because I have tried. I added it to VeF, because that was the only way to get my suggestion to add Andorra approved, but for the next major version, it's gone! San Marino has done nothing in history besides existing. Let's compare it to Ulm. Ulm, around 1500 had around the same population as San Marino has TODAY and it's area was about 14 times larger than San Marino's...

It's an outrageous decision and you got your point across I know. A historical pedant like myself would have it in though.

 

[Wagonlitz]

Each one increases IA, so it'd get a bit ridiculous if you could have 40 of them.

Good point. Though as stated above free cities can be beneficial for other things too. So perhaps make the IA bonus disappear or get ridiculously small after number 7.

 

[CzokletMuss]

Revamp of the Old World and HRE? At long last!

By the way Wiz, are there any changes to modability of religious reforms from "El Dorado" coming with the new expansion?

 

[iShurik]

Hm I would like to know more about the benefits of beeing a OPM all game long, even with the new mechanics it seems not very exciting.

 

[fletcherreed]

A Free City can never be the subject of another nation.
.

What happens to free cities when the Emperor Revokes the privilegia?

 

[kerannymi]

What happens to free cities when the Emperor Revokes the privilegia?

it's stop being "free city" so it can become a subject of another nation.

 

[petertel123]

Can the Emperor force said OPM into Free City status via war? "I bring you freedom! One way or another..."

only the USA can do that

 

[petertel123]

Is it disableable then? I have 12 Free Cities in my mod and I would like to keep them all...


San Marino is a joke. Always has been.

you've obviously never been there, it's pretty awesome (which says nothing about its non-existant power of course)

 

[jrgen3]

you've obviously never been there, it's pretty awesome (which says nothing about its non-existant power of course)

Of course it's quite cool, but the municipality I live in is literally more than 10 times larger than it. I don't get why it should be added when no other countries of that size have been added to the game.