Hello everyone, and welcome to this weeks development diary for EU4.

This week I want to talk about the loadingscreens of EU4. Our goal is to add to the pool of loadingscreens every time we do a major update, so that you have a large variety of cool pictures to view while the harddrive is booting up the game.

Each picture represents one country in the game, and we do not plan to have more than 1 loading screen for each nation. There is also one of the most iconic leaders of that nation on the picture, as well as a location which represents that nation.

And when making expansions, it is very much important that the country picked fits the theme for it.

Original Game
We shipped with 5 different loading screens, representing about half of the major powers of the era.
Sweden - Gustavus II Adolphus & Stockholm Archipelago
Spain - Isabella & Carribean Islands
England - Elizabeth I & Cliffs of Dover
France - Louis XIV France & French Farmlands
Ottomans - Suleiman the Magnificent & Haga Sophia

Conquest of Paradise
Iroqouis - Hiawatha & Niagara Falls

Wealth of Nations
Venice - Andrea Gritti & City of Venice

Res Publica
Netherlands - Maurice of Nassau & Windmills at Canals

Art of War
Russia - Catherine the Great & Siberia

El Dorado
Aztecs - Montezuma & Tenochtitlan

Common Sense
Austrai - Charles V & The Alps

And for our new 1.13 patch, we are adding a loading screen for Poland, with Jan Sobieski and the Jasna Gora Monastery!

We still aim to have pictures for Portugal, Denmark & Prussia of the europeans majors, but it needs to fit thematically for the expansions. Not that I can think of any important Danish ruler through history.. pokes @Groogy

 

[Tanngnjost]

As for the Danish monarch, I'll make a case for Christian IV:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_IV_of_Denmark

He reigned for 59 years, rebuilt Oslo and named it Christiania (after himself of course), persecuted witches, initiated costly wars and had to cede territory to Sweden. But he sure left an impact.

 

[Wagonlitz]

As for the Danish monarch, I'll make a case for Christian IV:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_IV_of_Denmark

He reigned for 59 years, rebuilt Oslo and named it Christiania (after himself of course), persecuted witches, initiated costly wars and had to cede territory to Sweden. But he sure left an impact.

Read the thread; there are much better alternatives than C 4.

 

[ParadogsGamer]

When will 1.13 become official?

 

[AdamonEU4]

When will 1.13 become official?

Hopefully today, wiz said so in the beta patch thread.

 

[knapp86]

When will 1.13 become official?

Today, most likely. Wiz posted yesterday:

Patch should be live tomorrow assuming no last minute foulups.

 

[Red Khan]

I just want to say a few things.
The background image of Suleiman is just wrong.

The mosque just behind Suleiman isn't Hagia Sophia as you said. Hagia Sofia is the one at the very back. You can see the minarets. Then what's the mosque behind Suleiman?

It's Ortakoy mosque, which didn't even exist in that period of time. As a Turk, I would love to get this fixed as I get a laughter every time I look at Suleiman's image

The background of Suleiman's loading screen is probably from a painting by Russian artist Ivan Aivazovsky (Иван Айвазовский) "View of Constantinople by Moonlight" (Вид Константинополя при лунном освещении) made in 1846, now in Russian Museum (that's actually the name of the museum), Saint Petersburg.

The only thing I don't understand is why some leaders have landscapes in the background and some have buildings.

 

[JPGM22]

I vote for John II of Portugal!

 

[Anreads]

What about Christian II of Denmark with the Old Town of Stockholm as background?

Kristian tyrann !

 

[DukeWilleo1630]

maybe it hasn't been mentioned, but i'd like to see a pope!

 

[KD.]

I'd like to see Lorenzo de' Medici in front of the Ponte Vecchio!

 

[radiatoren]

For Denmark:

Christopher of Bavaria
- Threw down the stupid peasants in Fyn and Vendsyssel and showed them the light of serfdom as well as outlawing weapons on peasants.
- Dropped stupid Viborg and made wonderful Copenhagen the glorious capital.
- Was king in the Kalmar union, though it was weak
- And then of course, this masterpiece of a picture:

Frederick III
- Changed the rule from elective monarchy to absolute monarchy
- Made the first constitution in Europe divinating the king
- Ceded Scania, Halland and Blekinge to Sweden
- Made a treaty with England to steal a Dutch East India fleet instead of assisting his former allies. Unfortunately the Norwegian refugee for the dutch didn't get the message before the english fleet had been perished

Christian VI
- introduced stavnsbaandet, which forced people to stay where they were born, making serfdom much easier
- Deeply pious and very prohibitive, ruling a nation in severe poverty
- Build a lot of buildings for his own pleasure and to show off danish power

... OK, this period is horrible for Denmark.

 

[Wagonlitz]

- Dropped stupid Viborg and made wonderful Copenhagen the glorious capital.

How on Earth is that a good thing? Anyway as far as I remember Viborg never was capital, since there wasn't a fixed capital before Copenhagen.

- Ceded Scania, Halland and Blekinge to Sweden

What? You think losing a third of the country is positive?


As mentioned earlier in the thread Frederik III could be a possibility; but Christian II is much better. We then need the background to be that square in Stockholm...

 

[grommile]

Wagonlitz, I think you missed the last line of radiatoren's post...

 

[Wagonlitz]

Wagonlitz, I think you missed the last line of radiatoren's post...

Ah right. Though there are some genuine good proposals which have been raised earlier in the thread.

 

[radiatoren]

How on Earth is that a good thing? Anyway as far as I remember Viborg never was capital, since there wasn't a fixed capital before Copenhagen.

What? You think losing a third of the country is positive?


As mentioned earlier in the thread Frederik III could be a possibility; but Christian II is much better. We then need the background to be that square in Stockholm...

Christian the Tyrant? The guy getting thrown out of first Sweden and then fleeing Norway and Denmark? Sure, he proposed some very enlightened reforms, but he was too reckless politically to be able to get them through... Apart from the won war ending in the Stockholm Bloodbath his reign wasn't too bright and prosperous. I would prefer boring Christian IV ahead of him, or even better, Frederick V.

 

[Wagonlitz]

Christian the Tyrant?

That is Swedish slander due to how you only could depose a king if he was a tyrant. In reality he wasn't more brutal then other kings of his time; and more foresighted with some of his laws.

And didn't he get his landskabslov through?
Anyway he wasn't that bad.
And has been mentioned repeatedly in this thread Christian IV is a bad choice due to him being the direct cause of our decline as the leader power of Scandinavia. Had he stuck to his ideals of his youth things might well have been different today.

 

[radiatoren]

That is Swedish slander due to how you only could depose a king if he was a tyrant. In reality he wasn't more brutal then other kings of his time; and more foresighted with some of his laws.

And didn't he get his landskabslov through?
Anyway he wasn't that bad.
And has been mentioned repeatedly in this thread Christian IV is a bad choice due to him being the direct cause of our decline as the leader power of Scandinavia. Had he stuck to his ideals of his youth things might well have been different today.

Christian II did get several laws through that bettered the situation he was in, but ultimately he didn't get to a comfortable situation and his work of strenghtening the king and cityfolks on account of church and nobility and trying to weaken the Hanseatic states made him a lot of enemies. And when historians are discussing if a king was manio-depressive, that is not a good sign either. I am unsure about the specific laws you are pointing to.
Christian IV is not a great choice in general, I agree, though his building boom and very expansive beginning was very characteristic.
John would be better as a naval expansion king. Some other kings like Frederick II benefitted immensely from some very good advisors - arguably they were part of the reason for Christian IVs booming start.

 

[Soviet Onion]

What? You think losing a third of the country is positive?

Well, if it's Skåne...

 

[Elite_Marksman]

Damn that guy is classy.
Can't wait to see what you'll do for Prussia. Very likely it will be Frederick II, but I wonder what landscape you'll use.

He'll be in front of a line of Goosesteppers looking badass

 

[Path]

Well, if it's Skåne...

Gräv bort Skåne nu

 

[Will Steel]

Apologies for asking this, but can you please remove or remake that native American (possibly Hiawatha) loading screen? Or at least give that man more clothes or a big, visible mustache?

He looks like a woman. It is worse when he looks like a topless woman hiding her...chest...by long hair locks. You have to look closely to realize he is a man.

And this is where the problem lies. It causes people to wonder what I am looking at. I am forced to turn of my monitor every time there are loading screens, because it can randomly appear at any moment and causes much questioning and raised eyebrows in my family as to the content I am looking at on my PC. This screen haunts me every time I start or play EU4 and that is becoming very annoying.

Is it possible to remove this loading screen entirely? Or do you guys have any plans to give him some clothing so that he doesn't look like a big naked topless woman, and doesn't make my family members give me disappointed looks?

Also, I would love to buy a DLC that has loading screens about renowned eastern, non-European rulers as well. Akbar, Baji Rao I, Kangxi/Qianlong, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Ieyasu etc. for example.