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EU4 - Development Diary - 13th of December 2016

Hello everyone and welcome to yet another development diary for Europa Universalis IV. Today we’ll talk about the biggest feature of our next expansion. A system we called “Ages of Europa Universalis”.

The game is now divided into 4 separate ages, where different rules apply in each age. Each age also have objectives you can fulfill, and abilities you can use use.

  • Age of Discovery => 1400 -1530
  • Age of Reformation => 1530 - 1620
  • Age of Absolutism => 1620 - 1710
  • Age of Revolutions => 1710-1821

Each age have seven objectives that can be fulfilled, and if they are fulfilled, you gain +3 power-projection as well as 3 splendor each month.

Now you may ask? What is splendor then? Well.. Splendor is the age specific currency you use to purchase abilities. There are seven abilities in each age that each country can purchase, and there is also four unique abilities in each age, where countries that historically were powerful in that age can unlock a special ability.

Whenever a new Age arrives, you power projection from objectives start decaying, and you now lose all the abilities you purchased in the previous age.

Today we’ll take a look at the Age of Discovery, which is the first Age.

eu4_140.png


Rules
Religious Rules are valid. (Previously before 1650)
Peasants War, Castilian Civil War, War of the Roses can only happen in this Age.

Objectives
  1. Capital in old world, discover Americas
  2. Own Territory on two continents
  3. Embrace Renaissance and keep it in all state provinces.
  4. Own a 30+ development city
  5. Own 5 Centers of Trade
  6. Have at least 2 personal unions.
  7. Humiliate a Rival
Abilities
  • Allow Edict “Feudal De Jure Law”
  • Transfer vassal wargoal
  • Create a claim bordering claims
  • 50% longer lasting claims.
  • Explorers & Conquistadors do not cost maintenance while on missions.
  • Finished colonies gets +1 random development.
  • Gain +1 attack bonus in your capital's terrain type
  • Ottomans : +33% Siege Ability
  • Portugal : +50 colonial growth
  • Denmark : 30 less liberty desire in subjects.
  • Venice : +50% Trade Power from Ships

Another cool concept we have related to the Age mechanics is the Golden Era. A golden era can be started once per game for a country, as soon as you have fulfilled 3 objectives in an Age, and lasts for 50 years.

A golden age gives you 10% cheaper costs for anything you spend monarch power on, your land and naval morale increase by 10%, and you produce 10% more goods.


The free patch keeps track of which age the game is in, and uses it for triggers for disasters and events.
 
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Would you consider reducing the amount of monarch point we receive in the game? As a safe player, i always end up with too many monarch points espacially in the mid game.

I know there is a lot of conquererant players, i don't want to start a war here. It's just a question.

If you have Common Sense DLC, invest every not needed monarch point into development. As I like blobbing myself, I can tell that, unless I have only Mehmet II-tier rulers I have NEVER enough admin points.
 
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There isn't according to the below post.



Why? Norway was solid as a rock and due to the Norwegian nobility pretty much going extinct from the black death and being replaced by Danish nobility I have a hard time seeing it break away from Denmark unless something really extraordinary happens.
And Sweden didn't break until 1523; and it's arguable whether that one should be railroaded to break, since there were specific circumstances which led to it breaking and without those circumstances happening then it needn't break.

Sweden had several attempts to break free until they finally did. As early as 1448 Sweden elected a king.
In 1470 Sten Sture the old tried to break from Denmark and there was a actual battle which denmark lost.
And some say that from that on it was more a matter of when and not if Sweden would break free.

So basically Denmark lowered local unrest by increasing LA until sweden finally broke free.
 
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No new start date
Ah, so it's the OLD start date, but they've moved it to 1400!

Wait no, that doesn't even...
 
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Dear Johan, I think it's time to take another look at Lucky status. I think it's becoming obsolete with all this new stuff that you are adding to the game. We don't need luck to simulate historically succesful countries any longer. This DLC offers the necessary tools for that.
 
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New theory: Johan was giggling mischievously all the while the confusion was spreading and gaining traction before finally commenting on it before things truly got out of hand. A truly evil deceiver.
 
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Another "super cool fireworks, more OP, extra tax, extra trade power, extra monarch points" feature for only 19.99! Don't be worse than people with DLC, have +10% production and +10% mana in Golden Age! Old mechanics is buggy, acting weird and pretty much 1/3 of the game needs rebalance patch? Who cares! Listen, you can blob faster than any time before as Ottomans, how can you still complain that naval warfare is non-existant, idea groups are still unbalanced, that institution and several other things need a rework! Look at this! Cool, shiny neons! Engine and four wheels are not that important anyway. Old things are already paid for, nobody cares!

Yeah, I am disappointed if 1.20. will not adress problems that whole EU4 community has been screaming for months or longer, but another weird mechanics will be added at the top of weird mechanics until this whole tower will collapse.
 
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If you have Common Sense DLC, invest every not needed monarch point into development. As I like blobbing myself, I can tell that, unless I have only Mehmet II-tier rulers I have NEVER enough admin points.

I feel like its a vicious cycle. Because as i said, i end up having too much monach points, so i have high developped province, too much money/man power/ trade power and so the game become too easy, i personnally like when the game is harder, not punitive but harder

De facto mid and late game are less interesting for me and so it's always about snowballing faster
 
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It would be quite 'easy' (for someone who knows what they're doing!) to mod a 1400 start, which could also push back the spread of feudalism in a few regions - which as far as I'm aware, doesn't have a 'staring province'.. Paris would be a good one for it (maybe giving a production bonus)
 
Would be cool to have convenient historical bookmarks set at the beginning of each Age.
You are aware that you can start at every single day between start and end date? Just because there isn't a bookmark doesn't mean you can't start there.

Sweden had several attempts to break free until they finally did. As early as 1448 Sweden elected a king.
In 1470 Sten Sture the old tried to break from Denmark and there was a actual battle which denmark lost.
They had several attempts true; also IIRC they didn't elect a king, but a "reich keeper" (rigsforstander). And several of the things I talked about which drove the divide (e.g. the adventures into North Germany which harmed the Swedish iron trade) already had started by 1444. But if those things changed I don't see why Sweden should break out. It could very well still happen, but I don't see why it should like the post I replied to claimed.

And some say that from that on it was more a matter of when and not if Sweden would break free.
I disagree with that. Had Vasa not escaped from Kalø for instance, things would have been different. Similarly if the Danish nobility hadn't feared getting beheaded too and hence deposing Christian II. (He actually was a quite enlightened king whose law reforms were quite ahead of their time.)
 
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Yay! Further railroading! - said no one ever.

I was expecting the correct direction Rights of Man took to continue, but that appears not to be the case.
 
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Currently looks like this will be one of those rare expansions I'm not going to buy, but of course I can change my mind later on.
 
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I strongly believe this is overelaboration of evolution mechanics. The game has already institutions that reflect cultural changes in the world.

I think that this gane needs more custom flavor elements instead of more complex mechanics. Custom music depending of you empire delection? (That would be great), special event setup for each cultural group? (Imagine something like "The alliance of the three spears", make a strong alliance within native americans, Azteck/Mayan and Inti south american culture. This trigger special illustration/video and give you special bonus).
 
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