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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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You know how to get them to stop cranking out DLC?

Stop buying it.
 
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Hah - noone's complaining about the amount of DLC, but the price.
The post I was responding to was explicitly complaining about the rate of production.
RoM wasn't worth 20 eurolleridoos. It's not on the same level as Art of War in terms of content at all.
Being a non-essential good, if it met or exceeded their projections for full-price sales when sold at twenty moneys, then the market has effectively told them that it was worth twenty moneys.

If the individuals comprising the market are unhappy with this, they know what to do.
 
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Is this another 20 € patch for some nonsense mechanic?

Here is a total of the game and DLC cost that i have so far:
The game E.U. IV - 40 €
Mare Nostrum - 15 €
Cossacks - 20 €
Common Sense - 15 €
El Dorado - 15 €
Art of War - 20 €
Conquest of Paradise - 15 €
Wealth of Nations - 10 €
Res Publica - 5 €
American Dream - 5 €
Digital Extream Edition - 8 €
Rights of man - 20 €

The total is 188 € + some other units dlc (The total DLC cost is 250 €) and sometime you can have a surprise with a missing localisation or a bug. Do you know any game that cost this much? That might be the minimum monthly wage in some countries!

Now, you guys just released the Denmark patch and you are announcing another patch ?! But we didn't have time to finish a campaign and we just didn't ask for an update.
Or why don't you do a poll on what nations we like you to improve or what mechanic (Orthodox religion or maybe the trade that haven't got improved since the release or add more goods)

I hope you will think about this to fast patches or just think about EU5!
Most that are actively developed? Paradox could have gone the other path of separate games so you would have to pay more to keep up instead of just playing new patches as they update without buying any DLC. Certainly none of them are required though CoP really changes things for native americans and due institutions CS became close which is my current major criticism of the way they went about things, besides not fixing bugs anyway.

And really I have most of that and I paid... *makes conversion* about 15€, to get all the rest including the graphics, sound and such that I would never do(unless I won the lottery or something) would cost about that too so adding up to around 30€ for everything.

Things in general not just games are expensive because people buy them at that price, if they didn't most products would have a massive drop in price. It is a serious issue for food to give an example where we don't have a choice but for non-essential things...
 
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Is this another 20 € patch for some nonsense mechanic?

Here is a total of the game and DLC cost that i have so far:
The game EU4 - 40 €
Mare Nostrum - 15 €
Cossacks - 20 €
Common Sense - 15 €
El Dorado - 15 €
Art of War - 20 €
Conquest of Paradise - 15 €
Wealth of Nations - 10 €
Res Publica - 5 €
American Dream - 5 €
Digital Extream Edition - 8 €
Rights of man - 20 €

The total is 188 € + some other units dlc (The overall DLC cost is 250 €) and sometime you can have a surprise with a missing localisation, a bug or a crash. Do you know any game that cost this much? For just a game is a little insane, that might be the minimum monthly wage in some countries!

Now, you guys just released the Denmark patch and you are announcing another patch ?! But we didn't have time to finish a campaign and we just didn't ask for an update.
Or why don't you do a poll on what nations we like you to improve or what mechanic (Orthodox religion or maybe the trade that haven't got improved since the release or add more goods)

I hope you will think about this to fast patches or just think about EU5!

It's simple. The market has spoken. So obviously there is demand for this and many, many players don't think that is too much for a game. The money spent per hours of entertainment ratio is still way higher than with most other forms of entertainment (or even games), by the way.

If you personally didn't have time to finish a campaign and you personally didn't "ask for an update", who the hell cares? You can finish your campaign and you don't have to update your game. Just keep playing. Ignore the updates and DLCs if you want if you're happier with the previous version of the game.

The sense of entitlement some people have is amazing. You don't have to buy anything, and even if you prefer the devs spent their time differently or price their products differently etc., it's obvious that most others disagree with you because EU4 has been and continues to be a smashing financial success. That's the real world for you. Ducats incentivize developers, not some random dude on a forum. If enough random dudes like what the devs are doing, that's how they get the ducats and that's how life works.
 
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It's simple. The market has spoken. So obviously there is demand for this and many, many players don't think that is too much for a game. The money spent per hours of entertainment ratio is still way higher than with most other forms of entertainment (or even games), by the way.

If you personally didn't have time to finish a campaign and you personally didn't "ask for an update", who the hell cares? You can finish your campaign and you don't have to update your game. Just keep playing. Ignore the updates and DLCs if you want if you're happier with the previous version of the game.

The sense of entitlement some people have is amazing. You don't have to buy anything, and even if you prefer the devs spent their time differently or price their products differently etc., it's obvious that most others disagree with you because EU4 has been and continues to be a smashing financial success. That's the real world for you. Ducats incentivize developers, not some random dude on a forum. If enough random dudes like what the devs are doing, that's how they get the ducats and that's how life works.

Well, since i played 3153 hours of EU4 and i bought almost all the DLC, i care how the game is developing and i hope my opinion cares for the developers. Also, the amount of patches stoped me making mods and others as well. If you think like "who the hell cares" about my point it's obvious that you don't know how to respect a client that is buying a product.
 
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It's simple. The market has spoken. So obviously there is demand for this and many, many players don't think that is too much for a game. The money spent per hours of entertainment ratio is still way higher than with most other forms of entertainment (or even games), by the way.

If you personally didn't have time to finish a campaign and you personally didn't "ask for an update", who the hell cares? You can finish your campaign and you don't have to update your game. Just keep playing. Ignore the updates and DLCs if you want if you're happier with the previous version of the game.

The sense of entitlement some people have is amazing. You don't have to buy anything, and even if you prefer the devs spent their time differently or price their products differently etc., it's obvious that most others disagree with you because EU4 has been and continues to be a smashing financial success. That's the real world for you. Ducats incentivize developers, not some random dude on a forum. If enough random dudes like what the devs are doing, that's how they get the ducats and that's how life works.
What you're saying is essentially that if something earns money, it is good. We're entitled and our opinions don't matter because the direction of the game is objectively good due to the game getting more money.

Yeah, just, no. I don't agree with the direction of the game and I won't like it just because it makes money.

Why do I care about the DLC? I have bought everything thus far, because I love the game and want to support it, but also because not buying DLC is mostly seen upon as the unfinished game; what the game isn't. Playing with all current DLC that affect the game is the "real" "current version", so asking someone like me with like 2000 hours in the game to skip out on one is out of the question.

I am invested, and want the game to go in a direction I enjoy, because I don't want to quit playing it. EU4 is turning into a game I'm less and less interested in playing, now whyever would I not speak up against that is beyond me.
 
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@Johan
Two points:
1. What do we do with Excess splendor? As in, if I were to get all the bonuses of an age, where do I throw my excess splendor? Does it just become useless? Can I turn it into MP or PP or Prestige or Ducats(Not sure how that last one would work). Maybe legitimacy, Dip rep, something?
2. When can we expect this to be released by? (Any estimates?) Q1/Q2/Q3 of 2017?
 
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Horrible, disgusting, atrocious, retarded, stupid, arcadish, nullifying, ridiculous, worrying and wasteful are all words I would use to describe this absolutely absurd development diary.

I have bought every single expansion, registered over 1500 hours on EU4 and countless more on EU3 and supported you, Paradox, every step of the way. HOWEVER EU has always been a strategy game, NOT an arcade game, not a bonus filled garbage game. A game where history mixed with the ability to manipulate created a masterpiece. Implementing features such as these which gives players a specific goal will only ruin the experience of creating the world as you see fit. I will not be buying this expansion in this state, and neither will my 75+ friends.

I will encourage them all to contact their own personal friend groups and refrain from the purchase themselves which I hope could equate to hundreds if not thousands of players after networking takes full effect, of course this means that number times ten $ out of your bottom line which we all know is all you care about as of late as much as I still love your products...Regardless maybe the prospect of a bankrupt expansion will persuade you from pursuing this disaster and instead force you to create a masterpiece as you have done so well in the past.

Very, very VERY disappointment Paradox this is a HORRENDOUS idea.
 
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I like the concept of golden age and dividing the game in eras. It will give me more things to do that otherwise I never do.

Me too. The idea of dividing the game into a series of periods which represent major changes that happened to the world, and the spread of those changes is a cool idea. Good thing they already introduced the concept with institutions, and effectively I might add.

The whole 'ages' thing seems like it was developed in parallel to the rights of man team. They got the same memo, but didn't realize what the other group were doing, so now we end up with two separate mechanics, both tackling similar concepts, but neither interacting. Meanwhile. while one is an organic mechanism that can dynamically represents the way the game has diverged from history, the other is a arbitrary railroad that gives some benefits to a few specific (already fleshed out) countries.

Also, while the concept of a golden age is interesting and all, they are already effectively in the game via dynamic means. All this new mechanic does is add in an official golden age from completing a couple of random tasks.
 
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That post reads really over the top to the point comparisons to internet tough guy come up though it doesn't quite fit the norm. If you meant to do that then carry on but if you didn't then your point might benefit from being a bit less over the top.
Me too. The idea of dividing the game into a series of periods which represent major changes that happened to the world, and the spread of those changes is a cool idea. Good thing they already introduced the concept with institutions, and effectively I might add.

The whole 'ages' thing seems like it was developed in parallel to the rights of man team. They got the same memo, but didn't realize what the other group were doing, so now we end up with two separate mechanics, both tackling similar concepts, but neither interacting. Meanwhile. while one is an organic mechanism that can dynamically represents the way the game has diverged from history, the other is a arbitrary railroad that gives some benefits to a few specific (already fleshed out) countries.

Also, while the concept of a golden age is interesting and all, they are already effectively in the game via dynamic means. All this new mechanic does is add in an official golden age from completing a couple of random tasks.
I agree, the suggestion of tying ages to institutions and being country-based seems like a significantly better way to do this than described in the dev diary. Game mechanics should interact with each other directly not exist as if in limbo.
 
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Is this another 20 € patch for some nonsense mechanic?

Here is a total of the game and DLC cost that i have so far:
The game EU4 - 40 €
Mare Nostrum - 15 €
Cossacks - 20 €
Common Sense - 15 €
El Dorado - 15 €
Art of War - 20 €
Conquest of Paradise - 15 €
Wealth of Nations - 10 €
Res Publica - 5 €
American Dream - 5 €
Digital Extream Edition - 8 €
Rights of man - 20 €

The total is 188 € + some other units dlc (The overall DLC cost is 250 €) and sometime you can have a surprise with a missing localisation, a bug or a crash. Do you know any game that cost this much? For just a game is a little insane, that might be the minimum monthly wage in some countries!

Now, you guys just released the Denmark patch and you are announcing another patch ?! But we didn't have time to finish a campaign and we just didn't ask for an update.
Or why don't you do a poll on what nations we like you to improve or what mechanic (Orthodox religion or maybe the trade that haven't got improved since the release or add more goods)

I hope you will think about this to fast patches or just think about EU5!

Oh look. It's lunch money police here to rescue us!

188 euros nothing spread out over three years.

As for as hobbies go, EU4 will hardly break your bank.
 
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Is this another 20 € patch for some nonsense mechanic?

Here is a total of the game and DLC cost that i have so far:
The game EU4 - 40 €
Mare Nostrum - 15 €
Cossacks - 20 €
Common Sense - 15 €
El Dorado - 15 €
Art of War - 20 €
Conquest of Paradise - 15 €
Wealth of Nations - 10 €
Res Publica - 5 €
American Dream - 5 €
Digital Extream Edition - 8 €
Rights of man - 20 €

The total is 188 € + some other units dlc (The overall DLC cost is 250 €) and sometime you can have a surprise with a missing localisation, a bug or a crash. Do you know any game that cost this much? For just a game is a little insane, that might be the minimum monthly wage in some countries!

Now, you guys just released the Denmark patch and you are announcing another patch ?! But we didn't have time to finish a campaign and we just didn't ask for an update.
Or why don't you do a poll on what nations we like you to improve or what mechanic (Orthodox religion or maybe the trade that haven't got improved since the release or add more goods)

I hope you will think about this to fast patches or just think about EU5!

Some DLCs were better than others, true, but i'd rather have more averagely priced DLCs and keep the game fresh and good than forgotten. If there were no free patches and DLCs the game would be mostly dead by now and people would ask for eu5.

If you think that eu5 would be better than eu4 ... you are dead wrong. New game would have 50% less content than this one and it would take at least a year of expansions to catch up to eu4 level. You can use Civilization games as good example - 60 euro price wth.. then we can have 1 or 2 expansion in a year or two and everyone forgets about the game soon enough. If there were no mods game would be broken, especially multiplayer. AI is quite bad and you can expect no patches to it for a year..

Also, about DLC price, you can buy most of these at 75% discount now for christmas...
 
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I agree, the suggestion of tying ages to institutions and being country-based seems like a significantly better way to do this than described in the dev diary. Game mechanics should interact with each other directly not exist as if in limbo.

I fully agree on that. We can end with two different game mechanics that give similar things (boosts) but which dont interactuate with each other. Concepts should be clarified to avoid confusion.
 
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