EU3 player trying EU2

[unmerged(123225)]

As the title says I bought and played EU3 Complete, and like many of you sticking with EU2, got pretty disappointed by number of things. So now I'm trying EU2 and I sort of miss some of the features that I took for granted. One of this is the ability to see units through political map view. I was wondering if there is any mod or that sort that allows it to be possible. And also, should I try the vanilla first or go straight for the big mod (AGCEEP I think)?

 

[unmerged(95243)]

The new maps make it much better imo. Try WATK, ExtraWATK, WATKABAOI and last but certainly not least MyMAP

 

[unmerged(40707)]

Better start with vanilla anyway, just in order to understand how it works but it shouldn't be difficult for an EU3 player. And... forget vanilla as quickly as possible!

About missing some features, be aware of this (post #5 and #25 in particular for objectives), more than 40 pages of ideas ( :wacko: ), and a team working on it but as Paradox licensee for this project, I have no right to tell more now.

 

[unmerged(123225)]

Thanks guys, I'm trying vanilla game as Castille and I have some questions:
-Do units replenish their strengths as in EU3 or do they stay the same? My army gets smaller and smaller after every battle despite 100% land investment and maxed out manpower
-Are there any hotkeys for the game speed? I play on laptop and tried just about all the possible keys I could think of and no luck...

 

[martmol]

+
-

for speed adjustment
pasue button to..... pause

 

[Mats_SX]

+ and - keys zoom the map. Pressing ctrl also will alter game speed (ctrl+ faster ctrl- slower).

No, units do not replenish. You have exactly what you have and when men die, they die and have to be replaced. You have to recruit new soldiers.

 

[unmerged(123225)]

I must be a terrible noob or something... I played (wasted) all day today playing as Castile starting from the GC thinking I'd have an easy tour of what the game is all about but instead I get pounded to death after couple of decades of miserable survival. I can't seem to make any progress whatsoever in the game due to:
-stability dropping events that constantly force me to allocate my cash towards stability investment instead of research
-Constant gang-rape from all my neighbours that wastes unsurmountable amount of cash to replace my army and even forcing me to take loans. And these are neighbours I've never fought before or deliberately pissed off.
-Now, the above two I can manage and deal with somewhat but the worst part is when my army which is larger, more advanced, fully funded and disciplined loses to an AI army which is almost half the size of mine. All I can say is WTF?! whenever it happens and it happens alot.

Any help for this struggling noob would be appreciated.

 

[unmerged(45764)]

-Now, the above two I can manage and deal with somewhat but the worst part is when my army which is larger, more advanced, fully funded and disciplined loses to an AI army which is almost half the size of mine. All I can say is WTF?! whenever it happens and it happens alot.

At the beginning of the game, the battles are very random - the most efficient way of destroying the enemy is to attack them with cavalry-only armies on plains. I don't think Grand Campaign is the best scenario for the first game - maybe you should try one of the later ones, where countries are bigger and the income higher. Also, the results of the battles are easier to predict.

 

[Monkii-sama]

- Remeber that you don't have to be at +3 in stability all the time. Events usually push stability around so wasting money to always stay at +3 is not needed. Better to tech some trade or infra at the start of the Grand Campaign.
- Trade income is a must when you reach around 1500 and onward. Before that the CoT's are so small and the competition so big so you usually don't make enough money for the investment unless you play as Venice, Genoa, Mecklenburg or other such small trade nation.
- Try to make the battles work for you. Don't attack someone in the mountains, it is better to stack up infantry in good positions and wait for the stupid AI to come knocking. Then move in with cav when their morale is weak and keep knocking the fleeing army around. It pounds their army and gives you WS for each won battle.

And as always, play the latest patch.

 

[unmerged(95243)]

Sounds like you're experiencing "badboy wars". Have annexed Portugal, did you? Or was it Aragon and Navarra? Or all?

Don't know about EU3, but in EU2, you have to manage your "badboy". You will get bb-points for taking territory, annexing countries, declaring wars etc. Once you are over half bb-limit, stability costs will double. (you can check it in diplomatic screen by hovering cursor over reputation)

When you reach 10 bb-points, your neighbours will start hating you and declare war on you when you are weak (e.g. little army, involved in other war). When you reach 20bb, unless you are huge, and everyone fears you, everyone, their pet and their uncle will declare war on you.

 

[unmerged(75851)]

If you've played EU3, just know that there aren't as many tricks and goodies to keeping badboy low or reducing it. (ie, badboy costs more in EU2 plus there is no papal controller or advisors)

It's best to try and use CB's to go to war....

Also, though you can't conquer as much the territory you do conquer is MUCH larger in size than EU3, which kind of makes up for that- if you're looking to transfer territory to Victoria then large chunks of territory in Africa, China or India are probably best.


I'd suggest playing as a big country to get a handle on things first- then try a small country like Ethiopia.

When the game gets too boring or easy you should try a mod like Europa Portugalis or AGCEEP which adds in a ton of historical events.

Aggressiveness is generally best kept at the lowest level or else the computer gets too stuck on fighting one another.

 

[unmerged(123225)]

Sounds like you're experiencing "badboy wars". Have annexed Portugal, did you? Or was it Aragon and Navarra? Or all?

Yes, I've been a bad boy. I annexed Portugal from the beginning then annexed Granada. I never thought it would end up with a witch hunt with me on the stake. Well, I've started a new game as France in Age of Exploration and hopefully it will be better.

In a more interesting topic... what made you guys stick with EU2? I can sort of guess but it'd be interesting to hear your stories.

 

[Wilsonrtf]

It´s a way more elegant and balanced game than EU III. And it´s historical, as well.

 

[unmerged(45764)]

Instead of annexing Portugal by force, it is better to wait until they do some colonising and then diplo-annex them. Kinda gamey, but AI Spain does that pretty often.

I play EU2 because I like the AGCEEP mod, you should definately try it after you get some experience with vanilla.

 

[unmerged(75851)]

There is no papal controller or diplomat advisors- and badboy is more expensive. That's the most important thing to keep in mind.

But hey, look at how fat some of the territories you can acquire are- that helps make up for things.

 

[Mats_SX]

In a more interesting topic... what made you guys stick with EU2? I can sort of guess but it'd be interesting to hear your stories.

This thread features many dedicated players' opinions on that matter. A good read.

 

[unmerged(123225)]

Me again. I just finished my first EU2 game as France today. I managed to colonize entire Canada, bits and pieces of Africa and Asia. During the last few years under Napoleon, I managed to vassalize Spain and England along with most Italian minors and expanded my land into Germany (HRE is gone, other half of Germany is owned by Austria). Overall it was a great game.

I'm wondering about my options now which are:
-play more vanilla games
-try one of the map mods like MyMap or WATK
-try AGCEEP
-or jump straight ahead with AGCEEP+map mod

I also have few additional questions:
-Any other good mods that I should know about that I didn't mention? I did look around a bit and AGCEEP seems to be THE mod for EU2 so I probably wouldn't bother with anything else.
-MyMap or WATK? From what I see MyMap sort of looks better except for how S.America is shaped. But I guess I wouldn't really know unless I actually try them.
-How are non-European, specifically East-Asian countries like China, Korea, Japan represented in the game or the mods? I always thought it would be fun to play as them except that I've been so disappointed with how they were represented in EU3 (especially the euro-centric focus of the game) that I'm almost afraid to try. Seeing that Korea only has 2 provinces I can sort of guess the answer.
-What are 'missions' in the game? I did read that 'Dynamic missions' option is useless so I didn't really pay attention to it.
-Is the Napoleon's Ambition campaign worth playing? Did anyone try? I always wanted to play a game that allowed me to be the Emperor.

 

[Roytje]

Me again. I just finished my first EU2 game as France today. I managed to colonize entire Canada, bits and pieces of Africa and Asia. During the last few years under Napoleon, I managed to vassalize Spain and England along with most Italian minors and expanded my land into Germany (HRE is gone, other half of Germany is owned by Austria). Overall it was a great game.

Awesome.

I'm wondering about my options now which are:
-play more vanilla games
-try one of the map mods like MyMap or WATK
-try AGCEEP
-or jump straight ahead with AGCEEP+map mod

Get AGCEEP. If you can play it on a map mod, than do it. Regular AGCEEP is not compatible with a map mod. I know there was a version of MyMAP that had AGCEEP, but I don't know if it is still available.

-Any other good mods that I should know about that I didn't mention? I did look around a bit and AGCEEP seems to be THE mod for EU2 so I probably wouldn't bother with anything else.

- Europa Portugalis. This mod gives a big boost to the AI and makes the game really challenging. It also adds some events and gives more leaders to all countries
- Age of Imperialism (together with the no time limit mod). This mod lets you play from 1337 to 1900(??) I'm not sure about the dates. It also adds some events.

-MyMap or WATK? From what I see MyMap sort of looks better except for how S.America is shaped. But I guess I wouldn't really know unless I actually try them.

This is something you have to decide for yourself. I though South America was changed in some of the later versions of MyMap. I don't know for sure, because it is a long time ago that I played with one of the map mods.

-How are non-European, specifically East-Asian countries like China, Korea, Japan represented in the game or the mods? I always thought it would be fun to play as them except that I've been so disappointed with how they were represented in EU3 (especially the euro-centric focus of the game) that I'm almost afraid to try. Seeing that Korea only has 2 provinces I can sort of guess the answer.

They are fun to play, but only play them if you have a mod installed. I would recommend playing China or Japan only after you have some experience in the game. China gets massive revolts and Japan is very isolated.

-What are 'missions' in the game? I did read that 'Dynamic missions' option is useless so I didn't really pay attention to it.

Missions can give you something to do in the boring years. Some missions ask you to conquer a province and conquer a country. Some of them are impossible, like getting a marriage with the pope. Don't bother with them.

-Is the Napoleon's Ambition campaign worth playing? Did anyone try? I always wanted to play a game that allowed me to be the Emperor.

I've never tried it.

 

[unmerged(40707)]

Get AGCEEP. If you can play it on a map mod, than do it. Regular AGCEEP is not compatible with a map mod. I know there was a version of MyMAP that had AGCEEP, but I don't know if it is still available.

Extrawatk is AGCEEP ported on WATK map. MyMap has its own map and includes AGCEEP.


@Cidal: be aware MyMap and Extrawatk are based on outdated versions of AGCEEP. You have the choice: extended map or better refined AGCEEP version (at least two years of improvements).

Interregum is available for alternate history too.

AGCEEP and derived mods grant attention to non-european countries. For example, you will be surprised of the situation for Japan in mapmods (and number of provinces that permits a real implementation) or China and many events in AGCEEP. Same for Korea to a lesser extent and you can take a look at India and Africa too.

Be aware of this too.

 

[unmerged(28727)]

In a more interesting topic... what made you guys stick with EU2? I can sort of guess but it'd be interesting to hear your stories.

2 words: AGCEEP + WATK = ExtraWATK.

The vanilla EU2 sucks crap (of course its because I've been spoiled recently) Extra WATK makes this 1000% better. AGCEEP itself was great but it was still on the vanilla map which sucks big time. New Maps with more provinces!

GET EXTRAWATK NOW.