Europa Universalis IV is a grand strategyvideo game in the Europa Universalis series, developed by Paradox Development Studio[2][3] and published by Paradox Interactive.[4] The game was released on 13 August 2013.[5] It is a strategy game where players can control a nation from the Late Middle Ages through the Early modern period (1444 to 1821 AD),[6] conducting trade, administration, diplomacy, colonization and warfare.
How To Play Austria Eu4
Gameplay[edit]
The game has been formed to begin historically, with real events occurring in real time. The game itself is an interactive map of Earth divided into the provinces that compose nations. Each of these provinces contribute to their country either positively or negatively, as provinces can both provide resources to a nation and serve as a point of unrest and rebellion. The gameplay requires the player to lead a nation by finding a balance of military, diplomacy and economy. The player does so through their choices as sovereign of their nation, and through the spending of resources available to them: Prestige, Stability, Gold (Ducats), Manpower, Legitimacy for Monarchies, Republican Tradition for Republics, Devotion for Theocracies, Horde Unity for Hordes and Monarch Power (Administrative, Diplomatic, Military).
Players can choose to conquer the world by military might, become a colonial superpower, establish trade dominance, etc as hundreds of different nations. These nations range alphabetically from Aachen to Zuni. [7]The game is a sandbox environment, and while there is no strict rule on winning the game, a loss occurs when the player's nation is removed, or annexed, from the map. Diplomacy is a large aspect of the game, as creating alliances, (or vassal states, and tributaries), improving opinions, and preventing defensive coalitions are vital to a player’s survival. Espionage can also be employed against enemy states in order to claim their territory, or incite rebellion in their provinces, along with other dubious ends. Combat can be waged on both land and sea, during which the game attempts to simulate real world factors such as morale, discipline, varying unit types with associated strengths and weaknesses, competency of leaders, terrain and supply lines.
Many major religions are present in the game and can provide distinct bonuses to their practitioners. Players can employ missionaries to convert their provinces or can engage in policies of universal religious freedom. For example, the Catholic faith makes use of the Papacy, which can allow a nation to have control over the Pope or to use their influence for other rewards. Technological advancements are invested in over time, and will require the expense of monarch points.
Gameplay is influenced by random events that arise every so often for the player. These events can be either helpful or harmful. Some of these random events are driven by an individual country's history, while some can apply to any country and serve generally to enhance the 'flavor' of the game. Players can choose to play single player mode versus the AI, or multiplayer over a LAN or the Internet against a mix of human and AI opponents. Single player also has the option of 'Ironman' mode, which locks several settings such as difficulty, and removes the control of saving the game from the player. This means that any mistakes are irreversible. It is, however, the only way to receive any of the game's many achievements.
Development[edit]
Early design discussions for Europa Universalis 4 began shortly after the December 2010 release of Divine Wind, the final DLC for Europa Universalis 3[8] with development beginning in earnest in about September 2011.[9] It was first announced to the public in August 2012, to coincide with a showing at that year's Gamescom,[10] after having been teased under the codename of 'Project Truman'.[11]
Throughout the game's development, Paradox Development Studio released weekly 'developer diaries' via their online forums, in which they detailed some feature of the game's development.[12] These included information about design philosophy, game mechanics that were being implemented, and features from Europa Universalis 3 that were being removed.
During its development, Europa Universalis 4 also had a greater priority given to stability and quality control than had previous games in the series. There had previously been a perception that Paradox's games were not worth buying until several updates or expansions had fixed stability issues. Studio CEO, Fred Wester described this perception as being like 'a slap in the face', motivating them to improve.[13] Another of Paradox's major goals was to retain the depth and complexity of their earlier grand strategy games, while making them easier for a player to interact with.[14]
Prior to release, a preview version of the game was showcased through let's plays[15] and via a multiplayer event for journalists.[16]. A playable demo of the game was released on Steam on 9 August 2013 with the game itself being released on 13 August.[14]
Following its release, development of the game has continued under the same model that Paradox had previously used successfully for Crusader Kings 2, with paid DLCs being released alongside, and helping to fund, additional free patches which add more features to the base game.[17][18] As of December 2018, fifteen expansions have been released for the game alongside many minor DLCs offering additional graphical or musical options.[19]
In October 2017, Jake Leiper-Ritchie took over from Johan Andersson as the game's director.[20]
Expansions and mods[edit]
A number of DLCs have been released for the game.
All DLCs are optional and may be applied to the base game in any combination. The largest DLCs come in the form of expansions, which significantly alter the mechanics and features of the game. Excel taking forever to copy and paste. There are also flavor packs (which add new events and minor mechanics, usually specific to one nation), music packs (which add more backing music) and cosmetic packs (which affect unit models, portraits, and the map). There are also three e-books which have no impact on the game itself, but coincided with the release of expansions.
Expansions are often accompanied by coinciding free patches to the game, which may adjust existing mechanics or add new ones in the theme of the expansion.
Mods[edit]
Aside from the official expansion packs, third-party mods are available on sites such as the Steam Workshop.[37] The mods can change the game's setting, add or remove features and game mechanics, and make graphical improvements. Popular mods include 'Extended Timeline', which expands the game's scope from 2 AD to the year 9999, the Game of Thrones adaptation 'A Song of Ice and Fire,' and complete overhauls such as 'MEIOU & Taxes'.[38]
Reception[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
Europa Universalis IV was met with generally favourable reviews, receiving a score of 87/100 on aggregate website Metacritic. Critics praised the improvements from Europa Universalis III, especially the new mechanics and graphics.[44][45] T.J. Hafer of PC Gamer described the game as an 'engrossing simulation that conquers the common ground between your average Civilization V player and the long-time devotees of grand strategy'.[46] Negative feedback focused on the tutorials, combat mechanics and bugs. Nicholas Pellegatta acknowledged these bugs and other issues were likely to be addressed in later patches and expansions.[47]
In 2013 Europa Universalis IV won the 'Golden Horseshoe' award in the category of 'Game of the Year' on the Polish website gikz.pl.[48] It also won 'Best Strategy' and 'Best Historical' in Game Debate's 2013 awards.[49]
Sales[edit]
As of February 2014, Europa Universalis IV had sold over 300,000 copies.[50] By January 2016, over 900,000 games were registered on Steam.[51] As of 21 June 2016, over 1 million copies have been sold.[52]
Pricing adjustments[edit]
In May 2017, Paradox Interactive normalized the prices of the game worldwide and its other products to account for the games being cheaper than intended in many non-western nations, just weeks before the annual summer Steam sale. This has led to massive backlash and boycotts by people from the affected nations, including a massive increase in negative user reviews on Steam in the following weeks.[53] On 22 June 2017 Paradox CEO, Fredrik Wester, announced that the prices would be returned to previous levels after the Steam summer sale and claimed they would try to reimburse anyone who bought their products during the time of the price adjustment.[54][55]
Spin-offs[edit]
In May 2014, Paradox released a book, Europa Universalis IV: What If? the Anthology of Alternate History, a collection of short stories inspired by the game and its time period, including one by Harry Turtledove.[56] The book was released as an ebook, as DLC for the game[57], and as a physical edition (ISBN978-9187687440).
In May 2018, at their PDXCon convention, Paradox announced that board games were being developed based upon four of their franchises, stating that they were on a 'mission to expand the IP.'[58] The Europa Universalis game is being designed by Eivind Vetlesen of Aegir Games, with Jonathan Bolding of PC Gamer describing a preview version as 'something between a high player count Twilight Imperium and A Game of Thrones with a dash of Napoleon in Europe'.[59]
See also[edit]References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Europa_Universalis_IV&oldid=902919651'
How to make the masses care? Make the multiplayer, and they will come.
In my last preview of Europa Universalis 4, I discussed how the interface is an obstacle the team must conquer if the franchise is ever going to find the success its strategy brethren like Civilization enjoys. Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester wants EU4 to be the 'Strategy Game of the Year' so badly that he's taken to jokingly referring to the project that way in his internal company meetings. While the latest build doesn't solve the interface issue - they still have to craft the tutorial or introduction - I was given a special chance to play EU4 in a way that will entice many players. Multiplayer in Europa Universalis is cutthroat, vicious, and deliciously engaging.
What's that you're saying? How can one of the most engrossing and time-consuming singleplayer games translate to a multiplayer setting? I don't exactly know myself, but somehow setting the game's speed at a leisurely pace and connecting to 7 other journalists in a LAN setup - very easily and seamlessly I might add, the network code Paradox employs through Steam was flawless - resulted in a tense, seesaw game with conflicts breaking out in Europe over trade rights and territorial desires.
It's no accident. The code for EU4 is largely complete now so the team has been doing almost nothing but playing multiplayer matches against each other to test it out and fine tune the mechanics. From veteran EU designer Johan Anderssen to the lowliest intern, everyone at the Paradox Development Studio is playing EU4 against each other and the stories they tell about the backstabbing and political machinations are wildly entertaining.
'About fifteen guys in the office have been playing,' said Thomas Johansson, lead designer of EU4. 'It's fun to see what happens to the office atmosphere when you play. You see these people having heated discussions, but it's not about game design, it's about asking 'Why did you go to war with me? Why did you ally with him? He's obviously going to backstab you. My idea is much better.' It's great to see a so-called intellectual strategy game breed such paranoia.
'You can't let the other guys go to lunch without you, because who knows what they are going to be plotting?' he asked, very seriously.
In order to bring multiplayer to EU4, Paradox has added a bunch of features. Up to 32 players can join a game, and the team has developed something called 'Hot Joins' which will allow a player to arrive late into the game after it has started. There's also standalone servers you can host on your machine and get other people to connect to it. Custom, private, IRC-like chat windows will also appear to allow you to plot with your fellow leaders. 'I can invite France to a channel, and say 'Let's forget our squabbles. Spain is the real enemy; let's go after him.' And then I can open another channel to Burgundy, Spain and Austria and say, 'Guys, I just told France to attack Spain. Let's go get him.'
Sitting across the monitors and keyboards from my opponents at the Paradox Convention in Iceland this week, we didn't have to use the private channels to plot - we could just call out to each other. I chose to play as Castille, and quickly made a verbal pact with Aragon and Portugal - the gentlemen sitting next to me - which I sealed in-game with an alliance. We went about our business invading North Africa together, but we could hear the lamentations from Venice, as the pact he made with Austria soured. It turns out the Austrian player, while being very outwardly friendly, was quietly fomenting rebellion within Venetian provinces. Once the rebel units got out of hand and actually conquered a territory or two, Austria betrayed his Venetian friend, declared war, and took those territories for himself.
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