Happy new 2016, everyone! With the holidays over, we now return to our regularly scheduled Thursday dev diaries. Today we'll be talking about some changes coming in the upcoming 1.15 bugfixing and balancing patch, which should come out sometime before the end of January.


Changes to Estates
The Estates feature represented a major shift in the EU4 development towards more internal mechanics. Such shifts rarely go entirely smoothly, and there was some controversy regarding the feature, with many players either loving or hating it. We consider the Estates mechanic a strong addition to the game and intend to continue to develop internal mechanics in EU4 (though it will always remain an empire building game at its core) but, as might be expected when going in an entirely new design direction, some of the Estates mechanics didn't end up working so well in practice. For this reason, Estates will be recieving a number of tweaks in 1.15 to make them more interesting and balanced...
Continue reading...

Seelmeisters collection of Development Diaries

Happy new 2016, everyone! With the holidays over, we now return to our regularly scheduled Thursday dev diaries. Today we'll be talking about some changes coming in the upcoming 1.15 bugfixing and balancing patch, which should come out sometime before the end of January.


Changes to Estates
The Estates feature represented a major shift in the EU4 development towards more internal mechanics. Such shifts rarely go entirely smoothly, and there was some controversy regarding the feature, with many players either loving or hating it. We consider the Estates mechanic a strong addition to the game and intend to continue to develop internal mechanics in EU4 (though it will always remain an empire building game at its core) but, as might be expected when going in an entirely new design direction, some of the Estates mechanics didn't end up working so well in practice. For this reason, Estates will be recieving a number of tweaks in 1.15 to make them more interesting and balanced...
Continue reading...

Seelmeisters collection of Development Diaries

The day has come! Europa Universalis IV: The Cossacks has arrived on digital storefronts around the world, bringing not just hosts of invaders and rebels, but a pile of new features, mechanics and improvements to the best-selling historical grand strategy game from Paradox Development Studio!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Cw1CkpMLc&feature=youtu.be

We are also revealing a new feature that will let you track your performance against your own history and against other players around the world. The Leaderboard will record any game score you achieve in Ironman mode (where you can earn achievements) so long as you are logged in to your Paradox Account and have a forum registration. (And if you don’t have a Paradox Account, this is a great reason to have one.)

Watch your scores improve as you learn the game, or as you move from country to country, strategy to strategy. Can you beat our development team at their own game?

But even if you have no interest in playing Ironman and proving that you are the Grandest Strategist in All the Lands, The Cossacks gives you many new options in domestic and international strategy, all designed to flesh out the rich history of the early modern world:

- The Estates: Allocate lands to clergy, nobles and merchants as you try to balance the powers in your Renaissance state.
- Advanced diplomatic options: Threaten war, trade favors, and tell the world which provinces are of strategic importance in your plans
- Tengri: Tengri is now a Syncretic faith, allowing it to tolerate a secondary religion as if it were a national faith.
- Horde Unity and Razing: Nomadic nations now must pay attention the horde unity of their tribes – a unity that can only be maintained by the occasional pillaging
- Improved Culture Change: You can now restore a previous culture to a converted province, or convert a province you hold to a culture that is not your own.
- Native Policies: Set your policy for colonial encounters with natives. Are you focused on quick subjugation, peaceful growth or trading advantages?
- Improved Espionage: New spy actions allow you to study the technology of more advanced countries and prod your rivals’ subjects towards independence.

The day has come! Europa Universalis IV: The Cossacks has arrived on digital storefronts around the world, bringing not just hosts of invaders and rebels, but a pile of new features, mechanics and improvements to the best-selling historical grand strategy game from Paradox Development Studio!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Cw1CkpMLc&feature=youtu.be

We are also revealing a new feature that will let you track your performance against your own history and against other players around the world. The Leaderboard will record any game score you achieve in Ironman mode (where you can earn achievements) so long as you are logged in to your Paradox Account and have a forum registration. (And if you don’t have a Paradox Account, this is a great reason to have one.)

Watch your scores improve as you learn the game, or as you move from country to country, strategy to strategy. Can you beat our development team at their own game?

But even if you have no interest in playing Ironman and proving that you are the Grandest Strategist in All the Lands, The Cossacks gives you many new options in domestic and international strategy, all designed to flesh out the rich history of the early modern world:

- The Estates: Allocate lands to clergy, nobles and merchants as you try to balance the powers in your Renaissance state.
- Advanced diplomatic options: Threaten war, trade favors, and tell the world which provinces are of strategic importance in your plans
- Tengri: Tengri is now a Syncretic faith, allowing it to tolerate a secondary religion as if it were a national faith.
- Horde Unity and Razing: Nomadic nations now must pay attention the horde unity of their tribes – a unity that can only be maintained by the occasional pillaging
- Improved Culture Change: You can now restore a previous culture to a converted province, or convert a province you hold to a culture that is not your own.
- Native Policies: Set your policy for colonial encounters with natives. Are you focused on quick subjugation, peaceful growth or trading advantages?
- Improved Espionage: New spy actions allow you to study the technology of more advanced countries and prod your rivals’ subjects towards independence.

On December 1, 2015, you will be able to play The Cossacks, the next expansion for Europa Universalis IV, the best-selling historical grand-strategy game from Paradox Development Studio. With a host of new features and upgrades as impressive as the legendary steppe warriors themselves, The Cossacks brings even more depth and detail to Paradox’s flagship series.

A new diplomatic system lets you highlight provinces for expansion, pointing out to friend and foe alike where your ambitions lie. Earn the trust of your allies by performing favors for them, and use the promise of enemy territory to entice them to your side.

Other features include:

• The Estates: Allocate lands to clergy, nobles and merchants as you try to balance the powers in your Renaissance state.
  
• Tell The World What You Want: Designate neighboring provinces as “places of interest”, build trust with other nations, and entice allies with the promise of land for their support.
  
• Tengri: Tengri is now a Syncretic faith, allowing it to tolerate a secondary religion as if it were a national faith.
  
• Horde Unity and Razing: Nomadic nations now must pay attention the horde unity of their tribes – a unity that can only be maintained by the occasional pillaging
  
• Improved Culture Change: You can now restore a previous culture to a converted province, or convert a province you hold to a culture that is not your own.
  
• Native Policies: Set your policy for colonial encounters with natives. Are you focused on quick subjugation, peaceful growth or trading advantages?
  
• Improved Espionage: New spy actions allow you to study the technology of more advanced countries and prod your rivals’ subjects towards independence.

And, as always, even if you don’t buy The Cossacks, its release will be accompanied with a free major content update for all Europa Universalis IV players.

On December 1, 2015, you will be able to play The Cossacks, the next expansion for Europa Universalis IV, the best-selling historical grand-strategy game from Paradox Development Studio. With a host of new features and upgrades as impressive as the legendary steppe warriors themselves, The Cossacks brings even more depth and detail to Paradox’s flagship series.

A new diplomatic system lets you highlight provinces for expansion, pointing out to friend and foe alike where your ambitions lie. Earn the trust of your allies by performing favors for them, and use the promise of enemy territory to entice them to your side.

Other features include:

• The Estates: Allocate lands to clergy, nobles and merchants as you try to balance the powers in your Renaissance state.
  
• Tell The World What You Want: Designate neighboring provinces as “places of interest”, build trust with other nations, and entice allies with the promise of land for their support.
  
• Tengri: Tengri is now a Syncretic faith, allowing it to tolerate a secondary religion as if it were a national faith.
  
• Horde Unity and Razing: Nomadic nations now must pay attention the horde unity of their tribes – a unity that can only be maintained by the occasional pillaging
  
• Improved Culture Change: You can now restore a previous culture to a converted province, or convert a province you hold to a culture that is not your own.
  
• Native Policies: Set your policy for colonial encounters with natives. Are you focused on quick subjugation, peaceful growth or trading advantages?
  
• Improved Espionage: New spy actions allow you to study the technology of more advanced countries and prod your rivals’ subjects towards independence.

And, as always, even if you don’t buy The Cossacks, its release will be accompanied with a free major content update for all Europa Universalis IV players.

The Cossacks, the newest expansion to Paradox Development Studios’ best-selling historical grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV, pay homage to these legendarily proud people with a ton of new features that enhance the diplomatic game and give you new things to tend to during peacetime. The Cossacks will come to digital retailers and the Paradox store in late 2015.

The central new mechanic is the Estate system. You can assign control of your provinces to local factions – priests, nobles, or even Cossacks! – sacrificing some income in the name of lower unrest, more manpower or cheaper cavalry. You must keep an eye these Estates, though! If they get too strong, they may make a move on your throne. If they feel neglected, they may interfere with efficient governance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGWWB3OH3uQ
Other features include:

- New Diplomatic Options: Let the world know what you think of your neighbors by setting a public attitude to foreign powers.
- Tell The World What You Want: Designate neighboring provinces as “places of interest”, build trust with other nations, and entice allies with the promise of land for their support.
- Tengri: Tengri is now a Syncretic faith, allowing it to tolerate a secondary religion as if it were a national faith.
- Horde Unity and Razing: Nomadic nations now must pay attention the horde unity of their tribes – a unity that can only be maintained by the occasional pillaging
- Improved Culture Change: You can now restore a previous culture to a converted province, or convert a province you hold to a culture that is not your own.
- Native Policies: Set your policy for colonial encounters with natives. Are you focused on quick subjugation, peaceful growth or trading advantages?
- Improved Espionage: New spy actions allow you to study the technology of more advanced countries and prod your rivals’ subjects towards independence.

And, as always, even if you don’t buy The Cossacks, its release will be accompanied with a free major content update for all Europa Universalis IV players.

The Cossacks, the newest expansion to Paradox Development Studios’ best-selling historical grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV, pay homage to these legendarily proud people with a ton of new features that enhance the diplomatic game and give you new things to tend to during peacetime. The Cossacks will come to digital retailers and the Paradox store in late 2015.

The central new mechanic is the Estate system. You can assign control of your provinces to local factions – priests, nobles, or even Cossacks! – sacrificing some income in the name of lower unrest, more manpower or cheaper cavalry. You must keep an eye these Estates, though! If they get too strong, they may make a move on your throne. If they feel neglected, they may interfere with efficient governance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGWWB3OH3uQ
Other features include:

- New Diplomatic Options: Let the world know what you think of your neighbors by setting a public attitude to foreign powers.
- Tell The World What You Want: Designate neighboring provinces as “places of interest”, build trust with other nations, and entice allies with the promise of land for their support.
- Tengri: Tengri is now a Syncretic faith, allowing it to tolerate a secondary religion as if it were a national faith.
- Horde Unity and Razing: Nomadic nations now must pay attention the horde unity of their tribes – a unity that can only be maintained by the occasional pillaging
- Improved Culture Change: You can now restore a previous culture to a converted province, or convert a province you hold to a culture that is not your own.
- Native Policies: Set your policy for colonial encounters with natives. Are you focused on quick subjugation, peaceful growth or trading advantages?
- Improved Espionage: New spy actions allow you to study the technology of more advanced countries and prod your rivals’ subjects towards independence.

And, as always, even if you don’t buy The Cossacks, its release will be accompanied with a free major content update for all Europa Universalis IV players.