Hi everyone, and welcome to another Europa Universalis development diary. I hope you all enjoyed PdxCon last weekend, either in person or from watching the streams.

As you all know, we announced our new Immersion Pack, Third Rome, which will be out in June this year for 9.99$. So what is an immersion pack then? Well, it is something between a full expansion and a small graphics pack, similar to the story pack Leviathans for Stellaris.

Closest comparison to Third Rome of our previous releases for EU4 would be Wealth of Nations when it comes to amount and size of features. Third Rome also comes bundled with a portrait pack for russians, and 3 new sprite-packs, for 12 countries in the russian region, including Ryazan, Lithuania and Perm.

So, what cool features will we talk about today then?

We’re adding three new russian government types. The actual types are in the free patch, but the abilities we give them as well, belong to the Immersion Pack.

Veche Republic
This is a new republic form, which works like a merchant republic and have access to the russian abilities as well. They are always duchy rank, and their bonus is +1 merchant. Novgorod and Pskov starts as Veche Republics. It also gives +3 to states.

Principality
This is the new monarchy governmentform, which all russian monarchies start with. It has access to the russian abilities, and while they are locked to duchy rank, they have a bonus of -1 unrest and +5% Tax Modifier. It also gives +3 to states.

Tsardom
This government form is given when forming Russia, and is automatically empire rank. Besides giving +10 to amount of states and access to the russian abilities, it gives the following bonuses. +20% Manpower, +0.1 Yearly Absolutism & -0.05 monthly autonomy.




The russian abilities work like this. All actions have a bar to fill up before they can be used. Bar fill up from 0 - 100, increasing yearly by the ruler’s monarch point in the category, and a base +3. The actual bar can hold 150, so you don’t lose by not using it immediately.

• The Administrative ability is called Reform Sudebnik, and reduces autonomy by 10% in all provinces you own.
  
• The diplomatic ability is called Support Oprichnina, and reduces progress of all your rebelfactions by 30% each.
  
• The military ability is called Raise Streltsy, and reduces war exhaustion by 2, and raises 20% of your forcelimit as Streltsy Infantry in your capital.

So what is Streltsy units? Previously we had three categories of units, with regulars, mercenaries & banners. In 1.22 there are two more categories added, and one of those is the Streltsy.

Streltsy arrive at full strength, but low morale, and do not cost manpower nor gold at recruit, but otherwise works like a regular unit, if not for two distinct differences. First, the amount of streltsy compared to your force.limit increases your stability costs, while each streltsy regiment provides +10% fire damage.

The other category we add for 1.22 is Cossacks, which is there for everyone that bought the “The Cossacks” expansion. Cossacks work like regulars, except they do +10% extra shock damage.

Cossacks are recruited as an estate interaction, where each province assigned to the Cossacks estate will give you 1 cavalry cossack regiment.

Of course, fittingly for the focus on this update, we have added three new interactions to the Cossacks estate.

• Conscripting Elites: gain army tradition, lose loyalty
  
• Supply Arms: lose MIL, gain loyalty and influence
  
• Permit Self Governance: give autonomy to cossack lands, gain loyalty and influence

Next week, we’ll take a deeper look into more abilities of Russia and the Tsardom.

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive

Hi everyone, and welcome to another Europa Universalis development diary. I hope you all enjoyed PdxCon last weekend, either in person or from watching the streams.

As you all know, we announced our new Immersion Pack, Third Rome, which will be out in June this year for 9.99$. So what is an immersion pack then? Well, it is something between a full expansion and a small graphics pack, similar to the story pack Leviathans for Stellaris.

Closest comparison to Third Rome of our previous releases for EU4 would be Wealth of Nations when it comes to amount and size of features. Third Rome also comes bundled with a portrait pack for russians, and 3 new sprite-packs, for 12 countries in the russian region, including Ryazan, Lithuania and Perm.

So, what cool features will we talk about today then?

We’re adding three new russian government types. The actual types are in the free patch, but the abilities we give them as well, belong to the Immersion Pack.

Veche Republic
This is a new republic form, which works like a merchant republic and have access to the russian abilities as well. They are always duchy rank, and their bonus is +1 merchant. Novgorod and Pskov starts as Veche Republics. It also gives +3 to states.

Principality
This is the new monarchy governmentform, which all russian monarchies start with. It has access to the russian abilities, and while they are locked to duchy rank, they have a bonus of -1 unrest and +5% Tax Modifier. It also gives +3 to states.

Tsardom
This government form is given when forming Russia, and is automatically empire rank. Besides giving +10 to amount of states and access to the russian abilities, it gives the following bonuses. +20% Manpower, +0.1 Yearly Absolutism & -0.05 monthly autonomy.




The russian abilities work like this. All actions have a bar to fill up before they can be used. Bar fill up from 0 - 100, increasing yearly by the ruler’s monarch point in the category, and a base +3. The actual bar can hold 150, so you don’t lose by not using it immediately.

• The Administrative ability is called Reform Sudebnik, and reduces autonomy by 10% in all provinces you own.
  
• The diplomatic ability is called Support Oprichnina, and reduces progress of all your rebelfactions by 30% each.
  
• The military ability is called Raise Streltsy, and reduces war exhaustion by 2, and raises 20% of your forcelimit as Streltsy Infantry in your capital.

So what is Streltsy units? Previously we had three categories of units, with regulars, mercenaries & banners. In 1.22 there are two more categories added, and one of those is the Streltsy.

Streltsy arrive at full strength, but low morale, and do not cost manpower nor gold at recruit, but otherwise works like a regular unit, if not for two distinct differences. First, the amount of streltsy compared to your force.limit increases your stability costs, while each streltsy regiment provides +10% fire damage.

The other category we add for 1.22 is Cossacks, which is there for everyone that bought the “The Cossacks” expansion. Cossacks work like regulars, except they do +10% extra shock damage.

Cossacks are recruited as an estate interaction, where each province assigned to the Cossacks estate will give you 1 cavalry cossack regiment.

Of course, fittingly for the focus on this update, we have added three new interactions to the Cossacks estate.

• Conscripting Elites: gain army tradition, lose loyalty
  
• Supply Arms: lose MIL, gain loyalty and influence
  
• Permit Self Governance: give autonomy to cossack lands, gain loyalty and influence

Next week, we’ll take a deeper look into more abilities of Russia and the Tsardom.

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive

STOCKHOLM - May 12, 2017 - For 500 years, the princes of Russia have kept the faith. Through civil wars and Mongol conquest, the word of God has not just survived, but has united our people. Those princes who embrace the church will find glory, those who turn their back will be cast to dust. There have been two Romes, and both have fallen. Muscovy is the third.

There shall be no fourth.

Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio are thrilled to announce Europa Universalis IV: Third Rome. The first immersion pack for the best-selling historical strategy game introduces a wealth of region-specific content, and takes a deeper look at one of the greatest powers of the early modern era – Russia. Russian cultured nations will find new interactions for their government and the Orthodox Patriarchate, deepening the experience of playing this rich and fascinating region.

Russia now gets two unique governments, with special abilities that allows them to tighten their grip on power. Use your administrative ability to reduce provincial autonomy. Call on your diplomatic resources to suppress incipient revolts. Use your military resources to quickly recruit streltsy units for your army. Rule with the iron fist that comes with a divine blessing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPgbydq3qMs

Features of Europa Universalis IV: Third Rome include:

• Tsardoms and Principalities: New ranks of Russian government with new abilities and, for Tsars, strong bonuses including the right to claim entire States – not just provinces
  
• Iconography: Commission great religious icons for the Orthodox Church, boosting your empire’s power depending on the saint you choose to revere
  
• Metropolitans: Consecrate highly developed provinces with Metropolitans, adding to the authority of the Orthodox Church, but for a cost.
  
• Streltsy: Special Russian soldiers that excel in combat, but raise the cost of stabilizing your empire
  
• Siberian Frontier: Russia can slowly colonize uninhabited border regions, with no fear of native uprisings
  
• New Graphics: Includes three full unit packs and new portraits for Eastern Europe.

As usual, Third Rome will be accompanied by a free update to Europa Universalis IV, available for everyone who owns the base game.

STOCKHOLM - May 12, 2017 - For 500 years, the princes of Russia have kept the faith. Through civil wars and Mongol conquest, the word of God has not just survived, but has united our people. Those princes who embrace the church will find glory, those who turn their back will be cast to dust. There have been two Romes, and both have fallen. Muscovy is the third.

There shall be no fourth.

Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio are thrilled to announce Europa Universalis IV: Third Rome. The first immersion pack for the best-selling historical strategy game introduces a wealth of region-specific content, and takes a deeper look at one of the greatest powers of the early modern era – Russia. Russian cultured nations will find new interactions for their government and the Orthodox Patriarchate, deepening the experience of playing this rich and fascinating region.

Russia now gets two unique governments, with special abilities that allows them to tighten their grip on power. Use your administrative ability to reduce provincial autonomy. Call on your diplomatic resources to suppress incipient revolts. Use your military resources to quickly recruit streltsy units for your army. Rule with the iron fist that comes with a divine blessing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPgbydq3qMs

Features of Europa Universalis IV: Third Rome include:

• Tsardoms and Principalities: New ranks of Russian government with new abilities and, for Tsars, strong bonuses including the right to claim entire States – not just provinces
  
• Iconography: Commission great religious icons for the Orthodox Church, boosting your empire’s power depending on the saint you choose to revere
  
• Metropolitans: Consecrate highly developed provinces with Metropolitans, adding to the authority of the Orthodox Church, but for a cost.
  
• Streltsy: Special Russian soldiers that excel in combat, but raise the cost of stabilizing your empire
  
• Siberian Frontier: Russia can slowly colonize uninhabited border regions, with no fear of native uprisings
  
• New Graphics: Includes three full unit packs and new portraits for Eastern Europe.

As usual, Third Rome will be accompanied by a free update to Europa Universalis IV, available for everyone who owns the base game.

Hello everyone and welcome to this developed diary on setup changes in the Greater Russian region!

For the upcoming 1.22 patch we’ve had another look at modern Russia and Belarus. This is a region that has received attention previously but we feel that it was not up to the level of detail we have become accustomed to in other parts of Europe and that it could not properly reflect the lay of the land in the region in 1444.

The Russian Principalities in 1444:

In 1444 Russia was still divided into a number of principalities, in many ways this is the result of the constant interference from the Golden Horde. The Khans had defeated and divided the early Russian principalities and have come to not only exact tribute from the remaining states here, but have also acted as king-makers and guarantors of princely power.
As the game opens however the Golden Horde is going through a rough couple of decades with external pressure and internal struggles, historically ending in its general breakup into a number of much weaker successor states.
The Great Horde in our start date is what remains of the core of the Golden Horde but others, such as Crimea, would in time come to conquer and attempt to usurp their role as the overlord of the Russian states.
What this means for the Russians is that while horde intervention is still a factor in local politics, they have now been given some time to grow and thrive. As one of the main collectors of tribute for the Khans, Muscovy is now in the process of building a strong power base and has already used a combination of bribes and coercion to secure control over land of the minor princes in the region.




As you can see, in 1.22 we have chosen to greatly expand the number of provinces in this region. This allows for a greater degree of detail in the warfare in this region both between the principalities themselves and between the Russians and the Tatar hordes.
We have also taken the opportunity once again to adjust the development of the Russian region a bit, increasing it slightly to allow the states here to better make their mark upon the world.
In 1.22 one of the things this means is that some of the states we know and love are no longer the same. Ryazan is now a 4 province state and Yarloslavl and Tver are now 2 and 3 provinces respectively.

Muscovy:

First of the Russian principalities we have Muscovy itself. In 1444 this is already the dominant native power and in 1.22 it is the overlord of no less than five smaller principalities. The expanded number of provinces ensures that all is not lost simply from one battle or one siege, there is now room to move around when Kazan, the Great Horde or Lithuania comes knocking.
The greater detail has also allowed us to better show a number of centers of regional importance, giving it more of the historical depth that we have come to expect of other regions where we have overhauled the map.

Among the changes to the setup for Muscovy is also a revision of their ideas. Muscovite Ideas are now separate from those you get for forming Russia and currently look like this:

Muscovite Ideas:

Traditions:
Diplomatic Relations +1
Shock Damage Dealt +10%

1. Gatherers of Tribute: National Tax Income Modifier: +10%
2. Legacy of Dmitriy Donskoi: Yearly Army Tradition: +0.5
3. Seat of Metropolitan Bishop: Missionary Strength +1%, Tolerance of True Faith +1
4. Pomestnoe Voisko: Land Morale +10%
5. Strength of the Boyars: Stability Cost Modifier -20%
6. Zasechnaya Cherta: Fort Maintenance -20%
7. Descendants of the Byzantine Emperors: Diplomatic Reputation +1

Ambition:
Land Force Limit Modifier +33%

The decision to form Russia will in turn give a new set of ideas should you choose to abandon your old Principality ideas.

Russian Ideas:

Traditions:
National Manpower Modifier: +33%
Core-Creation Cost: -10%

Land of the Rus: Aggressive Expansion Impact: -10%
Siberian Frontier: Colonists: +1
Russian Artillery Yard: Artillery Cost: -10%
Life-Long Conscription: Land Force Limit Modifier: +50%
Abolish the Mestnichestvo: Yearly Corruption: -0.1
The Table of Ranks: Yearly Army Tradition: +0.25, Advisor Cost: -10%
Broaden the Curriculum of the Cadet Corps: Institution Spread +20%

Ambition:
Yearly Legitimacy: +1

New Playable Countries:

In EU in general and in Russia in particular there’s always a decision to be made of what is to be a province with high autonomy and, what should be a subject state or even independent. Our game enforces strict differences depending on what you pick but in reality it was quite possible in many cases to be somewhere in between.
In the case of Russia in 1444, Muscovy is in possession much land that really belongs to a minor principality that they have somehow acquired (often by simply buying the land from the princes in control of it) or that is ruled by a prince that has moved to the court in Moscow, allowing the Muscovite's to administrate it for him. In 1.22 we have taken another look at how we want the Muscovite lands to be portrayed and added two new vassal tags:

The first is the small state of

Rostov

, between Tver and Yaroslavl. This principality was in many ways quite firmly under Muscovite control ever since its princes had sold off half of the lands to Moscow, but Rostov would not be integrated entirely until 1474.
Rostov has a long and interesting history and would continue to play an important part in Russian politics every now and then, even as a part of a greater Russian state. We therefore thought it would be an interesting addition to the mix of states you can play in 1444.

Rostov Ideas:

Traditions:
Provincial Trade Power Modifier: +10%
Idea Cost: -10%

Re-Unification of Rostov: Goods Produced Modifier: +10%
Ancient Heritage: Aggressive Expansion Impact: -10%
Ecclesiastical Center: Tolerance of True Faith: +2
Entrepot of Russia: Trade Efficiency: +10%
Rostov Architecture: Construction Cost: -10%
Political Influence: Diplomats: +1
Rostov Enamel: Production Efficiency: +10%

Ambition:
Diplomatic Reputation: +1

The second new state we have added is one in the north, right at the border with Novgorod. The principality of was never a metropolis and is long past its glory days in 1444. Ruled by Muscovite princes it would formally be incorporated directly into Muscovy in 1486 and its nobles would mostly make their mark upon the world within the frames of the Russian Empire. It's position is an interesting one however and our game history might unfold differently.

Beloozero Ideas:

Traditions:
Trade Efficiency: +10%
Infantry Combat Ability: +10%

Martial Heritage: Cavalry Cost: -10%
Monastic Traditions: Yearly Prestige: +1
Strengthen Local Lineages: Yearly Legitimacy: +1
Northern Trade: Domestic Trade Power: +25%
Officers of Beloozero: Yearly Army Tradition +0.5
Boreal Warfare: Attrition for Enemies: +1
Scientific Patronage: Technology Cost: -5%

Ambition:
Goods Produced Modifier +10%

Novgorod:

In the far north we have broken up some of Novgorod’s bigger provinces. Novgorod's domains always presented something of a difficulty to portray in that many of these locations had little in terms of population, yet contributed to the overall wealth of the Republic.
It also gives Novgorod some much needed strategic depth when fighting Muscovy to the south.

Lithuania:

Lithuania has long been a region in need of greater detail. In 1.22 we have broken up and reshaped many of their provinces, especially in the northeast. When adding new provinces we have tried to accommodate important regional centers, the internal administrative divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth as well as the gradual expansion of Muscovy and later Russia into Belarus and the Ukraine.
As this was a highly contested region for much of the period covered by the game this should should hopefully make the region a lot more interesting to play in. It should also allow for a more engaging conquest for strong neighboring states...

That was all for today!
Next week’s developer diary will be written by Johan and may or may not touch on more things that could impact the region...

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive

Hello everyone and welcome to this developed diary on setup changes in the Greater Russian region!

For the upcoming 1.22 patch we’ve had another look at modern Russia and Belarus. This is a region that has received attention previously but we feel that it was not up to the level of detail we have become accustomed to in other parts of Europe and that it could not properly reflect the lay of the land in the region in 1444.

The Russian Principalities in 1444:

In 1444 Russia was still divided into a number of principalities, in many ways this is the result of the constant interference from the Golden Horde. The Khans had defeated and divided the early Russian principalities and have come to not only exact tribute from the remaining states here, but have also acted as king-makers and guarantors of princely power.
As the game opens however the Golden Horde is going through a rough couple of decades with external pressure and internal struggles, historically ending in its general breakup into a number of much weaker successor states.
The Great Horde in our start date is what remains of the core of the Golden Horde but others, such as Crimea, would in time come to conquer and attempt to usurp their role as the overlord of the Russian states.
What this means for the Russians is that while horde intervention is still a factor in local politics, they have now been given some time to grow and thrive. As one of the main collectors of tribute for the Khans, Muscovy is now in the process of building a strong power base and has already used a combination of bribes and coercion to secure control over land of the minor princes in the region.




As you can see, in 1.22 we have chosen to greatly expand the number of provinces in this region. This allows for a greater degree of detail in the warfare in this region both between the principalities themselves and between the Russians and the Tatar hordes.
We have also taken the opportunity once again to adjust the development of the Russian region a bit, increasing it slightly to allow the states here to better make their mark upon the world.
In 1.22 one of the things this means is that some of the states we know and love are no longer the same. Ryazan is now a 4 province state and Yarloslavl and Tver are now 2 and 3 provinces respectively.

Muscovy:

First of the Russian principalities we have Muscovy itself. In 1444 this is already the dominant native power and in 1.22 it is the overlord of no less than five smaller principalities. The expanded number of provinces ensures that all is not lost simply from one battle or one siege, there is now room to move around when Kazan, the Great Horde or Lithuania comes knocking.
The greater detail has also allowed us to better show a number of centers of regional importance, giving it more of the historical depth that we have come to expect of other regions where we have overhauled the map.

Among the changes to the setup for Muscovy is also a revision of their ideas. Muscovite Ideas are now separate from those you get for forming Russia and currently look like this:

Muscovite Ideas:

Traditions:
Diplomatic Relations +1
Shock Damage Dealt +10%

1. Gatherers of Tribute: National Tax Income Modifier: +10%
2. Legacy of Dmitriy Donskoi: Yearly Army Tradition: +0.5
3. Seat of Metropolitan Bishop: Missionary Strength +1%, Tolerance of True Faith +1
4. Pomestnoe Voisko: Land Morale +10%
5. Strength of the Boyars: Stability Cost Modifier -20%
6. Zasechnaya Cherta: Fort Maintenance -20%
7. Descendants of the Byzantine Emperors: Diplomatic Reputation +1

Ambition:
Land Force Limit Modifier +33%

The decision to form Russia will in turn give a new set of ideas should you choose to abandon your old Principality ideas.

Russian Ideas:

Traditions:
National Manpower Modifier: +33%
Core-Creation Cost: -10%

Land of the Rus: Aggressive Expansion Impact: -10%
Siberian Frontier: Colonists: +1
Russian Artillery Yard: Artillery Cost: -10%
Life-Long Conscription: Land Force Limit Modifier: +50%
Abolish the Mestnichestvo: Yearly Corruption: -0.1
The Table of Ranks: Yearly Army Tradition: +0.25, Advisor Cost: -10%
Broaden the Curriculum of the Cadet Corps: Institution Spread +20%

Ambition:
Yearly Legitimacy: +1

New Playable Countries:

In EU in general and in Russia in particular there’s always a decision to be made of what is to be a province with high autonomy and, what should be a subject state or even independent. Our game enforces strict differences depending on what you pick but in reality it was quite possible in many cases to be somewhere in between.
In the case of Russia in 1444, Muscovy is in possession much land that really belongs to a minor principality that they have somehow acquired (often by simply buying the land from the princes in control of it) or that is ruled by a prince that has moved to the court in Moscow, allowing the Muscovite's to administrate it for him. In 1.22 we have taken another look at how we want the Muscovite lands to be portrayed and added two new vassal tags:

The first is the small state of

Rostov

, between Tver and Yaroslavl. This principality was in many ways quite firmly under Muscovite control ever since its princes had sold off half of the lands to Moscow, but Rostov would not be integrated entirely until 1474.
Rostov has a long and interesting history and would continue to play an important part in Russian politics every now and then, even as a part of a greater Russian state. We therefore thought it would be an interesting addition to the mix of states you can play in 1444.

Rostov Ideas:

Traditions:
Provincial Trade Power Modifier: +10%
Idea Cost: -10%

Re-Unification of Rostov: Goods Produced Modifier: +10%
Ancient Heritage: Aggressive Expansion Impact: -10%
Ecclesiastical Center: Tolerance of True Faith: +2
Entrepot of Russia: Trade Efficiency: +10%
Rostov Architecture: Construction Cost: -10%
Political Influence: Diplomats: +1
Rostov Enamel: Production Efficiency: +10%

Ambition:
Diplomatic Reputation: +1

The second new state we have added is one in the north, right at the border with Novgorod. The principality of was never a metropolis and is long past its glory days in 1444. Ruled by Muscovite princes it would formally be incorporated directly into Muscovy in 1486 and its nobles would mostly make their mark upon the world within the frames of the Russian Empire. It's position is an interesting one however and our game history might unfold differently.

Beloozero Ideas:

Traditions:
Trade Efficiency: +10%
Infantry Combat Ability: +10%

Martial Heritage: Cavalry Cost: -10%
Monastic Traditions: Yearly Prestige: +1
Strengthen Local Lineages: Yearly Legitimacy: +1
Northern Trade: Domestic Trade Power: +25%
Officers of Beloozero: Yearly Army Tradition +0.5
Boreal Warfare: Attrition for Enemies: +1
Scientific Patronage: Technology Cost: -5%

Ambition:
Goods Produced Modifier +10%

Novgorod:

In the far north we have broken up some of Novgorod’s bigger provinces. Novgorod's domains always presented something of a difficulty to portray in that many of these locations had little in terms of population, yet contributed to the overall wealth of the Republic.
It also gives Novgorod some much needed strategic depth when fighting Muscovy to the south.

Lithuania:

Lithuania has long been a region in need of greater detail. In 1.22 we have broken up and reshaped many of their provinces, especially in the northeast. When adding new provinces we have tried to accommodate important regional centers, the internal administrative divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth as well as the gradual expansion of Muscovy and later Russia into Belarus and the Ukraine.
As this was a highly contested region for much of the period covered by the game this should should hopefully make the region a lot more interesting to play in. It should also allow for a more engaging conquest for strong neighboring states...

That was all for today!
Next week’s developer diary will be written by Johan and may or may not touch on more things that could impact the region...

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive

Hello again everyone! Welcome to this developer diary on the historical research we do for Europa Universalis IV.

When we have in the past asked you guys what you would like us to write about in our developer diaries the suggestion to make one about historical research in relation to the game was quite popular.

I’ll start by noting that Europa Universalis is, of course, a game. And as a game it needs to be fun to play and have systems that makes sense to interact with as a game. That said it is a game which takes it’s setting from history and which uses history as an inspiration for both mechanics and many other things.

Now there’s some form of research involved for many, many things that are in the game and I am not going to be able to cover all of them here. Rather what I will give is an introduction and overview to the research I do as a Content Designer on this game.

As a general rule historical research will fall into one of two categories dependent on what it is to be used for: Database/Setup Research and Background/Content Research. We’ll start with the Content and then continue with the setup research. I will be describing the process as it relates to expansions as I was not part of Content Design for the base game :)

Content, Mechanic related events and DHEs:

One of the things I personally like best about this game is that you can play in any location in the entire world. Not all regions have equal amounts of flavor or specific game systems however and generally (though not always) when this is expanded upon it will be concentrated on one region at a time.

When we begin working on a new DLC there will generally be a number of game systems planned by Game Designers, such as the Religious Authority system for the Inti religion in ‘El Dorado’, or more recently the Shinto Isolationism mechanic in ‘Mandate of Heaven’. These systems require fleshing out and to be given life through events and other scripted content.

1: Books

Now while I think it’s fair to say that most developers I’ve met at Paradox have an interest in history, and especially that of their respective games, it is not possible or expected that everyone know everything on their own. It is, however, desirable that we produce an image of a past place and time that tries to resemble that time without reproducing unwanted or outdated stereotypes (you might argue we have at times failed at this but our intention is pretty clear here).

In order to get a proper handle on things I will normally therefore find and order a reasonably new overview from a university publisher (at the end of this diary I’ll list some examples of books for El Dorado and Mandate of Heaven). And then after having read that go a little wider both in real life and online. This way the idea is that a reasonably fair overall vision can be preserved when diving into various details that might be required to fully flesh out a region.

Apart from being a way to “ground” the general ideas and research for a region these books are often themselves the source of many events or other details that make it into the game. They’ll usually be full of underlinings and scribblings that would disturb any librarian.



(example of a random page in one of the books used for Mandate of Heaven research)

2: The Internet & the Community


Since a long while back we also try to be in touch with certain members of the community with a special interest or skill related to the regions and times we like to portray. If you have been following these diaries for a long time you’ll remember we’ve mentioned some of them at times. Guillaume HJ, chatnoir17 and Fryz are just a few examples of posters that have offered us both hard work and insights in relation to both content and our databases over the years.

As Europa Universalis 4 is a mature game we are also able to draw from the existing community it has. The Suggestions Forum has been the source of many good additions in terms of content, sometimes specific and sometimes simply because the discussions there allow us to find more things. I really want to take this opportunity to highlight how useful this forum is. Even if we don’t always reply to everything we read the discussions and the suggestions and much of it improves the game one way or another.

Of course the internet is also a great source of information in general and it is not unknown for development to use information from various online databases. Information secured in point 1 should help in avoiding obvious pitfalls here.

3: Gameplay and other Considerations

It has been said by a former project lead that History is not an argument in itself. Of course Europa Universalis is a game, and the idea is to create an enjoyable experience rather than one that is always strictly faithful (and honestly, it is very rare that we have a clear enough picture of a past to even allow for that).

Sometimes we’ll be in situations where we choose what to portray and how, and the thing that decides this is the overall game design. The idea is not to put things in just for its own sake (though sometimes one likes to indulge, like with the birth of the state of Habsan if stars align correctly in western India) but to make an entertaining game. If you find something to be obviously divergent from how you think things should be it is not unlikely that such a decision was made.



That does not mean you shouldn’t ask us to change it however, the suggestions forum is a great place to do so, there are often things that have not yet been considered.




Perhaps the most visible research work that goes into Europa Universalis is that to fill out the map. Many have called this game a map-painter and, though I would say there’s a bit more to it than that for me personally, the map is certainly where this game is played and where you can see most of your achievements.
The setup we have now has been worked on continuously since release and yet many parts of it are inherited from previous games. I cannot really speak for how research was done in previous installations but I do know a fair bit about how we do things now.

For the setup we’ve often come to use anything from historical atlases, to books on historical populations, to various other sources. Unlike the region based addition of content there is rarely one big source you can use to get a comprehensive picture of the entire world and era. Instead we have to rely on various historical maps, atlases and/or online databases. Both the suggestions forum and our beta-testers/researchers are great resources here as others have access to sources we do not, either because they speak other languages or because they have special interests. This is something I know well as before I joined the company I was myself involved on a volunteer basis to improve the depiction of India (both before the initial release of the game and for the general upgrade in the patch accompanying Art of War).

As before a grounding in the general era and place becomes crucial to tell good information from bad along with a willingness to keep adding and/or correcting things for the long term when we get better information. And as before the setup is also very much subject to gameplay considerations (this is why there are no wars in the world in 1444 for instance).

This was far from a complete overview of what historical research for Europa Universalis entails but an overview and an introduction that i hope has been an interesting read for all those of you who wished to know more of it :)

If you have any questions I will try to answer them in this thread. If reading this made you realize you have a pressing suggestion for things to improve then I would like to direct you towards the suggestions forum where we will be happy to read them.


As promised here are some examples of overview books used in the development of ‘El Dorado’ and ‘Mandate of Heaven’:


El Dorado:

The Cost of Courage in Aztec Society

Aztec Archeology and Ethnohistory

History of the Inca Realm


Mandate of Heaven:


Civil Examinations and Meritocracy in Late Imperial China

Cambridge History of Japan. Vol 6

That was all for today. Now I will be hitting the books and next week I will be back to talk a bit about what region is getting improved next...


This Development Diary was written by: Trin Tragula

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive

Hello again everyone! Welcome to this developer diary on the historical research we do for Europa Universalis IV.

When we have in the past asked you guys what you would like us to write about in our developer diaries the suggestion to make one about historical research in relation to the game was quite popular.

I’ll start by noting that Europa Universalis is, of course, a game. And as a game it needs to be fun to play and have systems that makes sense to interact with as a game. That said it is a game which takes it’s setting from history and which uses history as an inspiration for both mechanics and many other things.

Now there’s some form of research involved for many, many things that are in the game and I am not going to be able to cover all of them here. Rather what I will give is an introduction and overview to the research I do as a Content Designer on this game.

As a general rule historical research will fall into one of two categories dependent on what it is to be used for: Database/Setup Research and Background/Content Research. We’ll start with the Content and then continue with the setup research. I will be describing the process as it relates to expansions as I was not part of Content Design for the base game :)

Content, Mechanic related events and DHEs:

One of the things I personally like best about this game is that you can play in any location in the entire world. Not all regions have equal amounts of flavor or specific game systems however and generally (though not always) when this is expanded upon it will be concentrated on one region at a time.

When we begin working on a new DLC there will generally be a number of game systems planned by Game Designers, such as the Religious Authority system for the Inti religion in ‘El Dorado’, or more recently the Shinto Isolationism mechanic in ‘Mandate of Heaven’. These systems require fleshing out and to be given life through events and other scripted content.

1: Books

Now while I think it’s fair to say that most developers I’ve met at Paradox have an interest in history, and especially that of their respective games, it is not possible or expected that everyone know everything on their own. It is, however, desirable that we produce an image of a past place and time that tries to resemble that time without reproducing unwanted or outdated stereotypes (you might argue we have at times failed at this but our intention is pretty clear here).

In order to get a proper handle on things I will normally therefore find and order a reasonably new overview from a university publisher (at the end of this diary I’ll list some examples of books for El Dorado and Mandate of Heaven). And then after having read that go a little wider both in real life and online. This way the idea is that a reasonably fair overall vision can be preserved when diving into various details that might be required to fully flesh out a region.

Apart from being a way to “ground” the general ideas and research for a region these books are often themselves the source of many events or other details that make it into the game. They’ll usually be full of underlinings and scribblings that would disturb any librarian.



(example of a random page in one of the books used for Mandate of Heaven research)

2: The Internet & the Community


Since a long while back we also try to be in touch with certain members of the community with a special interest or skill related to the regions and times we like to portray. If you have been following these diaries for a long time you’ll remember we’ve mentioned some of them at times. Guillaume HJ, chatnoir17 and Fryz are just a few examples of posters that have offered us both hard work and insights in relation to both content and our databases over the years.

As Europa Universalis 4 is a mature game we are also able to draw from the existing community it has. The Suggestions Forum has been the source of many good additions in terms of content, sometimes specific and sometimes simply because the discussions there allow us to find more things. I really want to take this opportunity to highlight how useful this forum is. Even if we don’t always reply to everything we read the discussions and the suggestions and much of it improves the game one way or another.

Of course the internet is also a great source of information in general and it is not unknown for development to use information from various online databases. Information secured in point 1 should help in avoiding obvious pitfalls here.

3: Gameplay and other Considerations

It has been said by a former project lead that History is not an argument in itself. Of course Europa Universalis is a game, and the idea is to create an enjoyable experience rather than one that is always strictly faithful (and honestly, it is very rare that we have a clear enough picture of a past to even allow for that).

Sometimes we’ll be in situations where we choose what to portray and how, and the thing that decides this is the overall game design. The idea is not to put things in just for its own sake (though sometimes one likes to indulge, like with the birth of the state of Habsan if stars align correctly in western India) but to make an entertaining game. If you find something to be obviously divergent from how you think things should be it is not unlikely that such a decision was made.



That does not mean you shouldn’t ask us to change it however, the suggestions forum is a great place to do so, there are often things that have not yet been considered.




Perhaps the most visible research work that goes into Europa Universalis is that to fill out the map. Many have called this game a map-painter and, though I would say there’s a bit more to it than that for me personally, the map is certainly where this game is played and where you can see most of your achievements.
The setup we have now has been worked on continuously since release and yet many parts of it are inherited from previous games. I cannot really speak for how research was done in previous installations but I do know a fair bit about how we do things now.

For the setup we’ve often come to use anything from historical atlases, to books on historical populations, to various other sources. Unlike the region based addition of content there is rarely one big source you can use to get a comprehensive picture of the entire world and era. Instead we have to rely on various historical maps, atlases and/or online databases. Both the suggestions forum and our beta-testers/researchers are great resources here as others have access to sources we do not, either because they speak other languages or because they have special interests. This is something I know well as before I joined the company I was myself involved on a volunteer basis to improve the depiction of India (both before the initial release of the game and for the general upgrade in the patch accompanying Art of War).

As before a grounding in the general era and place becomes crucial to tell good information from bad along with a willingness to keep adding and/or correcting things for the long term when we get better information. And as before the setup is also very much subject to gameplay considerations (this is why there are no wars in the world in 1444 for instance).

This was far from a complete overview of what historical research for Europa Universalis entails but an overview and an introduction that i hope has been an interesting read for all those of you who wished to know more of it :)

If you have any questions I will try to answer them in this thread. If reading this made you realize you have a pressing suggestion for things to improve then I would like to direct you towards the suggestions forum where we will be happy to read them.


As promised here are some examples of overview books used in the development of ‘El Dorado’ and ‘Mandate of Heaven’:


El Dorado:

The Cost of Courage in Aztec Society

Aztec Archeology and Ethnohistory

History of the Inca Realm


Mandate of Heaven:


Civil Examinations and Meritocracy in Late Imperial China

Cambridge History of Japan. Vol 6

That was all for today. Now I will be hitting the books and next week I will be back to talk a bit about what region is getting improved next...


This Development Diary was written by: Trin Tragula

Read the original post

Useful links
Official Website
Europa Universalis IV Wiki
Europa Universalis IV Development Diary Archive

We just released a hotfix for 1.21, fixing the Ironman save to cloud bug, and a couple more.


You can always revert your game to a previous version by following these instructions.

Please do not report any bugs in this thread. If you encounter any issues, then make a proper bug report in our bug report forum.

Thank you!

We just released a hotfix for 1.21, fixing the Ironman save to cloud bug, and a couple more.


You can always revert your game to a previous version by following these instructions.

Please do not report any bugs in this thread. If you encounter any issues, then make a proper bug report in our bug report forum.

Thank you!