Welcome to the 29th Developer’s Diary for Europa Universalis IV, and this week we talk about the province interface and the changes we made to everybody’s favorite group of nations – the hordes.

Province Interface
One of the goals we set for ourselves in Europa Universalis IV was to make the interface more sensible and the information easier to find. The Provincial interface is a good example of what we are trying to do throughout the game to make the experience smoother for both veterans of the series and rookies.

The main province tab has five different areas:
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Welcome to the 28th development diary for Europa Universalis IV and today we’ve got lots of variety for you - three different subjects. We look at two smaller European countries, each quite different from the other, and then we look into what’s changed with one of the most important events in the game - the Reformation.

Scotland
Scotland has an outsized importance in history considering its meager geography and wealth because of its location. After breaking free from English rule in the 14th century, Scotland was a constant thorn in the side of her larger southern neighbor, and, until the kingdoms were united again under the Stuart dynasty, the Scots were an essential ally for any continental power that wanted to threaten the English. Even after union, Scottish rebels and dissenters could be counted on to counter the throne in London.
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Welcome to the 27th development diary for Europa Universalis IV.* Today, we look into the shadier parts of diplomacy.*As we mentioned in one of earliest dev diaries, we’ve removed spies, but there are some actions that we still consider as “covert”, so we have spy actions, but no spies.
Now, we have diplomats perform these tasks, giving another option for this precious resource.* *

Spy Ideas
If you are really committed to the idea of espionage as an arm of national power, we have an idea group oriented around the spy activities. This group falls into the Administrative Power track of ideas, even though it uses diplomats.
The bonus for having all seven ideas is a +50% bonus to rebel support efficiency.

The seven ideas in the spy group are:
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Welcome to the 26th development diary for Europa Universalis IV, and this time we turn our attention to the Low Countries, specifically the medieval great power of Burgundy and the Renaissance mercantile giant the Netherlands. Two very different histories, dominating some very flat and wet territory.

Possibilities

Though its historic power base is in eastern France, by the early 15th century the Valois family and Duchy of Burgundy had purchased or inherited vast stretches of Flemish, Belgian and Dutch lands – what we now call Belgium and the Netherlands. Under a series of outstanding rulers with great sobriquets like “the Bold”, “the Fearless” and “the Good”, Burgundy used its great wealth and strategic position between a weak Holy Roman Empire and a crumbling France to become a major player for a few generations.

For you, the player, Burgundy starts with a ton of options. Do you intervene in the Hundred Year’s War to keep France down, at the risk of England and other powers claiming lands for themselves? Do you expand into the tiny German bishoprics and principalities that dot your northeastern border? ...

Welcome to another developer diary for Europa Universalis IV - the 25th one, in which we discuss the intricacies of the works of Lev Nikolajevitj Tolstoy.

Wargoals
Two concepts that have worked well in our recent games have been setting war goals and the ticking war score. The combination of the two has created a system where what you have to do to win a war is clear and easy to understand.

For newcomers, these systems work like this: war goals, introduced in Victoria II, are the targets you set for a war. These are tightly connected to the casus belli, so your war goal may be to take the core province that you are squabbling over. The “ticking war score”, which we introduced in Crusader Kings II, adds points to your war score as long as you have fulfilled the goals you have set. So if your goal is to take Berlin, your war score increases each day you occupy it.

However one of things that makes Europa Universalis peace system stand out, and that really shines in multiplayer, is its free flowing nature. How much you try to take and claim at the peace table depends very much on how the war is going at this current time. We wanted to preserve this fluid conception of war while still using elements of the war goal/ticking war score systems.
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Welcome to the 24th development diary for our empire building game Europa Universalis IV and today we turn our eyes to one of the most interesting nations and a favorite because of its location and variety – The Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman Possibilities

When your story begins in the Grand Campaign, the Empire prospers under the rule of a line of committed and effective Sultans. In fact, we take our starting date from the dramatic Ottoman victory over an alliance of Christian monarchs at Vama in November, 1444. The Ottomans have flourished economically due to their control of the major overland trade routes between Europe and Asia. The Ottoman Empire is one of the most powerful states in the world – a multinational, multilingual empire.
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Welcome to another Europa Universalis IV development diary – Number 23 in fact. We have already done three more development diaries than we’d done for Europa Universalis III, and we still have about 30 more possible diaries to write.* There is still a lot to talk about when it comes to diplomacy, naval combat, westernization, economy, the Reformation and more.* And yes, we also need to make country guides for Poland and Norway.

Today, however, we’re talking a little more about diplomacy, where we introduce a new concept, and talk about how a few others have changed.
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Welcome to the 22nd development diary for Europa Universalis IV. The focus of this development diary is about the most glorious of nations, the Archduchy of Austria. This is the nation I've played the most in competetive multiplayer in EU2, EU3 and EU4, and they have a special place in my heart.

Austrian Possibilities
At the start of the Grand Campaign in 1444, we find the Habsburgs have added other provinces in the vicinity of the Duchy of Austria and accumulated lands far from their hereditary base. Austria’s biggest strategic problem is that it is surrounded. Many of its great power rivals only have one major border to secure, or one local problem at a time. Austria has a strong Venice to its south, a potential rival in Hungary to its east and both Bohemia and Bavaria to the north can be trouble if they co-operate.
On the plus side, this very multiplicity of potential enemies means that Austria also has a multiplicity of potential allies.
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Welcome to another development diary for Europa Universalis IV and today we focus on warfare. Yes, you knew this dev diary was coming, didn’t you? It’s really quite difficult to play the game without understanding how the armies work.

Warfare is one of the most important aspects of Europa Universalis IV, and over the almost 400 years of gameplay, armies and navies will be your prime instruments of power when you go to war. You need to be aware of the different units of your armies and their strengths and weaknesses.
So, it is time to build some armies and go to war! In times of war, you will have to raise and maintain armies and fleets, conquer nations and project your power onto the world. You see them standing, moving and fighting on the map. ...

Welcome to the 20th development diary on Europa Universalis IV. Today we offer you a great tale of two cities - a magnificent saga of trade in the Mediterranean and a rivalry to dominate that trade. We bring you Venice and Genoa, trading capitals of Italy.

Both start as merchant republics, a government form that increases their trade power by 10%, their trade efficiency by 5% and gives them an extra merchant. Both of these republics are formidable trade powers, but in your hands, who knows where their destiny lies? Among other things that Venice and Genoa have in common, both of these states have the decision to Confirm Thalassocracy (a fancy word for “Ships are awesome and will be our backbone), which gives a dramatic boost to their navy and trade power once they get a colonial empire going. ...

Welcome to the 18th development diary on Europa Universalis. This time we focus on Portugal, one of the more unlikely empires in history, a country whose sailors and explorers were so instrumental in ensuring that Europe would be the dominant region of the world.

Portuguese Possibilities
Historically, Portugal’s fate was intimately connected with that of its larger neighbor to the west, Castile/Spain. Though for a time the two nations were united under a single crown, Portugal was able to maintain its independence through strong diplomacy, a powerful merchant fleet and a global empire that could serve as the treasury for a sometimes put upon country.

So, Portugal starts in a rather weak position. They are at the far edge of Europe with no obvious weaker Christian neighbor to conquer, and her own territory is rather small and poor at the start. You need to get a good friend in either Castile or Aragon, and then focus on exploring and expanding a colonial empire to bring you the riches.
Portugal does open the game in a relatively strong diplomatic position. First, it is allied with England, an alliance that would survive for centuries in one for or another. And second, it doesn’t take a lot of poking for Spain to agree to be friends – Castile has more fertile ground for expansion to the north east. ...

Welcome to the 17th development diary about Europa Universalis IV. This time we will talk about the game concept we revolutionized in the original version of the game, namely the diplomatic aspect of the game. From the very beginning of the series, Europa Universalis has tried to give nuance and flexibility to strategy game diplomacy, which so often is simply war/peace/alliance. We have a lot of new tools and tips to help you manage the delicate art of foreign relations.

Diplomacy – War, peace and anything in between
Even if you agree with the wise man that said Warfare is simply a continuation of politics, international politics and diplomacy are vital aspects of Europa Universalis in their own right – not just as peaceful alternatives to war. So yes, we have declarations of war, peace negotiations, and forming alliances. But we also encourage you to influence nations, improve your relationships, build dynastic ties, engage in covert actions, tighten economic ties and even grant or demand access to territory and ports.
The range of options can be dizzying to new players, I know. But we’re taking steps to make it all a little bit clearer. ...

Welcome to the 16th development diary for Europa Universalis Iv and today we will focus on the great nation of France. Or as they are popularly known on the forum by experienced gamers: the big blue blob. France is the country that you either love to play or love to hate, because even though it starts in a somewhat weak position, more often than not, this is the power that can make a player’s life miserable once it gets its act together.

French Possibilities

Not that you need to be reminded where it is, but France extends from the Mediterranean Sea in the South to the English Channel and the North Sea in the North, and from the Rhine on the East to the Atlantic Ocean on the West. From its shape, it is often referred to in French as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") and these natural borders, including the Pyrenees and Alps, both give it clear definition and a rich homeland from which to dominate Europe.

France doesn’t open the Grand Campaign in command of these vast lands. In 1444 she is still divided, with major chunks of territory to the north and southwest controlled by the hated English, much French territory is still under the rule of vassals or petty princes, and both Brittany and Burgundy command valuable strategic property.
Still, by 1500, a skilled player will have done as the French did and banished most of these worries away – or at least weakened them. France comes to the table with a ton of assets. ...

NEW! Europa Universalis IV Interview at GameReactor
Gamereactor caught up with Paradox Development Studios' Chris King at Gamex to find out how the work on Europa Universalis IV is progressing.
http://www.gamereactor.eu/news/59041...niversalis+IV/


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Most of the team is now off for the holidays, and the final remaining of us leaves today for up to two weeks of relaxations with friends and family.

The Europa Universalis IV team have worked very hard this year in making the foundations of a rather awesome game which has now reached the alpha stage, which means that the game is feature complete. When we get back from the holidays, the team will work towards the beta, where the remaining content gets into the game, including final events, tutorial and AI. ...

Welcome to another development diary for Europa Universalis IV!
So far, all of the national profiles we’ve given you have focused on the big boys
– the major powers that people tend to start with when they play a new game, and that have the greatest potential for world spanning empires.

But the Europa Universalis series has also attracted a lot of people that want to spend time with smaller countries and see what they can do.
This time, we turn our focus on a country that is on the 3rd tier of importance for development to show the attention they get.
So welcome to Milan, a flat territory where sultry summers and cold, rainy winters prevail. Situated in Northern Italy, the Duchy of Milan is a part of the Holy Roman Empire and includes allthe former towns of the two centuries dead Lombard League and holds the wide rural area lying between the hills of Montferrat and the Venetian Lagoon. ...

Welcome to the newest dev diary for Europa Universalis IV, and again we turn our eyes to one of the major powers in the game – the fan favorite Spain.

This is a region that a lot of players have fun with. It has a rich history, tons of options for the player and has the potential for great wealth. To be clear,*when we talk about Spain here, we’re really focusing on Castile and the giant successor state that followed Ferdinand and Isabella.* It’s not that Aragon isn’t important - it even has its own set of ideas and events – but let’s keep the Catalonians separate for now and focus on the heartlands of Toledo and Madrid.

Spanish Possibilities
Spain is a popular choice for players – new and old – for a number of reasons, but the big one is how many directions it can go in as a developing empire. It can even go in more than one direction if it chooses, because it has the location and wealth to pull off three quite different ambitions simultaneously. ...

Hey there and welcome to another developer diary for Europa Universalis IV!
Prepare for unruly peasants and recalcitrant heretics, because today we'll talk about the government and the rebels that want to bring it down.

Dealing with the rebels & their bloody agenda
As you may know from earlier Europa Universalis games (or can deduce from common sense), revolts occur in provinces when the population there gets grumpy for one reason or another. If left uncontested, the rebellion can spread like wildfire and bring neighboring provinces along for the ride. There are many ways to spot and avoid revolts, so keep an eye out for the warning signs – and read your alert tabs!

Because rebels don’t just pop up because of low stability with vague or nebulous reasons to take up arms. Each rebel faction revolts with clearly stated goals they want to achieve. Whether it is simply a tax revolt by a people being bled dry or a full blown movement for independence, the rebels are demanding, and they won’t take no for an answer. ...

Avast ye! Welcome to the 11th developer diary for March of the Eagles!
So, are you a landlubber or do you have sea legs? It´s time to set sail out on the bounding main with the wind at your back. Time to teach you how you will dominate the waters - land is not the only thing you can conquer you know

To properly relive the Napoleonic Wars, we need to give you a game that makes the control of the seas as important to you as it was to leaders at the time. You can’t have a Napoleonic War without the Battle of the Nile or the triumph at Trafalgar! Let alone controlling the sea lanes so you can strangle an opponent economically. These intensely fought years will offer large scale naval battles involving hundreds of ships and many thousands of seamen and officers. These battles could prove to be a turning point in your struggle to dominate Europe…

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