Your thoughts: EU3 vs EU4

Bertouch

Musical Tree Surgeon

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Feb 15, 2007

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #1

That's assuming you've played both for a while, now, and can compare them adequately. I've had EU3 since the start, and been playing EU4 off and on since it came out, though Work and the World have other priorities. How do you think they stand up against one another?

My opinions at another time. Have a go, yourself.

 

Emre Yigit

Creeping out of Covid hibernation

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Jun 13, 2001

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #2

Pros: Smoother, generally better UI, better diplomacy and war mechanics. Even for someone as uninterested as me in graphics, these are better than in EU3.
Cons: Some things that made managing your empire easier lacking (eg the lack of "go to" buttons on many things), recycled music
Undecided: The trade system. I hated the old one, but the new one is a blow to my ego.

And the usual bugs, unintuitive things etc which are becoming fewer and fewer with each EU iteration but which still appear.

Overall, a very substantial improvement even over the last versions of EU3, and I have no doubt that future patches will make EU4 even better.

 

R

rinuseuropa

Guest

• Aug 31, 2013

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• #3

I like them both. Same world, different gameplay. Some things feels dumped down, some things are better now.

 

A

Atris

Captain

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Mar 30, 2011

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #4

EU IV is a vast improvement in nearly every aspect when compared to EU III. There are some issues with border frictions and coalitions but still vastly better than before. I have played probably hundreds of hours in EU III, and havent touched it since EU IV came out. Thats the biggest endorsement I can give.

 

• 1

Reactions:

CyaN

Shifty Mediterranean

102 Badges

May 9, 2008

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #5

I love Europa Universalis 3, but if you were any good you became too powerful, too fast. If you knew what you were doing, after the first 100 years you were the only global power, no matter how poor was your starting situation, and you weren't actually threatened by anything. You could just steamroll everything... or abandon the game, which is what I did most of the times. And the tech system was pretty horrible.

That doesn't happen in EU4. Of course, you can dominate the world pretty fast with Spain or England, but there are tons of other playable options that will keep the game challenging for centuries.

EU4 is an improvement over EU3 without detracting anything. It's clearly better.

 

Elcyion

Master of Lulz

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Apr 23, 2008

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #6

Undecided some of the eu4 stuff bugs me and eu3 at the end is fairly polished... the trade system is way to static to be fun to play with

 

Noblejms

Captain

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Jan 27, 2005

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #7

never thought i woukd say this, but EU4 is superior to EU3 in almost every way, some are apparent and a lot are quite subtle.

 

P

Papasym

Private

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Aug 23, 2013

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #8

NobleJms said:

never thought i would* say this, but EU4 is superior to EU3 in almost every way, some are apparent and a lot are quite subtle.

Click to expand...

Agreed, changing the diplomats/colonists to individuals rather than currency, the whole admin etc points thing was really well done.

Only problem I really have is I think some different ideas with the different culture nations. Rather than x1.5 tech cost, some different techs more relevant to their skill gain would make the game less slow playing as some of those nations.

 

Carrandas

Second Lieutenant

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Feb 22, 2012

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #9

I'm having most fun with the trading system.

 

unmerged(318660)

Second Lieutenant

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May 21, 2011

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #10

EU4 is superior in most aspects of the game - however the tech system is something I don't enjoy too much, since it's limiting strategies. You cannot go for an advanced army or fleet anymore while neglecting other tech trees, so you're just stuck to randomness.

 

bananasgomop

Second Lieutenant

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Nov 9, 2012

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #11

in many ways, eu4 is a much better and excting game. there are only a few things, imo, that need rebalancing (monarch points/buildings) but mostly everything is better than eu3, imo.

 

Nilmerf

Lt. General

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Jan 18, 2007

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #12

I can't think of one single thing that I liked better in EU3 than in EU4. Perhaps the performance, it could be optimized more for sure. And I'm not just saying that, as I am indeed a critic. For instance I enjoyed Victoria and Hearts of Iron 2 more than their sequels.

 

Will Lucky

Field Marshal

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Jan 18, 2007

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #13

Honestly, I think I can sum it up as an improvement in just about every respect.

 

WeissRaben

Gian Galeazzo Visconti #1 Fanboy.

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Sep 29, 2008

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #14

Performance was way better in EU3, but that could be expected. Other things that I don't really like about EU4 were there in EU3 as well, so there is no clear advantage there; and many revamped systems work better than their predecessors.

(I still preferred Ideas + sliders than the current Idea only, but well.)

 

S

Shadowless

Colonel

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Jul 27, 2010

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #15

A true sequel, an improvement in most departments (I ignore some issues since games do take some time to get fixed) the multiplayer although still not great is a vast improvement. Also the MP change (I know it happened in EU3 5.2?) was a great change to the system because it requires you to be more careful and makes mercs a much more viable option. The ideas are nice although they need balancing but I have to admit I miss sliders.

 

knul

General

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Jan 15, 2006

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #16

There is no going back to EU3 after EU4: it is simply superior in every single way. Not perfect by a long stretch, but such a better game that it is no competition.

 

unmerged(215686)

First Lieutenant

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Jul 17, 2010

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #17

At first I though the tech penalties for non Westerners was going to make me hate playing a non Western Nation, but after a Poland and Oman game, and not being able to westernize because I was on par with the best of the West, I realized it wasn't so bad.

But then I tried a Vietnam game, and got kicked in the jibblies. Tech penalties for Asians/Indians are way too much.

That said, everything else is magnificent. Trade has meaning. My Monarch has meaning. The advisors have meaning. I have to deal with strong AI opponents even in the 1700s. The list of better goes on and on.

 

Cossack8559

Major

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Feb 12, 2008

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #18

Played EU3 since release pretty much non-stop. Loved the game. In my opinion EUIV is a superior game in almost every way possible. I'm up to 86 hours already, although that probably says more about the lack of my social life more than anything else.

 

aono

Field Marshal

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Aug 26, 2008

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #19

Well, vanilla EU3 was BAD, if you compare it with vanilla EU4. If we take Divine Wind... well, I believe you can have more stuff - as events, decisions, potential ahistoric countries, and so on. Non-european playing could be more interesting as well.

 

KPJ

C# or Bb

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Nov 3, 2010

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• Aug 31, 2013

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• #20

knul said:

There is no going back to EU3 after EU4: it is simply superior in every single way. Not perfect by a long stretch, but such a better game that it is no competition.

Click to expand...

My opinion too.