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So what will the peace be with Switzerland, you're in a commanding position I hope to see land and vassalisation gained.
The war appears to be mostly won. The Swiss would make nice vassals - could helpfully secure your northern border and all that.
Ah yes, the old "we need morale to improve before we can move" issue. In fact, perhaps one of my favorite things about the new issue. It makes those lightening quick moves we used to make obselete and thus the game richer and more realistic.
Rensslaer: ...For a 2-play to succeed, both merchants would have to be successful. On the other hand, with 4 merchants involved, with 2 successful and 2 failed, I still got 1 merchant to stick with my 4-play.
would an increase in your "abilities" at trading, do you use 3-plays instead of 4-plays later in the game? ?
vassal the Swiss ! !
excellent update ! !
would an increase in your "abilities" at trading, do you use 3-plays instead of 4-plays later in the game? ?
vassal the Swiss ! !
excellent update ! !
Trading is an incredible source of revenue: 60% of my income in most of my games so far has come from trade.
Actually, unless there's an open spot (which in EU 3, unlike EU 2, is unlikely to remain open long enough to plan to hit -- you may hit one by chance), the only way to get 2 merchants to stick is to use a 4-play.GhostWriter said:would an increase in your "abilities" at trading, do you use 3-plays instead of 4-plays later in the game? ?
If you use 3, either 1 of the first 2 can fail, but a success from the last one can take the open slot. But you're only increasing your chances of getting a single merchant to stick. It remains impossible to get 2 merchants to stick unless you use 4 at a time.
With a 4-play, you have a chance of getting 2 to stick, and a far larger possibility to get at least 1 to stick.
I'm not a mathematician -- it's possible this all evens out in the end, but I'm sticking to my theory that 4 merchants is the ideal combination!
I'll try to get another update up tonight, but I'm also working on a newsletter, and should also look for a job!
Rensslaer
Mike, great to hear from you! It would be remarkable to have a story about becoming Emperor with the richness of your Arabian story!Mike von Bek said:
I'd probably be the Trade Confederation, or something.CatKnight said:I think if this keeps up you'll need to change your AAR name to "Trade Wars: The Italians Strike Back" or some such.
How's the Roman/French war going?
As for the Roman French war... Well... I promise I'll tell you in 2 updates. Fascinating history of the condottieri! Louis Napoleon, of 19th century French fame, was one of those soldiers -- a mercenary, more or less, I think.Chief Ragusa said:
As to EU 3, yes, I highly recommend it. I've truly gotten hooked, far more than I expected.
Yes, I certainly agree on the potential for massive income from trade. As yet -- this early in the chronology, and with so many competitors -- I'm having difficulty reaching that potential. Trade (excluding trade tariffs) brings in maybe about 15% of my income at present. You'll see occasional screenshots of my income levels from each source.Sapphire said:
I hadn't played EU 2 enough to have gotten jaded, or gotten that used to its AI to be able to notice the differences. But the troop-building certanly has a different tempo to it, which for the most part I like.Olaus Petrus said:Well, it seems that my earlier comment was bit premature. AI seems to be causing you trouble after all, thanks to men of Brunswick.
Garuda, yes -- you have the right of it, on the 2-play.
As for the Imperial throne, it remains in my sights, but naturally the war has taken my eye off the prize for a bit.
And with regard to the outcome with Switzerland, when I complete the war, you will find that my decision on vassalization vs. territorial conquest will be guided by my experience of what I've found generally happens to Switzerland no matter what I do... Whatever that means (which you will see!)...
Ghostwriter, Shokan, Duke of Wellington, Stnylan, Coz1 & Fulcrumvale, thank you very much for reading!
Rensslaer
Having rested his armies, Sforza led them back toward Bern to add their strength to the besieging forces. However, just before he arrived, a small regiment of Swiss arrived to try the impossible – to raise the siege. An army from Brunswick returned, at about the same time, to Schwyz. They were beaten back relatively easily.
The Swiss at Bern were small in number, but my forces were not especially strong themselves. I was worried that, at the very least, they might weaken the morale of my besieging force to the point where it would make an assault impossible without a serious delay.
Fortunately, our siege was not broken, King Sforza arrived with a large army, and the Swiss relief force was annihilated (which, as we will see, had some not so positive effects later!).
The siege of Bern had already been going for several months, and its fall was imminent. In February of 1480, the city fathers finally surrendered the city, without Sforza having to mount a redundant assault upon the city, with the associated further loss of life.
An ultimatum was delivered to the Swiss President, and it was accepted. Some criticized the decision to ask for territorial concessions from the Swiss, rather than vassalization. However, with an aggressive France, and an aggressive Burgundy, and an aggressive Austria all on Switzerland’s borders, Sforza felt that the Hellenic Republic of Switzerland was doomed to be not long for this world. Schwyz would make a good first addition to the borders of Milan – the first since the annexation of Genoan lands in earlier decades.
Interestingly, just 5 days after the Swiss accepted peace on our terms, a Lorraine which had been emasculated by France invaded a Switzerland which had been emasculated by us! They potentially could strike the worn out remnants of the Swiss military, and claim the more important Swiss province of Bern – using our success to succeed beyond our achievements! But first they had to actually accomplish their feat, and it remains to be seen whether Lorraine has the power to do even that.
Then I look closer… Lorraine is allied with Burgundy, and Burgundy has just besieged Bern. Looks like I have a new neighbor! Or will soon. Oh well… My relations with Burgundy are decent (+70). And the uproar that would result from breaking the truce and stealing Bern out from under the Burgundians was just too extreme to contemplate for such little gain. But don’t think one of the vaunted Sforza let an evening pass without considering it!
The Swiss at Bern were small in number, but my forces were not especially strong themselves. I was worried that, at the very least, they might weaken the morale of my besieging force to the point where it would make an assault impossible without a serious delay.
Fortunately, our siege was not broken, King Sforza arrived with a large army, and the Swiss relief force was annihilated (which, as we will see, had some not so positive effects later!).
The siege of Bern had already been going for several months, and its fall was imminent. In February of 1480, the city fathers finally surrendered the city, without Sforza having to mount a redundant assault upon the city, with the associated further loss of life.
An ultimatum was delivered to the Swiss President, and it was accepted. Some criticized the decision to ask for territorial concessions from the Swiss, rather than vassalization. However, with an aggressive France, and an aggressive Burgundy, and an aggressive Austria all on Switzerland’s borders, Sforza felt that the Hellenic Republic of Switzerland was doomed to be not long for this world. Schwyz would make a good first addition to the borders of Milan – the first since the annexation of Genoan lands in earlier decades.
Interestingly, just 5 days after the Swiss accepted peace on our terms, a Lorraine which had been emasculated by France invaded a Switzerland which had been emasculated by us! They potentially could strike the worn out remnants of the Swiss military, and claim the more important Swiss province of Bern – using our success to succeed beyond our achievements! But first they had to actually accomplish their feat, and it remains to be seen whether Lorraine has the power to do even that.
Then I look closer… Lorraine is allied with Burgundy, and Burgundy has just besieged Bern. Looks like I have a new neighbor!
Or will soon. Oh well… My relations with Burgundy are decent (+70). And the uproar that would result from breaking the truce and stealing Bern out from under the Burgundians was just too extreme to contemplate for such little gain. But don’t think one of the vaunted Sforza let an evening pass without considering it! 
Luckily we don't have many Swiss people on this board (I guess) since Switzerland seems to be an easy target for Milan (being it AI or human), while the Swiss troops were one of the most strongest in Europe in those days
Forza Sforza !
A nice AAR
Forza Sforza !
A nice AAR
Nicely done, but now you border both Austria and Burgundy. You have to think at least one of them is looking at you and thinking, "Nice meal."
Great expansion and very good work against the Swiss. Interesting to see Lorraine and Burgundy have become your new neighbours. Could turn nasty or it could turn good, shall be interesting to see…
And that is the problem of creating one-province minors. Well, at least it will strengthen Burgundy for its wars against France.
Poor Switzerland, but I guess that's what happens. Hope you have good relations with your new neighbor .
.
Rensslaer: ...But don’t think one of the vaunted Sforza let an evening pass without considering it!
not to mention, our author ? ?
hmmm. since you border both Austria and Burgundy, perhaps you could engineer a small altercation between them and DOW one (and pick up a province or two [or three ?] ) and then DOW the other one with similar results ? ?
excellent update ! !
not to mention, our author ? ?
hmmm. since you border both Austria and Burgundy, perhaps you could engineer a small altercation between them and DOW one (and pick up a province or two [or three ?]
) and then DOW the other one with similar results ? ? excellent update ! !
Smallest issue ever :
Should be "....France, aggressive Burgundy, AND Austria" otherwise the 'and' is just whack.
Should be "....France, aggressive Burgundy, AND Austria" otherwise the 'and' is just whack.
I used 55 ducats and the 4% Land Tradition I gained in war with Switzerland (I’d hoped for more, but this is what I got) to raise a new general. Achille de Guzman became a new, mediocre leader for our newly militarized kingdom.
On the trading front, my merchants in France were all lost by early 1480.
Part of the problem is I’m trying too hard in markets where I just don’t have the staying power – that is, I have some decent capability as a trading country, but when competing with several lesser trading powers, all competing for the same spots, I’m having trouble.
So I try a different approach. Hopefully Novgorod, which has fewer merchants from major trading powers, and less draw than many of these other CoTs will be the right spot. I successfully get only 1 merchant. Let’s see how long he lasts.
You’ll notice that each of my 3 competes – 2 failed and 1 successful – were against Tuscany. Those pesky Tuscans! Since there was only 1 Tuscan merchant there, this actually becomes a scientific test! The order of merchants (ref. the quad of popups above) is clear – 2 failed merchants first, then 1 successful compete, then 1 successful taking of the newly open spot. The 4-play is working. Obviously, only 2 merchants would have been a complete loss. You could argue that the next 2-play would have been a success, but that’s not necessarily a logical conclusion.
CatKnight happened to ask me what happened with the war between France and the Papal States just about the same time that I wondered the very same thing. I think, actually, this must be chalked up as a bug – I have Avignon still occupied by Orleans (one of France’s allies), but no more war. I never got any notice of when the war ended… it just ended. Technically, the Papal States is still a 3-province minor, but one of its provinces appears to be permanently occupied by a vassal of France!
The war between Sicily and Spain (Castille and Aragon) was ended with a White Peace.
Around these same years, Brandenburg annexed Luneburg, Castille absorbed Granada, Bohemia gained one of Thuringia’s two provinces, and Bavaria gobbled the rest of it… The map has not changed a great deal yet, but it’s changing. Most concerning of these changes, of course, is Burgundy’s annexation of the remainder of Switzerland. There’s my new neighbor!
My other potential enemy to the west is France, who is currently at war with Brittany. I’ll keep an eye on that.
On the trading front, my merchants in France were all lost by early 1480.
Part of the problem is I’m trying too hard in markets where I just don’t have the staying power – that is, I have some decent capability as a trading country, but when competing with several lesser trading powers, all competing for the same spots, I’m having trouble.
So I try a different approach. Hopefully Novgorod, which has fewer merchants from major trading powers, and less draw than many of these other CoTs will be the right spot. I successfully get only 1 merchant. Let’s see how long he lasts.
You’ll notice that each of my 3 competes – 2 failed and 1 successful – were against Tuscany. Those pesky Tuscans! Since there was only 1 Tuscan merchant there, this actually becomes a scientific test! The order of merchants (ref. the quad of popups above) is clear – 2 failed merchants first, then 1 successful compete, then 1 successful taking of the newly open spot. The 4-play is working. Obviously, only 2 merchants would have been a complete loss. You could argue that the next 2-play would have been a success, but that’s not necessarily a logical conclusion.
CatKnight happened to ask me what happened with the war between France and the Papal States just about the same time that I wondered the very same thing. I think, actually, this must be chalked up as a bug – I have Avignon still occupied by Orleans (one of France’s allies), but no more war. I never got any notice of when the war ended… it just ended. Technically, the Papal States is still a 3-province minor, but one of its provinces appears to be permanently occupied by a vassal of France!
The war between Sicily and Spain (Castille and Aragon) was ended with a White Peace.
Around these same years, Brandenburg annexed Luneburg, Castille absorbed Granada, Bohemia gained one of Thuringia’s two provinces, and Bavaria gobbled the rest of it… The map has not changed a great deal yet, but it’s changing. Most concerning of these changes, of course, is Burgundy’s annexation of the remainder of Switzerland. There’s my new neighbor!
My other potential enemy to the west is France, who is currently at war with Brittany. I’ll keep an eye on that.