Hello everyone, and welcome to this weeks development diary for EU4.

This week I want to talk about the loadingscreens of EU4. Our goal is to add to the pool of loadingscreens every time we do a major update, so that you have a large variety of cool pictures to view while the harddrive is booting up the game.

Each picture represents one country in the game, and we do not plan to have more than 1 loading screen for each nation. There is also one of the most iconic leaders of that nation on the picture, as well as a location which represents that nation.

And when making expansions, it is very much important that the country picked fits the theme for it.

Original Game
We shipped with 5 different loading screens, representing about half of the major powers of the era.
Sweden - Gustavus II Adolphus & Stockholm Archipelago
Spain - Isabella & Carribean Islands
England - Elizabeth I & Cliffs of Dover
France - Louis XIV France & French Farmlands
Ottomans - Suleiman the Magnificent & Haga Sophia

Conquest of Paradise
Iroqouis - Hiawatha & Niagara Falls

Wealth of Nations
Venice - Andrea Gritti & City of Venice

Res Publica
Netherlands - Maurice of Nassau & Windmills at Canals

Art of War
Russia - Catherine the Great & Siberia

El Dorado
Aztecs - Montezuma & Tenochtitlan

Common Sense
Austrai - Charles V & The Alps

And for our new 1.13 patch, we are adding a loading screen for Poland, with Jan Sobieski and the Jasna Gora Monastery!

We still aim to have pictures for Portugal, Denmark & Prussia of the europeans majors, but it needs to fit thematically for the expansions. Not that I can think of any important Danish ruler through history.. pokes @Groogy

 

[Grand Historian]

Cheers for the DD, loading screens are indeed cool . That pic of Jan has some quality attitude going on . While I've got nothing against Denmark, it may be worth getting a Chinese and Japanese loading screen in there at some stage (although that'd probably work best waiting for an Asian-themed expansion).

Oda Nobunaga for Japan, Kangxi for China, Sejong for Korea, and Krishnadevaraya for India. But if Hiawatha and Montezuma can get loading screens, I don't see why Asia can't either.

Can't say anything about the Denmark debate, but my vote goes for Christian IV. He could cramp Adolphus' style, though...

 

[Urlacher]

Would be nice to have another woman, but she's sadly outside the time period (just).

You're quite right, but the effect she had on Scandinavian history is massive.

Danish Loadingscreen or riot!
I'll talk Danish for a whole month at the office when I get back from vacation.

DANISH LOADINGSCREEN OR ROIT!

 

[Roki_09]

Danish Loadingscreen or riot!
I'll talk Danish for a whole month at the office when I get back from vacation.

How big is the difference between Danish and Swedish? Can you guys understand each other?

 

[Tiax]

I'm happy to know that a new picture will be displayed while I have EU4 minimized.

 

[ZomgK3tchup]

There is a disturbing lack of Washington crossing the Delaware. Though I'd settle for Napoleon's coronation.

I want this solely because somebody will freak out about America getting more content.

On a serious note, Chinese loading screen and Prussian loading screen would be my choice screens. Maybe a Pope loading screen?

 

[Grand Historian]

I want this solely because somebody will freak out about America getting more content.

On a serious note, Chinese loading screen and Prussian loading screen would be my choice screens. Maybe a Pope loading screen?

You know, I had a thread on this a while back: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/who-should-be-in-new-loading-screens.832008/

 

[208]

we should add more [tips]...

Please don't continue to propagate this terrible vehicle for user education. If the information is important for users to know, place it somewhere that users can read all the tips, without relying on random appearance during a loading screen (which, as computers get faster, will eventually go by too quickly for the tip to be read anyway). If you must put some text there, I suggest some kind of "Did you know...?"-style historical facts or something.

 

[grommile]

How big is the difference between Danish and Swedish?

There are dialects of English that are probably further apart from each other than Swedish is from Danish.

 

[ZomgK3tchup]

Please don't continue to propagate this terrible vehicle for user education. If the information is important for users to know, place it somewhere that users can read all the tips, without relying on random appearance during a loading screen (which, as computers get faster, will eventually go by too quickly for the tip to be read anyway). If you must put some text there, I suggest some kind of "Did you know...?"-style historical facts or something.

The information on the loading screens isn't anything you shouldn't already know. In fact, most of them are more or less:

LOADING_TIP_65: "If you find the game too difficult, try lowering the difficulty."

Or reminders about hotkeys like:

LOADING_TIP_80: "Press the Home key to go to your capital province."

There's nothing new here, just a bunch of reminders about things you should already know if you're at least somewhat experienced with the game.

 

[Finnway]

Our goal is to add to the pool of loadingscreens every time we do a major update, so that you have a large variety of cool pictures to view while the harddrive is booting up the game.

Trust me, this strategy works! I love all the period "paintings" while waiting for the game to load

 

[illathid]

Danish Loadingscreen or riot!
I'll talk Danish for a whole month at the office when I get back from vacation.

I believe this is the proper response.

 

[wingzero890]

KAMALOSO

 

[Axe99]

Danish Loadingscreen or riot!
I'll talk Danish for a whole month at the office when I get back from vacation.

If there is a riot, we want pics

Just had a thought - is there any chance of the loading screens being available as desktop wallpapers somewhere (EU4 page on Paradox shop, linked on the forums, Facebook page, location not important )?

 

[Frederick_Will]

I have to say i always enjoy those loading screens, The more the better.

 

[jdrou]

How do you mothball an army? Isn't that basically disbanding?

"mothball" = reduced maintenance for individual units instead of the country's entire army.

 

[Xinkc]

"mothball" = reduced maintenance for individual units instead of the country's entire army.

To mothball a fortification or ship(s) does lower the maintenance of the object and causes them to become unmanned and, in the case of ships, in a state of unpreparedness. Generally this is meant to represent the partial or full decommissioning of the object in question so as to have it on reserve. You cannot mothball an army because it's made of people. It makes no sense. Would the army go down to 0 soldiers like forts do? Is there really an army if there are no people? Wouldn't it cost more time and ducets to replace them men anyways?

 

[jdrou]

To mothball a fortification or ship(s) does lower the maintenance of the object and causes them to become unmanned and, in the case of ships, in a state of unpreparedness. Generally this is meant to represent the partial or full decommissioning of the object in question so as to have it on reserve. You cannot mothball an army because it's made of people. It makes no sense. Would the army go down to 0 soldiers like forts do? Is there really an army if there are no people? Wouldn't it cost more time and ducets to replace them men anyways?

It is already possible to reduce the maintenance of your entire army in the game. Reduced maintenance = reduced morale. All this is asking for is the ability to do this on a more granular level.

 

[Demetrios]

I agree with several other posters that we need some loading screens featuring Asian and African leaders. I would definitely like to see Akbar (although the obvious choice of putting him in front of the Taj Mahal would be anachronistic, perhaps the Red Fort?) and Oba Nobunaga. Since we're not getting many suggestions for non-European women, perhaps a loading screen with Amina of Zazzau?

 

[generalolaf]

You know who deserves a loading screen?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amina

Edit: Wait. I didn't see the post above. Consider this me seconding that.

 

[Chaos_TLW]

To mothball a fortification or ship(s) does lower the maintenance of the object and causes them to become unmanned and, in the case of ships, in a state of unpreparedness. Generally this is meant to represent the partial or full decommissioning of the object in question so as to have it on reserve. You cannot mothball an army because it's made of people. It makes no sense. Would the army go down to 0 soldiers like forts do? Is there really an army if there are no people? Wouldn't it cost more time and ducets to replace them men anyways?

Think the Reduce Maintenace option, but for individual armies. This way you don't need to give full pay to the 120 regiments in your homeland just so your 3-stacks can protect a colony from random native uprisings.