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

 

[marineFC]

More loading screens the better. Any new 'tips' or whatever text running on the bottom of the loading screen?

 

[Sousuke123]

Wasn't the era of Jan Sobieski a golden era? I expected Stephen Bathory..

Nope Jan III Sobieski lived in time of Deluge, Chmielnicki's Uprising, Independence war from Prussia, Rakoczy Invasion from Transylvania and disastrous war with Turkey which led to losing almost whole of Ruthenia that PLC retained after treaty of Andruszów. PLC Golden Age was like 100 years before. At Sobieski's time PLC was completely exhausted, all stolen goods, arts were in Stockholm, cities destroyed and death toll was only comparable to German occupation during WWII.

 

[Janissary Agha]

Constantine XI in worn-out clothes in front of a bunch of ruined city districts?

I didn't know how he died. I'd give him credit for the last standing against the Kebab.

 

[Mauer]

Needs more Asia.

 

[yerm]

Why are all these big boring countries getting loading screens? Let's implement ones for the enjoyable nations:

Spoiler

Hansa, Eastern Roman Empire, Ferarra, and Ryukyu all deserve representation more than these knuckleheads we currently have.

 

[SchwarzerKaiser]

Frederick the Great with Charlottenburg palace in the background would be quite neat I think.

Or something war related.

 

[MyFaceBurns]

Any chance we could get a loading screen associated with one of the figures for the Women in History DLC?

Hasn't there already been enough revisionism?

 

[MacDuffin]

Damn that guy is classy.
Can't wait to see what you'll do for Prussia. Very likely it will be Frederick II, but I wonder what landscape you'll use.

Shouldn't be a landmark, just the Prussian army marching to war, like any good nation of soldiers would do.

 

[Sagif]

Or, even better... Put this little fella as an English/German King...

Long live King Joffrey, the First of His Name!

 

[Roki_09]

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

I dont think USA should be anywhere near the top of countries that deserve a loadingscreen. It is important now, but in the time period it wasnt at all. It gained its independent less then 50 years before end date, and was not certainly not a world power during that time.

I understand there are a lot of Americans that would like to see their leaders, but on the other hand there are a lot of people that want the same thing for their country. Me included, but im being realistic...


Lets just have most important or maybe also most played countries added.

 

[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.

 

[Savagepumpkin]

Ok, Charles V is a tribute to the HRE, but I think every Spaniard player of EU believe he is a great part of Spanish History as well, so technically we have 2 tributes haha

 

[Sousuke123]

Can you elaborate?

Cause it's only myth that perpetuate through society that he saved Christian Europe or other BS. Ottomans wouldn't win the war and Austria as usual would hide behind the walls waiting till winter comes as they did during first siege. They would bleed themselves to death and PLC would only gain from weakening 2 potential threat to them. Beside king never demanded anything in return from it despite him whining all night all day about taking back Silesia one day. Not to mention less than 100 years later Austria returned favor by participation in Partition of PLC and seizing Starostwo Spiskie some time before it. As I said before he led PLC to another war despite all disasters that happened to country few years back. He is disgrace to our country nothing else.

 

[Urlacher]

The danish ruler ought to be Margaret I with motive being the signing of The Kalmar Union. Christian IV did many good things for Denmark, but he lost so many wars! Another could Tycho Brahe or a strong underdog Niels Juel.

 

[Falc]

I have Res Publica but Maurice of Nassau is never appearing, does anybody know the reason? Maybe traitors are not shown?

Maurice of Nassau originally was only cover art, but we turned him into a full loading screen for 1.13.

In other words, the Nassau loading screen was not implemented at the time of Res Publica. So 1.13 will bring 2 new loading screens, one of them being a backfill.

 

[zerosius]

I just want to say a few things.
The background image of Suleiman is just wrong.

The mosque just behind Suleiman isn't Hagia Sophia as you said. Hagia Sofia is the one at the very back. You can see the minarets. Then what's the mosque behind Suleiman?

It's Ortakoy mosque, which didn't even exist in that period of time. As a Turk, I would love to get this fixed as I get a laughter every time I look at Suleiman's image

Indeed! I was in Istanbul for the greater part of this year, and visited most of the landmarks there. I was surprised when i visited Ortakoy Mosque and learned, that it was not consturcted back then o.0

 

[nOxr]

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

She might have been dead by 1444, but her legacy was very much alive. She had a huge influence on the history of Scandinavia and she's one of the few great queens around, so I'm all in favour of a Margaret loadingscreen.

 

[Lostintheclouds]

Cause it's only myth that perpetuate through society that he saved Christian Europe or other BS. Ottomans wouldn't win the war and Austria as usual would hide behind the walls waiting till winter comes as they did during first siege. They would bleed themselves to death and PLC would only gain from weakening 2 potential threat to them. Beside king never demanded anything in return from it despite him whining all night all day about taking back Silesia one day. Not to mention less than 100 years later Austria returned favor by participation in Partition of PLC and seizing Starostwo Spiskie some time before it. As I said before he led PLC to another war despite all disasters that happened to country few years back. He is disgrace to our country nothing else.

Much respect for Jan Sobieski but mind you Austria intervened militarily on behalf of the PLC during the Deluge against Sweden from 1657 onwards prior to the 1683 when the siege of Vienna occured; PLC had first pick of plunder from the battle and taking part in the Great Turkish war (1683-1699) enabled PLC to regain territories lost in the previous PLC-Ottoman war (1672-1676). It's a bit selective to say the weakening of Austria/not joining the Holy League or participating in the relief of the siege Vienna would've not been in Polish-Lithuanian interests. Participating in the Partitions was unfortunate but to imply ungratefulness is to have a bit of a selective memory ignoring certain parts of history.

All that done, can we please do something about Poland's prestige. She really can't hold that union for some reason. or at least if they lose the union let the new dynasty in Lithuanian be the same as the current dynasty in Poland so they at least get a chance of getting it back.

 

[Martin_Mortyry]

WHY BYZ ISN'T A LUCKY NATION!?

Their capital got pillaged by the Turks after 200 years of struggle caused by their former vassal. Hah, so lucky!