Just how many comets are there in space?

[unmerged(739896)]

I just had 5 comets in the last 15 years, 3 of them in a row within a less than five years, crashing my stability from 0 to -3. Ridiculous! Is it a completely random event or is it influenced by high AE? (the world hates my guts for annexing half of Europe)

 

[Solo4114]

I just had 5 comets in the last 15 years, 3 of them in a row within a less than five years, crashing my stability from 0 to -3. Ridiculous! Is it a completely random event or is it influenced by high AE? (the world hates my guts for annexing half of Europe)

Check it out on the wiki.

It's a biyearly event, which means it can trigger every 2 years.

It happens based on the following:

2x more likely if you have Stab +3.
2x more likely if you have Stab +2.
2x more likely if you do NOT have a lvl 3 natural science advisor.


So, in answer to your query as to how many comets there are in space, the answer is "It depends. Which advisors do you have, and how stable is your government?" The more stable, the more likely you'll see a comet.

 

[Rey]

IIRC there was a poll about removing the comet event before EU4 was released. People chose to keep it.

 

[IEKevin]

IIRC there was a poll about removing the comet event before EU4 was released. People chose to keep it.

what kind of people love them comet events ?

Now In eu4 beta you had a chance to get a +1 stab or a -1 stab 50% for each but then paradox said *we shall bless you guys with comets that come with only -1 stab as a option*

 

[sinkingmist]

It's a biyearly event, which means it can trigger every 2 years.

Pretty sure the bi-yearly events occur twice a year, not once every 2 years.

There's a mod that disables comets (see my signature).
I highly recommend it,

 

[Ithron]

Without comets, some other mechanism would be needed to balance the game:
1) No state ever has been stable for several generations. Most often - not even for 20 years.
2) Any LONG game has to have periods of ups and periods of downs. A skilled player can set up such foreign policy that no foreign threat will come. But history shows well that NONE such situations have been perpetual into eternity. So, domestic threats it is.
3) People are irrational. Especially pre-scientific revolution. And the sky unspoiled by artificial lights? Yea, thats the playground of gods, spirits, forces of the universe. A red unusual light (aurora borealis, comets, Venus, Mars) in sky could for example signal a war soon to happen. Who'd be merry seeing it?

 

[Tallyhoo]

Well maybe im lucky one but after 250 years i have seen like 2 comet events.

 

[Penguintopia]

I just had 5 comets in the last 15 years, 3 of them in a row within a less than five years, crashing my stability from 0 to -3. Ridiculous! Is it a completely random event or is it influenced by high AE? (the world hates my guts for annexing half of Europe)

This behavior sent me off to make a mod to change it. It was driving me nuts. One thing led to another and I have a full alternate history mod. Some of the random events from Paradox defy belief!

 

[Penguintopia]

Without comets, some other mechanism would be needed to balance the game:
1) No state ever has been stable for several generations. Most often - not even for 20 years.
2) Any LONG game has to have periods of ups and periods of downs. A skilled player can set up such foreign policy that no foreign threat will come. But history shows well that NONE such situations have been perpetual into eternity. So, domestic threats it is.
3) People are irrational. Especially pre-scientific revolution. And the sky unspoiled by artificial lights? Yea, thats the playground of gods, spirits, forces of the universe. A red unusual light (aurora borealis, comets, Venus, Mars) in sky could for example signal a war soon to happen. Who'd be merry seeing it?

It's fairly easy to mod the game to create interesting foreign threats and interesting domestic issues without random, silly stab hits out of the blue....event sequences will do this. I'm adding them to my mod...

 

[Anthropoid]

It's fairly easy to mod the game to create interesting foreign threats and interesting domestic issues without random, silly stab hits out of the blue....event sequences will do this. I'm adding them to my mod...

If it is a mod to add so much, why do you call it "Glory of Byzantium?"

Can/should I play it as France?

 

[DukeDayve]

Dunno but I had tons of them in my Hungary 1444 game. On top of all my other problems such as... no manpower, the worst set of rulers I've ever had (a 2/2/2 would have been an absolute fantasy toward the end), no money, no technology gains because apart from getting almost no monarch points I had to keep using them to put my stability back up to 0, didn't once have a positive prestige because my allies kept dragging me in to wars which I couldn't afford to fight so I had to decline, losing prestige and making everyone hate me... And god almighty the rebels! Everywhere! I took one province from Bosnia (oh my diplomat got caught fabricating the claim almost immediately after sending him) and within 3 months 3 rebellions of Serbian nationalists from the same province, resulting in an army of I think 27 units compared to my army of... 15? Which was the maximum I could afford (even then my budget was in deficit when I put the military maintenance slider to full).

I gave up around 1500. Most frustrating game I've ever played. I just could not catch a single break.

Oh and my navy was 1 cog.

 

[unmerged(465279)]

On average we see one naked-eye comet every year.

Take into account that you have to be looking up at the sky at night, on the right hemisphere and it has to be spectacular enough to give poor old medieval Europe a fright, the number of comet events could actually be quite realistic as it's represented in the game.

There are about a trillion comet-like bodies estimated to exist in the solar system.

 

[Labrynian Rebel]

You dare insult our messengers from the heavens? How else are we suppose to be warned about coming instability!? Burn the witch!

 

[sinkingmist]

Without comets, some other mechanism would be needed to balance the game:
1) No state ever has been stable for several generations. Most often - not even for 20 years.
2) Any LONG game has to have periods of ups and periods of downs. A skilled player can set up such foreign policy that no foreign threat will come. But history shows well that NONE such situations have been perpetual into eternity. So, domestic threats it is.
3) People are irrational. Especially pre-scientific revolution. And the sky unspoiled by artificial lights? Yea, thats the playground of gods, spirits, forces of the universe. A red unusual light (aurora borealis, comets, Venus, Mars) in sky could for example signal a war soon to happen. Who'd be merry seeing it?

I wouldn't be as opposed to the event if it didn't occur more often at higher levels of stability.
As it is though, going above +1 stability is basically a newbie-trap, since they have to pay a higher admin cost (which is fine, since it's obvious and up-front), and pay a hidden comet-cost (which is not fine, since it's not obviously explained anywhere).

 

[Tub]

Comets are bullshit. Yes, we need some kind of mechanic to decrease stability, but comets have to be the one case of deus ex machina that I don't find hilarious. Why not economic collapse? Plague? The best thing would be ticking stability decay. Something believable, rather than "Oh, look, I've spent ten year's worth of ADM points on +3 stability, I'm golden for a few decade- oh, a comet. And another. And another. Shit."

It's just one of the many ways that the game arbitrarily kicks you in the balls with no way to get out of it. At least give it two choices, or the chance of a positive outcome - say, how about:

"A comet has been seen."

"It's divine intervention!" - 50% chance of -1 stability, 50% chance of +1 stability.
"Dumb-ass peasants." - Decreases legitimacy, increases revolt risk, or something like that.

Removed foul language - Seelmeister

 

[Silmarion]

Comets are bullshit. Yes, we need some kind of mechanic to decrease stability, but comets have to be the one case of deus ex machina that I don't find hilarious. Why not economic collapse? Plague? The best thing would be ticking stability decay. Something believable, rather than "Oh, look, I've spent ten year's worth of ADM points on +3 stability, I'm golden for a few decade- oh, a comet. And another. And another. Shit."

It's just one of the many ways that the game arbitrarily kicks you in the balls with no way to get out of it. At least give it two choices, or the chance of a positive outcome - say, how about:

"A comet has been seen."

"It's divine intervention!" - 50% chance of -1 stability, 50% chance of +1 stability.
"Dumb-ass peasants." - Decreases legitimacy, increases revolt risk, or something like that.

Someone hasn't been keeping up with twitter! A second option for comets is coming with the 1.4 patch.

Also, no ticking stability defeats the point. If stability ticks toward zero, the player will simply budget enough AMP to buy it back up before it falls bellow acceptable levels. Random stability hits means that you might not have the necessary MP to bring it back up right away, thus actually causing periods of instability.

 

[Tub]

Someone hasn't been keeping up with twitter! A second option for comets is coming with the 1.4 patch.

Also, no ticking stability defeats the point. If stability ticks toward zero, the player will simply budget enough AMP to buy it back up before it falls bellow acceptable levels. Random stability hits means that you might not have the necessary MP to bring it back up right away, thus actually causing periods of instability.

I should be more assiduous in twitter checking

I see your point about periods of instability, but I think we can all agree that having a slightly more fleshed out reason for the stability hit would be better. For example, the bailiff event - where you get -1 stability, or -33 legitimacy. That I disagree with it in principle (see this) it does emulate the sort of thing that would have created unrest in history. Whereas, a comet being sighted could have multiple implications, rather than the immediate assumption of "everything's going to go to shit" that the game implies people make. Which I hope 1.4 will address.

So, comets are pieces of shit that piss everyone off. Something more explainable would be great.

 

[Dalewyn]

I've just been using the "stability" command via console whenever I have the comet event fire. I will (and am) taking any other stability hits like a man, but comets are the one thing that I just can't accept as a legitimate excuse for national stability decreasing.

 

[gnome109]

http://strawpoll.me/886218
You decide

 

[EUnderhill]

I just had 5 comets in the last 15 years, 3 of them in a row within a less than five years, crashing my stability from 0 to -3. Ridiculous! Is it a completely random event or is it influenced by high AE? (the world hates my guts for annexing half of Europe)

It is something the random chance of which need be taken into account before annexing half of Europe. "Do you feel lucky?"