Patch 1.5 Coring times issue not addressed.

[loveslater]

In a general sense, this recent patch moved in the right direction.

However, I feel that the developers failed to address one of the root issues of this game.

That is, coring times.

When you're far in the game and you've managed to build a mighty nation, unless you're the Ottoman Empire or Italy, it takes over 100 months to core a single province even with Admin ideas. Middle-to-Late game EU4 becomes a borefest because of it.

I am pretty sure they could come with a more sensible solution to it because the way it is now, the game gets annoying at that stage.

 

[unmerged(13581)]

I really couldn't agree more.
I have 350 hours played and still never ever finished a single game because it's just getting plain boring about 100 to 200 years into the game, depending on what nation you play.

 

[Comes Imperii]

It's WAD.
I feel EUIV is best played when you don't blob too much outside of your regional/cultural borders. After you achieve those borders you should either expand through diplomacy or expand through conquest in a limited way or just face the long coring times. I'd argue that things which make the game more difficult, like this issue, are positive since they lead the player to find new strategies and playstyles.

 

[eugene171]

claims and reduced coring costs also reduce coring times.

It's not impossible to have 5-10 year coring times if you've planned it out enough.

 

[brifbates]

The only reasonable argument against increasing coring time as you expand is that it precludes doing other things in the province, specifically building buildings. If they added in a third "construction" bar so you had one for core/culture/religion, one for buildings, and one for units I'd be perfectly happy with them extending coring times even further later in the game.

 

[durvas]

The only reasonable argument against increasing coring time as you expand is that it precludes doing other things in the province, specifically building buildings. If they added in a third "construction" bar so you had one for core/culture/religion, one for buildings, and one for units I'd be perfectly happy with them extending coring times even further later in the game.

The increased times also prevent you from taking offensive action because of OE. Even more sitzkrieg late game.

 

[unmerged(13581)]

It's WAD.
I feel EUIV is best played when you don't blob too much outside of your regional/cultural borders. After you achieve those borders you should either expand through diplomacy or expand through conquest in a limited way or just face the long coring times. I'd argue that things which make the game more difficult, like this issue, are positive since they lead the player to find new strategies and playstyles.

That's the problem though, it's not making the game any more difficult, it's just making everything take longer.
I'll give you an example from my Poland game: I managed to take out the orders pretty fast, took some land from Hungary, annexed Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, formed the Commonwealth, made it Russia release the russian minors and finally made the Ottomans release Byzantine. That was all around maybe 1560. From now on I already have coring times above 10 years and while I have 5 diplomats (Curia, Embassy, Diplomatic Ideas) there are only so many small countries I can vassalize/annex at a time so I'm basically just waiting for cores to be made/vassals to be annexed so I can do my next step. In between I just sit around for 10+ years and look at the map (something I do enjoy sometimes to be honest though). Of cause Poland is a very easy country and you get invincible really fast, but still, the same applies to most other countries, just add another 100 years to it.

 

[Morgan Wight]

It's WAD.
I feel EUIV is best played when you don't blob too much outside of your regional/cultural borders. After you achieve those borders you should either expand through diplomacy or expand through conquest in a limited way or just face the long coring times. I'd argue that things which make the game more difficult, like this issue, are positive since they lead the player to find new strategies and playstyles.

Except the game's main theme is growing (read:blobbing) an empire, according to PI, and as the vast majority of nations you are going to run up against your regional/cultural borders within the first 100 years.

Meanwhile, the only strategy/playstyle that genuinely circumvents coring time is HRE abuse. I don't think coring time is inherently flawed, but paired with an absurdly restrictive (and static) soft limit on practical OE, it gets rather frustrating. Additionally, the fact that a few select nations (Ottomans, Italy) get exclusive access to ideas that make the game 10x more enjoyable (and WC nearly trivial in the case of the Ottomans) is also silly.

 

[grisamentum]

In a general sense, this recent patch moved in the right direction.

However, I feel that the developers failed to address one of the root issues of this game.

That is, coring times.

When you're far in the game and you've managed to build a mighty nation, unless you're the Ottoman Empire or Italy, it takes over 100 months to core a single province even with Admin ideas. Middle-to-Late game EU4 becomes a borefest because of it.

I am pretty sure they could come with a more sensible solution to it because the way it is now, the game gets annoying at that stage.

Release some huge vassals to decrease your size; if you don't have enough slots then annex the smaller vassals.

If you're emperor, just add all land to the empire and then release the vassals.

 

[lordelenath]

I love it that the solution to all problems in EU IV is "become emperor". I've personally come to HATE the HRE by now because it's by far the single most powerful mechanic for expansion by a far stretch and have set myself the personal goal to annihilate it in every game now. I really enjoyed it at the beginning, but I just hate it's exceptional position of "if something doesn't work, use the HRE, so everything is fine!".

 

[roman566]

I'd argue that things which make the game more difficult, like this issue, are positive since they lead the player to find new strategies and playstyles.

Except that remaining strategies has been nerfed into oblivion. The only playstyle that can fix this is 'hit speed five and read a book' while coring.

 

[loveslater]

I am aware that a player can do that.

However, I will add that once the developers become aware of that. They will nerf that too. Just like they nerfed the heck out of vassal feeding.

Then what?

You're stuck waiting 100 months waiting the core counter to be completed while playing whack-a-mole with rebels.

Release some huge vassals to decrease your size; if you don't have enough slots then annex the smaller vassals.

If you're emperor, just add all land to the empire and then release the vassals.

 

[Comes Imperii]

Except that remaining strategies has been nerfed into oblivion. The only playstyle that can fix this is 'hit speed five and read a book' while coring.

There are enough strategies for those who are perceptive. Or you can just realise the game isn't about WC. It's about world domination which is something different.

 

[Morgan Wight]

I love it that the solution to all problems in EU IV is "become emperor". I've personally come to HATE the HRE by now because it's by far the single most powerful mechanic for expansion by a far stretch and have set myself the personal goal to annihilate it in every game now. I really enjoyed it at the beginning, but I just hate it's exceptional position of "if something doesn't work, use the HRE, so everything is fine!".

I know, right?! Every game it's like, well . . . I could choose to expand super inefficiently or I can just become emperor yet AGAIN.

 

[Dr. B]

Size penalty on coring time decreases with time and disappears in 1800s. (base 3 years)

 

[Illanair]

Except the game's main theme is growing (read:blobbing) an empire, according to PI, and as the vast majority of nations you are going to run up against your regional/cultural borders within the first 100 years.

Empire - Not world conquest.

 

[roman566]

There are enough strategies for those who are perceptive. Or you can just realise the game isn't about WC. It's about world domination which is something different.

This game is all about conquest. The final achievement of conquest is conquering the whole world. There is literally NOTHING else to do in this game.
Colonizing is clicking one or two buttons and hitting speed 5.
Trade is about spamming ships, clicking one or two buttons every couple years and hitting speed 5.
Diplomacy is even more boring, speed 5 is mandatory.
There is little to do in HRE, but unless you use some exploits to farm IE then it's about hitting speed 5.
Also, there are achievements like Three Mountains and World Conquest... obviously they are all about world conquest. All PD is doing in the recent patches is making the single player less and less playable. Mostly because some vocal minority shouted 'NERF EVERYTHING' and PD actually listened to them.

 

[loveslater]

Even if your goal is not World Conquest , this issue affects you.

It severely limits how successful your nation/empire can be.

There are enough strategies for those who are perceptive. Or you can just realise the game isn't about WC. It's about world domination which is something different.

 

[Atreides]

Learn to use Console Commands - your coring time issue will go away.

 

[Andy_Dandy]

When you're far in the game and you've managed to build a mighty nation, unless you're the Ottoman Empire or Italy, it takes over 100 months to core a single province even with Admin ideas. Middle-to-Late game EU4 becomes a borefest because of it.

Check out EU3 coring times. You think 100 months is much? I got news for you; 100 months is nothing.

And by the way, what's the point in that ADM Idea if coring is a non annoyance? I know some other strategy games that have provinces and no coring times at all. They all got one thing in common; they suck!