Three Moves Ahead 46 -- EU3 and Heir to the Throne

[Troy S Goodfellow]

Tom Chick, Rob Zacny and I talk about the evolution of the EU games and how Heir to the Throne both improves and undermines parts of the game. Come feel the love as we talk about one of the decade's most impressive series.

Troy

[Fugitive]

This podcast inspired me to pick up HttT last night, and start a game as the Inca. Right away, one of the early missions gave me a cassus belli on my one neighbour (Chanchan?), but right after steamrollering them I started getting rebels popping up all over the place, complaining that I wasn't been warlike enough. I haven't even discovered any other neighbours yet!

At least I'm slightly better off technologically, as it'll only take me until 2287 to reach land tech 1... That seems impossible to overcome, as you can't (if I'm understanding correctly) westernize until there's a Latin tech nation bordering you, by which point it's probably waaaay too late. It might still be interesting to get to that point and try to survive via diplomacy.

I'm also kind of disappointed that there doesn't seem to be an easy way to remove the fog of war/terra incognita over the whole map. I was kind of hoping to keep an eye on what wacky hijinks were going on over in Europe while toying around with the mechanics of these smaller nations.

[Tom Chick]

I'm also kind of disappointed that there doesn't seem to be an easy way to remove the fog of war/terra incognita over the whole map. I was kind of hoping to keep an eye on what wacky hijinks were going on over in Europe while toying around with the mechanics of these smaller nations.

You have to research palantirs. I think those were added in the Sauron's Ambition expansion. Or was it Heir to the Ring? I get them mixed up.

BTW, in the comments section at Flash of Steel, someone linked to an AAR in which the Iroquois took over the world. I suspect you'll find some helpful tips there.

-Tom

[Erik Andersson]

I was going to mention the Iroquois AAR, but also add that you have to be able to game the mechanics pretty well in order to be able to do something like that. There's a new one for Creek currently going on, but when pagans are involved things can be over pretty quickly. Another thing possibly worth mentioning is the part where slider moves give random results, something that was added in a patch for IN, which means that it was not mentioned in the manual for IN.

With respect to stability I certainly understand what you mean, but it something that applies to same religion group only. When going to war against heathens, stability was never a problem. In fact it might be more of a problem now since the holy war CB is removed around 1650, and the base infamy cost are much higher. In a way I don't think that the problem is the lack of stability hit for declaring a trade war (for example) but the fact that you can still grab provinces in it, even though the infamy cost is high.

[Pumpkinhead]

I just listened to this episode today over the course of my commute and lunch break. I have to say that this is one of my favorite podcast episodes ever. Listening to 3 guys talk intelligently about a single game they are all obviously very familiar with was a most welcome change from what I have been listening to lately. EU3 is one of those games where I start it up and then freeze at the controls once I see that huge map staring at me. But the podcast has inspired me to grab Heir to the Thrown off of Steam tonight and make a concerted effort to learn the game.

[Troy S Goodfellow]

I just listened to this episode today over the course of my commute and lunch break. I have to say that this is one of my favorite podcast episodes ever. Listening to 3 guys talk intelligently about a single game they are all obviously very familiar with was a most welcome change from what I have been listening to lately.

Glad you liked it.

Given how wide our experiences are in general, it's really nice when we can get a group together that is pretty much on the same page regarding knowledge about a game. I've got no power to compel people to play the game we are talking about when we talk about a game, which is probably why our "theme" episodes are a little more popular (everybody can say something).

Troy

[nlanza]

I also liked this one a lot. I know EU3 is almost certainly way too fiddly for me, but the episode made me want to play it pretty badly.

Also, while I understand that the Bruce-is-tired-and-cranky thing is funny, I like having an episode with less conflict and squabbling in it sometimes.

[Cal]

Aye this made me pick EU3 complete up also. I love games like Civ4 but concerned this maybe a tad too much for me, i hate Hearts of Iron III and regretted buying that one, but hopefully i can get to grips with EU a bit more!

[Kalle]

Troy, your pronounciation of Svea Rike is awful. Other than that, neat podcast.

[JZigish]

Aye this made me pick EU3 complete up also. I love games like Civ4 but concerned this maybe a tad too much for me, i hate Hearts of Iron III and regretted buying that one, but hopefully i can get to grips with EU a bit more!

I had already picked up EU3 on the steam sale but this made me play it! It's definitely a LOT easier to get into than HOI3, which I likewise tried but couldn't get anywhere with.

Pick something like castille on the grand campaign and it gives you a few national missions that get your feet wet. Oh, and make sure to change the difficulty on the Options screen of new game down to easy or very easy. They shouldn't hide difficulty so much.

[Troy S Goodfellow]

Troy, your pronounciation of Svea Rike is awful. Other than that, neat podcast.

Yes. And it will not get better until you send me a Swedish au pair. My lack of children should be irrelevant.

Troy

[Hanacker]

Pick something like castille on the grand campaign and it gives you a few national missions that get your feet wet. Oh, and make sure to change the difficulty on the Options screen of new game down to easy or very easy. They shouldn't hide difficulty so much.

I dunno, I never played any EU since maybe the EU1 demo, and I rolled with Castille on normal my first time out. I'd say stick with normal but be prepared to lose a war or two at some point. Castille is ridiculously good in 1399.

[Cal]

Well i started with England in 1399, kind of managed to take over most of scotland before my economny exploded a bit, planning to give it a new try tonight, its definitely more accessible than i thought, but might take a lot of figuring out, so many slidey bars and numbers!

[spelk]

I wish someone would do a video induction tutorial, where they quickly highlight all the important areas to focus on, and explain what this slider does and what that button does, and what to watch out for etc.. Even focussing on simplistic local goals has me swamped with information and things I'm not sure I should be worried about.

[Erik Andersson]

I've thought about doing some kind of EU3 guide, and if there are a few more interested I might sit down with Fraps and try to make something.

[spelk]

If I put both hands in the air, does that count as two people interested in a video based EU3 guide?

I hope you get the interest Erik, as I would be one of those salivating at the sidelines, waiting on the 'magic' to unlock the hidden secrets of this game. :)