Europa Universalis: Difference between revisions

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''Europa Universalis'' is closely linked to three other series of grand strategy games, all of them made by Paradox : ''[[Crusader Kings]]'', ''[[Victoria: An Empire Under The Sun]]'' and ''[[Hearts of Iron]]''. Theoretically, they can all be played in one big historically chronological succession thanks to a pretty brilliant (though somewhat buggy) [[Old Save Bonus]] system created by the developers.

 

* [[All Deserts Have Cacti]]: The "desert" graphics in ''Europa Universalis II'' have cacti. [[Misplaced Vegetation|Even in Persia]].

* [[Alternate History]]: A popular reason for loving the game series is because of the ability to "correct" things that went "wrong" in real history. A lot of it is really funny, especially when the player has had nothing to do with it. Some examples: Milan blobbed all over Europe, England eaten by Northumberland, Protestant Syria, the landlocked African nation of Sokoto winding up in control of Burma, and Ming China wandering around Egypt in the early 1400s. This has led to the concept of "hands-off games", where the player picks an out-of-the-way nation like Ceylon and disables popups, then leaves the game running for a few hours and comes back to see what [[Hilarity Ensues|hilarity has ensued]].

* [[Royal Mess]]: In the third game, ''any'' independent monarchy which does not use the Imperial form of government has its ruler termed King/Queen, even if historically many of those were not kingdoms (like [[All the Little Germanies]], for example). A few mods more or less rectify this, by making the ruler title dependent on both the government type and country size.

* [[Running Gag]]: In the original ''Europa Universalis III'', the event meteor sighted had only one option, which... caused your country to become less stable. The fan clamored for more options (as most events have multiple options), so Paradox added a second option... which had the exact same effect. ''Heir to the Throne'' added a third option (same effect) and ''Divine Wind'', the latest expansion, a fourth.

* [[Salt the Earth]]: The ruler can enact a scorched-earth policy to hinder the supplies of enemy armies and increase their attrition. The action puts a dent in the involved province(s) economy.

* [[Shout-Out]]:

** The cheat in ''Europa Universalis II'' for "always win battles" is DIFrules! DIF is one of hockey teams in Stockholm, where [[Paradox Interactive]] is located. Said cheat also change your country's flag to that of the DIF hockey team.

* [[Succession Crisis]]: Things can get ''messy'' when a monarch dies heirless, their heir has low Legitimacy, or they rule a tribal nation.

* [[Super Not-Drowning Skills]]: One common way of getting rid of a monarch with bad stats is to make him a general, give him command of a single regiment, load the regiment onto a transport and sail out into the middle of the ocean. The transport will sink with all the soldiers, but the monarch somehow manages to swim several hundred miles back to shore and pester the nation anew.

** Depending on how late you start the game, the Spanish and Ottomans also apply.

** If the Holy Roman Empire is united by the AI, it tends to become this within a few decades.

* [[Video Game Geography]]: While probably A LOT better than most games, Moscow in ''Europa Universalis II'' famously was located in a very wrong place.

** The ''Heir to the Throne'' expansion pack for ''Europa Universalis III'' changes the previous "permanent terra incognita" zone to visible, but unexplorable provinces. All described as "wasteland": wasteland such as the Brazilian rainforest or the jungles of Africa.

 

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