itt RI plays Europa Universalis III (Heir to the Throne)

[Enigma]

I'm having fun in EUIII (In Nomine).

I cheat while still be able to have fun. Mainly drastically reduce recruiting and ship building times and increase the manpower availability.

This way I can play little guys like Navarre that have only one province and within a decade be able to conquer half of the HRE member states. I needed to cheat in order to play Navarre because within the first year Aragorn would warn and then declare war on me. In fact, Aragorn's mission was to vassilize Navarre. So I edit some of the files and now I have a world spanning empire within a decade and a half.

I don't care about "challenges", I just care about having fun in the game.

[RedImperator]

Well, unfortunately, my video card melted down, putting an end to this half-assed AAR. A few closing thoughts:

• The Byzantine starting position is much stronger than it appears, if you can survive the first few years. Thrace is one of the best provinces in the eastern Med and a Level II fort makes it very difficult for early-game opponents to take.
• The Bosporus is the key to any Byzantine strategy. Once you hold territories on both sides of it, you can trade space for time in the face of an overpowering invader by retreating across it and closing it with your fleet.
• Muslim territories are easy pickings, but many of them are worthless. If you want to take Judea, Alexandria, and Cairo, you're going to have to pick up a lot of catbox provinces.
• The Balkan states may be more useful as vassals than as territories. They form a buffer between you and whatever superpower is trying to take over eastern Europe, and plus, they can contribute to your wars and tax income without increasing your stability or research costs. A three-province Serbia is actually a respectable ally.
• Hungary is a paper tiger. In every game I've played, I've been able to beat them with a little bit of preparation. Be careful about beating up on them too badly, though--if Hungary collapses, Austria moves into the void.
• The Timurids nearly always collapse on their own, but the Golden Horde sometimes manages to hold it together into the 16th century. That's not a bad thing. The Horde will fall further and further behind technologically, until they're no real threat to you, while taking up space that would otherwise be occupied by Russia.
• The all-cav stack can really punch above its weight, especially once you have Eastern Swarm Cavalry. Eventually you'll have to go back to more balanced stacks, but for the first hundred years or so, cavalry is king.
• Westernizing is important, and the slider moves you need to make to unlock it are helpful anyway--except for that fact that you stop producing missionaries. This is the single best reason to capture Jerusalem and, if you can't take Rome, Mecca.
• The jewel of the Mediterranean is Italy. Southern Italy is an easier target, but the real prizes are Rome and the university cities in the north. Even holding just one university can have a major positive impact on your entire empire. Get established in Italy before the French, Austrians, or Aragonese lock you out of it.
• This is a ridiculously fun, well-polished, good-looking grand strategy game. It bears absolutely no resemblance to the shambolic mess you expect from Paradox. And at less than thirty dollars for the whole thing, including the HttT expansion, it's a good value, too.