Eu2 and Win2k - black screen

[BeBMan]

Can somebody help me to get EU2 to run under 2k? On the box it says it should run with win95/98/nt/2k/xp, but I'm only getting a black screen after the intro. Same when I try to clikc the intro away.

Can I start it without the intro? Or are there some entries I could make in the config file that would solve that?

Any help would be great.

[Grumbold]

Have you tried the Paradox tech help forum for the game? They should know how to fix any Win2k problems by now. I had no problems when I ran W2K so I'm not familiar with the issues.

[BeBMan]

Just read a bit around there - but I guess I have to register there to post the prob. Just a question, since you use 2k too: can you use the task manager while playing EU2? Because I can't use it to shoot it down when the screen becomes black (have to reboot ) - so I'm wondering if it is only an intro or screen resolution thing or a full crash.

[Grumbold]

Sorry, I moved on to XP a while ago, but I never had any lockup issues with EU2. It crashed to desktop periodically as the Paradox games are prone to do when they hit a logic problem, but nothing worse than that.

[BeBMan]

Ah thx - and I think I have fixed it, I just installed new GFX drivers and it starts fine now

[Grumbold]

Ah good. Its usually something straightforward like that

[Nikolai]

Good that it works again. If it hadn't, deleting the avi folder helps greatly in most occations. It's some issue the BinkPlayer has with some systems...

[Dinner]

Tell me how you like the game. With the patches and the mods it really is one of my favorites.

[BeBMan]

Well, yesterday I played only some tutorials, today the first game. I haven't really figured out how to play successfully (this is the first time I play an EU style game - hadn't even EU1). I bought a cheap version of EU2 with the manual only available as pdf, which is a pain to use IMO. Maybe I print it out....

However, from what I've seen yet I like it a lot I play with patch 1.07 (dl of 1.08 somehow didn't work yesterday on the game's homepage). Started the first game as England in the absolutism scn, and at least I didn't lose so far, but I played in a very low difficulty, so maybe this doesn't say much.

I have to figure out how to get a better economy. I concentrated on having a trade monopoly in some places, installed gouverneurs, marshalls etc. to get more taxes and to improve stability, but then I hadn't much money left yet to improve the infrastructure (manufactures etc.), since I also had to take care of many rebellions in Ireland.

Although I was often in wars due to alliances, I was attacked only once on my island by an outside power. It was a big Venetian fleet, which costed my own fleet some battles and quite a lot of ships, but in the end I remained victorious. More annoying was their pathetic size1 army running around in my provinces. When I ordered my (much bigger) armies to march against them, the Venetians went into another (unguarded) province before my troops arived. This happened 4-5 times before I finally wiped them out Otoh, I wasn't able to expand much so far, except to some more colonies in America.

Since I'm new on this I haven't thought about mods currently. Any recommendations?

[ravagon]

Welcome to EU2.

In order..

1.08 is, IMHO, much better than 1.07. As well as several adjustments to the gameplay it also adds more 'links' between your domestic policy settings and various game effects. Saves aren't compatible however and you do need to install 1.08 on a fresh install (I found this out the hard way. ) rather than over 1.07.

Economy-wise, I think the best thing to go for early on is tech investment in both trade and infrastructure. Each 'level' boosts your efficiency in the respective area by ~10% as well as opening up the more advanced building options.
Monopolies are overrated in 1.07 as any new merchants automatically try to compete out your 6th slot over any others if the CoT is full (fixed in 1.08).
Wrt England, personally I'd liberate Ireland as a vassal. It's overseas so you lose 10% of your taxes automatically (no adjustment for being a naval power in 1.07) and another 30% for having the wrong culture. Plus that wrong culture will add disproportionately to your stability costs and the provinces just aren't that rich to begin with.

Mods I've tried/mean to try soon :-

- AGC-EEP : The big one - Many many more events (and slightly altered standard events too IIRC) although I wouldn't really know which version to recommend. I think it's also a little buggy still and has a tendency to crash. I'm waiting on a more stable version.

- Fantasia scramble : Based on the Fantasia scenario but much better - puts every possible country in the game on the map as a one province minor, so you explore/colonise a few provinces before coming into contact with other nations.

- Independent Europe : Play in Europe as a one province minor with every province as a different nation. Basically you'll have pretty much the entire continent warring with anybody/everybody almost immediately.

- Abberation : Haven't tried it yet but plan too shortly. Major countries in Europe have most of their beneficial events removed relegating them to minors in favour of a whole new crop. IIRC some of the new majors that form are countries like Ireland, Savoy, Modena(?), etc.

[Nikolai]

From 1.06 and on, the game bacame much, much harder, to please the fans who got better and better(well, mostly, I am nothing but mediocre as always... ), so if you want to play the game in a more easy version, and IMHO a bit more fun, try 1.05 too.