Europa Universalis IV: Prelude to AARs

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As I’ve written on my Google+ profile I’m going to start publishing a series of AARs (After Action Reports) from Europa Universalis IV, but before we get so far I’m going to write a bit about the mods I’m going to use. I’ve also posted a bit about this on Google+:

Before we start with the first update in the Makassar AAR for Europa Universalis IV, I’m going to say that I play with two different mods enabled. Both of these mods does nothing to the checksum, which means that Ironman mode is still possible.

I’m downloading the mods directly from the Paradox forum, as I’m having issues with getting mods installed correctly using the Steam Workshop. I like the fact that they auto update when subscribing that way, but having to start the actual game before the workshop actually downloads the mod is not as convenient as downloading it and then simply unpacking it.

Better UI Mod:
Forum: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?724562-Better-UI-Mod
Steam Workshop: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=179363162

This mod does the following:

  • General adjustment of text and icon positions to better fit the Verdana fonts.
  • A new topbar to account for a better agents display
  • Bigger diplomacy views adapted to the new Verdana fonts
  • Verdana12b fonts in main windows, plus other Verdana font sizes as per the BetterFont mod.

This makes it a lot easier to read tooltips and other information on the screen during game play and extends the diplomacy view, so you don’t have to scroll all the time.

Flag Improvements Package:
Forum: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?712732-%28MOD%29-Flag-Improvements-Package!

This mod adds a filter to the flags and makes them look a bit older and more historical. I’m using the version of this mod released by the user King of Romania, that you can find here.

The mod is originally made simply to copy into the game directory, but it is very easy to change into a mod, so you don’t have to do anything to the game files. If you want to make the .mod file for getting this to work yourself, to maybe get a better idea of how mods actually work, just follow these steps:

  • Extract the files.
  • Enter the ‘Less Grungy Flags’ folder.
  • Create a new folder called ‘gfx’.
  • Enter the newly created ‘gfx’ folder and create a new folder called ‘flags’ inside it.
  • Copy all the flags from the ‘Less Grungy Flags’ folder into the ‘flags’ folder.
  • Exit the ‘Less Grungy Flags’ folder and create a file called ‘Less Grungy Flags.mod’.
  • Open the ‘Less Grungy Flags.mod’ file with Notepad++ or another text editor of your choice.
  • Copy the following into the file: 
    name="Less Grungy Flags 1.2"
path="mod/Less Grungy Flags"
  • Save the file.
  • Copy the ‘Less Grungy Flags’ folder and the ‘Less Grungy Flags.mod’ to your ‘\Documents\Paradox Interactive\Europa Universalis IV\mod\’ folder.

It might look like a lot, but it’s rather easy to do. Now that we’ve established what mods that are being used, we’re about ready to start.