User Guide

11
Selecting a Starting Date and
Country
Europa Universalis III covers a period of great
international upheaval. Countries evolved into
new nations; others disappeared or were de-
stroyed; several new states declared independ-
ence and broke away from a former state; and,
throughout the era, the borders of nations were
constantly shifting through war or inheritance.
For any date you select, the game will consult
an extensive set of history files that determine
which countries are available for play, who
rules them, which provinces they own, where
their borders are drawn, and much, much more.
You will be able to play almost any country you
desire, provided that it existed at that date you
have selected. There are two ways to choose
your starting date: you may use one of the con-
venient historical “bookmarks”, or you may
manually select a specific date.
Using Bookmarks
To the left of the map, you will see a set of
“bookmarks” that identify specific points in
history that we think might be interesting to
play. Clicking on a bookmark will automatical-
ly change the date selector to the bookmark’s
date; after a moment or two, the map will be
updated to reflect the political situation at that
time. Near the bottom of the map, you may
see the heraldic shields of several countries that
might be interesting to control if you begin at
this date. Simply click on a shield to select that
country. You are not limited to our recommen-
dations, though. You can select any realm any-
where in the world by clicking on a province
that belongs to it.
The area to the right of the map will dis-
play the name of the country you have selected,
as well as some basic information about the
nation’s ruler and the country’s starting dip-
lomatic situation. There is also an indication
of how difficult this country might be to play
when beginning on this date: our graphic art-
ist’s sense of humour made him use a skull and
crossbones to show a difficult country, and a
baby’s soother for an easy one. If you change
your mind about playing a country that you
have selected, simply click on a different one
to select it instead.
Once you’re satisfied with your choice, click
the “start” button in the lower right corner of
the screen. There will be a short delay as all
of the specific historical data for that starting
date is loaded into the game; you will then see
the main game map and interface appear on
the screen.
The Date Selector
If you prefer, you can use the “date selector” to
choose any starting date you wish. The arrow
buttons above and below the selector’s year dis-
play will advance the date forwards or back-
wards in increments of one, ten, or one hun-
dred years at a time. The smaller arrows to the
left and right of the month and day allow you
to set a precise date in that year. You may also
click a bookmark to get close to the date you
desire, and then use the selector to adjust back-
wards or forwards from that point.
As you adjust the date selector, the game
refers to its history files and updates the map
to reflect any changes in national borders or
the countries that are available. Once you have
settled on a date, click on the country of your
choice to select it and display some basic infor-
mation about its ruler and political situation.
When you’re ready to begin playing, click the
“start” button.