User Guide

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The Multiplayer Lobby
The multiplayer lobby looks very similar to the
interface you normally see when you begin a
single player game. The panel to the right of
the map will contain a list of each player that
has established a connection to the host. Beside
each player’s name is the shield of the country
that he will be playing, and the name of that
nation will be displayed in parentheses after
the player’s name.
If you will be staring a new game, the host
should set the date that you would like the
game to begin. If you are resuming a saved
game, the host should click the save game tab
and load the save. The file will be loaded to
the host’s computer and also compressed and
sent to each of the clients’ computers. Each
client will unpack and load the saved game so
all players are beginning with the correct data.
This process could take a few minutes if the
save game is large or if players have slow in-
ternet connections. All players must have the
same save loaded before the game can begin.
When you first connect, you will receive the
default rebel flag, indicating that you have not
yet selected a country. Once the starting date
is set or a saved game has been loaded, coun-
try selection is done exactly the same way that
you normally use for a single player game. Each
player should select a country to play; as this
is done, the country’s shield and name will be
updated beside the player’s name.
Europa Universalis III supports “coopera-
tive multiplayer” games where more than one
player selects the same country. If two or more
players will be sharing a country, each player
will have the full range of controls over every
aspect of that nation. It takes a bit of practice
to avoid accidentally undoing something that
one of the other players had chosen to do with
the realm, but this type of game can be a lot of
fun if each player is agrees to manage a specific
area of controls or handle combats in a certain
theatre of the world.
You can chat with other players in the lobby
by clicking in the text box at the very bottom-
left of the screen and typing your message. The
text will be communicated to all players when
you press the enter key on your keyboard and
will appear in the area immediately above the
text box. There is no way to filter this com-
munication to have private conversations with
only a few of the players, although this is pos-
sible once the game has begun.
Once all players have selected a country, the
“PLAY” button in the lower-right of the host’s
screen will be highlighted in gold. The host
can then launch the game by clicking the but-
ton. There will be a brief delay as the necessary
data is loaded, at which point you will see a dis-
play of each of the players that is ready. One by
one (depending on the capabilities of their sys-
tems), each player’s shield will be highlighted
in gold. Once all of the players are ready, the
host can click the “start” button and the game
will begin.
The Metaserver
Paradox offers a multiplayer “match-making”
service for registered owners of Europa Univer-
salis III. When you register your copy of the
game, you will asked if you would also like
to register for the Metaserver. It takes only a
minute or two to go through the few easy steps
to create a user name and set your password, af-
ter which you will be able to use the Metaserver
to find other players from across the world who
would be interested in joining a multiplayer
game. There is no registration fee, we will
never divulge any private information, and you
will never be charged for using the service. It is
completely free to all of our valued customers.
Once you have registered, click the
“Metaserver” button on the Connection Types
menu to connect to our service. After entering
your user name and password, you will connect
to the Metaserver’s main chat lobby where you
will see a listing of all other players who are on-
line at the moment and might be interested in
joining a game. After finding a few interested
players, you can create a separate chat chan-
nel where you might discuss who will host the