Finally I’ve removed Europa Universalis II from my PC, since I finally broke down and got EU III.
Which looks like hell BUT initial play feels “right”, for lack of a better word.
So for those of you that have already run through the game, are there any “must have” mods or add ons? Anything like the modified GC or Peter Ebbesen’s Superpower mod from EU 2. Dare I ask if there’s an improved map anywhere?
There’s a pretty cool mod I used called “Uninstall program” - sorted out all the problems I was having with that game and also freed up a ton of hard drive space!
I appreciate the completely unconnected reply just to give my OP a bump.
Do you know about http://forum.paradoxplaza.com ? It’s the best place to ask questions like this. 
True but I trust you guys more.
There are EU2 players here, but EU3 was NOT POPULAR. For a lot of reasons.
Damn few EU3 players on this board, so far as I can determine. I have the game, and EU:Rome, but I’ve never gotten around to bothering with them much. I still play EU2 MP. 
Lovely. 
Good thing I picked it up cheap then.
I’m a mod on the EU2, EU3 and Rome forums that Paradox run, and also beta tested those games. Oddly enough I personally don’t get to play the games for pleasure hardly at all. What I can tell you is what I read on those forums.
Mod: the all time best Mod for EU3 is Magna Mundi Gold. If you have EU3 with none of the expansions, and you’re after change from the vanilla version, then try it.
Expansions: the first expansion **Napoleon’s Ambition **was well-enough received, but the second one In Nomine has got virtually unanimous rave reviews. To play it you do need to buy both the base game EU3 and NA, but the very active user base on the forums say it’s worth it.
Note that the expansions can only be bought as downloads from the portal Gamers Gate. There are rumours that the three might be released as a pack at some point, but there’s been no official word from Paradox on that.
As a side-note Paradox are (kinda) open-sourcing EU2; you’ll be able to build your own modified versions and sell them yourself on Gamers Gate.
I play EU3 with the NA expansion ( strongly recommended for the speed increase if nothing else ) and the MMG2 mod. The very good manual for which can be found here for your perusal ( warning, PDF ): http://www.magnamundi.com/downloads/public_release/Magna%20Mundi%20Gold%202%20Manual.pdf
IMHO it vastly improves the EU3 gameplay. Indeed to such an extent that I will not be picking up the IN expansion until the MMP ( Magna Mundi Platinum ) port is complete. The improvements to the Holy Roman Empire in particular are major.
I’m generally in the camp that prefers the open-ended sandbox nature ( and rather improved mechanics ) of EU3 to the more rigid historical determinalism of EU2. However, I do agree that vanilla EU3 is TOO open-ended and has an unfortunate tendency towards both extreme ahistoricalism ( for example runaway Ming and Lithuanian empires ) and a bland sameness, as countries lack distinct personalities. MMG2 goes a long way towards correcting these tendencies, particularly in terms of anti-blobbing measures in Europe.
It’s also harder, which could be a plus or a minus depending on your preferences.
I’ll take harder. Thanks very much guys.