NWE is similar but not equal to cow. You play there while timeline about 1560 till 1830.
You can win by points even without war, with colonisation, or even only with few wars but many economic developement by building enough monuments last lavel, wich provide wnough points (very rare victories that ways).
You dont have ranged units, even fleet is closecombat unit. Seamovements are really quick, fleet is most nessesary unit for really largs empires.

COW = 1942
NWE = 1492

i wouldnt say nwe more simple on warefare. You have there even more units then in cow. U have more battlemultifier mods, u have upgadeble max value of counting units in your strikeforces/fleet. NWE has also more strategical diversity but less taktical.

I am a Front-line Pioneer on NWE so here is a description of it (this is long):
Part 1: how the game is laid out

• the game starts in 1450 or Era 1
  
• it takes place in Medieval Europe.
  
• every 5 days begins a new Era. their are 8 Eras in total, ending in the year 1850
  
• each new Era needs to be researched, except Era 1 because that is where you start.
  
• with each Era, new units are unlocked that advance your armies.
  
• you can make explorers to explore land and boost your territory. all land not explored does not appear on the map.
  

Part 2: units
their are 3 different tech. trees separating 21 units.
Warfare tree:

light Units are basic units for the beginning of the game.

• Light Infantry: has 6 levels that is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 6. this is a basic unit and is great for counterattacking other infantry units and Cavalry.
  
• Light Calvary: has 6 levels that is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 6. it is very versatile and is great for attacking any unit, especially artillery.
  
• Light Artillery: has 6 levels that is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 7. is best for attacking Infantry and Buildings but is weak and slow by the end of the game.
  

Heavy Units are slower than light troops but are much stronger.

• Heavy Infantry: has 5 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 5. it is stronger than normal infantry and the best unit to counterattack Cavalry but is weak against Infantry and Artillery.
  
• Heavy Cavalry: has 5 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 5. this can be used against any unit but is best against Artillery.
  
• Heavy Artillery: has 6 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 6. this units is best in the end game but is only good against Infantry and weak against other units.
  
• Royal Guards: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 2 and becomes Elite in Era 7. this unit has no advantage nor disadvantage in any terrain. they are one of the best infantry units, but can only be made in the capital.
  

Modern Units combine the speed of light units and the strength of Heavy Units to be the best troops in the game.

• Modern Infantry: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 5 and becomes Elite in Era 8. this is the best Infantry unit and is best against Cavalry.
  
• Modern Cavalry: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 5 and becomes Elite in Era 8. this is best used for other Cavalry units as well as Artillery but is weaker against infantry.
  
• Modern Artillery: has 3 levels and is unlocked in Era 6 and becomes Elite in Era 8. this is the best unit to attack Infantry as well as buildings but is significantly weaker against other units.
  

Economic Tree:

Mercenary Units are more powerful and faster to make than Regular troops but are expensive to maintain in large amounts.

• Mercenary Infantry: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 8. this is very good against cavalry units but is very weak against artillery
  
• Mercenary Cavalry: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 8. best used to attack other cavalry units and artillery
  
• Mercenary Artillery: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 8. this should only be used against infantry because it is much weaker against other units.
  

Colonial Tree:

Colonial troops are weaker than other units but are cheaper to produce and much better on rough terrain.

• Colonial Infantry: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 7. this unit is very weak in the beginning but once you upgrade it to level 4, it does the same to Infantry as level 4 Mercenary does.
  
• Colonial Cavalry: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 7. best used against Artillery units.
  
• Colonial Artillery: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 8. very strong against Infantry as well as against other Artillery units
  
• Natives: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 2 and becomes Elite in Era 8. this unit is very weak but is extremely cheap to make and is best used for Garrison Duty.
  

Navy units:

• Gallery: has 5 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 7. this is very weak but is best used in Coastal Seas.
  
• Light Ship: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 1 and becomes Elite in Era 8. this is lightly armed and is best in Light Seas and attacking convoys.
  
• Heavy Ships: has 4 levels and is unlocked in Era 2 and becomes Elite in Era 7. this ship is extremely powerful and best for the High seas and attacking other ships.
  
• First Rate: has 2 levels and is unlocked in Era 7 and becomes Elite in Era 8. with 3 or more decks of cannons, this is the most powerful ship. it can sail all terrains and can destroy some ships in one blow.
  

Civilians:
civilians can only be made in the capital

• Administrator: upgrades province levels and condition from occupied province to non-core province to Core Province.
  
• Explorer: explores unknown land on the map
  
• Colonist: sets up colonies on explored land.
  

their is what is called a "unit cap." since their is a certain amount of officers needed for each unit, you can only have a certain amount of units. the game starts with 75. you can research and upgrade the unit cap to max at around 270.

Part 3: buildings
their are 13 different buildings you can build:

• Barracks: needed to make Light, Heavy, and Modern units. just like in CoW, they too have a daily upkeep on food.
  
• Mercenary Camp: needed to make Mercenary troops.
  
• Colonial Office: needed to make colonial troops and natives
  
• Harbor: needed to make ships. lv. 1 makes Gallery and Light ships and lv. 2 makes Heavy ships and First Rates. Daily up keep of Raw Materials.
  
• Fortress: decrease damage taken to units in a province
  
• infrastructure: has no direct baring on the production of units, but it increases tax money from that province, raises morale, and increases the speed of units through that province
  
• market: boosts morale and increases taxes in that province
  
• workshop: increases the resource production of that province. Daily upkeep of Minerals
  
• monuments: increase the victory points of a province. Daily upkeep of money
  
• University: produces civilians outside of the capital, increases unit production speed and raises taxes in that province. Daily upkeep of Luxury Goods.
  
• Trade Company: can only be built in colonies. increases production speed and victory points. Daily Upkeep of Goods.
  
• War Office: increases unit capacity. Daily Upkeep on all resources.
  
• capital: increases victory points, morale and the speed of production of units.
  

Part 4: provinces
just like in CoW, provinces has VP's, but they are arranged differently.

1. every province has a certain level, ranging from 1-10
   
2. mattering on the level, that province has that many victory points. ex: if your province is lv. 4, it has 4 points.
   
3. capitals are the only excuse, they have 13 points no matter what
   
4. Monuments can increase the point value of provinces
   
5. Trade posts increase the point value of colonies
   

in total, their are 4 conditions that a province can be in:

• occupied province: once you take over a province in a war, it becomes an occupied province. this kind of province is very accessible to rebelling so you need to keep troops stationed there. to upgrade them, you need an administrator. this takes them to the next level
  
• non-core province: this is what a majority of your annexed provinces are.
  
• colony: when you set up a colony, it gets a special level all for its self. to upgrade it, you need an administrator. this will make it a non-core province.
  
• Core Province: in this final rank, unlike CoW, you can upgrade non-core provinces to core province. only 1 requirement: they must be at least lv. 6 for them to be upgraded to core province.
  

don't have a province that high? no worries, you can use an administrator to upgrade your provinces to higher levels. lv. 10 is max! the higher a province lv., the more resources it makes.

Part 5: terrain
in NWE their are 7 land terrains and 3 sea terrains. here is a description of all of them:

• plains: flat open area that allows fast movement of all troops. light and colonial infantry get a -25% loss and all cavalry units get +25%
  
• hills: areas of up and downs with trees. no unit gets a advantage or disadvantage.
  
• Mountains: ares of steep climbs and a cold climate, all troops get severe movement penalties. all cavalry units get -25% in this terrain.
  
• forest: dense woods with lots of trees, siege weapons do worse here. all light and colonial infantry get +25% while heavy and mercenary Calvary and Artillery get -25% in this terrain.
  
• jungle: filled with large amounts of vegetation, all units, except colonial troops, get extreme movement penalties. light cavalry and artillery get -25% and all Heavy and Mercenary troops get -50% while colonial infantry get +50%.
  
• tundra: flat and open cold areas covered with snow, frost and ice. all colonial troops get +50% while other cavalry get speed bonuses.
  
• desert: hot areas with sand dunes and almost no water. all colonial troops get +50% while all other cavalry units get a speed bonus.
  
• coastal sea: shallow bodies of water near land, gallery ships get a +50% bonus.
  
• open sea: calm seas not to far away from land. best suited for light ships.
  
• open sea. stormy waters with high waves, best to be sailed on by heavy ships.
  

now, since we have got all of this down, on to the strategy's you can take
Path 1: warfare
basics: research vital military units, build a powerful army and conquer your neighbors to build a mighty empire.
breakdown:

• research units in the Military branch
  
• build Barracks to train your units and expand it
  
• take over surrounding nations with your powerful army. don't forget to make administrators to upgrade your occupied provinces!
  
• continue on conquest to win by building a mighty empire
  

path 2: economy
basics: focus on economy research. upgrade your provinces and resources. use your money to destroy enemies with mercenaries.
breakdown:

• research things in the Economy branch
  
• upgrade your province levels to at least lv. 7
  
• build markets and workshops to further increase resources.
  
• build Mercenary Camps
  
• produce mercenary units
  
• with this power, attack your enemies with your powerful army
  

Path 3: Colonization
basics: explore the New World. build a powerful navy, and set up colonies. build trade posts and attack enemies through your colonies.
breakdown:

• research things from the Colonization branch
  
• produce explorers
  
• explore unknown lands.
  
• build colonial offices and Naval bases
  
• produce colonist
  
• make colonies on explored land
  
• build colonist troops to protect them from enemies and Native Uprisings (oh yeah, colonies can suffer from uprisings. they will either lower morale or damage a building by 10%)
  
• build trading Posts in colonies
  
• invade other people's colonies to win the game
  

oh yes, and don't forget: Have Fun!
The End