Question about forming German Empire

[Jason]

Right now, as the North German Federation, I own 20 states and I am supported by 3 others, so I can just click the button to form Germany.
BUT, if I wait until my truce with Austria runs out, and launch the unification play, and I win, will I get ALL of the remaining states (Austria still owns 6 of them and Hungary owns 1)???
And, if I do that, will I spare myself the infamy for all of those states as opposed to forming Germany now and then conquering the rest normally?

I am trying to decide because if I form now, I gain Bavaria, Wurtemburg, and Baden NOW, which is a nice addition. But, my truce with Austria is 4 years and I am wondering if it is worth waiting for.

[Jason]

I have been reading about it in the Wiki and it seems to suggest that if I can get Austria to like me, I can get them to form with me willingly?
Is that accurate? Or is it even possible to get them to like me? I am sure they have an anti-prussian lobby….

[Harbard]

If you save the game and try it, you'll see in the "peace" window what the game make you unify with. But to answer, I think that :
- You'll get all the infamy
- You unify with every missing states

Then again, you can check that quickly by just save and test it.

[ArminiusdeCherusk]

If you get Austria on your side, you will get all of their states for free.
Path 1.7:
-Increase relation with Austria
-Win unification Play vs Austria ( to fight unification you won't need to have bad relations ;) , don't bother to take states from them )
-Increase relation with Austria again, so they will like and support you. If they don't like you, try to fight wars alongside them to get a boost in ai behaviour. They won't need to loose their GP rank anymore, don't know if pdx will change it in future.


https://steamcommunity.com/app/529340/discussions/0/4334232001331348218/

[Jason]

I waited for the truce to expire with Austria. The Launch Unification Play button came alive but when I clicked it, the resulting war did NOT include Austria. At this point, they were still a great power (barely because I had already forced them to release Hungary). So, I decided to declare war again, make them release Galicia, Venetia, and Lombardy.
Now, they were no longer a great power but a major power.
So, after waiting for the truce to expire again, launched again, but it is STILL NOT including Austria in the war (they DO NOT support me).
So, MAYBE they need to be a minor power? The other countries that have states that ARE included in the unification war are all minor powers (Hungary Bavaria Wurtemburg).

The description for Unification says, "Annex all REQUIRED states not owned by supporters, subjects or allies". The states in Austria and Hungary (transdanubia) are all listed as OPTIONAL so I thought it doesn't seem to be leaving out Austria due to them having OPTIONAL states.

So it is either broken or I just don't understand what the requirements are to include Austria in the unification war and take the rest of the states that are part of "Germany". The only thing I can think of is that they need to be a Minor Power.