257 replies to this topic

[Galactus]

It's out. I just had my first game as Earl of Dublin (now King of Ireland)... Actually the first game had me expanding relatively successfully, until I got a string of old rules, one who passed the throne off to his daughter, who already had been married and had a son (a bishop)

The ungrateful brat murdered me! Which gave me a game over

[Ouroboros]

I tried playing as England pre-Norman Conquest. I was not prepared.

[Sheep the Evicted]

So how is it ?

[Galactus]

Less buggy than usual.

[a wooden chair]

My first real foray was as the Duke of Salerno in southern Italy. Proposed to and married the Duchess of Tuscany, produced a male heir, and then watched in horror as my plans for my heir to inherit a good 1/3rd of Italy crumbled after the Duchess declares a war for independence. Suffice to say as the only enemies of the HRE at the time we got steamrolled.

Ireland looks fun and easy to unite though, I'm tempted to start a game as one of the Dukes over there.

[Doran II]

Is this game something like Medieval total war? I tried to install it but crashes right after i click it.

[salt]

I really can't say enough about this game.  In fact I've been whoring it out on other forums, so I'll pretty much just copy that.  Its probably the best 'grand strategy' game I've ever played.  By far the most polished, perfected, and bug free release that Paradox Interactive has ever made in its history as a developer.  This truly is the game of thrones, filled with plotting and murder, pledging oaths and betrayals, tournaments and feasts, bastards and legitimized bastards, even dwarfs. I've been playing since the beta, and I'm still completely hooked. This game is not for everyone.  Its incredibly complicated, with graphics that, while pretty, are minimal.  Its not for people that need shiny 3D battles and instant gratification, its a complex game where one campaign could take you days and weeks.  But for those of us who like truly deep strategy games there's nothing else like this on the market.

Doran II, on 16 February 2012 - 01:14 PM, said:

Is this game something like Medieval total war? I tried to install it but crashes right after i click it.

Not really.  While M2TW focused on battles and graphics, CK2 focuses on historical realism and strategic depth.  There are no 3D battles in CK2, you wil never see your thousands of troops lined up on the battlefield, the camera is always a bird's eye view of the map.  While M2 was about war, this game is more about being a medieval lord and managing things like your vassals, dynasty, and relationship with the Pope.  In M2TW, when you choose to play "France", you had total control over every aspect of your kingdom, guiding it along with the hand of god.  Not so in CK2- if you choose to play the king of France, you are just that -the king of France- who when the game starts, is a 14 year old boy trying to managae the ambitions and relations of powerful dukes, many of whom have much more military power than you do.


The way the game works is that you choose to play as any Christian European count, duke, king, or emperor that existed between 1066 and 1337.  Through marriage, diplomacy, war, spying, plotting and more you try to extend your dynasty and your realm, increasing your prestige, wealth, and military power.  When your current character dies their heir takes over and you play as them.  Its a sandbox game where you set your own goals, you can pretty much do anything you want, wether thats being a crusading Duke in the Holy Roman Empire who takes the holy land away from the Muslim caliphates and forms the Kingdom of Jerusalem, or a petty count who, through marrying his daughters to the right people, eventually gets his dynasty onto the throne of England.

Its an extremely complex game, new players will be utterly lost at first and its almost guaranteed that your first 3 or 4 campaigns will end in total failure.  However, this is one of the few games I have played where it is genuinely entertaining when things go terribly wrong.  Playing as a godlike king beloved by all his vassals is fun; having that king suddenly die of pneumonia and trying to hold the realm together as his 12 year old daughter while your uncles and vassals all rebel and try to kill you is possibly even more fun.


Ireland is indeed a great place to start, as its a small and managable enclosed area for you to learn the game in, plus its just fun.  In my first campaign for the full version I started as the Duke of Connaught, a poor Irish lord with only one province to his name.

http://www.mediafire...n0x8iict67hh0eu

About 180 years later I had formed the Kingdoms of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and was well on my way to uniting all the celtic people under one crown.

http://www.mediafire...18m9krrnmhqgrif



Here is the Demo for anyone who wants to check it out.  While it says you can only play from a selection of 4 characters, theres a trick that actually lets you play as anyone- choose one of the 4, click start, and as its loading quickly click on any other province on the map to play as its owner.

Edited by salt, 16 February 2012 - 02:46 PM.

[dajamieson]

Dammit, I was trying to avoid this but it looks like I'm going to get sucked in. Farewell life.

[Talleyrand]

So far on Deus Vult I only did proper campaigns as Dukes. Kings were too annoying trying to control your own people while trying to deal with the overbearing bastard that is the King of England (I usually go as Scotland) and I did once spend a long time as a Count, cultivating influence and prestige until my own duke came and destroyed me.

[Galactus]

Tried another game as Denmark, trying mainly to peacefully build up my infrastructure. (The pagans, btw. seem both too weak and too strong: They're incredibly powerful at start but seem to get steamrolled VERY quickly)

I keep getting hit by revolters. Also, Baden.

[salt]

The Pagans can field huge armies at the beginning thanks to some "warrior cult" buildings they have, which is the only thing that gives them a chance against the christians in the beginning.  Eventually the'yre going to lose because the christians can decalre war on them without needing a claim to their land.  Of course, thats somewhat historical, almsot all the pagan areas in Europe had been chrstianized by the end of the game's time frame, though it does seem to happen too fast in the current version.

As for revolters, click the vassals tab when your viewing your main character's menu and you can see everyone's opinion of you, hover over the number to see what is making it negative.  Giving out honorary titles and gifts is a good way to keep your most important vassals loyal.

[Galactus]

Oh, I know why they're revolting: they're all my relatives and they all want to be king. (seriously, the danes starts with way too many kids to be manageable.)

[HP Loveshaft]

You can only play as Christians or Pagans with this game, right? No controlling Muslims at all?

I liked how in MW2 you could play as non-Western powers. Camels ftw.

Edited by HP Loveshaft, 16 February 2012 - 06:10 PM.

[Galactus]

Kind of. You can only play as christians at start, but if your characters convert you can keep playing as them.

They are planning a muslim DLC/exp, but they said they needed time to get stuff working (eg. the differen inheritance systems)

[Sheep the Evicted]

salt, on 16 February 2012 - 02:12 PM, said:

Here is the Demo for anyone who wants to check it out.  While it says you can only play from a selection of 4 characters, theres a trick that actually lets you play as anyone- choose one of the 4, click start, and as its loading quickly click on any other province on the map to play as its owner.

Awesome link thanks.

[Doran II]

Holy shit this game is like a playable version of ASOIAF!!!

god dam it salt! now you manage to completely destroy my social life!1!!!11!!!  

I cat wait to play it!! The plotting, backstabing aspect of ruling was always something that disapointed me when playing Total War games, i hope someday one developer will be able to put together the best of both.

[salt]

Doran II, on 16 February 2012 - 06:43 PM, said:

Holy shit this game is like a playable version of ASOIAF!!!

god dam it salt! now you manage to completely destroy my social life!1!!!11!!!  

Speaking of that, there is a Westeros mod in the works for the game.  Its still early on, but this is a (very incomplete) preview of what the map will look like:

North

South

If you want to check the mods status or help out they have a forum here

Edited by salt, 16 February 2012 - 07:12 PM.

[Fez]

So, what's changed from the first Crusader Kings?

[salt]

A ton.  Besides a vastly improved interface, grahpics, AI and gameplay, its tougher to expand than it was in CK1, you can't just create claims out of thin air any more.  There's a new dynasty score system where the prestige/piety of each member of your dynasty is added up when they die, plus you can view the prestige and ridiculously detailed family trees of every dynasty in the game.  There are now 5 feudal tiers- Emperor>King>Duke>Count>Baron.  Even a one province count will have vassals because each province has cities and churches controlled by mayors and bishops.  A lot will feel familiar from Deus Vult, but a lot has changed.  Playing the demo should give you a decent sense of the new features.

Also, there is no more infamy/tyranny system, every character has an opinion of you between -100 and 100, and you have the same for them.  I questioned it at first but it actually works pretty well and makes more sense than some arbritary number telling you how much the world hates you.

Edited by salt, 16 February 2012 - 10:31 PM.

[Fez]

The demo does look great; unfortunately it shockingly appears that my laptop is actually too shitty to play this smoothly.  Shame, that.