CKII is released.

[Kane]

What is their solution for stopping France in Iberia?

Seriously, I would love to hear it too...

The solution is the latest patch, now France will go to north africa instead of ibera.

 

[HardDeck]

The next big question is , can Magna Mundi beat what CK2 has created?

 

[Tigranes]

Having an interesting game as the Duke of Aquitaine. Naturally, the Capet Emperor decided to go all out for Spain, so I took the time to consolidate my personal holdings. The bulk of the work was done by the son of the starting Duke, reigning from 1080 to currently 1123 - relying on a good steward and an excellent spymaster (wife & princess of Byzantium), progressively landed claims and eventually took over the Duchy of Toulouse. Unfortunately, I was then in a weird situation where I was the Duke of Aquitaine, Poitou, Auvergne, Gascogne and one more I forget, but the Duke of Toulouse remained Duke because he had a single holding - a barony in Paris itself. Over about five years, I managed to exploit his Elective succession laws by assassinating his heir, then immediately the Duke himself, installing my own son and heir as the Duke of Toulouse.

I do agree that assassinations can be overpowered, but in this case it was not the easiest thing - I spent about 300 gold, was exposed twice, and was even imprisoned by the King of France (which cost 150 gold to then ransom), all to nick off a random courtier and a duke, and to win the Duchy title to lands I had already conquered. But now my younger son is the Duke of Toulouse, and I am looking to consolidate his status as heir to everything else (I have Elective Law as well). Irony being that the terrible Crown Authority of France proper prevents me from using primogeniture. I'm hoping the succession goes smoothly (and soon), then I will own about half of France; next step would then be to ally a couple of other dukes and declare war on the King (who, to his credit, has now conquered most of the eastern coast of Spain.)

 

[HardDeck]

Bros i have a question, i'm a duke of 2 duchies, my son will succeed only 1 duchy and the other duchy has 'title loss over succession' so i presume i will loose the title and land after death of current ruller. What can i do so my son inherits 2 duchies and not only 1 ?

 

[Tigranes]

Check your succession laws. It will be on Gavelkind, which splits your realm so everyone can have something.

Hover over the options for different kinds of laws to see what prerequisites you need to change your succession laws, and what each of them does.

(You can, by the way, assassinate your own son if need be.)

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

The next big question is , can Magna Mundi beat what CK2 has created?

Damnit, I'm never going to have time for anything else... Fucking paradox is going to ruin this semester.

 

[Forest Dweller]

Just started looking into Paradox Interactive.

Holy shit they have a lot of games. It's a bit daunting. Anyone have a good guide on what titles/series are solid and what should be avoided? With that many games there's bound to be a few duds.

Is the Crusader Kings series basically the "pinnacle" of what they've done so far with the whole RTwP grand strategy genre or are the games more different with a variety of specific strengths and weaknesses?

 

[Monocause]

I'll copypaste what I wrote in the LP thread, hope you don't mind:

OK, "demoing" (with a "demo" update) it and it is a confirmed buy for me. First played as the king of Abisynia, conquered Harer, had a lot of fun managing internal politics, got facerolled by jihadists. When they declared war first I managed to avert disaster by assasinating the Saana ruler, prompting the state into civil war. The second time it didn't work because they apparently changed the succesion rights and so I quit. Good fun. The Ethiopian states are definitely doable, I made a couple of beginner's mistakes - first of all I should have concentrated on improving my holdings' levy size, which I didn't and my army size was not up to par, second - I granted a couple of counties to my courtier's not realizing that cities and bishoprics also count against my demesne limit and it is these that I should grant.

Playing the doux of Achaia right now. Planning to improve my holdings and wait until the time is right to strike for independence. The emperor is still to strong to do that now but his time is fast approaching.

Some of you guys complained in the other thread about assasinations directed at your ruler and about mercs. First of all - if you get assasinated then you failed at internal politics. Keep your spymaster uncovering plots in your capital province - and this is what he should be doing all the time, if you need him for something else then give him a different job but remember to recall him home. Have your vassals, your wife and your council (definitely your spymaster!) at positive relations. Ruler's diplomacy is an incredibly important stat so when you tutor your children be sure to pick someone who's at least a decent diplomat - and you should deffo consider someone with the Grey Eminence or Charismatic Negotiator traits. Seriously, you can manage with your ruler being horrible at everything else but a horrible diplomat will make you stand on your head just to keep everyone barely content, sending the chancellor and chaplain around your provinces like mad.

Mercs are expensive enough, I think. The cheapest merc company I've seen costs around 90 GP to hire and the monthly costs were killing me. If you were able to mass mercs then your provincial income needs rebalancing.

Some tips:

- Female courtiers are great for snatching talented males off other courts. Be sure to arrange a matrilineal marriage, then the guy comes to your court. My current 24 STE councilmember is a German I got doing just that. Use the 'characters' tab to search for unmarried foreign courtiers with good skills. Matrilineals are easy to arrange (perhaps even too easy), just be sure to pick either a lowborn or someone of a small house, comparable in prestige to your courtier's.
- When it comes to males, pairing talented males with talented women gets you talented children at the court. Also snatching talented women from abroad make great tutors for your children, just be sure they've got the same religion.
- When accepting foreigners at your court be sure to please them and then demand conversion.
- Arrange marriages of your not-so-talented courtiers so that they got sent abroad. You won't have any positions for them anyway and they probably stop liking you at some point, can become your enemies. Make these fools a non-issue by arranging a matrilineal marriage with the daughter of Ali El-Zabim, a fishmonger from Tunis and wish them a fair voyage to the Moslem lands.

Also here's a screen of my current game: http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/Le_voyeur/ck22012-02-1819-49-01-17.jpg

 

[Tigranes]

Dude, at this point you should just try playing a Paradox title, you're not going to learn a lot more by asking another fifty questions. I think it's pretty clear that give it some time and you will enjoy them. Also, search function. Also, demos. Seriously, what?

But just to be nice: (1) EU3 is the most 'familiar' story of building empires and painting the map your colour; (2) Vicky 2 is more economic and HOI3 micromanagementy, thus more derivative and perhaps not the best to start with; (3) CK2 is not very difficult, the most polished and provides the most lulz with its family orientation, but again isn't your typical map-painter.

Now go, try, buy.

 

[IDtenT]

I'm playing as Von Habsburg. Almost done creating Burgundy, just need to elect a family member as my next duke. :D

 

[XenomorphII]

Saying that CK2 is not very difficult can be extremely misleading. Depending on who and where you are, and also how lucky you are, the game can either be a cake walk or nigh impossible. For example tried to play a game as one of the free Welsh counts (Family Gwynn). I had barely managed to get the Duchy of Deubarth when England came for all my titles and stomped me into oblivion. (I had planed to get Wales under my control then offer vassalage to the English crown to avoid this, but was too slow.)

 

[IDtenT]

Saying that CK2 is not very difficult can be extremely misleading. Depending on who and where you are, and also how lucky you are, the game can either be a cake walk or nigh impossible. For example tried to play a game as one of the free Welsh counts (Family Gwynn). I had barely managed to get the Duchy of Deubarth when England came for all my titles and stomped me into oblivion. (I had planed to get Wales under my control then offer vassalage to the English crown to avoid this, but was too slow.)

Mostly luck. I've united Wales before without ever having a threat from the English, mostly because they were in a perpetual war with their dukes.

 

[HardDeck]

Saying that CK2 is not very difficult can be extremely misleading

CK2 is the most playable one once you get to know it, after it is EU3 Vicky2 with herpaderpa stats and somewhere at the end is clickfest mess of HOI 3.

so yea CK2-->Eu3---------------------->Vicky2-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->Hoi3

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Saying that CK2 is not very difficult can be extremely misleading

CK2 is the most playable one once you get to know it, after it is EU3 Vicky2 with herpaderpa stats and somewhere at the end is clickfest mess of HOI 3.

so yea CK2-->Eu3---------------------->Vicky2-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->Hoi3

You are a wrong.

 

[Forest Dweller]

What about their sci fi and fantasy games?

Also difficulty and learning curve isn't really a concern of mine. I have experience already with Total War so what I'm mainly interested in is something that will go beyond Total War in terms of "campaign map" gameplay.

 

[Calem Ravenna]

Nah, there is no hardcap and fertility is just another stat in the txt files. There is even a screenshot with a guy having 19 kids. The reason most have no more than 5 children is because Paradox severely limited fertility as a gameplay mechanism. Apparently they decided to severely reduce child mortality and make up for that with less children. That reducing challenge was commented by some as being part of their approach to reach a wider audience. Grrr. Anyway, I'll wait for a bit as someone who has apparantly done more modding is doing a mortality mod that's also quite a bit more ambitious than what I had in mind. If it's not to my liking I'll give it a try though. Seems events aren't nearly as hard to figure out as I thought. Untill then however my 'Memento Mori' mod idea is on hold.

Well, boosting the base fertility rate and messing around with the files (like the weird limits in defines.txt) might take care of the number of children. For mortality, increasing it for children is no problem with a new event (or set of events). Birth events for non-bastards seem hardcoded, that could probably be emulated by events. However, I don't have access to CK2 modding forums (waiting for the box version) so might be just talking out of my ass here.

I'm working on a mod of my own and this issue is on the to-do list. So unless some respectable modder finds out a feasible solution first, stay tuned.

Diplo AI: Will not declare religious wars for overseas territories that de jure belong to an independent duke or king of its own faith

If this works exactly the way it's described, France will still go berserk on the Andalusian emirates and if Al-Andalus somehow forms Mauretania won't attempt a reconquest. Still probably better than the previous situation, we'll see.

 

[GarfunkeL]

What about their sci fi and fantasy games?

Also difficulty and learning curve isn't really a concern of mine. I have experience already with Total War so what I'm mainly interested in is something that will go beyond Total War in terms of "campaign map" gameplay.

Doesn't really compare - the difference between Total War: Medieval and EU3 is like the difference between Oblivion and Ultima Underworld - there might be superficial similarities but the other demands actual skill and brainpower.

You could try, for fun, go through them chronologically: CK2 -> EU3 -> Vicky2 -> HoI3. Would most likely be interesting to note how the game play mechanics change and evolve.

Also, those are pretty much the game Pdox has made themselves. They are also a publisher for other developers, so don't confuse the fantasy/sci-fi games with actual Pdox games.

 

[Trash]

Dicksmoker, you've been asking the same questions about these games in a number of Paradox threads by now. Why not just try out a few demos and find out for yourself? EU3 is their biggest mainstream hit and probably a very good indicator. Go and give it a try if you're curious.

Well, boosting the base fertility rate and messing around with the files (like the weird limits in defines.txt) might take care of the number of children. For mortality, increasing it for children is no problem with a new event (or set of events). Birth events for non-bastards seem hardcoded, that could probably be emulated by events. However, I don't have access to CK2 modding forums (waiting for the box version) so might be just talking out of my ass here.

I'm working on a mod of my own and this issue is on the to-do list. So unless some respectable modder finds out a feasible solution first, stay tuned.

Editing and increasing the fertility rate and adding negatives for health in static_modifiers already made quite a difference. Increasing the contagiousness of several of the diseases also has quite a result as characters are more likely to get and suffer from the various illnesses. More births so far and a much higher mortality rate. Am now looking to start work on events regarding stillborn children and childbirth deaths as I see no other way to influence those. If the events work out I'm also thinking of adding one to make about 30-50% of the kids die before adulthood and to add one where a low health character might get an event in which he dies.

Been also looking through a few history books for info. In reality in medieval Britain the mortality rate for children was about 50%. Childbirth deaths in which the child died happened in about 10% of all births. In 2% of all births the mother died. Many females gave birth over a dozen times. Lifespan for those who reached adulthood was 50, more or less. My aim is to try and stay close to those numbers but to see what works best. Both from a historical and gameplay view. No mass extinction of noble houses and no hordes of children everywhere either. Just more randomness and challenge and a lot less security regarding the heirs for the player. Which is my main interest.

Untill the bubonic plague. I expect Europe to burn, whither and die massively then. In CK1 it ravaged the noble houses and after it passed led to decades of war as all the new houses where trying to claim theirs. Glorious.

 

[Forest Dweller]

Dicksmoker, you've been asking the same questions about these games in a number of Paradox threads by now.

I have? Well, I guess I've forgotten by now.

Just so you know, time is the biggest resource of mine in short supply right now, not money. I have a shitload of games right now on my list and not enough time. So if I seem like I'm being too picky with my questions it's because of that, not stinginess or whatever you want to call it.

But...would anyone advise against simply starting with Europa Universalis 1?

 

[IDtenT]

Damn you Von Habsburg! It's now almost 7am!

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

Dicksmoker, you've been asking the same questions about these games in a number of Paradox threads by now.

I have? Well, I guess I've forgotten by now.

Just so you know, time is the biggest resource of mine in short supply right now, not money. I have a shitload of games right now on my list and not enough time. So if I seem like I'm being too picky with my questions it's because of that, not stinginess or whatever you want to call it.

But...would anyone advise against simply starting with Europa Universalis 1?

Each of the later incarnations of the series are far superior to the preceding game. CK2 > CK1, Vicky2 > Vicky 1, EU3 > EU2, and HOI3 > HOI2. If you're going to start with one, EU3 is probably the wisest one to start out as, and start with one of the blob countries (Castille is a good choice, since Le Blob has a two-front war on the horizon right off the bat with Burgundy and England.

 

[Percy]

Started as Connacht. Was King of Ireland within 2 rulers.... didn't expand much after that, vassals are cunts and I kept on banishing them after civil wars. I did manage to take some land of the muslims in Portugal. Only assasinated 1 kid.
There was a 100 year crusade for alexandria which could not be won due to the shia whatever the fuck owning too much land. Good game but really hard to progress due to infighting. Probably should work on my diplomacy....


Any suggestions for a new count or duke to play?

 

[Raghar]

Holy shit they have a lot of games. It's a bit daunting. Anyone have a good guide on what titles/series are solid and what should be avoided? With that many games there's bound to be a few duds.

Try HOI2 Armageddon first. (Change all Japanese techs into blueprints and play as Japan.)
Stay away from EU games, they have problems with inflation.
If you are brave, and they will release another patch for Victoria 2, try Victoria 2.
HOI3 basically killed all non major countries, thus you should try it only when you want to try major players, and you are willing to understand some stuff that is supposed to help with micromanagement of 200 divisions.
CK2 is diplomacy heavy, thus you should try it after some more conquest like stragegy games.

 

[Destroid]

If time is in short supply DO NOT play EU3 or HoI3. A full length game of EU3 will run you at least tens of hours.

 

[Renegen]

So I started a new game with anus_pounder, raw and raw's pony friend. Raw was Scotland, the pony Brittany and I continued as Miessen while anus was Bohemia my neighbor, the alliance turned out to be exercised big time. I started out getting owned as always since Miessen is small and has territory owned by other duchies. I lost 1 territory to Brunswick and another to independence, back to where I was last time. I was determined not to get owned like last time and started consolidating power. I put people in jail, and actually got lucky with the intrigue dicerolls, built up my army and ended up getting every single one of the 9 castles, towns and churches in my lands. Everyone hated me since I was a tyrant, so I just slowly replaced them.

I had a consolidated territory now, making money and ready to go on the offensive. What really saved me too was I accidently recruited Brittany's amazing councellor with 26 diplomacy to forge claims. I first set my sights on Thuringia that was now independent, conquered those 2 territories with no sweat. Then I went for Brandenburg and conquered it too. Up to 7 territories and 3 duchies. I was even making sons by then, so I had to switch to elective rule. Only 1 target stood in front of me, Brunswick, which now actually invaded Norway and was Norway. Luckily for me a civil war raged where Brunswick split in half and Norway in the other half. I attacked Norway and took 1 more land, getting close to a 4th duchy.

At this point Bavaria declares war on anus's Bohemia. Huge war ensued. 3k doomstack from Bavaria vs 3k stack from Bohemia and 3k stack from me. If we weren't allied, Bavaria would've beaten Bohemia, epic war ensured. I took the opportunity to take a chunk out of Bavaria while Bohemia did the same. Now I have around 9 territories, very solid lands and ready to attack the only threat against me, a newly joined Norway/Brunswick.

If you want to drop by in this game just for the fun, go on the steam chat. We usually play in the afternoon GMT time/morning kwa time.