Grand Strategy Imperator: Rome - the new grand strategy from Paradox

[catfood]

Boi means oxes in Romanian.

Same in Portuguese, it means Ox.

And "soi boi" means "variety of oxen" in Romanian, and "just boy" in Portuguese.

That would be just "variety oxen", but close enough.

 

[M. AQVILA]

Boi means oxes in Romanian.

Same in Portuguese, it means Ox.

And "soi boi" means "variety of oxen" in Romanian, and "just boy" in Portuguese.

Soi boi sounds like a retarded mix of Spanish and Portuguese. In Portuguese there's no "soi" word, there's "sou" which means "I'm". So "sou boi" means "I'm Ox".

 

[OndrejSc]

I blame Google Translator.

 

[Beastro]

One thing I'm getting annoyed of in Paradox games is the use of modern geography.

For instance, what the Netherlands looked like this during this timeframe:

The Zuiderzee itself existed for only some 800s years coming into existence during the 1200s.

England in the Early Middle Ages:

Yes, the Netherlands and England are far from the focus of this game, but I'm sure there's plenty spots on the world map that would have vastly different coastlines as a result of the eb and flow of storm and saltation. A good example of that on a small, but important scale is Thermopylae. Looked at today you'd have no idea why it was such a strategic and tactical choke point in Antiquity due to saltation.

The map doesn't look impressive. I have the feeling that the game will be short and empty.

You're forgetting the better part of a decade that will be filled with DLCs to make it like it should.

LOL, seriously? I just can picture Caesar forging Tarquinius-era documents claiming that Gaul is ancestral Roman possession, in order to present it to the ancient UN and the Pope of Jupiter to get a permission to go and conquer it.

Paradox, always busy trying to make their map-painting more boring.

Would be more "Fabricate pr provoke a casus belli" than anything.

Look at Caesar provoking the Helvetii seeking a victory to boost his reputation back home. They wanted to peacefully migrate out of Switzerland to the Atlantic coast only to have the Romans destroy the bridge they wanted to cross. When they decided to cross with boats, Caesar attacked. After the Romans beat the remaining 1/4 stuck on the far side of the river they tried to negotiate, failed to and then resumed the migration with Caesar following behind them looking for another fight, which at the right time they gave trying to take him by surprise.

He wiped them out,and it doesn't matter if his numbers were exaggerated, he took victory in wiping out or enslaving a claimed 300,000+ men, women and children who had nothing against Rome, while he was in the region supposedly tackling another issue that would eventually result in him conquering all of Gaul.

Dunno, I suppose a republic might need to spend some jewgold on hawkers to convince the general populace that the newest military adventure serves the interests of everybody and not just its ambitious patron.

No, back when it would be "Due to certain circumstances, _____ dared fight with us! We need to teach them a lesson!" Look at the way the Japanese invaded Manchuria and set off the Second Sino-Japanese War for an equivalent where right and wrong in the provocation didn't matter, but how successful one was in benefiting Japan as a result of it.

"Barbarian" traditions? Are these people fucking serious? This is more like the Civilization games than a traditional Paradox game.

Yes! You can either blindly rush at tight, civilized formations with axes or spears, with or without a morale boosting warcry!

List of Barbarian Traditions:

Spoiler

- Washing only once per semester
- Incoherent, violent screams
- The Black Tongue
- Constant Squabbling for ultimately nothing
- Constantly moving to and from rather than settling down in a place and building something like civilized people
- Horrible Smell Aura
- Constant backstabbing
- Animal Skin Clothing
- Killing people to eat them
- Generally being unpleasant

Germanics and Celts were notibly more clean than Romans. The Romans were especially bemused by their obsession with keeping their long hair clear by constantly combing it and bathing in water, as opposed to oiling up, wrestling, then using a blunt scythe tool, called a Strigil, to scrap the muddy crap off of you before relaxing in the saunas without scrubbing off.

Also, that oil/sweat/dirt combination was regularly collected by apothecaries for use in medicines.

 

[Life of the Party]

Hello and welcome once again to one of Imperator’s Developer Diaries!

Last week I talked about North West Africa and National Ideas. Today I will be going over the economy and, fittingly, Egypt.

Economic Policy & Power Conversion

The main way you have to control your finances in Imperator will be through your Economic Policies.

As described in an earlier developer diary the main source of income over time in Imperator will be Taxes (which are generated by Slaves) and Commerce (which is generated by Trade, and enhanced by Citizens). To modify these you have Economic Policies. Three of these are for your main sources of income and four of them are for your main running expenses. Each category in turn has three different settings and they can all be changed at any time. Generally all settings apart from the default ones come with a drawback as well as a bonus.

The expenses of a country will be mostly familiar from our other games. You pay for the maintenance of your armies, navies and your fortifications. In addition Imperator has another type of expense, Wages.

Wages:

Every office or job in your country has a defined wage. A wage is always a certain percentage of your income, how high dependent on the office it is for (a ruler gets to lift an amazing 5%!). Character Corruption further modifies the wage of office holders.

Policies:

Economic Policies for Income

Taxes:

Modifies income from taxes.

• Lax Taxation: -25% National Tax Modifier & -1 National Unrest.
• Default Taxation: No Modifiers.
• Harsh Taxation: +25 National Slave Output & -20% Research Production.

Commerce:

Modifies income from Commerce.

• Transaction Taxation: +30% Commerce Income Modifier & +4 Slaves Needed for Surplus Trade Good Production
• Trading Permits: No Modifiers.
• Free Trade: -20% Commerce Income & +1 Trade Route Per Province

Tributes:

Modifies how much you expect your subject states to pay to you.

• Lax Tribute: -33% Tribute Income from Subjects. Subject Opinion +50.
• Default: No Modifiers.
• Extortive Tributes: +25% Tribute Income from Subjects. Subject Opinion -100

Economic Policies for Expenses:

Army Maintenance

The Monthly cost for all troops in your country.

• Decreased Pay: -50% Morale & -50% Army Maintenance Cost
• Normal Pay: No Modifiers.
• Increased Pay: +10% Morale & +50% Army Maintenance Cost

Fleet Maintenance

The Monthly cost for all the ships of your country.

• Decreased Pay: -50% Naval Maintenance & -50% Naval Morale
• Normal Pay: No Modifiers.
• Increased Pay: +50% Naval Maintenance & +10% Naval Morale

Fort Maintenance

The cost to maintain all forts of your country.

• Ignored Garrisons: -50% Fort Maintenance & -95% Garrison Size, -90% Fort Defense
• Paid Garrisons: No Modifiers.
• Improved Fortifications: +50% Fort Maintenance & +25% Garrison Size and Fort Defense

Wages

How much the wage of offices and jobs is increased or decreased.

• Reduced Wages: -25% Monthly Wages for all Characters & -0.5 Monthly Loyalty
• Normal Wages: No Modifiers.
• Increased Wages: +50% Monthly Wages for all Characters & +0.1 Monthly Loyalty

Deficit:

Should your country at any time find itself running a deficit this will result in a number of bad things. These can be seen at the bottom of the screen under the balance itself. Some of these events may well help you turn your economy around, but none of them come without a high price to be paid in some form.

Power Conversion:

Money is not the only currency you make use of to play Imperator. Many things instead come with a cost of Military, Civic, Oratory or Religious Power. At times you may find yourself lacking the type of money you want, or with enough power but no gold. For that matter sometimes you are in an emergency situation and need gold at all cost.

In Imperator you can always, for a harsh exchange rate, spend money to buy a type of power that you lack, or turn surplus power into money.

Egypt:

Egypt is a very large region, and one integral to the the period we cover. Due to the peculiarities of Egyptian Geography, where population is mostly concentrated to a thin strip along the Nile, I will today be using two terrain map mode screenshots for each section.

Lower Egypt & Cyrenaica:

Few countries have an as extreme social geography as Egypt. The Delta is one of the most fertile places on the planet, and has often been referred to as the “Granary of the Mediterranean”, but this lush agricultural landscape transforms into desert in an instant as soon as the nile is no longer near. While Egypt is among the most populous regions in game it is also one where almost all wealth and people is concentrated to a rather small area. Easy to control, but also potentially easy to invade. Something that has been tried more than once during the many wars of the successors already.

Egypt is also home to a cultural and religious world that is far older than those currently fighting over its soil. In 304 BCE this is a culture that still lives and thrives. While the country has been under Greek rule ever since its conquest by Alexander the Great it is by no means simply a Greek country. Increasing number of Greek settlers are worshipping not only their old gods but also the old (and in some cases new) gods of the Egyptian people.

Starting Countries:

• Egypt: The partition of Babylon awarded Egypt to Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s most trusted men and oldest friends. As this was one of the wealthiest regions in the mediterranean, perhaps the entire world, this made Ptolemy the richest of the successors by far. But compared to many of the other successors, the Ptolemaic strategy has been cool and calculated rather than bold, or even rash. With some few exceptions (like his seizure of the Cataphalc that held Alexander’s body, on its way home to Macedonia), Ptolemy has played a more conservative game. The great wealth of the Nile has been spent building new armies, forging alliances in Greece and the Aegean world, as well as inviting prominent scholars, philosophers, colonists and warriors from the wider Greek world to settle in the young kingdom. From a very early time the Ptolemies also started adapting to the local Egyptian forms of kingship. Using the title Pharao, and actively funding and encouraging the growing syncretism of Greek and Egyptian religion such as the Cult of Isis and Serapis.
• In many ways this strategy has been a fruitful one. Given that most of their subjects are non-greeks the Ptolemaic kingdom is reasonably stable. Foreign invasions have also been repelled more than once. However, when Ptolemy himself finally embarked on his great powerplay to invade Greece, with an enormous fleet and great army, he found the Greek cities disinclined to welcome him. A short time after the Ptolemaic fleet was destroyed at the battle of Salamis by Phrygian forces under Demetrius. Despite this shattering defeat, a strong friendship with the Seleucid empire, and an unthreatened homeland, means that it is likely only a matter of time before Egypt can act again.
• As the game starts Egypt is allied to the Seleucid Empire and it still has no navy. As Egypt you will be able to spend your wealth financing great projects such as the construction of its famous Lighthouse, as well as the fabled Museion of Alexandria (how ambitious you aim to make it is of course up to you).
• Cyrenaica: Small state on the coastline west of Egypt. Cyrenaica is home to a number of reasonably afluent Greek cities and in its time it was a also a center of learning and culture. On the other hand it has historically also often been subservient to Egypt. Cyrenaica was one of the first places attacked by Ptolemy to consolidate his rule over Egypt and placed under the rule of the Macedonian commander Ophellas. Four years before our start date however, Cyrenaica entangled in the designs of Agathocles of Syracuse, who implored them for help in his African campaign against Carthage. Ophellas was swayed and sent an army to aid Agathocles, only to be killed by him when he arrived. The cities of Cyrenaica have used this opportunity to seize their freedom once more. The Ptolemies in Egypt, entangled in their own conflict in Greece and Syria have not yet sent an expedition to reclaim the region. In 304 BCE Cyrenaica is independent and unaligned.

Upper Egypt and Nubia

As we progress up the Nile the river itself remains the main center for cultivation, habitation and transportation. A number of oases, mining colonies and caravan routes exist, and are vital for anyone wishing to benefit from this region, which is rich in Gold, Gems, and Marble. But politically the way to control it is the river.

Upper Egypt is also a region where we increasingly run into the Nubian people that in centuries past have adopted many aspects of Egyptian culture and for a period even ruled the entire region.

Starting Countries:

• Kush: Large Nubian kingdom south of Egypt, ruled from the ancient city of Meroe. Kush is far from the Nile delta and the core of the Ptolemaic Egyptian state, but it is still the most credible threat to control of Upper Egypt. Kushite invasions have been a constant factor in Egyptian politics ever since they were ousted from control of the Lower Nile centuries ago.
• Blemmya: Tribal Nubian kingdom east of Kush. Blemmya starts independent and unaligned.
• Dodekaschoinos: Traditionally the region on the border of Kush has been given as donations to the temples of Syene, Philae and Elephantine. The Dodekaschoinos acted as a military border zone with great autonomy under the leadership of the priestly egyptian families for centuries, both under Ptolemaic rule and before, and when Ptolemy II expanded Egyptian control further south it was also entrusted to this state. At the start in 304 Dodekaschoinos is an Egyptian Client State.

Crete

Crete is not the primary concern for any of the great powers in conflict around the mediterranean. Too large to conquer easily and yet too unimportant for a major campaign they instead focus their naval attention on Cyprus, Rhodes and the many small islands of the Aegean.

The island is divided between a number of smaller states, each with their own allies and ambitions. The ancient power center at Knossos remain the most influential power of the island, but is being increasingly challenged by other states such as Gortyna. In many ways it is its own microcosm, locked in its own frequent minor conflicts and rivalries. With outside powers frequently stepping in for a short time to aid one side or another. The island also grew to be a bit of a pirate haven during this general time of conflict in the mediterranean.

Unlike in other parts of the Greek world the island would remain divided for a long time, without forming any of the otherwise so characteristic city leagues that other Greek states used for protection.

It would remain this way until the entire island exploded in conflict late in the 2nd Century BCE, in the Lyttian war, which drew in outside powers like Macedon, Rhodes and many of the Greek City states of the mainland.

Starting Countries:

• Knossos: Autocratic Monarchy in central Crete. The oldest and traditionally the strongest state on the island. In the past Crete has often been under Egyptian influence and it is to the Ptolemids in Egypt that the rulers of Knossos look for help. At our start Knossos is independent and allied to Praesos.
• Gortyna: Democratic Republic on the southern Central part of the island. Rival of Knossos (but also in the past an ally) with its own ambitions.
• Eleutherna: Small city states just west of Knossos. Historically the Lyttian war would erupt due to this city accusing Knossos of murdering their ruler. Eleutherna starts as a feudatory of Knossos.
• Kydonia: Small Plutocratic Republic in western Crete. At start Kydonia is independent and unaligned.
• Polyrrenia: Small Aristocratic republic on the far western tip of the island. Starts unaligned and independent.
• Tarrha: Republic between Polyrrenia and Gortyna and an ancient religious center of the island. Starts as a feudatory of Gortyna.
• Ierapetra: Small Cretan city states in south eastern Crete. Frequently accused of harboring pirates. Ierapetra starts independent and allied to Lyttus.
• Praesos: Plutocratic Republic on the eastern tip of the island. At start Praesos is allied to Knossos.
• Lyttos: Very old and influential Oligarchic Republic on the north eastern side of the island, neighboring Knossos. Lyttos has often been a rival of Knossos. At start Lyttos is allied to Ierapetra.

That was all for this week, I will be back next Monday with another developer diary in which I will, among other things, be speaking about the Levant and of Pops.

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

I have a feeling that people are simply not much into Imperator: Rome, honestly. And I share that feeling.

https://www.reddit.com/r/paradoxpla...ators_dev_diaries_have_improved_but_are_they/

As I was reading this new dev diary today I was struck with a thought. While Trin has a flair for writing awesome backstory for the various regions covered in each DD, the actual mechanics described were severely underwhelming for me. We don’t even get a slider for military spending? Victoria 2 had a more complex system 8 years ago.

It just seems to me like a lot of the rejoicing we did when Johan was moved off the DDs was misplaced — because people weren’t necessarily upset by his style (although they were) alone, but by the fact that the mechanics he was describing were unoriginal and even simplified compared to past games.

I feel like Trin’s superior writing ability is masking the fact that he’s basically just giving us the wikipedia entries for various Hellenistic regions. But the game itself seems arbitrarily designed and simplistic. How does Gortyna’s rivalry with Knossos matter if both will play the exact same way, and money and mana are convertable? The largest powers will then inevitably dominate.

I don’t mean to kill everyone’s hype. I still have hope for the game, but the only thing that continues to impress me is the map. The mechanics are worrying, though.

I guess, in summation, I worry that better PR doesn’t mean the game itself is any less simplistic and objectionable than it was when we found that that, for instance, Rome only has one consul, Iberia and Numidia use the same traditions as Carthage, and phalangites and legionaries are covered by the same unit.

The way I see it, I:R is more or less EU5 (... I say that as someone who only played EU4 in the EU series, but, well, to me it could be a sequel to EU4). And frankly while I understand that it's a bit disappointing for some people I don't really see what's inherently wrong with it. I like EU4, but it's a flawed game, and really lacks compelling internal politics and unrest mechanics. I:R could provide that with characters, unloyal generals, governors, and the way armies and provinces are handled. If they pull this off, I'll happily make the jump from EU4 to I:R.

So I'm not specially worried by the unoriginal mechanics. It's still a EU spinoff at core so they can't expect them to reinvent the wheel when globally EU's formula works quite well. I'm still hoping this game will be a better EU game than EU4, and I think that's what they're aiming for. The question is, will they succeed, but we'll know that when the game is released.

I think this is dead on, at least in terms of the thrust of their design philosophy.

It does speak to a divide i’ve observed in the fanbase, though — between people who think that EUIV is the ideal game to emulate, and those who believe CK2 is far and away the best game in the series. I think that’s where the fundamental divide comes in.

While I love both games, I do find EUIV more...gamey, I guess. It just doesn’t feel like anything is going on within my empire. The only real game exists at the edges, in expansion. CK2 feels alive to me at every level.

I, like many others, fear that Imperator will be similarly devoid of any internal machinations. I understand the opposing view, but do not agree with it.

I stopped caring when Rome was announced with a single consol (sic) and a reskin monarchy government. PDS need to release a full game then improve upon it in DLC, most of the PDS game have released empty and even some regression compared to other games in the series.

Honestly, Imperator feels soulless to me, for some reason...


I think they did a mistake when they went with nation-focused, rather than character-focused. You can't portray Roman Politics properly in a nation-focused system, for example, because it was about everyone trying to make their family/gens distinguished and rich. The Patronage System was how Roman politics worked, but who cares if at the end of the day its Julius Caesar in charge or some other guy? You rule Rome no matter what, unless its conquered by foreigners.

You can't, for example, play as an ambitious Consul that invades Gaul ilegally for loot and slaves, and then uses your own Legions to take over the Roman Republic.

 

[Space Satan]

Yeah, I pretty much never go to their forum section. Just don't care about Imperator that much. They knew people waited for Victoria 3 and then they gave us this

 

[Average Manatee]

It's going to be EU4: different starting borders edition (or EU4: We reskinned the free mod edition).

90% of people are going to want to play Rome and it's going to be just a boring unstoppable blob. Like the Ottomans in EU4, except the Ottomans were at least the nation everyone wanted to kill.

 

[Tigranes]

I mean, I'm a sucker for even an EU4 reskinned into Rome, but it seems almost certain that this is going to be a disappointingly low-effort franchise spinning... just like EU:Rome was.

Maybe this means we get a proper V3, at least. One can dream.

 

[Makabb]

There is already a Rome mod for EU4, paradox is probably just ripping it off.

 

[Destroid]

I'm excited.

 

[Space Satan]

Everyone will buff discipline and morale as Rome and given how Paradox treats AI you will rarely face a challenge. Only challenge was Carthage and unless they will add severe, even mor epunishing anti-expansion mechanics than EUIV nothing will stop Rome. And as entire EUIV by now became one big anti-expansion mechanic, i doubt it will be interesting.

 

[M. AQVILA]

I think they did a mistake when they went with nation-focused, rather than character-focused. You can't portray Roman Politics properly in a nation-focused system, for example, because it was about everyone trying to make their family/gens distinguished and rich. The Patronage System was how Roman politics worked, but who cares if at the end of the day its Julius Caesar in charge or some other guy? You rule Rome no matter what, unless its conquered by foreigners.

You can't, for example, play as an ambitious Consul that invades Gaul ilegally for loot and slaves, and then uses your own Legions to take over the Roman Republic.

They should have done something akin to the republic mechanics in CK2, with you being the pater familias of your house and being able to eventually vie for consulship. It would have been far more interesting.

 

[Makabb]

Nation focused is much better for a map painter game where you create an empire

 

[fantadomat]

There is already a Rome mod for EU4, paradox is probably just ripping it off.

Ripping it will be incline,those mods are far better than the game paradox is making.

 

[Life of the Party]

They are going to release a skeleton of a skeleton of a skeleton of a game and use DLCs to add the actual content. We here will see it for what it is while their fans will call it 'supporting the game'.

I have run out of time, unfortunately. I won't get to see if Cassander survives (I don't rate his chances), but before I go I ask Johan one more question: Paradox is famous for supporting games for years after release with DLC and patches, so I ask him if he plans to do this with Imperator, expecting a non-committal answer. Instead I get a blunt "yes." In fact, he starts reeling off ideas for expansions that give depth to certain cultures: "a Greek one, Persian one, Indian one." He's very matter-of-fact that Rome is here to stay. This is a project Paradox is committing to not just now, but for years to come.

 

[fantadomat]

They are going to release a skeleton of a skeleton of a skeleton of a game and use DLCs to add the actual content. We here will see it for what it is while their fans will call it 'supporting the game'.

I have run out of time, unfortunately. I won't get to see if Cassander survives (I don't rate his chances), but before I go I ask Johan one more question: Paradox is famous for supporting games for years after release with DLC and patches, so I ask him if he plans to do this with Imperator, expecting a non-committal answer. Instead I get a blunt "yes." In fact, he starts reeling off ideas for expansions that give depth to certain cultures: "a Greek one, Persian one, Indian one." He's very matter-of-fact that Rome is here to stay. This is a project Paradox is committing to not just now, but for years to come.

I wouldn't have minded the DLC expansion if they were going to deliver a superior base game and not a bare bone one so they could sell more DLC. Instead of improving on what they have learned and build in their former games,they prefer to make a shallow mess and reskin the older DLCs.

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

They should have done something akin to the republic mechanics in CK2, with you being the pater familias of your house and being able to eventually vie for consulship. It would have been far more interesting.

Exactly, that's what I thought as well.
Except it would be modelled from the ground up, rather than the code mess of the CK2 MRs.
The way to handle land would be to simply have great families start with their own "Manor" or something roman-sounding. They can acquire private lands to become latifundiaries, which also drives poor peasant pops out as they're substituted by vast masses of slave labourers - think CK2 feudalism, but you can't raise vast armies out of latifundia. Then you can ascend in the Roman State and Bureocracy, being able to become a Provincial Governor, General and eventually a Consul or Dictator as well.

(the end-game would be turning yourself into Emperor/Princeps, or reforming the Republic in order to save it. Or maybe even bringing back the Monarchy, but people would hate your guts because Romans Hated kings.)

Nation focused is much better for a map painter game where you create an empire

Would make more sense if this was a Roman Empire, not Republic, game.

The problem is that this game is centered around Republican Rome and its politics. You can't portray Roman History of this period without a character-based system. Republican Rome was centered around the Patronage System, the Clans, the Gens, the Pater Familias. It was a gloriously messy thing that just can't be portrayed by normal "national spirit" bloby mechanics. Who cares if Sulla or Marius wins, if you're still in charge of the Roman Republic no matter what?

No proper Senate mechanics, no Governor mechanics, nothing.

(it would be a great base to spin-off and create a proper system for Democratic/Oligarchic Greek City-States, or the Ptolemaic Court)

Carthage's system with its suffets and such wans't that much different from Rome, as well.

It would also be a fantastic way to limit blobbing as well.

Boring: Roman Republic conquers another bunch of land for the sake of blobbing

Interesting: Gaius Julius Caesar starts a illegal war in Gaul to obtain loot and slaves, pretty much buying entire Legions to become loyal only to himself, allowing him to later march on Rome and declare himself Dictator.

 

[Beastro]

TBH I'm tired of this period of time, at least as a beginning rather than end.

I'd rather see a game before the Late Bronze Age Collapse starting around 1300 BC or so. You can expand and do all the shit you want, but everyone gets rocked by the collapse and you have to come back from it, leading towards the nominal start of games around the Rise of Rome/Alexander or the Diadochi period being the conclusion.

 

[M. AQVILA]

TBH I'm tired of this period of time, at least as a beginning rather than end.

I'd rather see a game before the Late Bronze Age Collapse starting around 1300 BC or so. You can expand and do all the shit you want, but everyone gets rocked by the collapse and you have to come back from it, leading towards the nominal start of games around the Rise of Rome/Alexander or the Diadochi period being the conclusion.

Is there even enough information on the various tribes and kingdoms of that time for them to make that sort of game?

I personally would rather have a game set during the time of Alexander the Great.

 

[Agame]

I mean, I'm a sucker for even an EU4 reskinned into Rome, but it seems almost certain that this is going to be a disappointingly low-effort franchise spinning... just like EU:Rome was.

Maybe this means we get a proper V3, at least. One can dream.

Vicky 3 will be nothing like what the fans of V2 want.

Paradox have given up on innovation, and will spend the next 20 - 50 years remaking the same systems and creating endless streams of DLC.

Just look at the last few games. HOI4, streamlined, casualized, multiplayer focused, a pale imitation of HOI3. Stellaris, I dont even know what to say? Its the perfect cure for an insomniac as its guaranteed to send you to sleep. And now Imperator, taking elements from the other games, but in a half assed fashion that seems to miss the point of what makes those systems unique and interesting.

My prediction if they ever did make V3 (and I get the feeling no one at Paradox actually WANTS to make V3) is that it would be very similar to HOI4, in that it would be streamlined and simplified and focused on multiplayer.

 

[Beastro]

TBH I'm tired of this period of time, at least as a beginning rather than end.

I'd rather see a game before the Late Bronze Age Collapse starting around 1300 BC or so. You can expand and do all the shit you want, but everyone gets rocked by the collapse and you have to come back from it, leading towards the nominal start of games around the Rise of Rome/Alexander or the Diadochi period being the conclusion.

Is there even enough information on the various tribes and kingdoms of that time for them to make that sort of game?

I personally would rather have a game set during the time of Alexander the Great.

Plenty in the Middle East. Ialty might be hard.

 

[oscar]

These write-ups are cool and at least show the writers have their historical chops.. But hard to say from them how the actual game will turn out. Holy Fury has been a great expansion while EUIV has just gotten fat and castrated by that retard Johan.

Rome should be scary. If only because they had a much deeper manpower pool than the Successors (forced to draw from a thin layer of Greek colonists with the natives being unreliable or politically dangerous to use). Even the big boys like the Selies could usually only take losing a major battle or two. Rome kept on chugging after half a dozen to Hannibal. They're like the Soviet Union of this time period, good flexible equipment, lots of manpower and not afraid to keep fighting when anyone else would have thrown in the towel.

I don't know how long this game runs till but the Successor States were justifiably afraid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Popillius_Laenas

 

[razvedchiki]

Yes but antiochos was defeated twice in decisive field battles,in magnesia he fielded more men than the romans and also the best he had atm.
So if he had defeated the romans at least in magnesia i think he would have won the war,rome would have come back eventually but this goes too far in alternative history.

 

[Alexios]

These write-ups are cool and at least show the writers have their historical chops.. But hard to say from them how the actual game will turn out.

From everything being dependent on mana to the total lack of depth in all mechanics it's pretty obvious that it will bomb terribly. People on the forum aren't even interested in it. The Imperator subforum has barely any activity.