Crusader Kings II

[frogbeastegg]

CK1 had a lot of issues. At launch it was barely half a game. Paradox had to scramble to throw something together after a deal with another studio fell through, IIRC the whole game was made in a matter of months. Patches and the expansion helped, yet the game always had holes in its fabric and plenty of bugs. CKII is the game I thought I was getting all those years ago when I preordered CK1, and a good helping more. It only needs more plots and events adding, a few tweaks here and there.

I saw a comment on the official forum about how losing is far more enjoyable than winning. They're right. CKII provides some excellent loss stories, situations where it all goes horribly wrong in a natural and entertaining way. By natural, I mean that it doesn't feel as though the game it out to get you.

Due to various things I haven't had nearly as much time to play as I'd like. CKII is the kind of game which can eat up hours like children eat sweets. One minute it's 4 in the afternoon and I have half an hour before I need to think about cooking, the next it's 8PM and I'm wondering why I'm hungry.

Have I mentioned how much I love the title screen music? I love the title screen music! Each time I start the game I have to sit and listen.

How are people finding the loading times? I'm running it on a freshly defragged drive and it seems to take an age to load, longer than Victoria II AHD despite being considerably smaller on disc.

My second article is out. It's mostly aimed at new players, and explains the basics of the feudal system and how it works in the game. Basics, not froggy's guide to CKII. I don't know if there are any new players here who do not have some knowledge of the historical feudal system, so maybe someone will find it useful or maybe not.

[Monk]

CK1 had a lot of issues. At launch it was barely half a game. Paradox had to scramble to throw something together after a deal with another studio fell through, IIRC the whole game was made in a matter of months. Patches and the expansion helped, yet the game always had holes in its fabric and plenty of bugs. CKII is the game I thought I was getting all those years ago when I preordered CK1, and a good helping more. It only needs more plots and events adding, a few tweaks here and there.

I saw a comment on the official forum about how losing is far more enjoyable than winning. They're right. CKII provides some excellent loss stories, situations where it all goes horribly wrong in a natural and entertaining way. By natural, I mean that it doesn't feel as though the game it out to get you.

Due to various things I haven't had nearly as much time to play as I'd like. CKII is the kind of game which can eat up hours like children eat sweets. One minute it's 4 in the afternoon and I have half an hour before I need to think about cooking, the next it's 8PM and I'm wondering why I'm hungry.

Have I mentioned how much I love the title screen music? I love the title screen music! Each time I start the game I have to sit and listen.

How are people finding the loading times? I'm running it on a freshly defragged drive and it seems to take an age to load, longer than Victoria II AHD despite being considerably smaller on disc.

My second article is out. It's mostly aimed at new players, and explains the basics of the feudal system and how it works in the game. Basics, not froggy's guide to CKII. I don't know if there are any new players here who do not have some knowledge of the historical feudal system, so maybe someone will find it useful or maybe not.

Initial load time (first boot up) takes around 45 seconds to 2 min. In game loads (loading saves) are almost instant. I have 8gb of RAM and a well cared for HD though so take that as you will

[frogbeastegg]

Initial load time (first boot up) takes around 45 seconds to 2 min. In game loads (loading saves) are almost instant. I have 8gb of RAM and a well cared for HD though so take that as you will

That's a similar time and setup to my own, so it must be something to do with the game itself. Strange. Vicky 2 AHD loads in almost half the time. Oh well, it's not important since the game only needs to load once per session.

[The Stranger]

one thing that is really bugging me now is that the kings of europe do not cooperate in a crusade. there are like a bazillion noblemen all declaring their own crusade and occupying different territories. therefor there is no possiblity to get a conclusive victory. resulting in one crusade lasting for a 100 years -_- it should be a joint venture, with possible rivalries ofcourse but if one of the crusading nobleman conquers the territory and another crusader conquers another they should be able to sue for demands together and each gets what they have conquered, thus ending the crusade.

[Monk]

Paradox has posted a post mortem dev diary discussing the reaction to Crusader Kings II. They talk about (in limited terms) what went into making the game, how the game has been recieved, as well as what they have planned for the future. Of particular interest are the things they intend to patch into the game.

So, what are we planning for the future? Crusader Kings II will have many major DLC packs that are actually more like small expansions. Every time we release a major DLC, we will also release a major free content patch. I cannot say exactly when we will be adding what, but here are some things you can expect for free in the coming months:

Enhanced, more focused Crusades with a "contribution" score
Causes of Death
Asking to join an ongoing war
Lots of more plots and ambitions
Events, events, and more events
Improved GUI where it's needed the most (plots, marriages)
Flexible de jure liege structure
More de jure kingdoms

You can read the entire dev diary here: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/...rtem-Dev-Diary

[The Stranger]

sooo i just became the holy roman emperor, next to being the king of france and the king of ireland on sundays. by god im so busy...

[Monk]

Ways to keep vassals happy #145: have an affair with your duchesses. Her husband was so mad but since she had all the power i got to reap the rewards of a huge +75 bonus to relations. With no consequences i might add since my King's wife was dead. Well, bastards are kinda a consequence i guess.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The reconquista has been complete for 80 years, ever since then I've been struggling with both interal politics and trying to curb France's attempts to grab power. I've had mixed success in both areas but overall France simply cannot hold a candle to me. Militarily, culturally or technologically. I can levy 70k men when my vassals are in high approval (35k when they are not) and own 8k from my own personal base. France can only manage a fraction of that. They keep losing crown authority wars and its killing their power in the long run.

To be honest I think I am going to call it a game if and when i push France out of Iberia. This has been one wild ride of a campaign but i feel that would be a good place to hang it up and start again. I've built such a good groundwork that even when civil strife does happen to crop up at home, its easily picked apart and dealt with. I've learned so much about this game from both my Irish campaign and my castile one. If anyone is wondering whether Iberia is worth it, my recommendation is an enthusiastic yes. Its a much more complicated game than Ireland and can teach you the intricacies of vassal/lord requirements. But it requires a bit of luck at the start due to the way claims fall on the different kingdoms.

Here is the world at 1301



The Rus looked really strong ending the 1100s but then out of nowhere the horde came knocking. It wasn't even a fair fight if you want my opinion, within 20 years the Horde had absorbed pretty much the entire Russian steppe. They've been marching west steadily since then. A slow dread march that, at the time of this screenshot, just finished swallowing Poland. To be honest I think the collapse of the Byzantines served as a big factor for the Horde to just walk over the steppes - at least initially. With only one threat to focus on they easily steamrolled the Rus and are looking like nothing can stop them. Again, i'm glad I'm over on this side of the map...

The HRE is coming out of a full century of internal strife and constant succession wars. They at one point lost pretty much all of Italy to smaller itallian states who took the opportunity to break away, but have since fallen back into the fold, one by one, as the structure of the empire is solidified. Its a good thing the HRE finally got its act together because the Horde has come knocking. The two aren't doing much, but I think its only a matter of time.

The remnants of the Byzantines continue to fight. Syria and Georgia have become the breakout stars of the assorted chaos with both successor states taking over large chunks of the map, Right now either one has a really good chance of going on a conquering spree. Unfortunately, Georgia has lost at least half its territory to Trebizond in a recent uprising. So unless they can reabsorb that soon, i'm not sure about their chances! The lawful ruler of the empire has by now lost absolutely everything and only controls one relatively small blob of land, they've even lost Constantinople by now.. He's currently fighting 6 wars, each of them have the potential to wipe him off the map once and for all.

A surprise has cropped up, legit crusader states! The largest is controlled by Sweden which holds most of Ascalon and the coast. Georgia holds Jerusalem and a stretch of land a bit more inward - together they have successfully defended their little pieces of land for the last 70 years. It's been a sight to see.

Lastly Scotland has become a surprise powerhouse, establishing a firm hold on Ireland and fighting numerous wars against the English since 1230, and winning most of them. England seems hell-bent on attempting ducal claims but each and every time they get sorely beaten.