OT: Crusader Kings
 

well, it finally arrived....12 days after direct ordering from Paradox games....from Sweden....

and the wait was ABSOLUTELY worth it. AWESOME GAME!!!!

I started finally playing it Last night, at around 6:30-7:00 pm....and finally went to bed at 4:30 this morning....and even then, had to FORCE myself to shut the game off and go. It is a rare game that causes me to stay up and play it for nearly 10 hours.

This game is quite different from the other Paradox game i have played, EU2. In EU2, you basically control the nation, you play as the "grey emminence" behind the throne. In CK, you play as the count, duke, or king, whichever one you start the game as. And there are quite a few to choose from. The goal of the game is to survive, keep your family name alive through male heirs. Along the way, you "stumble" upon new technology, assassinate rivals, claim thrones, and duke it out on the battlefield.

There is just so much in this game that i really enjoy. The technology race (and spread) is really different than most other games. Well, ok, any other game I have played. You choose 1 area of tech from 3 differnt types (military, cultural, economy). Your capital is where the research takes place. There is no set amount of time it will take to research something....but once you do, it is only available in the counties (provinces) that konw that technology. How does your other counties benefit from the new tech? It has to "spread" to the other counties. In other words, lets say I discover Chain Leather in the military advances. At that moment, only my capital county has knowledge of it. After a while, that advance will spread throughout my territory. Now, also, Chain Leather will spread into neighboring lands also. I have in my current game, discovered stone pit mining because a neighbor actaully discovered it, and the word of the advance travelled into my territories. This shows the way technology was just sorta "found" during the time period. Like I said, you "research" one area from the 3 types of advances at the same time.....so, you will be able to advance in the 3 areas at the same time.

Assassination is a fun little tool to use, also. In my current game, I started out as the Duke of Lancaster in 1066. My brother was the Duke of Cumberland. I noticed he didn't have any male heirs that were of age, so, I assassinated him, and took his land through inheritance that way. Too bad that my assassin was discovered, which caused my prestige to drop, put me on bad terms with the church. Oh, and I became known as a "kinslayer". So, even though I took those other lands, the church didn't care much for me, the folks around me, the neighboring dukes, counts, and kings, didn't really care for me, and my own children and wife didn't want to be around me too much.

Also, in my current game, I started out with only 4 provinces (I believe, it was either 4 or 5, but pretty sure it was 4). By the time Edwin (my original Duke) died in 1082 of old age (he was 56 yrs. old), I had secured the title Duke of Cumberland, and had wrested control of 8 provinces, which I had given to my oldest son, Estmond. Estmond rose to the title of Duke when Edwin died, and quickly moved into position to lay claim to the title, Duke of York. I "grabbed" the titles Count of Lincoln and Count of Liecester, and then moved in for War. I was able to take over Lincoln, and became Count of Lincoln. But my leige, William King of England (William the Conqueror), made his way to Leicester, and took over the seige. When Leicester was finally captured, William took the county as his own. During the time I was seiging Lincoln, William also took over Durham and Norfolk. This gave him at least 66% of the duchy, and he took the title Duke of York (the very title I was aiming for myself). That was when i finally tore myself away from the game to go to bed....

Wow....just an awesome and fun game....

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

Sounds interesting...a link to a demo or anything? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

If there is one i think it would be fun to try and recreate the history of blackadder on it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

i dont like this game. It doesnt make any sense and there is no good tutorial. I was able to learn both SE4 and Dom2 without a tutor, but Crusader Kings is a very "werid" game. I wouldnt recommend it anyone.

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

no demo, at least not right now....and at the moment,you can only order direct from paradox....

here is the link: http://www.paradoxplaza.com/crusaderkings.asp

I was actually able to really dive right into this game....

I think there are a lot of things that are really different from most other strat games though. The tech research is kinda different, and the fact that you are actually playing as an individual count, duke or king, instead of an entire empire/kingdom is different.

I know the game isn't for everyone...but i really do like it. But, then again, I really enjoyed EU2 also.

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

I'm interested, looks quite fun. Of course i never buy a game without checking the comunity, reading reviews and then playing the demo. I don't have money to burn http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

as a CK beta tester I am glad you like it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

paradox makes a great game no matter what they put their hand to in my opinion - they are the reason I ended up disappearing back in '01 from this forum - just a month or so after I found SE4 I found EU... then I found the paradox forum.. and then I got on the EU2 Beta... it's been my main love/hobby every since. (been on EU2, Legion, HOI, CK, Victoria & HOI2 betas so far - love their work)

CK is a differnt game - truthfully I hated it at first - but the more you play the more you discover the unique style of game it offers. It is like no other game I've ever played or heard about.

I'd recommend it to anyone.

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

Hojo,

How did you get on the HOI2 beta? I thought they were waiting on that. Bummer. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">right place right time http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

actually they haven't opened the beta up yet - it's more of the alpha I suppose.

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

I am a great fan of Paradox and love (most of) their games. Their support is second to none, and new mods and patches are released constantly. Be aware though; upon release, most (all) of their games has some serious playballance issues. Kudos to the betas http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif for trying, but CK out of the box (vers 1,01 in Norway) was crap.

Basically there are two things to do in CK. Creating an empire and maintaining it. As In vers 1,02 creating was too easy while maintaining it is just tedious micromanagement (the game mechanics limit the size its practically to maintain). In vers 1,03 it takes a bit more of an effort to build your empire, but maintaining it are still a bore. Haven’t given up on the game yet though, there are great potential for great future patches and mods in CK.

As for buying it now:
- If you are a history buff: It’s great, you can really learn a lot from this game.
- If you are a hardcore strategy gamer: Its safe to wait for a few more patches (should hit the bargain bins by then too http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif )

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

i really like it...I it is patched up to 1.03b, and that patch seems stable enough. Plus, like I said, I was able to jump right in...sure, I am making mistakes left and right, but having a good time doing it.

The hardest part for me right now is trying to keep everybody happy....ppl keep revolting, and I can't seem to keep my vassals happy

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

good assessment of paradox's games - every one alwasy seem to be released too early but as I have found that is a product of being a small & growing software company - publishers have deadlines they want met and the eterenal cry of "you can patch it later" is often heard floating down from the publishers...

but Para's patches/post release support is the best I've ever seen (no offense to any other software, current host included, It's just that i"m familiar w/paradox stuff).

[ June 30, 2004, 13:48: Message edited by: WhiteHojo ]

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

CP:
It's really easy once you get the hang on it: Lower the Scrutage (tax), don't use their regiments for extended periods and don't do anything thats upset them. Whats really bad (in the current Version) is that reannexing a wayward vassal makes everybody PO at you, so it's better to just let them go and annex some pagan land instead.

IMHO: CK has great potential, but 1.03 still falls way short of the mark.

[ June 30, 2004, 13:57: Message edited by: primitive ]

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Pah! Ungrateful peasants. Burn a few villages and decree random execuions until no-one dares be unhappy.

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

For those of you that do have this game, and those of you that may end up getting it....there is a great file, called BrideFinder, that someone wrote up. Very good program for finding brides....I would almost say it is a "must-get" program....

It is located on their forums, just look for the BrideFinder thread.....

Re: OT: Crusader Kings
 

Here is the story of Edwin, Duke of Lancaster


in my current game, Edwin took over as head of the dynasty after his brother died of old age (at the ripe old age of 46), heirless. So, Edwin began to mold a great dynasty, living in clear peace for many years. As the Duke of Cumberland (and Lancaster), he built many county improvements throughout his lands. He had 4 vassals, and they all loved him. It was also during this period of time that Edwin took the claim to the Duchy of York.

But, in his Last several years, problems struck the Duke. I guess you could say it all began when a preacher came through Northumberland preaching a fiery message, causing the people to turn against their benevolent ruler. Edwin maintained his peaceful approach, and let the preacher slide through his lands, hoping for the best. The best was far from what happened.

The peasants began to cause problems in Northumberland, and throughout the Duke's holdings. What was prosperity in earlier days, had now become barely getting by. The peasantry refused to work, and the Duchy stayed on the edge of revolt for several years. Finally, through strong inside-political moving, Edwin was finally able to put down the ill feelings from the peasantry, and was actually able to do so without alienating the nobility or the the burghers and clergy. But, the damage had been done.

In a not so well done plan to set up his grandson with a good wife, and to inherit the land, Edwin became farther from the peaceful man he once was. Maldred, an incompetant fool, if you can say anything about him, was the 2nd in line to inherit the Dukedom (Maldred was Estmonds eldest son). After Edwin secured a strong wife at the age of 56 (a prize wife, with no stats below 6, and with stewardship at 14), Edwin began to put his "plan" into action. A failed assassination attempt to try to take out Maldred was fortunatly not discovered, but a year later, Maldred was found dead, and Estmond, his father, was the found out to be the culprit. This was both good, and bad. Estmond, the next ruler in line, now had the "kinslayer" reputation. But, Estmonds 2nd son, Ealdred, was now Estmonds successor. The plan was finished....Once Edwin would pass on, his prize-wife would be married to Ealdred. Ealdred would be 16 yrs old, and the wife would only be 22.

Well, Edwin would get pnuemonia, and it appeared that the end of Edwin would be very near. And the "plan" would finally be finished. This of course was only phantom hoping, as Edwin would continue to live for another 10 yrs.

During those 10 yrs, Ealdred married a woman, whome Edwin didn't think was worthy of his grandson. A failed assassination attempt, would leave him in trouble. Also, during this time, Edwins next oldest son would go crazy, and claim himself as the Messiah. To avoid problems, Edwin assassinated him...but was discovered. This gave him the reputation as a kinslayer. His vassals began to falter in their loyalty, and 3 out of the 4 rebelled. Only the county of Westmorland was fully brought under Edwins thumb. Westmorland was then given to Estmond, and in turn, was given to Ealdred.

By this time, Ealdred had a child, and this child is actaully taking to his education decently. Also, Estmond gave Westmorland to Ealdred to rule. But, due to Estmonds kinslayer reputation, Ealdred began to revolt. Edwin was left with but one thing to do: The assassination of Estmond. Estmond was in line to take over any day, but his reputation could not endure a reign of any length.

Estmond was dealt with, giving Ealdred the county that belonged to Estmond. Ealdred rebelled against Edwin, and the war ended with Edwin succumbing to the pnuemonia, giving Ealdred the full Dukedom.