On May 25 2015 23:27 Kronen wrote: I know I'm super late to the party, but holy shit is this game amazing! I've logged 40 hours so far since purchasing the latest Humble Bundle just under a week ago. I did have quick questions though.
Which expansions would you all consider must-buys? I'm definitely picking up El Dorado because the idea of customizing nations really appeals to me. Loving watching the latest Quill18 multiplayer session with the custom nations. Art of War and Wealth of Nations seem really strong with Res Publica a close third. Also, with what frequency can I expect the DLC to go on sale? Saw them on sale over Xmas, but I'm going the Spring/Summer sales might have them as well.
Also, are there any groups playing multiplayer currently, or communities that play consistently? I'd be really interested in playing that as it would be a completely different and more RTS-like experience without the benefit of the pause button and the save scum (though as a new player I find myself reloading often).
Edit: How plausible would it be to play a Diplomacy-themed multiplayer game with potential secret alliances and interplay using TL messaging? Is it possible to quickly change alliances and rivals in-game? Pretty sure you incur a substantial penalty but coming from my board gamer background the idea really appeals to me.
I haven't played any multiplayer, but to address some of your points:
DLCs go on sale as frequently as anything else on Steam etc. A new expansion is due to be released, maybe that will coincide with a sale for older DLC.
Art of War adds a lot to the game and Conquest of Paradise is rather uninteresting unless you want to play as a native American tribe. I'm accustomed to having the mechanics of all DLCs, I can't really say if I would leave out anything but Conquest of Paradise.
You can change your rivals only after 25 years iirc or if you get vastly stronger than them. Changing a rival after the 25year period costs 100dip points.
In regards to expansions You are pretty much spot on. Art of War--->Res Publica for me. As to speed with which expansions are coming--->they are pushing new one every 3 months, which is too fast for me. On the other side, the game is constantly evolving.
all I know about MP is that there's tons of butthurt and it's added onto the fact that the game really is impossible to balance for multiplayer
it's also kind of unavoidable but the hosts I've seen often pick the most powerful nations, which is of course their prerogative but it leads to weird interactions with rule-breaking (since most rules are 'house rule' sets)
also MP scene is full of euro-babbies who actually put in rules to handicap ROTW nations, its pretty funny.
Yea, the sort of interplay and subterfuge described in that video seems really interesting. The MP variation of this game could be a really interesting social experience akin to Diplomacy and/or long-term social bluffing games.
Thanks for the responses guys! I'll definitely be grabbing the majority of the expos next sale as well as the CK2 conversion pack. Also, I spent two hours last night teaching aRL friend how to do some basic actions. Got him into his first ear with Morocco and done basic army control and UI manipulation. This game initially seems so daunting with all the information displayed and available, but once you understand the UI the game just opens up for you so beautifully. Initially I thought the menus and information boxes were to dense but now I wouldn't change them.
I play a lot of multiplayer EUIV - the best advice I can give is to say that you have to find a regular group of decent people to play it with, you're never going to have a good time if you just join random games. Even in the pre-scheduled groups there is still a lot of butthurt and bizarre rules, but once you find a good group it can be a lot of fun. Just be prepared to spend multiple hours staring at enemy troops across the mountains.
I used to play with a rgular organized group through some forums, like 15-20 people were regulars, usually would get around 12-15 people regularly meeting up once a week for a game. Would do secret alliances and deals and backstabbing etc throughout the week leading up to that weeks session so its almost like you never stopped playing the game.
Always incredible butthurt. Games usually got boring after 200 years max, as the AI would all get rapidly gobbled up and eventually 2 opposing blocs form and the game stagnates.
I've always wanted to play multiplayer but I figured since I don't know the exploits it would be too hard to compete with other players. I'm sure using most exploits is frowned upon but I'd at least like to know what they are so I could recognize them in use. Could anybody list some of the exploits that people use that work in the current game?
Also is the coalition mechanic in use in MP? It seems really abusable
Quick Question to CK2. Has anybody already Formed a merchant republic out of a pagan nation with the newest patch? I am mildly confused, as the decision does not show up on my intrigue tab, although i should have all the reqiusites up. I have absolute tribal organisation. I have a lvl 4 market in my capitol, that is on the shore. I have Trading 101. And i am a great duke.
My faith isn't yet reformed, which is a prerequisite for going feudal, but going feudal was a availabl decision from the start and going republic not. In a video i watched, the decision got available the second the player became a duke, so, what gives?
The free patches give a lot of content as well but yeah a lot of it is behind a paywall. At least now it's no longer required to buy all expansions to make the game playable.
So, has anoyne ever experienced something like this:
You are the Prince Mayor of a Serene Republic, you die, the Title goes over to another Patrician, as planned, and when you wake up in the body of a younger man, the new Prince Mayors family suddenly owns 3 of your Trade posts.
I have found no mechanic that could explain this, sounds like a really stupid bug, because the internet does also not know any way to get them back. MY FAMILY BUILT THIS REALM FROM THE GROUND! HOW DARE THEY! Splitting a 18 tradepost zone nicely in the middle....Ironman, so no, console, just bleargh.
On June 02 2015 02:25 Chocolate wrote: I've always wanted to play multiplayer but I figured since I don't know the exploits it would be too hard to compete with other players. I'm sure using most exploits is frowned upon but I'd at least like to know what they are so I could recognize them in use. Could anybody list some of the exploits that people use that work in the current game?
Also is the coalition mechanic in use in MP? It seems really abusable
There's not really 'exploits' in multiplayer, at least not in the same way that there are in say, a single-player world conquest achievement run where you hide as a protectorate to not get any AE while you conquer the world. The two big game mechanic-things that won't really come up in single-player, than I can think of, are
-everyone maxes out military strength as much as possible, getting as many military idea groups as they can. If someone else tries to get rich or focus on something else, your better military can just take their land. This doesn't happen so much in single player because you can outsmart the AI to make up for having weaker troops. This might also change a bit with Common Sense and the new fort mechanics.
-If you control the wargoal and are winning the war, you can send your enemy a 'stab hit peace deal', which is some amount of points below your current warscore (20? 25? I forget); if they refuse the peace deal, they lose a stability. If you send a stab hit deal when the enemy has -3 stab, they automatically accept it. This is a way you can force a stubborn player to surrender if you've already occupied what you want. You can do this to AI too of course, but generally you carpet siege AIs and take 100% warscore every time.
More derailment of the thread with CK2 :D. Maybe someone knows a trick that could applie here. I am the Wendish Empire and a reformed romuvan empire level merchant republic. I own all the land east of the Elbe and north to Bohemia. It's 997 after Jebus and Bohemia as well as Saxonia have survived this far. I like it that way. Why? As Braunschweig is in the hands of Slavs, the pope called the time of the crusades 10 years ago. 3 Holy orders instantly appeared and the first crusade for germany was called. Saxony fought valiantly, but more then 15k endlessly respawning order troops were a bit much even for a defensive religions king with 5000 men. Bohemia joined the war but got destroyed by my own holy warriors, as i had just lost an election.
So, i don't want to border christians. I can probably repel 1 or 2, but i own very valuable parts of germany myself and i like that shield in front of me. I need to win time. I could destroy the present christian troops, but i cannot join the war, as i am not of their religion and as merchant republic it's hard to get your offspring even married to counts. I don't have the option to declar on Saxony myself to get hostile to the cristians, as the crusade and holy war i could do don't count as the same war goal. I can't. And here i....
Okay, i just found one little solution. The leader of the war is the pope. Raiding the pope will flag me as hostile with him, and, as i had to experience before in the worst way possible, if you are hostile to a army that has other armies stacked to them, you fight them all. Free Saxony for now, but this war will drag on...
Anybody has any good idea how i could keep the crusades from my money cows Lübeck, Hamburg and Holstein until i am too strong to actually care?
Also, is there any way to prevent the viking raids from happening? If they turn christian i guess, but this is nowhere to be seen and as they haven't reformed their own faith yet, i have to deal with up to 3000 raiders at once. And once i am in a war, i can't afford to have 2000 men waiting to play whack-a-mole with them
EPT
That's why I usually just buy the base game and then acquire the other bits somewhere else.
