I bought it 2 days ago and cant get away since then.

Last game I had an insane spouse that kept trying to kill my heir (product of another marriage). Then I took a lover in the court, and my spouse tried to kill her instead, forgetting about my son for the time being. Fast forward a decade, my heir, now an adult, killed two younger brothers just to inherit all titles when I die. Then I made my insane wife my Spymaster, she caught him plotting more assassinations, and I ordered her to assassinated him. Yeah, that was psycho. But it felt great, in a greek tragedy way.

So, who else is playing this ?

I've been thinking of getting it, but I'm not too keen on shelling out the money right now. How does it compare to Europa Universalis 3?

In EU3 you are a state, your decisions are wide but shallow, and you play to paint the map your color. Its more a pure strategy game.

While in CK2 you are just one guy, your decisions are narrow but deeper, and you play to see your family succeed in a "game of thrones". Its more a political game, really.

Just to say I went on my first crusade, and it was a success.

Good things that happened:

- my relation with the pope increased. thats good because he didt like me much.

- I took over Valencia from the muslims for the king of France, which improved our relation too (I even managed to marry my daughter with his son, right after the crusade).


Bad things that happened:

- my foxy spanish lover died while I was out. Damn my wife and its paranoid personality.

Holy crap! It's already out!? God I love that game!

Fuuuuuuuuck.... /runs out the door

OH SHIT, this game rocks.

Its a flawless fusion of historical simulation, sandbox strategy and emergent storytelling, something really rare to see in the industry. Paradox just achieved its most polished and simply best game so far.

... and it's currently PC only.

I got it the day it came out and I've been rolling around in its pure awesome.

Let see...I'm 200 years in (did the 1066 start and now I'm at 1260 or so). Started as the Count of Kent in England, and though a series of interesting events the last act of King William the Conquerer is to grant me the Duchy of Kent (which was interesting, because JUST before that my son, who inherited another county through his mother's claim, was made Duke of Norfolk). So my first character croaks and his son is Duke of Norfolk and Kent.

More shenanigans later and THIS guy is able to put his 10 year old son on the throne as King of England. I switch out to play the son and end up having to put down my father's constant rebellions as he attempts to place this character's twin brother on the throne!

So, years pass, and now I'm on the 13th King of the House de Conteville (we also had one queen, the mother of the current King). I managed to grab, mostly through marriage, the Kingdoms of Wales, Ireland, and Scotland (the current King was actually King of Scotland for some years before his mother the Queen of England died). Thinking now to actually hand out the king titles to relatives placed in Ireland and Scotland to shrink the number of vassals to deal with. It's beginning to get a little tedious dealing with my 35 vassals and their infighting. The only reason everything hasn't devolved into anarchy is thanks to High Realm Laws. But I'm NOT enjoying managing an empire so much, especially when a new king takes the throne.

Oh, and did two Crusades, which it WAS nice to have the empire for. One with the current king for Alexandria. The previous Queen, his mother, took Jerusalem. Very fun!

A REALLY fun game. Only reason I won't be playing it more is that I got ME3 yesterday and it's waiting for after I get off work today.

Quote from: StanTheMan;520480More shenanigans later and THIS guy is able to put his 10 year old son on the throne as King of England. I switch out to play the son and end up having to put down my father's constant rebellions as he attempts to place this character's twin brother on the throne!

Does the way you played the first character affect the way the AI runs him?

Quote from: two_fishes;520501Does the way you played the first character affect the way the AI runs him?

Good question. He was NOT a nice guy (had the Cruel and Wroth traits). So...hmm. Could be. I DID assassinate a person (one of the cousins that was going to inherit something or other I think), and then, as I said, went to war with my liege (with plenty of backers - people I was allied to, who answered my call; I think the dukes of Normandy and Northumberland?) to unseat the king.

Gonna play a bit more, and leave ME3 till tomorrow, so, gonna enjoy some more!

Quote from: two_fishes;520501Does the way you played the first character affect the way the AI runs him?

only if by that you meant:

Does the choices you made for your character in personality related issues affect the way the AI runs him ?

Because when making choices during in-game events, these choices have a chance to affect your personality in the form of traits gained (Ambitious, Lustfull, Gluttonous, Chaste, Honest, etc). AND since AI runs the NPCs acording to their traits (beware those with "Lunatic" trait), then yeah, the way you play may very well affect the form the AI runs the character.

Quote from: silva;520900only if by that you meant:

Does the choices you made for your character in personality related issues affect the way the AI runs him ?

Because when making choices during in-game events, these choices have a chance to affect your personality in the form of traits gained (Ambitious, Lustfull, Gluttonous, Chaste, Honest, etc). AND since AI runs the NPCs acording to their traits (beware those with "Lunatic" trait), then yeah, the way you play may very well affect the form the AI runs the character.

Interesting. That makes a lot of sense.

Also, update: I split my kingdom up (England and Wales together still, Ireland separate, Scotland separate) and I've loaded up as the King of Ireland. So, small and feisty again! We'll see what happens.

Besides an expected graphical update, what is new in this version? Can I start out playing Muslim, Pagan, or Jewish nations off the bat w/o a patch? How swingy are the events (I hope no more, "You have Realm Stability +3, boom! Civil War, Realm Duress!")? Does it still encourage you to run a feudal state like it used to, instead of post 1400 AD nation states of Europa Universalis? Is it still possible to play your game past 1492 date into (the new version of) EU?

Paradox have addressed some of the biggest gaps in CK1. Female inheritance is finally present and inheritance laws are one giant step closer to historically correct for the majority of Christendom. Barons and mayors are present. Plots and intrigue are in. Crown authority is reworked. There's a wider array of religions ( although you are still limited to playing as a Christian ). Empires are in. Anti-Popes have come to town. There's a lot of additions.And despite the added complexity, its easier and more intuitive due to a much better interface and organization (marriage is much easier now), and its "emergent storytelling" is much better (the stories it produces are awesome, reminds me of games like King of Dragon Pass and Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII )

Really, there is no comparison. I liked CK1 but it always felt like an unfinished game (even with Deus Vult). CK2 is another league. Its the better Paradox game ever.

(and no, you cant play past 1452)

I read in Paradox's forum that playing other religions will be added in the first expansion.