Crusader Kings 2 Redux

[Razgovory]

The problem with Steam is that if your net goes down, you can't play some games.  It also automatically downloads patches, which isn't the best thing with Pdox products.  I got it of Gamersgate, which is having a sale as well.

[garbon]

Downloadable content. Mini expansions.

Skip the song and faces bullshit. The Islam one lets you play the towelheads and the Rome one adds factions and standing retinues.

Yeah the faces are pretty bad.

[Razgovory]

I got the face packs for like quarter a piece when I bought the odds and ends along with the full game.  They aren't that bad, but nothing special.  At least not much worse then the rest of the lumpy faced bunch.

[garbon]

They just appeared to give up with the Russian ones. Mongol ones are fine and African ones are okayish. Not as good as the modder ones.

[Razgovory]

They just appeared to give up with the Russian ones. Mongol ones are fine and African ones are okayish. Not as good as the modder ones.

Don't have the Russians one.  I saw a few screen shots.  Eek.  The new faces they are showing with the Republic expansion look gruesome. For some reason they have grey skin.  I did think the Mongols looked okay and the Africans are alright. (I haven't really seen much of the Africans since they get wiped out pretty early in the game).

[Queequeg]

The Africans are kind of silly because they all look Saharan but most of the important African provinces are Nubian or Ethiopian.  Mongols are fine.

Holy living fuck do the Russians look terrible. Jesus.  Wow.  Kind of scary. Like Mount and Blade back in 2005.

[Razgovory]

The Africans are kind of silly because they all look Saharan but most of the important African provinces are Nubian or Ethiopian.  Mongols are fine.

Holy living fuck do the Russians look terrible. Jesus.  Wow.  Kind of scary. Like Mount and Blade back in 2005.

They use standard arab portraits for the Cuman and Pechnegs and that's probably not accurate.

[Queequeg]

Yeah.  There's a lot of indications that the Cuman and Pechenegs were blonde or red-haired as often as they were Arab or Turkmen looking. 

Raz, the Bolgars are actually kind of interesting BECAUSE you're the only Sunni state within a thousand miles.  You have to become a Jihad state-constantly conquering, and trying as hard as you can not be steamrolled by the Cumans and the Russians.  I ended up becoming Caliph in the game because the Fatmids steamrolled the Abbasids. 

The problem is, all of the places you are conquering are piss-poor, and the Golden Horde is going to come at you like John Goodman in Barton Fink.  Not even a real chance. 

[Razgovory]

I played a while as some Russians and the Golden horde didn't actually cause me any problems.  They mostly attacked the cumans and I was fine with that.  Then they converted to Orthodox and married into my family.  Sadly the IllKhanate didn't convert and conquered the Golden Horde and then me.  They have stacks of 120,000 guys.  That's not really very fair.  I didn't think the Mongols raised armies that big.  I mean, Kalka River which was a huge defeat for the Rus had something like 20,000 on each side.

[Tamas]

I played a while as some Russians and the Golden horde didn't actually cause me any problems.  They mostly attacked the cumans and I was fine with that.  Then they converted to Orthodox and married into my family.  Sadly the IllKhanate didn't convert and conquered the Golden Horde and then me.  They have stacks of 120,000 guys.  That's not really very fair.  I didn't think the Mongols raised armies that big.  I mean, Kalka River which was a huge defeat for the Rus had something like 20,000 on each side.

Right. That's the only part where Paradox is way off with manpower and replacement rates, so there is no need for them to beef up the Mongol hordes in the game.

[Admiral Yi]

Looking at the system requirements on Steam it says I need a three-button mouse.  Is this right?

[Maximus]

I play with the touchpad on my laptop, so I would say no.

[Cecil]

I played a while as some Russians and the Golden horde didn't actually cause me any problems.  They mostly attacked the cumans and I was fine with that.  Then they converted to Orthodox and married into my family.  Sadly the IllKhanate didn't convert and conquered the Golden Horde and then me.  They have stacks of 120,000 guys.  That's not really very fair.  I didn't think the Mongols raised armies that big.  I mean, Kalka River which was a huge defeat for the Rus had something like 20,000 on each side.

I seem to recall reading at even at the height of Genghis power the maximum amount of mongol levies he could field was no more than 200k. And rarely could he field even half that in a single theatre.

Its a funny thing with the mongol hype going around the last 10 years or so that few seems to understand the limits of the mongol horde. Yes they were very mobile but thats because the amount of remounts they had avaliable and does anyone have any idea how much fodder such a vast amount of horseflesh require? I read a calculation somewhere a few years ago and even in prime grazing land they could not stay in one place for long. Also a mongol horsearcher is a great warrior because growing up in a harsh environment naturally gives him the skills required to be that warrior but on the other hand it also severly limits the amount of mongols avaliable. Sure they could move to other places but then they wouldnt grow up to be a proper mongol warrior no? Only mongolia can a proper mongol make and all that. 

[Razgovory]

The narrative that seems popular these days is the "luck of Europe".  The mongols were unstoppable warriors and if wasn't for the death of Ogdei Khan europe would have fallen like China did.  I'm not sure I buy that.  The Mongols had good soldiers, and talented commanders, but they weren't invincible.  The mongols lost battles just like everyone else did, and Europe was really far away from Mongolia.  All it would take one major defeat, a few costly victories or an outbreak of disease during a siege to really screw them up.  I think they understood this.

[garbon]

Faction system sure makes it easier to take on lieges. My gay king of Serbia was able to rouse half of the Empire for his mother's claim to the throne. My event granted doomstacks steamrolled those of the then Emperor.

Ugh I had 4 decades of good emperors (even the gay one was good after he paid everyone off to ignore what was happening in his bedroom). However my next emperor ruled for 10 days before succumbing to the great pox. My current ruler is a 14 year old girl facing down a faction revolt for the rule of her aunt who has been Queen of Scotland for some 20 odd years.