Crusader Kings III

[Solmyr]

The way I play EU4 is just trying to do the entire mission tree for the country I'm playing. Generally this works out as far as RP goes.

[Josephus]

Anyways, which one you guys would rather buy? The latest EU4 DLC or the CK3 one?

Obviously depends on which game you like better. But if you like EU, and like the six majors they focussed on, then for sure EU

[Syt]

People putting the coat of arms designer to good use, now that your CoA can be on later game tabards.

[Jacob]

Just dipping into the new CKIII expansion. Haven't gotten far enough to have a strong opinion, but I'm enjoying playing CKIII so that's worth something

[Zanza]

You don't have to min/max in EU4. I also don't get world conquests as that seems a mindless grind.

If you just go with the flow, it can be a quite casual game that also allows for role-playing.

[Jacob]

The first thing I notice is that stress is more of a challenge to manage as hunts are not automatic (or instantaneous) stress reducers like they used to be... but there are still plenty of sources of stress.

[Josquius]

Stress....
When you think of it, cK3 is a real game of our time isn't it.
A game about medieval lords... Where stress is the key mechanic. That's very 2020s.
Think of how it would look from times past.

[Josephus]

I do like that you can use an event like a hunt to kill someone without having to go through the whole intrigue thing

[The Minsky Moment]

Stress....
When you think of it, cK3 is a real game of our time isn't it.
A game about medieval lords... Where stress is the key mechanic. That's very 2020s.
Think of how it would look from times past.

In a little known work, Aquinas wrote extensively about preferred computer game mechanics.  He supported a stronger effect for Piety and a greater emphasis on having penalties for sin.  Except gluttony of course.

[chipwich]

The hunt-kill event is still an intrigue test.

[Jacob]

So I've taken my first journeys and participated in my first grand tournaments. My verdict is: I like them.

I'm also enjoying the rebalancing of the buildings and men-at-arms so far. There's a new optimal strategy for MAA and buildings (probably), but I don't know what they are so that's enjoyable. Makes the decisions more interesting for me again.

[Solmyr]

A new mod lets you play your CK3 battles in Total War: Attila and will apparently translate the results between the two games: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2977969008

[Jacob]

Okay, I have my first complaint about the T&T DLC:

You know that stupid "go visit peers" decision for kids, with a very high chance of the kid getting severely wounded or drowning? That decision now gets accepted automatically without any player input to the severe detriment of your heirs and your mental health.

I find that super annoying to the point that I've stopped playing

[Zanza]

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/dev-diary-129-post-release-update-extra-content.1586430/

Good dev diary on making the Tours mechanic more meaningful. That's the kind of additions I appreciate as it makes an existing mechanic more interesting and gives more agency to the player.

[Jacob]

I agree with you that it's nice they iterate on existing mechanics. I am not charmed by the harm mechanic at this point, but thankfully there are settings for it