Anyone else excited for CK3?

A few months ago I was on the fence about buying this at launch. Part of me was worried that since CK2 had been continually expanded for going on ten years, CK3 would feel limited in its options until Paradox had enough time to flesh it out. But as I've watched some sample games, and now checked out the reviews that just started coming out today, I think I'm very much ready to jump straight into this. I played CK2 for hundreds of hours, and it looks like the same might happen here.

Apparently it releases around noon eastern time tomorrow (9/1).

Here's a pre-release playthrough by a couple of the devs that was great fun to watch, if you want to see what it's all about:

I wonder if GB will cover this at all? Austin covered CK2 while he was here, but this still seems up Alex's alley, right?

I've had my eye on this for a while. Never played Crusader Kings before, but it seems like it could be up my alley. And yeah, I could see Alex checking it out, but I'm not sure about anyone else.

It's worth noting that it'll be available on PC Game Pass as well!

Super excited for this. I've bounced off Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron and Stellaris but for whatever reason CK2 gripped me and I played a ton of it.

I would never buy a Paradox game at launch. Maybe after the second year of DLC. But it's on Game Pass, so sure. I'll check it out.

At the very least I'm going to make the assumption they've improved CK2's tiny interface. Doesn't work so well on modern monitors.

I've been curious about this one. I know they're pretty crazy in terms of depth but I might check it out.

I can't wait!

The streams i've seen show a much improved UI and a lot less RNG shenanigans. A lot of DLC has been retained, such as earlier starts and ruler/religion types as well.

I get the trepidation about waiting on DLC but in this case I think Game Pass means I can put off spending decisions a year, then get 20% off.

Just be ready for the new Paradox game experience of going back to a base game after playing something with 2 dozen expansion packs bolted on to it.

I'm hoping it's a great game out the gate but I expect the more likely scenario of it being a great game next year.

I am incredibly excited. I love CK2 but my brain can never remember all the interface crap and it is not in the slightest bit intuitive. Which leads to doing the tutorial, remembering it was never updated for all the new mechanics added in later patches, watching a bunch of youtubes, playing for a few days, and not touching it for another few months until I can restart the process.

Whereas CK3 sounds like it is a LOT more accessible from the start AND the tutorial will be up to date for at least the first few months

I never played one before, but I've been curious with some of the stories I've heard. (I can't remember where, but I heard a story about how a horse became the ruler somehow) I hope this is a good one (...whatever that means in the context of this series). If so, I'll most likely pick it up at some point.

It's reviewing really well, at least. I'm kind of tempted to give it a try, although I'd be more likely to do so if it somehow came to consoles.

I've got a complicated history with Paradox games. I generally love the attention to detail they put into their systems, but a lot of times those systems kind of get out of control and the games end up relying too much on the player to dictate the experience. For example, every time I've tried to play Hearts of Iron, either France ends up crushing Germany from the off, or WWII plays out almost exactly as it did in real life. It takes a ton of work on the player's part to generate any kind of interesting scenario and it just ends up being not that fun.

On the other hand, I really, really enjoyed Stellaris. It had a really good blend of the systems stuff, but also had just enough RNG with the events and galaxy generation that it felt like it was forcing you to adapt occasionally. It managed to make each game feel unique without putting all the onus on the player to artificially force the scenario.

Never played one but the glowing reviews and availability on Game Pass make this a day one download for me. Stoked to check it out!

@therealturk: Part of that is kind of the nature of the beast. The games are meant to have a lot of systems to simulate and build on historical events and trends which tend to play out... like history. Its similar to how Elite Dangerous galaxy gen actually had planets at Trappist. Yeah, it is cool but also... that is kind of the point and is why we looked there (as astronomers) in the first place.

I never got into HOI but a lot of the fun with Crusader Kings is to see just how much you can stir the pot. You need to be REALLY good to go from vassal to emperor. But once you understand the game enough to be a king with a decent sized domain you can do some crazy crap.

@clagnaught: https://kotaku.com/that-time-a-horse-conquered-the-ancient-world-1757913762

Currently staring at my clock for that sweet unlock.

Curious to see how approachable they make this one, I know that's been some of their messaging ahead of time and the UI/overall look seems to hint at that.

And really curious about what they do after this. CK I believe is their primary franchise but an updated Victoria or UV would be very interesting.

Yeah, like I said in my opening post, that's what I was worried about, too. But watching the various streams and reading the reviews today, it looks like there's enough there to hold my attention. But we'll just see.

Also, this is kind of a reach, but maybe Abby could get interested if someone told her that it's a kind of cross between a strategy game and The Sims. Seriously, more than one review makes that comparison. It really is more like a role-playing game in a lot of ways since there's really no "winning" and "losing"... you just role-play your character until he/she dies, then start playing your heir. It's really a game more about the crazy emergent stories that happen than trying to conquer people.

Granted, there are a lot of mechanics to figure out. Though really, if you can wrap your head around the the concepts of "de jure" lands and the basic medieval hierarchical structure, you're well on your way.

Any chance you might stream it at some point after you've figured out the basics? Crusader Kings is an amazingly fun game to watch, I'd be way into it! *crosses fingers*

The Gita Jackson seal of approval has arrived. The game is very good.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jgx4b4/crusader-kings-iii-is-a-world-of-complexity-that-feels-powerfully-alive

This sounds like it rules and exactly what I want. I just picked it up, for the sole purpose that I want the feeling of having my heir killed by my shitty middle child that I was trying to send away.

I tried to get into CK 2 a bit but the UI and everything was so uninviting and the visuals just hardly added anything to bring some life and make it inviting. I loved what I've seen of this and heard (there was a great Three Moves Ahead preview episode on the game a bit ago) and knowing I can resub to Xbox Gamepass and play it for 5 dollars, I know I'll be doing that soon to give it a try.

Maybe Austin can come back for one quick look and he and Vinny can play as Lord Vincenzo di Palermo :] or something like that. I'd watch it

On second thought, maybe don't buy via Game Pass. Doesn't seem like a great deal.

@atheistpreacher: That'll really depend on how decent I am at it! I've tried other in-depth stuff like Mount & Blade and never felt like I had enough of a grasp. But if this is on GamePass I'll definitely give it a whirl.

@quasiconundrum said:

On second thought, maybe don't buy via Game Pass. Doesn't seem like a great deal.

LOL what the hell is the that about.

@quasiconundrum: That’s about what CK2 costs for everything so they’re getting ahead of things a bit.

@rorie said:

Fair enough! But FWIW, Crusader Kings isn't really a game you can fail at. It's a lot like The Sims that way. It's not a game about conquest and has no win conditions. Your character might end up having a bad time of it in various ways and may even end up getting murdered, but in that case you just start playing as your heir. And watching a train wreck can be as fun as watching someone conquer the world. :-P

I will echo what other people have said about feeling uncertain about buying in to paradox games at launch. I came in to CK2 after several DLCs but got Stellaris at launch and saw firsthand how weird the life cycle of their games are. Like, sometimes their DLCs seem to add novel things that I wouldn't expect in the base game, but other times they can fill out systems & areas of the games that seem pretty underbaked in hindsight. It is crazy to me that you couldn't play as an Islam ruler in the base game of CK2.

Hearing this is on PC gamepass is great though, seems like the perfect opportunity to try out the service, esp. if they're still doing free trials. Then I can decide if I end up wanting to wait a year or two to get into the game, and can try out flight sim tooooo (if my machine can handle it).

Important update from the shitty eyesight brigade.

The UI is actually pretty good. And it's even got a scaling slider.

My initial impressions are really positive. Comes across very strongly of a team looking at CK2 and cleaning off literal years of accumulated grit and grime.

@quasiconundrum: Ballsy mark-up, that.

I haven't played it but from what i gather it seems like a neat game. The dread mechanic adds for some nuance to the shit-storm you create as a ruthless tyrant, tanking everyone's opinion and having to lay low for a while to restore relationships. Now certain characters will actually obey you and stand by you out of fear, while others are more interested in taking down a ruthless asshole.

I like how Piety & Prestige are no longer pure resources that you spend and lose. Why would you become less pious for inviting a holy man to your court? Retaining a long-term reputation based on your piety & prestige levels, while still being able to use and deplete these resources makes a lot more sense.

I also like how they implemented the wiki more prominent ingame. All these underlined keywords open blurbs that explain the mechanism and let you open other relevant wiki-blurbs to really dig down on the aspects that you want to learn about.

Finally, the use of hooks (secrets, IOU's etc) to point out to characters why they should do you a favor, sounds like a fantastic new addition.

Saw some of the reviews and word going around, so I did pick this up. I probably won't be able to get into it for a couple of days though.

I highly recommend the tutorial of you're new to crusader kings. I think they put a lot of effort into explaining every detail of the game into the tutorial. I've put about 5 hours into it now and I'm having a blast. I'm hoping that the next dlc will focus on improving the Byzantines and making their government more historically accurate. Other than that, I have feeling this game is going to take up my nights for now on.

@rramo010: Yeah, to tell you the truth, I'm really bummed that imperial administration isn't a thing this time. I'm assuming they'll add it back at some point, but who knows when that will be.

My dad's parents were originally from Slovenia, so my go-to was to play a Slovenian duke, become king of Croatia, then marry into the Byzantine royal family and start granting viceroyalties. Good times.