Episode 218: The War in Europa

[Rob Zacny]

EU IV lead Thomas Johansson and freelance writer Joe Robinson join Rob to talk about their recent adventures with a massive EU IV multiplayer session.EU IV lead Thomas Johansson and freelance writer Joe Robinson join Rob to talk about their recent adventures with a massive EU IV multiplayer session.EU IV lead Thomas Johansson and freelance writer Joe Robinson join Rob to talk about their recent adventures with a massive EU IV multiplayer session.

 

Listen

[BonnieDowling]

"Integrity of the game experience" is an awesome thing! Well spoken. I always lose in EU3 but it's fun -- I lose but play with integrity! I always try to win with trading. War sucks. My Dutch are cool. Really enjoyed to this as an EU3 dork

[Snooze]

Listening to this makes me excited abut EU4. It sounds like they have tweaked all the things about EU3 that didn't gel with me.

 

Bring it on!

[hexgrid]

I really need to give EU a fair shake this time.  I tried it briefly when I didn't have enough time to invest to really get into it, and have been meaning to get back to it ever since.

[sclpls]

I still haven't found a Paradox game that really sucks me in, but I like the sound of the changes that are happening with EU4 so maybe this will finally be the one...

[Procyon Lotor]

"The Paradox Effect":  When you really want to love a game, but you never quite get into it. Yet you keep buying sequels because you are THIS CLOSE to an enrapturing game experience. 

 

Every time a Paradox game is discussed, all of us strategy die-hards suffering from the Paradox effect and come out of the woodwork say the same thing:  "I tried [GAME], but never got into it, which surprises me because strategy games and the [ERA] age really interest me."  I suffer from the Paradox effect.  I so want to love EU and Crusader Kings, and while I like them, I never really get sucked into them. 

 

Of course, I'm hoping EUIV is the breakthrough game, and I'm going to buy it. 

[hexgrid]

"The Paradox Effect":  When you really want to love a game, but you never quite get into it. Yet you keep buying sequels because you are THIS CLOSE to an enrapturing game experience. 

 

Every time a Paradox game is discussed, all of us strategy die-hards suffering from the Paradox effect and come out of the woodwork say the same thing:  "I tried [GAME], but never got into it, which surprises me because strategy games and the [ERA] age really interest me."  I suffer from the Paradox effect.  I so want to love EU and Crusader Kings, and while I like them, I never really get sucked into them. 

 

Of course, I'm hoping EUIV is the breakthrough game, and I'm going to buy it. 

 

I think partly it's the time investment.  In my experience strategy gamers tend to skew slightly older than average, and older implies the likelihood of decreased spare time.  If I could go back to being 12 again and sink a summer vacation into playing a really meaty game, I'd probably do it with a paradox game.

 

Between game development and having a family, I haven't had a real holiday since... uh... 1996?  I think?  But I still remember spending summers playing games as a kid...

[Gormongous]

I think partly it's the time investment.  In my experience strategy gamers tend to skew slightly older than average, and older implies the likelihood of decreased spare time.  If I could go back to being 12 again and sink a summer vacation into playing a really meaty game, I'd probably do it with a paradox game.

 

Between game development and having a family, I haven't had a real holiday since... uh... 1996?  I think?  But I still remember spending summers playing games as a kid...

 

I think you hit it on the nose. I learned Victoria II during my last "free" summer before grad school made me a full-time adult, but because of that my competency feels balanced on a knife's edge all the time. It's certainly not second nature like the Crusader Kings or Europa Unversalis series, which I encountered back in early college. It saddens me a bit to think that ship has sailed, if other similarly complex grand strategy games should surface.