Want to get into the Paradox games

Safe-Keeper · 08-27-12, 04:50 PM

Since there are so many strategy gamers here -- I'm getting Victoria II and A House Divided first of all, but what other games can you guys recommend? I'm considering Europa Universalis III and Hearts of Iron III, are they any good?

I'm perfectly willing (and planning) to download mods for any of these games if that makes a difference.

seaniam81 · 08-27-12, 04:52 PM

HoI3 is always a good choice. You should really look into Crusader Kings 2. By far the best of Paradox.

Oberon · 08-27-12, 08:06 PM

Crusader Kings II definitely. I, personally, struggled to get into HOI3 but there's little doubting its pedigree.

08-27-12, 11:15 PM

It really depends on your playstyle, everybody has a Paradox game that "Clicks" with them while others they may not get on with, probably one of the better features of Paradox games, they all compliment each other and each has a different time period and playstyle to go with it.

CK2 is nice if you want to play a character more then a country and interested in Feudal Politics and dealing with family members and both internal and external politics.

Eu3 puts you in control of a country as the world starts to move away from Feudalism, the formation of Empires, colonization, centralization, etc. Not really my favorite as its quite hard to start from nothing, unlike Ck2.

Victoria 2 is about industrialization, economics, politics, new ideologies and new types of warfare, (Including trench warfare) Building factories and what not.

Hearts of Iron 3 is armed forces management, little politics, little economy, just very detailed management of armed forces on a grand scale, Where to send your tanks, what units to build, what brigades to form your divisions out of. Its kinda overwhelming for me since not only do you have to manage an entire army of units but you have to manage their headquarters, and try to keep units in a certain group together and it just gets annoying. (Although the situations that can develop can be entertaining as hell, like the biggest front in the war being a vicious back and forth over India which is eventually stopped by Germany invading America.

)

Narko · 08-28-12, 01:00 AM

Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game
Less micromanagement, better optimization than HoI 3 (less demanding on system).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkest...s_of_Iron_Game

CCIP · 08-28-12, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Narko

Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game
Less micromanagement, better optimization than HoI 3 (less demanding on system).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkest...s_of_Iron_Game

That's a very good suggestion actually, especially given its price! It's sort of like "what HoI 2 should've been from the start". I think it is an excellent entry point into Paradox games.

08-28-12, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

Since there are so many strategy gamers here -- I'm getting Victoria II and A House Divided first of all, but what other games can you guys recommend? I'm considering Europa Universalis III and Hearts of Iron III, are they any good?

I'm perfectly willing (and planning) to download mods for any of these games if that makes a difference.

Well, I just recently bought Vic2 and House divided, HOI3 complete, Supreme Ruler 2020 gold and Supreme Ruler Cold War. So far I have really enjoyed them all a great deal. I found a WW I mod for Vic2 AHD and after learning alittle modding of my own, have really enjoyed the mod. Unfortunatly it is a WIP mod and you start off with sailing ships in your fleets at the beginning of 1914. I figured out how to change the oob files, and put dreadnoughts and armoured cruisers into the starting fleets, so now its much better, but they do seem to have the land warfare working pretty good in it already. I like to use the sprites in the game rather than the counters, so would also recommend getting the sprite packs DLC as well. I also have learned how to do some modding to the Surpreme Ruler games as well as HOI3, and really enjoy them as well. I would highly recommend them to anyone, and don't know how I missed out on them for so long.

Regards:
Captain Rockwell Torry

Penguin · 08-29-12, 04:35 PM

The good thing is once you get the grip on the game mechanics behind one Paradox game, it doen't take too much effort to get into another one. This doesn't mean they play all the same. Though the concept of a historical sandbox is something they all have in common. And this is the nice thing: The starting point is historical, then the game develops its own alternative timeline.

A good and often very immersive start is to check out some of the AARs in the Paradox forums, or the ones you can find on here. Victoria 2's strategy guide, which you can download after you registered your game is also a good thing to get into it.

I am a huge fan of Victoria 2, I play it since it came out. To me it feels very lively due to the POP concept. Your population is not only a number, they change jobs, migrate, vote and sometimes those unthankful plebs even revolt.

Besides that, this is also an historic era which interests me very much. A great way to satisfy your inner imperialist - though EU3 is also very good for this.
And it really helps to set your own goals when you play a country, not just hunt for points. Conquer North America as communistic CSA, become a world power as Venice, be an industrial superpower as Haiti, invade England as New England, etc, etc..
AHD addewd very much, the 1861 scenario is not too good, if you don't want to play the US civil war, as you usually have a better standing if you manage a country by yourself from 36-61, but it added so many improvements to the vanilla game. (@ Stealhead: buy it!!! - you won't regret it, though check out the regular deals on Gamersgate)
The only thing I am missing in this game is some espionage concept.

btw, Safe-Keeper, as it's not covered in the tutorial nor guides: if you want to play as Norway in Vic 2, you have to start as Sweden then release it in the decisions tab in politics and klick on "play as..." - it works this way for any releasable country.

CaptainHaplo · 08-29-12, 06:23 PM

If your into the Fantasy TBS type games - Warlock is a good one.

Safe-Keeper · 08-29-12, 09:25 PM

Okay, I am officially in love with Hearts of Iron 3!
Thought I'd just give it another shot, and spent hours organizing British fleets, science projects, diplomacy (trying to sway the Nordic countries and Ireland to join the war on the allied side, for instance), trade routes, DD and airplane patrols for subs in the convoy approaches off the English Channel, and my first mechanized infantry and armour brigade going into Europe to fight on the western front.

The thing is, I thought I would never get into all the detailed micromanaging of troops, but I've found that it's so much fun (although the UI could've been better in some respects) and truth be told, I need training in committing to large-scale projects like this one. So not only am I having fun, I'm building character at the same time

.

Can't wait until I've bought the full version, expansion pack and all, and can boot up a 1940 start as the Norwegians

!

Quote:

btw, Safe-Keeper, as it's not covered in the tutorial nor guides: if you want to play as Norway in Vic 2, you have to start as Sweden then release it in the decisions tab in politics and klick on "play as..." - it works this way for any releasable country.

Yeah, I figured this out, think I googled "V2 play as Norway" or something. Had a minor heart attack when I saw Norway wasn't in the map and just had to know if it was out of the game altogether :P

One (edit: several) questions, though:
When I build units in HOI3, I have the option to increase "serial" and "paralell". What does this mean? Is it number of units in each build and how many builds, respectively? As in, "serial 3 paralell 4" means "build 12 fighters in batches of 3"?

And is there a way to decrease countries' neutrality? Influence Nation doesn't seem to do so, it just makes them drift faster towards your faction.

Oh, and is there a way to zoom that bottom-right map? When I'm focusing on for example Europe it'd be nice if I could just zoom the map to show Europe only, instead of having to try to position that tiny rectangle just right in the tiny, tiny landmasses with the world map zoomed all the way out :P .

Quote:

If your into the Fantasy TBS type games - Warlock is a good one.

I've got Dominions 3 and it fills all my needs, but thank you for the suggestion

!

CaptainHaplo · 08-30-12, 08:14 AM

Can't answer your HoI questions.

I have Dominion 3 and have played it once or twice - but never really got into it. I may have to give it another go sometime.

Raptor1 · 09-03-12, 10:50 AM

Make sure you get both expansions as well, they improve the game by quite a bit.

Safe-Keeper · 09-03-12, 02:27 PM

Ya, I'll order HOI3 collection from Amazon, I think. It has both x-packs and some sprite upgrades and whatnot. Will be awesome

!

08-27-12, 04:50 PM	#1
Safe-Keeper Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Norway Posts: 3,234 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	Want to get into the Paradox games Since there are so many strategy gamers here -- I'm getting Victoria II and A House Divided first of all, but what other games can you guys recommend? I'm considering Europa Universalis III and Hearts of Iron III, are they any good? I'm perfectly willing (and planning) to download mods for any of these games if that makes a difference. __________________ First Strike Mod tester. Hardcore sub skipper.

08-27-12, 04:52 PM	#2
seaniam81 Commodore Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 624 Downloads: 87 Uploads: 0	HoI3 is always a good choice. You should really look into Crusader Kings 2. By far the best of Paradox. __________________ Ultima ratio regum. (The final argument of kings) - Inscription on french cannons, on order of Louis XIV

08-29-12, 06:23 PM	#9
CaptainHaplo Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,404 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	If your into the Fantasy TBS type games - Warlock is a good one. __________________ Good Hunting! Captain Haplo

08-30-12, 08:14 AM	#11
CaptainHaplo Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,404 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	Can't answer your HoI questions. I have Dominion 3 and have played it once or twice - but never really got into it. I may have to give it another go sometime. __________________ Good Hunting! Captain Haplo

09-03-12, 10:50 AM	#12
Raptor1 Navy Seal Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Stavka Posts: 8,211 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	Make sure you get both expansions as well, they improve the game by quite a bit. __________________ Current Eastern Front status: Probable Victory

08-27-12, 08:06 PM	#3
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	Crusader Kings II definitely. I, personally, struggled to get into HOI3 but there's little doubting its pedigree.

08-27-12, 11:15 PM	#4
Rilder Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	It really depends on your playstyle, everybody has a Paradox game that "Clicks" with them while others they may not get on with, probably one of the better features of Paradox games, they all compliment each other and each has a different time period and playstyle to go with it. CK2 is nice if you want to play a character more then a country and interested in Feudal Politics and dealing with family members and both internal and external politics. Eu3 puts you in control of a country as the world starts to move away from Feudalism, the formation of Empires, colonization, centralization, etc. Not really my favorite as its quite hard to start from nothing, unlike Ck2. Victoria 2 is about industrialization, economics, politics, new ideologies and new types of warfare, (Including trench warfare) Building factories and what not. Hearts of Iron 3 is armed forces management, little politics, little economy, just very detailed management of armed forces on a grand scale, Where to send your tanks, what units to build, what brigades to form your divisions out of. Its kinda overwhelming for me since not only do you have to manage an entire army of units but you have to manage their headquarters, and try to keep units in a certain group together and it just gets annoying. (Although the situations that can develop can be entertaining as hell, like the biggest front in the war being a vicious back and forth over India which is eventually stopped by Germany invading America. )

08-28-12, 01:00 AM	#5
Narko Watch Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Latvia, Riga Posts: 19 Downloads: 47 Uploads: 0	Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game Less micromanagement, better optimization than HoI 3 (less demanding on system). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkest...s_of_Iron_Game

08-29-12, 04:35 PM	#8
Penguin Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Rheinische Republik Posts: 3,322 Downloads: 92 Uploads: 0	The good thing is once you get the grip on the game mechanics behind one Paradox game, it doen't take too much effort to get into another one. This doesn't mean they play all the same. Though the concept of a historical sandbox is something they all have in common. And this is the nice thing: The starting point is historical, then the game develops its own alternative timeline. A good and often very immersive start is to check out some of the AARs in the Paradox forums, or the ones you can find on here. Victoria 2's strategy guide, which you can download after you registered your game is also a good thing to get into it. I am a huge fan of Victoria 2, I play it since it came out. To me it feels very lively due to the POP concept. Your population is not only a number, they change jobs, migrate, vote and sometimes those unthankful plebs even revolt. Besides that, this is also an historic era which interests me very much. A great way to satisfy your inner imperialist - though EU3 is also very good for this. And it really helps to set your own goals when you play a country, not just hunt for points. Conquer North America as communistic CSA, become a world power as Venice, be an industrial superpower as Haiti, invade England as New England, etc, etc.. AHD addewd very much, the 1861 scenario is not too good, if you don't want to play the US civil war, as you usually have a better standing if you manage a country by yourself from 36-61, but it added so many improvements to the vanilla game. (@ Stealhead: buy it!!! - you won't regret it, though check out the regular deals on Gamersgate) The only thing I am missing in this game is some espionage concept. btw, Safe-Keeper, as it's not covered in the tutorial nor guides: if you want to play as Norway in Vic 2, you have to start as Sweden then release it in the decisions tab in politics and klick on "play as..." - it works this way for any releasable country.

09-03-12, 02:27 PM	#13
Safe-Keeper Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Norway Posts: 3,234 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	Ya, I'll order HOI3 collection from Amazon, I think. It has both x-packs and some sprite upgrades and whatnot. Will be awesome! __________________ First Strike Mod tester. Hardcore sub skipper.