The Shrine

Can Paradox games succeed where thousands have failed and make the first strategy game in space since Master of Orion that doesn't suck?

I am worried a bit due to the visual similarities to Sid Meier's Starships, and that it may fall into the same traps that games like that one, Sins of a Solar Empire, and so many others have. Knowing Paradox Games, it could be fantastic, and actual be a strategy game rather than a simple battle winning game like all the others out there currently.

http://www.pcinvasion.com/2015/08/parad ... y-by-steam

Sins of a Solar Empire was amazing, but a very different kind of game to MOO. I probably put more hours into it than MOO1/2. So far I'd say it looks more like a Sins of a Solar Empire sequel then anything else. The suns in the screenshots actually made me think they were Sins screenshots.

Sins got certain things wrong and even their diplomacy expansion was kinda meh, but it was more of a real time strategy game - and judged on that criteria, I'd say the diplomacy was amazing. The game had a ton of personality but it was kind of hidden.

I could see Paradox improving on this in their own way. Here's hoping it isn't a snooze fest.

I know I played Sins but cant remember it (so I assume I didnt like it).

In any case, I am a Paradox whore and will buy Stellaris.

What sets strategy games made by Paradox apart from everyone else is the huge amount of depth and the emergent storytelling that occurs via the triggers placed all throughout the depths of the game. While on the surface Crusader Kings 2, for example, may look like Romance of the Three Kingdoms Europe - it is many many times more than just that.

But the storyline isn't just something players have to make up with their imagination, like on Civ Fanatics. The game actually generates a story for the player that will play out over the course of a characters life, and continue to future generations; but with a new protagonist. Much of it is recorded in the historical record, along with battles and results of treaties and such. For an example of a single story panel:


And you will encounter hundreds more like this at various times throughout the game, and these not only tell a story, but shape your character and their relationships. The triggers are not scripted either, but also not completely random, as I will explain below.



It starts on the level of a single character, which has:
1. Traits - which determine the sorts of storylines which may occur. For example, the character may be possessed, which may cause them to have many storyline sections about worshipping demons, attempting to start a ritual to open a portal to hell. They may also have a trait, like crazy, and may push to pass the no-pants act, or the turnip currency act. They may have the lustful trait, you get the picture. A single character can have dozens of traits all at once.
2. Culture - which will determine your character's religious beliefs, ethnicity, marriage customs, and more. Emergent storytelling is a factor here, as Vikings will get involved in storylines revolving around visions of Odin, finding a cursed artifact in a raid, or even going to battle against the Kraken! - whether that is real or a dream is determined by the choices you pick over the following days in a choose your own adventure style story, and the outcome of these stories will effect things down the road - as in you may add or subtract traits; as mentioned above.
3. Family - which is exactly how it sounds: parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, wives, inlaws, children, etc... The importance of which will be determined by your characters culture, not all cultures are monogamous, and may have several concubines who he may sire dozens of children with. Your character may indulge in extramarital affairs, and even be the instrument of extramarital affairs in other people's relationships.
4. Relationships - Not just limited to family mentioned above, but the character may have lovers, sometimes even gay lovers who others may blackmail you about - some societies in the Middle Ages were very much against that. but not all relationships are sexual, characters can have very good friends, trusted allies, and also very brutal enemies. A lot of these relationships are determined by all of the above: family, culture, and traits; but much of anything can be smoothed over with a bit of gold. Different actions in relationships can effect traits and stats of others as well.
5. Statistics - which determine the players skills, and depending on the threshold they are past, the player will have more options when questioned; i.e. A player with high diplomatic skill can talk his way out of most situations which would otherwise cost him money or friendship.
6. You can choose your character's ambition, which will trigger a number of quests, which may gain the player traits or statistics that go toward the goal of that ambition; i.e. Player is ambitious to be better at diplomacy - there will be events which have the potential to increase diplomacy. Maybe they want a child - then events will appear giving the player more opportunities to have sexy time.
7. Lastly, your character is just one of many many characters in the game - you can literally have hundreds in a single court; and all of the characters in the game have traits, culture, family, and relationships - just like the player does. All characters have opinions of everyone they have contact with or knowledge of.

Now for the purpose of this example, let's say the player is a Count, which is the lowest rank allowed without mods. A Count controlls:
1. a County - which can have many sub-sections, including towns, castles, Church- and even empty fields which you can build towns, castles, and temples on.
2. A court - which is the local court of the county. Here the player can hire courtiers for various jobs, including being a Baron of a castle, a Bishop of a Church, or a Mayor of a town; and of course these ranks and locations differ in different cultures. Courtiers can hold Council offices, or they can be hired for other jobs such as cupbearer, law maker, even court jester - a job so humiliating that it creates a relationship penalty if you make someone the jester. Hiring characters for jobs, the council, or giving them a position like Baron, will generally improve the relationship.
3. A military - you can have a professional standing army, or raise levies from the populace, and take them to fight in battles - yours or others. You can get your Barons to raise armies, your mayors, and even your Bishops have troops - and it all differs depending on culture (Vikings don't have Bishops or Churches, but they do have Pagan Godis and Temples which are roughly equivalent).
4. A set of laws - which the player can change, so long as the vassals approve. This may include succession laws, which determine who inherits your land; say you own two counties, you can have a law that they both go to your eldest son, to your youngest son, to an heir of your choosing, to your eldest relative, an elected heir, or even two different children - both would gain the rank of Count (or whatever, since different cultures have different ranks, I am speaking for Feudal Western Europe); or it might even go to some powerful inlaw, or someone completely unrelated who forged a claim on the land, putting them into the line of succession.
5. State relationships - which are just what they sound like, alliances, war, peace. But also whether you're independent, a vassal, or rule over others - which I will get to shortly.

If you are a Count, you might not be independent.
1. Several counties make up a Duchy, ruled by a Duke, and you may be the vassal of a Duke. That Duke could be your older brother! Or maybe your father. Or someone who bested you in warfare.
2. That Duke who rules you, may in turn be ruled by a King. Kingdoms are made up of many Duchies.
3. The King may be one of dozens who are a part of an Empire. Empires rule over Kingdoms - but may directly vassalize Duchies or Counties as well.
4. Or if the civilization and culture are different, it may be a completely different sort of social order. You may be part of a moving nomadic Mongolian tribe. Or you might belong to the exact same culture and instead be the leader of a Republic or a Theocracy - each with different rules and passable laws.
5. In Western Feudal Europe, it's basically Emperor > King > Duke > Count - and as a player, you can be any of these things. If you are an Emperor, you may rule over hundreds of landed Nobles - but perhaps you only have 20-30 Kings as vassals, and those Kings have 5 or 6 Dukes as Vassals, those Dukes each have 5 or 6 Counts as vassals, and those Counts have a couple Barons, a couple Mayors, and a Bishop as a vassal - and players can hold multiple titles - usually an Emperor is also the Count of several counties, and maybe also the Duke over the Duchies those counties are in, and also the King over the Kingdom those Duchies are in. It's a MASSIVE web of possibilities.

Then we have to remember the emergent story telling, which crops up throughout all aspects of these big webs of possibilities. It depends on what truths exist from all that is above, which determines which stories are eligible to play, and there's a RNG that determines which stories will pop up - and they do have an impact on gameplay from your character's birth to death... And that's not where it ends, over hundreds of years dozens of generations will pass. Lands are inherited or lost by the dynasty, Empires can break apart into dozens of independent states, and reconquered by a powerful noble with the claim to the Imperial throne, maybe in a few months, or it may take generations.

There's a lot more I can get into, but I find the above points to be interesting.

Some funny stories:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CrusaderKings/ ... _from_ck2/
I was Queen of Leon, came to the throne at a young age. When I was 16 I made a matrilineal marriage with a Prince of Castille who was third in line for the throne. He came to my court and we fell in love and had a great relationship. His family was a great support during a Jihad called against me.
We had about 5 children together and never had relations below a green 100. So when his second oldest brother murdered the King of Castile and seized the throne I knew my beloved husband was the only right person for the job, so i invaded and put him on the throne. He loved me even more, and it also meant that our son would be king of both kingdoms.

Then he cheated.. oh well. He is far from home ruling his own kingdom. So it must be okay for me to cheat as well... I slept with a priest and became pregnant.

Relations soured even more. By the time we were both in our 70's my husband and i must have fought 5 wars with each other each been caught in numerous attempts to assassinate each other. The pope refused to give us a divorce. It was hilarious to see our relationship go so sour..

Oh yeah, in come cultures, you raid and capture neighbours, or even imprison your own courtiers, and then hold a feast during which your prisoners are sacrificed to your god or gods. If you imprison too many, it will lower their opinion of you, and they may start forming factions, and rebel against you. This is where things such as assassinations come in handy, take out sheep who led the flock astray.

I have lost hundreds of hours to this game over the past couple of years.


Now I am very much looking forward to that level of depth, and in space, with procedurally generated maps, thousands of star systems and planets.

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/in ... fo.875063/

Explore a vast galaxy full of wonder! Paradox Development Studio, makers of the Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis series presents Stellaris, an evolution of the grand strategy genre with space exploration at its core.

Featuring deep strategic gameplay, an enormous selection of alien races and emergent storytelling, Stellaris has a deeply challenging system that rewards interstellar exploration as you traverse, discover, interact and learn more about the multitude of species you will encounter during your travels.
Etch your name across the cosmos by uncovering remote celestial outposts, and civilizations. Will you expand through war or walk the path of diplomacy to achieve your goals?
Main Features
* Discovery Events – Emergent Storytelling.
* Deep & Varied Exploration.
* Enormous procedural star systems, containing thousands of planets.
* Numerous playable species, each with their own traits and engineering styles.
* Vast number of Unique Random Species.
* Advanced Diplomacy system.
* Ship Designer (even civilian ships can be customized).
* Stunning space visuals.

Teaser (Actually doesn't really show much of anything):

It's exciting stuff. Games like this are what make PC gaming special.