Paradox Studio Thread

[Amerikaner Teddybär]

Remember when EU3 and Vic2 only needs at most three expansion packs and they are pretty much stable after the final expansion (Divine wind and Heart of Darkness)?

I stopped playing EU4 for a year to find out I need to pay more than double the base game price to use what's supposed to be base game mechanics.

I haven't played EU3 but Victoria 2 is definitely a much better game than later Paradox games in terms of DLC and stability. Shame how Paradox proceeded to forget this for every game after Victoria 2 and to an extent Crusader Kings 2 from what I remember when it first launched. The main problem I see with Paradox is that they can make decent DLCs but those are outweighed by the shittier ones. Remember when the Common Sense update for EU4 came out and only the AI could develop provinces but the player couldn't unless they bought the DLC? I sure do and oh man was it a pain? I saw a review for Crusader Kings 2 that pretty much explains why you shouldn't buy a game from Paradox and I think he does a good job.

Spoiler: Bit lengthy

This review pretty much summarizes mine and probably a whole bunch of opinions on the Paradox DLC policy.

 

[Bush King]

oh i know
it's just not a single one of my children had a good education trait, so it felt pointless and i really hate doing fuck all in CK

CK3 is very boring. It's got EU4 syndrome, you're spending the years between war just waiting.

 

[God of Nothing]

CK3 is very boring. It's got EU4 syndrome, you're spending the years between war just waiting.

While the random events in 2 could be obnoxious with the shitty negative trait ones, the others helped you feel like you were going through someone's life.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/mod-diary-thread-cultures-of-the-american-frontier.1528738/

This looks like a badass mod, if the game actually allows it mechanically. (Victoria II didn't allow manually flipping cultures/religions of Pops, so the only cultures/religions it could portray were ones that already existed by 1836, or you had to bend history by showing them on map earlier than they were.)

Being able to play a German-American United States (German-speaking as primary culture) would be great, and I didn't realize i wanted it until now.

 

[AmpleApricots]

Not a single strategy game I know of has really done a free market, Victoria games for all their flaws probably came closest and that's pretty sad because it'd be an interesting way to play if implemented well. As has been said, as a modern government you don't collect 500 steel and 300 cement to build a fursuit factory or whatever, if it's for the government itself, it's all contracts, then there are private interests growing the economy in various ways you usually wouldn't have a direct influence over. (indirectly you would with taxes and incentives, for example) I'd like to play that game if anyone ever made it but I think a lot of people would just bitch and moan that they can't just do what they want when they want it and cause/effect would probably escape too many and things that aren't would probably be declared bugs.

The first Victoria games were the first games that made me feel like actually running a country with people and not just some abstract amount of numbers in an excel spreadsheet. Now here we are, so many years later and we haven't really progressed (and actually, in many ways regressed) in the genre and with sequels and frankly, it really sucks. My guess economy in this one will just be another slew of meaningless percentage modifiers and the reddit crowd will eat it up because you can build the big chungus communism factory that gives +10% to everything at level 5 or whatever. The icon of the factory will be nicely drawn though. This is basically phone games at this point.

 

[Bush King]

This is basically phone games at this point.

Worse, console strategy games. Can't wait to see EU5 on Xbox. Vicky 3 is shaping up to be a timelapse game with two interactions possible. 99% of the videos about it on Youtube will be "WOW! I MADE COMMUNIST USA IN 1939!!!" and not a single peep about actual gameplay.

 

[JJLiautaud]

Not a single strategy game I know of has really done a free market, Victoria games for all their flaws probably came closest and that's pretty sad because it'd be an interesting way to play if implemented well. As has been said, as a modern government you don't collect 500 steel and 300 cement to build a fursuit factory or whatever, if it's for the government itself, it's all contracts, then there are private interests growing the economy in various ways you usually wouldn't have a direct influence over. (indirectly you would with taxes and incentives, for example) I'd like to play that game if anyone ever made it but I think a lot of people would just bitch and moan that they can't just do what they want when they want it and cause/effect would probably escape too many and things that aren't would probably be declared bugs.

The first Victoria games were the first games that made me feel like actually running a country with people and not just some abstract amount of numbers in an excel spreadsheet. Now here we are, so many years later and we haven't really progressed (and actually, in many ways regressed) in the genre and with sequels and frankly, it really sucks. My guess economy in this one will just be another slew of meaningless percentage modifiers and the reddit crowd will eat it up because you can build the big chungus communism factory that gives +10% to everything at level 5 or whatever. The icon of the factory will be nicely drawn though. This is basically phone games at this point.

Distant Worlds sorta does have a free market as well almost all resource transportation decisions are done by private merchant liners that the player doesn't control.

 

[field rice mouse]

I haven't played EU3 but Victoria 2 is definitely a much better game than later Paradox games in terms of DLC and stability. Shame how Paradox proceeded to forget this for every game after Victoria 2 and to an extent Crusader Kings 2 from what I remember when it first launched. The main problem I see with Paradox is that they can make decent DLCs but those are outweighed by the shittier ones. Remember when the Common Sense update for EU4 came out and only the AI could develop provinces but the player couldn't unless they bought the DLC? I sure do and oh man was it a pain? I saw a review for Crusader Kings 2 that pretty much explains why you shouldn't buy a game from Paradox and I think he does a good job.

Spoiler: Bit lengthy

View attachment 3394305View attachment 3394310View attachment 3394311View attachment 3394313

This review pretty much summarizes mine and probably a whole bunch of opinions on the Paradox DLC policy.

Yes, Common Sense was the DLC ruining my experience as well. I don't know about the current patch status (looks like you can develop countries without DLC now) but I remember as well not having the Emperor DLC and the mission tab was completely empty, estates not available because I didn't buy a different DLC, and so on which makes the playing experience so miserable especially when playing a non western tech country.

That review is spot on and sadly why I haven't bought any Paradox games post EU4.

 

[Amerikaner Teddybär]

Yes, Common Sense was the DLC ruining my experience as well. I don't know about the current patch status (looks like you can develop countries without DLC now) but I remember as well not having the Emperor DLC and the mission tab was completely empty, estates not available because I didn't buy a different DLC, and so on which makes the playing experience so miserable especially when playing a non western tech country.

That review is spot on and sadly why I haven't bought any Paradox games post EU4.

Amen, brother.

The only two games I bought post-EU4 are HOI4 and Stellaris and I play them still but usually with mods because vanilla even with DLC feels like it's a little bland but that's just me. Of course, the modding community, especially with HOI4, tend to be very lolcow worthy due to the colorful personalities they often have. As for Stellaris, I still find the removal of the different FTL types to be confusing. The reason for removal was "going with a default hyperlane system allowed for many mechanics that work better for the game, particularly strategic warfare." This explanation kinda makes sense but I don't think removal of the different FTL mechanic was necessary, you could still have different strategies for the different FTL types and still not break the game. Of course, this is Paradox we're talking here so they'll mostly disable any good mechanics that don't require DLC.

Worse, console strategy games. Can't wait to see EU5 on Xbox. Vicky 3 is shaping up to be a timelapse game with two interactions possible. 99% of the videos about it on Youtube will be "WOW! I MADE COMMUNIST USA IN 1939!!!" and not a single peep about actual gameplay.

Paradox YouTubers are the biggest clickbaiters out there.

 

[Bush King]

As for Stellaris, I still find the removal of the different FTL types to be confusing. The reason for removal was "going with a default hyperlane system allowed for many mechanics that work better for the game, particularly strategic warfare."

I'm 99% sure the real reason is that a huge amount of people were buying it, trying it, couldn't figure out why different races had different FTL methods, didn't want to learn, and then refunded.

Paradox YouTubers are the biggest clickbaiters out there.

All I can think of when someone says "Paradox" is that blonde prick with his shit fucking faces in the thumbnail.

 

[Zaryiu2]

Yes, Common Sense was the DLC ruining my experience as well. I don't know about the current patch status (looks like you can develop countries without DLC now) but I remember as well not having the Emperor DLC and the mission tab was completely empty, estates not available because I didn't buy a different DLC, and so on which makes the playing experience so miserable especially when playing a non western tech country.

That review is spot on and sadly why I haven't bought any Paradox games post EU4.

Cream api could help?

 

[Amerikaner Teddybär]

I'm 99% sure the real reason is that a huge amount of people were buying it, trying it, couldn't figure out why different races had different FTL methods, didn't want to learn, and then refunded.

If that's the reason, then this further proves both Paradox and a vast majority of their playerbase are just lazy. No offense but the average Paradox player, especially with newer games, are very unwilling to learn how to play the games.

All I can think of when someone says "Paradox" is that blonde prick with his shit fucking faces in the thumbnail.

Yeah, he's just like any other click baiter on YouTube.

Cream api could help?

$20 for a glorified patch or the same shit for free? Got to be an idiot to deny the latter.

 

[Bush King]

If that's the reason, then this further proves both Paradox and a vast majority of their playerbase are just lazy. No offense but the average Paradox player, especially with newer games, are very unwilling to learn how to play the games.

Having been into Paradox since the early days of EU3, I can say that everyone else I know who plays Paradox started with Stellaris and CK3. They would not read a tutorial like the old games had, nor would they spend twenty seconds just playing the game to figure out how it works. It's the strategy game equivalent of everything having a button prompt now.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

I think I've alreayd said this, but Paradox's fanbase are full of retards who both (either due to internal factions, or mental contradictions) think any flavor event/decision beyond the start date, no matter how many historical conditions have to be met to trigger it, is railroading, yet also think EU4 "do thing that happened for +50 points" missions and "click button to turn Communist" HOI4 focus trees are good shit to get excited over.

It's trash and Paradox players are trash.


Let me clarify, the Pop Demand Mod for Victoria II was the gold standard in historical content. It added tons of detailed stuff, including alternate history stuff, that no game could ever create dynamically, but it also required specific historical triggers that were generic enough to capture the reasons things occurred. They should have used those design principles in every game, but instead they found a way to wrap up a turd (linear press-button-get-event) in a bow and sell it to their users.

 

[HeyYou]

I think I've alreayd said this, but Paradox's fanbase are full of retards who both (either due to internal factions, or mental contradictions) think any flavor event/decision beyond the start date, no matter how many historical conditions have to be met to trigger it, is railroading, yet also think EU4 "do thing that happened for +50 points" missions and "click button to turn Communist" HOI4 focus trees are good shit to get excited over.

Yep. Paradox fans simultaneously think the reforming the Roman empire decision in CK is pandering and ahistorical (which it is a little bit, but the legacy of the Roman empire was still monumentally important to Europe at the time and you have to do a lot of work to get to the decision) while nutting themselves over every ahistorical meme decision in the focus trees of HOI4 which are almost always "press button, win game."

 

[SheerHeartAttack]

I guess the closer you get to the present, the more bugmen jerk off to their faction winning and the less bugmen you see droning on about historical accuracy cause Rome/Christianity/White people bad.

 

[Bush King]

I guess the closer you get to the present, the more bugmen jerk off to their faction winning and the less bugmen you see droning on about historical accuracy cause Rome/Christianity/White people bad.

Hitler being the strongest character in HoI4 by a country mile and being able to put Himmler into power is a-okay, but saying "Deus Vult" in a Crusades sim is verbotten. Nevermind that the Muslim gameplay sees "Inshallah" pop up every five seconds, or that the Christian pilgrimage events are more concerned with details of the locality where the Muslims are concerned about shouting religious slogans, CK2 is a white supremacists game. Every time you go on a Hajj, it ends with the Shahada.

 

[RA-5C Vigilante]

Hitler being the strongest character in HoI4 by a country mile and being able to put Himmler into power is a-okay, but saying "Deus Vult" in a Crusades sim is verbotten. Nevermind that the Muslim gameplay sees "Inshallah" pop up every five seconds, or that the Christian pilgrimage events are more concerned with details of the locality where the Muslims are concerned about shouting religious slogans, CK2 is a white supremacists game. Every time you go on a Hajj, it ends with the Shahada.

I expected nothing less pathetic from Sw*des.

 

[Slap47]

Not a single strategy game I know of has really done a free market, Victoria games for all their flaws probably came closest and that's pretty sad because it'd be an interesting way to play if implemented well. As has been said, as a modern government you don't collect 500 steel and 300 cement to build a fursuit factory or whatever, if it's for the government itself, it's all contracts, then there are private interests growing the economy in various ways you usually wouldn't have a direct influence over. (indirectly you would with taxes and incentives, for example) I'd like to play that game if anyone ever made it but I think a lot of people would just bitch and moan that they can't just do what they want when they want it and cause/effect would probably escape too many and things that aren't would probably be declared bugs.

The first Victoria games were the first games that made me feel like actually running a country with people and not just some abstract amount of numbers in an excel spreadsheet. Now here we are, so many years later and we haven't really progressed (and actually, in many ways regressed) in the genre and with sequels and frankly, it really sucks. My guess economy in this one will just be another slew of meaningless percentage modifiers and the reddit crowd will eat it up because you can build the big chungus communism factory that gives +10% to everything at level 5 or whatever. The icon of the factory will be nicely drawn though. This is basically phone games at this point.

In Victoria 2 I have been able to get free markets working.

Just needs to get started and is comically unstable... which is realistic. UK and USA can get pretty comically high industry scores with historical borders.

 

[ellroy]

I think I've alreayd said this, but Paradox's fanbase are full of retards who both (either due to internal factions, or mental contradictions) think any flavor event/decision beyond the start date, no matter how many historical conditions have to be met to trigger it, is railroading, yet also think EU4 "do thing that happened for +50 points" missions and "click button to turn Communist" HOI4 focus trees are good shit to get excited over.

It's trash and Paradox players are trash.


Let me clarify, the Pop Demand Mod for Victoria II was the gold standard in historical content. It added tons of detailed stuff, including alternate history stuff, that no game could ever create dynamically, but it also required specific historical triggers that were generic enough to capture the reasons things occurred. They should have used those design principles in every game, but instead they found a way to wrap up a turd (linear press-button-get-event) in a bow and sell it to their users.

Paradox fan base plays the games like they are iSorrowProductions but unironically.