PDOX Games VIII: Communism Will Win

[The New California Republic]

Usually when I open the L-Cluster I throw in all of my fleets, with some science ships just behind them so I can explore it before any other empire can. The best outcome is finding Gray, as he is a super useful asset. Gray Tempest, on the other hand, is just a pain in the arse.

Thats what i did, had a 25k fortress with 100k across two fleets waiting just in case lol

I was the first into the l cluster, and once i got a station built i closed my borders to the entire galaxy so i could claim it all. Bit disappointed with the resources there, only one source of nanites, but ah well. Im now constructing a ring world, with the first section almost completed, then ill begin colonising it as i build the rest.

Yeah I also try to have influence points maxed out at 1,000, so that I can start constructing bases immediately as each system in the L-Cluster is explored, and I also try to make sure that I have a decent flow of influence points coming in, so that if I run out of influence points I can begin construction again as soon as possible. I don't like resorting to closing borders.

[Bralia]

You can finally tell nations to fuck off from asking for your trade surpluses in Imperator: Rome.

[Genivaria]

(Image)

I am become Death. Destroyer of Worlds.

And the real kicker is, i did this to my former ally, im waging total war against them and plan to drive them completely out of this arm of the galaxy.

They look up with horror as their home world is obliterated, and cry "Why?"

And i look down and say "Achievement tho"

So if you just expel all the aliens from your empire while you're conquering will you eventually find where all those aliens got to?
"HE'S HERE OH GOD HELP US!"
"NO I THOUGHT WE WERE SAFE!!"

[Impaled Nazarene]

(Image)

I am become Death. Destroyer of Worlds.

And the real kicker is, i did this to my former ally, im waging total war against them and plan to drive them completely out of this arm of the galaxy.

They look up with horror as their home world is obliterated, and cry "Why?"

And i look down and say "Achievement tho"

There will be darkness
There will be blood tonight
Now let the riots begin
Or die with the rest
At civilization collapse

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

(Image)

I am become Death. Destroyer of Worlds.

And the real kicker is, i did this to my former ally, im waging total war against them and plan to drive them completely out of this arm of the galaxy.

They look up with horror as their home world is obliterated, and cry "Why?"

And i look down and say "Achievement tho"

Ah committing mass genocide is such a fun time. Hooray for virtual war crimes!

(Just stepping in here to say that genocide is not a war crime)

[Lunas Legion]

Ah committing mass genocide is such a fun time. Hooray for virtual war crimes!

(Just stepping in here to say that genocide is not a war crime)

Nah it's a crime against humanity.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

(Just stepping in here to say that genocide is not a war crime)

Nah it's a crime against humanity.

Also not! Those are three distinct categories of crimes. Genocide is genocide.

[Abserdia]

Nah it's a crime against humanity.

Also not! Those are three distinct categories of crimes. Genocide is genocide.

Question: is blowing up populated planets a war crime?

Maybe we haven't gotten there yet.

[Andsed]

Nah it's a crime against humanity.

Also not! Those are three distinct categories of crimes. Genocide is genocide.

Huh. Thanks for the info.

[Bralia]

A bunch of CK3 map pictures were yoinked from a recent video.

[Dome Artan]

A bunch of CK3 map pictures were yoinked from a recent video.

Ooooh pretty

[Purpelia]

Not impressed until they definitively confirm an engine change. The current engine already struggles even without fancy graphics.

[Bralia]

*sigh* The next EUIV expansion was looking so good. And one of the first new mechanics they introduce is EXCLUSIVELY for people who blob to absolutely unrealistic levels.

[Purpelia]

Blobbing is good. Blobbing is life! I just wish they hadn't screwed CK2 up so much by adding so many anti blob features.

[Slutsk Horde]

Blobbing is good. Blobbing is life! I just wish they hadn't screwed CK2 up so much by adding so many anti blob features.

There are nomads.

[Purpelia]

Blobbing is good. Blobbing is life! I just wish they hadn't screwed CK2 up so much by adding so many anti blob features.

There are nomads.

Nomads suck to play though. You can't control your own land and you constantly have to fight your vassals whom you can't keep weak. I miss the good old days when you could start off as a smallish realm and take over all of the world before the mongols came.

[Danubian Peoples]

Blobbing is good. Blobbing is life! I just wish they hadn't screwed CK2 up so much by adding so many anti blob features.

What now? You're telling there was some advanced form of blobbing killed by CK2's devs by means of updates that I don't know about? And if so, how does it compare to the blobbing I'm familiar with, as in, play as some guy and watch your vassals conquer the world. I find that fequently, my vassals do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to inflating the size of one's realm. In my Kemet game, Jerusalem up and took over all of Persia from a Child of Destiny's descendants. Meanwhile playing as pagans will yield a vassal map that should be signed by Jackson Pollock, as vassal megakings take all of Europe with insanely powerful CBs, without regard for borders whatsoever. If what you're talking about is bigger than that, then what was it like? Could Sunni counts in Portugal beat the Mongols to the Urals or something?

[Dome Artan]

Blobbing is good. Blobbing is life! I just wish they hadn't screwed CK2 up so much by adding so many anti blob features.

What now? You're telling there was some advanced form of blobbing killed by CK2's devs by means of updates that I don't know about? And if so, how does it compare to the blobbing I'm familiar with, as in, play as some guy and watch your vassals conquer the world. I find that fequently, my vassals do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to inflating the size of one's realm. In my Kemet game, Jerusalem up and took over all of Persia from a Child of Destiny's descendants. Meanwhile playing as pagans will yield a vassal map that should be signed by Jackson Pollock, as vassal megakings take all of Europe with insanely powerful CBs, without regard for borders whatsoever. If what you're talking about is bigger than that, then what was it like? Could Sunni counts in Portugal beat the Mongols to the Urals or something?

I'm with you on that, especially the pagans if you keep whatever doctrine it is that makes you lose prestige at peace, those vassals will simply not stop. I conquered all of Europe in 200 years from the Viking start date and the only wars I waged myself were to form Scandinavia. You throw in the Fylkir and his great holy wars and its free real estate as the kids say.

[Lunas Legion]

Not impressed until they definitively confirm an engine change. The current engine already struggles even without fancy graphics.

It's running on the same engine as IR from the graphics.

[Bralia]

With wealth, comes a domain. With a domain, comes duty. These are the tenets of the Stwardship lifestyle in CK3.

[Bralia]

*sigh* The next EUIV expansion was looking so good. And one of the first new mechanics they introduce is EXCLUSIVELY for people who blob to absolutely unrealistic levels.

*ahem* My apologies to everyone, this post is no longer accurate. Let me amend and update my post to reflect the changes that Johan made over his lunch break, I need to appropriately change my tagline to something that more fitting for the credit Johan deserves for responding to criticism so quickly:

*sigh* The next EUIV expansion was looking so good. And one of the first new mechanics they introduce is EXCLUSIVELY for people who blob to absolutely unrealistic levels.

[Purpelia]

What now? You're telling there was some advanced form of blobbing killed by CK2's devs by means of updates that I don't know about? And if so, how does it compare to the blobbing I'm familiar with, as in, play as some guy and watch your vassals conquer the world. I find that fequently, my vassals do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to inflating the size of one's realm. In my Kemet game, Jerusalem up and took over all of Persia from a Child of Destiny's descendants. Meanwhile playing as pagans will yield a vassal map that should be signed by Jackson Pollock, as vassal megakings take all of Europe with insanely powerful CBs, without regard for borders whatsoever. If what you're talking about is bigger than that, then what was it like? Could Sunni counts in Portugal beat the Mongols to the Urals or something?

That's sucky blobbing. Good blobbing is you conquering the world and handing titles out as you see fit whilst keeping your vassals small and weak. You could do that quite effectively in the old versions. Now a days you have things such as vassal limits (god I hate those), defensive pacts (I hate those even more) and just generally far more internal micromanagement for your own realm as well as an overall lack of good CB's that make conquering the world a much slower and sloggier affair. And of course you have the new meta with the idiotically massive army upkeep that ruins it as well. And I swear they did something to nerf retinues as well. Used to be I could build up quite an army of those and just bash everyone's head in. Now a days not so much.

Like my personal preferred game settings are:
- No vassal limit
- No defensive pacts
- Everything I can do to nerf factions
- Manually modded the troop upkeep down
- Infinite religious and city vassals. Because I love the lore of just having lots of clerical and merchant republic vassals running around.

And that still does not really capture the old feel. But it kind of works. It it were me I'd cut the maintenance / cost of retinues in half and give every king or higher infinite free ducal conquest CB. Emperors would get an infinite free kingdom conquest in addition to this. And that's conquest. As in kick every lord out and take all the land. Not subjugation.

[Abserdia]

What now? You're telling there was some advanced form of blobbing killed by CK2's devs by means of updates that I don't know about? And if so, how does it compare to the blobbing I'm familiar with, as in, play as some guy and watch your vassals conquer the world. I find that fequently, my vassals do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to inflating the size of one's realm. In my Kemet game, Jerusalem up and took over all of Persia from a Child of Destiny's descendants. Meanwhile playing as pagans will yield a vassal map that should be signed by Jackson Pollock, as vassal megakings take all of Europe with insanely powerful CBs, without regard for borders whatsoever. If what you're talking about is bigger than that, then what was it like? Could Sunni counts in Portugal beat the Mongols to the Urals or something?

That's sucky blobbing. Good blobbing is you conquering the world and handing titles out as you see fit whilst keeping your vassals small and weak. You could do that quite effectively in the old versions. Now a days you have things such as vassal limits (god I hate those), defensive pacts (I hate those even more) and just generally far more internal micromanagement for your own realm as well as an overall lack of good CB's that make conquering the world a much slower and sloggier affair. And of course you have the new meta with the idiotically massive army upkeep that ruins it as well. And I swear they did something to nerf retinues as well. Used to be I could build up quite an army of those and just bash everyone's head in. Now a days not so much.

Like my personal preferred game settings are:
- No vassal limit
- No defensive pacts
- Everything I can do to nerf factions
- Manually modded the troop upkeep down
- Infinite religious and city vassals. Because I love the lore of just having lots of clerical and merchant republic vassals running around.

And that still does not really capture the old feel. But it kind of works. It it were me I'd cut the maintenance / cost of retinues in half and give every king or higher infinite free ducal conquest CB. Emperors would get an infinite free kingdom conquest in addition to this. And that's conquest. As in kick every lord out and take all the land. Not subjugation.

That sounds like the worst way to play CK2 I could possibly imagine. It's almost amazing how opposite this is to all of my desires for a CK2 campaign.

[Holy Tedalonia]

What now? You're telling there was some advanced form of blobbing killed by CK2's devs by means of updates that I don't know about? And if so, how does it compare to the blobbing I'm familiar with, as in, play as some guy and watch your vassals conquer the world. I find that fequently, my vassals do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to inflating the size of one's realm. In my Kemet game, Jerusalem up and took over all of Persia from a Child of Destiny's descendants. Meanwhile playing as pagans will yield a vassal map that should be signed by Jackson Pollock, as vassal megakings take all of Europe with insanely powerful CBs, without regard for borders whatsoever. If what you're talking about is bigger than that, then what was it like? Could Sunni counts in Portugal beat the Mongols to the Urals or something?

That's sucky blobbing. Good blobbing is you conquering the world and handing titles out as you see fit whilst keeping your vassals small and weak. You could do that quite effectively in the old versions. Now a days you have things such as vassal limits (god I hate those), defensive pacts (I hate those even more) and just generally far more internal micromanagement for your own realm as well as an overall lack of good CB's that make conquering the world a much slower and sloggier affair. And of course you have the new meta with the idiotically massive army upkeep that ruins it as well. And I swear they did something to nerf retinues as well. Used to be I could build up quite an army of those and just bash everyone's head in. Now a days not so much.

Like my personal preferred game settings are:
- No vassal limit
- No defensive pacts
- Everything I can do to nerf factions
- Manually modded the troop upkeep down

And that still does not really capture the old feel. But it kind of works. It it were me I'd cut the maintenance / cost of retinues in half and give every king or higher infinite free ducal conquest CB. Emperors would get an infinite free kingdom conquest in addition to this. And that's conquest. As in kick every lord out and take all the land. Not subjugation.

Personally I like to up the factions power, simply so I can have more of a challenge. Although not to much, because I find if you up the ante to much the AI gets screwed over by revolts almost constantly. Which is both hilarious and irritating when my war gets cancelled because the previous guy got kicked out. I also like having the other features default/regular, since I was forged from the fires of Ironman mode.

[Purpelia]

That sounds like the worst way to play CK2 I could possibly imagine. It's almost amazing how opposite this is to all of my desires for a CK2 campaign.

That is most likely because your objective is not to form each and every kingdom on the map and have your family members sit on those thrones in a giant elective world spanning empire.