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Let's Play CK2: Ten Years to Greatness

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Secret Master

Secret Master

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Hey guys,

Finally got a Let's Play posted for France. I'm starring as France's king in 1066, an underage boy whose demesne sucks. I show you how in 10 civil war filled years how you, too, can become Exalted Among Men. :)

The game was focused on certain political elements and not on others, so don't go hunting for tooltips on buildings and armies. This is a political demonstration.

First Video: http://youtu.be/RZJ6tKUt7iI
Second Video: http://youtu.be/4SZNuUaWUlA
Third Video: http://youtu.be/K3WF8V9eX_E

Have fun and please post questions here if you got any.
 
Thank you for doing these. Very informative, good commentary! (though I feel sorry for some of those 8-20 men squads you haplessly sent to their doom on their way to the rally points. :p)

In some ways watching these LPs is like browsing the manual before the game arrives. Feel like I won't be completely confused when I start my first game in February.
 
Great videos! I'm impressed by Matilda of Tuscany though. She got herself a legitimate heir from a homosexual monarch, and broke free of the HRE, all without becoming part of France. You go, girl.
 
Cool LP. It's nice to see that being a King is as fun as being a Duke or count. I found that 95% of my CK1 games became much less fun when I was king, rather than when I was a DUke.

Damn, the HRE fell apart CK1 style within 10 years! That's the first time I remember it falling apart so spectacularly in CK2 when not aided by the human player
 
Great stuff SM, really good and focused commentary! Very risky to attempt an unjustified imprisonment on Aquitaine at such an early stage and then banishing Champagne soon after. Paid off, though :)

The version you're using isn't the same as ParadoxianLP's Flanders-France LP, is it? I understand he had the 'foreigner' vassal relation penalty, but it seemed like your civil wars were relatively tame compared to his. Possibly due to Aquitaine being in prison and thus not being able to act as a rallying point for fellow vassals?
 
What resolution are you playing in?
And I don't like that you mouse pointer is hidden, I think in a strategy game like ck2 you should see the mouse.
 
Nilat said:
Great stuff SM, really good and focused commentary! Very risky to attempt an unjustified imprisonment on Aquitaine at such an early stage and then banishing Champagne soon after. Paid off, though :)
Click to expand...

Yep, it was a risky gambit. If this version had been not-bugged, I would have imprisoned William the Bastard first while he was away in England so I could get all his cash. I'm an evil exploiting bastard like that sometimes. :D

The version you're using isn't the same as ParadoxianLP's Flanders-France LP, is it? I understand he had the 'foreigner' vassal relation penalty, but it seemed like your civil wars were relatively tame compared to his. Possibly due to Aquitaine being in prison and thus not being able to act as a rallying point for fellow vassals?
Click to expand...

I'm sure it wasn't the same version, but Aquitaine was the culprit here. That was 1/3 of the entire kingdom on lockdown the moment I put him in prison. It also meant I couldn't raise hardly any levies from his lands since he hated me, but it took them all out of the equation.

siis said:
What resolution are you playing in?
And I don't like that you mouse pointer is hidden, I think in a strategy game like ck2 you should see the mouse.
Click to expand...

That mouse pointer missing is not the game. That's Fraps hiding the mouse while it records. I figured you guys didn't need to see my mouse-wandering insanity. :)
 
siis said:
What resolution are you playing in?
And I don't like that you mouse pointer is hidden, I think in a strategy game like ck2 you should see the mouse.
Click to expand...

Some recording software (like fraps) disable the mouse for the recording.
 
Secret Master said:
I'm sure it wasn't the same version, but Aquitaine was the culprit here. That was 1/3 of the entire kingdom on lockdown the moment I put him in prison. It also meant I couldn't raise hardly any levies from his lands since he hated me, but it took them all out of the equation.
Click to expand...

Do you think it would be viable to go for a less tyrannical approach as the King of France and, for example, appease Aquitaine with money, an honorary title, sending the chancellor to improve relations and marriage (if possible) in order to gain a powerful ally within France and begin consolidating the north with the help of Aquitanian levies? Or do you think being tyrannical is the better option with the current version?
 
Well, in the current version, the best strategy is to take out William first and get his cash. :)

It's incredibly gamey, but William the Bastard starts with over 1,000 gold so he can support the cost of the invasion force that is about to attack England. If you wait until he is committed across the Channel, it becomes a Xanatos Gambit. If you imprison him successfully, you can confiscate his lands and cash, prevent him from taking the throne of England (which makes Normandy leave France), and gain some demesne. If you fail, he goes to war with you, but he is already committed to a war in England, so you have more or less free reign to siege his holdings. He can't white peace with Harold unless Harold is willing (and Harold is probably not willing until he pins and destroys/loses to William's army). So, either way, you can grab his stuff. The catch is that he might squander the cash before you force him into prison if you fail to catch him at first.

As for Aquitaine, let me point out that the current AI configuration more or less guarantees that he will plot against you from day 1. Trying to mollify him probably will only delay the inevitable. The AI plays to win, and that means it makes sense that Aquitaine will conspire against the throne. That doesn't mean you can't play nice, but if you delay, he might get support for a plot and force you to deal with it. If he does that, you are facing not just him, but everyone in the plot.

If you had more piety at the start, you could pass Papal Investiture right out of the gate, and generate enough relations with the Pope to excommunicate Aquitaine. That would hamper his ability to plot against you AND make it legal to imprison him. But you don't have the piety at the start to do that, either.

You could assassinate Aquitaine, but that just kicks the can down the road. The problem is that he owns too much land.

What you can't do, since you are the king, is conspire with another vassal, like Toulouse, to take out Aquitaine.

These are some of the reasons that if you start in 1066, the Capets don't make it past the century mark half the time.
 
Secret Master said:
Have fun and please post questions here if you got any.
Click to expand...

What would happen if your guards didn't manage to imprison Aquitaine? :)
 
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