Ask Paradox (almost) Anything Thread (no support/tech or code questions)

[Meneth]

Dunno if we'll get a book wall, we have a room with some books and games (both video and board) and a big box filled with books that is free for all. Think I have added at least 50+ books to that one...

I think they're referring to the book wallpaper used in the room used for live streams in the old office..

 

[Kallocain]

Can you give more clarification as to the future of the New World of Darkness and Classic World of Darkness pen and paper roleplaying game lines? Some people are panicking over the whole "One World of Darkness" thing, and they're both very different games; if you try merging them, you'll very likely wind up alienating the fans of both of them, and Onyx Path has been doing good work on them.

We have just announced the deal, I'm not sure anyone even knows those answers yet. I'm sure you'll find out about our plans as soon as we are ready to reveal them.

 

[Meneth]

Who manage the Paradox Wikis sites and is it supposed to have translations in foreign languages some day (spanish, german or french for instance) ?

I administrate the Paradox Wikis.
There are currently no plans for any other language than English.

 

[Shams]

Now that you've bought White Wolf, can you say whether or not Activision is still involved in the rights for Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, and if so, how?

We'll let White Wolf get back to you on specifics - but I'm guessing there's a followup question?

/shams

 

[Shams]

I guess it's too soon but...

Do you plan doing something with V:TES? And if the answer is affirmative, are you willing to take a look on the "official" V:EKN extensions? I think the community would appreciate it.

We're really excited about the news.

We are huge CCG fans at Paradox. I've persnally played Magic since 1995 - competitively since 2000 - and I'm in charge of finding/deciding which new projects to pursue.

I'd love to at least explore the possibility.

/shams

 

[Kallocain]

I am planning to maybe doing a vacation in Stockholm August 2016. Is it in principle possible to visit you, in your offices?
I assume this would just be to much work, to show a stranger around, and there is the problem about information leaks, but still I wanted to ask.
Maybe although you are already over 200 employees you still are indie enough to do something like this ^^

We have fan gatherings from time to time, but in between those, we'd like to just keep our head down and work, to bring you more great games.

 

[Meneth]

How many people work at Paradox?

About 200.

 

[Meneth]

My question to Paradox is as follows:

Can @Shams confirm he is back; and as such, is back replying to questions in this thread?

Has Shams been gone?
He was there when I visited the PDX offices last month.

 

[SolSara]

Hey, new to the forums. Also pretty new to Paradox. Kickstarted Pillars of Eternity though and what I've played through so far is awesome. Mainly though, huge huge fan of White Wolf since I heard about them. Still have copies of Vampire, Demon, etc from the time when they were in every gaming shop rather than Print on Demand. Had a few questions pertaining specifically to the sale to Paradox of White Wolf, if any of them have already been asked just mention that:
1) Does your "One World of Darkness" concept apply to only the video games, or also to the tabletop side through Onyx Path?
2) Will Onyx Path be able to retain the licensing rights and continue publishing both versions of WoD?
3) When Paradox decides on a system for either licensing the IP for other companies to also develop, and/or starts staffing and making the subcompany that will comprise the new White Wolf, will there be an announcement or other way to follow it on the website?
4) Will there be jobs for the new White Wolf subcompany when it opens or do you have most of the staff you need already?
5) Does Paradox have a general plan with regards to which White Wolf gamelines will be tapped first for Video Games?

I also welcome and encourage any speculation on the possibility of either rebooting the MMO or a sequel to one of the Vampire single player RPGs. I'm dying to know.

*Bummmp*
Any sort of response on these from Paradox?

I don't have an answer to your questions as I am not involved in this part of Paradox, but what I can tell you is that although we try to read these forums and answer people's question, there's a limit to how fast we can respond. Paradox is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and I don't know when you posted your questions at first but can see that you edited it today at 04:28 which is the middle of the night here. It's also Saturday, and although many of us spend time at the forums during the weekend most don't and would probably see your questions on Monday at the earliest.

Be patient and read articles and interviews, that's my suggestion. Sorry that I cannot be of more help, I just wanted you to know that we try to answer people's questions fast but that will probably not happen during the weekends. You have also asked rather sensitive questions that I don't think can be answered right away, as people at Paradox probably are discussing them at the moment and it will take some time before they are done with them.

 

[Shams]

Are PI employees, in particular, ones not in marketing or community relations, told/asked to check the forum once in a while, or, are they always doing so on their "free time"

As a general rule it's encouraged but not forced. In some teams its more closely tied to actual work so it's a natural part of the job sometimes - community management, QA, development etc.

But we don't follow up on eachother's forum activity - nor do the majority of us have it as a part of our work descriptions.

I dunno - we pride ourselves for staying in close touch with the community - forcing it on the staff kinda negates the purpose of it. If we wake up one day and notice we have very low interaction rate with the community we'll have to ask ourselves why that changed. While the forum is important I feel the most important thing is that we're actively engaging with the community - not specifically that it's done on the forums. Many of us - Fred and myself are more active twitter users and engage much more there.

But I have found that I check this thread less frequently than I did in the past - part due to time constraint (a lot of work), part because of the medium itself (doing forum on mobile is a hassle) and that most good questions have been asked

but this was a good one. I'll check in tomorrow again - hopefully

/shams

 

[Johan]

a) How tired are you of Victoria 3 requests?
b) When will you make Victoria 3

Make Victoria 3, please.

a) less tired than of rome2 requests.
b) when we have a good idea for it & a team available

 

[Meneth]

Why is paradoxian order 2015 unavailable?
Where can we make an order?

It was only available for a limited time (or number of units) if I remember correctly.

 

[Kallocain]

A while ago I asked a question here regarding the possibility of Paradox releasing the source code of older Europe Engine games (e.g. Crown of the North) and didn't get an answer. I'm now wondering what Paradox' stance is regarding open-source "clones" of such games. I'm thinking of coding a CotN-like game for the Italian Wars period but probably Paradox' legal department wouldn't be too happy if I made it public?

Probably not.

 

[Meneth]

Is there any chance Runemaster will be getting out of Dev Hell?

Development of Runemaster was frozen indefinitely last year: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-information-the-future-of-runemaster.821164/

 

[Johan]

What do you think about your community, especially about polish players?

The polish players i've met at various cons have been awesome!

 

[BjornB]

What qualifications and degrees would benefit one's search of a job in the gaming industry?
Can you have some creative positions as Physicist our Mathematician?

I always say that if you know C++ you'll be able to get work with pretty much anyone as a programmer. C++ programmers is probably the most scarce resource at the moment (have been for a long time and probably will remain so).

 

[Meneth]

Thank You. So in the long run an IT degree is a necessity to show?

As far as I know, Paradox has plenty of employees with little to no university/college education.
Education is a great way to document your knowledge, but far from the only one.

 

[TinyWiking]

As far as I know, Paradox has plenty of employees with little to no university/college education.
Education is a great way to document your knowledge, but far from the only one.

Look at me, I don't have a degree yet managed to do pretty well for myself during the years!
Degrees are nice to look at but if you lack social skills and want to work in a vibrant company chances are you will never make it past the interview .

 

[Johan]

Thank You. So in the long run an IT degree is a necessity to show?

no degree here.. not even finished 1 year of university..

 

[TinyWiking]

haha, then you two made an impressive career so far. So how did you find yourself becoming employed by Paradox?

I'd have to say bribes and lots of homemade cookies !

On a serious note I was living in Paris when the opening appeared and I wanted to return to Sweden so I applied and it worked out! I've been working with games my entire life so this felt like an awesome place to apply to. I actually remember the release of Europa Universalis 2, I was still working at a store called Tradition and we got invited to the release party, I think it was in Gamla Stan. That was my first real interaction with Paradox but it wasn't until I applied for a job here that I remembered that night !