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[Discussion thread] Guide to Pre-Orders and Post-Launch Content
- Thread starter HottestRod
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The Major Expansions will cost 60% of the base game wtf? Hopefully they'll be very spaced out and have Holy Fury-tier content.
And just to check, can I pre-order the Royal Edition the day before release?
And just to check, can I pre-order the Royal Edition the day before release?
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Hello @HottestRod since this thread is about goodies that come with pre-order, I'd like to know if there's going to be forum icons included at any point in the future.
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Time to apply the repercussions for Imperator and Stellaris:
Imperator was a bust. Pre-ordered it, and was plainly disappointed. Happens, but it proves that just because a title is developed by PDX, based upon it's working Grand Strategy formula (shifted into a different time period), doesn't automatically mean the same success as other titles. Noted.
Then we have Stellaris, which started okay-ish, then saw some massive and truly deserving expansions... and then had Wiz drawn away to work on a different project, and expansions have become worse and worse ever since, mostly just being Frankensteins of random fancy-looking concepts full of bugs and without deeper gameplay design considerations.
Now we get the sequel to CKII, and the first dev diaries DO look promising. Especially the Religion system is exactly what the franchise needs, because it's modularity is exemplary design, allowing easy width of content and modding.
BUT as we saw with Imperator, that doesn't necessarily mean that the game itself will be actually fun to play.
And as we saw with Stellaris, that's no guarantuee that the expansions will be actually good (and worth the price tag).
So, I'll refrain from ordering the game any time soon. Maybe around fall, when the first gameplay reviews come in, I will grab the basegame (whether that then be a pre-order or not, I don't care for fancy cosmetics).
As for the expansions, I will rather end up paying a few bucks more when they're actually out, tather than ending up having paid for something that may not be worth it.
Imperator was a bust. Pre-ordered it, and was plainly disappointed. Happens, but it proves that just because a title is developed by PDX, based upon it's working Grand Strategy formula (shifted into a different time period), doesn't automatically mean the same success as other titles. Noted.
Then we have Stellaris, which started okay-ish, then saw some massive and truly deserving expansions... and then had Wiz drawn away to work on a different project, and expansions have become worse and worse ever since, mostly just being Frankensteins of random fancy-looking concepts full of bugs and without deeper gameplay design considerations.
Now we get the sequel to CKII, and the first dev diaries DO look promising. Especially the Religion system is exactly what the franchise needs, because it's modularity is exemplary design, allowing easy width of content and modding.
BUT as we saw with Imperator, that doesn't necessarily mean that the game itself will be actually fun to play.
And as we saw with Stellaris, that's no guarantuee that the expansions will be actually good (and worth the price tag).
So, I'll refrain from ordering the game any time soon. Maybe around fall, when the first gameplay reviews come in, I will grab the basegame (whether that then be a pre-order or not, I don't care for fancy cosmetics).
As for the expansions, I will rather end up paying a few bucks more when they're actually out, tather than ending up having paid for something that may not be worth it.
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Paradox, I'd love to buy more of your games, including a CK3:Royal's pre-order, all of EUIV, all of HoI IV, and all of Vic2...but only on GoG. I already own CK2 on Steam - but would be willing to re-purchase it on GoG in full (I picked up the few DLC I was missing today with the Paradox sale). I own all of your games available on GoG (except some Stellaris DLC I've yet to pick up) and have fully migrated to that platform for all but a handful of titles. Please make your titles available on GoG.
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Yes, blame Apple for that as is the bottom card to support in their latest OS.
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Well yeah, obviously just because a company makes a game, it doesn't mean that this game will be as good as other games from that company.
But to be fair, there was a lot of red flags for Imperator a long time before it was released. So maybe the lesson for you is that you shouldn't trust your gut feelings when it comes to Paradox games.
That's just nostalgia glasses, Stellaris started in a bad state, though it was full of potential, and Wiz only expanded the game in the same direction. He added new stuff that also had potential, but remained relatively shallow. The last expansions really aren't much different, though at least they are reworking stuff that is relevant in game, and not just peripheral content that looks cool but is basically useless.
You forgot that the first expansion was Leviathan, an expansion that literally added fancy-looking things without deeper gameplay design considerations.
Then we got Utopia, which almost never got expanded upon. We still have the same tradition trees available, and let's not pretend that Ascension Perks became much more relevant, Biological Ascension is still uninteresting and micro-heavy, for example.
If I were you I think I would understand that I'm just not very good at judging game design.
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Ye, exactly what I meant by "Noted".
You raise some fair points, there was a lot of flow and ebb for Stellaris updates. But I cannot but appreciate both the 2.0 update, and the Planetary Overhaul before that. Both massive gameplay changes that undoubtly improved the overall experience. And both lead by Wiz, in the former case even against vocal community sentiment (probably vocal minority, but the "If you remove 2 out of 3 travel methods, I will demand my money back" spam in the forum was real).
Accepting that your game has intrinsic flaws, and dedicating (a lot) of time into fixing those, is what kept me with Stellaris despite the somewhat shallow gameplay loop. But then they just kept crapping out unrelated nonsense, half-cooked content or fancy late-game baubles that are completely irrelevant by the time you obtain them.
Not overworking Traditions is certainly another of those areas that should have seen a rework, same with the whole diplomacy aspect of the game.
Maybe that's why I'm criticizing the recent update so harshly, too: We all knew Diplomacy was in need of a facelift. And when it was teasered that the Federations update would focus on that, I expected the same kind of in-depth quality update as the 2.0 or Planetary Overhaul. Instead we simply added the opinion modifiers of both sides, and gave empires envoys that completely negate any opinion modifier to begin with.
Then completely disregarding any critique levied towards that, OR the many shortcomings of the GN, and instead doubling down on 'Oh look, space whales' was the final nail in the coffin for me.
I fundamentally disagree.
Both from the perspective that games are made to be enjoyed by the players, thus the players are the only ones able to judge the game in first place,
and from the perspective of someone who legitimately does nothing but sleep, eat, work and game. If I'm not at least a representation for 'acceptable average capability to judge game design', then I proclaim noone can ever be good at that. Call that conceited, if you wish, but with my couple k hours of figuring out the mechanical details and their interactions with players across multiple genres, I feel entitled to that 'arrogance'.
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On which planet? Norway has never been in the EU, we've voted no each time we had the opportunity.
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I have preorder, but I don't see it in "owned items" in my profile on forum. Some people have avatars form CK3 and i don't know where they get them. I don't understand how it works.
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The game's not out yet, you'll get it on September 1st.
As for the CK3 icons you see, they're obtained through referals and have been around since the game was announced last year.
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in those next 3 expansions would they already be free buying the Royal? And when will those expansions come out?
They are included in the Royal Edition.
I don't think this has been announced yet.
Update on Australian and New Zealand pre-orders [EDIT: September 7, 2020]
Currently the sales of CK3 in Australia and New Zealand are halted as we are investigating matters having to do with age ratings. We’re working on resolving this as soon as possible and Paradox will honor already placed pre-orders. [EDIT: August...
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