How easy is it to get startet as a newcommer to a pradox 4x game?

[Invictus5966]

thanks for all the nice tips, for what i can read, i should try my luck with EU4 to learn a little about what i can expect in stellaris, i think i have it in my library, but i never had time to play it, but i will try tonight, when i have some time

youtube is your friend. I learned HOI3, EU4 and other games via YouTube. Great watching other people play and the little tricks to get better. Paradox also made many vids on this game and others. I was not thinking about this game at all until I started watching the Blorgs and now I preordered it.

 

[The Danish King]

I would highly suggest watching the Blorg stream on either youtube under ParadoxExtra or on Twitch under ParadoxInteractive. A lot have happen since it started, but it can give a good indication on how to play the game. Also, read all the dev diaries.

Link to youtube playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqRhPbyFDQWiWmLRwlEDOgU6B54nEP-os

Link to steam on twitch
https://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive/v/56330432

 

[RELee]

If you are over 30, you may be doomed.

Wait ...

 

[wizaerd]

I would avoid EUIV and even CKII, they are only barely similar to this game, that being mid to end game. Those games throw you in the deep end of the pool. There is no beginning, because it's historical all the empires are already established, and you're running it. In this game you'll build your empire from scratch, while others (Except Fallen Empires) will be doing the same thing. You'll start a 4X game, but eventually it'll evolve into a Grand Strategy game. Of course this is strictly my opinion, EUIV and CKII are great in concept, but there is no easing into it. "Pick x country" someone will say, but it won't matter, everything is already up and running. You're still being thrown into the mix, the deep end while the other countries (being AI) play perfectly. I'm really, really hoping the promise of easier accessibility is true.

 

[Galu]

I think Stellaris will be one of the easiest Paradox games to get into. Still much more complex than, say, Endless Space, but generally pretty straightforward.

And as others have mentioned, there will be an AI guiding you through the first steps, but I have a suspicion that this will mostly be the standard 4x fare while you will have to figure out the really deep mechanics (like how the varuius happiness and productivity modifiers work optimally) yourself.

But provided you are interested in the topic in general that should be no problem. It is quite possible to enjoy Paradox games for hundreds of hours even if you havent figured out all the intricacies of gameplay. I clock ~400hrs on EU4 now and I am still learning new things

Man I`ve been learning new things about EU4 even after 1000 hours xD but the thing with PDX games is that you won`t even notice first 200 h
Oh and to the thread author: the most important thing is at beginning NOT playing IronMan mode. You have to save a lot and ALWAYS save before sth risky. So if you fail miserably like Wiz against Fallen Empire you can go back to the point where everything was fine. It is a really good way to learn PDX games, and not even frustrating that much.

On the other hand if you screw sth with IronMan... oh those memorable ragequits...

 

[RELee]

How to Learn PDX Games

1. Start up a new game
2. Stare at the screen for 5 minutes, then choose your nation of choice.
3. Stare at the screen for 30 minutes with the game paused as you consider your first moves.
4. Curse softly under you breathe, exit the game and start looking for documentation, AAR's, start up videos and strategy guides.
5. Come back in a month.

 

[Traum77]

HOI3 is probably the most complicated PDX game. Some think CK2 is the simplest, but I tried to get a few family members who are history junkies into it and they got lost in the complexities between playing as a character but controlling a particular set of land and vassals. If you've never played another Paradox game, I'd definitely recommend EU4. Quill18 did a series for absolute beginners that explains the basics really well:

Watch that, then go ahead and jump in. I found EU4 the simplest of paradox games, but Stellaris should be even more accessible, because you won't have a dozen territories to manage in the early game. If you've played MoO2 or any 4X really, it should be familiar enough to get started.

 

[anomalacaris]

I would avoid current EU4 and CK2, as I feel they are buggy and you would probably be better with some previous versions (choose from steam).

As to original question: recent titles are somewhat easy to start with and have fun, but takes upward of 100h until you feel you know most mechanics. Again its not that you cant win until then, you just become better and better, able to take on harder foes or events.

For difficulty of this title, I would NOT be surprised that the pop mechanic turned out harder to fully manage than EU, for instance. However the community is very helpful and will figure things out pretty soon.

 

[[Q]uik]

Well, HoI and Victoria are their most complicated titles, so you pretty much jumped straight into supply hell xD
Stellaris will definitly have a lot easier learning curve than HoI

 

[Picrasso]

Another GS noob here. I've got a lot of experience with 4X: Civ, Beyond Earth, AoW3, Endless Legend (gotta love those TBS 4X games!). I have put my toe in EU4 waters sometimes, but it's still quite overwhelming to me. I'm hoping Stellaris will be a bridge between genres and help me get into other PDX games. I do LOVE the EU4 setting as beginning historian. First I'm going to enjoy the hell out of Stellaris and then give EU4 a shot.

 

[Tallfellow]

I'm not a newbie of Pdox game (Started with EU1 waaaay back in the day), but you really jumped into the deep end with CK2. I would say EU4 is the easiest game to get into. As if you play with one of the larger nations (Portugal, Castille, Ottomans) you can try out new things without getting completely wrecked!), Vicky 2 and HoI3 are extremely complex games and there is tons of stuff you need to keep track off so i'd stay away from them!

But i think Stellaris will be alot easier to get into, there isn't a million ressources you need to keep track off, the building on planets seems very straight forward, and the same goes for exploration, combat and so on. So i'm really looking forward to it! So i think Stellaris will be the easiest game to get into for new players which might get even more players to start playing EU4, HoI4 (when that is launched) and so on!

 

[prismaticmarcus]

Just wanted to point out the typo in the title

why?

 

[kebzero]

Hearts of Iron III is the only Paradox game I just gave up on after less than ten minutes. I greatly enjoyed the first two, but the third installment felt like too much of a cliff face of a learning curve - though to be honest, I think the final straw for me was the map design. Just didn't like the feel and color palette. Been meaning to give it another go for years now.

One thing to keep in mind about Paradox games these days - they're the easiest to learn at initial release. It is safe to assume there will be a plethora of DLCs down the road, each one increasing complexity by adding features or fleshing out existing features further. EU4 and CK2 most certainly have undergone a fair 'feature bloat'.

One of the key mantras for good games is 'easy to learn, difficult to master'. I think Stellaris will be the first Paradox game that truly lives up to the first half of that phrase. For one, you won't need a degree in history to play it, albeit it sounds like you might need a major in astrophysics instead...

All that aside, I expect my first few games of Stellaris to be spectacular disasters, even without upsetting a fallen empire or two. It's almost a tradition to fail when inaugurating a new Paradox game.

 

[Hiiri]

EU4 was very easy to get into, IMO, but over time as patches and DLCs started coming, complexity followed as well. I'm going to guess same will be of Stellaris.

 

[nottheface]

I actually started out with HoI 3 and really enjoyed it, it beat me every time then stomped on my bloody corpse for good measure but i kept going back for more. Each time i would look something up on the wiki or youtube videos and gradually get better at it but with EU4, Vic 2 and CK2 i find myself not wanting to get over that initial hurdle, perhaps its simply due to the fact i have way more interest in the second world war than i do in the other time periods but it annoys the hell out of me that i don't put in the effort...perhaps after i have had my fill of stellaris i will revisit EU4.

Stellaris to me certainly looks a lot simpler on the surface than any other PDX title of the grand strategy variety but like others have mentioned i fully expect the game to look very different in a year or two after several dlc's/updates so getting in there early is a damn good idea. I'm hopeful that for me stellaris will become my go to game for a long time to come along with HoI4 which from looking at the live streams appears to be a lot more user friendly with a great ui design. Now i just need to persuade my civ5 loving friend that PDX games are the way forward.