Play a full game as a OPM
- Thread starter davej
- Start date
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
I remember hearing from my friend that he enjoyed playing as Hamburg for like first 100 years without grabbing any other province by just developing and abusing the fact game continuously considered nearby OPMs to be his only valid rivals for constant Show Strength wars. Whole game however, I doubt would be any fun.
- 1
- 1
There have been many restrictions on us blobsters throughout the years, namely through monarch points. We just want to come to terms with the true tall guys.
- 1
I don't think there are any achievements that require you to be an OPM... It is really not a game made to play tall, not enough mechanics to keep things interesting.
But.. Maybe remaining an OPM and conquer only by vassalizing could be fun?...
But.. Maybe remaining an OPM and conquer only by vassalizing could be fun?...
- 1
- 1
So... Are we talking about literally only an OPM, without vassals, colonies or TCs?
Even as a heavily, heavily inclined tall player myself, I can't possibly see the point of doing that.
Even as a heavily, heavily inclined tall player myself, I can't possibly see the point of doing that.
- 1
Don't know if it counts but I'm playing a game as Hamburg where I've stayed as an OPM with no allies, but I do have vassals. 14 of them in fact, which puts me way over my relation limit, but it works. It's pretty interesting since vassals give land force limit but the manpower doesn't change, so I have a force limit of like 120k but my max manpower is only 30k or something. I also decided to dismantle the HRE but I think it would've been better for me to stay as a free city. Anyway it's been an entertaining run, I basically have entire northern Germany plus half the Netherlands vassalized, all loyal, as a 63 development OPM.
- 6
- 2
There isn't enough sufficiently developed peacetime mechanics for internal development for that particular brand of playing tall to be any fun.
You'd probably get more enjoyment out of some sort of city builder game than subjecting yourself to this.
You'd probably get more enjoyment out of some sort of city builder game than subjecting yourself to this.
- 2
- 1
Even that would be hard to do as a pure OPM.
Heck, even if you're playing ridiculously tall, wanting to push one single province to the maximum dev conceivably possible, some degree of conquest will be required to min-max that.
Playing tall, you'll want to maximize dev cost reduction, which is done passively, sure, but you'll also want to maximize mana generation to develop, for which you'll need to be able to afford lv5 advisors asap, meaning you'll at least need to focus a bit on conquest until then.
- 1
I had a great time when I played Ulm a few years ago. Here is a link to the AAR:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...rsalis-4-empire.707840/page-646#post-23502012
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...rsalis-4-empire.707840/page-646#post-23502012
- 3
heck, a lot of people don't even find the warring and blobbing to be fun after the first 150-200 years of a campaign. I couldn't imagine just sitting there as an OPM on speed 5 for hours at a time
- 2
- 1
I remember an AAR once about a guy that did a WC as an OPM.
I found it actually:
I found it actually:
- 1
I've done multiple runs from 1444 to 1821 staying as a OPM. For me, the fun comes from the challenge of surviving and the need to adopt strategies that are different from playing wide; it adds variety to my gameplay. Hamburg and Frankfurt (or any free city, really) are fairly easy choices and make for a relaxing game. Lubeck is a bit harder since you are not a free city and, therefore, are not protected by the emperor; however, it is more interesting since you can focus on expanding and managing your trade league. Surviving as The Knights or Riga is difficult. Making a custom OPM is also fun.
To flip the premise, do you not get bored snowballing every game? What I mean is, when playing wide and not arbitrarily limiting yourself, you always reach a point where you are practically unstoppable. A constant complaint on this forum is that the game gets boring around 1600 because you're unstoppable by this point, but then players complain anytime the devs introduce mechanics to limit expansion and conquest (admittedly, these mechanics usually just make expansion more tedious rather than more difficult or strategic). I'm not trying to attack anyone here: I've just genuinely never understood this dichotomy.
To flip the premise, do you not get bored snowballing every game? What I mean is, when playing wide and not arbitrarily limiting yourself, you always reach a point where you are practically unstoppable. A constant complaint on this forum is that the game gets boring around 1600 because you're unstoppable by this point, but then players complain anytime the devs introduce mechanics to limit expansion and conquest (admittedly, these mechanics usually just make expansion more tedious rather than more difficult or strategic). I'm not trying to attack anyone here: I've just genuinely never understood this dichotomy.
Last edited:
- 5
- 2
Pick an interesting location. A start is about other countries so if you pick New Zealand you won't be seeing anything for quite some time as an OPM.
- 1
Great post.
You and peleliu,
I can see the challenge of surviving as some entertaing goal. It should be an achievement. You exhibit way more patience than me and probably pay more attention to the external diplomacy, finding enjoyment.
Concerning snowballing, yes. But it's when everything you want to accomplish is done - then it's boring as you suggest.
This is a game of statistical achievement (IMO), in many areas. Seeing yourself rise in ranks where you put personal effort into is the true enjoyment of this game IMO. Most of it is displayed in the ledger, and there is nothing more satisfying to see yourself improve. I view the ledger as indispensable entertainment, and I wish this game had more competing stats. So this is why I like to blob; I want to achieve every ledger stat. With a OPM, you can't.
Last edited: