Europa Universalis - on sale ....

[Kaptin Keen]

So should I buy it?

The only thing I have to go on is that I quite like Stellaris, but from the one look I've had at it, they're fairly dissimilar.

Oh and ... I noticed there was a thread that hasn't seen any posts for 2 months. I don't know the precise delineation of necromancy, but I figured a thread as specific as this one might be ok.

To be precise: It's the Empire Founder pack I'm currently debating =)

[Sian]

It's probably the most complete of the Grand strategy games (well, either that or CK2, but I left that one a few years ago and haven't followed it), but a protential issue is that the list of 'needed' DLC is starting to be rather hefty in price (although the bundle you mention have most of it, I'd probably add Cossacks and maybe MoH if you're looking at playing in East Asia, or CoC if you're playing in the middle east). And it's certainly a better fit for me than Stellaris is, as the bare canvas of that somewhat leads be to always wanting to play something else.

Also there's somewhat of a blowback for the recently released 1.26 Patch, which many find goes the wrong way on a number of issues, and that you just missed a even better deal when the game had it's 5th birthday last month

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

It's a very good game, the best in it's (admittedly narrow) genre. If you're into a more simulationist-style historical play, I always recommend the MEIOU & Taxes mod in the main forum; it's a complex mod adding too many complex features to name, but very good. But if you want more game-focused play, vanilla is great for that.

For first-games, there are a few recommended first starts. England isn't bad so long as you give up in France in the early game. France itself is powerful but complicated. Ottomans are an exciting game, you're powerful and get a lot of conquering-done without huuuuge risk. Castile or Portugal are both good, with Portugal less involved in European politics (just keep Castile friendly), but both are good for exploring colonization mechanics. Muscovy I've heard is good too but I haven't tried them.

[ufo]

As Sian wrote, it needs some of the DLC to be 'design complete'. People often mention Common Sense and Art of War among those. With that said, it is an absolutely engrossing game but in my experience with Paradox games (Crusader Kings 2, Stellaris, Europa Universalis 3+4) it is the hardest to "get into". Crusader Kings is a glorious mess of shenanigans that you desperately try to wrest some control from, Stellaris is a hardcore strategy game which gives intimate control of minute details and Europa Universalis falls somewhere in the middle where you have a lot of control if you understand the incredibly intricate mechanics and how to interact with them indirectly.

So it's the kind of game where you will master a new part of the game each time you play until you're so sucked into it that you'll be researching strategies between games and spend hundreds of hours on campaigns just to play around with a new mechanic you discovered.

[keepLooking]

Have been a big fan of the series since Victoria 2 (yes, I consider Victoria, EU and CK as the one thing), but I think it would be a nicer move of them to put more DLC's on sale

[Kaptin Keen]

As these things are wont to go, I was slow enough to react that the offer was over by the time I finally decided that ... yea, I'll buy it (while it's on sale). So now I need to wait for the next time it's on sale.

[Sian]

If you don't mind not having the bundle to handhold you, there's still a sale going on, on Paradox's own store with 75% off on the main game and 50% off on most of the rest

[Kaptin Keen]

If you don't mind not having the bundle to handhold you, there's still a sale going on, on Paradox's own store with 75% off on the main game and 50% off on most of the rest

It doesn't look much like that's the case?! 40 moneys for all their games. Unless their normal price is 160 monies, which - even for Paradox - sounds like too ambitious =)

[Sian]

you were apparently again slow enough that you missed the sale...

Next likely option would probably be either a Black Friday sale, or Winter sales

[Kaptin Keen]

you were apparently again slow enough that you missed the sale...

Next likely option would probably be either a Black Friday sale, or Winter sales

Ha! How annoyingly typical.

It's age, I tell you. My fossilised brains and joints are simply too glacial to react in time =)