Crusader Kings 2

[Sultan Suleiman]

Crusader Kings II: The Kotaku Review
(http://kotaku.com/5886773/crusader-kings-ii-the-kotaku-review?tag=crusader-kings-ii)


I was playing as the King of England. I ruled for over thirty years, sometimes a tyrant, other times a hero. When I died, I could keep playing, because I was now controlling his son. Who, it turns out, not only had a lisp, but was gay, whose arranged wife hated him and wanted him dead, whose brothers instantly declared war and whose holdings were soon being picked over by Frenchmen.

That would be fairly entertaining if it was a scripted occurrence. Or the result of dramatic writing. What makes Crusader Kings II so amazing is that it's not.
For years now, Paradox has been toiling away on its grand strategy games, releasing a number of series that, while differing slightly in focus and in historical setting, are all generally about the same thing: taking total control of a people or nation. From continental invasions to building a market in some backwood village, you control everything that goes on in your lands.

http://altplusenter.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/crusader-kings-ii-01.jpg

Crusader Kings II is no different in this regard. Anyone who's played a Paradox game of this ilk before will be right at home with things like its interface, battles and movement. What may not be familiar is the way the game has you managing not just places, but people as well.


WHAT I LIKED


Getting There. There's never been any question there are some incredibly detailed and flexible mechanics running Paradox's grand strategy games. The problem has always been in the terrible way those mechanics are presented to the player. While CKII is still far from perfect in this regard, most of the really important stuff can actually be accessed and understood using the game's own tutorials, a first for these kind of games (normally you need community-driven FAQs to help you get your head around things).

People Power. Despite the fact I had a Kingdom to rule, I found myself spending most of my time worrying about the King's court instead. Through its emphasis on dealing with individual inhabitants of the game, CKII lets you conduct diplomacy, arrange marriages, educate kids, plot assassinations, bully vassals, piss off the Pope, claim other people's land and hook your 2 year-old son up with the 51 year-old Queen Mother of Norway. You can even award someone the title "Keeper of the Swans". It can be exhausting, but it also gives the game a very personal feeling. Sure, you're spending time looking down on Europe like a God, but you spend more time knee-deep in real, human politics, a rarity for a video game.

Randomly Generated. You can start the game from pre-defined moments in history between the 11th and 15 centuries, and when you do, the people and places of Europe are locked in. Everything that happens after that first click, though, changes every time you play. A son who loved you dearly and supported you as Chancellor in one game could literally stab you in the back in another, meaning even repeating the same game as the same ruler in the same place twice never gives you the same game. It's a blast seeing the politics of a Kingdom unfurl anew every time I start a new game.

Grand Scope. This emphasis on personal relationships bleeds over into the larger strategy of the game, and enriches the whole experience like few other games of this type can manage. You become invested in the relationships you're forging, and because they're often extensions of diplomacy, you become inordinately passionate about their outcomes. I mean, on one hand, all you're doing is sliding numbers around and adjusting values, but good god, when those numbers are represented as catty Spanish princesses trying to kill my wife while I'm off subduing Belgians, it just sucks you right in.


WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE



What? As I said above, the game's UI is... better than usual, sure, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. Paradox really needs to get some help in the field of "put buttons and commands people need to play the game where people actually need them".

Huh? Paradox also needs help in the field of "OK, so our systems are complex, so let's make our tutorials thorough and easy to understand". Because they're not, which is a shame, because that's going to put off a lot of people who, with the right hand-holding, could really get into this game.

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THE FINAL WORD



I can finally, after years of only talking about these games with people who play military strategy board games in their spare time, recommend a Paradox grand strategy game to more "casual" (warning: relative term!) gamers. Crusader Kings II still has serious issues with accessibility, but once these are overcome - and they are worth overcoming - you'll find one of the most challenging, entertaining and rewarding strategy games you've ever played.


I decided to make a CK2 thread after all the inquaries I've had gotten over few screen shots I've posted here (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1208206&postcount=11415)

[Illancha]

I was thinking about getting it in the Steam sale. Do you recommend it?
Personally I prefer the Total War games. I've played every single one.

Note: just like most gaming websites Kotaku is terrible in my opinion.

[Sultan Suleiman]

There is an Awesome Game of Thrones Video Game. You Can Play it Right Now.
(http://kotaku.com/5913709/there-is-an-awesome-game-of-thrones-video-game-you-can-play-it-right-now?tag=crusader-kings-ii)



http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17nzm4ij28trljpg/original.jpg



Over the weekend, the first playable release of Crusader Kings II: A Game of Thrones was made available for public download. And it is already pretty much the perfect Game of Thrones video game.


I mentioned in my review of Crusader Kings II earlier in the year that the systems put in place by developers Paradox seemed ideally suited to George R R Martin's fantasy universe. While there are larger things going on like Kingdoms falling and wars being fought, CKII places just as much importance on the more personal side of feudal rule: marriage, politics, alliances and back-stabbing. Which just so happens to b the same blending of the big and small picture that that makes GoT that much more appealing to a wider audience than your standard fantasy tale.


It was only last week, then, that in lieu of a decent official Game of Thrones title I was recommending people keep an eye out for a Game of Thrones mod for Crusader Kings II instead. Turns out you didn't have to wait long, because it's not only been suddenly released, but it's already surprisingly playable and, more impressive, comprehensive.


Beginning during Robert's Rebellion against the mad King Aerys, CKII:GoT lets you play as any title-holder in Westeros. And I do mean any. The mod team has certainly done their research, as going beyond the big names like Aerys, Robert and Ned Stark are hundreds of lesser lords and officials, some featuring as characters in the books/TV show, others only mentioned briefly or in passing.



http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17nzlwuarnk3ijpg/original.jpg


What does this mean? Everything I said about the main game in my review applies here, only everything I loved about CKII is now magnified, because I'm not playing as some random English Duke, I can play as Ned Stark. Walder Frey is there, and he has 100 kids, and they can all be married off to unsuspecting husbands/wives/victims. Even The Wall and the Night's Watch are there, though without Wildlings in this beta release, they're not doing much.


Honestly, it's worth a download just to use it as an interactive Game of Thrones encyclopaedia, clicking through the family trees and lineages and histories not only learning about the world, but admiring the amount of work that's gone into this mod.

In terms of what it adds or changes to the vanilla CKII, there's nothing too different. There's a new war system in place to better handle the nature of the conflict (since it's one giant civil conflict), a new assassination system and the incorporation of knights into the character system. Aside from that, and some welcome (and extensive) re-skinning of CKII's graphics, things play mostly the same as they do in the standard game. Some added, extra events - winter is coming, prisoners demanding trial by combat - are a nice touch.

I haven't run into too many issues so far, but I've only been playing as the Starks, and I've only been playing over the weekend. I'm sure something will pop up sooner or later, this being the first beta release of a mod, but whatever. It works, and it's stable enough to enjoy. Know though that it does need some balancing, especially with regards to how strong King Aerys' forces are early on. Get past the early wars, though, and things seem to settle back down to a more normal pace.

If you're a strategy game veteran, you'll have no problems here. Those who are big GoT fans but who haven't played a game like Crusader Kings II, don't panic; it may look complex, but it's surprisingly easy to get a handle on, and you can have enjoyable games only knowing the very basics of its structure. Later playthroughs, where you can dig a little deeper, will only get better.

You can download the mod at the link below. Note that, being a mod, you'll need a copy of Crusader Kings II first.

[Sultan Suleiman]

Play a Game as a Medieval Islamic Ruler. For Once.
(http://kotaku.com/5914463/play-a-game-as-a-medieval-islamic-ruler-for-once?tag=crusader-kings-ii)



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Given the fact most big games are made by Westerners for Westerners, we don't often get the chance to assume the role of a serious, proper Islamic (or even Middle Eastern!) character. And no, Ubisoft, a fairy-tale, clichéd ideal of a Persian Prince doesn't count.

So it's awesome seeing Paradox give Crusader Kings II players the chance to do just that with an upcoming expansion for the game called Sword of Islam.

The Islamic factions, once walled off as unplayable in the game (and more often than not the enemy, given the time period involved), are now there to be played, with Paradox going the full authenticity route by changing how the game's titles, marriages and laws work to better accomodate the differences between Christian and Muslim realms.

The map has also been expanded to include more of the Middle East and Eurasia as well.

[Sultan Suleiman]

Crusader Kings II’s New Roman Expansion Pack Wasn’t Built In A Day (http://kotaku.com/5938601/crusader-kings-iis-new-roman-expansion-pack-wasnt-built-in-a-day?tag=crusader-kings-ii)




http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17xdxycss1fuqjpg/original.jpg


No, it was built over a much longer period of time than that. But hopefully Legacy of Rome will be worth the wait—some of the DLC for the excellent strategy game has been disappointing, and some has been quite good. And let's not forget that you can also mod CKII into the best Game of Thrones video game on the market.

The folks at Paradox seem to have cottoned to the similarties between their game and the world of George R.R. Martin, seeing as how they describe the expansion thusly:


The second expansion for the critically praised strategy/RPG Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome will focus on the Byzantine Empire - the Greek continuation of the Roman Empire - as well as on the Orthodox Church. Crusader Kings II explores one of the defining periods in world history in an experience crafted by Paradox Development Studio, the masters of Grand Strategy. Medieval Europe is brought to life in this epic game of knights, schemes, and thrones.

Oh, I see what you did there, Paradox. WELL PLAYED.

Here's what will be added in the expansion, which is slated for a release in "Q4 2012."


Explore the intricate Faction System: Join a faction to put pressure on your liege, and keep track of factions in your own realm

Raise standing armies: You will now be able to use retinues to have standing
armies in your domain; the size is determined by technology,

Experience Factional Revolts: No more easily defeated rebellions. Disgruntled vassals will now band together in revolt against your rule through their faction

Appoint Orthodox patriarchs: Orthodox kingdoms and empires can now control their own heads of religion and their powers, instead of being dependent on the patriarch of Constantinople

Streamlined mobilization: You will always raise a single, larger levy from your direct vassals; no need to worry about the opinions of the lower vassals

Leader Focus on Combat: Appoint your generals wisely, their traits& skills are now of vital importance on the field of battle. More commander traits are now added to increase the importance of your choice of military leaders

Explore Byzantine Events &Decisions: Legacy of Rome includes many specific events & decisions to make the Byzantine Empire come alive

Improve your ruler: You can now actively strive to improve your skills or traits through the new Self Improvement Ambitions


But will there be bathhouses and pornographic graffiti? Time will tell. Here, dig some more images:

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17xdxycstyo2cjpg/original.jpg#.UOhO0-T7L6c

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17xdxycswcyt1jpg/original.jpg

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17xdxyipzgj0kjpg/original.jpg

[Sultan Suleiman]

Crusader Kings II: Sunset Invasion impressions
(http://www.destructoid.com/crusader-kings-ii-sunset-invasion-impressions-237772.phtml)


http://www.destructoid.com//ul/237772-sunsetheader.jpg


In the world of medieval strategy games, there isn't a more terrifying foe than the Mongolian Horde. Riding out of the east, it chews up everything in its path, devastating entire nations. The horror of this wave of pillagers, raiders, rapists, and conquerors doesn't really have a counterpart in Western Europe -- indeed it ends up benefiting them, as any foe in the east rapidly has to focus his resources on dealing with Genghis and chums.

On a freezing cold afternoon in Stockholm, I saw the rest of Europe get its comeuppance in the form of an Aztec invasion. The latest piece of DLC for Crusader Kings II, "Sunset Invasion," subverts history and has the Aztecs pay a visit to the old world before we can reach them and steal all of their gold. It's the first time the Paradox Development Studio have tackled something not based on real history, and it's a wee bit crazy.


http://www.destructoid.com/ul/237772-crusader-kings-ii-sunset-invasion-impressions/sunsetheart-620x.jpg

The Sunset Invasion is a random event that happens late in the game. Aztec explorers arrive on the shores of Western Europe; their apparent goal is innocuous -- they just want to shift lots of beads. Much like hippy street vendors trying to offload crappy bead necklaces, these Aztecs are not to be trusted. Not long after they arrive, an invasion fleet appears, and all hell breaks lose.

What they lack in technology, they more than make up for in sheer numbers. It's like the whole population of South America decided to take a bloody holiday to Europe. In the game I witnessed, they landed in Spain, and quickly started harassing Castille, Aragon, and Portugal, much to the dismay of those nations.

In almost no time at all, this war machine had swallowed up most of northwest Spain, and the native powers were doing naught but throwing troops away in a pathetic attempt to slow down their progress. Normally, when one sees an unpleasant neighbor getting schooled by an enemy, it's best to leave them to it or maybe pick apart the carcass. With the Aztecs, however, it's a considerably more international concern. Teaming up against them seems like the smart way to approach the horde from across the ocean.


http://www.destructoid.com/ul/237772-crusader-kings-ii-sunset-invasion-impressions/sunset2-620x.jpg

New unit models and detailed character portraits have been added, giving flavor to these exotic invaders. Leaders wear multi-colored feathered head dresses, warriors dress up in garish and intimidating costumes, and their weapons are a far cry away from the swords and spears of the European armies.

While they are not playable due to being awful pagans, they still have quite a bit of an impact, much as the Mongols already do. With them, they bring a new disease that ravages their enemies and spreads throughout the lands they attack, and the dynasties of Europe now have to worry about their hearts being ripped out and made as a sacrifice to the Aztec's distant gods.


http://www.destructoid.com/ul/237772-crusader-kings-ii-sunset-invasion-impressions/sunset1-620x.jpg

Once they settle their new, oppressed provinces, the Aztecs can start to create cavalry and make other advances, increasing their power and the risk of other nations being attacked the longer they linger. Paradox has been working on an oft-requested feature where conquerors can rename captured lands with culturally appropriate alternatives, so Europe may eventually play host to some suitably exotically named provinces that few would be able to pronounce.

The quirky nature of Crusader Kings II's character creator means that some very unusual Aztec leaders crop up organically. One such leader was the result of an Aztec and Mongolian coupling, and he strutted around with his oh-so fabulous feathered garments, while sporting a very fetching handlebar mustache. That's a leader I can admire.


http://www.destructoid.com/ul/237772-crusader-kings-ii-sunset-invasion-impressions/sunset3-620x.jpg

There's no doubt that it is more of a novelty than serious DLC. It doesn't add much to the core game beyond the typical fixes and tweaks that get added with each expansion, regardless of whether or not one purchases it. Yet with the huge scale of the invasion, there's certainly going to be hours of wars with the blood-drunk would-be conquerors. For those who want their historical strategy absent any fantasy, it can be turned off on the launch menu just like a mod.

"Sunset Invasion" will be available for download from November 15 for $4.99. I'll be kicking some Mesoamerican arse with my reconstructed Roman Empire the moment it goes live, I can assure you.

[Sultan Suleiman]

I was thinking about getting it in the Steam sale. Do you recommend it?

Absolutely :)

I bought all their DLCs on their release dates, but got the game on a sale for 10$ :thumb001:


Note: just like most gaming websites Kotaku is terrible in my opinion.

Yeah, Kotaku isn't much to be admired, but it does it job with informing the people about some quality products.

[Illancha]

Absolutely :)

I bought all their DLCs on their release dates, but got the game on a sale for 10$ :thumb001:
Cheers, I'll pick it up next time it goes on sale.

[Sultan Suleiman]

I will post few mods which are the only reason I play this game :D

[Sultan Suleiman]

http://i.imgur.com/x10ho.jpg


LUX INVICTA! THE LIGHT FEARS NO DARKNESS!


Rebuild the Empire of Megas Alexandros! Restore Roman Glory! Banish the Dark Ages!





http://images.popmatters.com/reviews_art/g/gods_kings1.jpg


Mod concept:


Lux Invicta is an alternate history and gameplay mod. It's called Invincible Light because the original focus of my modding was centered on allowing me to play the two hostile "Realms of Light" - the Imperium Romanum worshiping Sol Invictus, and the Ahura Mazda worshiping Sassanid Eranshahr. You will also notice that the Light of Classical Antiquity has not been extinguished. Can you banish the Dark Ages?

A temporary quick description of the alternate timeline (for a detailed timeline scroll down to TIMELINE section):
1)the worship of Sol Invictus became the official religion of the Roman Empire and remained so in the East - where Imperial authority remained strong initially. Christianity did not gain a lasting foothold in most Roman controlled Eastern Mediteranean. The Eastern Empire became very anti-Christian.
2)Christianity did thrive in the West and was adopted by a variety of invading peoples. Arianism is alive and well. Crusading happened earlier than in our reality, with several holy war initiatives aimed at the Eastern Mediteranean area. Several crusader states exist, from island realms to Jerusalem itself.
3)Muslim expansion was not as succesfull as in real life - the Sassanids managed to stop them and survive. They were stopped in Northern Syria by the Romans, but managed to conquer most of North Africa - a notable exception being the Vandal Kingdom of Carthage. They did manage to establish themselves in Sourthern Spain but did not manage to thoroughly defeat the Visigoths - they are alive and well.
4)General fragmentation /successor state syndrome - (partly because I dislike starting big, partly because I like to have many interesting playable options available) The Roman Empire (Eastern) is in tatters following rebellions/various cryses - and so is pretty much every other former power. You get to try to rebuild the bigger states, plus experience some very interesting (imho) smaller powers such as the Kingdom of Palmyra (a former long term vassal of the ERE) or the Exarchate of Ravenna.
5)Alexander and company were more succesfull than in our reality. Hellenism was much more stubborn in its grip. The Diadokhoi managed to hold on to some areas and the world was changed forever.

As a general rule I concocted a logical timeline that lent itself towards the survival/appearence of interesting states and general fragmentation, with the potential for grand imperial adventures.

This mod is being developed for my own pleasure(as such many things both alternate-history and gameplay changes are done to suit my tastes), but if people are interested and offer good suggestions I am more than willing to alter things and expand some aspects etc.

Any suggestions, requests, interesting ideas, feedback, etc, is greatly appreciated!

EDIT FOR FURTHER CLARIFICATION:
This is an alternate universe, with an alternate history. There is no "point of digression" per se. There are MANY differences going back into antiquity... such as Indohellenic survival, or a vassal state of Siracusa under the Roman Empire. When I started thinking about this timeline many years ago(and trust me I've given a lot of stuff a lot of thought over a period of years so some things are set in stone sort of -I had plenty of time over my university days where I studied history to come up with alternate history and research a lot of stuff) the alternate history started sometime before the very dawn of what we consider the historical period today.

My timeline has rhyme and reason, and research behind it -BUT- I am willing to make and I've already made some minor changes for pure fun and gameplay reasons (this so called 1066 scenario is a major compromise to gameplay), BUT those changes have to make sense and I have to be able to come up with a logical history behind how that stuff came to be given the general situation.

NOTE: I have caved in to my love for the Diadokhoi and gone a bit heavier on the Hellenistic side than I should have had, but hey it's fun and I've rethought some aspects of the timeline and setup for it.


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AN INCOMPLETE SHORT LIST OF FEATURES:




- Roleplay your character! Hundreds of new events!
- Many new traits! Blood Traits with dynastic histories attached!
- Around 2700 new buildings(number fluctuates depending on udpates) including regional troops, legendary military traditions, a bureaucratic system etc.
- Stats and traits matter! For instance Learning is supremely important to tech research, Martial affects your overall military power in many ways, such as levy numbers, Stewardship greatly affects your income etc!
- New modifiers of various sorts!
- The world is deadly! Death chance from all sources from battle to disease is increased!
- Revamped casus belli system! Wars cost resources! Holly wars require traits and resources to wage! New Total War and Expansion Casus Belli etc!
- Councillor skills and opinion of their masters matter a lot now! A skilled loyal councillor is much preferable to a disloyal incompetent! Make sure you have the right man(or woman) for the job!
- Revamped setup with MANY new states (from Gothia to Baktria), cultures (from Gallo-Romans to Serindians), dynasties (from Argeadai to the Artorii), religions (from Sol Invictus to Zalmoxianism), and characters added.
- A new expanded religious system!
- MANY mercenaries and holy orders added including MANY State Troops.
- New laws! Military, economic and control policies! Raising crown authority and centralizing your state is difficult! It requires traits and resources!
- New ambitions, plots and decisions!
- Many specific/culture related creatable Empires! From the Hellenic Hegemony to Arche Seleukeia!
- A genetic inheritance system courtesy of wiz -for the Kwisatz Haderach breeders.
- A new cultural administration system diferentiated by culture for kings and emperors.
- anti blobbing measures with various bad things happening to Kings and Emperors with bad stats or large demesne.
- non-Basques can use Absolute Cognatic.(as requested)
- A vassals join in rebellion vs liege system inspired by wiz's CK2+. (as requested)
- New graphics. Improved character looks, including individualized DNA given to all independent historical characters.
- Hundreds of new dynasties - the new dynasties of historical characters all have their own CoAs.
- A gigantic amount of localisation.
- Countless tweaks under the hood changing pretty much everything.


On Buildings System:





The new buildings system is slowly being implemented and tweaked. The basic concept behind it is that each holding represents a region that happens to have an initial military/economic/or religious center. Each region is going to be able to build "regional" buildings while retaining a degree of specialization.

In order to build things you need to first increase your "control" over the region, then build up your administration. All of the many building lines, are tied together in logical fashion and allow for continous development of your provinces. Overall counting all implemented buildings for the 3 holding types there were at one point over 2700 buildings implemented -that number might be different /cut or expanded in the current build.

The new building system promotes differentiated cultural armies in various ways, from specific traditions and regional troops to a new liege and province system to a levy->professional->cultural elite corps military tied to liege culture. A select few legendary military traditions exist in some provinces, representing the very pinnacle of elite troops. Various religions also have their own versions of warrior cults.

Building up a professional military is a costly enterprise so you'd better make sure you have the economy to back it up.


New creatable titles:



Arche Seleukeia requires you to be Hellen/Rhomaion and directly control Antiocheia and Baghdad county.
Ptolemaïkè Basileía requires you to be Hellen/Rhomaion and directly control Alexandria, Cyrenaica and Limisol
Arche Makedonia requires you to be Hellen/Rhomaion/Indohellen and directly control Thessalonika, Antiocheia, Alexandria, Baghdad and Bactria.
Celtic Ímpire requires you to be Irish/Brython/Scottish/Welsh/Breton/Norsegael/Galatian/Pictish/Sarmato-Brython/Romano-Brython, be king of Alba and Hibernia and directly control Nantes, Dumnonia and Gwynned.
Carthaginian Empire requires you to be Vandal, be King of Carthage and Siracusa, duke of Sardinia, Granada and directly control Carthago Nova.
Palmyrene Empire requies you to be Rhomaion/Hellen/Nabatean, be king of Palmyra and directly hold Jerusalem/Alexandria/Ankyra.
Austrgothia requires you to be Teutonic/German, be king of Taurica and duke of Moldova and Wallachia.
Amazigh Empire requires you to be Berber, be king of Mauretania, duke of Tripolitania and hold Constantine directly.
Rashidun Empire requires you to be Arabic(culture group) and be king of Arabia, Egypt, Saba and hold Baghdad, Kairwan, Mecca and Medina directly.
Empire of the Hellenes requires you to be Hellen/Rhomaion/Indohellen and hold Athens, Sparta, Smyrna, Sinope and Limisol directly.
Hunnic Empire requires you to be Hunnic, be King of the Huns and hold Sarkel, Esztergom, Praha, Wurtemberg and Chalons directly.
Mamlekhet Yisra'el requires you to be Jewish, be King of Judea and hold Jerusalem, Baghdad, Alexandria, and Antiocheia directly.
Velkomoravská Ríše requires you to be West Slavic(culture group), King of Bohemia, and hold Plauen, Varadzin, Nitra and Galich directly.


On Bloodline Biographies and History




I am implementing specific Bloodline Traits that provide a short biography and history of a dynasty and are meant to give you an overall feel of that particular dynasty/state. If you see a trait icon with a man on a golden/orange background hover your mouse over it to read the history in the trait tooltip. You can see an example here:

http://i.imgur.com/oT3hy.jpg


Gameplay Overhaul:




Gameplay in Lux Invicta is quite different from CK2 vanilla and will become ever more so in the future. Pretty much everything is changed or being changed under the hood of the game. Every update brings about new tweaks and changes. Because of the countless ongoing changes being made I will not be posting a detailed list until I reach 1.0 because otherwise I would spend more time writing changelogs than developing the mod. What you need to know is everything is being changed, yet if you pick up the mod you can still adapt very fast and have fun playing it!



Events Overhaul:




I believe that roleplaying your ruler is a very important aspect of fun gameplay. As such I will continue to add events to the game that allow you to roleplay your character. I have made (at the time of writing this) over 220 events that further this goal. They range from the infamous lunacy / possessed events (thank you Dune for inspiration) to historical flavor events, to various events that allow you to gain the new traits, to assassination events that can see your ruler killed off! Fortune favors the brave, and there is no greatness without risk!



Religious Overhaul and SELIN announcement! READ THIS:




Announcing....:

SELIN
Spirituality Enhanced for Lux Invicta by Numahr


Goal
SELIN aims to bring strategic depth and reinforced immersion to Lux Invicta's religions


Instructions
- the newest releases of SELIN get integrated in Lux Invicta 0.6x released by richvh and Darkgamma for CK 1.8 (see original post), so if you use this version, you do not need to download and manually install anything.
- otherwise, download the file at the bottom of this post for a version compatible with Lux Invicta 0.6a as released by Shaytana for CK 1.6b, and unzip it in your Lux Invicta folder, making sure to replace files when prompted. Note that this version is not supported anymore. Practically it is functional but does not include the latest features.


Why?
Lux Invicta includes no less than 152 religions. This mad religious set up has something epic in that it mixes well documented historical developments with crazy creativity in an unique blend.

Clearly the presence of so many spiritual constructs shows a world deeply infused by religion. However, with the present system, it makes no big difference to belong to one or another of these diverse religions. This was my immediate frustration when I played the mod, as I wanted to "feel" the game differently depending on the faith of my character and of my empire.

So I started thinking, asked Shaytana permission, and set up to work...


New spiritual challenges!

In the Levant...

- As Prince of Sabaa, give back to the Old Gods Almaqah and Ash-Shams their due; the Empire of Arabia!

- You worship the Kaaba in Mecca... as it is the siege of your God's presence on Earth, Hubal. Drive the heretical Mahometans far away from your holy place!

- True Islam has been distorted by the foul practices of the Sunni Caliph... Preserve Mahomet's authentic message, battle the Caliph over it and restore Islam to its original purity, as the leader of the Zahiri, Haruriyyah or Ash'ari sect! (all coming with different modifiers justified by the specificities of each madhhab)

- Lead the Hashashins in battle and in covert actions! Your heretical messianic Qarmatian sect, infused with strong Persian influences, gives you the best assassins of the Levant, impregnable forts, a good recruitment system and fanatical soldiers who will happily die for you on your order. Your faith also gives you a taste for learning and a remarkable piety. Your neighbors fear and hate you... What are you waiting to strike first?!

- As a Yahianist Leader, will you be able to unite all these quarreling religions through your messianic message? Your gnostic heretical messianic religion provides you with a steady supply of fanatical martyrs-to-be and an unrivaled piety...

- As ruler of the rationalist 'Ilm Islam, will you survive more militarist neighbors to become a beacon of enlightenment to the world, bringing forth a real "Renaissance" of the classical values when the prophet was discussing about the Love of Reason in passionate debates?

- As King of the last bastion of the Luwian religion, will you be able to keep alive and make prosper again the 2 millenia-old Hittite faith? Most call your religion archaic, but you only know what the true meaning of civilization is...

In the Orient...

- As a follower of Mazdak, will you be able to conduct your populist revolution and force true equality on this world? Petty or Grand rulers tend to hate you because of your revolutionary message, your provinces are self-ruled and you'd rather share the commoners' poverty, but your people is ready to die en masse for their precious liberty...

- As the leader of one of the Hindo-Hellen faiths, prove to the others that your own religious synthesis, created by your forefathers, is the superior one! All of them are close to each other, well suited for patient empire-building and cultural development, with slight differences in style depending on their Ascendants...

- As a Parthian worshiper of Angra Mainyu/Ahriman, you swore to release the Destructive Spirit on the lands of the meek worshipers of Ahura Mazda. Burn all the Zorostrian clergy and the wicked heirs of the doomed Sassan clan in one holy Fire of Vengeance and Salvation!

- As a follower of the true Zoroastrian religion... your faith is your ally in re-building the empire. The clergy can provide you the necessary legitimacy to your ambitions. Will Cyrus the Great and Shapur II the Great recognize you as the restorer of the Persian Empire?


How?

The basic mechanic I use is modifiers. There may be more coming in a distant future. But for now SELIN is a system where each religion is characterized with modifiers impacting those who follow it: characters and provinces.

There are 152 religions, each with a peculiar historical background, spiritual doctrine and intermixed influences. As "researching" in-depth all 152 religions to come up with tailored modifiers would have been just too much, I decided to go with a systemic approach. This is how the Matrix of Religions came to be.


The Matrix of Religions

This is a way to design unique modifiers for each and any religion present in Lux Invicta in a manageable and understandable manner. Basically each religion is defined by three mandatory characteristics + an optional one:
- It belongs to a Civilization;
- Its doctrine has a Status;
- It has a Soul.
- Optionally, it may have an Ascendant, which is basically another Civilization with only 50% influence.


Typology of Religions

Each characteristic is given modifiers. These may change and get tweaked over time. Anyway, below are the basics of my typology of religions.

Civilizations:

- Christian: Focus on strong rural fortified holdings and special privileges to the clergy.
Castles provide more income, churches less. Above average fortifications. +1 diplo / -1 fertility

- Islamic: Efficient tax systems, great cities but dynastic distrust.
City-focused government styles. Distrust within the same dynasty. Tax bonus. +1 martial / -1 diplo

- Persian: Strong dynastic feeling and good statesmen and administrators, capable of mustering large armies through a forced conscription system.
Good quantitative administration style results in more levy and better taxes but less land morale. Strong dynastic culture. +1 stewardship / -1 martial.

- Jewish: Sectarian tendencies and a strong focus on commercial matters.
Strong inter-community solidarity but despised by other religions. +2 STE / -1 DIPL / -1 MAR. Economic research bonus

- Greek-Roman: Strong interest in civic matters and well organized military.
Well drilled armies, heirs of centuries of martial traditions, with excellent system to bring reinforcements. Rely more on contributions of the citizens of great cities for the economy and war. Research bonus on culture. Heirs of a glorious classical civilization recognized by every one: monthly prestige bonus.

- Gnostic: sectarian tendencies, devoted warriors and an emphasis on temples.
A bit "sectarian": bonus influence on same religion vs malus on infidels, small morale bonus, slightly less tax and levy except in temples but monthly piety bonus and faster reinforcements rates. +1 LEA / -1 DIP

- Buddhist: pacifist stance except for monasteries' warrior monks, and a strong interest for art and culture.
Pacifist civilization, with a tradition of warrior monks (strong bonus of temple levy). Strong cultural research bonus for each Buddhist province. -2 MAR/ +1 LEA / +1 STE

- Steppe / Tengri: strong emphasis on military prowess, reliance on rural areas and low division of labor.
Gengis Khan. Less tax income but more levies from rural areas. Rulers rely more on castles (steppe) and less on cities (sedentarians). Fort level reduced. Strong bonus in military tech but malus in economic and cultural. Revolt risk. +3 MAR / -1 in STE, LEA and DIP.

- Norse: strong emphasis on martial prowess and a focus on small holdings.
Vikings. A bit like Tengri but less extreme.

- Celtic: key role of the clergy in administrating daily life, a focus on small holdings and individual martial prowess.
Feudal links weaker. Slight income malus. Morale bonus. Relies more on castles than on cities. -1 INT / +1 MAR

- Indian: weak feudal links, influential temples and a mysterious sensuality.
Weak feudal links. Larger armies with less morale. Strong bonus for temples. -2 DIP / +2 INT. Kama Sutra sensuality: sex appeal and fertility bonus

- Archaic: spiritual heir of the first religions born in the cradle of empires, Mesopotamia.
Old religions still alive in the fertile crescent and Mesopotamia. Opinion malus, tech malus except in culture, poor mobilization of castles, lower fertility. But good tax systems, strong fortifications, only civilization with build rate bonus and believers are good administrators.

- Barbarian: emphasis on rural areas, individual martial prowess and low division of labor.
Like celtic but a bit more extreme, no such importance of druids, research malus in culture and economy but bonus on military.


Doctrinal status:

- Mainstream doctrine: Its doctrine is mainstream: it is recognized as one of the main doctrinal systems in its most legitimate form.
Characters of mainstream religions gain prestige and are generally well considered. Temples enjoy tax privileges (tax malus for rulers).

- Local Variation: Local Variation of a mainstream religious current, favoring social harmony over doctrinal purity.
Church does not like it but vassals do. More pragmatical (stewardship) but cynical characters.

- Heretical doctrine: Its doctrine is Heretical, openly challenging the supremacy of a mainstream doctrine, either through the pen or the sword.
Politics and economics are more challenging but the believers have overall personal bonii. These religions rely more on communities around temples and castles where heresies tend to flourish, and less so on cityfolk. They improve defenses and fortifications. Levy growth bonus. Better military research.


Soul:
This is the most influential characteristic

- Statist: the faith is strongly infused with legitimation rethorics supporting political power, as the religion is instrumentalized by the Prince to strengthen its hold on society.
Religion instrumentalized by the ruler. Reduces RR but decreased opinion of vassals and church. Increased tax, especially of church. Armies better organized and reinforced quicker. Culture tech bonus but malus on economy. Prestige bonus. +1 STE / +1 DIP / -2 LEA

- Martial: heroic deeds on the battlefield are glorified as the finest sign of holiness.
Straightforward bonus on military balanced by malus in other areas

- Populist: strives to achieve equality in this world, supporting the commoners against the privileged classes and doctrinal formalism.
Strong political malus, average economic malus but large number of fanatical, if unorganized levies.

- Scholarly: encourages critical study or creative interpretation of holy scriptures, natural and social phenoma to reach the Truth. Key doctrinal questions are open to contradictory debates among the clergy and believers.
Significant martial malus and limited political malus for strong research bonus and limited administrative bonus.

- Messianic: believers see the state of the world as hopelessly flawed, but their divine-inspired deeds shall bring forth salvation in our time, against all odds!
Excellent morale and fast reinforce rate, strong piety bonus, focus on temples at the detriment of cities, focus on military techs at the detriment of others, strong fort bonus, tax malus

- Traditional: the faith follows the ancient traditions of the commoners and local notables, and it has slowly evolved, if at all, throughout the recent era of troubles and turmoils.
Vassals are happy and soldiers have a good morale, but low tax and research. Larger levies, but it takes time to replace losses.

- Clerical: the religion revolves around the many rules and rites set up by the clergy, which enjoys a privileged status in society and a large degree of autonomy from the Prince.
Mild modifiers. Slight income malus, especially on temples, but less revolt risk, good church relation and piety bonus.


Definition of Religions

This is the fun part! I defined the above-described characteristics for each and every religion. A few examples:
- Yahyanism: Gnostic heretical messianic religion
- Zoroastrianism: Persian mainstream clerical religion
- Hindo-Hellenic Buddhist: Greaco-Roman local statist religion with Buddhist ascendant

The Matrix then computes automatically the modifiers for each religion, based on the Typology. And all is left is to code it!


Legacy of Rome Orthodox mechanics imported and adapted

SELIN integrates the mechanics for the Orthodox religion introduced by the Legacy of Rome to the world of Lux Invicta, taking into account the specific background of the alternate history. The following religions benefit from mechanics developed for Orthodox religions in the Legacy or Rome DLC:

- 12 Christian religions: Adoptionist, Apollinarist, Arian, Audianist, Docetist, Melkite, Monophysite, Monothelitist, Orthodox, Pelagian, Sabellianist and Semipelagian;

- The 5 Neo-Platonic: Neoplatonic, Porphyryan, Platonic Pythagorean, Platonic Islam and Platonic Christian;

- The 5 Classical Graeco-Roman : Graeco-Roman, Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Alexandros-Ammon, Cybele, Imperial Cult;

- The 3 Mithraic religions: Mithraic, Mithraic-Christian, Eosphorist.

- The 9 Solar religions benefit from it: Apollo-Heliosean, Apollo-Boreasean, Solar-Christian, Al-Shams Islamic, Solar-Manichean, Ódinn-Sólar, Horsic and Ts'ähäy Mahremite. These religions, which are often syncretic ones mixed with "barbarian" cults, are now differentiated from more traditional neighboring religions, due to their strong affiliation to the "Imperial" Solar religion.

These religions can nominate an Autocephale Patriarch if rulers following them has a King tier title, and compete for complementary "Pentarchies", the four holiest sites of Lux Invicta's Greek-Roman world, together with the seat of their own respective patriarchates.

As per design decision of Shaytana, out of these religions, only a few (e.g. Arianism, Monophysitism and Neoplatonism) have a permanent, universal Head. All others will need to either create an Autocephale Patriarch by reaching the King tier, or by taking control of one of the four seats of complementary "pentarchies" to create a local Pentarch.

- The four "complementary" pentarchies shared between these religions are Rome, Jerusalem, Carthage and Alexandria.


Polygamous Slavic religions

All Slavic religions except for the Solar-influenced Svarogan are polygamous (3 wives): Dazhbogite, Perunic, Rodic, Rodnoveric, Svetovid and Velesic. The major boost provided by having potentially 3 times more children is balanced out by a strong limitation in succession laws:
- at game start, these religions are limited to Gavelkind;
- with one degree of centralization, they can switch to Open Agnatic ("Turkish");
- with two degrees of centralization, all other succession laws become available.
Therefore, these religions now offer a very specific challenge and game-play experience...


Current Status

- Religious modifiers coded for 152/ 152 religions (100%)
- Pentarchy and autocephalous system adapted
- Specific polygamy system for some Slavic religions implemented
- Broken features create imbalance: Tribal and Populist religions (Islamic to some extent as well) have an advantage and malii on vassal/liege and dynastic relations do not work as intended
- Tailored descriptions of religions based on Lux Invicta's timeline partially implemented

Next steps:
- Implement work around for broken malii on vassal/liege and dynastic relations
- Fully descriptive descriptions of the religions
- Decision/event system related to the religions' souls

Here is a snapshot at the future soul-based decision/event system:
http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/2903/selin20121110.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/600/selin20121110.png/)

Finally, longer term goals include:
- optional modules to adapt the pentarchy system to other religious groups
- fully descriptive descriptions of the religions
- adapt the "mending the schism" mechanic or finding a way to give a reward to a religion controlling the four complementary pentarchies
- deepen the military aspects with combat modifiers (ex.: making heretical light infantry more difficult to rout, they would rather die)

If you want to help, please let me know! See the section below.


Access to the Matrix and contributions

You can access the matrix here (https://www.dropbox.com/s/qkrh3iam9kudme7/LuxInvicta-ReligiousModifiers-2012-11-30.rar) (version 30/11/2012). That will let you see how modifiers work.


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Thanks

Thanks go to:
- ColonelWright for coding 48 religions and drafting tailored descriptions (Pontifex Maximus of SELIN)
- david3k for partially coding 19 religions (Priest of SELIN)
- Jedrek for drafting tailored descriptions (Novice Priest of SELIN)
- Sernista for coding 1 religion (Disciple of SELIN)
- ShadowGamer for coding 1 religion (Disciple of SELIN)
- conqueror for his research on religions definition (Disciple of SELIN)
- and of course Shaytana for creating this incredible mod and for the many discussions on the religions' background (the CREATOR)

[Sultan Suleiman]

Bumping for post

[Sultan Suleiman]

Another reservation.

[Blackout]

From what I have seen, this is pretty much a strategy game.

A game of 'Chess' has more 'confrontation' in it, it would seem... :laugh: