Crusader Kings II

Crusader Kings II
Studio	Paradox Development Studio
Publisher	Paradox Interactive
Senior Developer	Henrik Fåhraeus, Chris King
Erstveröffent- lichung	Windows February 14, 2012 Mac OS X May 24, 2012 Linux January 14, 2013
platform	Windows , macOS , Linux
Game engine	Clausewitz engine
genre	pausierbares real time - Global Strategy Game
Subject	middle Ages
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Mouse , keyboard
system advantages preconditions	RAM : 2 GB Storage requirement (HDD) : 2 GB
language	German , English , French , Spanish
Current version	3.2.1
Age rating	USK PEGI

Crusader Kings II (abbreviated CK2 ) is a real-time - Global strategy game for Windows , Linux and macOS from the year 2012 , which in the period of early , high and late Middle Ages is located. The game produced by Paradox Development Studio is based on the Clausewitz Engine, also developed by Paradox . The main game has been free-to-play since October 19, 2019 . At the same time, the successor to Crusader Kings III was announced for 2020.

Gameplay

The player takes control of a medieval ruling dynasty and can control domains from counties to empires as a liege lord .

Controlling a dynasty means that the player does not play a specific state or character, but only the leader of the chosen dynasty or his heir. Through wars, inheritance and marriages into other dynasties, new lands and titles can be acquired in order to promote the prestige of one's own dynasty. The game ends when a dynasty no longer has any heirs of its own bloodline or the dynasty no longer has any land titles at the death of the character being played . A central element of the game is therefore a targeted marriage policy to secure the succession for his heirs .

The aim of the game is to increase the prestige of your dynasty. This can be done through the acquisition of lands, victories in military conflicts, marrying into other powerful dynasties or through realized ambitions (previously defined intermediate goals in the game). For this purpose, the game uses a genetics and training system in which all characters, depending on parents and trainers and influenced by random events, develop physical characteristics, mental abilities and attributes such as culture and religion. These factors have a decisive influence on the relationships with other rulers and especially with vassals who rule areas for the player character. This fact adds an additional dimension to the game, in which the player tries to optimally train his successors as future rulers or vassals through marriage and mentors.

The player controls a number of lands directly administered by him (his own domain ) and additional vassals who, however, manage their lands independently and pass them on within their own dynasty. The vassals are obliged to provide troops for the player if necessary and to pay taxes to him. However, the player must make sure that the opinion of the vassals is high in order to avoid rebellions.

Compared to other Paradox titles such as Europa Universalis , Hearts of Iron or Victoria: Empire under the Sun, Crusader Kings II is greatly simplified in terms of the depth of regulation. While the aforementioned games allow the player to determine almost every aspect of governance himself, in Crusader Kings II campaigns, assemblies of armies and sieges, as well as the technical development, are largely automated, so that the player only specifies development directions. As a result, the focus is clearly on character formation, marriage politics and the control of claims to power .

The game offers five different levels of leadership, one of which (the baron rank) can only be effectively played by the player as a patrician family of a commercial republic.

These are (in ascending order):

• Barons (with the exception of patricians cannot be played as vassals of a commercial republic) rule over baronies (cities, castles, temples) as vassals of counts,
• Counts rule over counties and directly over baron vassals and are possibly vassals of dukes and kings, more rarely also emperors,
• Dukes rule over duchies and directly over count vassals of their empire and are possibly vassals of kings or emperors,
• Kings rule over kingdoms and the lower feudal lords of their empire and may be vassals of emperors (e.g. Bohemia),
• Emperors rule empires and their subordinate vassals, mostly dukes.

The player rules within the game only over the barons of his domain and the vassals of the next lower management level. He exercises diplomatic, economic and ideal rule over his territory, promotes the expansion of his lands and wages wars against other rulers.

Compared to other global strategy games, the acquisitions of land and power in Crusader Kings II are mostly the result of long-term planning through to preparation over several generations of heirs. For example, individual counties, but also entire kingdoms, can fall to the player as an inheritance or from him to other liege lords or, by dividing the inheritance, to other siblings. Furthermore, it is also not possible to attack other empires without a reason for war or with drafted troops. Either you need an inheritance claim (a claim from your own vassals is also possible) or another religion. Inheritance claims can also be faked less often through diplomatic measures.

control

The divided into provinces 3D - map is in a top view shown. Different views can be selected, e.g. B. Political, geographical and risk of rebellion. The perspective can be zoomed continuously. The game runs in real time at a selectable speed, but can be paused at any time to give commands during the break. It is controlled with a mouse and keyboard .

Versions and DLC

The game itself is available with the Steamclient. Without the Steamclient it could be found on Gamersgate. Extensions are not compatible between these two versions. The variant without a steam client has no support since patch 2.02. Gamersgate customers received Steamkeys for CK2 in their Gamersgate account.

Since the game was released, improvements have been made through patches. Paradox also offers various chargeable additional content as downloads. These range from enhancements to the game music and historically correct coat of arms packages to a "ruler designer", which allows the player to create the initial character of his dynasty himself and determine his appearance, coat of arms, skills and properties himself. There is also a "Customization Pack" that the player can use. a. allows you to rename real estate as well as subordinate children and dynasties. In addition, a DLC is offered that allows the player to convert saved games from Crusader Kings II into the Europa Universalis IV game .

Other additions that also expand the game content:

Surname	publication	Patch number	Changes
Sword of Islam (Original title: Sword of Islam )	June 26, 2012	1.06	Allows Muslim dynasties to play
The succession of Rome (Original title: Legacy of Rome )	October 16, 2012	1.07	Expansion with a focus on politics and dynasties in Byzantium. Extensions and a. with the intrigue system and the new possibility of owning “standing armies”.
Invasion from the afterglow (Original title: Sunset Invasion )	November 15, 2012	1.08	Adds an Aztec Invasion event.
The Republic (Original title: The Republic )	January 15, 2013	1.09	Trade republics like the Hanseatic League, Gotland, Venice, Genoa or Pisa become playable. The addition allows a game that allows a different perspective due to the playability of non-nobles.
The Old Gods (Original title: The Old Gods )	May 28, 2013	1.10	The game can be started as early as 867, with a focus on Vikings and their raids and non-Christian religions. In addition to pagan Scandinavian religions, Zoroastrianism as a playable religion and historical events of the additional approx. 200 years were added. As with the previous DLC packages, the basic game has also been revised, expanded and thus prepared for the additional package.
Sons of Abraham	18th November 2013	2.0	Focuses on the Abrahamic religions ( Christianity , Judaism and Islam ) and introduces some new orders of knighthood for these three religions. You can also send your ruler on a pilgrimage, occupy the college of cardinals to influence the election of the Pope, and restore the Kingdom of Israel as a Jewish ruler.
Rajas of India	March 25, 2014	2.1	Expands the map to include the Indian subcontinent and the religions there. These are only playable after purchasing the DLC.
Charlemagne	October 14, 2014	2.2	Introduces the year 769 as the earliest start date. The focus is on the time of the eponymous Charlemagne , which offers numerous new events.
Way of life	December 16, 2014	2.3	Introduces a character focus system.
Horse Lords	July 14, 2015	2.4	Expands the game to include nomads and the silk road. In addition, with the appearance of the DLC, the game map was expanded to include areas of the Central Asian steppe.
Conclave	February 2, 2016	2.5	Adds several elements of domestic policy (council laws, favors, ...).
The Reaper's Due	August 25, 2016	2.6	The extension highlights the historical importance of epidemics and diseases in the Middle Ages. The focus is on the Black Death, an outbreak of the bubonic plague that killed a third of Europe's population at the time.
Monks and Mystics	March 7, 2017	2.7	The player can now join religious orders, rise in ranks and thus experience new actions and actions.
Jade Dragon	16th November 2017	2.8	Allows the player to have diplomatic relations with the powerful emperor in far-away China.
Holy Fury	November 13, 2018	3.0	Adds new modes for creating the game world ( Random and Shattered ). Adds Warrior Lies and Legendary Bloodlines . Catholic rulers must be crowned.

Mods

For Crusader Kings II the developer provides the option for game modification. This ranges from changes during the game ( cheats ), through slight changes (such as historical corrections or additional graphics), to total conversion mods , in which the extensive changes lead to an almost independent game.

There are many other modifications that are listed by users in the official manufacturer forum or in the Steam workshop.

reception

reviews publication Rating 4players 80% GameStar 80% Meta-ratings Metacritic 82/100

The game was well received by critics overall, earning a score of 82 on Metacritic .

In the test, the specialist magazine GameStar praised the highly complex game mechanics and the few bugs compared to previous Paradox games . The game is particularly suitable for "professional strategists" who have a lot of time and patience. There were valuation deductions for the poor German localization of the game.

Also 4Players speaks of translation errors. The tester also mentions that the formation of the empire was refreshingly politically incorrect and praises the skilled computer opponents.

"If you want to immerse yourself in the Middle Ages, you will be strategically entertained here!"

- Bodo Naser : 4Players

Official statistics published on the third anniversary of its release show that the game has sold over 1.1 million times. In addition, more than 5.5 million cosmetic DLC packages and 2.5 million game extensions are said to have been sold.

Web links

• Official website of the developer
• Official website of the game
• German correction version for CK2 in the official forum

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Crusader Kings II . From: paradoxplaza.com , accessed July 12, 2012.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Ask Paradox- (almost-Anything Thread (Balor)) v. December 22, 2011 11:49 am . From: paradoxplaza.com (forum), accessed July 12, 2012.
3. ↑ Crusader Kings II :: 3.2.1 Patch Released! In: Steam . Valve , June 4, 2019, accessed June 21, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Elena Schulz: Crusader Kings 3 announced: First trailer, release period & information. In: GameStar . October 19, 2019, accessed October 20, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Official statement on the discontinuation of the Steamclient-free version on GamersGate .
6. ↑ Crusader-Kings-II-Ruler-Designer-DLC-Announced! . at: paradoxplaza.com (forum), accessed November 20, 2012.
7. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on January 17, 2016.
8. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on January 17, 2016.
9. ↑ Information - First Expansion . at: paradoxplaza.com (forum), accessed July 12, 2012.
10. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on February 27, 2013.
11. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam accessed on February 27, 2013.
12. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on February 27, 2013.
13. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam accessed May 30, 2013.
14. ↑ List of the extensive changes to the base game when The Old Gods was published (Paradoxforum) ( Memento of the original from June 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed on June 23, 2013. 
15. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on May 23, 2014.
16. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on May 23, 2014.
17. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on January 17, 2016.
18. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on January 17, 2016.
19. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on January 17, 2016.
20. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam , accessed on February 11, 2016.
21. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam
22. ↑ Crusader Kings II: Monks and Mystics on Steam. Retrieved March 15, 2017 . 
23. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam. Retrieved January 1, 2019 . 
24. ↑ Description of the DLC package on Steam. Retrieved January 1, 2019 . 
25. ↑ List of player modifications on: paradoxplaza.com (forum), accessed on May 30, 2013.
26. ↑ player modifications to: steamcommunity.com (Forum), accessed on February 11 2016th
27. ↑ ^{a b c} Bodo Naser: Test: Crusader Kings 2. In: 4Players . February 22, 2012, accessed September 15, 2019 . 
28. ↑ ^{a b} Patrick Lück: Crusader Kings 2 in the test - kingdom of professionals. In: GameStar . February 17, 2012, accessed September 15, 2019 . 
29. ↑ ^{a b} Crusader Kings II for PC Reviews. Based on 31 reviews. In: Metacritic . Retrieved September 15, 2019 . 
30. ↑ Article on gamestar.de , viewed on January 17, 2016.