Video games, PC games, tv series

I have no idea. I'll wait till it's on Croatian TV anyways
I almost stopped watching when Lady Sybil died haha.
And I hope they finish the show gracefully, and don't make too many seasons.

 

Also, r0llinstoned, do you maybe like documentaries?

 

I love documentaries

 

Everything germans make is in german. Even things foreigners made in their language gets german voices first before it is broadcasted or released in cinemas

 

If you're looking for a game that can really draw you in and have an interest in history/alternate history, and grand strategy simulation, check out the Europa Universalis series. Been into it myself for a few years now, and I still love it. They released the IV iteration last year, and essentially the year can start as early as about 1444 (when King Wladylsaw III of Poland died) and ends in 1821 (the year Napoleon died). The idea is you can choose any nation, tribe, or horde that existed in the time you start the game and from there you will go through many actual historical events, some fictional, and essentially rewrite history.

Some pics of a game I played recently:

Started as Muscovy:



Conquered, colonized, and formed Russia later:



Landscape Pic:



Some Russian armies:

 

That looks intriguing! Is it turn based? Otherwise I suck at strategy.

 

The game goes through time by day, month, and year, and as you play you can constantly manipulate the speed in which time passes (and, thankfully, pause it and still issue commands to your armies, provinces, select national and provincial decisions, etc). It's pretty in depth, but since you have full control over what paths you want to take and thanks to the speed system you can mitigate feeling overwhelmed.

There are many other factors such as trade and diplomacy; so if you start a game in 1444 and select Holland, you may not be in a position to undertake many military campaigns right away, but you may be able to ally yourself with a strong power like France and begin to create a trade empire, and with that open the door to many other options (and if your successful, ultimately form the Netherlands, and maybe become the Holy Roman Emperor )

 

Here's an example of starting with a smaller nation, biding your time and kicking ass later:

The Papal State, which starts with only two provinces I think in 1444, this is towards the end of a game I played as them in 1794



You can see the crazy borders that have formed over the centuries; at this point in a game, not much is going to look like it's supposed to

 

But it all starts with the correct historic borders in 1444? That would be slightly important to me I'm afraid

What did you let happen to Poland there!? It totally got out of hand

Are their still arabs in Spain in the start of the game? Can you play as them? :biggrin:

It definately sounds like the thing OP asked for if he digs it. I think I might just spend too much time on it if it all works a bit satisfying...

 

Looks similar to the Total War series, at least the "chess/strategy" aspect of game play.
Does it offer any other views/modes or is it always the "game board" view?

 

Absolutely; even the leaders of nations will be historically accurate from the day/year you start the game, whether you choose to start in 1444 or 1627, etc.

LOL. Yeah, it wasn't a particularly good game for Poland. I let them wither because I was engaged in years of almost constant warfare with France and Switzerland. Almost got my ass handed to me on a couple of occasions.

Yes to both. You could play as the Sultanate of Granada (Sunni)... but by this time the Reconquista was well under way so you'd be fighting an uphill battle and you're only starting with three provinces. Castille is likely to declare war on you shortly after starting, so it's probably best to be an experienced player before playing as Granada.

Hahaha yeah... the game has a way of destroying your social life if you let it.

 

That is the biggest reason I skip it I think...

Sounds awesome nevertheless! :2thumbsup: Hey and as you play as the sultanate of Granada couldn't you maybe expand by conquer north africa? Just wondering :biggrin:

 

Hey rolling, if you want a good comedy to watch, The Big Lebowski is a pretty good movie.
Ever hear of it?

 

I agree it is comparable to the Total War series. The main thing is if you want to take a role in managing battles up close in personal, which Total War excels at, or a larger world conquest/grand strategy approach like EU. In EU you raise and move your armies around, but you're not going to be able to personally manage regiments except to move them to retreat. So the biggest difference is the grander scale of trade, diplomacy, national direction and decisions in the Europa series. Total war has much of this, but it doesn't have the same depth, although the ability to actually manage battles can be a humongous plus if that's what you're going for. (I figure you already know plenty about Total War, but I thought I'd compare and contrast the differences for those who don't)

To answer your other questions... basically most of the game is played on the map mode. Now you can see in the pictures I posted that there are different views of the map mode itself i.e. Landscape mode, Political territory, religious, etc. There are also quite a few windows that are used constantly to get information as to what's going on, as well as making provincial and national decisions and what not.

In terms of game modes, it really is essentially the one mode (minus choosing AI difficulty and some other things, but they really aren't different modes). I think this works for the game because there are no victory conditions; the game will simply end when it reaches 1821. There is such a wealth of different things to accomplish for many of the different nations it hasn't gotten boring for me considering the lack of different modes. I hope that answers your question.

Absolutely. If one were to play it right, Granada could end up conquering north Africa, the Iberian peninsula, and even colonize the new world. (And all the while converting the conquered provinces to Sunni Islam) Crayzay.

 

It is praiseworthy and beneficial to the depth of the game that the option is included :cheers2:

 

That game looks pretty good fuddy. I wonder if I can get it at target

 

Nah dude never heard of it. I'll have to check it out sometime

 

Maybe... best bet would be to download it on Steam.

I should tell you it has a rather steep learning curve.

 

Cobra 11

 

i play with trains on the computer, and make pictures. tv is almost entirely crap that doesn't interest me, and thus not worth the price of buying one to watch it on. video games seem to be mostly about pretending to beat people over the head to rob them, which doesn't particularly interest me either.

if i want to just watch something, i'll go to youtube or vimeo and watch cab rides on trains in asia, europe, and odder little places, or computer generated animations that people have made just for fun. (or look like they were, or were partially, or as tutorials on how to make them)