Strategy and Wargaming

Lead Designer Outlines How Crusader Kings II Will Change

With the newest expansion for Paradox’s hit medieval history game only a week away, Crusader Kings II lead designer Henrik Fåhraeus has taken time out of his busy schedule to shoot a short video outlining some of the major changes that Horse Lords will bring.

From the peculiar succession rules of the nomadic tribes to the trade wealth that passes through the Silk Road, Fahrëus takes you on a tour of the coming attractions in what we think will be an expansion with exciting new ways to plot, marry and fight your way to power in the Middle Ages.

For more information on Crusader Kings II, click here.

The law of the Templar has come to the desert! Today Firefly Studios delivers Stronghold Crusader 2: The Templar & The Duke onto Steam via trebuchet. Available at 33% off this DLC expansion includes seven unique story missions, new castle types and more challenging AI adversaries shaped by player feedback.

View the Stronghold Crusader 2: The Templar & The Duke DLC trailer here.

The Templar

Once a rank and file soldier in King Richard’s army, The Templar has risen to power as a senior military commander in the Third Crusade. A zealot in the truest sense, The Templar was promoted after demonstrating his brutal pursuit of the holy crusade and ability to indoctrinate fellow soldiers. As a former foot soldier serving for years in the Crusades, The Templar now sees himself as a harbinger of justice from God. The Templar personifies the unwavering conviction that the Crusader Lords had in their mission and the lengths they will go to achieve it.

The Duke

Travelling from France to ‘fight the good fight’ The Duke hopes to share in the glory of the holy crusade. Ever the opportunist, The Duke is always prepared to retreat and claim no part in the Crusades. For the moment however he is prepared to lend his vast wealth and political standing to King Richard’s campaign. A foppish and arrogant leader, The Duke gained his lordly air from a pampered upbringing in the French Royal Court. Despite this meticulous outward appearance, The Duke lacks the cutthroat political savvy to make him an effective ruler. The end result is a man who appears confident but is unsure of himself, joining the Third Crusade in a reckless attempt to prove himself.

Free Map Pack DLC

Stronghold Crusader 2 has also been updated on Steam with three new maps, each playable in online multiplayer or offline skirmish mode against the AI. In ‘Tight Corner’ plenty of close-quarters standoffs take place in confined areas. With these conflicts likely to boil over and expand the field of battle, players will often find themselves drawn into skirmishes between their enemies. ‘Outposts’ features bands of AI outlaws in addition to player Lords, roaming the map and controlling areas until they are wiped out. As the name suggests ‘Mountain Climb’ is distinguished by a fortified central position that, once secured, makes defeating the elevated player a literal uphill battle.

Stronghold Crusader 2: The Templar & The Duke DLC is available now on Steam for the promotional price of £2.67/$4.01/€3.34.

Latest Expansion for Crusader Kings II Will Pillage Your Hours

It is rather unlike hordes of nomadic invaders to stick to schedule, but the Horse Lords have told us that we can expect a rainfall of arrows on July 14. Horse Lords is the latest expansion for Paradox Development Studios’s much-loved grand strategy RPG Crusader Kings II and it will bring the hellfire of war on the steppes to glorious map-painting life on your desktop.

With a heavy focus on the Mongol and Turkic invaders of the Central Asian plains, Horse Lords adds an expanded map, new ruling systems for the fascinating culture of the nomadic tribes that changed the course of world history from the saddle. There are also some minor tweaks that will affect everyone, including the construction of temporary forts to hold an area in your control and introducing the Silk Road – the wealthy trade highway that ran from the Mediterranean to East Asia.

To celebrate the July 14 announcement, we’ve decided to release a few screenshots that show off some of the coming changes in the Horse Lords expansion. You’ll see some images of the new map, new cultures and new interface.

For more information on Crusader Kings II, click here.

Experience the story of Belisarius, one of the last great Roman generals, who was tasked with retaking the former Western Roman Empire by the Emperor Justinian

Source: Gamer’s Hell

Scheduled to be released on June 25th, The Last Roman Campaign Pack includes a huge new Campaign Map, a new ‘Expedition’ faction with new gameplay features, 5 playable factions with additional new units, tech and buildings, plus a dramatic story-based, campaign challenge. Specifically, The Last Roman’s Campaign map is a vast and highly-detailed representation of central Western Europe in 533 AD, featuring 35 provinces across over 100 regions, including Italy, North Africa, Spain and France.

The Five playable factions are the following: the brand new Roman Expedition, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Franks, and the Visigoths. Each one features its own faction traits and new campaign starting-position.

View the just released The Last Roman Campaign Pack trailer here.

Scourge of War recreates the Battle of Waterloo 200 years after through Twitch

“The whole art of war consists in getting at what is on the other side of the hill” (Duke of Wellington – British commander and statesman)

In order to properly commemorate the bicentenary anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, Matrix Games is teaming up with developer NorbSoftDev to reproduce, live, the most dramatic moments of the final great encounter between Napoleon and his opponents. This spectacle will be delivered thanks to a live Twitch stream of Scourge of War: Waterloo, with historical scenarios being played at exactly the same time as events happened in June 18, 1815.

The official schedule of the event can now be revealed (time zone is CEST):

• 11:30 – Initial Attack on Hougoumont (30min)
• 12:00 – Attack on Pappelotte (30min)
• 12:30 – 2nd Attack on Hougoumont (60min)
• 13:30 – Count d’Erlon’s Attack on the Allied left (60min)
• 15:00 – Attack on La Haye Sainte (30min)
• 16:00 – Battle of Mt. St. Jean (30min)
• 17:00 – Defense Against Arriving Prussians (60min)
• 18:00 – Prussian Attack on Placenoit (60min)
• 19:45 – Defence against Napoleon’s Imperial Guard (45min)

So on June 18th, 11.30 (CEST) on the official Twitch channel of the Slitherine Group we will start to bring back to life Napoleon, Wellington, Blucher and the thousands of soldiers who shaped the destiny of Europe!

Additionally Iain Dickie – well-known expert on the Napoleonic era and specialist of the miniature wargames world – will accompany us all day long and share a host of historical details with the public to help us better understand the strategic and tactical aspects of the Battle of Waterloo.

Get more game information here.

By James Cobb @ The Wargamer

Western Civilization Software’s Forge of Freedom is the best grand strategy game of the American Civil War, delving into all aspects of nations at war. However, the tactical mode is extremely abstract. The developer seeks to remedy this with a tactical game, Brother Against Brother: The Drawing of the Sword. However, the computer gaming pool is crowded with tactical American Civil War games. What would make this game float or not be eaten by the sharks?

Read on…

By Nik Gaukroger @ The Wargamer

Hearts of Iron IV is the latest iteration of Paradox Interactive’s successful World War 2 grand strategy title. However, I have to confess that the last version was, for me, a failure as I just couldn’t get into it at all. Therefore, it was with some trepidation that I accepted an invitation from Paradox to a two day multi-player event being held just outside of London – that’s a lot of time to commit to something you really may not like from the off. This was not helped by having very little time to get to know the game with the beta that was kindly provided and having to get going with game from the start of the event. So how did it work out?

Read on…

“The Guard dies but does not surrender!” (General Pierre Cambronne)

It is the morning of June 18th 1815. The whole French army led by his Emperor in person is marching trough Belgium to engage with the forces of the Seventh Coalition. The armies of the Duke of Wellington and Blücher’s are still divided. It is the last chance to defeat them, before they become too organized.

This will be the battle where the fate of Europe is shaped!

Today all of you fans of the musket era have the chance to become immersed in the final chapter of the Napoleonic Wars with the official release of Scourge of War: Waterloo!

From Hougoumont to La Haye Sainte including Placenoit, you will do your best to coordinate your infantry, cavalry and artillery units in order to outsmart your opponent in huge battles counting thousands of soldiers, while seizing the key locations in time.

Along with 20 historical scenarios and a set of multiplayer maps, the new creation from developer NorbSoftDev includes a sandbox campaign for the very first time in the Scourge of War series! This game mode regularly requested by the community finally allows you all to string battles together for a thrilling what-if approach of Waterloo.

Your soldiers are waiting for your command!

Grab the game here!

Get more game information and view the release trailer here!

Common Sense Expansion Brings Major Changes to Acclaimed Empire Builder

The Common Sense expansion to Paradox’s strategy hit Europa Universalis IV is available today, and it comes with tonnes of major changes to the core game, making it one of the most significant pieces of DLC yet in the EU4 franchise. With a focus on making your nation work better, Common Sense gives you new tools to make sure your global empire rests on a sound foundation.

This new trailer will give you the run down on some of the peacetime opportunities coming your way.

Central to Common Sense is the idea of Development – your provinces are now more than an all powerful tax number. You can improve your regions based on tax, trade and military power specifically, giving each a focus or strength. Or, you can develop broadly to prevent crushing losses when a center of manpower falls to the enemy.

We’re also introducing Parliaments, allowing constitutional systems of government new ways to put the power of the people’s representatives to work on behalf of the nation – for a price.

There is a host of other changes to the game, including improvements to the Protestant religion, the creation of national churches, karma for Buddhist rulers and much, much more. And even if you don’t buy the expansion, the free update we provide with every new expansion will transform your play experience in interesting ways. This time, we have modified the role of forts in battle and shaken up the map and diplomatic situation in the 1444 start date.

And click this link for a list of all the free updates coming courtesy of today’s major patch!

Common Sense is available at major digital retailers now! Become the king (or doge, or empress or khan) you have always wanted to be.

For more information, visit europauniversalis4.com.

Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development are putting the finishing touches on Common Sense, the next expansion for Europa Universalis IV, and ahead of its launch have released the last video dev diary for the game where the dev team shows conquerors worldwide the latest, most sensible features coming to the critically acclaimed empire builder.

View the non-nonsensical developer diary here.

Keeping in tradition with expansion launches from Paradox Development Studio, a patch featuring additional content for Europa Universalis IV will be available to all players at zero cost and without having to purchase Common Sense, adding even more to a game that is already packed to the brim. Europa Universalis IV: Common Sense will launch across all territories for Windows, Mac, and Linux on June 9th.

For more information, please visit the official Europa Universalis IV website .