| Crusader Kings | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Paradox Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | Paradox Interactive |
| Engine | Europa Engine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy, Grand strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multi-player(LAN, Internet) |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | 1 CD-ROM |
| System requirements
Windows: |
|
Crusader Kings is a grand strategy game made by Paradox Interactive about the period from December 26, 1066 until December 30, 1452. It was released in 2004. Unlike other past Paradox titles (Hearts of Iron, Victoria and the Europa Universalis series), Crusader Kings focuses on building a dynasty instead of a country, having similarities to role-playing video games and even The Sims. The lead game programmer was Johan Andersson. As with the other Paradox Interactive history games, Crusader Kings must be considered a macro-management real-time strategy game (as moves are played out simultaneously and continuously) but typically involves far more planning than the fast-paced action that is usually associated with real-time strategy.
Contents |
While the game has historically accurate scenarios to start from, featuring interesting personages such as William the Conqueror, Robert Guiscard, Alexius Comnenus, El Cid, Friedrich Barbarossa and Edward III, a significant part of the game's charm is that from that point on, a new alternate history always starts building. Unlike past Paradox titles, there are very few predetermined historical events and no predetermined historical personages that would always appear after game start. Twists to the story are created by simulating the lives of tens of thousands of individuals of note (courtiers and nobles), intermarrying, having children, moving, inheriting, plotting, accumulating wealth and titles etc. Each is at birth assigned a number of inherited scores ('DNA') that determine health and fertility as well as administrative and military capabilities and the characters will, through the course of their lives, usually add a few noninherited traits that alter the scores. The qualifications and relations of individuals will highly influence their fate and is therefore of great interest to their player. This all makes for highly unpredictable game dynamics as the state of affairs on the 'world stage' is the product of the interplay of myriad events on the micro level.
Paradox Interactive's forum community is large and has useful third party tools as well as custom scenarios setups and events.
On July 31, 2007, Paradox announced an expansion to the game: Crusader Kings: Deus Vult. The game was released on 4 October 2007, and is only sold online.
The expansion pack redesigns some of the basic features of the game, such as removal of DNA inheritance of traits, religious warfare, use of friends and rivals, etc. In addition, new scripting commands were added as well as new character traits.
On August 19, 2010, a sequel, Crusader Kings 2, was announced.
One of the many new features will be the introduction of baronies inside counties. This decision was done to save time with micromanagement, yet also give players with small counties something interesting to manage.
|
|||||||||||||||||