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General discussionRelease: Europa Universalis II + Europa Universalis: Rome Gold + Hearts of Iron II: Complete(114 posts)(114 posts)
(114 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 15, 2015
History Lessons

A new batch of Paradox Strategy titles comes to GOG.com, just in time for yet another floor of the Bundle Tower! That's <span class="bold">Europa Universalis II</span>, <span class="bold">Europa Universalis: Rome Gold</span> and <span class="bold">Hearts of Iron II: Complete</span> - our bundle of <span class="bold">History Lessons</span>!

<span class="bold">Europa Universalis II</span> is very much like the original title - but with a longer timeline, hundreds of new provinces and playable countries, and even more detail combined with quality of life improvements. It's the sequel to the award winning (and groundbreaking) strategy title that's spawned so many of Paradox Entertainment's future games - including the two released today.
One of EU's direct descendants, <span class="bold">Europa Universalis: Rome Gold</span> also known simply as Rome, brings the familiar gameplay into 250 years of Roman history, with a few twists like a fully 3D-map, and a story that can start all the way back in the year 27 B.C. The Gold release also includes the Vae Victis expansion pack.
<span class="bold">Hearts of Iron II: Complete</span>, like any Paradox sequel, is both deeper and more streamlined than the previous entry, offering an all-around improved hour-by-hour World War 2 grand-strategy simulation full of historical detail, and tactical depth. Small-scale invasion scenarios to all out global war - this one has you covered.

Learning history has never been more fun, than with the Bundle Tower <span class="bold">History Lessons</span>, available now 75% off on GOG.com!
Posted April 15, 2015
Finally! I don't need to tell people to wait anymore :P

Now all that remains is whether GOG fixed the EU2 music? Can anyone comment if the music files have artist information?

Regarding sequels, Paradox changed things a lot with the 3D engine sequels. As such, you can't say EU3 and 4 are better games since they're so very different. I've always felt that sandbox play never suited grand strategies, and a lot of modders went to great lengths to restore EU2's historicity to its sequels. It's a great game, it made Paradox. Get it! (the people who say otherwise know nothing XD)

Btw, forget Asian Chapters! They're rubbish. Also, unpatched. Also, unsupported. They're like those third-party expansions that StarCraft got, the ones that suck and most people haven't even heard of.

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Huinehtar: The AGCEEP mod adds more historical events (that mod has been eventually updated to For the Glory). (Too bad the AGCEEP website is actually down)
I'll see about uploading AGCEEP 1.58.
Post edited April 15, 2015 by Spinorial
Posted April 15, 2015
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Berolsaurus: I am almost certainly going to get this bundle since I have some of these and I really enjoy the grand strategy game type. I do have a question though.

My wallet is a bit on the empty side and I won't be able to get more then one, possibly two, bundles during this sale. It appears that you can get bundles from previous levels all the way till the end of the promo. I am hoping someone can confirm that for me. I would hate to wait till the last day and find out I can't get this bundle but a star wars one might beat this bundle out and I am trying to wait.

Thanks for the help.
Yes, all sets of bundles released during this promo are going to remain available through the sale's end (Sunday morning in the U.S.). : )
Posted April 15, 2015
Alright, more Paradox releases! =D I've been eagerly anticipating these titles for a long time, so I literally fist pumped when I saw that they finally arrived. And I must admit, the price is very tempting

But while I will definitely be getting EU: Rome, I'm not sure whether to get the other two. Not that I don't want them, but both of these games received Paradox-blessed fan-made iterations that are considered superior: EU II has For the Glory, while HoI II has Arsenal of Democracy and Darkest Hour. Assuming they eventually arrive here, it might be more prudent to wait.

It doesn't help that HoI II Complete lacks the Iron Cross expansion. Granted, that is a fan-made expansion and not a Paradox release, but it's still a shame that it isn't included. =/
Posted April 15, 2015
Great releases! This should be the most time consuming floor... :-)
Posted April 15, 2015
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Gandos: But while I will definitely be getting EU: Rome, I'm not sure whether to get the other two. Not that I don't want them, but both of these games received Paradox-blessed fan-made iterations that are considered superior: EU II has For the Glory, while HoI II has Arsenal of Democracy and Darkest Hour. Assuming they eventually arrive here, it might be more prudent to wait.
Consider EU2 a pre-oder investment for the exclusive soundtrack ;)
Posted April 15, 2015
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jamotide: Is there any point in playing these when there are successors out?
I'm wondering about this too.
Do these old titles stand on their own or are they just basic foundations for the following better games?
For example, even if CIV5 (with exp) is the last cool modern title, I'm glad that I played Civ2 and Civ3. They're both great classic games! I would never skip them.
Posted April 15, 2015
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Gandos: But while I will definitely be getting EU: Rome, I'm not sure whether to get the other two. Not that I don't want them, but both of these games received Paradox-blessed fan-made iterations that are considered superior: EU II has For the Glory, while HoI II has Arsenal of Democracy and Darkest Hour. Assuming they eventually arrive here, it might be more prudent to wait.
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Spinorial: Consider EU2 a pre-oder investment for the exclusive soundtrack ;)
But didn't EU II use public domain music, like the other early Paradox titles?...Or was that exactly the joke? =P

Anyway, in spite of my misgivings, I might bite anyway. The price is good enough that, even if we do get FtG and AoD/DH later on, it's probably still worth the double dipping. Plus, aside from getting CK Complete, I pretty much skipped the initial batch, so I might as well show my support for more Paradox releases by buying these.
Post edited April 15, 2015 by Gandos
Posted April 15, 2015
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Spinorial: Consider EU2 a pre-oder investment for the exclusive soundtrack ;)
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Gandos: But didn't EU II use public domain music, like the other early Paradox titles?...Or was that exactly the joke? =P
They're all licensed tracks from the BIS classical catalogue. The music is public domain, but the performances aren't. And some pieces are quite obscure and rarely performed. Unfortunately, they couldn't re-licence it for FtG, so they went with EU3 tracks, later adding some public domain ones.

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jamotide: Is there any point in playing these when there are successors out?
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phaolo: I'm wondering about this too.
Do these old titles stand on their own or are they just basic foundations for the following better games?
For example, even if CIV5 (with exp) is the last cool modern title, I'm glad that I played Civ2 and Civ3. They're both great classic games! I would never skip them.
There's a couple of opinions in this thread, but people generally agree that Paradox changed a lot of things for EU3 and 4. They are more sandboxy in nature which, for my money, is better suited to games like Civ. EU2 relies on event-chains and generally produces more historicaly-tight scenarios. Mods like AGCEEP improve that by adding more branches and plausible alt-history paths.

The aim, ideally, is for the player to alter their immediate surroundings, while still looking at a historically-plausible world farther away.
Post edited April 15, 2015 by Spinorial
Posted April 15, 2015
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Berolsaurus: I am almost certainly going to get this bundle since I have some of these and I really enjoy the grand strategy game type. I do have a question though.

My wallet is a bit on the empty side and I won't be able to get more then one, possibly two, bundles during this sale. It appears that you can get bundles from previous levels all the way till the end of the promo. I am hoping someone can confirm that for me. I would hate to wait till the last day and find out I can't get this bundle but a star wars one might beat this bundle out and I am trying to wait.

Thanks for the help.
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HunchBluntley: Yes, all sets of bundles released during this promo are going to remain available through the sale's end (Sunday morning in the U.S.). : )
Thanks. Now they are sure to release a star wars one just to watch me try and scrape together a couple more bucks and get both bundles!
Posted April 15, 2015
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Spinorial: They're all licensed tracks from the BIS classical catalogue. The music is public domain, but the performances aren't. And some pieces are quite obscure and rarely performed. Unfortunately, they couldn't re-licence it for FtG, so they went with EU3 tracks, later adding some public domain ones.
Right, that makes sense. Personally, though, I was quite glad when Paradox switched to composing original tracks for their games, especially since Andreas Waldetoft has been doing such a phenomenal job as the composer of their games. The HoI II soundtrack in particular is excellent.
Posted April 15, 2015
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Huinehtar: *snip *
The AGCEEP mod adds more historical events (that mod has been eventually updated to For the Glory). (Too bad the AGCEEP website is actually down)
* snip*
You still can get it on Paradox forum
Posted April 15, 2015
It is also possible to play a campaign beginning with Crusader Kings, followed by Europa Universalis II, Victoria (or Victoria II) and finished with Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday, allowing for campaigns to range from 769 to 1954. This is by using the in-built features of these games that convert a saved campaign to the chronologically-next Paradox title.
Posted April 15, 2015
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Spinorial: [..]Paradox changed a lot of things for EU3 and 4. They are more sandboxy in nature which, for my money, is better suited to games like Civ. EU2 relies on event-chains and generally produces more historicaly-tight scenarios. Mods like AGCEEP improve that by adding more branches and plausible alt-history paths.[..]
Ok, that seems a good reason to buy EU2, then! :)

Any opinion about HoI2 or EU Rome?
I'm trying to decide if this 8€ pack is worth or not.
Posted April 15, 2015
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phaolo: Ok, that seems a good reason to buy EU2, then! :)

Any opinion about HoI2 or EU Rome?
I'm trying to decide if this 8€ pack is worth or not.
They are two nice games, EU Rome still don't have any comparable sequel among the Paradoxian titles and HoI 3 game mechanics was heavily changed from HoI 2 especially research and not everyone liked it.
Posted April 15, 2015
OK, I bought this one. There are discrepancies in the links to EU2, which the acount page thinks is europa-universalis-2 while the store page seems to prefer europa-univeralis-ii - I only noticed when I clicked through to look at reviews. But the downloads work, which is the important part.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionRelease: Europa Universalis II + Europa Universalis: Rome Gold + Hearts of Iron II: Complete(114 posts)(114 posts)
(114 posts)