I noticed the Europa Universalis games are on sale on Impulse. I'm looking for info and opinions on them from my fellow GOGers.

Do they have DRM on them?

Opinions on if they are any good?

I prefer to buy from GOG, so I was wondering if there have been any rumors that we'll see the Europa Universalis games on GOG?

They used to sell for 99 cents on GoGamer.com not even that long after release, if that tells you anything. They're wargames and thus pretty niche. You have to like taking 3 hours to set up your turn (I don't).

DO NOT TEMPT ME!

Vade retro!

I just came from rehab, no you ain't getting me again.





Great series, btw.

They are DRM-free on GamersGate. :)

And are quite cheap now. (%70 off)

http://www.gamersgate.com/offers

First off, none of the Paradox games have any DRM on them; although if you buy them from Impulse I assume that you would still need to use their client for downloading.

The games themselves are quite involved, and require a fair amount of effort to learn to play. The game is a real time strategy, although you can control the speed that time passes and even pause the game when you need to do some detailed adjustments. Luckily, the community over at the Paradox forums is very strong and anyone who is new to the games can find links to play guides and strategy discussions aplenty.

If you were looking to choose the easiest game to get into, I would say that EU:Rome (with the Vae Victus expansion) is quite useful in that regard. The game world is much smaller, obviously being the Classical world, and there are not as many variables to keep track of as Europa Universalis III. There is even a series of guides written for new players in mind on the EU:Rome forum that comes highly recommended and cover a number of features that are not well described in the manuals.

Personally I love the games but I would certainly say that they are not for everybody, especially if you are a more casual gamer. The best parallel I can think of are the Egosoft X series games, which are also quite daunting to learn and yet extremely rewarding when you reach the plateau of the learning curve.

Off topic but, does GamersGate require a proprietary download/system similar to Stardock's Impulse? Great info!
+1
Thanks a lot

When you want to download a game you first get small downloader app (each game has it's own) that downloads the actual game files, when the download finishes it starts the installer, after installation ends the downloader automatically encrypts the installer so it can only be decrypted using the downlaoder HOWEVER if you copy the installation folder inside gamersgate temporary files when the installation starts you get fully functioning DRM (IF game is DRM free in the first place) free nstaller that you can use any time anywhere just like GOG installers. Obviously like with some GOG online games some GG games need CD-keys too but in GG they are provided with purchase (where as here at GOG you need to request them) and can be found in 'my games'.

This is what I love about GOG, a great community of helpful people!
+1

Buyz number 3 nowz!

What? They aren't wargames...they're actually grand strategy games where you run a country : you deal with the macro management of your nation's military, economy and diplomacy while those under you actually run the battles and so on. They aren't niche, the EU series have actually become very popular (hence their being widely available). And it doesn't take 3 hours to run a turn. First off, it's a real time game so there aren't any turns. Secondly, the best part about the series is that despite the amount of things you need to do, there really isn't much micro management. Aside from all that, right on the money...


Anyway, for anyone who is looking at them, pick up EU3 Complete and Heir to the Throne. That gets you right up to date (with the exception of the upcoming Divine Wind expansion), and HttT made a lot of nice tweaks to the game. Check out the EU3 Wiki for help and for an idea of how the game plays.

I suppose they could come to GOG eventually, but since they're already DRM Free I don't know that it would be a huge move.

Thanks for all the info everyone. One more question.

The description of HttT on Impulse states the following:

Requires the Impulse version of Europa Universalis III & Europa Universalis III: Napoleon's Ambition & Europa Universalis III: In Nomine.

I assume it's an oversight that Europa Universalis III: Complete isn't listed. But maybe the Impulse version of HttT does not work with Complete. Can anyone familiar with the Impulse versions, confirm or deny compatibility?

I would imagine it would be fine, since that's what EU3 Complete is...the original game, Napoleon's Ambition and In Nomine.

Honestly, if you're that concerned about it working just buy them from Gamersgate. 70% off there as well.