Paradox games becoming more casual

[Cardus]

One of the problems with EU IV is that the DLC features are never allowed to become very deep, since they have to be their own protected gardens and have minimal interaction with other features.

I think that you hit the point: the DLC system cannot compare with the expansion system where big part of the code was redone and the game improved.

It is as @Denkt says below: a short tree with a weak trunk but with alot of branches and twigs.

To be fair I don't find EUIV all that deep. If I would describe the game as a tree it would be a short tree with a weak trunk but with alot of branches and twigs.

What Im saying is that while the game got alot of features they don't really add much to the game in terms of deepth.

In my opinion deepth mean how many viable options there are (and by viable I mean resonable picks for powerplaying).

So while the game got alot of stuff, the viable path is really narrow in my opinion.

Another criticism is that the game don't feel alive, like at the start you have bad generals and at the end you have good generals.

I feel the next EU game should have a complete makeover with each single feature being designed to feel alive and build a tall tree with a strong trunk. I rather have much less and simpler features that work really well together and have alot of resonable choices than what EUIV currently is.

So if that mean making the game more casual I would support casualization because it may very well make the game much deeper and alive.

One of the best features in any paradox game is the production line in HOI4 as it have alot of deepth while being simple and feels alive.

Same issue spotted here

It is a shame the amount of mods that have been abandoned due to the rapid update cycle. It does feel like there is only a small modding 'community' left thanks to this. Many prolific modders have invested time and had it gone to waste thanks to the amount of feature creep Paradox has introduced into EU4.

I remember when they introduced a excellent new discovery system for El Dorado and then immediately removed it after a bit of upset over the speed of discovery. I remember updating my mods for the new system, and then being crestfallen that they'd reverted the change for such a nitpicky reason.

Their DLC model emphasises small and isolated features over unified ones. Some great features such as Estates have essentially been abandoned by Paradox because they feel that touching other DLC features in new DLC is forbidden. I'd much rather they built up these features over introducing more gamey buttons to press such as the new Russian abilities, which are just get resources -> press button -> repeat.

 

[aruon]

I think that you hit the point: the DLC system cannot compare with the expansion system where big part of the code was redone and the game improved.

It is as @Denkt says below: a short tree with a weak trunk but with alot of branches and twigs.

but on the flip side, the old expansion system was even more fundamentally flawed.

it left only a limited window for both basic and major improvements before the need to buy all the previous DLCs, something very much unfriendly for both players and developers.
meanwhile developers and modders would have to support multiple versions for a time, which is a big drain on resources until the outdated version is left in the dust.

and with EU4 itself, there's really only so much room to expand in without really having to use your imagination- with CK2 it was plainly obvious at first: playable muslims, pagans, indians, old start date 1, old start date 2.
with EU4 there was no obvious expansion of scenarios outside of wacky scenarios like the random world and the CK2 save converter.
TBH i'd really like to see an official alt-his EU4 DLC in the vein of the Renaissance in Failure mod that features greater use of IRL powerless/dead religions in the EU4 timespan.

 

[Cardus]

but on the flip side, the old expansion system was even more fundamentally flawed.

it left only a limited window for both basic and major improvements before the need to buy all the previous DLCs, something very much unfriendly for both players and developers.
meanwhile developers and modders would have to support multiple versions for a time, which is a big drain on resources until the outdated version is left in the dust.

and with EU4 itself, there's really only so much room to expand in without really having to use your imagination- with CK2 it was plainly obvious at first: playable muslims, pagans, indians, old start date 1, old start date 2.
with EU4 there was no obvious expansion of scenarios outside of wacky scenarios like the random world and the CK2 save converter.
TBH i'd really like to see an official alt-his EU4 DLC in the vein of the Renaissance in Failure mod that features greater use of IRL powerless/dead religions in the EU4 timespan.

Why not? What about French revolution? Spanish Succession War? War of the Roses?

EU 4 seems to me just shallow because of the DLC system

 

[icedt729]

More DLCs, please. I can give up on a pizza once a month and buy them, you know.

Seriously, where I live I can barely go out for lunch for the price of a Paradox DLC. There are places that charge more for a movie ticket than PDS charges for a major expansion.

 

[Da9L]

Seriously, where I live I can barely go out for lunch for the price of a Paradox DLC. There are places that charge more for a movie ticket than PDS charges for a major expansion.

Most lunches are here in Stockholm are more expensive than one of our dlcs. Just ate a lunch for, around 11$ and that's pretty normal. And movie tickets here...oh god... those are at least 20$, that is only for the ticket xD

 

[The_Meme_Man]

Most lunches are here in Stockholm are more expensive than one of our dlcs. Just ate a lunch for, around 11$ and that's pretty normal. And movie tickets here...oh god... those are at least 20$, that is only for the ticket xD

Video games in general are pretty cheap as far as hobbies go if you have self control. If anything, paradox dlc (and video games) SAVE me money from what could have been wasted on unhealthy food, sports equipment, and plane tickets.