Do most player see CK3 as a strategy game to conquer the world against other AI factions, or do they see it as a role-playing game?

[quicklyrainbow]

To me it's a limited-challenge game. I don't really roleplay -- if I wanted to tell stories with a blank sheet of paper, I'd write. And I'm not super interested in map-painting. So usually I pick an achievement or two that go together, or some silly combo of things, do that, and stop playing for a while. The last game I did was finishing the Persian intermezzo with the pro-Caliphate ending as an unlanded character, a thing which broke my save completely.

 

[Benismann]

I've also come to realize how one-dimensional, literally, opinion is as the basis for interpersonal relations. Even games that aren't about characters, like Stellaris and Civ and Vic3, have a "stance" towards you, like protective, domineering, threatening, wary, afraid, etc.

Stellaris opinion also has a way, way wider range than -100 to +100. Same with eu4. Same with basically any mod for hoi4 (the vanilla game itself does also use -100 to +100, but considering every major mod expands it to be -200 to +200... it's probably not ideal).
Sometimes i look at missing features from other paradox games in ck3 and think... was this game in development since the release of ck2? Where did all the things they come up with in 10 years or so after that go?

Also funnily enough AI does have stances, they're just not visible.
An example from somewhere in marriage acceptance modifiers (havent seen them anywhere else tbh)

            OR = {
                ai_diplomacy_stance = {
                    target = scope:actor
                    stance = neutral
                }
                ai_diplomacy_stance = {
                    target = scope:actor
                    stance = threat
                }
            }

Although i must say, now looking into it, this line can be found in some KotS related script:

# commented out: ai_diplomacy_stance is unreliable

 

[Aztlantix]

I like to derail history, I start as late as start dates allow and then try to achieve specific goal to change the world as much as possible

 

[filip133]

Sometimes roleplaying sometimes to make big empire. Problem is that: often when I try just roleplaying it is too easy for me to find a good opportunity to conquer the neighbors and bloobing

 

[AstroCat]

For me without the RP part, it's just not nearly as fun or immersive. I don't really care about "winning" CK3, I mean sure I want to do well. But I often ask "what would my character do?" and then go that way... I find that much more fun and interesting.

For me it's not a min/max power game kinda game... it's about immersive fun. And... given the really negative views most of the comments in this thread, maybe CK3 isn't the game for you?

 

[DiabloDeVille]

For me without the RP part, it's just not nearly as fun or immersive. I don't really care about "winning" CK3, I mean sure I want to do well. But I often ask "what would my character do?" and then go that way... I find that much more fun and interesting.

For me it's not a min/max power game kinda game... it's about immersive fun. And... given the really negative views most of the comments in this thread, maybe CK3 isn't the game for you?

Is the issue us, or that ck3 fails to immerse the player? Given how badly the ai roleplays

 

[Benismann]

For me without the RP part, it's just not nearly as fun or immersive. I don't really care about "winning" CK3, I mean sure I want to do well. But I often ask "what would my character do?" and then go that way... I find that much more fun and interesting.

For me it's not a min/max power game kinda game... it's about immersive fun. And... given the really negative views most of the comments in this thread, maybe CK3 isn't the game for you?

Hard to roleplay when you know if you dont play an imbecile/dull ruler you'll probably not have any reasons to NOT do good enough to outpace the AI very very fast. And when there's no friction, there're no interesting stories. I can only enjoy "my character wins every single time" story so many times, and i dont find it fun to "just dont use the mechanics".
This is why i have my own mod.

 

[vandevere]

For me without the RP part, it's just not nearly as fun or immersive. I don't really care about "winning" CK3, I mean sure I want to do well. But I often ask "what would my character do?" and then go that way... I find that much more fun and interesting.

For me it's not a min/max power game kinda game... it's about immersive fun. And... given the really negative views most of the comments in this thread, maybe CK3 isn't the game for you?

Same here for me. I don't play to conquer anyone, or to beat anyone. I just enjoy watching the Game World as it changes around me. We don't all play the same way, or for the same reasons...

 

[Evil Crusader]

I think the game has three components: strategy, alt-history, roleplay. I appreciate alt-history the most, roleplay the least.
It is constantly hampered by the need to sell power fantasies, though; the only roleplay that it does well is isekai-style OP protag-kun stories. The alt-history part does actually pretty decently at a macro level (of course, relative to however much the game has to model). But the strategy simply isn't there, because all problems can be solved through a few fairly basic priorities that are almost never challenged (the rare exceptions being so rare, you have to strategically misplay or be greedy a lot to ever come close to them).

 

[ATSCMS]

I wonder if there's a way to understand the playstyle of most of the userbase when it comes to playing CK3. How many players are playing it like a grand strategy game where the main objective is doing world conquest and defeating other AI realms?

Or do most players actually play it for role-playing reasons, with the option of military expansion? Honestly I never play any CK3 game for the sake of world conquest, as I find that to be boring and pointless.

After my empire grew to certain size, like restoring the Roman Empire, I tend to spend more time just going around role-playing as the emperors and managing the realm many noble families so they become more and more Romanised.

So the "strategy" part of fighting other AI realms only matters to a certain point, and for me my focus is more on roleplaying the management of the realm.

It's a false dilemma because you play as a ruler, therefore a good roleplay needs a good grand strategy.

There is a rising faction of players that defend this snoozefest as a 'story generator'.....but the stories it generates lack context and have no relation to the traits of the characters. That, and it's hard to 'role play' when these traits have little to no weight during the game.

Right now, it's a map painter.

I'd say it's more of a frustrated story generator.