Paradox games but definitely NOT GAMES OF THRONE

[METALMAN]

Yeah, it's always a very interesting area, and it keeps being revised. It was certainly a time of great progress in the Far East, for instance.

However, in Western Europe it's hard to see it as anything other than a great step back. The economical figures are really interesting, and it isn't until the 1500s that the standard of living and knowledge returns to where it is. That's why it's one of the most interesting periods of history. Imagine being part of the most advanced society ever, only for it to collapse to a system where people have essentially returned being illiterates living in tribes. It must have seemed as unlikely to them as it does to us.

Obviously the dark ages term is a misnomer. Historians place too much emphasis upon Western Europe. It was a dark age there, but not a global dark age.

[Sousa]

It wasn't really much of a "dark age" anywhere except Europe, either--the Arabic world and the Chinese, just to offer two examples, were making great strides in mathematics, sciences, and literature; in fact, the Arabian interest in Greek philosophy (coupled with mercantile exchanges between Italian city-states and the Ottomans) was in large part responsible for the so-called Renaissance.

EUROCENTRISM MUCH METALMAN?

HE SAYS ONE POST AFTER METALMAN SAYS THE DARK AGES TERM IS A MISNOMER?

[Gazz]

EWB needs more historical debates.

[TKz]

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/10/22/crusader-kings-ii-the-something-something-announced/

New DLC.

[Ruki]

Oh cool! Although, I'm sure I would never be able to get one of my people elected Pope.

[Sousa]

Oh man you guys getting your dude elected pope sounds awesome. But I'll probably never end up playing this.

[MalaCloudy Black]

This whole series is pretty fun to watch, but holy shit, fast-forward to about the 12:30 mark in the video. A little backstory: for the past few episodes, Northernlion (Scumtopia) has been involved in a holy war for Tangiers, with help from Arumba (The Middle Kingdom). It's been a costly war - Scumtopia spent something like over 500 gold, between helping The Middle Kingdom with its own wars and trying to take Tangiers - and around 12:30 or so you get to see the fruits of their labors.

And it's hilarious.

[Benjamin]

Don't know whether you guys have seen this, but there's a mod out there called Crusader Kings Z, and it has zombies, guys. Fucking zombies!

Arumba's the one who introduced it to me too, I saw it on his channel.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I forgot how addictive this game is. Managed to burn nearly 6 hours just screwing around with a game as King Alfonso of Leon in a 1066 start date.

[MalaCloudy Black]

We should try to set up a multiplayer session of CK2 sometime so you can all point and laugh at how bad I am.

[Benjamin]

If you guys still watch CK2 Let's Plays, Fred Wong is playing the most recent release of the GoT mod, and it finally looks like it's bug-free.

[Ruki]

We should try to set up a multiplayer session of CK2 sometime so you can all point and laugh at how bad I am.

Cloudy! I will play with you!

[Noah]

I can't finish Sonic 2 without cheats. I am worse at this, than cloudy.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I assume the event that happens during this video - with Derborgaill - is part of the Sons of Abraham DLC? I've never seen it before.

[MalaCloudy Black]

...

I was playing as a lowly count in Hellas - part of Athens, which had broken off from the Byzantines - when I married a genius woman. Our firstborn got genius as well, and I was thrilled with the prospect of playing as a genius. As time went on, I educated him and made sure he got nothing but positive traits. The worst trait he had was Content, and that was the doing of his mother, who educated him after my character died.

So now I'm playing as a genius. And I found the perfect character to betroth him to, another genius with excellent traits. They come of age. They get married. He becomes a Fortune Builder, she's a Mastermind Theologian. They're going to have perfect little genius babies when

OH WAIT NO HE MOTHERFUCKING DIED IN THE FIRST GRAND HUNT I EVER TOOK HIM ON. 60% chance of "no effect", and my genius dies in a goddamn hunting accident. No. Forget that. This will not stand, I'm reloading an autosave before he died but nope it autosaved right after he died.


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH

[TKz]

There's a reason they called it the dark ages, Cloudy.

Take solace in the fact that you're apparently not terrible at the game. I managed to conquer Ireland once. My warmongering and claim stealing ways led to an almost immediate revolt and invasion from the Normans pretty much days after the unification.

I WAS GOING TO SAVE YOU, IRELAND! I WAS THE CHOSEN ONE! YOU WERE MEANT TO SAVE THE ENGLISH, NOT JOIN THEM!

[MalaCloudy Black]

I'm only ever good if I'm playing as a Duke or above, so far in this Hellas game I've managed a claim on one other county in Athens but the state of the crown authority doesn't allow vassals to fight each other. So I've just been trying unsuccessfully to fabricate claims on the duchy of Athens.

[Gazz]

The Normans weren't English you uneducated eunuch.

[METALMAN]

Plus they didn't call it the Dark Ages. :/

[Sousa]

That would be horribly Eurocentric of them anyway, you Eurocentric oppressor.