Will you be picking it up?

Already did, as part of the Chapter II pass. I might even play it.

But before that I've still a campaign to finish, where I started as close to my birthplace as possible, once nearly vassalized the Pope (I was missing a fraction of a single point, and could have gained it by upping my military strength, but died unexpectedly in my early 60s), began a tradition of marrying women from India and eventually converted to my mother's Jain faith, with half of Europe following suit. Thinking about it, there's definitely more fun to be had in that playthrough :-).

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Would have been a day 1 purchase for me, but luckily the early access players already figured it will not work on Linux, so I skipped it. From what I gathered from the related Proton issue [External Link], it's relying on a "xbox game services" component, which it tries to download from the Windows App Store.

To me this sounds as if this is nothing that Wine/Proton could provide quickly, if at all.

I'm slightly disappointed, but seeing how Forza Motorsport requires an online connection even for the single player content and is (by now) touted as a live service game, I guess it's for the better I'm no longer tempted to buy.

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The Thaumaturge is one of the games I have wishlisted, but with these story-heavy games, I usually stay away from demos. And while it might seem tempting to use the opportunity as a chance to check Linux/Wine/Proton) compatibility, I already had demos run great and the release not at all, and the other way round, too.

But let's see what else they have ... probably plenty that I never heard about before!

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Quoting: WorMzyI'm still bitter about the Giana Sisters debacle. Fuck Humble.

Haha. I'm feeling old when I can be still bitter about the Giana Sisters debacle and think "Fuck Nintendo!" :-).

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Quoting: BlackBloodRumWith that said, a lot of those limits weren't so much about restricting buyers, but rather restricting scalpers who would buy cheap keys from another region and then sell them on third-party websites.

I thought it was more about buying a cheap physical game in EU country A that required activation on Steam, but activation would not work in EU country B.

If the ruling would apply to digital keys, it should be perfectly fine to buy games cheaply by using a VPN service in a low-price EU country. No need for a middle man. But I don't think that's gonna fly ... not that I ever tried.

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Quoting: uzaySteam and Epic? So no GOG release this time I guess

Wondering the same. Though if I remember correctly, the GOG release of HZD followed a couple months after it came out on Steam. So I guess there's still hope.

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Quoting: syxbitI just can't get into point and click games without voice acting. Good voice acting is vital IMHO.

There actually was a successful Kickstarter to add voice acting, so the release should be fully voiced. If it will be good remains to be seen (or heard), of course ... but I'd expect another trailer to showcase that.

That said, a lot of the truly classic P&C games did not have voice acting (originally), so I personally do not miss it if it's not there. But I do remember the wow factor when the first "talkie" versions released, even when the audio quality was miserable at the time.

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Quoting: slaapliedjeI really should try the Tutorial

Honestly, I think the tutorial is pretty bare-bones, but it provides fairly easy start conditions and a rudimentary explanation of the most important systems.

OTOH, given that CK3 is the first grand strategy game I played, it all went smooth enough. Getting into it will probably grow harder over time, as they're piling additional features on top. So I guess starting early is key.

Even then there's still a lot of room for trial and error, to see what effect certain actions would have. But it's actually part of the fun to discover those. One time I ended up as a 6 year old and everyone in the realm seemed to think it was time for independence (as usual when that short reign penalty kicks in). As an adult, I'd throw a couple feasts and befriend the major parties to get things under control, but those weren't options available to a child. Luckily, I had a few infidels rotting away in the dungeon, and after some exemplary executions everyone felt it was probably for the best to fall back in line. Problem solved!

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Own up, how many hours do you have in Crusader Kings III on Linux? What's your wildest story from it so far?

Might as well go first. 504.1 hours, says Steam. That's from playing the "tutorial" campaign, an early start in India, and halfway through an early start in Germany. And a weekend of multiplayer.

Not sure I've any wild stories to share, but that's not to say all those hours were uneventful. It's actually one of the few games I find more fun to play on ironman mode, as it's not so unforgiving as to become frustrating, but having to roll with whatever happens certainly enhances the experience. The best-laid plans ...

I've got some funny bugs to show, however:



And a bit of a love-hate relationship.

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I'm not rushing my playthrough either, so that the later acts receive a bit more polish by the time I arrive. Not that it's hard to linger in Act 1, as there is so much to do and discover. Even when I think I've already turned every stone twice, there surely is another hidden area somewhere that I missed before.

And there's still some patches of black left on the map, too ...

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