Actual medieval history is great and all, but let's be honest - a whole load of nerds, myself included, are more knowledgeable about Middle-earth and Westeros than historical Europe. Luckily, the Crusader Kings 3 total conversion mods are starting to arrive, including The Lord of Rings: Realms of Exile, which eventually aims to make all of Middle-earth playable.
The first release of Realms of Exile focuses on three factions and playable leaders. Those include King Theoden of Rohan and Saruman of Isengard, but the factions also include Wulfgar Brynjarsson of Dunland, originally created in the Age of the Ring mod for Battle for Middle-earth. (Mod universes are apparently colliding!)
This first release starts in the year 3000 of the Third Age, which is shortly before Bilbo's birthday party in the early part of Lord of the Rings. The focus is on the Riders of Rohan as they're beset by both bandits and the forces of Saruman - but, of course, this is Crusader Kings, so you can take any faction in any direction. I assume that includes seducing Saruman and building a horse-orc empire that prevents the War of the Ring from ever happening.
RELATED LINKS:
The best Crusader Kings 3 mods
The best grand strategy games on PC
Strategy gaming in 2020 - the good, the bad, and the remakes
Woe has befallen us, for the new Ruler Designer has arrived in Crusader Kings III. In our naivety, we had thought this would be a cause for celebration, but we failed to account for the terrors introduced by three dimensional characters. Read on if you dare, because things are about to get extremely weird.
Crusader Kings III's Ruler Designer is a tool that allows you to customise your characters to your heart's content. It was a popular add-on feature to Crusader Kings II back in the day, and naturally, players have been eager to get their hands on the version for the latest medieval grand strategy game. But Paradox has given its players far too much power, and they are creating heinous monsters that rival the worst fiends to come out of the Dark Souls character creation screens.
In fairness, players are also trying their hand at recreating the cast of Game of Thrones, and they're doing a pretty good job of it. As you'll see below, Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister is instantly recognisable, and Kit Harington's Jon Snow looks on point.
RELATED LINKS:
The best Crusader Kings 3 mods
The best grand strategy games on PC
Strategy gaming in 2020 - the good, the bad, and the remakes
В сервисе цифровой дистрибуции Steam стартовала ежегодная осенняя распродажа, которая продлится до 1-го декабря.