Not Much Happening

[OldBlighty]

Ok so in my first game I am playing as England in the Grand Campaign (on balanced difficulty), and frankly it's not very interesting so far. It is currently 1069 AD.

There has been no Norman invasion (or any invasion for that matter), and no other Kingdom has even sent me a message or treaty suggestion. Now I have been concentrating on building up my Kingdom, and balancing the finances, but apart from dealing with a few Regional Decisions, there does not seem to be much happening. I have not been aggressive as I have been anticipating the Norman invasion.

Are others having a similar experience ?

[Surt]

I'm not sure they invade if they are at war with France, when its done they might.
Just saw the invasion announced here in '66.

[PortoLover]

In my first campaign as Portugal the Norman invasion didn't happen until the 1070's if I recall correctly.
I've only played as Portugal and Florence so far, but I haven't encountered your problem... Both campaigns have been quite eventful, I must say however that the AI is quite passive in terms of creating alliances with the player so it's up to you to try and make those happen.

[Surt]

You can always "liberate" som regions around you that are independent, will also trains your army a bit.

[OldBlighty]

Ok, thanks for the replies, I'll keep at it. Maybe its time to get a bit more aggressive

[PortoLover]

Oh yeah aggression is good as long as your home situation is stable enough. I would imagine the first order of business as England would be to take over Wales and then possibly Scotland or Ireland if the Normans haven't shown up yet... Keep in mind units gain experience as they fight so if you already have an experienced army when the Normans show up the war will be easier.

Meanwhile try to get some treaties going with factions that you think might be helpful in fighting those you envision will be your enemies in the long term (France? HRE? Castille? It's up to you where you want to go next!). You may have to send some gold alongside the cooperation offer at first, but it's going to be worth it in the long run if you can manage to get some alliances. Usually I go for cooperation, then passage rights then alliance but sometimes I get a higher success % when starting out with passage rights over cooperation. Keep in mind sending too many diplo offers over the course of a few turns may negatively impact your authority, so don't send too many offers every turn unless you're really desperate or don't mind the auth loss.

I feel like this game is a true sandbox experience where you kinda have to craft your "story" as the AI thankfully doesn't seem to be biased towards the player when making its decisions like it does in other games of this genre.

[Pocus]

I'm considering an AI Aggressiveness option independent of the difficulty rating. I have read both accounts: some say the AI is constantly on their necks or declaring war on everyone, while others say not much happens.

[Surt]

Well not much happens in England as all opponents are outclasses by them, first when all the Celts unite or French invades something happens.

[PortoLover]

I'm considering an AI Aggressiveness option independent of the difficulty rating. I have read both accounts: some say the AI is constantly on their necks or declaring war on everyone, while others say not much happens.

That's a great idea! More modularity and customization is always a good thing...

[deadtorius]

I'm considering an AI Aggressiveness option independent of the difficulty rating. I have read both accounts: some say the AI is constantly on their necks or declaring war on everyone, while others say not much happens.

I have found AI aggression can vary by game. some games it was almost constant wars others it can be peaceful and quiet. even if different games with the same faction. Guess it depends on what mood the AI is in at the time.

[Surt]

In most games I barely have to declare war, there is always some idiot who dows me or my allies.

[vaalen]

I'm considering an AI Aggressiveness option independent of the difficulty rating. I have read both accounts: some say the AI is constantly on their necks or declaring war on everyone, while others say not much happens.

I like this idea very much.I have seen it work well in other games.

I am now in 1224 in my current game as Scotland, and I am third in legacy points, and trying to catch up to the French. Since I conquered the entire isles of Britain and Ireland, and moved onto the continent, war with powerful nations has been quite frequent.And not just with them. War with France means fighting a lot of vassals and allied nations.But they are also fighting in Italy and east of Germany. The AI was pretty passive in the early game, and very aggressive during the late game. Now the Mongols have appeared, and it looks like there is a lot of action in the far east.

[coach3play4]

im playing ireland - carefully took all of ireland(started munster) allied with wales and am helping them in briton agenst wessex etc. . closing in on the year 1200 and no norman inasion and the saxons are no real threat to me.
question should the norman invasion be scripted?

[Surt]

It is scripted, but won't appear if Normandy is at war with France or conquered.
(england should also exist I think for it to happen)

[Pocus]

It can happen until year 1100, but is prevented if there is a war with France. The dice were loaded too much in favor of being at war with France in 1.00 this has been changed in 1.01 Public Beta (on Steam only)

[vaalen]

It can happen until year 1100, but is prevented if there is a war with France. The dice were loaded too much in favor of being at war with France in 1.00 this has been changed in 1.01 Public Beta (on Steam only)

That explains it. I have started a few campaign games, but never seen the Normans invade England.
I am glad for the fix!

[JonJonJon]

Re the Norman invasion - I've seen it fire in a couple of games, but never seen them take a region.

[Surt]

I have played England in a previous version and lost a couple of regions to them.

[vaalen]

I am thinking that it might be really fun to play a short scenario covering the Norman invasion of England. I really enjoyed the short El Cid scenario, but I might like this one even better.

It would include the Norwegian invasion as well.

Pocus, please consider this a request

[varangy]

I'm considering an AI Aggressiveness option independent of the difficulty rating. I have read both accounts: some say the AI is constantly on their necks or declaring war on everyone, while others say not much happens.

Could be an option separate from the difficulty as well.