For the Glory

For the Glory is a grand strategy wargame that is based on Europa Universalis II and its Europa Engine. It was developed by Crystal Empire Games, a studio composed of members of the Europe Universalis II modification "Alternative Grand Campaign / Event Exchange Project" (AGCEEP) team, and published by Paradox Interactive. It was announced on September 4, 2009 and was released November 10/11, 2009. The game is available for Windows based personal computers.

In For the Glory, the player chooses from over 190 nations spanning the 1000 province globe to guide a single nation from 1399 to 1819, managing its economy, military, political alliances, scientific development, exploration and colonization, religious affairs, and internal stability. It features over 10,000 historically accurate events and rulers.

The game's reviews praised its increase historical immersion, improved graphics, and better interfaces when compared to its Europa Universalis 2 start point. However, multiplayer stability issues, laborious management, and irritating sound effects soured opinions.

Gameplay
For the Glory is in real time, which flows continuously during gameplay, rather than taking place in turns. The player is able to pause the game, speed up, or slow down time at their whim. Unlike most real-time strategy games the focus is not on military management. Instead, as with other grand strategy titles, the player manages their chosen nation throughout history juggling the nation's economy, military, political alliances, scientific development, exploration and colonization, religious affairs, and internal stability.

A major aspect of For the Glory is managing domestic policies. Every ten in-games years, or through events, the player can use sliders to determine domestic policies, which impact the game. Balancing the nation's budget and keeping a lid on inflation is another primary objective. Money is used for multiple things including funding the military, trade, and research. The player can invest fund in their country's stability as well, which affects just about everything in the game. Instability is usually the result of in-game actions, such as declaring war on a neighboring country without a casus belli, and it can also be influenced by events. With instability the army stands a greater chance of losing its battles, rebels attack with increasing frequency, diplomatic actions are more difficult, and founding colonies fail more often. Stability also helps to prevent revolts that would topple the player's regime.

Foreign policy and interaction with the computer controlled nations is another sizable facet in For the Glory. AI nations work to maintain the balance of power. If the player tries to imperialistically conquer territory quickly, they'll tarnish their international reputation, and may see alliances form against them. Besides brute force there are other methods to nation-building. Through diplomacy it's possible to vassal or annex other countries. Aggressive actions still negatively impact country's' reputation, but less than taking territory by force. Also, a casus belli makes the war seem less threatening impacting reputation less. Casus belli can come through events, but the player can also use diplomacy to create one. The player can influence their neighbors as well. The effectiveness of diplomatic actions is determined by the ruler's diplomacy skill.

Battles take place in real time, but the player doesn't have significant control over them. Conflicts between armies are resolved and if the invader wins they besiege the province's garrison. Once the player starves out the garrison the player controls the province. However, occupation does not equal ownership in For the Glory. Instead, the enemy must agree to cede the territory in a peace treaty, and the likelihood that they'll agree to terms is determined by how much territory the player controls and how well their units fared in battle.

Development
For the Glory was created by Crystal Empire Games, development studio created in June 2008 after the announcement of the Europa Engine Licensing Program by Paradox Interactive. They have members come from all around the world. Many team members have been active in the Paradox Interactive community for years, contributing mods and tools dedicated to the company’s games.

The interface, graphics, and tool tips were improved and modernized when compared to its Europa Universalis II starting point. The number of resolutions supported was increased as well.

A number of new For the Glory features impact military forces. Terrain and weather significantly impact combat. Losses from attrition were increased and influenced by weather. Naval attrition was increased, but the player's fleets now automatically sail to the nearest friendly port when in danger of sinking. The AI concentrates their forces making combat more difficult.

The result of years of research and development from Europa Universalis II AGCEEP modification team For the Glory features thousands of new events, both random and historical, which are country-specific.

Like other Paradox Interactive games For the Glory is very modification friendly. For example, the previously mentioned AGCEEP modification comes bundled with For The Glory.

Reception
For the Glory received mixed reviews. Reviewers highlighted its historical immersion, improved graphics and interfaces, and plethora of historical events as major draws for fans of the series. Conversely, they cited the crash-prone multiplayer, some tedious management aspects, and annoying sound effects as drawbacks. It was called, "an improvement from EU II..." and "...more than a mega-patch but less than a new game...".

"Despite the supremely disappointing multiplayer experience, For the Glory manages to greatly improve upon Europa Universalis II. The visual improvements, better tooltips, helpful reminder icons, and thousands of new events make For the Glory superior to its venerable ancestor. Needless to say, fans of EUII should pick it up immediately, and Renaissance- and Napoleonic-era aficionados are in for a treat. However, given the availability of Europa Universalis III and its expansions, you may prefer to skip For the Glory in favor of the more stable and aesthetically pleasing experience. If you love the flavor of historical and alt-history events, For the Glory is the Europa Universalis may well be the game for you."

- Daniel Shannon