If anyone doesn't have Crusader Kings, get it.  Wonderful game.

Yes it does run on vista.  I have Vista on my home comp.

Evochron Mercenary does look like fun...might have to check it out.

Ya looks interesting. I'm kind of hesitant due to this "Online Serial Number Validation (1 Key Per PC Only)"..

so what if i upgrade my mother board after activating I'm SoL? (a la OEM versions of windows)

Probably.. which means even if i do buy it i'll wait til its a bit lower priced so i minimize my risk of loss.

Or maybe i'm just reading that wrong.. lol

I was just about to grab it up til i saw that..

So many different Drm schemes I never know wtf they are doing unless they spell it out implicitly

Seconded.  Plus, you can learn the fundamentals and the ins and outs before Paradox releases CK 2.

One really interesting feature (that I never used because I came to CK too late to own the older versions of the other games) is the ability to start a campaign in CK, export it to Europa Universalis II, export that to Victoria, and then export that to Hearts of Iron.  Imagine playing from 1066 to 1950.  Crazy.

But, yeah, despite the ability to do all that, CK is a very different game than the other Paradox titles.  Much less about countries and international diplomacy and much more about dynasties and internal politics.

I have it, and I am not particularly thrilled with it. In particular I feel it does the 'trade' aspect poorly (as in buying stuff at one place and selling it in another). There is no way to look up the value of goods in systems other than the current one nor does it record the what the prices were last time you visited. Better off mining (which amounts to sitting next to an asteroid waiting for your cargo space to fill up, as they have some of the most valuable stuff) or buying & selling high price ship upgrades (which are not meant to be a trade item) from a system with a weak economy to a system with a strong economy (which for the most part trumps the modifications to prices based on what the system produces alot of and what it really needs*).

It might get better, but up through where I am it is not particularly good. As such I prefer "High Seas Trader" (which was made for DOS) to it.

* Example: I got a load of a product that was extra cheap (it was its main export) in a system with a high economy, and it sold for less than I bought it for in a system with a weaker economy (by one rank) for which that product was listed as being in high demand.