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CK2 Dev Diary - The Rules of the Game

Well people, what do you know? I needed a break from the Stellaris crunch, so here’s an unscheduled dev diary! All the hubbub about Defensive Pacts and Shattered Retreats got me thinking about an old ambition I’ve had to improve the game set-up screens in order to allow players to customize their experience without having to resort to modding. The idea is inspired by games like Civilization and the Second Wave DLC for XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which allow players to change various advanced options and settings for a different experience in the game. I really like such options and typically make good use of them myself.

Now, of course there is such a thing as “the way the game was meant to be played”. That is, how the designers made the game and like to play it themselves. However, variety is the spice of life, and after 11 Crusader Kings II expansions things are not as clear-cut anymore. It’s actually pretty funny that I’ve been using a small personal mod for CK2 for awhile myself. There are some downsides to modding and using mods though:
  • It requires awareness that it’s possible, and where to find existing mods. The modding scene is a jungle.
  • It takes a modicum of extra effort and skill.
  • It might not feel quite legitimate (it can feel a bit like cheating) and you might not get any Achievements.
  • Mods typically do not have the same level of support as the base game. Many become fossilized or are otherwise problematic.
For these reasons especially, I think that adding a bunch of Paradox-approved, fully supported in-game rule variations is a good idea. Thus, when you start a new game, you are now presented with several interesting options. Most of them are simple flavor variations, but some are more fundamental and will disable Achievements in Ironman mode. Here’s the list of options we are currently showing in the new screen (still a work in progress though):
  • Sandbox vs Ironman
  • Shattered Retreats: On/Off
  • Defensive Pacts: On/Off
  • Gender Equality: Default/Historical/All/Players
  • Sunset Invasion: 13th Century/Random/Off
  • Mongol Invasion: Historical/Random/Off
  • Raiding: Historical/Unrestricted/None
  • Epidemics: Dynamic/Historical/Deadly
  • “Supernatural” Events: On/Off
  • Adventurers: Normal/Rare/None
  • Provincial Revolts: Normal/Rare/None
  • Regencies: On/Off
  • De Jure Drift: Default/Restricted/Off
  • Dynamic Kingdoms and Empires: On/Off
  • Diplomatic Range: On/Off
Red options disable Achievements.

Crusader Kings II - Rules 01.jpg


Our new rule system is itself fully moddable, so that modders can use the same system with pretty much any options they might want!

Crusader Kings II - Rules 02.jpg


I look forward to your thoughts and comments. Are there any rule variations you think we’ve missed, or that you would really like to see?
 
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es333 said:
I don't know the 1st option, but the 2nd option would make the game crash. It is not meant to be played without land.
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I'm not sure that's true. There are mods that let you play unlanded.
 
es333 said:
I don't know the 1st option, but the 2nd option would make the game crash. It is not meant to be played without land.
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The first is definitely doable. You can, for example, freely change the player's dynasty while his character is still alive with no issue; doing so on-death would certainly be no problem.
 
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I really wonder why people ask for the ability to keep playing even if your dynasty dies out. That's like asking for Mario not to die when he falls into lava.
 
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heliostellar said:
I'm not sure that's true. There are mods that let you play unlanded.
Click to expand...

I thought they broke that a few patches ago. I remember people complained because you couldn't play as Daenerys in the Game of Thrones mod like you used to be able to do.
 
StJimmyRocks92 said:
I thought they broke that a few patches ago. I remember people complained because you couldn't play as Daenerys in the Game of Thrones mod like you used to be able to do.
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I'm not really sure. Possibly.
 
I can confirm trying to play as Dany or Jon snow if you accept Stannis' offer is borked right now, You have to set auto save to half a year at least to protect against crashes.
 
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Keizer Harm said:
I really wonder why people ask for the ability to keep playing even if your dynasty dies out. That's like asking for Mario not to die when he falls into lava.
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For me, it's because I feel the distinction between what is "your" dynasty and what is not feels very artificial. I don't think it's a very well chosen fail state, but admittedly I'm not sure what is.
 
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I want an option of 'Vassal War Limitation Law', that work with ConclaveDLC to keep my empire in my favorite shape for hundred years.
Like... Level 1: Vassals can't go for war each other, and Level 2: Vassals can't go for war outside the realm.
 
eXistenZ2 said:
When the plumber smahes your pipes in half without you asking for it, are you gonna pay him to repair?
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That's a ridiculously over the top analogy. A game not working exactly the way you want it to is in no way comparable to someone causing destruction to your house. Hyperbole like that does nothing but hurt your credibility.
 
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FLANDERS!

I know I have fought for a good cause! This deserves some celebration!
 
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Robert II said:
What if they are just trolling with Flanders?
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I seriously hope they aren't this time.

I was almost considering designing a de jure mod of my own just to get rid of the 1066 dumb de jures.
 
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Lord_P said:
I seriously hope they aren't this time.

I was almost considering designing a de jure mod of my own just to get rid of the 1066 dumb de jures.
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If they are trolling again I'm raising the banners and calling in all my allies. Or maybe just bitching about it online I'm undecided.
 
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cerpintaxt475 said:
That's a ridiculously over the top analogy. A game not working exactly the way you want it to is in no way comparable to someone causing destruction to your house. Hyperbole like that does nothing but hurt your credibility.
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You think about I care about credibility on a forum where 95% of the people instantly hit disagree without thinking when you say something negative?

It has nothing to do with "working how you want". The game worked as intended. They release low quality dlc (just look at the steam ratings compared to previous dlc) and broke stuff in the process. Now they somewhat fix it (without adressing the base problem).

No, that doesnt deserves praise. When you have a €150 game, the least you could do is make it work
 
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eXistenZ2 said:
You think about I care about credibility on a forum where 95% of the people instantly hit disagree without thinking when you say something negative?
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Don't be arrogant the most you got was 14 disagrees and 2 agrees, with not even half on the posts after that, which is about 2% of the users active on the past hour alone.

Really even counting all ratings and assuming every single person who posted didn't give one I don't think there is any post in the forum that got even half that much.
 
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eXistenZ2 said:
You think about I care about credibility on a forum where 95% of the people instantly hit disagree without thinking when you say something negative?

It has nothing to do with "working how you want". The game worked as intended. They release low quality dlc (just look at the steam ratings compared to previous dlc) and broke stuff in the process. Now they somewhat fix it (without adressing the base problem).

No, that doesnt deserves praise. When you have a €150 game, the least you could do is make it work
Click to expand...


Well, the game works perfectly well. Granted you might not like the changes, but the game works.

Steam ratings and reviews are a tricky beast - someone who merely likes a change is unlikely to post a review, whereas someone who hates it will. However, if (as an example, and a probably inaccurate one) 95% of people like something, but not enough to post about it, and 4% dislike it, but again not enough to post, and then 1% hate it - guess what the reviews look like. That's right, if only that 1% post, the reviews will look 100% negative - even if the vast majority liked the product overall. Add to that reviews that are essentially "really liked all the changes except one - downvoting because I don't like/don't understand a change", and you have a possible explanation...
 
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