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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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I don't know if somebody has already said this, but an option to turn the HRE into its member states which are all allied or something, or use a similar HRE system to EU4, would be brilliant. I'm sick of the massive Germanic blob ruining everything for me
 
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Dunno if its been mentioned but a way to turn off Liberation Revolts would be /awesome/. They are a little too much for me (12k guys from my 4 counties to liberate a kingdom that can't be made yet?)

And I guess maybe turn off religious revolts. I don't care about those tho, they are fun.
 
Sulphuric_Glue said:
I don't know if somebody has already said this, but an option to turn the HRE into its member states which are all allied or something, or use a similar HRE system to EU4, would be brilliant. I'm sick of the massive Germanic blob ruining everything for me
Click to expand...
Game rules will not be changing the map or the history. Only actual rules.
 
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Moah said:
Game rules will not be changing the map or the history. Only actual rules.
Click to expand...
But they will change the de jure map in Flanders' sake?
 
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Please make a clan independently without being an empire/khaganate. So when granted independent on vassal clan, they're still hold a kingdom/clan. And one more thing, please fix history of Kayi clan of Oghuz tribe/Turkmen/Turkoman: Bey Ertugrul of Kayi clan and also his father Suleyman Shah. Bey is a ruler of kingdom/clan for nomadic Turks. I've seen unrecognized Kayi dynasty arround Sinope/Pontus.

i96FtY7.jpg
 
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Most likely in the next DLC. Or, rather, the accompanying patch.
 
I want to have option on raising levies - per vassal (as now) / per province (as it was in 2012)
I understand the reason why developers changed rules of raising levies but per province raising are far more historical and allow to avoid "teleports".
(Situation when you disband army of big vassal only to raise same army half continent far away same day, you can now even temporary transfer far away provinces to biggest vassals just to have an ability to form big army in far away lands very quickly)
 
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Doomdark said:
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.

View attachment 173389

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

View attachment 173388

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?
Click to expand...
niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
 
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Totally agree with the bits about the possibility of removing India.

Optimisation of save file should be possible in Ironman. The lategame is just horrible, even with compression activated on a SSD drive...
 
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Linio said:
Totally agree with the bits about the possibility of removing India.

Optimisation of save file should be possible in Ironman. The lategame is just horrible, even with compression activated on a SSD drive...
Click to expand...

It's the way the engine is set up. Even over at Stellaris, end-game lag is showing up and multi-core systems are not optimally used.
 
huyderman said:
Please don't, that sounds like an awful idea. It would just spam up the achievement list without adding anything of value. And I would have to get all my achievements again in the missing color...
Click to expand...
They could just make it so that earning "gold" achievements earned "silver" equivilents as well. Or they could make having "gold" achivements overwrite the "silver" ones on the achievement list once earned.
 
Universian1 said:
Perhaps the mythical kingdom of Belgium?
Click to expand...
No. Belgium did not exist within the time frame of CK2. The most sensible options for Flanders would be France / HRE (though I don't know why anyone would want that)
 
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