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CK3 Dev Diary #81 - A tour of your Royal Court (Interface)

Hello there, and welcome to the eighty-first CK3 Dev Diary!

Today we are going to look at the experience of admiring your Royal Court, one of the paid features of the Expansion with the same name.

Most of the actual mechanics of the expansion should already be familiar to you if you have read previous Dev Diaries. I will refer back to these Dev Diaries where appropriate, so you can see this as a bit of a summary of what it means to preside over your own Royal Court.

That being said, we are going to talk a bit about Court Types, a minor feature for your Royal Court

Visiting your Royal Court​

When you reach the rank of King or Emperor as a Feudal or Clan Ruler, you have laid the foundation for your Royal Court. You can now go to it via a button in the main interface.

This button highlights if there is something interesting to do in your Royal Court at this moment, such as if you have new Court Artifacts.

pasted image 0 (1).png


You can also view anyone else’s Royal Court via a button next to their Character.

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The Throne Room​

Your Royal Court is split into three segments: Throne Room, Court Grandeur, and Court Artifacts

When you enter your Royal Court, you end up in your Throne Room.

pasted image 0 (2).png


Here you can see various petitioners or other goings-on in your Court, and you can choose to interact with them. These types of events are described in Dev Diary 75. If any Inspired Characters are present or have projects in progress, they are also shown here, on the left side of the screen.

2021_11_08_2.png


If there is not enough going on here, you can also choose to Hold Court, inviting Courtiers and Vassals across the Realm to grovel before you (which was shown in Dev Diary 72).

pasted image 0 (3).png


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If this is your Liege’s Court, you can even approach them to hear your reasonable requests, as seen in Dev Diary 74.

pasted image 0 (5).png


Grandeur and Amenities​

Moving on to the second part of your Royal Court, which is an overview of your Court Grandeur. How much you have, various factors affecting it, and so on.

Grandeur was explained a while ago, in Dev Diary 61. Basically, it is a measure of how well known your Court is, and each Level gives you further benefits.

Your current Grandeur, Grandeur Baseline, and unlocked Grandeur Levels are shown on the large bar in the center.

In the image below, we can see we are gaining Grandeur every month due to being below our Baseline.

pasted image 0 (6).png


Our current Level is 4: while we do not have enough Grandeur to maintain this Level, we had unlocked it before, and it will thus stay unlocked for 6 months, regardless how much Grandeur we have.

pasted image 0 (7).png


We can also see that our expected Grandeur Level is 7, which we are nowhere near fulfilling.

pasted image 0 (8).png


Grandeur is also reflected in other ways. If you have high Grandeur, the UI looks more luxurious, and new (non-Artifact) furniture appears in your court.

pasted image 0 (9).png


pasted image 0 (10).png


A large source of Grandeur is which Amenities are available to your Courtiers and visitors to your court. Providing excellent Amenities is sure to make your name well known across the world.

pasted image 0 (11).png


pasted image 0 (12).png


There are two other factors affecting Grandeur, Court Language and Court Types. Court Language was already explained in Dev Diary 78, so let’s talk about Court Types.

Court Types​

With Court Types, you can choose which kind of Royal Court you want to foster. Perhaps one where martial prowess is admired, or where there is a whisper around every corner and a lover behind every curtain.

You always have the choice between two Court Types, based on the Ethos of your Culture, and changing it costs Prestige. If your Culture changes, you can still keep your old Court Type.

The type of Royal Court affects two things: what you get from your Grandeur Level, and what your Courtiers get from being part of the Court.

While some Grandeur Levels you reach are always the same regardless of your Court Type, some change somewhat. So, in a Diplomatic Court, Grandeur Level 4 may see you gaining less Tyranny, while in a Warlike Court, you may gain more Levies.

pasted image 0 (13).png


As for Courtiers, each Courtier who stays at an especially Grand Royal Court for a certain period of time (5 years) will gain a special Courtier Trait based on the Court Type

pasted image 0 (14).png


Each Trait of this type has two different levels. If your Court is at Grandeur Level 5, Courtiers get the first level, while the second level will appear at Grandeur Level 8. The second level comes with extra bonuses and can be especially useful for those you plan to be your Vassals.

pasted image 0 (15).png


Court Artifacts​

Last but certainly not least, are the Court Artifacts. We showed a few of them off in Dev Diary 69.

In short, Court Artifacts are a special type of Artifacts. These are large furniture and other decorative items you display inside your Royal Court. This makes them distinct from your Inventory Artifacts described in last week's Dev Diary as you are not hauling them around everywhere.

When entering this part of the Royal Court, you can see all spots where you can place Court Artifacts

2021_11_09_1.png


Just like Inventory Artifacts, they give you a bonus if they are actively on display in your Royal Court. The primary purpose of Court Artifacts is to increase your Court Grandeur, but some have additional effects.

pasted image 0 (16).png


For most Court Artifacts, there is more than one slot to place them. Perhaps that tapestry would look better on that other wall?

swap.gif


End of the Tour​


That is all for this week, thank you for reading!
 

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Skjermbilde.PNG

Some of these are tied to the court type, others are just tied to grandeur.
 
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Not sure how but why shadows are missing from artifact stands and courtiers?
Is it possible to turn on/off shadow and other visual settings to reduce performance impact on low-end computer?
 
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The penalties for being under your target grandeur look pretty brutal for the AI. If my realm is partitioned, and my second son inherits a kingdom but no artifacts, will he be able to maintain the grandeur he's expected to, or will he suffer severe opinion penalties?

Also, I notice that the screenshots of the court scene no longer say, "work in progress" like in many of the previous diaries. Are these more or less finalized?
 
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A practical question - if all these 3D courts destroy performance on older PCs, can we disable them without disabling the DLC itself? Are they a fundamental aspect of the game or just visual fluff? Will the artefact system work without everything having to be shown in 3D in every court? (Realistically, I'm assuming some of these questions relate to the performance issues that have caused the delay).
 
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I see a lot of value in all of the mechanics, but I am having a hard time suspending my disbelief with those graphics.

I know they are not final, and shadows are painfully still missing, but there is something fundamentally tough to look at here.

Chiefest among my gripes is the throne room size itself. It feels so small. This will be specially painful if the room size does not change as you increase Grandeur. If I am the HRE, King of France or, specially, the Byzantine Emperor, that room is laughably small!

What I keep seeing, visually (mechanics look great), is something that is far more fitting for Count and Duke courts...
 
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Looks great.
Two question
1) Is the game auto paused when I enter the court (probably not cause my MP friends would hate me)
2) how do I decide to visit my court or my lieges court or did I miss something and only the top layer of an empire has a court?
 
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Looks really awesome and can not wait to get my hands on this! The only thing I don't like, and has been the one consistent since it was announced is that having a court is limited to King or Emperor's only. I know it won't be changed at this point but it still saddens me that as a Count or at the very least a Duke, I can't have a royal court. Even if it were limited to what levels we could enact for the amenities and we could only reach a certain level of grandure, it would be nice to just have access to the features for Dukes or Counts. Hopefully it's something that the modders can fix in the future.
 
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Looks great.
Two question
1) Is the game auto paused when I enter the court (probably not cause my MP friends would hate me)
2) how do I decide to visit my court or my lieges court or did I miss something and only the top layer of an empire has a court?
1) If in MP, it won't be paused. If in SP, it will be paused.
2) First/second picture of the DD, there's a Throne icon in the upper left corner for every ruler that has a Royal Court. You can access your Liege's RC too from there.
 
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I see a lot of value in all of the mechanics, but I am having a hard time suspending my disbelief with those graphics.

I know they are not final, and shadows are painfully still missing, but there is something fundamentally tough to look at here.

Chiefest among my gripes is the throne room size itself. It feels so small. This will be specially painful if the room size does not change as you increase Grandeur. If I am the HRE, King of France or, specially, the Byzantine Emperor, that room is laughably small!

What I keep seeing, visually (mechanics look great), is something that is far more fitting for Count and Duke courts...
I agree, I think it would look much better if every 2 grandeur tiers or so, the throneroom gets a bit bigger. You would have to ofc line the room with random npcs at the sidelines so it wouldn't look as empty, with the center of the room where the interactions/events/noble mingling happens.
There's a zero chance we will see any big significant changes though imo, I think we will at most see new textures applied and some small furnitures here and there added to improve the visuals of the grandeur change
 
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Hello there, and welcome to the eighty-first CK3 Dev Diary!

Today we are going to look at the experience of admiring your Royal Court, one of the paid features of the Expansion with the same name.

Most of the actual mechanics of the expansion should already be familiar to you if you have read previous Dev Diaries. I will refer back to these Dev Diaries where appropriate, so you can see this as a bit of a summary of what it means to preside over your own Royal Court.

That being said, we are going to talk a bit about Court Types, a minor feature for your Royal Court

Visiting your Royal Court​

When you reach the rank of King or Emperor as a Feudal or Clan Ruler, you have laid the foundation for your Royal Court. You can now go to it via a button in the main interface.

This button highlights if there is something interesting to do in your Royal Court at this moment, such as if you have new Court Artifacts.

View attachment 771867

You can also view anyone else’s Royal Court via a button next to their Character.

View attachment 771868

The Throne Room​

Your Royal Court is split into three segments: Throne Room, Court Grandeur, and Court Artifacts

When you enter your Royal Court, you end up in your Throne Room.

View attachment 771869

Here you can see various petitioners or other goings-on in your Court, and you can choose to interact with them. These types of events are described in Dev Diary 75. If any Inspired Characters are present or have projects in progress, they are also shown here, on the left side of the screen.

View attachment 771870

If there is not enough going on here, you can also choose to Hold Court, inviting Courtiers and Vassals across the Realm to grovel before you (which was shown in Dev Diary 72).

View attachment 771872

View attachment 771874

If this is your Liege’s Court, you can even approach them to hear your reasonable requests, as seen in Dev Diary 74.

View attachment 771876

Grandeur and Amenities​

Moving on to the second part of your Royal Court, which is an overview of your Court Grandeur. How much you have, various factors affecting it, and so on.

Grandeur was explained a while ago, in Dev Diary 61. Basically, it is a measure of how well known your Court is, and each Level gives you further benefits.

Your current Grandeur, Grandeur Baseline, and unlocked Grandeur Levels are shown on the large bar in the center.

In the image below, we can see we are gaining Grandeur every month due to being below our Baseline.

View attachment 771877

Our current Level is 4: while we do not have enough Grandeur to maintain this Level, we had unlocked it before, and it will thus stay unlocked for 6 months, regardless how much Grandeur we have.

View attachment 771878

We can also see that our expected Grandeur Level is 7, which we are nowhere near fulfilling.

View attachment 771879

Grandeur is also reflected in other ways. If you have high Grandeur, the UI looks more luxurious, and new (non-Artifact) furniture appears in your court.

View attachment 771880

View attachment 771881

A large source of Grandeur is which Amenities are available to your Courtiers and visitors to your court. Providing excellent Amenities is sure to make your name well known across the world.

View attachment 771882

View attachment 771883

There are two other factors affecting Grandeur, Court Language and Court Types. Court Language was already explained in Dev Diary 78, so let’s talk about Court Types.

Court Types​

With Court Types, you can choose which kind of Royal Court you want to foster. Perhaps one where martial prowess is admired, or where there is a whisper around every corner and a lover behind every curtain.

You always have the choice between two Court Types, based on the Ethos of your Culture, and changing it costs Prestige. If your Culture changes, you can still keep your old Court Type.

The type of Royal Court affects two things: what you get from your Grandeur Level, and what your Courtiers get from being part of the Court.

While some Grandeur Levels you reach are always the same regardless of your Court Type, some change somewhat. So, in a Diplomatic Court, Grandeur Level 4 may see you gaining less Tyranny, while in a Warlike Court, you may gain more Levies.

View attachment 771884


As for Courtiers, each Courtier who stays at an especially Grand Royal Court for a certain period of time (5 years) will gain a special Courtier Trait based on the Court Type

View attachment 771885

Each Trait of this type has two different levels. If your Court is at Grandeur Level 5, Courtiers get the first level, while the second level will appear at Grandeur Level 8. The second level comes with extra bonuses and can be especially useful for those you plan to be your Vassals.

View attachment 771886

Court Artifacts​

Last but certainly not least, are the Court Artifacts. We showed a few of them off in Dev Diary 69.

In short, Court Artifacts are a special type of Artifacts. These are large furniture and other decorative items you display inside your Royal Court. This makes them distinct from your Inventory Artifacts described in last week's Dev Diary as you are not hauling them around everywhere.

When entering this part of the Royal Court, you can see all spots where you can place Court Artifacts

View attachment 771887

Just like Inventory Artifacts, they give you a bonus if they are actively on display in your Royal Court. The primary purpose of Court Artifacts is to increase your Court Grandeur, but some have additional effects.

View attachment 771888

For most Court Artifacts, there is more than one slot to place them. Perhaps that tapestry would look better on that other wall?

View attachment 771889

End of the Tour​


That is all for this week, thank you for reading!
You mention that the courts of other characters will be visible to the player. Will characters presiding over a Republic or theocracy also have visible courts, and if so, will they be visibly different from an equivalent culture's feudal court?
 
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Court Types​

With Court Types, you can choose which kind of Royal Court you want to foster. Perhaps one where martial prowess is admired, or where there is a whisper around every corner and a lover behind every curtain.

You always have the choice between two Court Types, based on the Ethos of your Culture, and changing it costs Prestige. If your Culture changes, you can still keep your old Court Type.

The type of Royal Court affects two things: what you get from your Grandeur Level, and what your Courtiers get from being part of the Court.

While some Grandeur Levels you reach are always the same regardless of your Court Type, some change somewhat. So, in a Diplomatic Court, Grandeur Level 4 may see you gaining less Tyranny, while in a Warlike Court, you may gain more Levies.

View attachment 771884


As for Courtiers, each Courtier who stays at an especially Grand Royal Court for a certain period of time (5 years) will gain a special Courtier Trait based on the Court Type

View attachment 771885

Each Trait of this type has two different levels. If your Court is at Grandeur Level 5, Courtiers get the first level, while the second level will appear at Grandeur Level 8. The second level comes with extra bonuses and can be especially useful for those you plan to be your Vassals.

View attachment 771886
Do Courtiers with traits that match your Court Type boost your Grandeur?

For example, let's say I have a Warlike Court and I recruit an adventurer with the Warlike Courtier trait (or, say, matri-marry a warlike courtier to one of my character's daughters). Will that Courtier's experience in a proper Warlike Court help me improve the Grandeur of my Warlike Court directly? If not, will having him in my court at least cause possible event triggers that lead to my Court's Grandeur improving?
 
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As we've seen before, PDX tends to hide buttons/icons. The royal court button for your own court is extra big and bulky rather than fitting in nicely with the other buttons/icons already present, but if you don't know about the button/icon on the window for other characters, you'll easily miss it, just like people were always asking where to see the dread icon, which is also easily missed. I think that icon should be made a little more easy to notice. Right now, it could be nothing more than a decorative thing in the corner if you're not looking too closely.
 
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Really looking forward to it!

I have a question, though: will there be special court rooms for special cases? Special, as in vastly different from the small-ish rooms of normal kings and small-time emperors.

I'm talking about grand courts, like from the Roman Empire. I've some things in mind here, like a really huge hall, lots of marble and many statues. You know, all the nice things the old roman emperors used to have.

For reference, I've found a few good illustrations of what I mean:

Aula Regia, Rome, 1st - 5th century AD

Roman Senate, 2nd century AD

Or looking to the ERE, they also had impressive throne rooms, like the Chrysotriklinos (6th to 9th century), which heavily inspired the Palatine Chapel in Aachen, or the maybe even better one in the Blachernae Palace (11th to 15th century). It even had water running down a channel through the throne room; what a ridiculously expensive thing to have - just right for the Roman Emperor who is swimming in gold! It likely looked like this (pic is from a palace in Italy, but it was modelled after the byzantine original).

I know that you can't make dozens of different rooms, but there ought to be a difference between some generic king and the Roman Emperor, who not only restored the old borders, but also mended the great schism. You know, a difference that is more than just a few more rugs, candles and a bench.

Directly tied to my question is another one: how hard will it be to mod the throne room?
 
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If a character is a member of Varangian guards or a ward of ruler/member of the court - will it count as being a member of a court and grant courtier traits?