Things are getting busy at the office with the upcoming release of Europa Universalis IV, but as has been said before, we're still very much committed to the continued support and further expansion of Crusader Kings II. With Doomdark currently Down Under, Johan asked me to put together a short dev diary highlighting some of the current stuff we've been working on.

Patch 1.11:
1.11 will be deployed next week, and the new patch will include a few features that should make dealing with plots a bit easier. After hatching a plot, you can now tell the game to automatically invite all plotters who are willing to join your scheme. No more having to browse through the Potential Plotters list and individually sending requests to every single character who wants to join!

Also, you can now set the game to always demand that characters end their plots as soon as they come to your attention. Another handy addition is that you can now see at a glance which potential plotters can be won over to your side if they are bribed.

Among the other things added is a new Siege Leader trait (finally), a favorite IP table for the multiplayer menu and some additional support for modders.

Crusader Kings II to Europa Universalis IV Converter:
Johan already posted a dev diary about the Converter last week in the Europa Universalis IV forum, and there is an interview with Groogy here that goes into some more detail. I don't have much to add except that we're pretty pleased with the result and it actually works better than we had anticipated when development began.

Customizer:
This is a smaller DLC on the scale of the Ruler Designer, but it's something that many have asked for. It will give players an easy way to customize several items in their games when they are already well underway.

You can have your character pay a visit to the barber, where their hairstyle or facial hair can be altered... within reason (no bearded women, sorry). Below you can see the new look I gave King Charles II the Not-So-Bald:

View attachment CKII_111_DD_The_Bald.jpg

You can rename any title held by you or your vassals:

View attachment CKII_111_DD_Northwest_Francia.jpg

Finally, if you feel the need to shake things up a bit, you can alter the name and shield of your dynasty:

View attachment CKII_111_DD_de_Poher.jpg

Hopefully this will tide you over for a while, until we're ready to tell you more about what the future will bring to Crusader Kings II.


Here are the highlights from the Crusader Kings II to Europa Universalis IV Converter livestream with Johan & Doomdark!
[video=youtube;FWqQgp1Vh9U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWqQgp1Vh9U[/video]

You can find the full live-stream for the CK2 to EU4 converter here:
http://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive/b/438261345

ps. And you can pre-order Europa Universalis IV here:
http://www.europauniversalis4.com/buy

 

[Kljunas]

Just look at posts around there, whetever DLC is great, or average, a lot of people are writing that they're not interested, but still would buy for only supporting. And it's great.
But seems like you dont see a problem. Even if I like some DLC less than the other, I will buy it, no matter if it will be expand gameplay or only graphics things.
My point is, that developer shouldn't abuse it, people like me who want to support company even if they're not great at everytihng. Why you're keep answering for that sentence "if you dont like it, dont buy it?" It isn't solution for entire abuse thing. ;p

I think these people are a very tiny fraction of the whole CK2 playerbase.

No, decadence isn't working. It's just spawning some magic army from deserts, what ends only in specific state changing it name. Nothing more. If for you it's fine... then well... not for most of people. Just look at forum, how many threads about decadence was created in recent months.

But that's just your opinion (as well as mine). Decadence isn't broken.

 

[Rozmarzony]

I never said decadence is broken.
It just isn't working.

 

[Jamey]

Patch 1.11:
1.11 will be deployed next week, and the new patch will include a few features that should make dealing with plots a bit easier. After hatching a plot, you can now tell the game to automatically invite all plotters who are willing to join your scheme. No more having to browse through the Potential Plotters list and individually sending requests to every single character who wants to join!

Also, you can now set the game to always demand that characters end their plots as soon as they come to your attention. Another handy addition is that you can now see at a glance which potential plotters can be won over to your side if they are bribed.

This should make a good game even better. Keep up the gameplay improvements.

 

[Darkrenown]

Just look at posts around there, whetever DLC is great, or average, a lot of people are writing that they're not interested, but still would buy for only supporting. And it's great.
But seems like you dont see a problem. Even if I like some DLC less than the other, I will buy it, no matter if it will be expand gameplay or only graphics things.
My point is, that developer shouldn't abuse it, people like me who want to support company even if they're not great at everytihng. Why you're keep answering for that sentence "if you dont like it, dont buy it?" It isn't solution for entire abuse thing. ;p

There's no abuse. We make stuff, you buy it if you want it. If you feel compelled to buy everything even though you don't want it, that is your problem. If you can't see that I have no idea what to say to you.

Some people writing on the forum that they aren't interested isn't interesting. They are certainly not the majority of the forum, and the majority of our users never use the forum. What a few people here say is a terrible metric (Hello GG version of CK2 ). And the idea that most people just throw money at us despite not wanting our DLCs is madness. Although if it were true it would be a very strong case for us not to worry about making quality DLCs or patching anything at all, since if people just buy everything regardless why put any effort in?

No, decadence isn't working. It's just spawning some magic army from deserts, what ends only in specific state changing it name. Nothing more. If for you it's fine... then well... not for most of people. Just look at forum, how many threads about decadence was created in recent months.

This is you not liking decadence, not decadence not working.

I will point Doomdark at the vassal thing when he is back from Oz, thanks for the links.

With that, I'm going to stop replying here.

 

[Rozmarzony]

since if people just buy everything regardless why put any effort in?

That's the point, you never put SIGNIFICANT effort into your DLC.
Single modders are doing better job while taking no money... and it's sad that they're capable of making more events/decisions/better balance than original creators.

 

[RX2000]

That's the point, you never put SIGNIFICANT effort into your DLC.
Single modders are doing better job taking no money... and it's sad that they're capable of making more events/decisions/better balance than original creators.

I'm trying to figure out if you really believe the stuff you are saying (because it really doesnt make any sense!) or if you are just trolling now.

I'm going with trolling.

 

[unmerged(766678)]

Well this sounds totally awesome to me, I've been waiting to have Dukes of Ireland and Dukes of Wales and such. I only wish you could edit the title itself, maybe change Duke of Ireland to Lord of Ireland just to signify that the title holder really holds a would be kingdom and are technically more powerful than dukes, but are still vassals to a king and the same tier as a duke. But that really isn't a big deal at all and I can live without it. I know the release is next week, but when exactly?

 

[Rozmarzony]

I'm trying to figure out if you really believe the stuff you are saying (because it really doesnt make any sense!) or if you are just trolling now.

I'm going with trolling.

Erm, just look at mod forum?

 

[iron0037]

Wow, I step away for a day and discover that this thread has added a dozen pages...yet Rozmarzony is still complaining about DLCs. Why does every every DLC announcement or dev diary always have to devolve into this pointless bickering?

PS: Yes, decadence wars are borked. They don't cause Muslim realms to fracture, just causes them to change the dynasty that controls them. Someone should look into that and correct it.

 

[XxJaumV2xX]

I don't know if anyone mentioned it but I'd love there to be an option to change the title:

e.g. From 'King' : 'His Excellency, Lord'.

I know you can do this in the save-game, but you can change the name to in the sg.

 

[unmerged(766678)]

I don't know if anyone mentioned it but I'd love there to be an option to change the title:

e.g. From 'King' : 'His Excellency, Lord'.

I know you can do this in the save-game, but you can change the name to in the sg.

Yeah man I did like four posts up

 

[balmung60]

@Various Devs: Is there any word on if/when there will be a Linux Launcher? I like SI and all, but I also want to be able to make a game without it to port to EU IV, as well as to be able to use mods without using annoying launch commands or directly altering the game files.

Also, with respect to bugs, while I like the frequent patches that fix a lot of these bugs, there are some bugs that have been around for ages and would be trivial to fix, such as Volley Harass benefiting Horse Archers and hurting regular Archers instead of the other way around (involves switching the numbers in all of two lines of combat_tactics.txt), and the West African's pagan attrition (the religion description even SAYS that it gets it, but the line is missing in religions.txt), which would simply require either removing a single line from the description (one of the localization files, I believe), or adding a single line in religions.txt. The thing is, while these can be fixed easily by the player, even doing that would break MP compatibility with anyone who didn't do the exact same fixes in the exact same order.

 

[XxJaumV2xX]

I apologise for your brain cells being thrown into the space-time vortex.
If you want to do it
Here is a link how
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiqZy9rx4ZM

Unless you know how and just want to help others

 

[Rozmarzony]

Also, with respect to bugs, while I like the frequent patches that fix a lot of these bugs, there are some bugs that have been around for ages and would be trivial to fix, such as Volley Harass benefiting Horse Archers and hurting regular Archers instead of the other way around (involves switching the numbers in all of two lines of combat_tactics.txt), and the West African's pagan attrition (the religion description even SAYS that it gets it, but the line is missing in religions.txt), which would simply require either removing a single line from the description (one of the localization files, I believe), or adding a single line in religions.txt. The thing is, while these can be fixed easily by the player, even doing that would break MP compatibility with anyone who didn't do the exact same fixes in the exact same order.

This, but hey, it's better to concentrate on small dlc. : P
Just joking now, but those bugs really should got fixed months ago.

 

[unmerged(751237)]

But we do patch DLC stuff, I don't know why you keep saying that. Decandence works and there are other pagan religions than norse, so again I don't know what you want here.



What evidence do you have that most people just throw money at us and don't care for our DLCs? You even just said you liked SI! If you really just buy stuff that you hate, don't complain to us about it: Exercise some willpower and stop. Control yourself and buy only what you actually want, you'll be happier.



Some rebels is hardly gamebreaking, I'll grant it could be somewhat annoying though. And just "Byz succession" tells me nothing, but I did just play through a long BYZ game over my summer holiday without ever having all my vassals become independent, so I assume it is not a common thing. Is there a bug report on it? If so, can you link me?



I don't even know, I really don't.

Decadence isn't working. All it does is make people imprison all their relatives(ahistorically for most nations) and even if you lose a decadence revolt, it just gets a OP god-like martial 24 guy on the throne with 0% decadence to keep crushing the Byzantine Empire before 900AD and expanding into Aquitaine(Aquitaine one isn't that often but it still happens about a quarter of the time).

Also, with respect to bugs, while I like the frequent patches that fix a lot of these bugs, there are some bugs that have been around for ages and would be trivial to fix, such as Volley Harass benefiting Horse Archers and hurting regular Archers instead of the other way around (involves switching the numbers in all of two lines of combat_tactics.txt), and the West African's pagan attrition (the religion description even SAYS that it gets it, but the line is missing in religions.txt), which would simply require either removing a single line from the description (one of the localization files, I believe), or adding a single line in religions.txt. The thing is, while these can be fixed easily by the player, even doing that would break MP compatibility with anyone who didn't do the exact same fixes in the exact same order.

Yeah, it'd take like 5 minutes to fix all of these bugs.

 

[WolfSnakeCaffer]

Patch 1.11:
1.11 will be deployed next week, and the new patch will include a few features that should make dealing with plots a bit easier. After hatching a plot, you can now tell the game to automatically invite all plotters who are willing to join your scheme. No more having to browse through the Potential Plotters list and individually sending requests to every single character who wants to join!

Also, you can now set the game to always demand that characters end their plots as soon as they come to your attention. Another handy addition is that you can now see at a glance which potential plotters can be won over to your side if they are bribed.

Am I the only one who is strongly against this:

you can now set the game to always demand that characters end their plots as soon as they come to your attention.

Some plots I like, and so I will never use the setting. However this is only a minor complaint. As some people may want to use this.

After hatching a plot, you can now tell the game to automatically invite all plotters who are willing to join your scheme.

I never invite all players who would say yes to my plot anyway. From my experience having backers with low intrigue increases the likelihood of the plot being discovered. Could be wrong about this.

Another handy addition is that you can now see at a glance which potential plotters can be won over to your side if they are bribed.

Our character is not suppose to be a political genius (especially if he has low intrigue score). I love having to estimate based on the potential backers opinions and traits whether or not bribing him would pay off. Normally I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong. But thats what makes it fun.

I'm heavily against the setting that already makes it so that you can't send offers to people who will say no. Knowing what the answer is going to be ruins half the fun and its probably the mechanic that I hate the most in the game.

What I would love to see is:
1. More plot events, that give you greater control of how and when your planned assassination will take place.
2. A chance that potential backers who would say no, should reveal your plot should you try to invite them (however for this to work you would have to remove the automatic yes/no in the settings).
3. More plot types, giving you more options so that its not just about killing people. Plots such as:
i. A fabricate claims plot, no longer do you need to rely on your chancellor whenever you want to fabricate claims.
ii. Plan a rebellion.
iii. Change a characters oppinion of someone. Manage through a series of events to try to get Person A to like/hate Person B more.
etc.

I'd rather more options and less certainty in my intrigue, and this ruins half the fun of intrigue while making an already rather easy game slightly easier.

 

[wickermoon]

In regards to bugfixing: Guys, inform yourself on how a QA workflow for bugfixing is actually working.
You want to have your bugs fixed asap.
You want to have game-breaking bugs fixed asap.
You want to have big bugs fixed asap.
You want to have minor bugs fixed asap.
You want new bugs fixed asap.
You want old bugs fixed asap.

Don't you guys realize that this is just not possible? It's common sense, plus you don't even know the specific bugfixing workflow for PDox/CK2. Of course, they could (and imho should) spend a bit more time on bugfixing, but that also means that they'll have less time for new features. New features everybody is demanding - you guessed it - to be implemented asap. And instead of acknowledging the work that already went into the game even a little bit, you're just nagging, nagging, nagging. And the worst part is, you're not even constructive. You whine about DLCs being too expensive - probably because you would love to have it 1st day, but can't justify affording it for the price - without giving any true alternative. All you're saying is "gift us stuff". Talking about Gamer entitlement. Then you whine about bugs not being fixed - which is a lie btw. as they are getting fixed, just not the in the order YOU might want to -without probably having any knowledge about bugfixing (a game at that!) or a QA workflow, which you show by your complaints alone. You don't even have an idea what kind of bugtracking system Paradox is using and how they calculate the importance of bugs or how they sort out priority lists.

In regards to money spent on DLC which you don't want:
You vote with your wallet. If you throw money at Paradox, even though you're not convinced by the DLC, then you are the problem here. Because we other customers won't pay for content we don't think is worth it, showing Paradox that they either have to add more to it or that they have to put more effort into it. Money is what companies measure success by - and rightly so, I might add - and people buying stuff regardless are the actual bane of this industry. You are the reason companies start to lack in quality content, because as Darkrenown has already said: Why put any effort into anything that will be paid for regardless? That would only lower the profit margin and as I said, initially, companies measure success by profit.

 

[unmerged(766678)]

Am I the only one who is strongly against this:

Some plots I like, and so I will never use the setting. However this is only a minor complaint. As some people may want to use this.


I never invite all players who would say yes to my plot anyway. From my experience having backers with low intrigue increases the likelihood of the plot being discovered. Could be wrong about this.


Our character is not suppose to be a political genius (especially if he has low intrigue score). I love having to estimate based on the potential backers opinions and traits whether or not bribing him would pay off. Normally I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong. But thats what makes it fun.

I'm heavily against the setting that already makes it so that you can't send offers to people who will say no. Knowing what the answer is going to be ruins half the fun and its probably the mechanic that I hate the most in the game.

What I would love to see is:
1. More plot events, that give you greater control of how and when your planned assassination will take place.
2. A chance that potential backers who would say no, should reveal your plot should you try to invite them (however for this to work you would have to remove the automatic yes/no in the settings).
3. More plot types, giving you more options so that its not just about killing people. Plots such as:
i. A fabricate claims plot, no longer do you need to rely on your chancellor whenever you want to fabricate claims.
ii. Plan a rebellion.
iii. Change a characters oppinion of someone. Manage through a series of events to try to get Person A to like/hate Person B more.
etc.

I'd rather more options and less certainty in my intrigue, and this ruins half the fun of intrigue while making an already rather easy game slightly easier.

I would just like the echo the plot events dynamic again. Being that inter kingdom politics was such a huge and juicy part of medieval europe I feel that diversifying the intrigue options/events that happen related to your vassals and courtiers would make the actual running of the kingdom much more dynamic than simply keeping your vassals happy by bribing them with money or fake titles. For example, the heir of a duchy has an affair and impregnates a noble with a claim on another duchy. That love child can then set off a chain (obviously a few years later) of cold warring (if you have medium crown authority) and scheming. I guess, alot would end in assassinations, but I'd like more explanations for the reasoning behind why things are happening. That might be totally whacky and not accomplishable though.

 

[Darkath]

Erm, just look at mod forum?

I don't even know why devs bother arguing with you, seriously.

 

[Lord Flash]

I never invite all players who would say yes to my plot anyway. From my experience having backers with low intrigue increases the likelihood of the plot being discovered. Could be wrong about this.

I hatched a plot to kill the Queen of Scotland. One of my backers had the drunkard trait. The plot was blown wide open by this drunkard telling all and sundry during a night in the tavern. For this reason, I always check the backers now before I invite them to back my plots.