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Hi everyone!

I'm Tobias Bodlund, also known as The Witch-King on the forums. I work as a scripter on the Crusader Kings II team and I will be giving you this weeks' dev diary!

Today we're going to talk about events. You will find that not only do many interesting things happen in India - they are also often different to the things that happen in Europe and the Middle East. When expanding the game east into Asia, one of the things we wanted to do was to properly give that feeling of being on a new continent, in a different part of the world. New lands, new events - not in Kansas anymore (more close to Karnataka, in fact).

Obviously we've worked hard to provide a different environment and flavor through things such as the mechanics surrounding the new religions etc, but an important part of Crusader Kings II has always been the various random events than occur, and we have a bunch of new ones for India. The many new events include several longer chains of linked events, of the kind that tells smaller stories within the grander story of your dynasty. We also have a number of minor random events as well as events connected to the new feast and hunt decisions.

diary_screen_1.png

Decisions, yes... we are adding a number of new decisions specific to India. For one, there are the religious conversion decisions mentioned in a previous dev diary, but you will also be able to convert to the religion of a spouse under certain conditions, just like in other parts of the world. Hindu characters will also be allowed to choose their personal patron deity, it's a choice that in some cases may open up interesting options. The Indian cultural decisions include the traditional autumn feast Diwali (or the Kali Puja for those so inclined), with associated events. There is also the tiger hunt, which is a social occasion as well as a possibility for display of martial prowess.

Oh, and the gurus of course. You may invite a guru to reside at your court if you are prepared to risk getting some good advice. And strange yogis may appear when you least expect and have interesting things to say.

diary_screen_2.png

As far as the things you do see, we've put in a lot of work, but there has also been a lot of "invisible" work with this expansion. One thing we've had to do, for example, is go through all the events in the game and adapt triggers to make sure that things which shouldn't happen in India don't. It's a completely different world in the east, so there are a number of things that should definitely not appear there.
Well, that's what I had to say about events and decisions right now. The screenshots give a few illustrations of the kind of things you can expect (note that it's still early days for graphics so the event pictures, portaits and unit models are not the final ones).

diary_screen_3.png
 
I agree that it would be very broad, considering the enormous differences eg. between Chan/Zen Mahayana and Tiantai Mahayana. But those three names would cover in very broad strokes the major traditions of Buddhism, and they could be made to be very distinct by taking the most distinct features of their subschools, and give them different event chains involving prayer mills, chan meditation or some Thai thingy (Theravada is the school I am least familiar with).

Hi, I'm a Theravada Buddhist. Having Theravada vs Mahayana be a character trait like favored god for Hindus wouldn't work well, because the two were sharply split along geographic lines. Mahayana was present mostly as a minority religion in North India at TOG start, and Theravada was present as the majority religion in Sri Lanka throughout the period. I also don't think Paradox would gain anything in making Theravada and Mahayana separate religions. The conflicts between Theravada and Mahayan were mostly over before the CK2 timeframe, and the Buddhist kingdom in Sri Lanka and the Buddhist Palas in North India didn't really interact with each other that much in a way that would make it interesting to have the doctrinal split modeled. Plus, the tech bonus mechanic assigned to Buddhists is sort of wonky and historically inapt, and shows that Paradox is having enough trouble coming up with one Buddhism mechanic, let alone two :laugh:
 
I hope is that they reference Indiana Jones somehow.

And I want my character to worship Kali, but heyyyyyyyyyyy

You know that presentation of Kali is not at all accurate, Kali is not an evil demon goddess as western media likes to show. Though I do hope that I can select Kali is my favored goddess.


Question, could the geography/culture be counted into which god characters favor? for instance Kali is big in Bengal, so Bengali should have a better chance of choosing Kali. I am not sure if she was worshiped as much in the rest of india, but I know Bengal was a big important area for her worship.
 
Will the Indian religions receive unique shield gfx and unique UI gfx?
 
Thirded. No re-using title shield and UI gfx!
 
Thirded. No re-using title shield and UI gfx!

I just hope that these new gfx changes would be included in the major dlc and not separated out as individual upgrades. Shield and Dynastic aspects are essential in my eyes to the CK2 core and even though others see them as merely cosmetic, I see them as essential tools in dynamic formation, evolution and differentiation of both dynasty and realm.
 
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You know that presentation of Kali is not at all accurate, Kali is not an evil demon goddess as western media likes to show. Though I do hope that I can select Kali is my favored goddess.
True, but I am quite sure Paradox is legally bound to make at least one Indiana Jones reference under the Swedish cheesiness act.
 
Will the Indian religions receive unique shield gfx and unique UI gfx?

As somebody who worships her, I can tell you yes, but mostly in areas that are already closely allied with Bengal in terms of cultural history, Orissa, Assam, ect and also in Nepal. If you consider Durga, who is closely related to her, as a form of hers, you find her all over Northern India and the Dravidian South.
 
Quite agreeable. Nothing very controversial.

How many gods are there to choose for Hinduism? Can personal gods also be chosen as a Buddhist and Jainist?

For your personal patron deity, you can choose between six major deities. Only for Hindus.
 
For your personal patron deity, you can choose between six major deities. Only for Hindus.
Hm...
Than would the Buddha turned into some different religions (Theravada, Mahayana, maybe Vajrayana) like Islam (Sunni, Syiah) or only Buddha?
Or would there be different mechanic?

I thought the school of Buddhism going to be used like the the ashari-mutazille but as the mechanic seems to be used only for Hindu, I kinda doubt it now...
 
Do Hindus get holy orders?

Yes. All three new religions get holy orders.

Will we see widows' burnings?

No.

Secret bears confirmed!
:rofl:

No comment...

By a number of things that "should definitely not appear there" I assume we're talking about Mongols, Hindustan merchants, and Host invasions, correct? Any thing I'm missing?

You are mostly correct here. Watch out for the Mongols, however...

I hope is that they reference Indiana Jones somehow.

Who knows ;)

Will the Indian religions receive unique shield gfx and unique UI gfx?

Yes.

I just hope that these new gfx changes would be included in the major dlc and not separated out as individual upgrades. Shield and Dynastic aspects are essential in my eyes to the CK2 core and even though others see them as merely cosmetic, I see them as essential tools in dynamic formation, evolution and differentiation of both dynasty and realm.

The new interface and shield graphics will be included in the main DLC.

Hm...
Than would the Buddha turned into some different religions (Theravada, Mahayana, maybe Vajrayana) like Islam (Sunni, Syiah) or only Buddha?
Or would there be different mechanic?

I thought the school of Buddhism going to be used like the the ashari-mutazille but as the mechanic seems to be used only for Hindu, I kinda doubt it now...

Buddhism will have three different branches in the game. The religious branches are not the same as the personal patron deity option for Hindus, which is a separate feature.
 
I hate to sound like a wet blanket, and I love the new expansion and the game, but could you guys have some native English speaker proofread the events?

This is much less of an issue than it was in CK1 (e.g. no "riding horses hard through the wood" or "complots") but just to use the first screenshot as an example, the most intuitive expression is "head home" not "head for home".
 
I hate to sound like a wet blanket, and I love the new expansion and the game, but could you guys have some native English speaker proofread the events?

This is much less of an issue than it was in CK1 (e.g. no "riding horses hard through the wood" or "complots") but just to use the first screenshot as an example, the most intuitive expression is "head home" not "head for home".

No. 'head for home' is also correct after me research.

For exemple:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-178077/British-troops-head-home.html
 
Could you pls post a pic of Abyssinia?