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Crusader Kings III: Chapter IV


Hello everyone! I'm the Community Manager with Paradox Studio Black, and today we're excited to present to you the next stage in Crusader Kings III's development: Chapter IV. Today, we'll go over the themes of each piece of content that make up the Chapter, as well as give a brief peek at their features. Without further ado, let's get into it.



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Core Expansion: Khans of the Steppe​

The first release in Chapter IV, Khans of the Steppe, focuses on the brand-new Nomadic Government and the systems we've created to support it. Inspired by the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian Steppe, these mechanics will challenge you to adapt to a lifestyle dominated by the ebb and flow of the land's vitality, maintain your herds, and establish your dominance over the region by any means necessary.

Key Features​

Nomadic Government​

Nomads don't live in a single static location; historically they travelled across the steppe as climate and fertility demanded, and we've strived to recreate that experience in Khans of the Steppe. You'll guide your people and herds across the region, tapping into the fertility of the land for as long as it lasts. Once resources run dry, you must migrate anew. Chieftains can roam peacefully by negotiating with neighboring shepherds, or seize new pastures by force.

Herd​

Representing your horses, cattle, and overall strength within the steppe, the new Herd system becomes a cornerstone of diplomatic, martial, and economic actions. Use it to fuel your warbands, or as currency in your negotiations.

Dominance​

Prove your might on the steppe through Dominance, increasing it alongside your power and territory. At its highest level, you might even claim the mantle of Genghis Khan; the Universal Ruler.

Seasons & Survival​

Life in the steppe is harsh, affected by the changing climate and weather patterns. A White Zud could blanket the land in snow, decimating fertility and putting pressure on you to find greener pastures. Meanwhile, milder conditions can bring bountiful growth to your herds, ushering in a period of prosperity.

Khans of the Steppe releases on April 28, with dev diaries scheduled for every Tuesday until then. Be sure to mark your calendars if you're eager to try your hand at this new style of governance and rulership.




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Event Pack: Coronations​


Beyond the steppe of Eurasia, Chapter IV introduces a new event pack simply titled: Coronations. In the medieval world, a coronation was more than just a gathering, it represented the moment where earthly and divine legitimacy converged.

Coronation Activity​

Coronations function as a new activity type, letting you experience the event first hand. Coordinate with religious authorities and conduct the perfect ceremony to establish your right to rule in the eyes of your vassals and subjects. Plan it wisely, because the consequences of this activity can echo throughout your entire reign and beyond.




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Major Expansion: All Under Heaven​

Chapter IV's flagship Major Expansion, All Under Heaven, is set to be the largest and most ambitious expansion in Crusader Kings history. We're completing our map of the medieval world by extending its scope across all of Asia. This massive expansion brings new gameplay, unique governments, and entirely different perspectives on life in the medieval era.

Key Features​

From Ireland to Cathay​

From the celestial might of Imperial China and the unique governments of Japan and Korea, to the god-kings of the Indonesian archipelago, each new area in All Under Heaven features new cultures, faiths, and flavor.

Hegemony​

To properly represent the power and influence of China in this period, we're introducing a new tier of title above an empire: the Hegemony. This new title tier allows for further granular representation of the division of power within large-scale realms.

Dynastic Cycle​

The fate of the imperial dynasties follows a cyclical pattern, reflecting historical eras of stability and eras of chaos. Players will struggle to maintain the Mandate of Heaven and prove that they are the right choice to navigate the empire through treacherous waters.

Imperial Treasury​

A new centralized treasury system for the Chinese Emperor represents the flow of wealth upward and into the empire's coffers, letting you decide how to spend (or squander) resources that could make or break the stability of the realm.

While no release date is being announced at this time, you can expect our normal in-depth developer diaries to start for this expansion shortly after the release of Khans of the Steppe, with our first dev diary tentatively scheduled for May.



1.15 "Crown" Update: Available Now​

To properly prepare for our upcoming content in Chapter IV, we're releasing a broad set of changes to the game's existing content with our 1.15 "Crown" Update, available to all owners of Crusader Kings III right now, free of charge. This update overhauls multiple systems and fixes numerous issues to ensure your experience in the medieval world is more enjoyable.

Update Highlights​

Court Position Overhaul​

A more intuitive interface for appointing and managing your court's less essential roles. New court positions are introduced, while existing ones are given tasks that their holders can be directed to perform for various benefits. Additionally, you can now choose to replace vacancies manually, or set specific positions to be refilled automatically.

Army Automation and AI Improvements​

Focus on what's important to you while you let the AI handle martial affairs. There's also new interface elements to clarify what allied armies (or your own, if automation is enabled) are actually doing, making it easier than ever to coordinate your war efforts.

Improvements to Crusade AI​

The AI will now gather its armies before striking at its enemies as a properly coordinated force. Expect more unified Great Holy War offensives, and fiercer opposition as a defender.

From quality-of-life changes to bug squashing, the 1.15 "Crown" update refines the overall experience of the game. It's also available right now, so give it a try and let us know what you think!


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Instant Unlock: Crowns of the World​

For those eager to dive into Chapter IV content as soon as possible, anyone who purchases the Chapter IV pass will immediately receive the Crowns of the World cosmetic pack, unlocking various culture-specific crowns and turbans. Whether you play in Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa, you're sure to find new stylish ways to represent your royal persona.


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Community Q&A​

We want to ensure that the content in Chapter IV is the best it can be, and a huge part of that is building strong communications and relationships between us and our players. Your feedback on existing content as well as upcoming features is vital to this effort. To facilitate this, we're collecting questions from all of you until March 19, and will publish a video responding to as many of these as we can on March 26th. Submit your questions below in the comments, or on any of our social media channels.


Chapter IV is the most ambitious content cycle in Crusader Kings history, offering everything from the struggles of maintaining your herd as a nomadic ruler in Khans of the Steppe, to the weight of ceremony and duty in Coronations, culminating in the completion of our map of the medieval world in All Under Heaven. Whether you choose to play in the new areas being introduced to the game or your existing favorites, Chapter IV will redefine the stories you make in Crusader Kings III.

The 1.15 "Crown" Update and the Chapter IV pass are both available right now. The Crown update is available for free to all owners of Crusader Kings III, while those who purchase the Chapter IV pass will immediately receive Crowns of the World as well as all the content mentioned above as soon as it is released.
 
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“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!“

But seriously, this is going to be massive. And as a big critic of event packs, I think this might work wonderfully with coronations.

And a patch dropping today? I can‘t even…!


EDIT: Oh, and what‘s the state of Formosa/Taiwan in those days? Playable indigenous peoples? I mean, before the inevitable Norse adventure party landing.
 
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gurufabbes said:
I never claimed it was closed, and the flow of Christian missionaries go back a long time as well. The silk roads were connecting Europe and China since Roman times.

That however isn't a reason to add China to Imperator Rome.
For all intents and purposes, I don't see a reason to add them here. I do suppose converters for megacampaigns could just have the option to just wipe asia and keep it at the EU4 borders I guess, now that I think about it.

I hope the honoured keeper of the converters may keep this in mind.
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Ok, I won't try to convince you, I respect your ideas.
There is a Chinese saying "seek common ground while reserving differences", have a nice day!
 
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Sledjer said:
I'd like to see how you're addressing performance with such a significant map expansion. Map expansion mods all run terribly in my experience, so I'm a little bit worried.
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Eh from my experience with all map expansion mods, they all have good performance.

The only mod that drop my computer performance is actually Godherja (a total conversion) and I don't know why.
 
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Teutonic_Knight_2000 said:
I secretly hope that someday the game map will be expanded to include America (Mesoamerica, Incas and Eastern Coast of North America) and deeper into Africa. Of course there should be limits to how much the rest of the world can discover these areas - it might be useful to extend the time frame to 1521 (beginnings of great geographical discoveries).
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go play EU4 and Project Caesar which tooootally isn't EU5
 
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Teutonic_Knight_2000 said:
I secretly hope that someday the game map will be expanded to include America (Mesoamerica, Incas and Eastern Coast of North America) and deeper into Africa. Of course there should be limits to how much the rest of the world can discover these areas - it might be useful to extend the time frame to 1521 (beginnings of great geographical discoveries).
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Either wait for EU5 or beg for them to add any part of the new world the Vikings managed to reach, but adding the whole world would be ridiculous.
 
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yaoxinbingkuang said:
Ok, I won't try to convince you, I respect your ideas.
There is a Chinese saying "seek common ground while reserving differences", have a nice day!
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Just in case people are wondering: I am a huge fan of Asian history and especially that of China.
The question is:

-whether this is still however within the scope of the game
-whether it may do more harm than good in unbalancing the game
-whether what it adds will end up being worth it
-whether it may mess with the possibilitly of having a plausible megacampaign
-will adding Asia into the game take away from the focus on improved content for the core part of the game. Europe, Crusades, Islam, religious turmoil....
-(others have mentioned the added drag on performance)


just my thoughts.
 
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Magil said:
Adding China allows them to flesh out the silk road which is a perfect place for mercantile states to enter the picture. Instead of just having China being some nebulous off-map thing or very conspicuously absent.
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there better be a hegemon tier country that controls the entire silk road
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I tried using performance-monitoring tools once, and the RtP mechanic that I saw have the greatest impact on performance was the AI supporting candidates for governorships. It wasn't that bad at first but when my dynasty and empire size started to get bigger and bigger it was probably the single largest performance-killer. Much moreso than anything adventurers were doing.

So, I don't think adding new lands is necessarily a bad thing for performance. It's when they make the lower-level titles have complicated mechanics that the AI needs to interact with that things begin to spiral out of control, potentially.
 
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It’s actually unbelievable (in a bad way) that we are getting this before any development on the core of the game, which is medieval Europe. The state of the Catholic Church (or lack of it) is unacceptable so many years after the game released, with the Pope being a glorified ask money button, the Church being underrepresented and Papal politics being non-existent. Us missing out on republics for yet another year is also particularly puzzling, given that administrative government exists and could easily be transplanted to functionally enable republics. Congratulations on your ambition, but your priorities are out of order.
 
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Scyobi_Empire said:
my 24GB RAM + i9 CPU with a 4060GPU system had a huge performance hit with the new fully coded AIs in RtP along with the Admin Gov, the issue isn't hardware, its optimisation (and the lack there of)
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It does seem like they are currently working on a lot of optimisation. With the latest patch seemingly doing a lot of work to optimise stuff.
 
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Rakdar said:
It’s actually unbelievable (in a bad way) that we are getting this before any development on the core of the game, which is medieval Europe. The state of the Catholic Church (or lack of it) is unacceptable so many years after the game released, with the Pope being a glorified ask money button, the Church being underrepresented and Papal politics being non-existent. Us missing out on republics for yet another year is also particularly puzzling, given that administrative government exists and could easily be transplanted to functionally enable republics. Congratulations on your ambition, but your priorities are out of order.
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I have a feeling next year the focus is going to be on Italy focus with suggestions of merchant republic and trade mechanics.
 
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sreckom92 said:
No one is properly represented in this game. We only have a hint of proper historical representation of medieval realms.
Which is fine. This is after all a roleplaying strategy game, not a hardcore simulator.
China needs to be unique, with some mechanics and fluff. That's it.
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Yeah, they can do it just fine, and many folks will enjoy it. It's just not what I, and many others would like out of the game. Would I like a game that spans Asia to Ireland? Yes! Do I trust paradox to do it with the level of simulation I want? No
 
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ray243 said:
It does seem like they are currently working on a lot of optimisation. With the latest patch seemingly doing a lot of work to optimise stuff.
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one can hope, i have more faith in PDX then modders with optimisation as PDX has access to the exe of the game, while devs like the Rajas of Asia ones don't
 
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All Under Heaven is incredibly hype! My only concern is that it's too much, that China won't get the attention it deserves due to split focus with Japan, and vice versa. And in 1066, Liao might fall between the cracks of Chinese and Horde mechanics. It'll be fun to have a progressive meritocratic empire in 867 and do stuff like reform the exam system and build large scale infrastructure, though. I hope there's a playable heir to the state of Chu (and therefore the Yellow Emperor) even if it starts landless, that would be a fun playthrough
 
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