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Dev Diary #117 - Shave and a Map Mode

Hello everyone!

My name is Jens and this is my first appearance on this forum. I’ve got the opportunity to share some details with you on my probation project for CK3, which is making it all the way into the upcoming release (because that’s where I pushed my changes, lol)!

I’m happy at least one of you caught on to the subtle hint in the previous DD. I was like “Wokeg, did you use my new thing to set up the screenshots?” Well yes, because all of a sudden most assets and characters have become way more accessible. So what is it I’m talking about? At this point, most of you have probably guessed it - but yes, we have upgraded our old friend the Barbershop.

I’ve scrambled through the webs looking for feedback and wishes of what you would like and expect from such a tool. Heck, no mediocre fix would do: I want only the best for you! I distilled the info down, looking for the essence of how you’d want to use the tool, set up the tasks, prioritized them, and spent the last few weeks going through them all. Well, I’ll spare you the fluff. Let’s get into some details.

First off, we have expanded the Barbershop into two tabs. The first is focused on changing the appearance of your character. Additionally, I’ve added a fuzzy search box next to the drop downs, in case you already know the name of what you’re looking for.

barbershop1.png

[Image: Barbershop, tab for changing appearance]


In the second tab, we’ve added drag and drop support for the portraits, so you may click, drag and place them wherever you want. You can also rotate them 360 degrees and we’ve also got 4 different zoom levels for you to play around with. Every character has their own dropdown of poses and animations and we’ve also added a wide variety of backgrounds. The only limit now is your own imagination.

barbershop2.png

[Image: Barbershop, tab for placing characters in the scene]


One of the big reasons we play is to create stories and make memories. I took a deep dive into the forum history and found out some of you want to use the Barbershop to relive past events between characters, dress up a serious ruler in a funny outfit or take family photos. To support this I’ve added presets. The “Custom” preset lets you import characters simply by pinning them. Another preset I really wanted in (based on a comment) was an easy way to view your entire Council, so for that end I present to you:

barbershop3.png

[Image: Barbershop, easily view your council]


Also, note the council preset supports modding if that’s your thing.

barbershop-script.png

[Image: Barbershop script]


With only a few polish tasks left, people have already begun discovering this tool in-house and started trolling and meme-ing each other. I hope you guys will enjoy the new Barbershop as much as we do. Let me know if you have any last minute requests and I will see what I can do. Now @rageair also has something in store for you.




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Greetings! In addition to the above we also want to show some additions to our collection of Map Modes - namely the introduction of the Control and Economy map modes! These two new tools are very useful in managing your realm… and planning your conquests.

map-modes.png

[Image - New Map Mode Buttons]


The Control map mode is very straightforward, showing you exactly what you’d expect. It spans from a dark purple (denoting very low control) to a light yellow (showing just a slight lack of control), and a bright white shows where there’s Absolute Control.

control-map.png

[Image: Control Map mode Example]


The Economy map mode is a little bit less straightforward - but we aspired to make it as useful as possible. The nebulous concept of ‘economy’ is a bit harder to represent, but we decided to include what most of us thought were key factors in making informed decisions.

econ-map-france.png

[Image: Economy Map mode Example, Southern France]


Similar to the Development Map mode, the color spans from dark purple to bright yellow; bright yellow indicates an area is quite rich. The area colors are based on Counties, including income from Cities, Bishoprics, and so on - for an overall approximation of the County’s use to the player (of course, Counties with more Castles might be better in the eyes of some, but we had to make a call and thought that this was the most useful overall). This coloring is relative to the state of the world, meaning that the most brilliant yellow County is the richest one in the world at that moment. This map mode doesn’t care about the current Control Level of the County, which makes it useful for planning conquest targets.

econ-map-india.png

[Image: Economy map mode, showing India]


Something else that you no-doubt notice is that Special Buildings are shown on this map mode! They’ve been hidden away for much too long, and we decided that this was an excellent time to reveal them… and maybe add a handful of new ones. Getting Special Buildings in your domain was always a fun goal for the player to achieve, and now it’s not only possible to see where they are - but also whether you can use them, if they are already built, what they provide, and so on!

As an added bonus, we’ve added an absolute ton of new mines strewn around the map, and we’ve also revised the system for founding Universities - now it’s no longer a decision, but rather the institutions are constructed as normal special buildings (and in many more places than before!), with the same rewards on offer.

This means that there are many, many more great capital locations strewn across the world, and it’s now easier than ever to find them!

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That’s it for this time! But stay tuned… our spymaster sends word that what’s next for Crusader Kings III will soon be announced! Make sure to mark Monday next week, March 6th, in your calendars and visit this link!

 
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I can't wait for you all to see what's next in store for CK3 at the Paradox Interactive Announcement Show on March 6th!

Unlike you, we don't know anything, at all. How do you think that makes us feel?

Don't you have a teaser for us? Something? Anything?

In exchange I can offer you a meaningless bit of info from the 10th of July 1157, namely what was in the document from HRE Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (yes, the one who drowned when going on a crusade), a document that was signed by a bishop and fifteen other witnesses near the river Mincio near the city of Verona in Italy on that day.

I'll tell you what that document was about, if you give me a teaser. Quid pro quo.
 
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Wait, 'if' you get around to espionage, and 'hope' you do? Does that mean CK3 has a short projected lifespan? I hope I am just reading too much into this, but it does sound like there is not a lot of certainty to the longevity of the game. You are likely not allowed to give me the correct answer either way. I just hope the game continues to expand for long into the future, as I like about CK and EU.

Anyway, great dev diary!

I think the way you should read the "if" is that the team has an ever evolving set of things they want to do with ever evolving priorities, such that even if espionage is desirable to do soon, that could change as they do other things first. Also that particular dev (PDXOxycoon) is not one of the lead designers that decides the next direction of ideas to follow. I would not read into it that they mean CK3 to have a short lifespan.
 
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... Anyone watching? No? Good.

Ok, just you and me. Great, because I've only got a few wee lil morsels today and I don't want to share them with too many people. So let's all just keep this quiet and, if anyone asks, the dev diary was about how we research thirteenth century agrarian techniques in rural France. Got it? Good.

I want you to tell me what this historical character...
A dev diary written in the style of a spy.
There is a scheme in the list!

... an agricultural scheme. About farming.
Another reference to intrigue.
Certainly the spymaster animation, that.
To be fair this one could be a clue pointing to today's Barbershop but it still doesn't explain why the regent was in the spymaster pose. It might be a coincidence but I'm not completely sold.
A spymaster pose? With his feet showing so garishly? The very idea.
The mentioning of the regent's feet being shown makes me think this indicates something else. An assassin, maybe?
I think obfuscating information like this more falls into the scope of an update where we look more into espionage and such things, if we get around to such a thing. I hope we do, but we'll see.
Another mention of espionage and all of the above quotes were dev responses. Why bring it up and say "if we get around to such a thing," and "I hope we do, but we'll see," unless its already been decided.

I think we’re going to see new intrigue mechanics.

Personally, I think that each of the flavor dlcs (Wardens, Lovers, and Villains) was designed to compliment some aspect of this expansion no matter which one we voted for. Regents goes well with Wardens, someone mentioned possible weddings which would go well with Lovers (the marital aspect of it, anyway) and an intrigue overhaul would go well with Villains and Vagabonds.

But we'll see.

Edit: I also noticed that the banner picture has three people in very conniving poses. Two rubbing their hands together and the third with a chess piece in his hand.
 
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A dev diary written in the style of a spy.

Another reference to intrigue.

To be fair this one could be a clue pointing to today's Barbershop but it still doesn't explain why the regent was in the spymaster pose. It might be a coincidence but I'm not completely sold.

The mentioning of the regent's feet being shown makes me think this indicates something else. An assassin, maybe?

Another mention of espionage and all of the above quotes were dev responses. Why bring it up and say "if we get around to such a thing," and "I hope we do, but we'll see," unless its already been decided.

Personally, I think that each of the flavor dlcs (Wardens, Lovers, and Villains) was designed to compliment some aspect of this expansion no matter which one we voted for. Regents goes well with Wardens, someone mentioned possible weddings which would go well with Lovers (the marital aspect of it, anyway) and an intrigue overhaul would go well with Villains and Vagabonds.

But we'll see.

Edit: I also noticed that the banner picture has three people in very conniving poses. Two rubbing their hands together and the third with a chess piece in his hand.
They have already said, when we did the voting for the flavour pack (wards and wardens) that it would be released after the next big one, so these could be teasers to that one?
 
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They have already said, when we did the voting for the flavour pack (wards and wardens) that it would be released after the next big one, so these could be teasers to that one?
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. That no matter which flavor pack we chose, it would mesh well with the expansion.

Edit: Also, the being able to easily see the 'realm control' map might be because they're going to add a feature to allow you to foment unrest in other rulers' realms; possibly to fund causes that benefit you. This sort of already exists in Iberian Struggle since you can pay gold to cause unrest but they might expand the mechanic to everyone.
 
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I'd throw a few bucks down for what's in this DD alone, so I'm definitely interested in what the full package is gonna be.
 
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I hope this means you guys can add the free camera movement to these scenes and your royal court soon!

Also I really want a zoomed out terrain mode map mode option. I can never get a good look at the terrain of the map and it already exists!
 
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…we also want to show some additions to our collection of Map Modes - namely the introduction of the Control and Economy map modes! These two new tools are very useful in managing your realm… and planning your conquests.
I am also wondering how the economy map will be useful in planning conquests unless they’re going to add in economic warfare. I read Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle (fantastic trilogy of books) a couple of years ago and one of its main focuses are economic plots between Louis the XIV and William of Orange.

Although somewhat out of CK3’s time frame, I could see them adding in mechanics to do something similar.
 
A dev diary written in the style of a spy.

Another reference to intrigue.

To be fair this one could be a clue pointing to today's Barbershop but it still doesn't explain why the regent was in the spymaster pose. It might be a coincidence but I'm not completely sold.

The mentioning of the regent's feet being shown makes me think this indicates something else. An assassin, maybe?

Another mention of espionage and all of the above quotes were dev responses. Why bring it up and say "if we get around to such a thing," and "I hope we do, but we'll see," unless its already been decided.

I think we’re going to see new intrigue mechanics.

Personally, I think that each of the flavor dlcs (Wardens, Lovers, and Villains) was designed to compliment some aspect of this expansion no matter which one we voted for. Regents goes well with Wardens, someone mentioned possible weddings which would go well with Lovers (the marital aspect of it, anyway) and an intrigue overhaul would go well with Villains and Vagabonds.

But we'll see.

Edit: I also noticed that the banner picture has three people in very conniving poses. Two rubbing their hands together and the third with a chess piece in his hand.
Rakes & Regents, mayhaps?
 
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It's my proudest work :p
I am happy with all the positive responses on the barbershop images, I had a lot of fun crafting them for this DD!

I can't wait for you all to see what's next in store for CK3 at the Paradox Interactive Announcement Show on March 6th!
Is one of them Boromir? I'm pretty sure one of them is Boromir. I am certain one of them is Boromir.

Boromir.
 
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One Thing I would actually like to see and choose is the colour-style of the clothing of your ruler. Currently it is just random and there some choice would be nice to avoid some colour clashes and to RP a bit.
 
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Wait, 'if' you get around to espionage, and 'hope' you do? Does that mean CK3 has a short projected lifespan?
Consider Dev Diary #109 - The Floor Plan For the Future with a ton of things we want to do, which is not even an exhaustive glance of all the areas we want to look at, I would not say CK3 has a short projected lifespan.

Another mention of espionage and all of the above quotes were dev responses. Why bring it up and say "if we get around to such a thing," and "I hope we do, but we'll see," unless its already been decided.
While I love riddles, teasing and so on, this is not it.

Nothing has been decided in regards to when or if we will do espionage and information obfuscation. We already have lots of other things on the floor and I personally think expanding espionage and information obfuscation is too big for a
1677660411435.png
ontent Pack, and I'm not sure if even a flavour pack would be sufficient considering the adjacencies espionage has with diplomacy. Right now though the focus is on the upcoming release.

And before anyone inevitably reads too much into the up there: we, the developers, insist on calling event packs "
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ontent packs" because of how we labeled F&F internally the first time: bp1. For reference: you can see this structure if you look at the game files themselves in the internal naming convention: bp for
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ontent packs (and no one can tell us otherwise ) like Friends and Foes; fp for flavour packs like Fate of Iberia; and ep for expansion packs like Royal Court. Now go forth! Spread to all the corners of the world:
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ontent packs! We will reclaim our rightful name!

I think the way you should read the "if" is that the team has an ever evolving set of things they want to do with ever evolving priorities, such that even if espionage is desirable to do soon, that could change as they do other things first. Also that particular dev (PDXOxycoon) is not one of the lead designers that decides the next direction of ideas to follow. I would not read into it that they mean CK3 to have a short lifespan.
This pretty much summarizes it. I don't set priorities and the direction we go for what comes next. I can influence it with giving feedback on what's ahead internally, but at the end of the day I go where our Benevolent Overlord of Ducks, may his hungry armies ever stay satiated on our enemies, leads us!
 
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