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rageair

CK3 Game Director
Paradox Staff
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Sep 10, 2011
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Greetings!

I’m @rageair, the Game Director for Crusader Kings III, and today I’m excited to present to you Chapter III - in this Dev Diary we’ll briefly go over the themes of each of the expansions that will make up the full package and take sneak a peek at their features!

Chapter III is definitely our most ambitious chapter yet, with a Core Expansion, Major Expansion, and an Event Pack (as well as an instant chapter unlock!) New ways of playing the game, and big, sweeping systems is the name of the game this year. Let's have a look, shall we!




Core Expansion - Legends of the Dead

Legends of the Dead is all about the map - specifically that which spreads throughout it! Core Expansions will, as mentioned in previous Dev Diaries, focus on broad systemic changes to the core gameplay loop, or high-impact systems that affect large parts of the game world. As this is our first Core Expansion, we wanted systems that were big and all-encompassing, affecting all rulers on the map in one way or another! With that said, here’s a high-level list of what you will see in the Expansion and its accompanying update:

Legends
Tales of your or your ancestors' epic deeds will travel across the map, spreading news of your glory across borders into foreign realms. Embellished tales of heroism or piety were a massive and common part of medieval life, and here we’re allowing you to write your own saga - quite literally! As your legend spreads, a book will be updated with your story - and events you get along the way may allow you to… alter certain aspects to suit you better, after all perhaps it was a dragon that your grandfather slew rather than a bear! The more your legend spreads across the map, and the more rulers that propagate it, the more famed it will become.

Plagues
Plagues are the second thing that spreads across the map, but unlike legends they are destructive and nefarious - with a promise to shake up the game! Deadly diseases can sweep across your lands, spawned by either random chance or the activity of armies, and they will destroy development and kill characters with a vengeance. All plagues are different, with varying effects - such as consumption ending the lives of elders with haste, measles shortening the lives of children, and Holy Fire (aka the Dancing Plague) making rulers… move erratically. Of course, there will be ways to combat and recover your lands from these terrible maladies!

image1.png

[Image - One of the ways plagues are visualized]

The Black Death
A looming threat that appears towards the later eras - there is no escape from the Black Death, no matter how much you prepare, the end is nigh!

Legitimacy
This is a new measurement of your right to rule and affects a whole host of other systems from factions, vassalization, and even title creation. Of course, this new value will heavily tie into both Legends and Plagues, but also a myriad of other systems. A legitimate ruler will have a much easier time running a realm… but some very tempting actions, such as unrightful title revocation, will decrease legitimacy - making it a precarious balancing act!


Major Expansion - Roads to Power

Climbing your way up from Count to Emperor is a challenge - but to claw your way up the treacherous political ladder of the Byzantine bureaucracy or claiming a new realm as a destitute Adventurer are more challenging yet! This Major Expansion introduces two brand new ways of playing the game, one focused on the Administrative governance of Eastern Rome, and the other on traveling the map in search of fame and fortune. These features have been oft-requested since the early days of Crusader Kings, and we thought it high time to do them - we're pulling out all the stops!

Imperial Administration
Take the reins of a powerful Noble Family within Byzantium and lobby for powerful governorships. Use your influence to improve your standing, improve your estate, and ultimately convince the other families that you should rule as emperor!

Adventurers
Set out across the world as a historical adventurer, one of your own making, or keep playing your beloved character after being unfortunately deposed from your lands! Travel to distant realms, take on contracts, gather friends, wealth, and fame - do mercenary work, or settle in new lands.

Everything Byzantium
I’m not exaggerating when I say that this expansion will be dripping with Byzantine flavor. From imperial fashion to new buildings, historical flavor, beautiful mosaics, and much more - the game will immerse you in the setting with a passion.

image2.jpg

[Image - Everyone likes grapes]


Event Pack - Wandering Nobles

Travel is a mechanic that really connects your characters to the map, and in this Event Pack we want to flesh the mechanic out with even more reasons to travel, and things that can happen on the road - new sights to see, new paths to take, and new stories to weave together into an immersive narrative!

Is it about the journey, or the destination? Your characters can decide for themselves as they engage with a new Traveler Lifestyle!

Instant Unlock - Couture of the Capets

The French were a fancy lot, and with this Instant Unlock you can admire their splendor during the high medieval period. As always we’ve put a lot of effort into research to make sure that the clothes are not only glorious, but as historical as we can make them!



That’s it for now! Next week we’ll begin posting Dev Diaries for Legends of the Dead, so keep your eyes out! Also, a reminder that Chapter III is available right now, and if you purchase it now you will immediately get access to the Couture of the Capets (as well as the expansions as soon as they are released, of course!)

We’re very excited to show off the work we’ve done, this really is the biggest chapter we’ve ever done! Until next time!
 
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This post is reserved by the Community Team for collecting developer responses.


Noticed on Steam that a new *Lifestyle* was being added with the Travel Event pack, that's awesome! Hope this space opens up more, (Raider and Adventuerer lifestyle?) and also maybe comes with an companying update to how XP is earned. A little boring now that you really only have 1 main lifestyle +% bonus. I really like +% bonus based on actual skills mod (so you get +12% Bonus to stewardship lifestyle if you have 12 stewardship, not just the stewardship education trait), that I think sadly has been abandoned.
We will have to see how the new lifestyle is received first, of course, but I am hopeful that there is space for adding even more lifestyles down the line at some point.


Question about the lifestyles:
Will the new lifestyle in wandering nobles have prerequisites? (like either being landless, having the traveler trait, the pilgrim trait or the adventurer trait)
I feel it would be appropriate to have the lifestyle only appear in the UI under some condition. It would really make sense otherwise.
No, the only prerequisite is to have the DLC. If you have the Traveler trait, you will get more exp in the lifestyle (similar to education for other lifestyles). The plan is for the AI to choose it less often though, and usually only after they've already completed another lifestyle tree. But we want it to be open to the player whenever they want.

Without asking you to make any promises on future content, are you free to give an example of what that traveler lifestyle is about in gameplay terms?

The current five lifestyles are centered around the five basic skills, but I have difficulties imagining a lifestyle that is about... what exactly? Will it give lifestyle xp for other lifestyles? Give you money? Skills? Traits?

Also, will it make any sense to take up that lifestyle if you're landed?

Thanks in advance for taking the time in answering our questions well beyond working hours!
It is primarily for landed gameplay, so, I'd say it makes sense. But, well, sure, I can go into it a little bit.

The lifestyle is about getting bonuses or advantages whilst travelling, and each tree is trying to flavour that in some particular way.

The Surveyor tree is focused on land management and improving your realm.

The Wayfarer tree is for those who just want to enjoy travelling, and have a stress loss and fame sub-theme.

The Voyager tree is for those who want to see distant lands, gaining extra bonuses from Points of Interest or from reaching your destination.

I'd rather not go into too many details, because, you know, work in progress, things can change, etc etc. But one of the perks for Voyager right now is that you gain more development in your capital when you travel somewhere that has a higher development than it, the idea being that you see others doing things differently and getting inspired to improve things at home.



Miss the premiere video? Check it out here.
 
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Noticed on Steam that a new *Lifestyle* was being added with the Travel Event pack, that's awesome! Hope this space opens up more, (Raider and Adventuerer lifestyle?) and also maybe comes with an companying update to how XP is earned. A little boring now that you really only have 1 main lifestyle +% bonus. I really like +% bonus based on actual skills mod (so you get +12% Bonus to stewardship lifestyle if you have 12 stewardship, not just the stewardship education trait), that I think sadly has been abandoned.
We will have to see how the new lifestyle is received first, of course, but I am hopeful that there is space for adding even more lifestyles down the line at some point.
 
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Question about the lifestyles:
Will the new lifestyle in wandering nobles have prerequisites? (like either being landless, having the traveler trait, the pilgrim trait or the adventurer trait)
I feel it would be appropriate to have the lifestyle only appear in the UI under some condition. It would really make sense otherwise.
No, the only prerequisite is to have the DLC. If you have the Traveler trait, you will get more exp in the lifestyle (similar to education for other lifestyles). The plan is for the AI to choose it less often though, and usually only after they've already completed another lifestyle tree. But we want it to be open to the player whenever they want.
 
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Without asking you to make any promises on future content, are you free to give an example of what that traveler lifestyle is about in gameplay terms?

The current five lifestyles are centered around the five basic skills, but I have difficulties imagining a lifestyle that is about... what exactly? Will it give lifestyle xp for other lifestyles? Give you money? Skills? Traits?

Also, will it make any sense to take up that lifestyle if you're landed?

Thanks in advance for taking the time in answering our questions well beyond working hours!
It is primarily for landed gameplay, so, I'd say it makes sense. But, well, sure, I can go into it a little bit.

The lifestyle is about getting bonuses or advantages whilst travelling, and each tree is trying to flavour that in some particular way.

The Surveyor tree is focused on land management and improving your realm.

The Wayfarer tree is for those who just want to enjoy travelling, and have a stress loss and fame sub-theme.

The Voyager tree is for those who want to see distant lands, gaining extra bonuses from Points of Interest or from reaching your destination.

I'd rather not go into too many details, because, you know, work in progress, things can change, etc etc. But one of the perks for Voyager right now is that you gain more development in your capital when you travel somewhere that has a higher development than it, the idea being that you see others doing things differently and getting inspired to improve things at home.
 
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Aaah, now that makes a bit more sense, thank you very much!

So, it's kind of a supporting lifestyle, kind of a mix of martial, stewardship and learning? Where you can travel more safely, observe stuff, learn things and apply to your domain, to make more money?

Sounds pretty nice actually!

But I take it there is no "Traveler" education planned out?
I am not quite sure I would call it a support lifestyle per say, but it is definitely mixed between different skills, yes.
There's no Traveler education planned, as we already have the Traveler trait, which will give you an experience boost to the lifestyle (akin to what an education trait would do for the other lifestyles).
 
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So, you're saying we'll skill the traveler lifestyle, even when we're on one of the current five lifestyle focuses? Or do you have to commit to it, like we do now?

But I must say, it sounds extremely interesting!
Ah, no, you will have to commit to it, similar to other lifestyles.
What I meant is that it gives some bonuses for the skills as well, e.g. the Surveyor has a natural Stewardship element to it, the Wayfarer has some bonuses to Diplomacy, etc.
 
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Did you increase speed of gaining experience as well?
No, we have not adjusted any lifestyle experience gain. In my mind, it's about giving the player more choices and ways of playing the game, but that doesn't mean you should be able to fill out more of them on a single character.
 
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If I may ask the hypothetical, what made you decide in favor of a new lifestyle, as opposed to adding new perk trees for the existing ones? I'm interested in the thought process behind the design decision.

Again, thank you very much for taking your time!
Oh, that's a bit of a difficult question.
I think there's several aspects to it, but I guess the first reason was... I wanted to add something properly new and different rather than rethreading old ground. It's a simple fact that working within the different lifestyle trees, I probably would have felt more constrained in what could go into them. If it was within the Diplomacy tree, for example, I would have felt like a tree would have a lot of stuff associated directly with diplomacy. Similarly for all the other lifestyles, if I added trees to them.

And that brings up some other questions as well, what would the screen actually look with 4 trees in it, rather than 3? Would I add a new focus to every tree, and how different would they be? Could I think up 5 new trees (if I wanted 1 for each Lifestyle tree)? These are hypotheticals, because I never quite looked into it, but I doubt it'd be great, to be honest.

Whereas with an entirely new lifestyle tree, it enabled me to be more creative and free. It could be something entirely on its own, rather than limited by being put into other lifestyle trees, or within the space of just limited to one skill. And I think there's also something to be said about it being easier to sell, and opening new space for future endeavors.

If we were to keep putting things into the same trees over and over, it... isn't very scalable. Maybe I could get away with it once, but... 5 trees inside a lifestyle? 6? 7? It's just not doable long-term, I think.
 
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