Hi everyone!

I know you probably want more info about the upcoming expansion, but we’ll have to keep a lid on it for the time being. Instead I’m going to give you some information about how we work. Our current team consist of me, Doomdark, 4 programmers (and one of those started last Thursday), 3 scripters, 1 designer, 2 artists and 4 QA. On top of this the talented people from Paradox South are working on a content pack and there is also sound and music in production.

The core team is using a subset of the SCRUM methodology and a lot of focus is put on working more closely with QA than before in order to keep quality as high as possible. Our sprints are 3 weeks, and the final week has a focus on fixing bugs (old and new). Nearing the Gold Master (this is the version of the game we will release), we stop developing new features and focus fully on bug fixing and balancing. Since the Gold Master milestone date and the actual release date usually are a couple of weeks apart, we keep working on bugs and minor improvements for the first patch until the release (and beyond). In some cases (like with Horse Lords) the first patch is released the same day as the expansion, but sometimes it’s better to wait for the initial feedback before releasing a patch. As someone in QA noted for Horse Lords: one day after the release the players have tested the game several more hours than the QA team has done during the development of the expansion.

A tidbit of extra info about the expansion: the changes that go into the patch will fundamentally change how a portion of the game is played.

 

[Keizer Harm]

Well that's a problem with the dejure claim cb. I've modded it so it vassalises people if it's their last county (just like it does with counts who only have one county)

While it is a good effort, it would not work with Pisa, which holds multiple counties, and in one mod I played that had Italy as HRE de jure Pisa always lost Pisa. The Pope consistently kept losing land too. It's Flanders all over again. Though you have a point that it is a problem with the cb, at the moment the other case produces less credible scenarios.

 

[SirRitter]

If you want to play something relatively bug-free, try a shooter, or a flight simulator, or Candy Crush. The first two center around simulations of physics, for which there are entire schools of math to lean on; the programmers still have to build engines that deal with lots of variables and player agency, but the point is: we basically know how a bullet behaves in the barrel, in flight, and on collision, just as we know how a lot about how a fighter jet stays up, and we can even approximate how addictive we need to make a game to get grandmothers and their snot-nosed grandkids to bucket cash into an in-game store.

Oh please. Why be such a sycophant? There is absolutely no excuse for CKII being a subpar and buggy product right now. I've personally spent over 100 dollars in content for it, always with unfulfilled promises. Most users are the same. The devs had all the time in the world and lots of money to turn this into a solid game, if they haven't done so yet they have only themselves to blame.

And we have every right to be critical. Remember when this Groogy dude promised that the game would return to the performance it had in version 1.06? Or when they promised that adding India in would not significantly alter the game's performance? They are full of it at this point, and patting their backs and kissing their behind as you are doing is not going to help.

 

[illathid]

Sorry if this has been discussed before and I missed it, but I've been curious about how the de jure empires were decided, and particularly why Italy isn't considered de jure HRE in 1066 even though the Emperors were traditionally crowned as King of Germany, Burgundy/Arles and Italy.

I expect it's because of how elective succession works. If Italy was in the HRE de jure in 1066 then all of the Dukes there would be able to vote on who the next emperor would be.

 

[Robert II]

Oh please. Why be such a sycophant? There is absolutely no excuse for CKII being a subpar and buggy product right now. I've personally spent over 100 dollars in content for it, always with unfulfilled promises. Most users are the same. The devs had all the time in the world and lots of money to turn this into a solid game, if they haven't done so yet they have only themselves to blame.

And we have every right to be critical. Remember when this Groogy dude promised that the game would return to the performance it had in version 1.06? Or when they promised that adding India in would not significantly alter the game's performance? They are full of it at this point, and patting their backs and kissing their behind as you are doing is not going to help.

So ck2 isn't a solid game? Your not entirely wrong,people here are not very critical and pdx like to overestimate how much they can do but the game is still great and they put a shit load of effort in.

Bloody autocorrect. Let me swear. I'm a big boy now.

 

[Dirt McStain]

I understand that not everyone owns CM so they can't create custom kingdoms and empires but, why does every county in CK2 need to be part of a de jure kingdom and empire at every start date? Why not have pockets of no de jures (like Flanders, Rome, Genoa)? You're not locking anyone out since they can still expand into a de jure territory until they're large enough to usurp a kingdom or empire title. Alternatively or additionally, why not just remove the majority of the ahistorical de jures and just replace them with titular titles that can be created by decision? For example, if you start in Flanders in 1066, you have the following options (without CM):
- If you stay part of France, you de jure drift into France after 100 years
- If you become independent and occupy the prerequisite land, you can form the kingdom of Frisia/Netherlands by decision and insta-de-jure anything without a de jure (Flanders), and wait 100 years to de jure drift everything else
- If Flanders is vassallized by the HRE, the Emperor will have the decision to create a titular Frisia/Netherlands kingdom
- If you have CM and you're independent, you can still create a custom Kingdom of Flanders without having to meet the titular pre-requisites for Frisia/Netherlands (although, I think the cost should be lowered a bit with the new setup)

 

[Robert II]

I understand that not everyone owns CM so they can't create custom kingdoms and empires but, why does every county in CK2 need to be part of a de jure kingdom and empire at every start date? Why not have pockets of no de jures (like Flanders, Rome, Genoa)? You're not locking anyone out since they can still expand into a de jure territory until they're large enough to usurp a kingdom or empire title. Alternatively or additionally, why not just remove the majority of the ahistorical de jures and just replace them with titular titles that can be created by decision? For example, if you start in Flanders in 1066, you have the following options (without CM):
- If you stay part of France, you de jure drift into France after 100 years
- If you become independent and occupy the prerequisite land, you can form the kingdom of Frisia/Netherlands by decision and insta-de-jure anything without a de jure (Flanders), and wait 100 years to de jure drift everything else
- If Flanders is vassallized by the HRE, the Emperor will have the decision to create a titular Frisia/Netherlands kingdom
- If you have CM and you're independent, you can still create a custom Kingdom of Flanders without having to meet the titular pre-requisites for Frisia/Netherlands (although, I think the cost should be lowered a bit with the new setup)

I think the majority like de jure Kingdoms and empires everywhere, so that's why we have the Wendish Empire or the Flanders situation ruining France anytime where it and the HRE exist.

 

[sister of the khan]

I really don't understand the disagrees. If you call "de jure" an area that revolts five times in twenty years, with cities raising even after being razed twice (like Milan), that opposes every single attempt to say "the laws of this empire apply here" by fighting tooth and nails, and that historically has no rights of any kind in the empire itself, you must have a very lax definition of "de jure".

That's more or less exactly why it should be de jure. The cities often rebelled, giving the Empire poor de facto control of Italy, but the Emperors always claimed it by law, as they were the Kings of Italy, which gave them de jure control, despite how much it was resented.

 

[TheDungen]

While it is a good effort, it would not work with Pisa, which holds multiple counties, and in one mod I played that had Italy as HRE de jure Pisa always lost Pisa. The Pope consistently kept losing land too. It's Flanders all over again. Though you have a point that it is a problem with the cb, at the moment the other case produces less credible scenarios.

So? The roman empire lost rome at one point. As long as the republic survives I don't see the problem.

 

[sister of the khan]

I understand that not everyone owns CM so they can't create custom kingdoms and empires but, why does every county in CK2 need to be part of a de jure kingdom and empire at every start date? Why not have pockets of no de jures (like Flanders, Rome, Genoa)? You're not locking anyone out since they can still expand into a de jure territory until they're large enough to usurp a kingdom or empire title. Alternatively or additionally, why not just remove the majority of the ahistorical de jures and just replace them with titular titles that can be created by decision? For example, if you start in Flanders in 1066, you have the following options (without CM):
- If you stay part of France, you de jure drift into France after 100 years
- If you become independent and occupy the prerequisite land, you can form the kingdom of Frisia/Netherlands by decision and insta-de-jure anything without a de jure (Flanders), and wait 100 years to de jure drift everything else
- If Flanders is vassallized by the HRE, the Emperor will have the decision to create a titular Frisia/Netherlands kingdom
- If you have CM and you're independent, you can still create a custom Kingdom of Flanders without having to meet the titular pre-requisites for Frisia/Netherlands (although, I think the cost should be lowered a bit with the new setup)

With Rome, I think the Papacy should be de jure in every start except 769, because the Pope had controlled that land with few exceptions (Otto II) ever since the time of Pepin the Short.

 

[TheDungen]

The HRE wasn't the Western Roman Empire any more than Russia was the Eastern. Italy being a part of the HRE doesn't stem from it being "needed": it stems from Charlemagne catching the occasion when the Pope asked for help against the Lombards: and said Pope had promised him the Imperial crown without any hint as to the needed status of Italy.

The HRE is the only Western roman empire that is or was for almost a thousand years, and no itäs not the same thing, russia never held constantinople, or any land once held by the ERE, nor was it really called the third rome, that was just a nickname.
And the HRE in 1066 wasn't foudned by charlamagne it was founded by otto the great who claimed the title by becomming king of both italy and germany.

I expect it's because of how elective succession works. If Italy was in the HRE de jure in 1066 then all of the Dukes there would be able to vote on who the next emperor would be.

That's a valid point. But I'd rather it be handled with a law where you could disallow all electors of a diffrent culture than the ruler in any elective monarchy, perhaps even with another level where you only get a certain number of electors who are assigned by some titular title.

I understand that not everyone owns CM so they can't create custom kingdoms and empires but, why does every county in CK2 need to be part of a de jure kingdom and empire at every start date? Why not have pockets of no de jures (like Flanders, Rome, Genoa)? You're not locking anyone out since they can still expand into a de jure territory until they're large enough to usurp a kingdom or empire title. Alternatively or additionally, why not just remove the majority of the ahistorical de jures and just replace them with titular titles that can be created by decision? For example, if you start in Flanders in 1066, you have the following options (without CM):
- If you stay part of France, you de jure drift into France after 100 years
- If you become independent and occupy the prerequisite land, you can form the kingdom of Frisia/Netherlands by decision and insta-de-jure anything without a de jure (Flanders), and wait 100 years to de jure drift everything else
- If Flanders is vassallized by the HRE, the Emperor will have the decision to create a titular Frisia/Netherlands kingdom
- If you have CM and you're independent, you can still create a custom Kingdom of Flanders without having to meet the titular pre-requisites for Frisia/Netherlands (although, I think the cost should be lowered a bit with the new setup)

Everything has a dejure as a relic of a time before custom titles. It's really not needed.

 

[Groogy]

The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, Roman or an Empire.

 

[Keizer Harm]

The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, Roman or an Empire.

-Voltaire.

 

[Steel_atlas]

I think the majority like de jure Kingdoms and empires everywhere, so that's why we have the Wending Empire or the Flanders situation ruining France anytime where it and the HRE exist.

I think its similar to the retinue nerfs people wanted something but they didnt think about the ramifications about getting that thing.

Allowing things to not be dejure part of empires would help a ton of the balancing.

Africa and Marakech should not be dejure Arabian Empire.

 

[Steel_atlas]

The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, Roman or an Empire.

 

[TheDungen]

The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, Roman or an Empire.

Except it actually is an empire in your game.

Jokes aside that was true when voltaire said it, after the peace of westphalia, after having abolished crowninings by the pope (not holy) lost italy (not roman) and the emperor no longer having any authority (not an empire) but not in the ck2 era. In the ck2 era it's the western roman empire under german overlordship.

 

[Keizer Harm]

I understand that not everyone owns CM so they can't create custom kingdoms and empires but, why does every county in CK2 need to be part of a de jure kingdom and empire at every start date? Why not have pockets of no de jures (like Flanders, Rome, Genoa)? You're not locking anyone out since they can still expand into a de jure territory until they're large enough to usurp a kingdom or empire title. Alternatively or additionally, why not just remove the majority of the ahistorical de jures and just replace them with titular titles that can be created by decision? For example, if you start in Flanders in 1066, you have the following options (without CM):
- If you stay part of France, you de jure drift into France after 100 years
- If you become independent and occupy the prerequisite land, you can form the kingdom of Frisia/Netherlands by decision and insta-de-jure anything without a de jure (Flanders), and wait 100 years to de jure drift everything else
- If Flanders is vassallized by the HRE, the Emperor will have the decision to create a titular Frisia/Netherlands kingdom
- If you have CM and you're independent, you can still create a custom Kingdom of Flanders without having to meet the titular pre-requisites for Frisia/Netherlands (although, I think the cost should be lowered a bit with the new setup)

I completely agree with this concept. Disputed areas should be de jure-less. Though for Flanders it makes sense that if someone declares himself king of the Dutch, Flanders would be de jure part of it, as would the other lands with a Dutch culture. Or perhaps that decision could only make it a titular kingdom, but grant a Cultural Liberation casus belli to the owner, which allows one to attack another nation for every lands with the culture, but keep only the ones it has occupied at the end of the war (if won)? That would work with so many historical ethnic liberaion revolts.

But I'm derailing. Your ideas make a lot of sense, I think de jure claims should only exist for retrieving core territory that has fallen in foreign hands, not for taking random border provinces based on an arbitrary line.

 

[TheDungen]

Either the dejure everythign needs to go and/or we need overlapping dejures/cores. In either way there needs to be a representation of free areas and a representation of contested areas.

 

[Steel_atlas]

I completely agree with this concept. Disputed areas should be de jure-less. Though for Flanders it makes sense that if someone declares himself king of the Dutch, Flanders would be de jure part of it, as would the other lands with a Dutch culture. Or perhaps that decision could only make it a titular kingdom, but grant a Cultural Liberation casus belli to the owner, which allows one to attack another nation for every lands with the culture, but keep only the ones it has occupied at the end of the war (if won)? That would work with so many historical ethnic liberaion revolts.

But I'm derailing. Your ideas make a lot of sense, I think de jure claims should only exist for retrieving core territory that has fallen in foreign hands, not for taking random border provinces based on an arbitrary line.

We have custom empires/kingdoms now, they fill the void.

I dont know if they could make dejure everything disapear for people who have the CM dlc.

Id still like a greater kingdom title as I dont think controlling all of the British Isles was what made the British Empire and Empire it was its colonial holdings.

 

[DC123456789]

What the emperor tier represents in CK2 is a very different thing than what is meant with the colonial empires of the EU4 to V2 era.

 

[TheDungen]

What the emperor tier represents in CK2 is a very different thing than what is meant with the colonial empires of the EU4 to V2 era.

Yeah because in the ck2 era if you are a chrstian empire you are staking a claim to the title of roman emperor. Then again that kind of goes for most of the eu4 era to, the one exception is the brittish empire (and sort of napoleon, though he did compare becomming emperor of the french to charlamagnes crowning) who really claimed a emperor title elsewhere, the incumbent title of emperor of india (not the word the indians used).
Which is very diffrent from the later imperialism everyone proclaims themselves an empire thing. But aside from brittain that all lies in victoria.