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.

 

[Thrake]

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.

It must sound obvious to you, but I would be curious to know what do programmers actually do. I think scipters are those that make most moddable files (.txt). Is it about game interface?

 

[blackchoas]

You can safely assume that we won't release two more expansions this year.
The dev diaries won't contain all that much about the expansion (or the patch released at the same time), until we're closer to announcing anything official.
If that bothers you, then feel free to consider these as non-dd:s and just random posts from the dev team. We won't take offense

Are there topics that people would like us to have for these dd:s? If it's not related to the expansion/patch, we might consider putting it in.

think you could discuss border gore, how to balance the actual historical nature of some border gore against ideas like being able to hold Jerusalem while also holding England, as well as the idea of trying encourage the AI to make de jure borders instead of the horrible messes it often does

 

[Jorlem]

You can safely assume that we won't release two more expansions this year.
The dev diaries won't contain all that much about the expansion (or the patch released at the same time), until we're closer to announcing anything official.
If that bothers you, then feel free to consider these as non-dd:s and just random posts from the dev team. We won't take offense

Just want to apologize if my post further upthread about "meatiness" seemed ungrateful. I'd been hyping myself up for this week's diary since last week, and was thrown for a loop by what the DD actually consisted of, as I has assumed it would be like the pre-announcenment HL diaries. Sorry.

 

[Tob.Ristlin]

As hinted in the first page, does anyone know if you can select focus when you are underage? Or if at least the button appears clickable even if it does nothing? If now the button does not do/is unclickable before you turn 16, that might be a new addition: revamped regencies, which would be a nice little addition to be honest...

 

[bontanel]

You can safely assume that we won't release two more expansions this year.
The dev diaries won't contain all that much about the expansion (or the patch released at the same time), until we're closer to announcing anything official.
If that bothers you, then feel free to consider these as non-dd:s and just random posts from the dev team. We won't take offense

Are there topics that people would like us to have for these dd:s? If it's not related to the expansion/patch, we might consider putting it in.

I just want to say this: It's not that you don't post anything about the expansion but you don't post anything about the game. Why can't you do the same things you did with with Horselords? From the first dev diary you talked about patch features. While talking about the creative process and other stuff like that is interesting, you should at least try to make it about the content in your game.

 

[sreckom92]

As hinted in the first page, does anyone know if you can select focus when you are underage? Or if at least the button appears clickable even if it does nothing? If now the button does not do/is unclickable before you turn 16, that might be a new addition: revamped regencies, which would be a nice little addition to be honest...

You can click the button, but you cannot select any focus since you don't meet the requirement (is an adult = x) .

 

[Groogy]

It must sound obvious to you, but I would be curious to know what do programmers actually do. I think scipters are those that make most moddable files (.txt). Is it about game interface?

As a programmer this is how I spend my days.

 

[Moah]

 

[blackchoas]

As hinted in the first page, does anyone know if you can select focus when you are underage? Or if at least the button appears clickable even if it does nothing? If now the button does not do/is unclickable before you turn 16, that might be a new addition: revamped regencies, which would be a nice little addition to be honest...

i think u can always click it but you need to be an adult to choose anything, the same is true when u become incapable you can still hit the button but you can't choose a focus while incapable

 

[Mr. Capiatlist]

think you could discuss border gore, how to balance the actual historical nature of some border gore against ideas like being able to hold Jerusalem while also holding England, as well as the idea of trying encourage the AI to make de jure borders instead of the horrible messes it often does

I second this. One of the biggest irks I have with the nomads is when a clan settles down and it takes seven provinces no two of which are touching and turns them into a "Kingdom". It is then reconquered in the space of four-five years by all the still nomadic tribes it touches plus whoever else holds the de jure duchies of its provinces.

 

[Thrake]

As a programmer this is how I spend my days.

I thought you were always dressed in the Paradox office like in that photo you posted in the ask everything topic. Thanks to that gif though, I'm now confident in your utmost professionalism

More seriously, on the topic of DD subjects, I miss the post mortem DD.

 

[Jia Xu]

You can safely assume that we won't release two more expansions this year.
The dev diaries won't contain all that much about the expansion (or the patch released at the same time), until we're closer to announcing anything official.
If that bothers you, then feel free to consider these as non-dd:s and just random posts from the dev team. We won't take offense

Are there topics that people would like us to have for these dd:s? If it's not related to the expansion/patch, we might consider putting it in.

I'd like to hear about the experiences from the PR people at PDS who have to censor all of the profanities that the developers would like to direct at abusive forum members. How white is their hair by age 35, usually?

 

[Kapitalisti]

I'd like to hear about the experiences from the PR people at PDS who have to censor all of the profanities that the developers would like to direct at abusive forum members. How white is their hair by age 35, usually?

They're Swedes so naturally their hair blonde anyway.

 

[Tangency]

Something that will force the players to actually send armies to allie's wars would be nice. Right now it's too easy to say "sure mate, I'll join your war" and then don't do anything. While the AI will usually send everything they have once they accept to join the war.

 

[SirRitter]

As a programmer this is how I spend my days.

Seems legit. 3 years in and the game is buggy as hell and performance worst than ever after all.

 

[Jorlem]

Something that will force the players to actually send armies to allie's wars would be nice. Right now it's too easy to say "sure mate, I'll join your war" and then don't do anything. While the AI will usually send everything they have once they accept to join the war.

The game already measures war participation, and scales prestige rewards based on how much you helped. This isn't actually shown anywhere in game for allies, as far as I recall though, just for the character that declared war. (Also, prestige and piety are rather useless once you pass 2000 and 500, respectively.)

Maybe allies could look at how much you contributed, and get mad if you didn't do your fair share, based on power and distance and the like?

 

[Me_]

Poor Philippe. He doesn't know he's about to be attacked by Heinrich Salian.
So, one of the selling points of the next DLC is going to be expanded alliance/diplomacy system. That's good. The addition of tributaries in HL was a nice start. That being said, I'd prefer for CK2 to move more towards character and story focus, with diplomacy being more of an EU4's theme.

 

[Chief Iacid]

Well there was Common Sense for EU, Horse Lords for CK, there in production another one for Eu and now we got fourth. Not to mention new games like Stellaris, HoI IV and Hollowpoint.

Yep, Paradox is certainly busy. I for one cannot complain, they produce (or administer) several of my favorite games.

 

[ColZimin]

Seems legit. 3 years in and the game is buggy as hell and performance worst than ever after all.

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.

However, we know next to nothing about how to model human history and the interaction of states accurately. I'm sure there are many proposed models for estimating the outcome of field battles, but I'm equally sure that most of them are wrong. We have very little data on most of the areas, cultures, religions and technologies depicted in the Crusader Kings franchise, yet somehow PDS has put together a game with enough verisimilitude to make you feel the beating wings of history as you sacrifice the last Waldensian Karling Pope to Angra Mainyu on the steps of the Grand Ziggurat in Copenhagen.
It's buggy and inaccurate because the devs were forced to make up almost all the mechanics out of assumptions, gut feelings, and a very thin trail of historical evidence, and they might damn well deserve an honorable mention in the Nobel prize nominations for that achievement alone.

That all said, Nomads OP, nerf Caliph, plz remov sekrit bears, and I swear if the Danes come at me with another doom stack within 3 years of start I'm holding you personally responsible, Groogy!
(J/K, you're fine in my book, you can take Skåne and keep it)

Addendum: @SirRitter, this rant wasn't directed specifically at you, please forgive the quote. Just urging the audience in general to try some perspective!

 

[TheDungen]

You can safely assume that we won't release two more expansions this year.
The dev diaries won't contain all that much about the expansion (or the patch released at the same time), until we're closer to announcing anything official.
If that bothers you, then feel free to consider these as non-dd:s and just random posts from the dev team. We won't take offense

Are there topics that people would like us to have for these dd:s? If it's not related to the expansion/patch, we might consider putting it in.

So we're not getting any dlc until december (assuming you won't be continuing devdiaries after releaese, which I find to be a pretty good bet)? WTH! Doesnt that mean EU4 gets two in a row? And EU4 needs less work right now than ck2.