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CK2 Dev Diary - The Rules of the Game

Well people, what do you know? I needed a break from the Stellaris crunch, so here’s an unscheduled dev diary! All the hubbub about Defensive Pacts and Shattered Retreats got me thinking about an old ambition I’ve had to improve the game set-up screens in order to allow players to customize their experience without having to resort to modding. The idea is inspired by games like Civilization and the Second Wave DLC for XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which allow players to change various advanced options and settings for a different experience in the game. I really like such options and typically make good use of them myself.

Now, of course there is such a thing as “the way the game was meant to be played”. That is, how the designers made the game and like to play it themselves. However, variety is the spice of life, and after 11 Crusader Kings II expansions things are not as clear-cut anymore. It’s actually pretty funny that I’ve been using a small personal mod for CK2 for awhile myself. There are some downsides to modding and using mods though:
  • It requires awareness that it’s possible, and where to find existing mods. The modding scene is a jungle.
  • It takes a modicum of extra effort and skill.
  • It might not feel quite legitimate (it can feel a bit like cheating) and you might not get any Achievements.
  • Mods typically do not have the same level of support as the base game. Many become fossilized or are otherwise problematic.
For these reasons especially, I think that adding a bunch of Paradox-approved, fully supported in-game rule variations is a good idea. Thus, when you start a new game, you are now presented with several interesting options. Most of them are simple flavor variations, but some are more fundamental and will disable Achievements in Ironman mode. Here’s the list of options we are currently showing in the new screen (still a work in progress though):
  • Sandbox vs Ironman
  • Shattered Retreats: On/Off
  • Defensive Pacts: On/Off
  • Gender Equality: Default/Historical/All/Players
  • Sunset Invasion: 13th Century/Random/Off
  • Mongol Invasion: Historical/Random/Off
  • Raiding: Historical/Unrestricted/None
  • Epidemics: Dynamic/Historical/Deadly
  • “Supernatural” Events: On/Off
  • Adventurers: Normal/Rare/None
  • Provincial Revolts: Normal/Rare/None
  • Regencies: On/Off
  • De Jure Drift: Default/Restricted/Off
  • Dynamic Kingdoms and Empires: On/Off
  • Diplomatic Range: On/Off
Red options disable Achievements.

Crusader Kings II - Rules 01.jpg


Our new rule system is itself fully moddable, so that modders can use the same system with pretty much any options they might want!

Crusader Kings II - Rules 02.jpg


I look forward to your thoughts and comments. Are there any rule variations you think we’ve missed, or that you would really like to see?
 
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Robert II said:
Well then looks like I'm raising my armies. Could I tempt you with a non-aggression pact?
Click to expand...

Me ? Nope. I won't be of help to you.
My armies are toothless and my nuke-bombers are stuck in their hangars. Sorry.

No call to arms. We die in bed. ;)


edited
 
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DreadLindwyrm said:
Well, the game works perfectly well. Granted you might not like the changes, but the game works.

Steam ratings and reviews are a tricky beast - someone who merely likes a change is unlikely to post a review, whereas someone who hates it will. However, if (as an example, and a probably inaccurate one) 95% of people like something, but not enough to post about it, and 4% dislike it, but again not enough to post, and then 1% hate it - guess what the reviews look like. That's right, if only that 1% post, the reviews will look 100% negative - even if the vast majority liked the product overall. Add to that reviews that are essentially "really liked all the changes except one - downvoting because I don't like/don't understand a change", and you have a possible explanation...
Click to expand...

You know what KISS is?

-The reviews were and are low, because not only the dlc is terrible and overpriced, but also because it broke stuff. And people strangely dont like it when you break stuff for which they paid

But offcours, a far more simple explanation is that the same people who reviewed previous dlc positivly, now suddenly en masse have become confused how a thumbs up/down system works and massivly hit the wrong button....


Paradox screwed up massivly (not for the first time), and now they somewhat rectify it. That doesnt deserve praise. if anything, it deserves a warning: stop screwing up in the first place
 
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Sure, the Conclave patch broke stuff. But how is this different from every other major patch since CK2 was released? They've all broken stuff. Just ask any modder.
 
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richvh said:
Sure, the Conclave patch broke stuff. But how is this different from every other major patch since CK2 was released? They've all broken stuff. Just ask any modder.
Click to expand...


How can you possibly think this is about modding?!? it was never mentioned before.
And how can you possibly think that it is normal practice that whenever a patch or dlc comes out, it is supposed to make the game unplayable for an undefined period of time?!?


No offense, but either you are playing dumb, or...

It's very worrysome that apparently people would rather die instead of admitting mistakes were made. If you think this bendover, non critical attitude is going to get you better games in the future, I've got bad news for you
 
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eXistenZ2 said:
unplayable
Click to expand...
Get a dictionary. The game was playable. It booted, it did not crash, you could complete campaigns. You just did not like the way you had to play it. Even if 99% of people hated the way it played, it would still be playable.
 
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eXistenZ2 said:
How can you possibly think this is about modding?!? it was never mentioned before.
And how can you possibly think that it is normal practice that whenever a patch or dlc comes out, it is supposed to make the game unplayable for an undefined period of time?!?


No offense, but either you are playing dumb, or...

It's very worrysome that apparently people would rather die instead of admitting mistakes were made. If you think this bendover, non critical attitude is going to get you better games in the future, I've got bad news for you
Click to expand...
1) It was playable, without mods.
2) Mods were broken (made actually unplayable, as in the game will crash if you try to play with the mod), as they are every major patch, and some minor patches.
 
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Again, I never mentioned mods, no idea why they are here.

(actually I do know, just every diversion is good so you dont have to say how horrible Conclave was for the game and can ignore everything else I said)

Fine, have your dreamworld. When the next DLC comes around and squeezes you out of another €15 to have more stuff broken, don't say it wasn't bound to happen.

(also, this is what is gonna happen with EU4 with the following dlc, and I estimate the same will happen with Stellaris around January 2018)
 
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Factions-> On/Off/Only when negative opinion of liege (all but On breaks Ironman)
Cadet Branches-> On/Off (no effect on Ironman)
Random Events-> Normal/More/Less/Off (all but Normal breaks Ironman)
Succession Laws-> Normal/Locked Primo All/Locked Gavelkind All (all but Normal Breaks Ironman)
Demesne Limit-> Normal/Larger/Smaller (Larger Breaks Ironman, could also do same with Vassal limit)
Can Only Conquer land that borders-> On/Off (No effect on Ironman. This is for the neat freaks out there, you know who you are)

Just some of the ideas I've had this last week, and am writing it before I forget. :eek:

In addition, great idea here Paradox Team! More is more (at least in this case)! :)
 
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eXistenZ2 said:
Again, I never mentioned mods, no idea why they are here.

(actually I do know, just every diversion is good so you dont have to say how horrible Conclave was for the game and can ignore everything else I said)

Fine, have your dreamworld. When the next DLC comes around and squeezes you out of another €15 to have more stuff broken, don't say it wasn't bound to happen.

(also, this is what is gonna happen with EU4 with the following dlc, and I estimate the same will happen with Stellaris around January 2018)
Click to expand...

Actually, the big CK 2 mods already fixed glaring issues with Conclave in their first compatible patch. (ASAIK, they applied their fixes with the knowledge of waiting for PDS to roll out its own balances before they take further action) Those mods also took what was good with Conclave and adapted them.
 
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eXistenZ2 said:
Again, I never mentioned mods, no idea why they are here.
Click to expand...

You said "broken". What was broken was mods (as usual), not the base game. That you didn't like the changes doesn't mean the game was broken.

And just because you didn't like the changes doesn't mean that everyone didn't like the changes.
 
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eXistenZ2 said:
You know what KISS is?

-The reviews were and are low, because not only the dlc is terrible and overpriced, but also because it broke stuff. And people strangely dont like it when you break stuff for which they paid

But offcours, a far more simple explanation is that the same people who reviewed previous dlc positivly, now suddenly en masse have become confused how a thumbs up/down system works and massivly hit the wrong button....


Paradox screwed up massivly (not for the first time), and now they somewhat rectify it. That doesnt deserve praise. if anything, it deserves a warning: stop screwing up in the first place
Click to expand...

Nice strawman about the thumbs up/down there. Nowhere did I suggest that people had suddenly started to hit the wrong button.

Although, should I take it from your approach here that you've never worked with rating systems in customer service? You're far more likely to get a negative review than a positive one if the product or service is "OK" or "generally good" - people will pick out what's wrong and post a bad review far more frequently than they'll pick out the good parts and post a good review. This is made worse by the voting system being binary (upvote/downvote), and the tendency of people to consider that a "3 out of 5" (or even "4 out of 5") is a bad score, and deserves a downvote.
 
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For Christ's sake, there are billions of other open threads to discuss Conclave's merit. This is a thread for suggestions, so stop polluting it.

It would be nice if a moderator would erase or move somewhere else all of the (out of place) posts related to the subject.
 
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I didnt discuss Conclave to start with if you noticed. I said" somewhat fixing problems you created yourself, especially when it isnt the first time, isnt something to be praised for. If anything you should get a warning".

I don't see anything wrong with that statement, but feel free to discuss it.

But to the enlightened people here, there were never problems with CK2..... Yeah, I might as well go discuss with a wall then.
 
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eXistenZ2 said:
I didnt discuss Conclave to start with if you noticed. I said" somewhat fixing problems you created yourself, especially when it isnt the first time, isnt something to be praised for. If anything you should get a warning".

I don't see anything wrong with that statement, but feel free to discuss it.

But to the enlightened people here, there were never problems with CK2..... Yeah, I might as well go discuss with a wall then.
Click to expand...
Conclave was more 'unplayable' to many people because they thought that PI was turning CK2 into EU4, It also made blobbing harder, which is a good thing.
This is far more than a simple 'fix' this goes above and beyond conclave. It could easily fix almost every problem anyone has with the game in general or with a bit of easy modding.
Actually most PI expansions have been met with happiness and rejoicing.
 
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