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CK2 Dev Diary #61: The Dragon Throne

Hello folks!

The Swedish summer vacations are drawing to a close and I’m back and eager to talk some more Crusader Kings! What better way to kick off the end of summer than by revealing the theme of the next expansion? Yes my friends, it’s China! Now, before you get all emotional one way or the other, we’re not actually going to expand the map farther east. We considered doing that, long and hard, but eventually decided on a different approach that would not strain performance and stability beyond reason. As I mentioned in Dev Diary #51, it bothers me that the eastern edge of the map just cuts off in such an unnatural way. Playing in the Orient, you should always feel like you’re in the shadow of the Dragon. It should be an interesting and dynamic region right in the center of the Old World. So, we came up with the idea of adding China as a political entity even though you cannot actually see most of its territory.

The Dragon Throne.png


There is a new screen you can open up, which, if you’re within range of China, allows you to interact with the Emperor in various interesting ways. China can grant many wonderful boons if you’re in the emperor’s good graces, but, depending on the current status and policy of the Dragon Throne, the emperor can also decide you’d better show some respect and become a tributary state. When there is turmoil in China, displaced or fleeing armies can arrive on the map and cause all kinds of trouble. China can even seize and rule actual provinces, but the emperor leaves the governing of such areas to the Governor of the Western Protectorate (or, to be a stickler, the “Protectorate General to Pacify the West”.) Potentially, this on-map part of China can grow enormously powerful, but you should not have to worry too much as long as you enjoy the emperor’s grace…

That’s going to be all for now. I’m sure you have a million questions, but you’ll have to wait for the upcoming dev diaries. :)

Meanwhile, remember to tune in to our CK2 livestreams between 16 to 18:00 CET!
 
So what this reads like to me i s something that's going to mean MORE random large armies marching through my lands with no way to answer them. At least ifm I want to play Central Asian powers. So it conversely makes the game in the region less interesting to me. :(

Game Rules my friend, game rules.


Arthur
 
A separate East Asian map to play on apart from Europe/India would've been preferable to this hamfisted and halfway house solution of adding China in as just an interface.
A separate map would be pointless.
Might as well make a standalone CK2 China game.
 
True. Though why single out the Alans then?
Probably because he likes Alans. :p Though truth be said Alans came to China along with Mongols.
 
Probably because he likes Alans. :p Though truth be said Alans came to China along with Mongols.
So they formed part of the invading force?
 
Hahahahaha

Remember, the "only people" you are talking about is most of the playerbase who don't care that Paradox won't turn CK2 into a completely different game in one update/DLC combo.

They are too "weak willed" to completely transform a five year old game. That's actually quite a commendable policy!

What's hilarious is that you don't even disagree with me.
 
Who is this DLC marketed towards?

1. The China fans who don't get to play in China?

2. The people who never wanted China in the first place?

Who exactly do you believe is going to buy this DLC?

People who want interactions with China for a better, more realistic experience on the east side of the map but think that adding it onto the map would be highly problematic for all sorts of reasons.
 
They could have made the China fans happy, they could have made the core game fans happy. But they didn't.
Why do you presume everyone is hating the new additions when it's obvious so far that the majority of people are favorable towards it and agree with the way it's been implemented. Don't imply to speak for the majority when the majority is not on your side.
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Personally I was agianst a China DLC because the politics and population of China would be impossible to simulate without an absolutely massive expansion but I think they handled China well this way as do alot of other people judging by the Agree/Disagree ratio.
 
Those must be in the millions.

Right, because of course most of the community are radical zealots who either fanatically want or fanatically hate China.