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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!
 
Couldn't they have added that like/dislike thing without thinking of the game?
Not with that wording. To similar to the nursery rhyme that is part of the game.

The Alans successfully invaded China?
The alans are the last counsins of the scythians who caused a major trouble for china at one point in time.

There are already events for this.

And who would rule Newfoundland or Greenland? There was no united title or realm there.
Well Ck2 could have basic colonial mechanics. Then again, if it did why ever play eu4 again?
 
I don't know if this has already been asked, but are there plans to add an off-map interaction button for the Aztecs?
It was asked, not answered, but apparently it can be modded and there may be multiple off-map actors, so if PDX don't make it - somebody will!
 
Not with that wording. To similar to the nursery rhyme that is part of the game.


The alans are the last counsins of the scythians who caused a major trouble for china at one point in time.


Well Ck2 could have basic colonial mechanics. Then again, if it did why ever play eu4 again?
Vikings can into North America? Please?
 
Not with that wording. To similar to the nursery rhyme that is part of the game.
It just says what the Emperor likes/dislikes. I'm not saying you're wrong (I don't know anything about this nursery rhyme), but it could just be coincidental.
Well Ck2 could have basic colonial mechanics. Then again, if it did why ever play eu4 again?
Because CK2 could never represent the extent of colonization that occurred in the 16th-18th centuries.
 
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?

This is an excellent point.

fake China Hype :D

Donald's favourite words. Fake and China.
Donald, is that you?
 
Now they can annoy all those who want China properly and those that don't want anything to do with China (and most of the fanbase is in either of those groups).
I don't think there are all that many people who are vehemently against any form of China represented. For example, I am against China, but only because of certain concerns (regarding potential issues, size of the project), and I would actually wholeheartedly support it if those concerns are gone.
We had Paradox stating time after time how they have serious concerns about feasibility of a China project.
Can people finally understand how this could be a too much of a bite for Paradox, and that it's best to move on?
I mean, if there is no China, you'd have some people disappointed. And if you have China, some people will have their game performance ruined.

Tell me, if you had to choose, is it better to have a stable game for all of the playerbase, but at a risk of disappointing a certain number of them, or to satisfy that certain number, but at the price of ruining the performance for another number of customers?
This is a business decision.

And to top all of that, I believe that Paradox can see for themselves how the China supporter numbers are actually not that large.
So, why should they risk so much?
 
Uh... that's pretty much what all the previous threads on China have been.
Because the people who populate those threads are the people with strong opinions on China. Those of us who are less invested in the question, but still want the game to grow and develop, can applaud this as a good and workable compromise. You seem determined to talk this DLC down and exaggerate the level of conflict that exists. Please reconsider.

nd
 
es6b85V.jpg

I was able to try and determine how many provinces were added to the Tarim Basin, and, excluding the northwest since it's covered by the interface, I was able to count 24 provinces. Just in case anyone was interested.
 
I'm really excited for this but China done this time Was very unstable. The Tang themselves for another client losing much of their authority to the Governor General's. Leading to the five Dynasties and 10 kingdoms. Then you had Song who only hold onto for so long until broken into war again shattering and losing it all the mongols. Other words it really messy and most with hundred year of stability. Between very long wars.
 
We're aware it isn't quite accurate to use the temple name during their lifetime, but we decided it was the best course of action given that we need the names to be both consistent and recognizable.


It'll be highly moddable.
You can add more offmap titles.
Diplomatic range is more than just the regular diplomatic range system, and basically any restriction can be modded in.
you guys can use nicknames as temple name, it will be more natural
 
This seems like a good compromise. Much as I'd love to see China, it would strain things too much and be a bit difficult to do in-depth in an expansion- here's hoping it's in CK3 :).

This allows China's involvement with the rest of the world to be represented, which is what matters. Good job Paradox :).
 
you guys can use nicknames as temple name, it will be more natural
I think the ideal solution is to make use of the Papal naming mechanic to have it so that the ruling monarch gets a new name (temple name maybe?) upon succession to the throne. Can even have it so that the title uses the empire name, thus presenting the ruler as, for example: Tang Daizong. That would also allow the other members of the Imperial family to retain their family name (in this example: Li) as well as preventing them from having awkward given names. I imagine, though, this could perhaps already be in place.
 
and Southeast Asia. and the Swahili Coast. and Vinland with Helluland. basically the area pictured here:
WNGPykS.png

That would be awesome as a long-term project. Though it would likely require some naval restrictions, to prevent players sailing from Scandinavia to the Congo basin in 900 AD. Maybe a naval range mechanic that works similar to diplomatic range (i.e. you can only enter this seazone if it is within X distance of the closest port in your realm or subrealm). A hard limit like this would probably be easier for the AI to understand than something like naval attrition, too.