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Crusader Kings III: Chapter IV


Hello everyone! I'm the Community Manager with Paradox Studio Black, and today we're excited to present to you the next stage in Crusader Kings III's development: Chapter IV. Today, we'll go over the themes of each piece of content that make up the Chapter, as well as give a brief peek at their features. Without further ado, let's get into it.




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Core Expansion: Khans of the Steppe

The first release in Chapter IV, Khans of the Steppe, focuses on the brand-new Nomadic Government and the systems we've created to support it. Inspired by the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian Steppe, these mechanics will challenge you to adapt to a lifestyle dominated by the ebb and flow of the land's vitality, maintain your herds, and establish your dominance over the region by any means necessary.

Key Features

Nomadic Government

Nomads don't live in a single static location; historically they travelled across the steppe as climate and fertility demanded, and we've strived to recreate that experience in Khans of the Steppe. You'll guide your people and herds across the region, tapping into the fertility of the land for as long as it lasts. Once resources run dry, you must migrate anew. Chieftains can roam peacefully by negotiating with neighboring shepherds, or seize new pastures by force.

Herd

Representing your horses, cattle, and overall strength within the steppe, the new Herd system becomes a cornerstone of diplomatic, martial, and economic actions. Use it to fuel your warbands, or as currency in your negotiations.

Dominance

Prove your might on the steppe through Dominance, increasing it alongside your power and territory. At its highest level, you might even claim the mantle of Genghis Khan; the Universal Ruler.

Seasons & Survival

Life in the steppe is harsh, affected by the changing climate and weather patterns. A White Zud could blanket the land in snow, decimating fertility and putting pressure on you to find greener pastures. Meanwhile, milder conditions can bring bountiful growth to your herds, ushering in a period of prosperity.

Khans of the Steppe releases on April 28, with dev diaries scheduled for every Tuesday until then. Be sure to mark your calendars if you're eager to try your hand at this new style of governance and rulership.





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Event Pack: Coronations


Beyond the steppe of Eurasia, Chapter IV introduces a new event pack simply titled: Coronations. In the medieval world, a coronation was more than just a gathering, it represented the moment where earthly and divine legitimacy converged.

Coronation Activity

Coronations function as a new activity type, letting you experience the event first hand. Coordinate with religious authorities and conduct the perfect ceremony to establish your right to rule in the eyes of your vassals and subjects. Plan it wisely, because the consequences of this activity can echo throughout your entire reign and beyond.





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Major Expansion: All Under Heaven

Chapter IV's flagship Major Expansion, All Under Heaven, is set to be the largest and most ambitious expansion in Crusader Kings history. We're completing our map of the medieval world by extending its scope across all of Asia. This massive expansion brings new gameplay, unique governments, and entirely different perspectives on life in the medieval era.

Key Features

From Ireland to Cathay

From the celestial might of Imperial China and the unique governments of Japan and Korea, to the god-kings of the Indonesian archipelago, each new area in All Under Heaven features new cultures, faiths, and flavor.

Hegemony

To properly represent the power and influence of China in this period, we're introducing a new tier of title above an empire: the Hegemony. This new title tier allows for further granular representation of the division of power within large-scale realms.

Dynastic Cycle

The fate of the imperial dynasties follows a cyclical pattern, reflecting historical eras of stability and eras of chaos. Players will struggle to maintain the Mandate of Heaven and prove that they are the right choice to navigate the empire through treacherous waters.

Imperial Treasury

A new centralized treasury system for the Chinese Emperor represents the flow of wealth upward and into the empire's coffers, letting you decide how to spend (or squander) resources that could make or break the stability of the realm.

While no release date is being announced at this time, you can expect our normal in-depth developer diaries to start for this expansion shortly after the release of Khans of the Steppe, with our first dev diary tentatively scheduled for May.




1.15 "Crown" Update: Available Now

To properly prepare for our upcoming content in Chapter IV, we're releasing a broad set of changes to the game's existing content with our 1.15 "Crown" Update, available to all owners of Crusader Kings III right now, free of charge. This update overhauls multiple systems and fixes numerous issues to ensure your experience in the medieval world is more enjoyable.

Update Highlights

Court Position Overhaul

A more intuitive interface for appointing and managing your court's less essential roles. New court positions are introduced, while existing ones are given tasks that their holders can be directed to perform for various benefits. Additionally, you can now choose to replace vacancies manually, or set specific positions to be refilled automatically.

Army Automation and AI Improvements

Focus on what's important to you while you let the AI handle martial affairs. There's also new interface elements to clarify what allied armies (or your own, if automation is enabled) are actually doing, making it easier than ever to coordinate your war efforts.

Improvements to Crusade AI

The AI will now gather its armies before striking at its enemies as a properly coordinated force. Expect more unified Great Holy War offensives, and fiercer opposition as a defender.

From quality-of-life changes to bug squashing, the 1.15 "Crown" update refines the overall experience of the game. It's also available right now, so give it a try and let us know what you think!



Instant Unlock: Crowns of the World

For those eager to dive into Chapter IV content as soon as possible, anyone who purchases the Chapter IV pass will immediately receive the Crowns of the World cosmetic pack, unlocking various culture-specific crowns and turbans. Whether you play in Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa, you're sure to find new stylish ways to represent your royal persona.



Community Q&A

We want to ensure that the content in Chapter IV is the best it can be, and a huge part of that is building strong communications and relationships between us and our players. Your feedback on existing content as well as upcoming features is vital to this effort. To facilitate this, we're collecting questions from all of you until March 19, and will publish a video responding to as many of these as we can on March 26th. Submit your questions below in the comments, or on any of our social media channels.



Chapter IV is the most ambitious content cycle in Crusader Kings history, offering everything from the struggles of maintaining your herd as a nomadic ruler in Khans of the Steppe, to the weight of ceremony and duty in Coronations, culminating in the completion of our map of the medieval world in All Under Heaven. Whether you choose to play in the new areas being introduced to the game or your existing favorites, Chapter IV will redefine the stories you make in Crusader Kings III.

The 1.15 "Crown" Update and the Chapter IV pass are both available right now. The Crown update is available for free to all owners of Crusader Kings III, while those who purchase the Chapter IV pass will immediately receive Crowns of the World as well as all the content mentioned above as soon as it is released.
 
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Will this run ck3 since you love shafting Xbox by denying us all this beauty and I need a new laptop anyway

Product number
8UH10EA
Product name
HP Notebook 15s-fq1010na
Microprocessor
Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 (1.3 GHz base frequency, up to 3.9 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 8 MB cache, 4 cores)
Chipset
Intel® Integrated SoC
Memory, standard
16 GB DDR4-2666 SDRAM (2 x 8 GB)
Video graphics
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
Integrated
Hard drive
512 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
Optical drive
Optical drive not included
Display
39.6 cm (15.6") diagonal FHD SVA anti-glare micro-edge WLED-backlit, 220 nits, 45% NTSC (1920 x 1080)
Wireless connectivity
Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11b/g/n/ac (1x1) and Bluetooth® 4.2 Combo
Expansion slots
1 multi-format SD media card reader
External ports
1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C™ (Data Transfer Only, 5 Gb/s signaling rate); 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A (Data Transfer Only); 1 AC smart pin; 1 HDMI 1.4b; 1 headphone/microphone combo
Minimum dimensions (W x D x H)
35.85 x 24.2 x 1.79 cm
Weight
1.69 kg
Power supply type
45 W Smart AC power adapter
Battery type
3-cell, 41 Wh Li-ion
Battery life mixed usage
Up to 10 hours and 15 minutes
Video Playback Battery life
Up to 8 hours and 30 minutes
Webcam
HP TrueVision HD Camera with integrated dual array digital m
icrophone
Audio features
Dual speakers
 
I hope some ambassador or embassy expansion will be added,otherwise contact with Asian powers will be extremely weird,when you playing as European power.

For example: when you send any request to other leaders,you need to assemble embassy diplomat + any other character depending on your mission: religious,merchant or spy.And they should travel to destinations and back and only then player receive answer.

For that,I think,some extra support characters for council position should be added,when you hire someone for position he brings in his “office”,his son,brother and best friend,and mission is depending on skills of characters.

Still I don’t understand how Asia is added before merchants and silk roads(any trade road) because king of France had no reason to send his ambassadors to the China…he probably didn’t even care that somewhere there is some kinda “emperor”,he probably even never heard about him.
 
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Have been waiting for the rest of Asia since late CK2, so I'm very excited for All Under Heaven!
Some questions I'd like to field about the chapter though, starting with Khans of the Steppe:
  1. Will there be flavour for non-Mongolian nomads (e.g. Turks and Khitans)?
  2. Will there be ways to transition from landless to the new governments (e.g. adopting a nomadic lifestyle or, for All Under Heaven, settling down with a position in the Chinese administration)?
Coronations:
  1. Will coronations tie into religion (e.g. would Christian rulers require good relations and interact with the clergy)?
  2. Will coronations be repeatable for a single ruler, when a ruler adopts a higher tier title?
  3. How important will it be for a ruler to receive a coronation? Will there be penalties for rulers who delay it (as was the case in CK2)?
All Under Heaven:
  1. How will Korea's government be approached? There has been some confusion in the community regarding Korea, since it hasn’t been elaborated on. I'll also take this opportunity to ask the same question for other states that don't quite fall into any of the already mentioned categories, such as Dali.
  2. 867 will start with the Tang already in decline, 40 years away from when it historically fell and ushered in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Will this specific (and general) threat of China fracturing be represented? I think becoming a warlord in the wake of an imperial collapse to then reunite China under your dynasty's rule would be a very compelling experience.
  3. Will the Western Xia, Liao, and Jin be represented mechanically as equally valid competitors for the rule of China? Historically, they referred to their rulers as emperors, and the Liao and Jin in particular were powerful enough to threaten the Song, who acknowledged the Liao as its peer and was forced out of the north by the Jin. Given that, I think it would be important not to mechanically elevate the Song as the sole hegemonic Chinese empire.
  4. In regard to Chinese hegemony, will something similar to Zheng He’s expeditions be represented? And relatedly, will rulers of neighbouring realms be able to travel to China and send gifts to show their submission (as in CK2)?
  5. For the Chinese government, will protectorates be represented? What about power/land passed down hereditarily for the purposes of governing conquered peoples (via the Jimi and Tusi systems)?
  6. Will any new features or flavour touch on Tibet or India?
  7. Will the map expansion include the Philippines?
  8. It's almost certain that the 'new bookmarks' mentioned in the Steam page doesn't indicate a new start date, but I'd like to ask about it anyway to confirm it. Something like CK2's 936 Iron Century would start with China heavily fractured in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, vastly differing from the more united Tang of 867 and the divided (but still less chaotic) situations in 1066 and 1178.
 
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I'm quite approving your decision of adding Asia this year, if you've decided to add it finally.
Map is the ground of mechanics, and mechanics won't be completed without map being completed. Like, if there will be silk road, but no Asia added, you have to add it twice before and after Asia is added, that's obvious a waste of labor.
People against it may not get this basic logic, or they are waiting for something they wanted too long that they prefer it being added first despite that may cause extra works after map changes.
Another choice is not to add Asia, that could also be reasonable since CK2 already performed this way and accepted by players, but when looking at how mods which added Asia(RoA, OE, AEP) are quite popular on workshop, it will be a conservative decision.
As a modder of RoA group, I have seen the possibility of adding whole Asian long before, and we did really do so, and it haven't cause much performance issues, at least no more than Admin government brought, so it won't be a disaster as someone thought, I think the performance issue is mainly caused by extra computing task by different mechanics, rather than province increasing.
After chapter 4 dropped, we could concentrate our efforts on flavors and try to fill the empty part of Asia with more interesting elements to play in, that's also a good news.
 
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Since there will be a DLC about China that directly affects the moment of overlords (introduces hegemony) and the moment of division of power, then it seems to me that the comments about the meritocracy perk and the dynamism of the regency system (it is not dangerous if you are the ruler and it is not very good and interesting if you are the regent) are especially relevant https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...ans-team-what-would-they-need-to-fix.1719554/
 
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Let’s forget about China and take a look at the distant Uchinaa island. Is anyone else ready to start as one of the three kingdoms, Hokuzan, Chuzan and Nanzan, unify all Ryukyuans, and finally let the world kneel down in front of you?
 
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Incredibly ambitious, which is what we like to see. I'm curious to see if there will be effective mechanics that make an expansive China extremely difficult and a China World Conquest nearly impossible for all but the most skilled players (on normal difficulty). Especially considering how much more powerful China was than any other world power during the timeframe of the game.
 
Weight
1.69 kg
No, CK3 needs at least 2kg ;)

Jokes aside, the laptop you're describing has what is called integrated graphics which is kind of like bringing a scooter to a car race. It might be able to get you from point A to point B - but it will take a while and won't be very efficient. A lot of laptops built for work or browsing the web use graphics card like these because the computer can be more portable and graphics cards can be expensive. If you look at our steam site - you can check out the recommended requirements. If you're already in the business of getting a new laptop - and you intend to play CK3 - I'd really recommend getting a laptop with a dedicated graphics card. These will usually be made by NVIDIA or AMD. It might cost a little extra, weigh a bit more and kill the battery a bit faster - but trying to play demanding games on a work laptop is going to be torture.
 
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We need hegemony title for reformed Roman empire as well. Lets goo
It would be cool if historical Empires that China recognised as equals in the Medieval/Ancient era were Hegemonies. Which were the Roman Empire by the Han Dynasty, the Umayyad Caliphate by the Tang Dynasty, and technically the Great Liao too, but that was because the Song Dynasty was too weak. But I think India also needs a Hegemony title.
 
How many government types will be implemented in the Asia update? One for China, Korea, Japan, and the Southeast isles? My worry is that Western Europe already needs some fleshing out (trade, Republics, and especially religion) and this will be similar. Still very excited though - 1.15 was an amazing step in the right direction direction for me at least!
 
Seeing that there was a discussion about adding steppe mechanics to the sahara region, will berber cultures be reworked as well? The current culture split distinguishes between nomadic/pastoral and sedentary berbers. However, I am not sure if this will be immersive enough when the actual culture difference can be modelled through mechanics.
 
Will this run ck3 since you love shafting Xbox by denying us all this beauty and I need a new laptop anyway

Product number
8UH10EA
Product name
HP Notebook 15s-fq1010na
Microprocessor
Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 (1.3 GHz base frequency, up to 3.9 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 8 MB cache, 4 cores)
Chipset
Intel® Integrated SoC
Memory, standard
16 GB DDR4-2666 SDRAM (2 x 8 GB)
Video graphics
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
Integrated
Hard drive
512 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
Optical drive
Optical drive not included
Display
39.6 cm (15.6") diagonal FHD SVA anti-glare micro-edge WLED-backlit, 220 nits, 45% NTSC (1920 x 1080)
Wireless connectivity
Realtek RTL8821CE 802.11b/g/n/ac (1x1) and Bluetooth® 4.2 Combo
Expansion slots
1 multi-format SD media card reader
External ports
1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C™ (Data Transfer Only, 5 Gb/s signaling rate); 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A (Data Transfer Only); 1 AC smart pin; 1 HDMI 1.4b; 1 headphone/microphone combo
Minimum dimensions (W x D x H)
35.85 x 24.2 x 1.79 cm
Weight
1.69 kg
Power supply type
45 W Smart AC power adapter
Battery type
3-cell, 41 Wh Li-ion
Battery life mixed usage
Up to 10 hours and 15 minutes
Video Playback Battery life
Up to 8 hours and 30 minutes
Webcam
HP TrueVision HD Camera with integrated dual array digital m
icrophone
Audio features
Dual speakers
I think it's a bad laptop, unless you're buying it at a VERY low price. I think CK3 should work on it, but I would look for a better option.
 
I'd like to reiterate the question about whether the map will be moved south, or whether Indonesia will be squished into the current map space.

Either way, will you leave the possibility open to expand the map south to include the Swahili coast at a later point?
 
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