[MOD] Regional Immersion and Cultural Enrichment - a cultural flavor pack collection, sequel to Cybrxkhan’s Immersion Packs

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 2 FOR REDACTED​

I'm in the final stages of RICE's update to 1.16 and hope to get the new version out in a few days at most, possibly even tomorrow if all goes well. If you are using the unofficial beta on GitHub, or playing an existing game without RICE, please be aware the 1.16 RICE update will require a new game, so plan accordingly!


In the meanwhile, here's a teaser related to a new bookmarked character for RICE's upcoming flagship flavor pack, to be featured at ModCon as mentioned.

Clue #2: They fought a foe famed for victories against powerful opponents – and survived (but not unscathed).

 

[tribnia]

I hope you could read mandarin or Tibetan, these papers quotes parts of chronicle of Purang, called 《太阳氏王统记》(literally Reign of solar kings), which said before Kyide Nyimagon moved to Ngari region after the death of his father in Xigase, Kyunglung was ruled by descendents of former Zhangzhung kings called Syna-Shur.
These records are also supported by Bon priests of Kyung clan, who claims to shortly ruled Ngari after Lig-myi-rhya, but was replaced by the latter's descendents after several generations and migrated to Amdo in fear of being sacrificed.
Chronicles is not always real, yet adapting this may lead to more flavor in Zhangzhung region in 867.

 

[cybrxkhan]

I hope you could read mandarin or Tibetan, these papers quotes parts of chronicle of Purang, called 《太阳氏王统记》(literally Reign of solar kings), which said before Kyide Nyimagon moved to Ngari region after the death of his father in Xigase, Kyunglung was ruled by descendents of former Zhangzhung kings called Syna-Shur.
These records are also supported by Bon priests of Kyung clan, who claims to shortly ruled Ngari after Lig-myi-rhya, but was replaced by the latter's descendents after several generations and migrated to Amdo in fear of being sacrificed.
Chronicles is not always real, yet adapting this may lead to more flavor in Zhangzhung region in 867.

Thank you for this! I knew of the existence of legendary clans/historical figures based on my sources, but could not find anything specifying specific people or lineages that were useful. It's too late to apply this to the upcoming update, but I'll make a note of this and save the sources so I can work on something in the near future. The characters being legendary is fine for me, as the vanilla game has mythical figures that likely did not even exist, so it wouldn't be out of place; plus, them being legendary means I can have more freedom with how to depict them. I can't read Tibetan and only know a tiny bit of Mandarin, but I can copy and paste the text to a translator to get a rough translation - it's not ideal but I've done that before for sources in other languages.

 

[cybrxkhan]

RICE 1.16.0 "Buddha of Light" is out, the official RICE update to
Khans of the Steppe, with RICE's next flavor pack:
Manicheism: The Religion of Light
Steam Workshop Download | Github Manual Download | Paradox Mods Download
Discord Server | Twitter | Official Website
​

Please recite: purity, light, power, wisdom, the supreme perfect truth, Mani the Buddha of Light.
- Inscription dated to 1445 CE at Cao’an Temple, China, one of the few intact Manichean temples

I'm happy to announce the official RICE update to Khans of the Steppe, and with it the Manichean Flavor Pack: The Religion of Light! RICE 1.16.0 "Buddha of Light" includes:

• Official update to Khans of the Steppe
• Immersive decisions, activites, and events for Manicheans
• Decide Manicheism's fate in 867 as the Caliph or a powerful Uyghur ruler
• New playable historical Manichean and Uyghur adventurers
• More flavor for the old Tarim Basin Flavor Pack like new traditions and local pilgrimages
• ... and much more!

Remember you may need to unsubscribe and resubscribe for mods to update properly (multiple times if necessary). Please start a new game with this version of RICE, as it comes after a major vanilla patch. A hotfix or small patch may be out in a week or so to address issues I did not catch.

Looking ahead, RICE's next flagship flavor pack will be revealed at ModCon 4, coming in a month! Thanks all for your patience and support while I was distracted with the Oblivion Remaster!


Changelog

Spoiler: Changelog

• Added new bookmarked landed characters with aspirations:
  • Bokut Bilga (867)
  • Yelu Yingxin (1066)
  • Chen Pingshan (1066)
• Added new landless characters for each start date:
  • Mardan-Farrukh (867)
  • Ibn Wahab (867)
  • Chen Pingshan (1066)
  • Shingqo Sheli Tutung (1066)
  • Zhao Weiyi (1066)
  • Tatatunga (1178)
• Added 3 soundtracks for various regions in Asia
• Added game rule to disable RICE’s struggles (Warning: Please be aware this may lead to struggle-related content not working properly or unpredictable game behavior.)
• Split eastern 867 and 1066 bookmarks into two (MidEastern and Eastern), partly in preparation for All Under Heaven
• Western Liao are no longer administrative in 1178, to be consistent with vanilla making them nomads
• Li Shichang, Mahmud Yalavach, and Mansur ibn Mahmud al-Uzgandi are now adventurers in 1178 (once PI releases All Under Heaven along with the special admin gov’t for the Liao, they’ll be made admin vassals of Liao again)
• Purification doctrines are now also available to non-Dualist faiths with the Gnostic tenet
• Added Religious Patronage tradition to French culture (if there’s an available tradition slot)
• Added Agrarian tradition to the Severian culture so it is consistent with the traditions given to Ilmenians and Volhynians from vanilla
• Added a few remnant Slavic pagan counties in East Slavic lands in 1066 and to a much lesser extent 1178
• Vanilla’s Tribes of the North tradition has been added to RICE’s Siberian cultures if you have the Khans of the Steppe DLC
• Removed Genghis Khan as a bookmarked character since he’s now a vanilla bookmarked character
• Tweaked starting army of the Western Liao to include some of vanilla’s new nomad MAAs
• Decision to Alter the Shrine of Santiago can no longer be taken if you have the forbidden pilgrimage doctrine
• Revamped some decision art, credits to DrStein(Selva)
• Removed ability to do the Silk Road decision if your liege has counties in the Silk Road region (to prevent, for instance, someone in Sardinia ruled by the ERE from taking it since the Emperor has counties in the Levant)
• Nerfed the Akhtarveniks tradition
• May have fixed Rus override game rule not working if you enabled it, not sure if the fix works however
• Fixed Votive Offerings not being available as an activity option for the local pilgrimage to Tapama Djenepo’s tomb
• Fixed some RICE adventurer titles not being destroyed if game rule to remove RICE adventurers is on
• Fixed Maganoist faith (i.e. Sidama paganism) having a different name if it is reformed
• Fixed potential source of error log errors from non-landed rulers converting to other faiths at game start
• Miscellaneous bugfixes

Spoiler: Flavor Pack Highlights

 

[cybrxkhan]

RICE 1.16.0.a hotfix for "Buddha of Light" is out!
Steam Workshop Download | Github Manual Download | Paradox Mods Download
Discord Server | Twitter | Official Website
​

I hope everyone's enjoying RICE's update to Khans of the Steppe! This is just the obligatory hotfix for the major RICE update. There will likely be a second hotfix/small patch later this week or next week to address further issues.

Remember you may need to unsubscribe and resubscribe for mods to update properly (multiple times if necessary).

The hotfix should be savegame compatible if the game was started with RICE 1.16.x.

Changelog:

Spoiler

• Added some missing Spanish localization, courtesy of Ferchu
• Added event when creating a new faith with Gnosticism that previously didn’t have it to choose its purification doctrine
• All faiths with the Liberation of Light doctrine now also start with The Hidden Light doctrine in later start dates
• Increased cooldown for the Manichean confession decision to three years
• Temporary fix for potential CTD when playing as Zhang Huaishen in 867 and choosing to send yourself as a Tang hostage, or not sending anyone, by disabling those options for players
• Fixed missing localization for the historical context tooltip of the Bezeklik Pilgrimage
• Fixed newly created faiths not losing or gaining purification doctrines as appropriate when removing or adding the Gnostic tenet

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 3 FOR REDACTED​

As some of you know, I love adding obscure historical figures into RICE – the kind where, if you Google their name, the only results you get are two random academic papers and a link related to RICE.

The next flagship flavor pack is no different. This character is so obscure and not mentioned anywhere on Wikipedia in any language. (For clarification, the preview is of a decision, one this character and others in the region can take.)

Clue #3: A new playable character in this region, known from an obscure inscription, had experience in managing agriculture.

 

[solamyas]

Is it in India?

 

[Orinsul]

sea cows

 

[cybrxkhan]

Is it in India?

Could the clues fit? Maybe, maybe not. We will have to see

sea cows

Moo!

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 4 FOR REDACTED​

Here's today's teaser! This upcoming flagship flavor pack will work well with another mod. What mod is that? The mod's creator(s) have promised to remain silent and not reveal anything yet so you won't find out yet. I'm eager to promote their work soon, though!

This clue also refers to another obscure character I'm adding. Unlike the person from teaser 3, this person does appear on Wikipedia.

Clue #4: I'm integrating a bit of stuff from a great mod (with permission) related to a new intellectual character who used their influence to push for societal and political reforms in this region.

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 5 FOR REDACTED​

Here's today's teaser! This upcoming flagship flavor pack will work well with another mod. What mod is that? The mod's creator(s) have promised to remain silent and not reveal anything yet so you won't find out yet. I'm eager to promote their work soon, though!

This clue also refers to another obscure character I'm adding. Unlike the person from teaser 3, this person does appear on Wikipedia.

Clue #5: A new culture places great emphasis on certain kinds of sports events.

 

[cybrxkhan]

RICE 1.16.0.b hotfix for "Buddha of Light" is out!
Steam Workshop Download | Github Manual Download | Paradox Mods Download
Discord Server | Twitter | Official Website
​

This is another minor hotfix with miscellaneous issues and tweaks. Thanks everyone who helped me with catching some of this stuff. Barring any major problems, this will likely be the last hotfix/patch for now.

Remember you may need to unsubscribe and resubscribe for mods to update properly (multiple times if necessary).

The hotfix should be savegame compatible if the game was started with RICE 1.16.x.

Changelog:

Spoiler

• Munya activities can now be taken anywhere if you have the Munya tradition
• Made AI more likely to take the decision to create Rus culture after a certain timeframe after game start
• Made AI more likely to take the decision to influence the future of Uyghur Manicheism after a certain timeframe after game start
• Tamil culture now starts with the Refined Poetry tradition
• Changed Amazigh religion funeral doctrine
• Fixed missing localization for DeathDeityHerHim in many RICE religions
• Fixed missing localization for some Mari pagan religious loc
• Miscellaneous bugfixes

Modcon 2025 and the [REDACTED] Reveal is two weeks away!​

Additionally, this year's edition of ModCon - the fan hosted event focused on PI modding, featuring trailers, previews, panels, and more - is coming soon on June 13-15 so be sure to mark your calendars. RICE should be featuring there, including the official reveal of its next flagship update, the [REDACTED] Flavor Pack!

Until then, I'll continue posting teasers on here and other places. If you're interested in more info, please see the official ModCon website.

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 6 FOR REDACTED​

Time for another teaser! If you've made some guesses where it could be, are you still confident about your guess? If you haven't, does this tricky clue help you with narrowing down the possible focus region?

We're also less than two weeks away from the official reveal of RICE's next flagship flavor pack at ModCon - I've just wrapped up recording the voice over for the RICE showcase video, so hopefully I'll be able to finish making the video soon!

Clue #6: A man from France, a Muslim, and some Slavs walk into a bar passed by here, though not at the same time.

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 7 FOR REDACTED​

Here's today's clue for the [Redacted] flagship flavor pack! By the way, I'm more or less done with the first draft of RICE's trailer and presentation for ModCon 2025. Be sure to mark your calendars for June 13-15 in a week and a half for ModCon!

Clue #7: You give them exotic goods, whether from deserts or mountains, grasslands or across the seas. If they alter the deal? You pray they do not alter it any further.

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 8 FOR REDACTED​

This teaser continues off the theme of the last one.

Additionally, I am happy to report that RICE's reveal trailer and presentation for ModCon 2025 have been submitted to the ModCon organizing committee, so RICE will 100% be presenting at ModCon this year. Mark your calendars for June 13-15 next weekend to learn what's in store for RICE!

Clue #8: Do you like beans? Buy beans! Sell beans! BEANS! A certain kind of bean has been eaten here for generations.

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 9 FOR REDACTED​

Soon, with RICE's next flagship update, looks like you could be getting a new job offer! With how things are going in this economy, it might not be as lucrative as it used to be, but you might have to accept it.

[Note: Color of the trait subject to change, don't read too much into the color.]

Clue #9: Congratulations on inheriting this position! In your new role as ___, you will guard this region's frontier and manage... wait, was it a tribute payment or an equal exchange again?

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 10 FOR REDACTED​

With ModCon 2025 coming later this weekend and the official reveal of RICE's 40th flavor pack, we'll be stepping up the ante with the teasers - I can't promise a teaser each day, but I'll get somewhere close to that.

Clue #10: In the 13th century, this region was subject to devastating attacks by a pagan foe – something still remembered by locals to this day.

 

[cybrxkhan]

RICE EVENT AT MODCON​

The official schedule for ModCon 2025 (June 13-15) is out! For those of you who aren't aware, this is an online event to celebrate Paradox mods which has been ongoing since 2021, and will feature mod showcases, discussion panels, previews, reveal trailers, and more — including the reveal trailer for RICE's next flagship flavor pack! I would be grateful for your support if you are able to be there.

The RICE event will start roughly around June 14, 2025 10:40 AM PDT. Before that, around 9:55 AM PDT, there will be a discussion panel concerning Mod Compatibility, which I took part in along with a few other modders.

This year's event will also have a charity target for the World Monuments Fund, an important organization to preserving much of the historical and cultural heritage that many of us Paradox players cherish deeply.

For more details on where to watch, and the schedule for the whole event, please see the official ModCon website or the official ModCon Discord server.

TEASER 11 FOR REDACTED​

Anyhow, here's today's teaser for the big chungus [Redacted] flagship update!

Clue #11: This update's focus culture used several languages in the CK3 era. For instance, a language from a faraway land was often used in religious contexts and was the source of many loanwords.

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 12 FOR REDACTED​

I think this will be either the third or second to last clue before the official reveal of RICE's next flagship flavor pack this update. I feel this one is a little more specific than some of my other clues, so maybe it'll help you out if the previous clues have been stumping you!

Clue #12: In the 9th century, politics, ambition, rebellion, and questionable loyalties create strange bedfellows, as the decline of a once mighty dynasty affects this region.

 

[cybrxkhan]

TEASER 13 FOR REDACTED​

This will probably be the final clue before the official reveal of RICE's next flagship flavor pack on Saturday at ModCon Day 2. In case you missed it, RICE's slot on the day 2 event can be viewed here on Tarkusarkusar's YouTube channel.

Alright, let's get onto the clue then! I feel this one might be more specific, and might even give it away... But we'll soon see if anyone guessed right based on the clues this time!

Clue #13: A new special building represents old monuments, less known internationally than their more famous counterparts.