Chapter IV Q&A TLDR

[Traxium318]

1. Not all Indonesia is included, map does get expanded including part of Zanzibar (with some flavor?) and the Spice islands, all mainland asia tho
2. Some DD will be published ahead of the AUH DLC, but no promises a la Tinto Maps
3. Khans of the Steppe will be updated with AUH to integrate mechanics and all things nice
4. No special focus in Harem mechanics
5. New pet: eagle, but pet "mechanics" not expanded
6. Japan will start with some kind of admin gov in early start dates, into feudal in late start dates
7. Great Projects seem like quest you can take to get merit and get in emperor good favors
8. Commoners and low nobility can take exams, like when you send your child into monkhood
9. China can rename according to Dynasties, you can change map color choosing one of the five chinese elements
10. Chinese dynasties play diferent since they are in a system named Dynasty cycles, they mention a Expanding Era and a Advancement Era. They play diferent with diferent bonus.
11. They chose to introduce Asia before Republics cause they feel is better to simulate Republics down the line
12. No big changes to warfare but China does play different
13. Only hegemony at start is China, maybe Roman Empire and Mongols at their peak get the chance to claim hegemony too
14. Central treasury may get introduced to other empires
15. No australia
16. Nomads will be able to replicate the Mongol conquest of China and establishing of the Yuan dynasty. They can reform into chinese gov too
17. There will be lots of exams in China, can be examined in front of emperor and more local exams. Seem imporant to get merit
18. Coronations DLC only focus on Coronations
19. New Disaster System, they seem more interesting than plagues in a way you can get stronger after it, more like a challenge. You can build dams to prepare for floods, also participate in Great Projects
20. Natural Disasters all around the world, locked logically (floods can happen only around rivers) Feature not super destructive
21. Mandala govt kinda explained: You establish tributaries around you, they give money. You build temples and become influential and god king, eventually more people swear fealty to you and you get more vassals and become something (i dont understand last line)
22. CK3 System requierements will be upgraded
23. Vagabonds and sex update dlcs are not in the pipeline
24. Merit coin does not work similar to prestige, is like a you get prestige as you perform actions in China and you dont expend it much
25. Players will be able to devastate provinces (already confirmed in some Khan Dev Diary I think)
26: 14:44 Tease some update on innovations, maybe tech rework?
27. There be some content related to gunpowder
28. 15:31 Maybe nomadic turkic update on postlaunch
29. Yantze and Yellow river will be on the map but they have to chose a specific route since engine doesnt allow river changes during the game
30. Some countries will have variences of the chinese adm govt
31. 18:01 PLAYABLE TEOCRACIES TEASER? AAAAAAAAAAAA
32. Imperial Treasury; Governors collect money and send it to the Emperor, the Emperor transforms it into state money that can be used to build buildings (Great Projects like the Great Wall I assume?) and some sent down back to governors and they use it like a budget

 

[Tom The Viking YT]

15. No australia

That disappoints me, I wish I could play as aborigens and conquer the world as them

 

[Ksiendzu]

That disappoints me, I wish I could play as aborigens and conquer the world as them

Mod Rajas of Asia have Torres Strait Islands. You could ad least try these.

 

[Tom The Viking YT]

Mod Rajas of Asia have Torres Strait Islands. You could ad least try these.

Oh really? I got to give it a go! Thanks!

 

[Mr.BigPig]

1. Not all Indonesia is included, map does get expanded including part of Zanzibar (with some flavor?) and the Spice islands, all mainland asia tho

To be a bit more precise about this, in the 7:05 they explicitly say "We will cover all of mainland Southeast Asia and also all of the islands, except for Papua".

Thanks for the summary, it's really helpful.

 

[Koppel235]

1. Not all Indonesia is included, map does get expanded including part of Zanzibar (with some flavor?) and the Spice islands, all mainland asia tho
2. Some DD will be published ahead of the AUH DLC, but no promises a la Tinto Maps
3. Khans of the Steppe will be updated with AUH to integrate mechanics and all things nice
4. No special focus in Harem mechanics
5. New pet: eagle, but pet "mechanics" not expanded
6. Japan will start with some kind of admin gov in early start dates, into feudal in late start dates
7. Great Projects seem like quest you can take to get merit and get in emperor good favors
8. Commoners and low nobility can take exams, like when you send your child into monkhood
9. China can rename according to Dynasties, you can change map color choosing one of the five chinese elements
10. Chinese dynasties play diferent since they are in a system named Dynasty cycles, they mention a Expanding Era and a Advancement Era. They play diferent with diferent bonus.
11. They chose to introduce Asia before Republics cause they feel is better to simulate Republics down the line
12. No big changes to warfare but China does play different
13. Only hegemony at start is China, maybe Roman Empire and Mongols at their peak get the chance to claim hegemony too
14. Central treasury may get introduced to other empires
15. No australia
16. Nomads will be able to replicate the Mongol conquest of China and establishing of the Yuan dynasty. They can reform into chinese gov too
17. There will be lots of exams in China, can be examined in front of emperor and more local exams. Seem imporant to get merit
18. Coronations DLC only focus on Coronations
19. New Disaster System, they seem more interesting than plagues in a way you can get stronger after it, more like a challenge. You can build dams to prepare for floods, also participate in Great Projects
20. Natural Disasters all around the world, locked logically (floods can happen only around rivers) Feature not super destructive
21. Mandala govt kinda explained: You establish tributaries around you, they give money. You build temples and become influential and god king, eventually more people swear fealty to you and you get more vassals and become something (i dont understand last line)
22. CK3 System requierements will be upgraded
23. Vagabonds and sex update dlcs are not in the pipeline
24. Merit coin does not work similar to prestige, is like a you get prestige as you perform actions in China and you dont expend it much
25. Players will be able to devastate provinces (already confirmed in some Khan Dev Diary I think)
26: 14:44 Tease some update on innovations, maybe tech rework?
27. There be some content related to gunpowder
28. 15:31 Maybe nomadic turkic update on postlaunch
29. Yantze and Yellow river will be on the map but they have to chose a specific route since engine doesnt allow river changes during the game
30. Some countries will have variences of the chinese adm govt
31. 18:01 PLAYABLE TEOCRACIES TEASER? AAAAAAAAAAAA
32. Imperial Treasury; Governors collect money and send it to the Emperor, the Emperor transforms it into state money that can be used to build buildings (Great Projects like the Great Wall I assume?) and some sent down back to governors and they use it like a budget

Did they address players concerns about the non inclusion of turkic tribes in the Khans of the Steppe pack ?
EDIT:Seems they mentioned it.Nice that peoples concerns were addressed.Although from the tone of the reply likely we wont see content for long time.

 

[zeruosi]

9. China can rename according to Dynasties, you can change map color choosing one of the five chinese elements

I'm very glad that they adopted my proposal to some extent. Ohhhh

 

[Tahami Tsunami]

I'm somehow even more hyped for Chapter 4!

I am glad that they have Republics in mind and how adding Asia first will assist with mechanics for them.

At 1:42, they say that more of Africa will be included! After the Horn of Africa, they seem to mention the Swahili city-states so I'm very excited (I can easily see them being a part of future republics gameplay)! No clue if Zimbabwe would be able to fit in or not.

 

[guiskj]

One thing OP missed is that the Devs do not think the game needs to be harder. Their position is that if you played the game enough and think it is easy, then you have "beat" the game and should go play something else.

It seemed to come from a genuine place and not mean spirited, but I do strongly disagree with them.

Dark Ages mod is our only hope now, @Torredebelem

 

[TheMind]

Yeah, more taxing system requirements.

For China.

Yeah.

 

[Werther]

One thing OP missed is that the Devs do not think the game needs to be harder. Their position is that if you played the game enough and think it is easy, then you have "beat" the game and should go play something else.

It seemed to come from a genuine place and not mean spirited, but I do strongly disagree with them.

Dark Ages mod is our only hope now, @Torredebelem

He didn't say "you should play something else", and before it turned as a dev vs gamers® scenario, here is the actual quote I copied which, even with the banter at the end, seems to acknowledge the problem and imply that they will do something in the future:

Yes we can make the game hard, but the difficult part comes from making the game hard while keeping it fun to play. We understand that some players have put hundred or even thousand of hours into the game and have essentially exhausted the strategic depth that the current combat system offers. And at that point, all I can say, is that you have beated the game, you have won.

 

[guiskj]

He didn't say "you should play something else", and before it turned as a dev vs gamers® scenario, here is the actual quote I copied which, even with the banter at the end, seems to acknowledge the problem and imply that they will do something in the future:

Well, the last sentence of "congratulations, you have beaten the game, you have won" reads to me as a "you should move on" statement.

Regardless, I appreciate them being candid with their perspective on the topic, at least now I know where I stand and can stop expecting the kind of reworks and rebalances I desperately hoped for the game.

 

[Werther]

Well, the last sentence of "congratulations, you have beaten the game, you have won" reads to me as a "you should move on" statement.

Regardless, I appreciate them being candid with their perspective on the topic, at least now I know where I stand and can stop expecting the kind of reworks and rebalances I desperately hoped for the game.

For me it was to say that, as difficulty goes right now, you have beat it. Doesn't mean you have to stop (I still play tons of game I have beat) and it doesn't say that they will not make it harder or change things, he says it's difficult while keeping it fun, and he talks about *current* state of the game *at that time*, implying that thing will change. But yeah, probably not what you demand.

Found the answer funny when I heard it, but at the same time I knew it would be seen as an offense as it's exactly the kind of comment or quotes that can fuel "outrage" against devs. There are gaming communities that ranted about a specific dev for years because of an out of context quote on a small game dev conf. That kind of funny comment can be a bit dangerous when you work in video games as outrage is now part of the culture (this is literally half of YT gaming vids now).

Anyway:

13. Only hegemony at start is China, maybe Roman Empire and Mongols at their peak get the chance to claim hegemony too

Is hegemony becoming some kind of a "general" last tier above empire? Not clear for me now.

22. CK3 System requierements will be upgraded

Bit scared.

31. 18:01 PLAYABLE TEOCRACIES TEASER? AAAAAAAAAAAA

On this chapter?

On a side note, when they talk about Republics, the need to expand the map to the East or even mention specifically the ports in East Africa (when talking about expanding the map there), I was thinking about Trade. Seems like chapter 5 will definitely be link to this.

 

[InsidiousMage]

he says it's difficult while keeping it fun, and he talks about *current* state of the game *at that time*, implying that thing will change.

That's not the impression I got from the quote. I felt like they are tired of getting the question in part because they don't have any plans to change the current balance of the game.

 

[AlexPhantom]

Is hegemony becoming some kind of a "general" last tier above empire? Not clear for me now.

Yes, it is a new tier.

 

[Cyhort]

6. Japan will start with some kind of admin gov in early start dates, into feudal in late start dates

Meh, sounds like they are just slapping admin on Japan and calling it a day so they can focus on China. Lame, but not unexpected.

 

[Ranadiel]

31. 18:01 PLAYABLE TEOCRACIES TEASER? AAAAAAAAAAAA

On this chapter?

Specifically what was discussed is there was a question about whether all the capitals in Asia will be castles. The answer given was that "no, some of them might have temples."

Doesn't necessarily mean theocracies since any ruler with a religion with Lay Clergy can hold temples, but on the other hand there are currently no Eastern Religions in the game with Lay Clergy. So something is presumably changing to enable those temple capitals without too much player friction, whether it be a major religion overhaul in the East, new rules for temples, or one of the new government types (Mandala?) being able to hold temples without necessarily having lay clergy.

 

[Ral Rednaxela]

That's not the impress I got from the quote. I felt like they are tired of getting the question in part because they don't have any plans to change the current balance of the game.

That's the impression I got as well, it felt like they're annoyed at the veteran players for wanting more of a challenge. I'm not trying to rag on them unnecessarily, I just want assurance they're still listening to their most devoted players.

 

[rasuuru]

Please, don't ask the devs to make the game more difficult. Ask them to add new difficulty level. I am not a fan of souls-like games and I don't want to play "Crusader Souls". Unless changes in difficulty introduce fun roleplay elements because simple changing numbers against players or illogically restricting them is dumb.

 

[PDX-Trinexx]

Quoting myself from another thread

That was... very poor phrasing on my part, and the criticism it's caused is completely justified.

The question as posed in the Q&A suggests that increased difficult is an easy fix that we're just choosing not to do. What I was trying to say is that it's not that straightforward; it's hard to make content that's challenging for veteran players without wiping new players out, but that doesn't mean we're not trying. We just want difficulty that's fun to engage with, and not frustrating.

We want to make the player lose in ways that encourages them to adapt their strategy and try again, rather than sit there looking at a game over screen feeling like the game screwed them over with mechanics that were incomprehensible or completely out of their control. There's already a variety of ways to crank the difficulty up by artificially boosting the AI or hobbling the player themselves via game rules, but given that the discussion around difficulty persists I think it's safe to say that even the veteran players feel that's not an acceptable solution to the problem. And to be clear, I do consider it a problem.