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 difficulty 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.
Before I reply, you need to know: I haven't played in month, so some things may have changed already.
But chances for that are slim... or rather non-existent!
You see, with my over 4.000 hours of playtime in CK 3, I'm considered one of the 'veteran players'. And I have to point out: "... given that the discussion around difficulty persists I think it's safe to say that even veteran players feel that's not an acceptable solution to the problem." Stop right there [insert Oblivion meme here]! Do you even recognize that the game rules don't differentiate between 'boosting AI' and 'boosting the Player'? Higher or lower realm stability will always affect both the player AND the AI at once! Why not seperate at least such things??? Let me boost the AI via game rules without boosting myself! It wouldn't affect newer players and give myself (and maybe other veteran players) at least something! But nope, for whatever reason can't even have that...
Then, are you and anybody else at pdox aware how you 'butcher the base game'!? I don't have any DLCs for this game - and given your answer, this won't ever change.
But by just having the base game, do you even know how this might be for a new player?
When your employer pdox introduced legitimacy, many things to 'counter the loss of it' were packed in the Legends DLC. For me its an annoying spam of feasts and hunt activities. How would that fare with a new player who is testing the base game before deciding about any DLC?
And more important, do you or anybody else at pdox even know how the AI fares with legitimacy without any DLC? The AI can't handle it!
Ever since legitimacy hit the base game, I play with higher realm stability. It of course boosts myself, but by god, the AI at least can mange their realm somehow. Cause without higher realm stability, the game reminded me of those 'cascading factions' back from the 1.4 patches.
Do you remember those times? What I remember the most was a thread with a post where someone showed how cascading factions led Hungary to switch its ruler 25 times in 25 years...
That was an attempt of pdox to ramp up the difficulty without seperating the player from the AI - and failed miserably!!!
Pdox should finally understand that for difficulty they have to seperate as a first step the player from the AI. And game rules are the first step in this!
Then, I'm a regular of the 'this game is fundamentally broken thread' mentioned in the OP of this thread.
And as a veteran I can confidentely say: Your employer pdox didn't address any of the fundamental flaws! Like never!
Aside from how war score is handled, crusades didn't change 'fundamentally'
Events are still dependent on randomly generated characters most of the time, they just get generated with more 'fitting traits'
And the list could go on endlessly...
Also then, does any of you from pdox even know what still persists after almost 6 years from release date?
I tried it last year again: Starting in 867 start date, collecting enough piety to found my own muslim religion with 'female preference'... and I am still stuck with 'male only' succession! I pointed this out years ago. And its still not fixed. Laughable at best...
Lastly:
Back when royal court was introduced and the culture mechanic hidden behind a paywall, which I think is wrong to this day... I with the help of others pointed out, that I wasn't able to determine anymore which gender is allowed to be a knight! Pdox relatively quickly changed that so players without the Royal Court DLC would determine who is allowed to be knight via religion. I will be forever grateful about that decision!
But man, seeing the game is out for almost 6 years. And nothing fundamentally has changed... I not only find it hard to believe your words, I straight up feel they are just there to 'ease the lamentation about old problems your employer is never going to fix'!
If you see my words as a rant, so be it.
I'm just trying to be polite and honest at the same time. I hope at least that is appreciated.
On a sidenote:
I also do own Hoi4 and Vicky 3 from your employer. And why I will never touch any Vicky DLC (and maybe even the game itself) as long as this abomination of a Prussia land bridge exists in 1836, regardless of how positive the 1.9 patch was in the community, I at least own Hoi4 DLCs. Recently bought 'Götterdämmerung' and am playing the game again.
But looking at CK 3... I would rather buy those underwhelming Hoi4 DLCs about South America and about the persian region then to touch anything in CK 3 as long as your employer doesn't even fix things that are there since release date.
