[MOD] - Dark Ages

[Torredebelem]

Does actually add much to the gameplay though, or is it more of just one extra step before you fire off a war? If it's just something you have to go through the motions on, then, in my opinion, that doesn't really add much value. It would just be something that is taking up your spymaster from supporting the other roles.

I'm also trying to solve the issue of the AI not having enough children in the mid and late game.

With the potencial for alliances complicating the math (and the time necessary to have all the info) and the different quality of the reports, only partly based on spymaster intrigue, it means for every war you will have a different quality of info to act on. So, in my opinion, it is much more than just assigning the spymaster to the task and wait for the info.

 

[JakeCourtney]

Does CK3 model unit expiernce at all

With the potencial for alliances complicating the math (and the time necessary to have all the info) and the different quality of the reports, only partly based on spymaster intrigue, it means for every war you will have a different quality of info to act on. So, in my opinion, it is much more than just assigning the spymaster to the task and wait for the info.

Hmm. I'll have to try and play around with it more. Any other mods that pair well with Dark Ages that I'm not already running from the mod list I had posted awhile back.

 

[Torredebelem]

Does CK3 model unit expiernce at all


Hmm. I'll have to try and play around with it more. Any other mods that pair well with Dark Ages that I'm not already running from the mod list I had posted awhile back.

My mod list:

Unofficial Patch
Community Flavor Pack
Ethnicities & Portraits Expanded
CFP+EPE Compatibility Patch
Real Eyes 2.0
Extended Outliner
Better AI Education
Better Marriage (AI)
Crusader Music
In My Humble Opinion
Invite to Court - More Modifiers
Nameplates
New Personality Events For Children
Nicknames+
Quix Update
Succession Expanded
Population Control (Reduce Late Game Lag)
Social Relations Expanded
Unfinished Business
More Interactive Vassals (used with most of the rules turned off)
Immersive Realm Espionage
Dark Ages

 

[druez]

I'm trying to get a mod list going with Dark Ages as well to increase the depth and mechanics of the game. I'd be curious as to what mod list you are currently running? I've also been trying to get the AI to have more children, as they seem to keep old wives, and never marry lowborn women to keep producing children. So by mid- /late-game in the base game, it's rather boring.


Currently trying this mod list in Steam Beta [1.12.13]

Dark Ages
VIET Events - A Flavor and Immersion Event Mod
Unofficial Patch
Invite Debutantes
Invite Nobles
Beautiful Portraits
Brighter Text Colors
Clear Notifications
Nameplates
Extended Outliner
Regional Immersion and Cultural Enrichment (RICE)
Community Flavor Pack
Ethnicities and Portraits Expanded
CFP + EPE Compatibility Patch
Culture Expanded
RICE + EPE Compatibility Patch
More Interactive Vassals
Warden Vassal Contract
Great Empire Wars
Succession Expanded
Social Relations Expanded (SRE)
Unfinished Business
Rescue & Vengeance
Dynamic Regency
Patrum Scuta
Houses Traditions
Multilingual Education
Knight Manager Continued
Foundational Framework
In My Humble Opinion
Travelers
Prisoners of War
Travelers and Prisoners of War Compatch Tweaks
Gamerule Gadget
Raised Army CoA
Relationships of Weddings Expanded
Less Old Wives - AI Men Marry Younger Fertile Women (Not updated to latest)
More Babies For Counts & Dukes (Not updated to latest)
Doctor Tweak - AI Will More Often Hire Court Physicians (Not updated to latest)

Steam Workshop::Dark Ages Mod Collection ***Updated for Roads***

Steam Workshop: Crusader Kings III. List of mods I use for Dark Ages. Current List in testing. Don't foresee much changing unless I find issues as I continue testing. Rice and Viet both added back in. Adding in City of Wonder

steamcommunity.com

I keep my mod list pretty updated.

 

[JakeCourtney]

Steam Workshop::Dark Ages Mod Collection ***Updated for Roads***

Steam Workshop: Crusader Kings III. List of mods I use for Dark Ages. Current List in testing. Don't foresee much changing unless I find issues as I continue testing. Rice and Viet both added back in. Adding in City of Wonder

steamcommunity.com

I keep my mod list pretty updated.

Very nice. Thanks. Are you modifying any of the game/mod rules before the start?

 

[druez]

Very nice. Thanks. Are you modifying any of the game/mod rules before the start?

No, in general I do not. I'll look tonight, I know I toned down some of the interactive vassal stuff and travelers, so its only like main characters.

I'll let you know!

 

[JakeCourtney]

No, in general I do not. I'll look tonight, I know I toned down some of the interactive vassal stuff and travelers, so its only like main characters.

I'll let you know!

Do you run any mods like this that prevent aggressive expansion?

Steam Workshop::Overextension

steamcommunity.com

 

[Torredebelem]

Do you run any mods like this that prevent aggressive expansion?

Steam Workshop::Overextension

steamcommunity.com

Sounds like a very good mod. Will need to check if it is compatible with Dark Ages (I am far from my gaming laptop now).

 

[Torredebelem]

Overextension is compatible with Dark Ages, yes. Another one to add to the list!

 

[Torredebelem]

Version 1.45 (12/04/2024)

Download HERE

- Continued to code the Legitimacy event pool (70% done)
- Reduced the frequency of the event "A Serious Warning" (that might lead to being Framed)
- Reduced the chance of being Framed after getting the previous event
- Greedy, Arrogant and Callous characters now suffer different stress penalties if they enact the "Tax Break" Decision
- Old Age will have a bigger impact on Prowess
- Compatched with latest version of "Unofficial Patch"
- Structured better yearly trait bonuses/penalties to Legitimacy
- Fixed a tooltip in the event "Religious Plead for the [COUNTY NAME]"
- Added a better trait icon to the "Cunning Politician" trait
- Added a better trait icon to the "Hero" trait
- Decreased the Prestige penalties in the event "Poisonous Rumours" and its results
- Decreased the Stress impact in the event "Poisonous Rumours"
- Decreased Prestige penalties in the event "A Burned Agent"
- Fixed an option description in the event "The Dice of Fate"
- Modified "Forge Heir" decision to be available to any character who has the trait barren or sterile, independent of his/her age
- Increased the base chance of success of forging an heir
- Made available the adult choice of forging an heir if the forger has at least 36 old
- Simplified what gives Stress penalties in forging an heir
- Increased the progress rate of task "Increase Control"

 

[Torredebelem]

Version 1.46 (18/04/2024)

Download HERE

- Finished coding Legitimacy events and included them in the game
- Added flag that was not set to notification "Rulership Validated"
- Added flag that was not set to notification "Rulership Discredited"
- Fixed a bug in the murder attempt due to culture conversion where the secret services had a 99% chance of saving the life of the player
- Reduced the chance of every murder event to happen (murders will be on average rarer)
- Changed the way the costs are calculated to implement the decision "Increase County Patrols". Now on average the value will be lower
- Fixed Legendary conversions unbalanced design. Now it gives for free a single conversion in the sub realm
- Compatched with "Unofficial Patch" mod

 

[Torredebelem]

Will be going to Madrid on a leisure trip for the weekend. I'll check in loco who is going to win the "partidazo" on Sunday night!

Will come back on Monday afternoon. Enjoy the new version of Dark Ages!

 

[pablomarti354]

Will be going to Madrid on a leisure trip for the weekend. I'll check in loco who is going to win the "partidazo" on Sunday night!

Will come back on Monday afternoon. Enjoy the new version of Dark Ages!

Greetings from Barcelona! Enjoy the trip and the match

 

[Torredebelem]

Version 1.47 (24/04/2024)

Download HERE

- Fixed 4 events related with Legitimacy that were not firing
- Fixed localization for 2 toasts related with the event "The Soldiers That Went Missing"
- Renamed the event "The Soldiers That Went Missing" to "Missing Soldiers"
- Improved the text of the event "A Faulty Mind"
- Added a new option in the game rule about murder events. Now the player can also make them rarer
- Reduced the occurence of the murder event related to County Control
- Reduced the occurence of the murder event related to County Opinion
- Now the AI, if female, can only pick in the Forge heir decision the options where she was still fertile at the time (*)
- When the player picks the game rule to disable the murder events, now the spymaster will not give any more murder warnings




* - Before the lady might have been 57 yo and pick as her son a 1 yo character

 

[JakeCourtney]

Version 1.47 (24/04/2024)

Download HERE

- Fixed 4 events related with Legitimacy that were not firing
- Fixed localization for 2 toasts related with the event "The Soldiers That Went Missing"
- Renamed the event "The Soldiers That Went Missing" to "Missing Soldiers"
- Improved the text of the event "A Faulty Mind"
- Added a new option in the game rule about murder events. Now the player can also make them rarer
- Reduced the occurence of the murder event related to County Control
- Reduced the occurence of the murder event related to County Opinion
- Now the AI, if female, can only pick in the Forge heir decision the options where she was still fertile at the time (*)
- When the player picks the game rule to disable the murder events, now the spymaster will not give any more murder warnings




* - Before the lady might have been 57 yo and pick as her son a 1 yo character

How are you feeling about the direction the mod is going? Are you adapting the mod based on your own internal notes while playing it, or just basing it all on feel?

 

[Torredebelem]

How are you feeling about the direction the mod is going? Are you adapting the mod based on your own internal notes while playing it, or just basing it all on feel?

I am at a point where I coded all of the events I intended and found cardinal since game release to improve its design - which is not to say is the same as designing a very popular mod. After all, the best films or the the best books one can see or read are not necessarily the most seen or read by the audience. Regarding very popular mods and on two instances, both more than a decade ago, been there, done that.

Right now the challenge is to balance better my designs by turning the mod a bit easier - since I design games I always start being too harsh with my systems - without ever taking the edge and the danger spice of Dark Ages. One of the angles I am addresing is in improving customization of the experience through Game Rules. Certainly I am not going to water down the experience in search for more players. If I wanted to accrue the biggest number of players, I would not develop something along Dark Ages idea of significantly increasing difficulty.

I will also continue to modify the new official implementations of the game in order to increase the challenge and the simulation aspect of the systems presented.

Finally I will continue to code new events even if I feel at this time ideas for new stuff are becoming harder to come by. I feel very well if the players provide me with ideas to implement. For instance, Mirzor in the game steam page has been providing me with very good ideas for me to code, one of which will be deployed in next week's release.

As for my process of development, I wrote a long list of what I wanted to do since my early plays of 2020 and only recently finished it. Right now I get my inspiration while playing, by listening to a core group of long time friends since our teenager years playing table top RPGs that provide ideas for me to implement and also, as stated before, by reading suggestions made by Dark Ages players in forums.


All in all, I am here for the long haul and don't expect to lack ideas - be they fine tunning systems, new content, adapting new PDX content to Dark Ages concept, etc - until PDX finishes CK3 development.

 

[pablomarti354]

Some thoughts about my last run.

I was playing with the default rules for minor diseases and epidemics frequency. Also harm events set on dangerous (default) and targeting anyone. The rest of rules were on default and have no other relevant mods installed apart from DA.

I observed a very high mortality rate overall in europe, at rather younger ages (pre 40-50), and also many vanished dynasties and very small families.

Checking the causes of death randomly, apart from the epidemics, there is a significant number of children and adults dying from being ‘sickly’ and ‘ill’ respectively, and other ‘natural’ causes (fatal apoplexies everywhere!! ). This is before the black death fires.

While I very, very much enjoy the riskier experience that DA brings, I feel that the current combined effects of epidemics, diseases, harm events and (maybe?) riskier health issues from the mod, make the world seem a bit ‘underpopulated’ right now. E.g. Many rulers are single surviving members of dynasties, there are very few children around, many extinct cadet branches with only one (dead) member, etc.

I actually don’t know if this has anything to do with the mod, but maybe it could be related to the part of the diseases being riskier.

Have you experienced something similar? If that’s the case, probably the idea of introducing new game rules to adjust some of the most impacting mechanics is the way to go.

I will try with different rules and check again, but I wanted to share it anyway if it helps.

 

[Torredebelem]

Some thoughts about my last run.

I was playing with the default rules for minor diseases and epidemics frequency. Also harm events set on dangerous (default) and targeting anyone. The rest of rules were on default and have no other relevant mods installed apart from DA.

I observed a very high mortality rate overall in europe, at rather younger ages (pre 40-50), and also many vanished dynasties and very small families.

Checking the causes of death randomly, apart from the epidemics, there is a significant number of children and adults dying from being ‘sickly’ and ‘ill’ respectively, and other ‘natural’ causes (fatal apoplexies everywhere!! ). This is before the black death fires.

While I very, very much enjoy the riskier experience that DA brings, I feel that the current combined effects of epidemics, diseases, harm events and (maybe?) riskier health issues from the mod, make the world seem a bit ‘underpopulated’ right now. E.g. Many rulers are single surviving members of dynasties, there are very few children around, many extinct cadet branches with only one (dead) member, etc.

I actually don’t know if this has anything to do with the mod, but maybe it could be related to the part of the diseases being riskier.

Have you experienced something similar? If that’s the case, probably the idea of introducing new game rules to adjust some of the most impacting mechanics is the way to go.

I will try with different rules and check again, but I wanted to share it anyway if it helps.

Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding children deaths, you can bet the deaths from being sickly are Dark Ages related. This has been like this since release of the mod (and in fact, has been tonned down at a point this past year). The other ones have nothing to do with Dark Ages.

I am sure the (welcome) introduction of plagues has compounded on the riskier nature of the Dark Ages balance and I am checking this in my current run. I play with the harm events for everyone set at "Illusion of safety" level. Of my last 7 characters only one suffered one such event - he ultimately survived - so it is good in that angle.

Regarding plagues, I am playing with the standard setting but in next run I'll probably start rarefying them. From my casual observation, it seems to me they happen more around the vicinity of my holdings than at random places in the map and that means a big NO-NO for me. I'll either check in vanilla code how they are generated and if warranted, modify it, or simply turn them rarer through game rule.

Bear in mind that except the pregnancies and as one of its increased results, the sickly children, the AI characters in Dark Ages are much more protected from riskier deaths than the player character.

All in all the effects you report should be carefully checked, but at this time I don't believe that other than the sickly children, Dark Ages per se contributes significantly for an increase in character deaths - except for the player character.

 

[pablomarti354]

Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding children deaths, you can bet the deaths from being sickly are Dark Ages related. This has been like this since release of the mod (and in fact, has been tonned down at a point this past year). The other ones have nothing to do with Dark Ages.

I am sure the (welcome) introduction of plagues has compounded on the riskier nature of the Dark Ages balance and I am checking this in my current run. I play with the harm events for everyone set at "Illusion of safety" level. Of my last 7 characters only one suffered one such event - he ultimately survived - so it is good in that angle.

Regarding plagues, I am playing with the standard setting but in next run I'll probably start rarefying them. From my casual observation, it seems to me they happen more around the vicinity of my holdings than at random places in the map and that means a big NO-NO for me. I'll either check in vanilla code how they are generated and if warranted, modify it, or simply turn them rarer through game rule.

Bear in mind that except the pregnancies and as one of its increased results, the sickly children, the AI characters in Dark Ages are much more protected from riskier deaths than the player character.

All in all the effects you report should be carefully checked, but at this time I don't believe that other than the sickly children, Dark Ages per se contributes significantly for an increase in character deaths - except for the player character.

Thank you very much for the detailed reply.

Therefore, it seems that the high child mortality probably is the result of the increased health risks combined with plagues.

I’ll adjust the settings in the next run for a lower risk overall and check how the AI fares.

 

[Torredebelem]

I’ll adjust the settings in the next run for a lower risk overall and check how the AI fares.

Sounds the same regarding what I am going to do.