Crusader Kings III

[Raguel]

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/an-heir-is-born.1261140/

I'm actually kind of bummed because this means in all likelihood that there will be no more CK II expansions/major bug fixes and CK III, in comparison to CK II + dlcs, will be a bit barren. Anyway we'll see what happens.

[Korachia]

Hmmm.. I am slightly worried about this. CK2 is such a full game with all the dlc and mods. CK3 might fall into the same trap as Paradox´s last game, which felt so barren and unengaging. They really should have tried their hands with something new.

If you are new to the CK franchise, then dont hesitate to watch this intro to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE4txj_8tqA

[HaemishM]

Not sure how it would be possible for a new game to have as much depth as the first with all or even half the DLC's they've put out. I expect it'll be prettier but take a while to actually get fleshed out with more DLC's.

[Trippy]

CK2 is free right now on Steam as well.

[Raguel]

The Old Gods dlc is also free.

[Teleku]

Yeah, this is tricky.  On the one hand, CK2 is old as fuck and I'd love to see what they could do with a new build.

Flip side, CK2 has insane depth right now and anything they make is going to feel like a step backwards unless they go all out and figure out how to really change up the game play formula a bit on top of giving lots of initial game play.  Considering how the launch of the recent Imperator (which I WAS greatly looking forward to) was such a half ass'ed cluster-fuck....... gives me a lot of pause.  But again, I knew this day would have to come.  Game is ancient and they need to update.  But yeah, I have concerns.

I just really want to see them do Victoria 3.  Both of the first two games were greatly flawed, but the whole game system and concept of it was really neat and engaging idea they just couldn't actually figure out how to balance/make work correctly.  Third times a charm?

[Korachia]

I feel the very same Teleku. I would rather see a Victoria 3 or something along the lines of industrialization themed game or like the (very) old imperialism games.

[Rendakor]

As someone who has tried a few times to get into CK2 with no luck, a new game with less feature creep is exciting.

[Trippy]

Or wait for the inevitable mobile version like they are doing with Stellaris.

[Raguel]

https://www.reddit.com/r/CrusaderKings/comments/dlw1uo/i_got_to_talk_to_the_ck3_devs_for_over_two_hours/

Links to another article with more info but the actual reddit thread as some more info as well

BONUS ROUND (Stuff that didn't make it into the article):

There will be five unique graphics sets for clothes at launch: Western (European), Middle Eastern, Sub-Saharan, Indian, and Steppe. Everyone else uses whatever is the closest match. In terms of physical appearance, the new DNA system can represent all ethnicities, so we probably won't see face packs again. No era-specific clothing at launch.

Clothing is partly based on rank. A Western Count and a Western Duke might wear a similar style clothing, but one wears linen and one wears silk and you will be able to see that difference.

No more static event pictures. Events will feature the actual character models posed against some kind of background, and they can have props like knives, crucifixes, etc. Currently they don't animate to actually interact like getting into a fight.

Tutorial is described as "Stellaris-like", and they've improved the ways the game can give you suggestions on what you want to be doing. More approachable, but not dumbed down.

Custom religions you found can have Holy Orders. Not ready to talk much about that.

The tech system is more tied to characters than it was in CK2, but not ready to talk about it yet.

Councilor jobs like Steward are now an "office" that is placed on the map instead of a person, so you don't have to re-assign it when the councilor dies. The office itself can even still keep working without a holder, just at a very reduced effectiveness.

The new Doctrines and Tenets are being used to represent more historically accurate versions of real heresies like Catharism. The AI will found these, and they are weighted to appear at the place and time they did historically. The AI will stick to founding historical heresies and won't abuse the system to create random weird ones. That's the player's job.

Zoroastrians can still have incest, naturally, and you can reform any religion to allow it now.

Historical events like the Mongol Invasion are in. Dynamic epidemics from Reaper's Due are not in, as they didn't feel that feature worked very well. No word on how the plague will be handled.

Characters still get sick and are treated by Court Physicians.

Provinces now have Development, which is like civilization value in Imperator. Tribes don't care about it but feudals get more taxes from it.

Revolt Risk has been replaced by Control, which is going to work a bit differently.

If your heir when you die is an old guy who has already invested all of his perks, you can respec his lifestyle tree once if it sucks.

Splendour is like your Dynasty XP. It's used to buy Legacies, which are kind of like national ideas in EU4 and stay with your dynasty forever. One of these lets you increase the chances of inheriting congenital traits, if you want to create a dynasty of stong genius ubermensch. It's not realistic but it is a playstyle they want to support.

Foreigners don't care about Dread, only your own vassals.

Fleets are now handled like CK1. You just pay money to turn into boats. Naval combat is a possibility in the future. Henrik thinks it would be cool, especially for the Mediterranean.

Vikings can still sail up rivers.

There is a big dragon hanging out in the Terra Incognita on the Eastern edge of the map and it looks like they've left plenty of room to add China in the future. They wouldn't say anything about it. No Chinese Emperor interactions at launch.

No plans for a CK3 to EU4 converter.

You only need to siege the fortified holdings to occupy an entire county. Castles are automatically fortified, but cities and churches are not unless you have built walls in them.

Factions are back. Peasants can now found factions. One example given was that Norwegian peasants living under a Danish king can found a self-rule faction, and Norwegian culture nobles will join them. Like a combination of a CK2 faction and a peasant revolt, very powerful.

Henrik is not interested in non-dynastic play (Holy Orders, etc). Playable mercenaries are a possibility, being landless and using your armies to make money. Adoption is also a potential mechanic. Neither one will be in at launch.

Much more events that deal with interpersonal drama and people important to the player, like family/friends/rivals.

Events can look back at how the relationship between two characters has developed over many years and generate content for them dynamically.

Poetry generator that will actually make your poetry better or worse based on character skill.

Double the number of content designers working on CK3 as CK2 had at its height.

Direct vassals will always matter. So the previous comment about Barons not being important doesn't necessarily apply if you're a Count.

No crazy fantasy events (immortality, Satanism, child of destiny) at launch. Undecided if they will be added later, but if they will, there will definitely be game rules to turn them off. CK3 should feel more historical compared to CK2. This was a goal.

There will be special mechanics for Crusades but they're not talking about that yet.

Playing pagans feels "significantly different" from CK2.

You can reform from tribal to feudal.

Control is more of a short-term thing and Development is more long-term. For example, Control in a province is reduced when it changes owners but recovers quickly.

Religions have degrees of relation. Abrahamic > Christian > Catholic.

Eastern Religions are still more tolerant of heresies.

Ecumenism: Catholics/Orthodox/Coptic don't treat each other as heresies for purposes of CBs and stuff. There are steps of tolerance. It's not just "True Faith, Heretic, or Heathen".

Converting foreign rulers with your chaplain will not be in at launch.

Investiture system and antipopes will not be in at launch.

When you found a new religion, some vassals and some provinces will convert. Based on things like opinion modifier and traits (Zealous/Cynical)

Terrain type has an effect on Development in provinces, but climate currently does not.

EDIT: No inventory system at launch.

Somewhere in the article it allegedly says something about a sex simulator but I didn't see it when I read it. I guess I just skimmed over it.

[Speedy Cerviche]

While CK2 has great depth now a lot of the features are kind of hit or miss. Stuff like Islamic decadence, crusades, catholic church, byzantine succession and merchant republics to name a few areas could all stand for some serious improvement and once you get kind of familiar with the game you can see how they were just sort of mashed on. I think a game built from the ground up with these lessons on what kind of directions the DLC add ons will take will be able to better accommodate them compared to the current 10 year old code base which clearly has limitations.

[Raguel]

While CK2 has great depth now a lot of the features are kind of hit or miss. Stuff like Islamic decadence, crusades, catholic church, byzantine succession and merchant republics to name a few areas could all stand for some serious improvement and once you get kind of familiar with the game you can see how they were just sort of mashed on. I think a game built from the ground up with these lessons on what kind of directions the DLC add ons will take will be able to better accommodate them compared to the current 10 year old code base which clearly has limitations.

Have you played since Holy Fury?

[Speedy Cerviche]

Yeah I went on a bit of a CK2 tear after I picked up Holy Fury a few months after it came out. Hadn't played for a while before that. Was fun to go through all the past 4-5 DLCs of changes but by the end they all kind of felt the same. A republic for example is just kind of the same as any feudal ruler but you have a goldsink (unless you kind of cheat and just assassinate all other patricians) and some very limited CBs. Trying not to make this sound like a whine, because I did have fun. The almost decade of DLC has added a tonne of flavour. I gotta imagine Paradox could easily have chosen to keep pumping out DLC for a long time if that was the only consideration, but they must be doing this huge investment (with associated risk) because the core of CK2 must be giving them serious difficulties when it comes to adding content at this point.

[Strazos]

As someone who has tried a few times to get into CK2 with no luck, a new game with less feature creep is exciting.

I had the same issue. Watched a few youtube videos and did the intro in northern Spain - have a good game going now. I managed to unify four northern duchies under one ruler, lose Portugal to the infidels, and then assisted a Joan of Arc-like crusader in taking it back. I also managed to gain a ton of resources by sieging down a bunch of stuff behind the front lines during a crusade in Egypt.

The issue is that with my succession type, it's extremely difficult to hold everything together through ruler changes - the "lesser" duchies will go to siblings, who I then have to murder. It sucks that the only way to truly unify all those duchies under one title is to conquer enough of Spain; I don't know how else to reasonably ensure that all the top titles flow to the same heir. 

[Raguel]

As someone who has tried a few times to get into CK2 with no luck, a new game with less feature creep is exciting.

I had the same issue. Watched a few youtube videos and did the intro in northern Spain - have a good game going now. I managed to unify four northern duchies under one ruler, lose Portugal to the infidels, and then assisted a Joan of Arc-like crusader in taking it back. I also managed to gain a ton of resources by sieging down a bunch of stuff behind the front lines during a crusade in Egypt.

The issue is that with my succession type, it's extremely difficult to hold everything together through ruler changes - the "lesser" duchies will go to siblings, who I then have to murder. It sucks that the only way to truly unify all those duchies under one title is to conquer enough of Spain; I don't know how else to reasonably ensure that all the top titles flow to the same heir. 

Which dlcs do you have?

The first thing you'll want to do is to form a kingdom if you can. Go to the capital (or any county really) of your duchy, click on the shield. It should bring up a page. You'll want to click on the box towards the top right. Now it should give you information as to which duchy, kingdom and empire your capital is a part of. Click on the kingdom shield. It should tell you if you have the requirements to form your kingdom.

Secondly if you're like me and any form of gavelkind (this form of gov't splits your realm between siblings)  confuses/enrages you then you'll want to get out of it to something like primogeniture ASAP. To do this you'll need to send your spymaster to steal tech from other realms. I forget offhand what the job is actually called, but you go to your council tab, go down to your spymaster and choose the option on the right. Any place that's green has a higher tech level than you do so settle him there. Now usually the place with the highest tech is either Rome or Constantinople. Since spying on another realm will upset the ruler if they catch your spymaster, if you're Catholic I'd advise against spying on the Pope, and I'd advise against sending any male you like to Constantinople because Greeks can castrate/blind prisoners.

Legalism (the last option under cultural tech) is the tech you want to rush. I forget which rank you'll need but that will unlock realm laws that will in turn unlock inheritance laws. Sorry I don't remember everything because I usually play pagan and get a special pagan inheritance law (eldership) so I don't have to worry about any of this.

[Strazos]

I have:

Holy Fury
Conclave
Old Gods
Reaper's Due
Way of Life
Sons of Abraham
The Republic
Sunset Invasion
Legacy of Rome
Sword of Islam

I think those are all of the potentially relevant ones.

As far as making a kingdom, from what I could see, the only one available is Espana, which requires more than half of the counties on the Spanish continent. Seeing as those Moorish counties have, IMO, way more troops than the development of their lands would seem to support, that is a tall ask. And of course, any war with them is prone to having lots of other Muslim leaders dogpile on you. 

And of course, I haven't played in weeks now.

[Speedy Cerviche]

Hard to find info on what DLC requirements are but these are all the kingdoms in Iberia. The only DLC issues seem to be for custom kingdom creation (requires Charlemagne):

Andalusia
Aragon
Castille
Galicia
León/Asturias
Navarra
Portugal

These are mostly small so 4 duchies should have done the trick unless you were located in an intersection and only had like 1-2 in each. try clicking on some of your county shields and it should bring up the county info screen. Make sure to tick off "du jure" so it shows the higher and lower titles within, and components of each. You can mouseover for info requirement how to create or grab them. You should be able to use this du jure screen to look at the same information for the related kingdoms in the area and even the Hispania imperial title for that list of kingdoms and their du jure borders.

[Strazos]

Oh, I was unclear - my ruler has several kingdoms, but I don't have a good way to make them all flow to the same heir. I have Castille, Leon, Asturias, Navarra, and Galicia. Any ideas, now that I have the terminology straight?

[Speedy Cerviche]

Oh, I was unclear - my ruler has several kingdoms, but I don't have a good way to make them all flow to the same heir. I have Castille, Leon, Asturias, Navarra, and Galicia. Any ideas, now that I have the terminology straight?

Form the empire or change succession laws to primogenitor. Even then you will still likely have succession problems, getting shattered every so often is supposed to be part of the challenge/fun.