Things are getting busy at the office with the upcoming release of Europa Universalis IV, but as has been said before, we're still very much committed to the continued support and further expansion of Crusader Kings II. With Doomdark currently Down Under, Johan asked me to put together a short dev diary highlighting some of the current stuff we've been working on.

Patch 1.11:
1.11 will be deployed next week, and the new patch will include a few features that should make dealing with plots a bit easier. After hatching a plot, you can now tell the game to automatically invite all plotters who are willing to join your scheme. No more having to browse through the Potential Plotters list and individually sending requests to every single character who wants to join!

Also, you can now set the game to always demand that characters end their plots as soon as they come to your attention. Another handy addition is that you can now see at a glance which potential plotters can be won over to your side if they are bribed.

Among the other things added is a new Siege Leader trait (finally), a favorite IP table for the multiplayer menu and some additional support for modders.

Crusader Kings II to Europa Universalis IV Converter:
Johan already posted a dev diary about the Converter last week in the Europa Universalis IV forum, and there is an interview with Groogy here that goes into some more detail. I don't have much to add except that we're pretty pleased with the result and it actually works better than we had anticipated when development began.

Customizer:
This is a smaller DLC on the scale of the Ruler Designer, but it's something that many have asked for. It will give players an easy way to customize several items in their games when they are already well underway.

You can have your character pay a visit to the barber, where their hairstyle or facial hair can be altered... within reason (no bearded women, sorry). Below you can see the new look I gave King Charles II the Not-So-Bald:

View attachment CKII_111_DD_The_Bald.jpg

You can rename any title held by you or your vassals:

View attachment CKII_111_DD_Northwest_Francia.jpg

Finally, if you feel the need to shake things up a bit, you can alter the name and shield of your dynasty:

View attachment CKII_111_DD_de_Poher.jpg

Hopefully this will tide you over for a while, until we're ready to tell you more about what the future will bring to Crusader Kings II.


Here are the highlights from the Crusader Kings II to Europa Universalis IV Converter livestream with Johan & Doomdark!
[video=youtube;FWqQgp1Vh9U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWqQgp1Vh9U[/video]

You can find the full live-stream for the CK2 to EU4 converter here:
http://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive/b/438261345

ps. And you can pre-order Europa Universalis IV here:
http://www.europauniversalis4.com/buy

 

[DarkImpaler]

The Title renaming is probably the best thing ever added in a game since, like, Pong. Yay!

 

[Goosecreature]

How much will you charge for the customizer?

I can't tell you what the exact cost will be, as I don't know yet myself. It's still being determined.

 

[SBolshevik]

If I have one wish for all paradox games, I don't know if its included but I wish there is an option to continue playing after end date like a box to be ticked if I will like to have sandbox mode (no end date)

One exists in MoTE, so it's definately possible.

 

[possumcorpse]

I'll pick the customizer up when it goes on sale since it won't be something I use very often and EUIV will likely cut into my CKII time heavily for a while.

 

[Kljunas]

I think it would be better if the "haircut" button was somewhere on the empty space on the right or bottom-right rather than being on top of the portrait ring.

 

[Phibs]

I can't tell you what the exact cost will be, as I don't know yet myself. It's still being determined.

I hope it's being determined at around two bucks.
Charging ruler-creator-level would be a little high looking at the functionality in comparison.

It's merely a question of picking it up at release or on sale for me, though.

 

[Kensai7]

A very good DLC in the right direction. While you are at it, could you please add some more shield designs (coats of arms) for personal dynasties? I always envy of some of the fantastic unique designs empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and baronies have in respect to the permutations of dynasties' emblems. More designs... trees, ships, animals, towers, etc that can be put in the personal coats of arms would be awesome.

 

[Cymsdale]

How much will you charge for the customizer?

I'm guessing $5.

 

[Orctavius]

Save games should work, but since it is a major change I won't make it a promise.

Understood, a lot of us are working on new games to be converted and wouldn't want them to become unplayable.

 

[theKing1988]

I'm guessing $5.

That would definetely cause me to wait for a sale. The customizer is not that essential imo.

 

[Hinforta]

Save games should work, but since it is a major change I won't make it a promise.

Ok, so, if I won't do anything, like renaming the titles or changing appearance of my character after buying the DLC and patching the game, will my save game carry over?

 

[dvallance]

this is definitely needed patch for large empires, its OK for a small kingdom as Ireland you get maybe 2 plots a year while a big empire can see several plots a month making it a micromanaging nightmare, and the auto invite feature will be nice to ensure my rival claimants don't live too long

 

[Erkanan]

If you change your dynasty name and coa, does it change for your whole dynasty or do you create a new branch?

 

[Goosecreature]

If you change your dynasty name and coa, does it change for your whole dynasty or do you create a new branch?

It changes for your whole dynasty.

 

[Cymsdale]

this is definitely needed patch for large empires, its OK for a small kingdom as Ireland you get maybe 2 plots a year while a big empire can see several plots a month making it a micromanaging nightmare, and the auto invite feature will be nice to ensure my rival claimants don't live too long

I've just never been that bothered by it. I deal with plots that affect my own interests, but the ones where some nobody plots against some other nobody.. I really don't care.

I just leave the plot around in case I want to take advantage of it later. A vassal starts getting uppity, oh fantastic, cause I learned you are working on a plot a year ago! Or I've just had a succession? Better find a title holder currently running a plot for a bit of "catch and release".

So auto-end all plots is not a feature I'd want to take advantage of, it sounds like a strategic blunder to me.

 

[monsterfurby]

Just recovering from my renaming-related heart attack of joy, then I see this:

Also, you can now set the game to always demand that characters end their plots as soon as they come to your attention. Another handy addition is that you can now see at a glance which potential plotters can be won over to your side if they are bribed.

YESSS! *drops dead*

 

[Federalist girl]

Customizer sounds great! I won't have to fiddle with save games and modding to edit hair and titles.

However, before you guys finish working on this: can you guys put the haircut icon somewhere that doesn't block part of a character's portrait? It's hard enough to see the hats as-is without a GUI button blocking some more.

 

[b_raven]

Would be great, if you'd make 1.093 as beta in steam, so we could finish our mod-games. =)

 

[duhsveti]

Customizer sounds great! I won't have to fiddle with save games and modding to edit hair and titles.

However, before you guys finish working on this: can you guys put the haircut icon somewhere that doesn't block part of a character's portrait? It's hard enough to see the hats as-is without a GUI button blocking some more.

This. Or just remove it from the character screen, and make it appear when you right click on your character portrait.

 

[Kljunas]

this is definitely needed patch for large empires, its OK for a small kingdom as Ireland you get maybe 2 plots a year while a big empire can see several plots a month making it a micromanaging nightmare, and the auto invite feature will be nice to ensure my rival claimants don't live too long

Another feature to reduce micromanagement that I'd like would be getting a pop-up when one of my vassals converts, or an icon when I have a vassal of wrong religion. When I had a large empire but low moral authority it was really a pain to have to regularly check if any of my vassals was a heretic.