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CK2 Dev Diary - The Rules of the Game

Well people, what do you know? I needed a break from the Stellaris crunch, so here’s an unscheduled dev diary! All the hubbub about Defensive Pacts and Shattered Retreats got me thinking about an old ambition I’ve had to improve the game set-up screens in order to allow players to customize their experience without having to resort to modding. The idea is inspired by games like Civilization and the Second Wave DLC for XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which allow players to change various advanced options and settings for a different experience in the game. I really like such options and typically make good use of them myself.

Now, of course there is such a thing as “the way the game was meant to be played”. That is, how the designers made the game and like to play it themselves. However, variety is the spice of life, and after 11 Crusader Kings II expansions things are not as clear-cut anymore. It’s actually pretty funny that I’ve been using a small personal mod for CK2 for awhile myself. There are some downsides to modding and using mods though:
  • It requires awareness that it’s possible, and where to find existing mods. The modding scene is a jungle.
  • It takes a modicum of extra effort and skill.
  • It might not feel quite legitimate (it can feel a bit like cheating) and you might not get any Achievements.
  • Mods typically do not have the same level of support as the base game. Many become fossilized or are otherwise problematic.
For these reasons especially, I think that adding a bunch of Paradox-approved, fully supported in-game rule variations is a good idea. Thus, when you start a new game, you are now presented with several interesting options. Most of them are simple flavor variations, but some are more fundamental and will disable Achievements in Ironman mode. Here’s the list of options we are currently showing in the new screen (still a work in progress though):
  • Sandbox vs Ironman
  • Shattered Retreats: On/Off
  • Defensive Pacts: On/Off
  • Gender Equality: Default/Historical/All/Players
  • Sunset Invasion: 13th Century/Random/Off
  • Mongol Invasion: Historical/Random/Off
  • Raiding: Historical/Unrestricted/None
  • Epidemics: Dynamic/Historical/Deadly
  • “Supernatural” Events: On/Off
  • Adventurers: Normal/Rare/None
  • Provincial Revolts: Normal/Rare/None
  • Regencies: On/Off
  • De Jure Drift: Default/Restricted/Off
  • Dynamic Kingdoms and Empires: On/Off
  • Diplomatic Range: On/Off
Red options disable Achievements.

Crusader Kings II - Rules 01.jpg


Our new rule system is itself fully moddable, so that modders can use the same system with pretty much any options they might want!

Crusader Kings II - Rules 02.jpg


I look forward to your thoughts and comments. Are there any rule variations you think we’ve missed, or that you would really like to see?
 
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Looks like a good idea. I especially like the option to make some features more harsh like historical gender equality and deadly epidemics. Turning mods/dlc's on or off can be a hassle. Can I make a suggestion though?

India region: On/off

Most of my campaigns have nothing to do with this region but my computer does have to simulate it every time. It would be nice to be able to turn the region off and make the game run faster.
 
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I love this idea. You're right in that a lot of mods I only use to disable or tweak existing features, having these instead be changeable like this would eliminate a lot of the overhead.

Perhaps something for heresies.
Random (current implementation);
Semi-random (Cathars prefereably in Catalan/Languedoc areas etc.);
Full Historical (Only in historical areas and times).
 
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DreadLindwyrm said:
On a different note - I notice that your screenshot suggests that Ironman is disabled, but achievements are enabled?

"Sandbox" should disable achievements as well.
Click to expand...

Oh, it will. It's just a work in progress.

ASPGolan said:
Interesting, great addition.

One question springs to mind, though: does anybody know where we can read up on how dynamic kingdoms and empires work? It's the only feature in the list that doesn't ring any bells to me.
Click to expand...

It's the decisions to "Form a Kingdom" or "Form an Empire" included in Charlemagne. It allows you to create a custom kingdom/empire based on your primary title.

GothicEmperor said:
What does 'restricted de jure drift' mean, exactly?
Click to expand...

It's restricted to only allow de jure drift for bordering titles. So no horrible border gore on the de jure map.
 
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Pete0714 said:
Oh, indeed, it is not trivial, which is why we are asking for it. Ever since its implementation, the game has been much harder on systems. If there is anything that would make the game better for me , that would be it.
Click to expand...

I hear you, but I think the time to implement that feature would be better spent optimizing the game instead.
 
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TheDarkMaster said:
However, when real biologists say "octopodes", they typically only refer to multiple species of octopus. Multiple individual specimens would be called octopuses. I propose we can extend that custom to platypus as well. Saying platypi or octopi in an attempt to sound more "correct" than your fellow speaker is just bad.
Click to expand...
Obvious we now need a new entry to the game rules:
"Platypus Plural: Platypuses / Platypi / Platypodes / Random"
 
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Audoucet said:
As long as it disables the achievements, it doesn't interest me.

I would be okay for a compromise about disabling certain achievement for certain options though. But not for defensive pacts. They only slow the game down. I'm actually surprised that you would not deactivate the achievements for shattered retreats off, even though that is what makes the game REALLY harder.

What you could simply do is make "gold achievements", and "silver achievements". The same achievements, but with or without the mandatory options
Click to expand...

We're still discussing this.
 
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otaku6 said:
you can just disable it in the launcher. or are you missing something if you do that?
maybe it launches anyway?

just a suggestion.
I'm more of a "make the world bigger" enthusiast. I would love to see another regions added to the game. like Japan <3 or south Africa.

I would love to see pagan greek religion rise again too. xP
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure disabling the RoI dlc just prevents you from playing in India, but India still exists and is fully simulated as normal. I have to agree, I'd like the option to turn India off, I never reach that far, and it's usually even out of diplomatic range, so it's just wasting processor power for me.
 
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