CK3 Winter Teaser - Photo mode

[aardbei]

Also that calligraphy is not really medieval (I would have used Kufi style just to be sure to cover the whole period) but I guess average player doesn't care at all. To give you an idea however, it feels like using the "Embassy" font on a medieval manuscript. Anyway keep up with the good work!! It's impossible not to miss these details , this means to be constructive feedback!!!

 

[X_FloW]

I want to first say thank you for this amazing DLC and your transparency with your community with these dev diaries, wishing you guys best of luck. I suppose the development has ended and its only bug fixes and beta testing right now.

BUT I'd love to see character shadows done a little more better especially the ones further from the throne, they look like figurines placed on a wallpaper rather than an actual standing person in an actual room.

 

[Spartanlemur]

Is there no possibility of having a free camera to move around and set up the shots we want?

 

[Fistochat]

The halls look great, but they are all so ... emtpy? I'd say the court of a King or Emperor should be way more decorated. Also where is all the furniture?

I have the same feeling. I think it needs to be more decorated, customizable with banners, hunting trophies, shields, tapestry.

 

[hylander25k]

A lad can dream that one day photos will appear in a chronicle - maybe with a post processing effect to make it look drawn.

 

[DominusNovus]

I just want to go on record saying that I think entirely too much effort is being put toward what looks like a tedious, mechanically underwhelming part of the game, and that most of that effort seems to be going toward making what is a glorified interface. Its as though they're absolutely running with the meme that this game is Medieval Sims.

I'm excited for the cultural update, but almost everything about the court system could not interest me less.

 

[james24eagle]

Unrelated to the photo capture functionality: Can a player set a preferred/default camera angle/view for their court?

 

[Strager]

Can we get an option in settings to DISABLE this button? While cool, I can see myself accidentally clicking it and having to spend time getting out of this mode (even if just a few extra clicks it seems like it would be immersion breaking).

 

[Axis89]

CK3 Winter Teaser #1 - Photo mode​

Salutations, I am Carlberg, the 3D environment art lead on CK3 and today we have a small teaser for that button you may have spotted down in the right corner on a lot of dev diaries. It is the button that will bring up the Photomode of the court, to make it easier to take memorable pictures of the events and happenings of your court! Along with this preview we also thought we’d show off some more artifacts in their natural habitat.​

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The camera might not have been invented in the dark ages, but don’t we all want clean screenshots?.​

We’ve been confident for quite some time that our players would want to take some pictures of what happens in their court, the interesting courtiers interacting or from finally seeing your rival and vassal arrive to bend the knee. So for that purpose the Photo mode will give everyone the ability to pick what camera is currently active out of a curated selection. Some of these are camera angles that you’ve seen depending on different interfaces and some camera angles only available in the photo mode.
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In the photo mode you can select cameras from a dropdown, turn off courtiers for decoration focused shots, or the UI to get a clean picture with no interface.​

And following, here are a few more court shots taken with the photo mode.​

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View attachment 783676Edit: We have been made aware of the flipped text of the banner, thanks for your keen eyes!​

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We'll be back again next week with another teaser!

I hope we can customize the court a little within the cultural boundries.. Like changing what type of floor, wall, wall painting and room layout.
Also, I REALLY hope to see mosaic artwork in the Byzantine court, need more of that splendor, gold backgrounds, figures of characters etc on the roof or right under the arches but above the wall(In other words, high up making the ceiling more golden mosaic etc)

 

[zachys]

I just want to go on record saying that I think entirely too much effort is being put toward what looks like a tedious, mechanically underwhelming part of the game, and that most of that effort seems to be going toward making what is a glorified interface. Its as though they're absolutely running with the meme that this game is Medieval Sims.

I'm excited for the cultural update, but almost everything about the court system could not interest me less.

My thoughts exactly! I would have liked to see enhanced trading and warfare mechanics, before whatever this is.

 

[davidlechilleur]

All in all it is great, but an option with a court menu would be great. All of the above is integrated as mechanics, but it is represented as a menu instead of the virtual court room. . Although you did a fantastic work, I think a toggle option (as of the toggling on/off animated character) would be great.

As of QoL improvement and minor changes, I suggest you look at some of the mods made by the community for future patches. For instance, I have made a fairly popular mod collection that contains very small tweak that improved your already great game. Others are bigger in term of content, but in the end, I am sure you can work out some space to implement some mods that people clearly love and enjoy. The mod list is 1.4.* immersive mod list

 

[Riamus]

Looks great and for those interested in doing photo shoots of their characters, this will be very well received. I did note that the shield on the wall is placed so high that the small size of the shield at that height makes it look really weird. I'd have expected a shield to be closer to eye level than near the ceiling. I'll end up not ever putting a shield on the wall the way it currently looks because it is just so strange to see. Other than that, it looks really good and it's good to hear that camera angles can be modded, which should make most everyone who doesn't like the current camera angles happy.

 

[Willem IV]

Is the side throne optional or fixed? It doesn’t make sense in some places.

 

[DominusNovus]

My thoughts exactly! I would have liked to see enhanced trading and warfare mechanics, before whatever this is.

Yes. I get that, for a portion of the playerbase (a portion that is probably much larger than I'm comfortable with), this game is, first and foremost, a simulator of people in the middle ages, and they love the character interactions and looking at their outfits, and their stuff, and doing the CK-equivalent of tossing your character in the pool and then deleting the ladder. So, I'm sure that there will be plenty that appreciate all this work.

But for me, its utterly wasted - I'd be thrilled if this were locked behind the DLC, if the DLC didn't also include mechanics that I'm actually interested in (namely, the full cultural rework, but the base version might be enough for my liking).

 

[Prpht]

I just want to go on record saying that I think entirely too much effort is being put toward what looks like a tedious, mechanically underwhelming part of the game, and that most of that effort seems to be going toward making what is a glorified interface. Its as though they're absolutely running with the meme that this game is Medieval Sims.

I'm excited for the cultural update, but almost everything about the court system could not interest me less.

Once again, I have to remind everyone that "CK = The Sims" is not a meme, but a gameplay design goal openly declared by the developers on numerous occasions, eg. here or there . Whether one likes this direction or not is completely another issue. Also, there is a problem of kinda-misleading marketing suggesting that CK is a grand strategy game (which it was never intended to be). But the devs vision was always "The Sims; but cooler; with wine, hookers, and incest".

 

[DominusNovus]

Once again, I have to remind everyone that "CK = The Sims" is not a meme, but a gameplay design goal openly declared by the developers on numerous occasions, eg. here or there . Whether one likes this direction or not is completely another issue. Also, there is a problem of kinda-misleading marketing suggesting that CK is a grand strategy game (which it was never intended to be). But the devs vision was always "The Sims; but cooler; with wine, hookers, and incest".

Thats not exactly what those articles say, and your summary is a gross oversimplification. They say that the Sims are one inspiration among many, and games journalists are notorious for 'interpreting' quotes to fit the article they're writing. Notice how much is not an actual quote in those pieces.

Anyway, heaven forbid the customers of a company that produces mostly grand strategy games want their games to be grand strategy games.

 

[Slow Bathroom]

I don't understand the comparison to The Sims. The Sims has characters with actual animations and voice acting and needs, and you actually build and furnish a house. And in The Sims you control an entire household instead of just one character, and time moves way slower and characters develop over time. Calling CK3 "Medieval Sims" just because they're adding in a crappy 3D diorama is a big insult to The Sims.

 

[Prpht]

Thats not exactly what those articles say, and your summary is a gross oversimplification. They say that the Sims are one inspiration among many, and games journalists are notorious for 'interpreting' quotes to fit the article they're writing. Notice how much is not an actual quote in those pieces.

Anyway, heaven forbid the customers of a company that produces mostly grand strategy games want their games to be grand strategy games.

I agree, it is a bit more complex than that - but I wanted a reminder that it is more than "just a meme" and an important part of the whole design.

I am a strategy gamer. I like reading about medieval history. I would love a more simulationist, grand-strategy approach to the period in a Paradox game. But the simsification of the CK series makes it uniquely appealing to a non-GSG audience, broadening the company fan base. My wife (a gamer, favourite games include the Diablo series, Dark Souls, but also Stardew Valley) finds "map staring and doing accounting" to be rather boring. But she found CK (especially CK3) very enjoyable because of the character-driven aspect. She even said (long before the announcement of the DLC!) that she would prefer the game to be entirely focused on the events happening to the monarch in the court and outside it (similarly to the FTL events) without the map part, which for her felt "kinda forced".

I started having much more fun with CK after I approached it with a similar attitude. And for the economy and strategy itch - I hope the new Victoria game would be able to satisfy them.

 

[klopkr]

Was there a specific reason you guys didn't go for a free camera like many other video games?

Also is it possible this might inspire more camera mods for the barbershop and the map? I'd love to actually get some of those great map angles to stick!

Nice little touch and I'm really glad you guys thought of it. Keep up it up with more ways to share our CK3 experiences!

 

[GeorgieBest]

You can see that there has been substantial improvements in the quality of the graphics and lighting for these court scenes. Great work.