Crusader Kings 3 Dev Diary #72 - Holding Court at Court in The Royal Court (in a courtly fashion)

[druez]

Very excited this seems great. Please fix the AI as well.

 

[Voy]

The Fatimid Princesses were allowed to have sex with castrated slaves. (source Heinz Halm)

That's such a weird piece of input. It's not like they'd be in the courtroom bc of this.

 

[Viridianus]

Wouldn't worry too much: it's just one event that I thought was quite cool, amidst a swarm of others and available only to kings holding court. It shouldn't affect game balance much at all.

This makes me afraid you don't even see the issue - if AI holds court at all (and, if I understood everything up to this point correctly, they do) they will blob more in DLC-enabled game than in non-DLC-enabled, this isn't just about player. And this, in turn, suggests other strong effects can be hidden under "it's just one event... amidst a swarm of others".

 

[Tiax]

This makes me afraid you don't even see the issue - if AI holds court at all (and, if I understood everything up to this point correctly, they do) they will blob more in DLC-enabled game than in non-DLC-enabled, this isn't just about player. And this, in turn, suggests other strong effects can be hidden under "it's just one event... amidst a swarm of others".

There's an easter-egg event that references Dwarf Fortress where you build a carp pond and a dwarf courtier falls in and gets eaten. Dozens of dwarves die to this event in every game. I don't think Paradox fully appreciates how often "rare" events fire over the course of a campaign.

 

[Idle America]

I feel like that title is a jab at everyone whining about how we hadn't seen any court development for the Court update. A good move, on your part: they'd probably take you to court for false advertising.

On a much more serious note, and one of absolute importance: does this mean we can arrange an entire 3D court full of Adamites?

 

[bfrobin446]

"Oath of Fealty" makes me afraid that dynamics of large countries' covering the map will change too drastically between buyers and non-buyers of DLC. Free patch needs a corresponding (simpler) mechanics of vassalization.

We already have the character interaction to offer vassalization to a lower-tier neighbor or to swear fealty to a higher-tier neighbor. If they can find a way to share the "willingness to accept" calculation between the interaction and the event, there won't be any difference in who becomes whose vassal. Just a potential difference in how long it takes the game to sign a deal between two AI characters who are both willing to sign.

 

[Viridianus]

We already have the character interaction to offer vassalization to a lower-tier neighbor or to swear fealty to a higher-tier neighbor.

Ain't the first one locked behind a lifestyle perk?

 

[Tiax]

To be fair, Kocel should historically already be a vassal of East Francia at the start date, so maybe it's just an event writer doing his best to fix errors in the history files.

 

[Toybasher]

Look really neat. Is perhaps possible that you could either make people not show up in their battle armor - and if they do, then perhaps make it some more fancy stuff that just a surcoat and mail.

In either case, it would be cool if they were holding their helm instead of wearing it.


Also, the case with the "Dress me!" event, will they actually show up in region specific cloth if you choose the tailor to do that?

For the Dress Me event, I hope they actually do switch out clothing. I remember getting an event that involved me "getting new clothes" and I could choose between blowing a lot of gold on some great clothing, or spending only a little for some adequate clothing. No matter what option you pick, your outfit doesn't physically change.

I know, I can use the barbershop or whatever to pick a new outfit, but I really think your ruler's "default" clothing should change more depending on his accomplishments, prestige, your dynasty's splendor, etc. so your clothes change a few times throughout your ruler's lifespan.

 

[Castle Adrian]

Will it be possible for modders to create even more rooms?

The dev's have truly broken new ground. Genre-bending. Now I just wonder how far it can be pushed......

It would be cool if other rooms/spaces like a Feast Hall, Armory, Gardens, Library, Chapel could be made. And to justify each space, different elements of CK3 could be expanded-upon.

Gardens: sway schemes, intrigue, and stress reduction could gain depth based on who you invite, interact with, and how much time you spend. They could also be highly customized.
Library: could deepen Learning gameplay with books, ancient texts, perhaps "old family records" found in a musty drawer in a neighbor's castle (claim fabrication!)
Feast Hall: instead of the game choosing who you interact with at a feast, you could choose a seating arrangement to suit your "social priorities" or honor certain guests. And your hunting trophies could go on the walls!

I'm not saying the developers have to do this. I know none of this is easy. I'm just wondering if there'll be enough flexibility for modders to roll up their sleeves and get rollin.

 

[Anonymous01]

Changing the color of the realm is much easier than custom forms of address. And it is not something that can be scoped in at this point in development given that our time is already full until release.

Thanks for that insight @blackninja9939

I hope it's something you'll be able to keep an eye on as development goes on. We as players can trust you to be responsive on things like this as you have been in the past.

A quick suggestion regarding ease scope and speed with this one (from my non-programmer's perspective): A simple overwrite-able text string ability for now, like Stelaris ruler FoAs, like CK2 Holdings, and like CK3 landed titles.

Ex. (Remember, all holdings in CK2 were editable by the player):

For now we simply need the same ability for Forms of Address. Until a more permanent solution can be developed.

This is already possible in Stellaris, albeit to a limited degree. We would need it for all characters in CK3, not just our ruler.

 

[Anonymous01]

I would expect the titles to be bound to the culture and not the title (like the map colour or CoA) so it would probably be easier to tie it to the cultural rework

Yes, exactly. That is my suggestion as well. Please see the link in my signature. Would love to have your input in that thread.

 

[Rejectionrefa]

NICE!

 

[Farabi]

The 'Abbasid throne room looks a touch too Andalusi, but it's nevertheless thrilling to see some Islamic architectural features appearing in-game. However, it does look altogether rather ... bare.

The most gorgeous (and numerous) works of artifice in many an Arabic throne room - apart from beautfully stuccoed and painted walls, some extraordinary examples of which have been excavated from Samarra - were the textiles adorning them, a testament to the prodigious output of the tiraz textile factories. (This included seating: although the 'Abbasids certainly did have portable chairs and thrones of various sorts, the caliphs were also known to sit on a raised platform covered with farsh: quilts and cushions with beautiful designs, which constituted the customary Arab furnishings on which to recline. )

Hilal al-Sabi, although not a contemporary of what he described, wrote about the adornments of the caliphal palace complex in Baghdad during the reign of al-Muqtadir: these included 38,000 curtains of gold brocade with images of goblets, elephants, horses and camels, lions and birds; 22,000 carpets and runners in the rooms and corridors, halls and alcoves; and an ebony throne covered with the very finest brocade from Dabiq in Egypt, from which the caliph held court. Although it is likely that al-Sabi's report of the 'Abbasids splendour is vastly exaggerated in volume, it is impossible to deny the central role of textiles to that image of vanished glory.

Although cloth rarely endures through the centuries, we do have patterns and descriptions that allow us to envisage what all of this may have looked like. I feel that Arabic throne rooms should display a bounty of textiles in addition to the artifacts crafted from precious metals and carved crystal that have survived to our time.

 

[Tiax]

The 'Abbasid throne room looks a touch too Andalusi, but it's nevertheless thrilling to see some Islamic architectural features appearing in-game. However, it does look altogether rather ... bare.

The most gorgeous (and numerous) works of artifice in many an Arabic throne room - apart from beautfully stuccoed and painted walls, some extraordinary examples of which have been excavated from Samarra - were the textiles adorning them, a testament to the prodigious output of the tiraz textile factories. (This included seating: although the 'Abbasids certainly did have portable chairs and thrones of various sorts, the caliphs were also known to sit on a raised platform covered with farsh: quilts and cushions with beautiful designs, which constituted the customary Arab furnishings on which to recline. )

Hilal al-Sabi, although not a contemporary of what he described, wrote about the adornments of the caliphal palace complex in Baghdad during the reign of al-Muqtadir: these included 38,000 curtains of gold brocade with images of goblets, elephants, horses and camels, lions and birds; 22,000 carpets and runners in the rooms and corridors, halls and alcoves; and an ebony throne covered with the very finest brocade from Dabiq in Egypt, from which the caliph held court. Although it is likely that al-Sabi's report of the 'Abbasids splendour is vastly exaggerated in volume, it is impossible to deny the central role of textiles to that image of vanished glory.

Although cloth rarely endures through the centuries, we do have patterns and descriptions that allow us to envisage what all of this may have looked like. I feel that Arabic throne rooms should display a bounty of textiles in addition to the artifacts crafted from precious metals and carved crystal that have survived to our time.

Unfortunately, I think there's only going to be four total court room styles, so we'll probably only get regionally generic ones that don't really represent any particular court or culture perfectly.

 

[Farabi]

Unfortunately, I think there's only going to be four total court room styles, so we'll probably only get regionally generic ones that don't really represent any particular court or culture perfectly.

Certainly, however the 'Abbasids were the original Muslim dynastic trendsetters, and many of the great Islamic states that came after were similarly saturated with textiles, from the Ghaznavids to the Mamluks. Every Islamic throne room should have more than one small, solitary rug.

 

[Horagor]

I'm so happy to see Paradox putting effort on the graphic to increase the immersion. I hope others games will follow this path, it's so much pleasant for the eyes.
Can't wait to play this expansion, it feel like a new game!

 

[TrainMachine]

100 events, you say? It's at least better than learning that yet another court chef is secretly a cannibal, but if one holds court fifty times, won't we have seen nearly all of them several times over?

I'm not saying it has to be much more right this instant, but could we see more variety added to court and lifestyle events over time?

 

[AndroidEmperor]

I'm really glad to see there are over 100 events. I've been a little let down by the amount of content in this DLC so far but this really raised my hopes for how much this expansion will change gameplay rather than just add cosmetic features! I can definitely see this giving you more to do when not at war and so on.

 

[DreadLindwyrm]

Thanks for that insight @blackninja9939

I hope it's something you'll be able to keep an eye on as development goes on. We as players can trust you to be responsive on things like this as you have been in the past.

A quick suggestion regarding ease scope and speed with this one (from my non-programmer's perspective): A simple overwrite-able text string ability for now, like Stelaris ruler FoAs, like CK2 Holdings, and like CK3 landed titles.

Ex. (Remember, all holdings in CK2 were editable by the player):





For now we simply need the same ability for Forms of Address. Until a more permanent solution can be developed.

This is already possible in Stellaris, albeit to a limited degree. We would need it for all characters in CK3, not just our ruler.

Unfortunately there's a *lot* of data hiding behind that simple forms of address idea.

5 levels of title, potentially republican, religious, feudal, clan, and tribal; each coming in two sexes as well as singular and plural.

Some titles then have cultural or religious overrides associated with them as well.

Some titles also vary depending on if they're independent or vassals.

It's a lot deeper than it looks on the surface.