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Time again for my monthly (well, roughly) pastime of developer diary writing! Last month, I might have mentioned plots and intrigue, but I think I'll hold off on that a bit more... Instead, let's talk about units and the combat system.

Like in the first Crusader Kings, military units are of variable size and composition. Each can contain any number of each of the seven troop types (light and heavy infantry, pike men, light cavalry, knights, archers and horse archers.) Most units are raised from a corresponding settlement (castle, church or city), their size and composition dependent on the improvements constructed there. Others belong to a mercenary group or holy order, etc. Units are discrete and cannot be merged or split into smaller parts, though of course they can be grouped together in armies. The basic system should be familiar to anyone who has played the original Crusader Kings.

Crusader Kings II Alpha - Harold vs Harald.jpg

Combat, however, is different from our other games. As soon as they are grouped together in a larger army, units are are assigned to one of three positions; left flank, center, or right flank. This is done automatically, but can be altered manually by players so inclined. On the battlefield, each position fights separately - normally against the corresponding part of the enemy army. Combat between positions is divided into three phases; skirmish, melee and pursue/flee. My left flank can be skirmishing against the enemy's right flank while my center is locked in melee, etc. The seven unit types have different strengths and weaknesses, so that for example archers excel at skirmish and knights at melee. The leader of each flank (a character), will pick combat tactics, which determines if his position should strive to close for melee, or avoid melee, etc. When an enemy position breaks, it will flee, and the pursue phase ensues. The longer the phase lasts, the more losses that contingent will sustain, but on the other hand, the pursuing force will not be assisting against the remaining enemy positions - also a tactical decision by the flank commander. Combat tactics are similar to the combat events of Rome, but more developed. (Btw, combat tactics are fully moddable.)

Crusader Kings II Alpha - Siege of York.jpg

Apart from combat tactics, there are also more traditional combat events, for example when commanders get wounded, killed or imprisoned, or when they improve on their martial skills. Sieges work in a similar fashion, but emphasizing morale loss, and with a different set of combat tactics. A commander with a high Intrigue skill might even manage to bribe some defenders into opening the gates. What about fleets? Unlike CK, ships do exist in Crusader Kings II, similar to the galleys in Rome. They are raised like normal troop levies in coastal provinces, but can only be used to transport troops - not to fight or block straits (large scale naval battles in the period were rare to say the least.)

Crusader Kings II Alpha - Battle of York.jpg

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that if an army is victorious, all commanders will bask in the glory and gain prestige. Conversely, the shame of defeat results in prestige loss. So, choosing to lead the army yourself can be profitable in terms of prestige, but of course, war is a dangerous business...

Enjoy the screenies and stay tuned for the next dev diary - sometime in August. :)



Henrik Fåhraeus, Associate Producer and CKII Project Lead
 
What is the point of having ships present, since they play decorative role, i.e. only for transportation? How is this different from CK1, where it costed to be shipped to other lands?
 
It looks like every unit is cut in three if there are not sufficient units. Since all three groups consist of the same units.
 
Are there penalty's for having one big center fighting against an equal numbered army, who has splitted up into three groups. As the get the effect out encircling, outflanking etc. Or do you get a bonus, as the huge center will make use of Schwerpunkt?
 
What is the point of having ships present, since they play decorative role, i.e. only for transportation? How is this different from CK1, where it costed to be shipped to other lands?

Several different reasons to create more strategic options.

1) Limit on when you can move across seas, as ships have to be at places to transport.

2) Limit on how many troops you can ship, as you don't build standing fleets in ck2.
 
What is the point of having ships present, since they play decorative role, i.e. only for transportation? How is this different from CK1, where it costed to be shipped to other lands?

1) It does not cost money, but you are limited by your port capacity.
2) You can build improvements to increase your port capacity.
3) It is more consistent with our other games.
4) You get reactions from your vassals when you request their ships.
5) It allows us to gain ships through events, or by hiring naval mercenaries, etc.
6) It allows us the possibility of adding naval combat in the future.
 
Are there penalty's for having one big center fighting against an equal numbered army, who has splitted up into three groups. As the get the effect out encircling, outflanking etc. Or do you get a bonus, as the huge center will make use of Schwerpunkt?

The two flanking units will basically get free attacks on you, but we are still working on the exact balancing mechanics.
 
You raise the levies of your vassals and they are then under your control. Your vassals will not autonomously try to "help" you, like in CK. I plan to talk more about this in a Warfare dev diary.

Is there any relations penalty for force mobilizing your vassals now that they don't answer the call to duty themselves? And if they are force mobilized will they be less than eager to put in the full effort when the fighting starts?
 
Is there any relations penalty for force mobilizing your vassals now that they don't answer the call to duty themselves? And if they are force mobilized will they be less than eager to put in the full effort when the fighting starts?

People keep steering this into the territory of the next dev diary. :) Very well then; the size of the levy you raise from your vassals directly depends on their opinion of you. Every year you keep their levy in the field, they will think less of you.
 
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People keep steering this into the territory of the next dev diary. :) Very well then; the size of the levy your raise from your vassals directly depends on their opinion of you. Every year you keep their levy in the field, they will think less of you.

*thumbs up* ... so no more conquering half the world with the vassal troops over a period of 3 decades without them hating you? :) ...good to hear.
 
1) It does not cost money, but you are limited by your port capacity.
2) You can build improvements to increase your port capacity.
3) It is more consistent with our other games.
4) You get reactions from your vassals when you request their ships.
5) It allows us to gain ships through events, or by hiring naval mercenaries, etc.
6) It allows us the possibility of adding naval combat in the future.
Will the natural resources of the port province have anything to say regarding ship build time or port capacity?
I.e. will a province with great forests be faster at raising ships than a desert one, making a ruler of North-Africa more dependent on mercenary fleets than a North-European one?
 
People keep steering this into the territory of the next dev diary. :) Very well then; the size of the levy you raise from your vassals directly depends on their opinion of you. Every year you keep their levy in the field, they will think less of you.

Come on Doomdark, you know we are going to push it if we can. Especially if you are here answering. :)

The siege of York screenie is nice. Looks like the siege doesnt just have a morale bar for the defenders. I see troop numbers and fortification levels.
 
Come on Doomdark, you know we are going to push it if we can. Especially if you are here answering. :)

The siege of York screenie is nice. Looks like the siege doesnt just have a morale bar for the defenders. I see troop numbers and fortification levels.

Actually the morale bar is for the defenders. Our artist made a trebuchet(he's likes trebuchets :) ) as the icon but we'll change it to a castle or something when he has the time.
 
Will the army composition matter in deciding whether the fight is in skirmish or in melee phase? Or: will a light calvary and horse archers Mongol army be able to stay for a very long time in the skirmish phase while fighting a heavy infantry and pikemen German army?
 
I like this a lot, good to see you pushing and expanding the existing combat system without making it completely different or more management intensive :)
 
Everbody likes trebuchets.
 
Actually the morale bar is for the defenders. Our artist made a trebuchet(he's likes trebuchets :) ) as the icon but we'll change it to a castle or something when he has the time.

Ok, I was probably looking at the wrong thing. I was looking at the far left where the troop numbers are. I saw that the 183 for the defenders equaled the number by the castle symbol and troop symbol combined. Obviously, I am trying to read too much into it.
 
Will the army composition matter in deciding whether the fight is in skirmish or in melee phase? Or: will a light calvary and horse archers Mongol army be able to stay for a very long time in the skirmish phase while fighting a heavy infantry and pikemen German army?

While we haven't finalized the combat tactics yet, this is a behavior we desire. Since the tactics are scriptable one could easy script that if the majority of the flank is archer types, you will prefer tactics that does not change to the melee phase. This is doable today, but I think we'll also need to add an effect that compare the martial skills of the flank leaders, so the one with higher stats have higher chance of controlling the phase.

This would mean that a character with good martial skill could force the combat to stay in skirmish for a very long time, which I think is a cool feature :)