Crusader Kings II - post about a future update

[Sirrebirre]

Hi all,

My name is Filip Sirc and I work as a Product Marketing Manager in the marketing department. I'm writing this post to let you know of some experiments we are planning to introduce in CK2 starting in the next few months.

What does a Product Marketing Manager do?
I’m in charge of the marketing plans and marketing budgets my team works on. I’m also responsible for meeting the targets set for two of our KPIs (Key Performance Indicator): MAU (Monthly Active Users) and revenue.


The games my team work on:
Europa Universalis IV
Crusader Kings II
Hearts of Iron IV

So what is happening?
As you all might know, the product page for Crusader Kings II can be very daunting for new players, but it is also hard to navigate for more seasoned players looking for content. CK2 has such an extensive list of content that it is hard for people to find relevant DLCs or expansions.

We are experimenting with a new way to deliver this information. We are starting a trial where we show you available Crusader Kings II DLC when you start a new game. This means that in the game, available extra content will be shown to a test group of randomly selected CK II players where it makes sense, as unobtrusively as possible. We want to better display how missing content can enhance your CK2 game experience without intruding on your play session.

These are mock-ups of how some of the changes could look in the launcher and in-game. Note that these looks are not final and could change.

As with any experiment, it’s hard to say what the outcome will be. But that’s why we do them! I would like to emphasise that we really want to get your feedback on this, as we strongly believe it will make the player experience better!

So how will it work and when can we expect to see these changes to the game?
We will begin to roll this out for CK II before summer and some will trigger over time. We will, closer to the implementation share a survey for feedback. Feedback can also be given by commenting on this forum post.

Are you experimenting with any other games, besides CK II?
Yes. We are experimenting with Magicka as well. Please note that the experiments in Magicka are in no way representative of what we are doing for Crusader Kings II.

We will keep you updated on how things are progressing and address your feedback, good or bad.

That’s all from me. If you have any questions, ask away!

*Edit* replaced second and third image to more up to date version of how they look*
*Edit 2* Added a fourth image, that was previously replaced*
Best regards,
Filip Sirc

 

[Serenity84]

Looks great

 

[nikut]

Why Jade Dragon has Reapers' Due's features on the second screenshot?

 

[Three of Seven]

Why Jade Dragon has Reapers' Due's features on the second screenshot?

Probably an oversight when making the mockups!

I like the launcher though, nice and separated, the DLC bit is probably not going to get much use by me, since I buy everything....

 

[Sirrebirre]

Probably an oversight when making the mockups!

I like the launcher though, nice and separated, the DLC bit is probably not going to get much use by me, since I buy everything....

Updated the images now!

 

[vukica]

Wait... is that an in-game pop-up?

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

....We are starting a trial where we show you available Crusader Kings II DLC when you start a new game. This means that in the game, available extra content will be shown to a test group of randomly selected CK II players where it makes sense, as unobtrusively as possible. We want to better display how missing content can enhance your CK2 game experience without intruding on your play session.

So..four things that i'm not sure about after reading the OP:

1)Can a player drop out of that experiment if he/she gets randomly selected ?
2) Does the content of the affected DLCs get unlocked for a short while or is it just the
recommendations and content info as the above pictures suggest ?
3) If the DLC content gets unlocked for a while, can we say no thank you to a specific DLC ?
4) When or how would these info boxes show up ?

 

[VokunConroy]

2) Does the content of the affected DLCs get unlocked for a short while or is it just the
recommendations and content info as the above pictures suggest ?
3) If the DLC content gets unlocked for a while, can we say no thank you to a specific DLC ?

I imagine all DLC are available on the menu, but you can only use it a set number of times, or for a certain length of play time without buying it, but I'm not sure. I say that because these appear to be in game messages.

 

[Ksiendzu]

I bought everything. I do not need it. I will watch how it works

 

[Sirrebirre]

So..four things that i'm not sure about after reading the OP:

1)Can a player drop out of that experiment if he/she gets randomly selected ?
2) Does the content of the affected DLCs get unlocked for a short while or is it just the
recommendations and content info as the above pictures suggest ?
3) If the DLC content gets unlocked for a while, can we say no thank you to a specific DLC ?
4) When or how would these info boxes show up ?

Good questions! See below for answers.

1. In theory yes, as long as the player is playing logged in on their plaza account we can exclude them from the experiment.
2. It is only showing recommendations and information - If a player wants to purchase any of the DLC's they don't have, they have to proceed to steam and go through the regular purchase process.
3. It doesn't - See above.
4. the info boxes will work like the tooltips in the game, and will show at mouse over.

 

[Sirrebirre]

Wait... is that an in-game pop-up?

As in will there be pop ups while playing?

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

Good questions! See below for answers.

1. In theory yes, as long as the player is playing logged in on their plaza account we can exclude them from the experiment.
2. It is only showing recommendations and information - If a player wants to purchase any of the DLC's they don't have, they have to proceed to steam and go through the regular purchase process.
3. It doesn't - See above.
4. the info boxes will work like the tooltips in the game, and will show at mouse over.

Thanks, helpful.

1. In theory yes, as long as the player is playing logged in on their plaza account we can exclude them from the experiment.

Sounds like i wouldn't get selected in the first place and thus be safe, as i haven't synched my Steam with my forum account...yet.

Wait..

4. the info boxes will work like the tooltips in the game, and will show at mouse over.

..but, mouse over what and where ?
Over DLC specific icons in-game i assume, but where will these icons show up in game ?
Seeing your post above, will there be icons of sorts show up randomly, in related areas probably (Jade close to the eastern border, COA DLCs close to character COAs etc.),
which invite to mouse over them for more info, so to speak ?

PS: I don't really know why i'm even asking, but i suppose i'm simply curious.

PS_2: rageairs post further down seems to answer my last question.

 

[vukica]

As in will there be pop ups while playing?

Right... With playing being "I've clicked "Start Game" and now I'm playing".

 

[rageair]

Right... With playing being "I've clicked "Start Game" and now I'm playing".

No, there's nothing when you're actually playing, the pictures are just mockups overlain on a screenshot of the game.

 

[Seven Sulivin]

I don't really like this idea.

 

[Keizer Harm]

I really like this idea! It will be useful for players old and new. I am still not getting how and when the DLC windows would pop up, but I am not disappointed with the look of the DLC selection screen in the launcher!
That system could actually be expanded for mods... Say, if you add a specific attribute to your mod, group_name. And if there's two mods in your list with the same group_name, there will be a group formed for it. That way you can bundle mods together (say, all the graphical mods, or one mega-mod with a lot of optional addenda).

 

[SigurdStormhand]

I have mixed feelings about this, I'm not sure how I feel about the idea I have "missing DLC".

 

[Heiliges Thüringens Reich]

This is a bit complicated because of Ironman games. The moment a DLC gets into the save, you cannot keep playing it without said DLC. If a DLC that is available only temporaly to the player gets into an Ironman save...
Or heck, even any normal game. You cannot play the save if the DLC goes away. Thus, I suggest this to have a very pronounced warning "Only use time-set DLCs for new games". I'd severely dislike the shown strategy if I tick the box for a DLC I don't own, load my already saved game and (let's say 1 month per DLC) 1 month later I can't play that save again until I buy the DLC...

 

[pacja]

I'm fine with the launcher part, provided DLCs will be grouped by type as shown in the screenshot because I can't stand a messy list of cosmetic/music content I'm not interested in, but honestly I don't like it at all in game. CK2 is not a "freemium" game, so I don't want advertisements of any kind during gameplay.

 

[Meneth]

For the sake of clarity:
We do not plan to put these splash screens into the actual campaign (that is, after you've selected a character and hit Start).
The images only show them in-campaign due to it being a work in progress; the current way for the people working on this to see the UI elements is to call them from the console, which can only be done while fully in-game.
We have no desire to interfere with the actual gameplay experience.