Crusader Kings II: The Old Gods - Dev Diary 1 - A Different Europe

It's time for another cycle of developer diaries on Crusader Kings II and I thought I'd begin by talking about the new start date and giving you a broad overview of the upcoming expansion; The Old Gods. Yes, we're pushing back the earliest possible start date to 867 AD. This is a special bookmark that comes with the expansion (and you will not be able to start at dates between 867 and 1066 without modding.)

Europe is a very different place in 867... Many of the familiar countries have not yet come into being. There is no Hungary, no Poland, no Russian principalities and the British Isles and Scandinavia are full of petty kingdoms. The Carolingians still rule the Franks, but the great Empire of Charlemagne has been divided between four of his descendants. In the Byzantine Empire, a new dynasty has just risen - the House of Makedon - destined to restore some of its former glory. The Muslims are in the middle of a drawn-out crisis as the once enormous Abbasid Caliphate has fractured, with a succession of Caliphs being murdered by their own Turkish generals.



Most importantly, however, the North and East are completely dominated by bustling tribes of unrepentant heathens who remain less than impressed with the White Christ. Why debase yourself before a dead man on a cross when you can loot the riches of his fat clergy instead? Just as the fury of the Northmen descends on the undefended shores of Europe, other, equally pagan threats are on the rise in the steppes of Tartaria. Like the Avars before them, the feared Magyar horse lords are pushing into Europe from beyond the Carpathians. Why is all this more important than the affairs of Christians and Muslims? Because with The Old Gods, all these heathens are finally playable! (But you probably knew that already. )



Playing a pagan chieftain is at least as different as playing a Muslim. Not only that, there are significant differences between the various heathen religions. Some are aggressive in nature, like the Norse and Tengri beliefs, and some are more defensive, like the Finno-Ugric faith. For example, the warlike Norse will suffer a prestige loss for being at peace for too long, and will need to wage war or set sail to pillage and loot. The Finns don't have this problem, but on the other hand, their vassals will dislike having their troops raised (like Christians). Some faiths get defensive bonuses and larger garrisons in their homelands, some don't, etc. However, they can all potentially be reformed to withstand the allure of the new religions.



In the coming weeks, I will explain the different religions in detail. I will, of course, also talk about other new features, like traversible rivers, new cultures, Zoroastrians, Adventurers, and much more. Stay tuned, and here are some more screenshots to tease and titillate!





[video=youtube;V-edUnWQgyM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-edUnWQgyM[/video]

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Yay! First.

I have a question about Iceland, will it be populated from the start or will you implement some sort of colonization event for it? (It was colonized after 867, iirc)

Also, new interface is nice and new title icons for pagans are cool.

I also like that pagan religions will have some differences in gameplay and won't be too generalized! Can't wait for the expansion!

Oh, and you moved Person of Interest star to more obvious place. Nice.

 

It will already be colonized (yeah, we're cheating by a few years.)

 

Awesome

 

Traversible rivers! This is feature that could add so much depth to all Paradox games. Great news!

 

Finally a dd! The loot is waiting!

 

Navigable rivers! Yay. So much info from the screens.
Does that also mean playable Republics of Novgorod and Pskov in later start dates?

 

Looks cool, but I must say, calling both the religion and the culture of the Norwegians 'Norse' looks kinda ugly. Isn't there a differnet religious name they could have? Like Astaru or whatever it is I hear being thrown about.

 

Navigable rivers??? I love you!!!

Will these work just like small sea zones, with navigable straits between the two shores of the river? Or is there something special to them? (Like some different way of "hitching a ride", perhaps like in CK1 where you didn't have ships?)

Also, what about the Magyar conquest: If the Magyars defeat Moravia and Bulgaria, and take the Pannonian basin, will they automatically "desert" the provinces east of the Carpathians? I.e. are they a "moving blob" or a conventional blob?

 

So loot is somewhat protected by fort level, and fleets have a loot counter, hmm.

 

They look like sea zones, so I guess it is only for big rivers.

 

Oh and how will that "loot" system work? Is that something you introduce just for the Viking period, or will this also have its uses in 1066 and later starts?

 

Oh god! Transversable rivers! And look at the new interface! Looting levels are awesome.....This has got me excited

 

Well the Don looks navigable all the way up to Tver even though there are impassable sections in between (the Don portage where you have to carry boats quite some distance to get around the rapids). And the Danube looks navigable all the way up to Swabia even though it gets very shallow around Passau already. So perhaps there is something different about these rivers.

 

I think it is pagan-only (maybe only for Norse, even) feature? So if there are pagans at later start date, they will be able to loot.

 

By the by, how many DDs are you expecting to have?

 

Seven.

 

I would really like to see the loot level tied to the amount of gold you get once you outright capture holdings in territories, so that there will be no more capturing holdings in the same province year after year and still getting a high amount of gold for your troubles

 

It's only for big rivers, and there are a few portages (basically reverse straits.)

 

Very nice!
I would never have expected navigable rivers, that's really nice (also brings boatbombing to a complete new level ).
Very curious for the Zoroastrians, keep up the good work!