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Jarl Galdur

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Mar 8, 2017
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I want to start by saying that I absolutely love this game, I have 1200+h in CKII and now I'm hooked on CKIII.

The goal of this thread is not for everybody to agree with my points, but to create a discussion about some aesthetic decisions and give feedback. There will also be some minor aesthetic bugs. It's in Roman Numerals to emphasise that it's not an order of importance, just an order of when it was added to the list.

steam_event_header__2_.png

POSITIVE

I :
Everything mostly, the game is gorgeous, clear and evocative. The next points will be specific coups-de-cœur

II : This is a huge coup-de-cœur and all around one of my favourite aesthetical change : Custom Realms keep their original realm colour. This is especially great after having created a thread about the random realm colour in CKII. The new forums removed the ratings, but there was more than 40+ 'agree' reaction, so I was not alone in wishing for this. There's even a big flavour event when you take the decision, I adore it.
Hæsteinn.png
Ottoman.jpg

III : How the traits impact the visual of a character. In CKII, I used to recognise characters by their name, now in CKIII I can easily recognise a character by it's 3D model, they're all distinct and interesting, the poses also help. Bonus : Searching for 'Hideous' characters is always funny.
Hideous.png

IV : The traits are clear and evocative, the artwork is stunning. Lunatic is my absolute favourite.
Lunatic.png


V : Normandy is not called Normandy until they are a Norse / Norman realm.

VI : The Seljuk Coat of Arms
Seljuk.png


VII : The Army Quality Symbol is really intuitive and clear.

VIII : The new Empire-Rank Title Crown, it was hideous in CKII and now it's great. [This one is contested in the comments, let us know what you think!]
Empire.jpg


IX : The War Screen is a great addition, it's clear and useful. This screen is even better in 1.1.X
War Screen.png

X : The Main Menu with your character, spouse and heir is brilliant. The main menu is even better in 1.1.X
Main Menu.png

XI : The character selection in 1.1.X+ is beautiful, the stained glass like dates, the dynasty banner behind the character, this is great!
Character Selection.png

XII : Everything in Northern Lords. That flavour pack really delivered, not only on the aesthetic but in great immersive new mechanical additions. The new paintings, event background, beards, clothes, music, even the flavour text. It's a superb addition to the game and really sets the bar high for next flavour packs!

steam_event_header__2_.png

NEGATIVE

I
: The Scandinavian Elective is known as 'Thing' but without context, it looks like a placeholder word, there are posts on reddit that think it's until they find a better name. I suggest renaming it to 'Þing', exact same word, but the spelling indicate that it's not the English word for 'something'. Update 1,3 : Now, some events refer to this as Ting, and technology refer to it as Thing, I still think it all needs to be Þing.

II : The 'Kingsguard' perk is a too direct reference to GoT, I reckon it would be better to have it written 'King's Guard'. It would make for a softer reference, like the 'Marshland' instead of 'Swamp' in the Shrek event.

III : Ragnarr Loðbrók name is well written on his character sheet, but it's anglicised in his sons' invasion name 'Lothbrok's Sons Invasion of X' Patched in 1,2!

IV : At least two traits use flora & fauna from the Americas, Compassionate and Desert Warrior
Compassionate.png
Desert Warrior.png

I suggest changing the Monarch butterfly to an Euroasian or African one for Compassionate like the Papilio Machaon. (Here's my take on it)
Compassionate Papilio Machaon.png

Suggestion to change the cactus of Desert Warrior to a palm tree, like it was in CKII

V : There's no boat diversity for the different culture unit packs. Flavour packs (like Northern Lords) added this for Vikings!

VI : There's no other option in the 'cloak' section than 'Royal Cloak'. No bear pelts, fur trimmed cloak, etc. Wow did Northern Lords deliver on that one!

VII : Councillors don't keep their unique pose in their own character sheet, they only have it in the council view. That would help to know which character is a spymaster at a glance if you're looking in another Realm court.

VIII : Many counties don't have their own Coat of Arms, like Rouen and Paris for notable examples.

IX : It wouldn't be a negative if there's historical background that I haven't found, but what's on the Umayyad Coat of Arms? In CKII it was one of the most interesting and powerful, now it looks like a Lacrosse Team.
Umayyad.png

Updated in 1,3, now it is an extremely cool wing symbol
Umayyad13.png


X : Hair clip through the Imperial Crown a lot, I suggest raising the inner-red-part a little bit. Also, the texture is not detailed enough, it looks a tad plastic. It's also a bit too large. Well, it's just not on par with the other crowns in the game.
Imperial Crown.png

XI : Weird one, but William the Conqueror loses his beard when he dies. Update 1,3 Corvus : William is now clean shaven, which is culturally appropriate for normans, but grows a full beard at the instant of his death, which is the reverse problem from before. Weird thing is, now many historical character completely change hair/beardstyle when they die. All the sons of Loðbrók and Hæsteinn being notable examples. Update : Acknowledged

XII : This one isn't that serious, but I would like an option to display dead character with their eyes closed. That way, you don't only rely on the grey portraits to know if they are dead. (and the very little skull icon)

XIII : There's no option to remove all the 'you's that replace your character name. I would rather see "Culture Head : High King Sæmundr 'the Dane' of Danelagen" than "Culture Head : you". Side comment; every 'you' in the game is not capitalised, but when there's no word in front of it, it should be ex. "Culture Head : You" Implemented in 1,1 !
you.png
But I really like the 'This is you' and it's variations on the character screen!


XIV : The Religious Clothing (what the Court Chaplain / Shaman wears) is not available in the Barbershop. Take a look at this mod for the choices that, in my opinion, should be available if you're a Temporal Head of Faith. Added in 1,3 Corvus!

XV : Normandy should have a different Coat of Arms if it's not Norse / Norman in 867.

XVI : The Danelaw decision is great, but the Coat of Arms is underwhelming, it looks Catholic.
Danelaw.png


Updated in 1,3 Corvus to a beautiful new design!
1616000723618.png


XVII : Many Coat of Arms have religious symbolism in it that are not removed even if the Realm is not of that Faith. Example : Kushite Abyssinia with a Cross in the Coat of Arms. (Renamed Egypt in this example) Many Coat of Arms in CKII removed the religious symbolism if of another faith (Vladimir, for example)
Abyssinia.png


XVIII : Harald 'Hardråde' is written as Harald 'Hardrada' in the character selection, and as Harald 'Hard-Ruler' in the game. (Oh and sometimes, he starts the game without the 'Hard Rule' perk) In CKII, it was written Harald 'Hårdråde'

XIX : Arabic and Turkic cultures sometimes don't display the Dynasty Coat of Arms / Name instead of the Realm Coat of Arms / Name. Edit : According to the wiki 'If a Clan ruler is a Dynasty Head, their Realm will be named after their Dynasty rather than the Primary Title.', but sometimes this feature bugs until the game is reloaded.

XX : Education traits have a goldish grey background instead of the corresponding colour (purple for intrigue, etc.). I understand that they want this background colour to be 'Education Trait', but colour-coding would be helpful. Bonus Suggestion : A Gold frame around these traits, so they are identifiable as Education Traits, with the background colour-coded. Something like this, but with a thin gold frame around the background. Implemented in 1.1 ! But, the colours are a tad too bright.
Trait_education_diplomacy_4.png
Trait_education_intrigue_4.png
Trait_education_learning_4.png
Trait_education_martial_4.png
Trait_education_stewardship_4.png
Trait_education_martial_prowess_4.png


XXI : Rally Points should use the County Coat of Arms or the Realm Coat of Arms instead of a random colour.

XXII : The Health indicator doesn't have enough variations. It's especially important between 'Fine' and 'Poor'. In 'Fine', there's no risk of random death, and in 'Poor' there is.
Health.jpg

XXIII : Women can't wear Imperial Crowns (except the Byzantine one). The Northern Cultures (Norse, Irish, etc.) don't wear a crown by default when they reach Empire-Rank.

XXIV : There's not enough Icons for new Faiths. 1,3 Corvus added more, but a lot more are still needed!
Faith Icons.jpg

XXV : When you're at war, there's an indicator above the Coat of Arms of your allies and of your enemies on the map. I find the Ally Indicator great, but I find the Enemy Indicator weird, it's a .gif of semi-realistic fire and the swords are too small. The swords are perfect now!
Indicator.jpg

I suggest making the Enemy Indicator in the same style as the Ally Indicator : Two Crossed Swords (bigger and clearer) with a Red aura instead of fire

XXVI : Young children should use the pose they have in the Main Menu (sitting down) in their Character Screen instead of standing upright.

XXVII : The Robertine Dynasty is one of the most important French Dynasty, and their Coat of Arms is frankly lacklustre. I support this suggestion.
Robertine2.png


XXVIII : The Main Tabs (Realm, Warfare, Council, all the F1-2-3.. tabs) don't really fit with the rest of the game. I haven't found out exactly why yet, I reckon it's just that they're too brightly coloured compared to the rest and the icons are too simple. They just don't look medievalish. The Holding symbols, while in the same genre, are more textured and are less distracting.
Tabs.png

XXIV : Some Faiths have mandatory haircuts for their Monks, like the Buddhists and Celts, that are not in the game. Another exemple are Orthodox priest that shouldn't be clean shaven. I suggest looking at these two suggestions : Buddhist, Celt. In CKII, your haircut / beard was changed when you entered a Monastic Order.

XXV : Reformed Faith Court Chaplains lose their custom title (ex. Riksgoði, Court Shaman) and are instead called Court Chaplain. Also, there's no option to rename the Temporal Head of Faith title.

XXVI : Minor mistakes in non-English languages, like Château written as Chateau, and Île-de-France written as Ile de France. If somebody create a thread about these minor mistakes (in any languages), let me know! Note : Also noticed that they wrote Faereyjar instead of Færeyjar Færeyjar was fixed in 1,2! As of 1,3, the county of Sjælland is still written as Sjaelland, even though the duchy is correctly written as Sjælland. Also, in the Holy Sites screen of Ásatrú, they wrote Jorvik instead of Jórvík.
Château.png

Île.png

XXVII : 1,3 Corvus & Northern Lords introduced new Norse realm CoA, which are great, but they haven't updated the featured character screen, where they still use the old realm Coat of Arms.

XXVIII : The sons of Ragnarr Coat of Arms have not been updated with Northern Lords. Before, Hvitserk and Ivaring used Norse iconography, but af Munsö and af Sigurdr used Western European imagery such as lions. I reckon it would be better to change these to the new Norse symbols introduced in 1,3.

XXIX : The Poet trait is great, but, like Reaver being called Viking if you are Norse, it should be called Skald when you are Norse.

XXX : Before 1,3 Corvus, the Coat of Arms of Norse Holy Orders or the Fylkirate used to be the Norse Raven, which was perfect. But now, it is a random star. Update : Paradox staff acknowledged the problem!
Fylkirate.png


XXXI : The 'Southern Baltic Empire' is quite a long and generic name for such an interesting region, I suggest taking a look at that thread for some ideas even though it is closed.

XXXII : There's a congenital and non-congenital version of Melancholic, Lunatic and Possessed. There should be a round behind the non-congenital one and a losenge behind the genetic one, like the other congenital traits. I made a suggestion for this.
Lunatic.png


steam_event_header__2_.png

Let me know what you think and if you have any feedback, I can add it to the original post.
 
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Many of these are really minor but some are interesting, like negative V , VI , VII and IX (Really don't understand what that coat of arms is supposed to be)

And for William the Conqueror, I'm glad somebody else spotted it, it's weird that he drops his beard the moment he dies
 
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I want to start by saying that I absolutely love this game, I have 1200+h in CKII and now I'm hooked on CKIII.

I want to give feedback upon certain aesthetic decisions, since a lot of them are minor, I reckon it's best to post them together.

POSITIVE

I :
Everything mostly, the game is gorgeous, clear and evocative. The next points will be specific coups-de-cœur

II : This is a huge coup-de-cœur and all around one of my favourite aesthetical change : Custom Realms keep their original realm colour. This is especially great after having created a thread about the random realm colour in CKII. The new forums removed the ratings, but there was more than 40+ 'agree' reaction, so I was not alone in wishing for this. They even have a big flavour event when you take the decision, I adore it.

III : How the traits impact the visual of a character. In CKII, I used to recognise characters by their name, now in CKIII I can easily recognise a character by it's 3D model, they're all distinct and interesting, the poses also help. Bonus : Searching for 'Hideous' characters is always funny.

IV : The traits are clear and evocative, the artwork is stunning. Lunatic is my absolute favourite.
View attachment 623447

V : Normandy is not called Normandy until they are a Norse / Norman realm.

NEGATIVE

I
: The Scandinavian Elective is known as 'Thing' but without context, it looks like a placeholder word, there's posts on reddit that think it's until they find a better name. I suggest renaming it to 'Þing', exact same word, but the spelling indicate that it's not the English word for 'something'.

II : The 'Kingsguard' perk is a too direct reference to GoT, I reckon it would be better to have it written 'King's Guard'. It would make for a softer reference, like the 'Marshland' instead of 'Swamp' in the Shrek event.

III : Ragnarr Loðbrók name is well written on it's character sheet, but it's anglicised in his sons' invasion name 'Lothbrok's Sons Invasion of X'

IV : At least two traits use flora & fauna from the Americas, Compassionate and Desert Warrior
View attachment 623427View attachment 623428
I suggest changing the Monarch butterfly to an Euroasian or African one for Compassionate. Suggestion to change the cactus of Desert Warrior to a palm tree, like it was in CKII

V : There's no boat diversity for the different culture unit packs.

VI : There's no other option in the 'cloak' section than 'Royal Cloak' no bear pelts, fur trimmed cloak, etc.

VII : Councillors don't keep their unique pose in their own character sheet, they only have it in the council view. That would help to know which character is a spymaster at a glance if you're looking in another Realm court.

VIII : Many counties don't have their own Coat of Arms, like Rouen or Paris for notable exemples.

IX : It wouldn't be a negative if there's historical background that I haven't found, but what's on the Umayyad Coat of Arms? In CKII it was one of the most interesting and powerful, now it looks like a Lacrosse Team.
View attachment 623469

X : Hair clip through the Imperial Crown alot, I suggest raising the inner-red-part a little bit.

XI : Weird one, but William the Conqueror loses his beard when he dies. (I know this is more of a bug than an aesthetical decision)

XII : This one isn't that serious, but I would like an option to display dead character with their eyes closed. That way, you don't only rely on the grey portraits to know if they are dead. (and the very little skull icon)

XIII : There's no option to remove all the 'you' in the game, except the 'This is you' on the character screen. I would rather see "Culture Head : High King Sæmundr 'the Dane' of Danelagen" rather than "Culture Head : you". Side comment; every 'you' in the game is not capitalised, but when there's no word in front it, they should be. ex. "Culture Head : You"

XIV : The Temple Clothing (what the Court Chaplain / Shaman wears) is not available in the Barbershop.


That's all I can think off right now, let me know what you think and if you have any feedback, I can add it to the original post.
I 100% agree with you.

though your comment about the Umayyad coat of arms is now making me think of the caliph and his son playing lacrosse in the court of cordoba :p
 
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V : Normandy is not called Normandy until they are a Norse / Norman realm.
Yeah, although it still has the Norman coat of arms, which annoys me a bit.
 
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A couple of notes:

IV: A palm tree isn't specifically a desert tree. It can be there, but it can also be in any tropical area. A cactus is far more of a desert-only type of plant.
XIV: They specifically stated they weren't going to have religious clothing in the barbershop. Not sure if that will ever change.
 
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A couple of notes:

IV: A palm tree isn't specifically a desert tree. It can be there, but it can also be in any tropical area. A cactus is far more of a desert-only type of plant.
But the cactus, at least that style, is an american type of plant which is what I think the issue is.
 
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A couple of notes:

IV: A palm tree isn't specifically a desert tree. It can be there, but it can also be in any tropical area. A cactus is far more of a desert-only type of plant.
XIV: They specifically stated they weren't going to have religious clothing in the barbershop. Not sure if that will ever change.

As someone from Québec, I must admit my knowledge of tropical flora is quite lacking, but I see your point. I still think that with the little desert background and a palm tree (much like in CKII), it would be more evocative of an African/Near-Eastern/Asian desert than a cactus.
Desert_terrain_leader.png


But the cactus, at least that style, is an american type of plant which is what I think the issue is.
100%

For the religious clothing, I didn't know Paradox commented on this, I added it because somebody commented it. I agreed that it should be an option, at least if you're a Temporal Head of Faith.
 
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As someone from Québec, I must admit my knowledge of tropical flora is quite lacking, but I see your point. I still think that with the little desert background and a palm tree (much like in CKII), it would be more evocative of an African/Near-Eastern/Asian desert than a cactus.
View attachment 623701


100%

I think a couple other options might be the baobab tree (very identifiable) or even the acacia tree, which is also pretty identifiable. If we went with a palm tree, it shouldn't be the palm tree style like the image above, but more of the Saharan palm tree style (I know there are different ones and some even look like the tropical palms, but there are some that are more identifiable as being desert palms and not tropical palms).
 
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I think a couple other options might be the baobab tree (very identifiable) or even the acacia tree, which is also pretty identifiable. If we went with a palm tree, it shouldn't be the palm tree style like the image above, but more of the Saharan palm tree style (I know there are different ones and some even look like the tropical palms, but there are some that are more identifiable as being desert palms and not tropical palms).
Saharan Palm Tree would be great! I just fear that references to the Americas might bring the Aztecs back
 
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I like the ones you just added, XIV to XVIII, but
XVIII : Harald 'Hardråde' is written as Harald 'Hardrada' in the character selection, and as Harald 'Hard-Ruler' in the game. (Oh and sometimes, he starts the game without the 'Hard-Ruler' perk) In CKII, it was written Harald 'Hårdråde'
that one is just funny, poor lad. Hope they write it Håråld Hårdrådå in ck4
 
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Seems like a decently thread to point out the dynastic renaming for Arab and Turkic titles are kind of wonky. Sometimes it displays the regular name, sometimes it displays dynastic name. It's not super noticeable until you start playing in those areas.

Edit: Looking at it, it appear to be an issue where if the dynasty head is not the title holder it shows it as the regular title name, which is common for clan governments due to claimant factions.


It would work better if the highest ranked ruler in a dynasty got to use the dynastic name for it's title, similar to CK2. I'm not sure how it interacts with cadet branches and houses though.
 
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Seems like a decently thread to point out the dynastic renaming for Arab and Turkic titles are kind of wonky. Sometimes it displays the regular name, sometimes it displays dynastic name. It's not super noticeable until you start playing in those areas.
I've noticed the same thing but with the Arab / Turkic Coat of Arms, if you start and save a game in 1066, and then start a new game in 867, Egypt will have the Fatimid Coat of Arms instead of the Tulunid one. I also saw Bedouin Muslim Yemen with the Yemen Coat of Arms / Name. I reckon it might just lack a system to verify that the Dynasty Name and Coat of Arms is displayed for these cultures while the game is running.

I wish they would add a little checkbox to display our own Coat of Arms / Dynasty Name as the Realm Coat of Arms / Name, no matter the Culture, so we could have Karling like runs (where they established the Carolingian Empire)
 
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Have you posted a version of this in the suggestion subforum?
 
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I for one find some really interesting points which i hadn't thought of, and other i had. hope to see this become a mega-thread of peaceful discussion that the devs will check out :)
 
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Many of these are really minor but some are interesting, like negative V , VI , VII and IX (Really don't understand what that coat of arms is supposed to be)

And for William the Conqueror, I'm glad somebody else spotted it, it's weird that he drops his beard the moment he dies
It's airpods, obviously.
 
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I wrote something less detailed but similar before. I love the aesthetics of the game and just hope they keep building on that in future DLCs. Like you, I can recognize characters by their portraits or features.

May I also add

% chance to be scarred when you get wounded, severely wounded. Rodrigo de Vivar lead my armies in 2 crusades and 3 wars. He managed to not have a scratch on him afterwounded numerous times

And % chance to losE an arm, leg, eye, nose, ear when you are “maimed”. I hate the wounded aesthetic lasts so long and the scars never appear.

Along with those severely wounded and maimed conditions, be nice to have splints or crunches to emphasize your wounds.

additionally, can your friends and lovers stay in your relationship tab even when they are dead?i Formed close bonds with those people! Don’t let them just dissapear!!
 
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House von Habsburg has a house motto of "A.E.I.O.U." I think this is really neat; but, as far as I know, they're the only in-game dynasty that currently has a custom motto.
 
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