DLC ideas for CK3.

[Pancakelord]

I thought part of the reason they went with 2 dates was

1. those were the most popular two and
2. its less to maintain as the years roll by. If they could stick to 2 they wouldn't need to research and adapt anywhere near as many things. That's work that could instead be pumped into other, more interesting, features to flesh out the simulation.

IMO I'd like to see

1. A greater emphasis on religion - not just in designing your religions but in events and life events - religious rites permeated life, warfare and death.
   • Despite all their work on holy wars in CK2 ... I never really felt very holy or zealous when waging one tbh. This was a time at which many people really felt that god/the gods were real.
2. A greater emphasis on society/the peasant economy - CK is set in an agrarian society and the world changes a lot over it's start and end dates. that should be reflected somehow -- be it by population numbers affecting province yields (making plagues an actual demographic threat that can bring down empires - as they did in history, rather than a great way to become a cannibal in CK2), greater seasonal variations in tax take, or by an actual ability to develop roads and infrastructure to garner trade (the province events that added tollbooths or whatever in CK2 felt extremely shallow and unsatisfying).
   • More "realm development" would provide a nice alternative to just painting the map red and going "I MADE ROME" on reddit for karma.
3. More visual variety and relics of the past on the world map, to make the world more lived-in.
   1. It looks a little odd in the press-releases seeing so many cities and not at least seeing the old roman roads linking them up in europe. or seeing several major cities (e.g. London - manchester - york in the UK) without any roads leading away from them. It's a minor thing, but it annoys me lol.
   2. Keeping with the roman theme - ruined aqueducts in provinces where they'd be realistically.
      • Events could even be tied to this, where characters with high learning could learn from the past, or lament the collapse of "civilisation".
   3. They also talked about unique buildings with special bonuses in one of the dev diaries - those ought to be on the map, too, in their relevant county IMO - something like the great lighthouse of Alexandria, for example (which was still around in the earlier start date and mostly standing in the second, thanks to an earthquake).
   4. In Asia minor & Indian sub-continent, perhaps more fields (near water) or something to break up the visual monotony of large patches of sand/jungle.
      • I know little about ancient Indian civilisation, but it, too would probably have analogues to roman ruins - old sub-continent empires - that could be sprinkled around on the map.
4. More natrual events -- AND tying those in to religion + the local economy (see #1/2)- we're rather detached from things like storms and (low-level) earthquakes in the modern age thanks to all our equipment and technology. But a massive storm rolling in even just a few centuries ago (let alone a millenia ago) could cause a spike in influenza, lowing local productivity, or damage infrastructure and might be attributed to local sinners [leading to witch-burnings] or a pissed off god (depending on the local religion).
   Spoiler: list-o-disasters

   1. Storms
   2. Sand storms
   3. Droughts
   4. Crop Famine
   5. Blizzards
   6. Locust swarms
   7. Earthquakes
   8. Heat waves (have fun marching your army through a heat wave in armor)
   9. Tornadoes/Waterspouts (could knock out your transport ships or travel in-land and wreck some holdings).
   10. Volcanoes (very rare)

   [*][*][*]
   • If done right these wouldnt just be an event to wreck your stuff - which wouldnt be fun - rather, they could be roaming entities on the map (obviously volcanoes wouldnt roam) but with good academics/astronomers in your court you might have some forewarning of an impending storm or disaster, or with good speechcraft you might be able to use these events to your advantage.
     1. E.g. Waterspout wrecks your annoying vassal's coastal holding
     2. You bribe a priest to blame it on him being a sinner
     3. This gets a hook on your vassal to arrest him
     4. Arrest him and be praised by the clergy for acting in God's name, gaining piety.

 

[Heiliges Thüringens Reich]

Republics, interactions with militant orders and silk trade-similar rules (fair routes) in Europe

 

[cybrxkhan]

For big expansions, I'd like to echo the sentiments of several other posts that the main priorities for the devs, at least in the early and middle cycles of the game, should not be on map expansion but improving the existing situation:

• Nomad hordes - and making them a little less wonky and weird than their implementation in CK2.
• Republics - including not only the merchant republics of Venice et al, but other categories of "patrician" dominated type places, though it's possible some of these could be expanded in other DLCs. For instance:
  • Italian city-states - could be tied in with an Itailan themed or Renaissance flavor pack
  • HRE Free Imperial Cities - would work with an HRE themed flavor pack
  • Powerful patricians in various major trading centers around the world, such as on the land and maritime Silk Roads
• Artifacts/inventory - as someone who wasn't a fan of M&M, I consider this one of that DLC/patch's few great additions, and it is in my opinion more of a glaring omission from CK3 than anything else. I presume a revamped system in CK3 will emphasize less on OP min-maxing stat dumping and more on roleplay.
• Trade and commerce (could be tied in with Republics) - while I DO NOT want to see some complex 3deep5me Medieval Trader Tycoon game, which I feel is outside the scope of Crusader Kings, definitely there can be some improvements, such as maybe having a few important trade resources (not every province, but maybe some), or a better implementation of trade routes than as seen in CK2

Flavor packs I could see having a lot of potential as there are way too many options to choose from. I presume they will be similar to the story packs from Stellaris, or the culture packs from EUIV, that will in a meta sense consist of 1+2 gimmick mechanics with several smaller flavor additions like events and cosmetics. As such, some detailed ideas as an example (not exhaustive, there's probably plenty more better ones):

Spoiler

• Iranian Flavor Pack
  • Major mechanics: Nowruz feast decision, sponsoring or interacting with Sogdian merchants to make better deals on the Silk Road or allowing them to settle in your holdings as sartapao, the term historically used to designate important local Sogdian leaders or traders in their diaspora communities
  • Events related to stuff like the composition of the Shahnameh, Zoroastrian religious flavor, etc.
• Celtic Flavor Pack
  • Major mechanics: Hire bards to your court, relive the legend of King Arthur as you reconquer Britain from the invaders (and do stuff like establish a Knights of the Round Table and claim to have found Excalibur)
  • Events related to stuff like the holy wells of Britain, various Celtic cultural flavor, etc.
• Relationship/Love Flavor Pack
  • Major mechanics: new ways to interact with other characters, find love, make enemies, go to a brothel, etc.
  • Events related to these kinds of things

Others that I would like to see that I also see as plausibly happening as flavor packs as they're marketable (for instance I don't think we'll ever get a Sogdian Flavor Pack even though I'd love it because it wouldn't really be marketable):

Spoiler

• Iberia/Spain flavor pack
• ERE/Byzantine flavor pack
• Food and Drink flavor pack
• Supernatural flavor pack (i.e. stuffing all the "supernatural" stuff into one flavor pack, so people who like that stuff can get that magic shenanigans they want, while those of us who don't like that stuff can just ignore it)
• Myths and Legends flavor pack - in contrast to a supernatural flavor pack, a more grounded flavor pack that focuses on religious flavor
• Arabia flavor pack
• India flavor pack
• Slavic flavor pack
• Peasant/Ordinary Life flavor pack (maybe with some improvements to rebellions?)
• West Africa flavor pack
• East Africa flavor pack (maybe tie in with Indian Ocean trade stuff?)

I look forward to the flavor packs especially, I think there's so much potential from them.

EDIT: Can't believe I forgot ruler designer/creator. I literally use that 99% of the time in CK2.

 

[TinWiz]

I want them to make the game so good at release that DLC becomes unnecessary.

 

[Breton_Lord]

Aside from the obvious "Bring back Imperial, Merchant Republic, and Nomad governments" DLCs, I'd like to see naval warfare of some sort. It's strange to say the least that in Paradox's world, people just forget that ships can be used for combat for six hundred years.

I agree 100% , and from what I've learned i think it's very possible to see a naval warfare focoused DLC in the future.

 

[Breton_Lord]

I want them to make the game so good at release that DLC becomes unnecessary.

I think it will be good but not THAT good !! it's abusiness after all...

 

[Tschobo]

You all forget the obvious choice. The Cumbrian Moustache DLC. We need each Cumbrian Moustache carefully crafted onto the characters so that the Cumbrians will rise in glory.

Jokes aside. After I heard that main DLCs should be so much meatier I want from them following stuff.

• Empire focused DLC for ERE/Arab Empires and possibly China as well that looks more in the inward politics of the Empire and some intricate mechanics that make it harder for Empires to blob, not impossible, just harder, as they have to fix their own country first before conquering new and rebellious lands.
• Republics and Naval DLC that overhauls the Merchant Republics and other Republics as well and adds a better Naval system which slowly and steadliy rises in importance at the late medieval era.
• Nomads and Mercenary/Adventurers DLC that adds more interesting Nomads as well as playable adventurers of a host that will search for land to settle, but first have to work hard to build a reputation of a mercenary host/adventuring raiders etc.

A few things I would see as DLC, even if I don't like it in some cases, but some are still needed

• Character Creator, yes it should basically be free, and there is still hope, but for know I think it is out of the picture and I won't think that it will come soon.
• Diverse Portraits Ethnities. I currently have heard that there are 7 core portraits and assume there will be more in the future (For example there is not a unique Tibetian core Portrait)
• Clothes for Certain Regions and Cultures.
• Starting dates. I would vouch for Iron Century and an Alexaid starting Date. But also a starting date between the Iron Century and 1066 would be nice.

Smaller things thar are not DLCs but would fit in a patch would be:

• The addition of Carantanian, Dalmatian and Frisian culture
• The changes of De-Jure Kingdoms in some regions
• More variety in the settlement department, with even differences if a Norse settles the Kingdom of Tahert or decides to remain in Scandinavia.

 

[Aemr]

Silly hats. Just a big ol' collection of silly hats.

 

[Breton_Lord]

Silly hats. Just a big ol' collection of silly hats.

Yessss

 

[Jayavarman]

Indian ocean basin- CK covers the heyday of the Swahili trade Sultanates, The kingdom of Zimbabwe, The Khmer Empire and Srijivaya. Outside you know where they are the last major parts of the medieval world not playable.

Yes, playing as the Khmer Empire would be fun.

 

[SMiki Lorebringer]

Indian ocean basin- CK covers the heyday of the Swahili trade Sultanates, The kingdom of Zimbabwe, The Khmer Empire and Srijivaya. Outside you know where they are the last major parts of the medieval world not playable.

I mean, it's kinda weird to have India but not Indonesian kingdoms or Swahili city states. Indian traders were much more interested in these area than in Europe.

I'd love a map stretching all the way south to Great Zimbabwe and all the way east to Japan. Can it be done without murdering PC though? :v

despite Crusader Kings being a relic name of the first game, playing for 700 yrs without even feeling the effects of a Crusade (say, Zimbabwe) still seems a strange thing to do in Crusader Kings 3.

You hardly feel efects of crusades in India or Mongolian steppes. While I agree Zimbabwe might be tricky (extremely lacking sources about local dynasties), it was still a part of the Old World trade network by its export to the Swahili coast, so a person very keen on controling the trade might find a way to get there. Spice things up with some proto-Zulu nomads threatening the area and it could be very nice region. That said;

cutting the map off at the Congo rainforest and Cape of Good Hope sure makes African gameplay more interesting

The consecutive Zimbabwean kingdoms (Mapungubwe -> Great Zimbabwe -> Mutapa) should be the very southern edge of the map, the Cape would be an overkill. Zimbabwe was the very end of the medieval trade network so it makes sense to add it, but adding Cape or Australia just for the sake of bigger map doesn't sound right.

 

[FondMemberofSociety]

I mean, it's kinda weird to have India but not Indonesian kingdoms or Swahili city states. Indian traders were much more interested in these area than in Europe.

I'd love a map stretching all the way south to Great Zimbabwe and all the way east to Japan. Can it be done without murdering PC though? :v


You hardly feel efects of crusades in India or Mongolian steppes. While I agree Zimbabwe might be tricky (extremely lacking sources about local dynasties), it was still a part of the Old World trade network by its export to the Swahili coast, so a person very keen on controling the trade might find a way to get there. Spice things up with some proto-Zulu nomads threatening the area and it could be very nice region. That said;

The consecutive Zimbabwean kingdoms (Mapungubwe -> Great Zimbabwe -> Mutapa) should be the very southern edge of the map, the Cape would be an overkill. Zimbabwe was the very end of the medieval trade network so it makes sense to add it, but adding Cape or Australia just for the sake of bigger map doesn't sound right.

India can feel some effects due to the Christian-Muslim rivalry weakening threats over the Khyber somewhat, and Mongols ... were a force of conquest that far outclassed the Crusades, so Mongol play is less "feel the world" than "show muscle".

As for the map limit, my bad, I don't know where the Medieval end of the East African trade route is. Thanks for patching.

 

[Breton_Lord]

Another related question you guys , do you think that music packs should be in a form of a DLC , or just come with various updates ??

 

[Samitte]

What I would really like is a DLC focussed on (movable) Art. Altar pieces, tapestries, paintings, illuminates manuscripts, triptychs, icons, statues, carpets, reliquaries, and other kinds of metal-, wood-, and glasswork. And of course art from other cultures as well, I'm not not very well versed in those.

Having these comissioned, having them placed in your holdings for bonuses to things like prestige or piety, being able to lose them (permanently in some cases), trading them, gifting them, patronising artists, finding old pieces from the past and displaying them. Art was such an important element of Medieval high culture.

There is a large base of existing works to pick from, and more could be procedurally generated as well. To me this could be an amazing DLC that could tie in to many game systems such as warfare (looting, raiding, destroying art on purpose/by accident), prestige, piety, character interactions, religion (reliquaries), etc.

 

[FondMemberofSociety]

Another related question you guys , do you think that music packs should be in a form of a DLC , or just come with various updates ??

Depends on how much effort was put into them.

 

[Jayavarman]

Another related question you guys , do you think that music packs should be in a form of a DLC , or just come with various updates ??

Music should be part of an immersion pack or bundle. It is annoying to buy so much DLC separately.

 

[cybrxkhan]

I think the devs once stated somewhere that they no longer sell music packs separately because having it as a bundle made more financial sense for them and was more convenient for players, as it's (more likely to have people buy cosmetic bundles than a gazillion separate cosmetic DLCs.

 

[Masternachos]

Silly hats. Just a big ol' collection of silly hats.

A collection of silly hats so big it's considered a major expansion, and everyone agrees is totally worth the $29.99 cost.

 

[Pirarucu]

I think I got here late. So, apart from what everybody has already said, if I had to pick one dlc to bring back something from CK2, it would be a dlc focused on a disease system, like Reaper's due.
Now, ifwe are talking about DLC with things that haven't been done yet, I think it's important to mention that they could make something very cool with a commerce/trade system. It would be not only important in case they come back with merchant republics, but it was a very relevant topic in a lot of areas in the game (like the silk road) that just doesn't have enough attention. It doesn't need to resemble the Imperator or EU4 system.

 

[FondMemberofSociety]

I think I got here late. So, apart from what everybody has already said, if I had to pick one dlc to bring back something from CK2, it would be a dlc focused on a disease system, like Reaper's due.

I propose to expand disasters from diseases to all sorts of other things. Cyclones and Hurricanes for India and West Africa. Floods and droughts. Sprinkle some avalanches, earthquakes and volcano eruptions, then we're ready to go.