If you had to make a choice for the last major DLC...

[Emp. Theodosius]

Would you choose either:

CKII: The Giant's Fall

A 450 Migrational Era Start, with fully fleshed out cultures, and special events like the Fall of Rome, the Barbarian Invasions, the Persian/Byzzie wars, the Rise of Islam, and a special reconquest attempt by the Byzantines if the west falls. Migration is now a thing, and the tech trees are modified to work with the period. Also, Hellenic, Celtic, and more fleshed out heresies for the pagan religions are added.
Restoration of the Western Roman Empire can be achieved by anyone who hold all of 1066 de Jure France, Aquitane, Andalusia, Italy, and Sicily. Think of When the World stopped making sense on steroids.

Or would you rather have...

CKII: Eastern Shores

China, and Japan are now added, with accurate cultures and religions for that area.

Assume either DLC is balanced and accurately reflects the period.

 

[Aries666]

There's one very big reason you wont get a start date covering the Muslim conquests, it would require portraying Muhammad.

 

[Rostan]

I would deepen the domestic game on a number of fronts and extend a few things about the game:

- laws on manorial governance
- create universities (akin to hospitals) with the possibility to accelerate development/offer bonuses
- inland republics and trade outposts along major rivers
- create province specific-resources that can be exploited for significant increases in income (e.g. gold, silver, copper)

 

[Tatterhood]

There's one very big reason you wont get a start date covering the Muslim conquests, it would require portraying Muhammad.

Muhammad is already in the game's history files.

I guess it would be kind of weird to have him portraitless like this during the era when he's actually alive and doing things, and I don't know enough about the issue to know whether, say, having him be a playable character would also be considered offensive (perhaps something Paradox would prefer to avoid thinking about), but in principle they did at least find a way to avoid the visual depiction issue.

 

[Gamengervi]

I don't care, as long as it's named 'The Last Crusade'.

 

[Fishman786]

Having Muhammad in the game wouldn't be a problem in terms of the picture since they can just use the (very nice-looking) calligraphy, but making him playable and allowing him to get assassinated, castrated, blinded, converted etc would probably make a lot of people angry.

I'd like to see a patch that focuses on the technology system and makes the mid-to-late game more interesting with inventions and stuff.

 

[PK_AZ]

Hard choice. Both are so bad...

 

[Aries666]

Muhammad is already in the game's history files.
View attachment 200594
I guess it would be kind of weird to have him portraitless like this during the era when he's actually alive and doing things, and I don't know enough about the issue to know whether, say, having him be a playable character would also be considered offensive (perhaps something Paradox would prefer to avoid thinking about), but in principle they did at least find a way to avoid the visual depiction issue.

I am surprised they even go that far. Anyway we digress. I personally would like to see a naval themed DLC that made naval battles a thing and such stuff.

 

[WSnova]

Please no more going backwards on the timeline or map expansions.

I would love one that focused on making combat and wars better with a retinue overhaul, being able to turn vassals during a battle etc..

 

[Meeg]

Eastern shores: I love the idea of adding China. Would definitely be against an earlier start date though. The problem with both these suggestions of course is it'll put an even bigger strain on your processor and slow down the speed even more (CK2 is already the program that taxes my computer more than anything else), but I just love the China idea so much.

I do also agree there's lots of opportunities still to go deeper with what's already there rather than expand.

And do we really only get one more major DLC? I thought CK2 was forever

 

[Naughtius Maximus]

1. Muhammed issues are quite legitimate. Interacting with him would be quite offensive, really.

2. China is simply too strong and centralized of a region to include in this time period. It's basically Europe except united, especially during Tang which is within the scope of the current bookmarks. Even the Song, mildly smaller, would dwarf most of the empires in the west. To top it off they were more technologically advanced as evident in technologies like gunpowder.

AI controlled it may implode. But player controlled you are easily looking at starting the game with the equivalent of superior technology than Constantinople, territory the size of all de jure SPQR under your control, and all the levies that come from that + tech. 1 million size levy not even a joke. Would be way unbalanced. Also the aforementioned CPU lag from having to keep track of more characters.

Naturally due to being in the vicinity of China you cannot add Japan into that proposed expansion by itself, so that's also a no go.

 

[Cipher3]

I don't care, as long as it's named 'The Last Crusade'.

I was just thinking earlier if they make a Theocracy dlc as their last major, it really should rework and improve crusades.

 

[Aries666]

Regarding China, that is a whole different game. It would be nice to play in the mould of CK2 as opposed to EU4 but the whole game would have to have a much stronger internal focus.

 

[DàbiànLājīdàrén]

I'd like more provinces for India.

 

[Meeg]

RE Muhammed issues, you could say the Arab invasion doesn't really start until you get to his successors. If you wanted to, say, have Ali in the game and show that Fatimah is the prophet's daughter I like the idea of having a calligraphy portrait. If Paradox were to decide to go this way there's potential to make it interesting: could have the real start of the Sunni/Shiite divide and the martyrdom of Hussein (as it is currently the rise of Shia is whack. It rises, gets wiped out and spawns again numerous times. I know I'm always seeing the rise of Shia event like 10 times a game). This all actually didn't happen too long before the Charlemagne start date (OK 50-100 years).
Speaking of which, the game could have more content related to cultural events in the Muslim world within the current play period such as the Arab translation movement under the Abbasids

 

[Naughtius Maximus]

Perhaps a penalty for having provinces that are not of Han ethnicity. That might slow/deter expansion.

And then to deal with the absolutely massive income China would get from its coast, Silk Road, and sheer amount of land......maybe another penalty if it does not heavily invest in public works projects like canals, dams, irrigation, etc.

 

[DàbiànLājīdàrén]

Make all Han culture hate each other and have -100 opinion modifier.

 

[deadhand13]

More plots and ambitions, naval mechanics, ability to change holding types, more diplomacy options. A crazier idea would be to have the game play more differently as you progress through time. Perhaps have more laws that are unlocked via techs that make the playstyle begin to feel more like EU. Would make the conversion a bit less like a kick in the teeth.

 

[GeneralPetrov]

While I'm not particularly interested in map expansion (and a time extension is out of the question for me), if they had to expand the map, I would be quite interested in either East Africa or West Africa, both quite interesting and neither would be anyway near as harmful to performance as China.

Having said that I personally would really prefer an expansion focused on Crusades and Great Holy Wars, tons of potential for expansion and new content there, I don't even think crusades have really been touched much at all since release. Plus ya know, would be nice to end on an expansion which ties into the game's name itself.

Oh and also, we need cadet dynasties god damn it!

 

[AbZeroNow]

If China becomes possible, 907 or 960 start dates would be neat.

Would love to see inland republics and more depth to Muslim and Indian religions. (China would also mean Confucianism and Taoism would be added as religions).