[MOD] After the End CK3

[9Kbits]

Good tidings, all!
This thread is dedicated to discussion of After the End CK3.

What is the After the End CK3?
After the End CK3 is a sequel to After the End, the post-apocalyptic America mod for Crusader Kings 2. After the End CK3 will preserve the core design philosophy and fan favorite content from the CK2 version, while overhauling and expanding other aspects of the mod. Our goal is to create a cohesive, thematically consistent mod that stretches from Tierra Del Fuego to Alaska.

Where can we download the mod?
The first version of this mod is still a ways off - we'll update this post as soon as a download is available!

Is there a Discord server we can join?
Yes! You can find it here.

Are donations allowed?
Yes! Feel free to donate to my Patreon page, if you are so inclined.

THIS IS A POST-APOCALYPTIC SETTING? LET ME TELL YOU HOW I THINK LANGUAGES WILL EVOLVE OVER THE NEXT SIX CENT-
Whoa, hey, steady on there. Yeah, it's a post-apocalyptic setting, but that's mainly just an excuse to have knights and castles and stuff in North America. We're not really trying to make a serious and wholly accurate representation of what things would be like after an apocalyptic event happened. We're also trying to restrain ourselves and not go nuts with wacky silliness either, so don't start going on about how some pop culture reference needs its own kingdom implemented right now.

Why is [x] in [y] region? I don't get it.
These things are usually references to an aspect of regional or local culture that may not make much sense to those who aren't familiar with the area. For example, most of the Upper Midwest is Norse Pagan to reflect the local sports culture and strong Scandinavian heritage of the area. Similarly, Guyana is majority Hindu because the population today is plurality East Indian and because Hinduism is the second-largest religion.

Why isn't [insert feature here] in the mod?
Feel free to ask! Just keep in mind that we've made our minds up on certain things. For example, we won't include anything that openly insults or degrades the group(s) being represented, and we won't shoehorn in something from vanilla just for the sake of having it in AtE too.

 

[NarcomancerPL]

South America in After the End that sounds exciting Can't wait ^^

 

[ZeRedleg]

Truly can't wait!

 

[Epicmarkvan]

Excited for this mod! Been a favorite of mine for some time! Can't wait to nag about changes to New Hampshire in the new one.

 

[9Kbits]

After the End CK3 Dev Diary 2: The Map (Part One)

Good tidings, all!

It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? I apologize for leaving you all hanging for so long, but, as you can probably guess, it was largely due to factors beyond our control. The content we’ve posted so far has certainly been high-quality, but I’m sure many of you are hungry for a look at something in-engine. Well, I’m glad to announce that you’ll be getting just that in this dev diary.

Before we continue, I would once again like to say that everything in this diary is a work in progress and is subject to change at any time. Our focus was on speed and volume for this first iteration rather than accuracy. In fact, if you spot any errors or other weirdness in this dev diary, I encourage you to point it out to us – we would appreciate the feedback.

Now, without any further ado, here is the first iteration of the full in-game map.


https://streamable.com/rb05l7

Song credit:

Laid Back Guitars by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3964-laid-back-guitars

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license


(You might have noticed something unexpected about the orientation of the map. We’ll be touching on that later.)

We said in our last dev diary that we would be doing the entirety of the Americas, and, as you can see, we have delivered on that promise. The Fan Fork stretched from sea to shining sea, but After the End CK3 will extend from the tip of Tierra Del Fuego to Alaska and Svalbard.

Now, I’d like to walk you through the process of how this map was made. I will begin by saying that this would have been impossible without the hard work of many people on the dev team, including ThomasMapper, Nico, ToiletCleaner666, Tex Starshine, Lahom, KaYoS, Meriador, Elzephor, Tech_King465, Farrouphiler, Kefir, nullpointer_, and many others. It was their hard work and dedication that brought this map to fruition so quickly.

We didn’t just aim for speed, though. Most of the time, when making maps for Paradox games, the process is somewhat ad-hoc, based on other existing maps at best. But we had already been discussing the inadequacies of the Fan Fork’s map projection before CK3 was even released, so we decided to take this opportunity to make a new projection from scratch. Especially because ThomasMapper specifically had the knowledge and skills to make it happen, we implemented a design process with a basis in geographic information systems (GIS) as would be used in a professional (non-video game) context.

The mapping process began with selecting the right projection. An orthographic projection (in other words, the view that you would get if you looked at Earth through a telescope from a distant point in outer space) centered at St. Louis was considered as it included all of North America. This projection by its nature distorts the edges which for the far north wouldn’t matter as there are few provinces there anyways and we also wanted to minimize unused areas rendered by the game. It was more of a problem for Central America, and also precluded map expansion into South America. To account for this, we employed a hybrid orthographic-sinusoidal projection. The US and Canada are projected using a slightly modified orthographic projection, while the Caribbean, Central, and South America are using a modified sinusoidal-like projection (stretched out into an oval). These two projections merge seamlessly into each other through North America. The projection was designed so that we could present the Americas with minimal distortions of shape, distance, and area. This also allowed the north, which was previously very stretched out due to the use of a standard equirectangular projection, to include a wider area. That’s why the map now includes everything from Svalbard to a tiny corner of Russia, though these additions were mostly side benefits.

Once we had a projection, we (specifically, Thomas) could project real maps and GIS data, and that provided direct context for our mapping, allowing us to make a more accurate map than ever before. The first thing we did was coastlines, and those wound up being pixel perfect in most areas. Some islands and most navigable rivers would be too small to be clickable so we had to enlarge them slightly, though for perspective, nothing changed as drastically as vanilla Venice. We also made a few intentional changes, such as removing most reservoirs on the assumption that their dams wouldn’t last six centuries. But even including the intentional deviations, when you combine the effect of our improved methodology and the increased resolution allowed by the new engine, this is by far the most detailed and accurate map of the New World that has ever appeared in a Paradox game.

Close-up of Lake Michigan.

Close-up of the Alaskan coast.

There are a few different kinds of terrain that exist in the Americas that don’t exist in the vanilla game’s map extent, so we’re adding those.

The swamps of the Everglades.

Keep in mind that this content is not yet finished, so the list might change in the future. We haven’t yet settled on specific mechanics or tested any numbers. But northern Canada and Alaska have a few different landscapes that aren’t well covered by anything Paradox designed for Europe: a notable example is the inhospitable terrain of the Yukon, where life revolves around coastal fishing and hunting of marine mammals. But perhaps the most visually striking of our new terrains so far are the salt flats of the mountainous regions of the Americas.

The Salt Lake area in Western Utah.

We’ve also got several species of new world trees that will be appearing on parts of the map:

The Ypês of the Cerrado.

Once that was complete, we began the process of actually adding the in-game selectable entities; namely, counties and baronies. We decided to map with a “county-first” approach - we would draw our intended county shapes onto the existing map, using a combination of modern municipal borders and natural geography to guide us.

Once the counties were filled in, we relied on an algorithm provided by ThomasMapper to procedurally generate barony shapes using “seeds” placed inside the counties. This dramatically sped up the mapping process, as not only did we not have to draw every single barony by hand, but the baronies would already be linked to the drawn counties.

We are still in the process of cleaning up some of the automatically generated barony borders and names - please tell us if you spot anything strange!

Now, to address the proverbial elephants in the room. Why is the map sideways? Well, I wish I had something clever to say here, but it’s actually because of an engine limitation. It turns out that CK3 just can’t handle maps which are taller than 8192 pixels (the width of the vanilla map), so we flipped the entire map 90 degrees to compensate for that. I personally like how it turned out, though - it takes a little getting used to, but it helps you literally see things from a different point of view. Also, east used to be up on old medieval maps, so replicating that for AtE seemed very fitting. Also, how fast does this run? Based on our preliminary testing, we have determined that the mod should run at a comparable speed to vanilla CK3.

We have one last announcement we’d like to make regarding the CK2 version of the mod. I know I said that 1.2 would be the last major content update for the CK2 version, but it probably won’t be ready for a few months at least. However; I think that you guys deserve to get something new a bit sooner than that. That’s why I’m officially announcing the release of v1.1.1 of the Fan Fork. v1.1.1 will fix most of the bugs that have been reported during the hiatus and add some smaller additions and adjustments. It should be out by Valentine’s Day this year.

That about does it for this dev diary. Once again, I’d like to thank ThomasMapper, Nico, ToiletCleaner666, Tex Starshine, Lahom, KaYoS, Meriador, Elzephor, Tech_King465, Farrouphiler, Kefir, nullpointer_, and the rest of the team for the contributions they have made so far. If you’re worried about another long gap between dev diaries, don’t be. We have a ton more content for both CK3 and CK2 coming down the pipeline, including some more details about something that eagle-eyed viewers might have spotted in the video. I hope you’re all looking forward to it!

 

[TrmporaryFool12]

yay

 

[Gwyn ap Nud]

I love the sideways map. It's literally ORIENTed.

 

[Trinculo]

Wow. The rigor and level of detail are seriously impressive. Very professional looking!

 

[klopkr]

Dope!

 

[Whisper9000]

Really looking forward to the Kingdoms and Empires Map when ever they come out.

 

[aruon]

glad to see ATE 2. fascinating how mapping was done algorithmically.

also...

normal people: Eastern United States

based ATE 2 players: East South America

 

[Signwave]

It's... it's beautiful....

 

[tribnia]

Will you have Ruins as a terrain?
The last remainings of ancient metropolises will cost generations of new Americans to clean up, and could be used to slow enemy Calvary down.
We had Petra, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, Angkar Wat in real life. it would also be cool to have ruins of cities prosperous at our time.

 

[Splorghley]

I'm surprised how much I like the sideways map. It's just disorienting enough to override my geographic preconceptions about the Americas, giving me ideas I may not have had with a regular map, like conquering an empire wrapping around the entire Gulf of Mexico / Caribbean coast. (And in the game as well!)

 

[robomax]

Awesome Best Original Total Conversion Mod for CK2 . Glad to see it in CK3.
Every one should start as a Nomad (Raiding Nomads) (with one county) except the reaming Major population areas . Become the leader mobilize the remaining population.
Work your way to tribal . Build a unique Culture and religion or Ideology based on the Religious feature in CK3
Work your way Feudal or a Republic or re-establish States or Even the Nations of the Americas.
Rebuild Civility and civilization or continue to be Gangster !
Gain knowledge of the old world. Which will help build a new one.
Cant wait !!!

 

[Gwyn ap Nud]

Awesome Best Original Total Conversion Mod for CK2 . Glad to see it in CK3.
Every one should start as a Nomad (Raiding Nomads) (with one county) except the reaming Major population areas . Become the leader mobilize the remaining population.
Work your way to tribal . Build a unique Culture and religion or Ideology based on the Religious feature in CK3
Work your way Feudal or a Republic or re-establish States or Even the Nations of the Americas.
Rebuild Civility and civilization or continue to be Gangster !
Gain knowledge of the old world. Which will help build a new one.
Cant wait !!!

Nah, if this were a Civilization game at it's base, yes. But Crusader Kings is an asymmetric-start game that puts you in a developed world with stories already begun and asks you to make your own in an existing world, not one that asks you to create your own universe (contra Stellaris).

 

[Temes1066]

This does seem to be cool. What is the estimated release date?

 

[Doodlebot11]

I can't wait :muscle:

 

[Tsar Monarchist]

Congrats on moving to CK3, this mod has actually stopped me for 2 years with updating CK2 from version 2.8, as I didn't want to interrupt my still ongoing scenario xD
New game has better options of modding etc. to I suppose we can do much more than just transferring old content... but this is up to you on what you can and what you want to do.

Will keep an eye on the project and will definitely play it once released!!!

 

[Nightstar76]

Yay!