Greetings!

Fate of Iberia was released just last week, and we hope you’re all enjoying shaping the peninsula according to your own ideas and ideals! Are you dominating it by force, or trying to reconcile the inhabitants’ differences? Have any of you encountered the elusive wandering monk yet?

Anyhow, we’re hard at work with the 1.6.1 update, where we’re tweaking some balance, fixing issues found by you in the community, and also adding in a few new goodies (more on that below). We’re also working on a fix for those of you who can’t start the game (the AVX issue), which will come out before the full 1.6.1 update. Remember to pop by the bug forums if you have a problem: it’s the best way to make sure we know about your game issues!

► Read our Dev Diary #100: A Royal Journey

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1303184/Crusader_Kings_III_Fate_of_Iberia/



With Fate of Iberia in your hands, we’ve now concluded the Royal Edition, and we’re overjoyed to see so many of you playing and enjoying the game. Please, keep sending us great feedback, we appreciate it a lot - your thoughts are very valuable to us!

We are now setting our eyes on the future. We have many plans, both big and small - I cannot go into detail as it’s too early yet, but rest assured that we have many exciting things coming up! We’re taking a long, hard look at what we’ve done and achieved since the release of CK3; we’re evaluating, adjusting, and setting a course that we’re sure will be to your liking!

Now, to round this Dev Diary off, we’d like to tease some new content coming along with the 1.6.1 update:

For owners of Fate of Iberia, we’re adding a few religiously-flavored events about Sephardic Jews, Conversos, the direction of mosques, and so on - with interesting choices on how to handle various situations. Here’s one example (don’t want to spoil them all!)



Outside of Hispania, but still in the vicinity, we’re doing a small update to the Canary Islands, who will, among other things, receive their own pagan faith and some monolithic ambitions.





We’re adjusting how feudalization works in the West African sphere, enabling rulers to transition out of the tribal government while retaining their native faiths without requiring them to reform those faiths. This is to better model methods of urbanization and centralization in West Africa, though they will also retain access to the old path too.


That's it for this time, cheers for now!

Crusader Kings III's Flavor Pack ‘Fate of Iberia’ & Free Update 1.6 ‘Castle’: available now!
⚡️ The ‘Struggle’, a new conflict mechanic
🏰 New Buildings, Artifacts, and Dynasties
📜 Iberian Cultures & Faiths
🌞 New Art & Music
👑 More Events & Customisation
⚔️ Free Update: Balancing, Clan Contracts, Dissolution Faction, Map Update, Shared Head of Faith...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1303184/Crusader_Kings_III_Fate_of_Iberia/


The sun-kissed lands of Iberia await your glorious rule with Crusader Kings III: Fate of Iberia flavor pack. Deeply rich in history, culture and people, the peninsula’s medieval destiny is ready to be shaped by your majestic hand, be it clad in conciliatory velvet or as an iron fist.

The new major multi-stage Struggle feature lets you decide on the fate of a lively and complex region across realms and cultures. Be the one to unite Iberia under a single banner, or watch as conflict marks generations to come.



From the Christian kingdoms in their northern mountain strongholds to the sumptuous Muslim taifas of al-Andalus, immerse yourself in Crusader Kings III: Fate of Iberia with all its splendor and art. Breathe life into your Iberian adventure with new events, music, traditions, models, and style your ruler as a royal Castillian knight or dashing Umayyad emir.

The Fate of Iberia lies in your hands
“The Struggle” is an expansive new feature found in Crusader Kings III: Fate of Iberia, simulating multi-stage, large-scale conflicts across decades, or even centuries.

• You tell the ever-evolving saga of Iberia with each decision you make. Appeasing or hostile, influence the constant turmoil on the peninsula to your liking during each phase of the Struggle.
  
• Follow the path of history with a definite end goal in mind or play out a completely new fate for the region. Be the early founder of a Hispania steeped in blood, or bring together a multicultural caliphate in peace.

Embrace the uniqueness of Iberia
Step up and discover an Iberian peninsula brought fully to life, with new art, music, models, costumes and characters, events, and more.

• A dazzling array of new thematic events, decisions, and cultural traditions unique to Iberia can be explored. All are historically accurate and meticulously researched.
  
• Dress up your character as a true hidalgo or a Muslim prince, or choose your pick from well-groomed beards and curly hair, armor, clothes, new turban styles, or some of the tallest headgear medieval Europe has to offer!
  
• A host of new 3D models and environments, including holdings, units and ships, can be encountered.
  
• Not only are a series of new Iberian-inspired artifacts, heirlooms and treasures yours for the taking, Crusader Kings III: Royal Court owners are also able to display their full regalia in their personal court. A new throne, council weapons, treasures, and other themed customization options will enrich your courtroom even further!
  
• Get carried away by the richly themed soundtrack, as you admire the stunning new art, from loading screens to icons and revamped user interface.

Buenos días Crusaders!

The time has finally come to decide the Fate of Iberia.
Everything went according to plan since the last diary (phew!), so today we are really excited to release our new Flavor Pack.

In today’s Dev Diary, we’ll be sharing with you the final Release Notes and some news on the release of the last installment of the Royal Edition.

► Read our Dev Diary #99: It is time to decide the Fate of Iberia

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1303184/Crusader_Kings_III_Fate_of_Iberia/




▲ First thing, note that the Garments of the Holy Roman Empire… are now available for all!

You have spoken and we are always listening! We are throwing in a little something alongside this release that we hope you will enjoy.

Many of you have requested a way to buy the collection of Garments of the Holy Roman Empire, so we have decided to make it available from today to all players for free. This is a collection of outfits for commoners, warriors and rulers of Central Europe, for your full HRE immersion.



▲ Bug Fixing

As always, we strive to fix as many of those pesky bugs as possible. Thank you all for helping out by reporting them in the forum and reacting to those that matter the most to you. It does help us prioritize fixing so keep them coming!

Oh well, it is time to stop reading and start struggling over Iberian territory. I hope you enjoy playing Fate of Iberia as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it.



▲ Changelog 1.6 ‘Castle’ Update

###################
# Flavor Pack Features
###################

• Added the Iberian Struggle: decide the fate of the peninsula. The Struggle is divided into phases, each opening unique opportunities and leading to different endings. Use the new content (interactions, casus belli and decisions) to dominate the peninsula, or to find a more peaceful alternative.
  
• Added a new set of iberian artifacts:
  
  • Chalice of Dona Urraca
    
  • Santiago aquamanile
    
  • Bells of Santiago de Compostela. Upon capture, they are melted down into an aquamanile. Upon recapture, they are melted down. Upon re-recapture, they are melted down. Etc.
• Visigothic votive crown
  
• Armillary sphere
  
• Andalusian aquamanile
  
• Chessboard for 2 players
  
• Chessboard for 4 players
  
• Added new models for the Cities and Castles of Iberia
  
• Added new models for Christian and Muslim temples in Iberia
  
• Added a new set of special “buildings” on the map
  
  • Aljaferia
    
  • Alhambra
    
  • Basilica de Santiago
    
  • Tower of Hercules
    
  • Rock of Gibraltar
    
  • Alcázar de Segovia
    
  • City walls of Toledo
    
  • Roman walls of Lugo
• New Portrait Assets: added a bunch of new headgear, clothes, hairstyle and beards for both the Muslim and Christian fashion of Iberia
  
• New unit models for Iberian Heritage cultures.
  
• New Dynasty legacies
  
  • The Metropolitan legacy focuses on the development of the Realm’s cities.
    
  • The Coterie legacy focuses on the collaboration between the members of the House.
• New flavor events drawing on Iberian cultures as well as struggle-specific events
  
• New Cultural Traditions: State Ransom, Ritualized Friendship, Tabletop Warriors, and Malleable Subjects
  
• New UI Skin for Iberian Heritage cultures and characters living in the peninsula
  
• New audio cues when waging war in Iberia and progressing the Struggle.
  
• New mood tracks have been added for Iberian cultures
  
• Added a wandering monk with a small dream

###################
# Free Features
###################

• You can now convert to Era Zaharrak when you're an established Basque-cultured sinner in your current faith
  
• Several faiths can now have the same Head of Faith:
  
  • Several Islamic faiths now share a Head of Faith at game start, temporal Islamic faiths need to decide on creation which existing caliph they'll submit to (optional for Muhakkima & Zandaqa)
    
  • Conversos, Mozarabic, Insular and Catholic all have the Pope as their Head of Faith
• Added Rite tenet, allowing theocratic faiths to retain their old Head of Faith on creation if they don't differ too heavily from their mother faith
  
• Added Mozarabic Christianity as a Rite-faith, sharing their Head of Faith with Catholicism
  
• Reworked the Found Aragon decision to create Aragonese culture, be more frequent, and allow for slight varieties in Aragonese
  
• Reworked the Avenge the Battle of Tours decision: it now shifts Aquitaine under the De Jure of Hispania when taken as it’s hard to accomplish.
  
• Reworked the Form Portugal Decision: it can now be taken during the opportunity phase of the Struggle without being independent.
  
• Added new special contracts for Clans: Marriage Favor, Jizya, Iqta, and Ghazi
  
• Added a new faction type: the Dissolution faction will destroy the primary titles of their target, removing a Realm from the map
  
• Added a new 867 Bookmark for Iberia: play one of the influential vassals and forge the destiny of your dynasty!
  
• Added a dozen of new emblems for Coat of Arms and new patterns for Iberian cultures
  
• Added a new field “Face item” for the Barbershop to, well, customize the character’s face

###################
# Game Balance
###################

• Insular Christians now have the Rite tenet rather than the Pastoral Isolation tenet
  
• Removed blockers to invite close/extended family children from foreign courts (they still have to accept though, most useful for getting wayward children of your own back to court)
  
• Tribals with a Royal Court are no longer penalized for having too few Servant Amenities when Hunting
  
• Gave Haesteinn the existing learning lifestyle health buffs & reduced his base health to match the extra health gained, *then* shaved off a little more, hopefully making him a bit less likely to consistently live to over 100
  
• Characters will now evaluate their friendship with opponent when answering a call to war from an ally
  
• Martial Custom is once again dictated by Faith if the Royal Court expansion is not enabled.
  
• All Slavic cultures in 867 now start with a decent degree of mutual cultural acceptance, representing their still being very similar to each other in the earlier bookmark
  
• Converted Sayyid, Saoshyant, Saoshyant Descendant, & Chakravarti to use the new specific religious opinion modifiers, rather than same-faith opinion
  
• Historical artifacts no longer iterate through every ruler in the game on start 20+ times, Excalibur(s) can now spawn in a much broader range of Western Europe, simply preferring Arthurian heartlands, Norse paganism can now actually spawn its magical branch artifacts
  
• Made the March special contract available in the Tribal Era, tied to the Bannus innovation, allowing historical marches to be modeled or emulated
  
• Increased the overall stats of the Callaberos MAA
  
• Told Haesteinn to chill about invading kingdoms that cannot possibly outlast his death (looking at you, Viking East Francia), *unless* Vikings are set to Apocalyptic, in which case he'll only attack at least kingdom-tier realms
  
• You can now benefit from the bonuses of the Salamanca university by being the County holder

###################
# Game Content
###################

• Islamic, Jewish, & Christian Syncretism tenets now allow the syncretising faith to use artifacts from the religion they're syncretizing with at full benefit
  
• Castille & Leon will now generally eventually be created in 867 starts, unless Asturias successfully integrates Castille completely
  
• Added Basque Pagan faith, with no counties at game start but able to be brought into favor via decision
  
  • Also added the Chthonic Redoubts tenet, providing benefits to faiths in mountainous areas.
• Added Hafizi faith to diversify the number of Shias who obey the Ismaili caliph
  
• Added Purchase Truce interaction, accessible via the Defensive Measures perk or being in a Struggle
  
• Added a decision for Islamic rulers whose head of faith is not the same faith as them to splinter off into their own caliphate (newly created temporal Sunni and Shia faiths generally have to use this to get their own HoFs)
  
• Cartagena now spawns rather than Cieza as the city holding for Murcia
  
• Added Malleable Subjects, Ritualized Friendship and Tabletop Gamers to the Andalusian culture. Malleable Subjects replaces Xenophile.
  
• Added Ritualized Friendship to the Basque
  
• Added Ritualized Friendship to the Castillian, and replaced Hit and Run by Tabletop Gamers
  
• Added Ritualized Friendship to the Catalan
  
• Added Ritualized Friendship to the Portuguese
  
• Added Ritualized Friendship and Malleable Subjects to the Visigothic
  
• Added Ritualized Friendship to the Galician
  
• Added Ritualized Friendship to the Asturleonese
  
• Added State Ransoming to the Aragonese, and replaced Wedding Ceremonies with Ritualized Friendship

###################
# AI
###################

• The AI now desires less strength on its side in a war, calling fewer allies if it doesn't have to
  
• adjusted involved struggle AI to variously focus less on uninvolved/interloper characters (or more for some aggressive actions) when picking marriage targets, murder/seduction targets, and certain types of war
  
• The AI is now further motivated to press claims for its family members
  
• The AI is now significantly more inclined to prioritize warring for their De Jure land
  
• The AI now more strongly prefers warring for neighboring territories
  
• The AI receives an agenda when participating in the Iberian Struggle that will motivate them to take actions tied to the different Catalyst: They will either aim for escalating the struggle, or de-escalating it.

###################
# Art
###################

• Updated the color of the Seljuk Empire to be closer to Persia
  
• Updated the color of Majorca to be easier to distinguish from the Umayyad Caliphate
  
• Updated the color for Asturias (k_asturias and d_asturia)
  
• 'El Cid' will be more handsome
  
• King Adelfonso III of Asturias is better looking now
  
• King Garzia and his wife did a relooking
  
• The Sultan Muhammad and his wife also went to the hairdresser
  
• Improved some of the facial animations

###################
# Interface
###################

• The Martial Custom Pillar within the Culture Window is no longer shown if the Royal Court expansion is not enabled.
  
• Transformed the "player changed" popup into a feed message

###################
# Localization
###################

• Adding faith discount tooltip when converting to an involved faith in the Iberian Struggle
  
• Added various Andalusian cultural names to titles in Iberia
  
• Dynasty title naming disabled within Iberia to allow for more recognisable (and appropriate) cultures
  
• Independent Muslim dukes within Iberia will now use (or rather, have used _for_ them) the title of "Taifa" for their realm tier title
  
• Jazzed up the Christian heaven-hell alternate locs a little
  
• Removed several niche anachronistic references to smoking

###################
# Usermodding
###################

• Add dynamic modifiers for religious family, religion, and faith opinions.
  
• Allowed titles to be the head of multiple different faiths
  
• Enabled to script bookmark characters dynasty or dynasty house to be used in bookmark screen
  
• Remove bypass requirements from impacting law validity as it would cause issues in succession and other code by applying laws that make no sense.
  
• Rework custom modifiers in faith’s sins and virtues, now must specify the key of a static modifier instead of trying to read a modifier inline.
  
• Added a new type of modifier for the buildings: county_dynasty_modifier. You can now check for the county’s holder dynasty perk to unlock modifiers
  
• Added a new modifier for building to apply them directly on the county holder: county_holder_character_modifier
  
• Added a bunch of functionality allowing to implement new Struggles

###################
# Bugfixes
###################

• Eased up the triggers for a variety of book topics.
  
• East Francia in 867 will now mostly split into de jure Bavaria and de jure East Francia on the death of Ludwig II, rather than a tiny Bavaria materializing between two giant slabs of East Francia
  
• Fixed duplicated price and counter entries for the Lenkas MAA. They should now have the right price and properly relate to archers and pikemen rather than to pikemen and light cavalry.
  
• Gave a more concrete sense of (Franconian) cultural identity to the single remaining generic German character in the title
  
• Provinces without forts occupied by allies no longer change color to war leader after several days
  
• Fixed some historical characters not being bastard founders, leading to strange dynasties/inheritance
  
• The AI will stop endless loop of hiring / firing court positions
  
• Vassals joining Populist faction will now properly gain independence
  
• Fixed a localization bug in Spanish for the Scheme secrecy value
  
• Fixed a typo causing Christianity & Taoism to look for "adjerents" rather than "adherents"
  
• Fixed the typo for Sjælland
  
• Fixed the death icon status for dead characters: they will not be displayed a dying anymore
  
• Fixed several instances of characters referring to themselves (eg: spymaster revealing secrets about themselves or ruler kneeling in front of themselves)
  
• The AI can now properly select the Council task “Develop Country” task from the Steward
  
• The side effects of Manage Royal Guard will be properly triggered now
  
• Death icons are color-coded again
  
• Petition Liege now requires at least 1 valid option, that will automatically be selected instead of defaulting on “ask for a Council position”
  
• Historical Bernards should be where they belong now. We hope.
  
  • Also axed one _false_ Bernard.
• Several clipping issues for female children haircut have been fixed
  
• You can now romance your incestuous lover: the tabou penalty is not applied if you are already a lover of the target
  
• Elvira Jemina now receives a proper holding and will be harder to marry
  
• The opinion penalty from Warmonger is now properly applied

###################
# Database
###################

• Added historic Kingdom of the Visigoths for tracking assorted old Visigothic kings from before 720 - there's no practical function for this, we just think it's neat
  
• Added detail to a bunch o'Castilians, exiled a single Castilian to Occitan
  
• Added Basque culture to two counties on the French side of the Pyrenees
  
• Renamed the Tigris river to actually be called, eh, Tigris.
  
• Updated the map in the duchies of Barcelona and Aragon, adding new counties and new baronies to improve the overall level of detail along the Pyrenees.
  
• Visigothic split now happens before game start, rather than during gameplay
  
• Added & improved hundreds and hundreds of name equivalencies, chiefly (though not exclusively) within or related to Iberia in some fashion
  
• Added & updated various historic Portuguese characters, as well as updates for one historic Suebi character
  
• Added a raft of new Asturleonese characters
  
• Added new Aragonese characters, moved a handful of mislabelled Aragonese characters to French
  
• Added or reworked numerous (Iberian) Galician characters
  
• Added or reworked various Catalan characters, shuffled a few Catalan/Catalan-adjacent characters out to Occitan & French
  
• Added or reworked various minor historical characters across half a dozen cultures only related to Iberia in a secondary capacity (spouses, parents, concubines, etc.)
  
• Added pre-scripted Head of Faith title for Muwalladis, available via decision in 867 and for recreation in 1066
  
• Deprecated titular Duchy of Zaragoza title, made Duchy of Aragon pull double functional duty as both Aragon and Zaragoza, with some shenanigans for changing the current name (this means that the rulers of Zaragoza are now actually regarded as the rightful rulers of... Zaragoza, and the area around it)
  
• Moved a load of folks who were ruling caste members *over* Andalusians from Andalusian and into Bedouin, Berber (either), Mashriqi, or Yemeni
  
• Moved an errant Armenian character hiding amidst the Greeks out to Armenian
  
• Shuffled various characters that got lumped into Bedouin into Yemeni, Mashriqi, and Andalusian
  
• Shuffled various historical personages out of or into Basque
  
• Shuffled various misc minor characters out from Berber to Mashriqi, Bedouin, Andalusian, and the _other_ Berber

Hello there,

The release is approaching and before sharing the release notes with you next week we have a few topics to cover!
Today we will be focusing on what is going to be added in the free update "Castle" released along Fate of Iberia. For the modders, you will also find the updated documentation attached to this post, in case you want to have an early look at the new functionality!

► Read our Dev Diary #98: The Castle's foundation

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1303184/Crusader_Kings_III_Fate_of_Iberia/




Since Iberia in 867 has several clan realms that play big parts in the region, we wanted to add some new options to clan contracts:

• Marriage Favor: the goal is to get benefits in exchange for a promise. Not fulfilling it will have consequences though..
  
• Ghazi: encourage your vassals to wage holy wars, but get less levies from them
  
• Iqta: less tax and levies but better synergy for Men-At-Arms for both parties
  
• Jizya: unlocked by the Tenet of the same name, this is a specific contract for people of a different faith, increasing their tax but lowering the levies their liege receives

There are now cool options to get the most of out your vassals as Clan Liege now.

We are looking forward to working more on clan governments in future updates as this was a first step to making them as complex and interesting as they were historically.


To model some of the big historical shake-ups in Iberia, we’ve introduced a new faction type. The Dissolution Faction will aim to destroy the primary title of the top liege of the realm, as well as any other same tier title. This makes all vassals independent, shattering a kingdom or empire. In FP2, this means that the Umayyads can collapse as they did in history, but it also means that any large realms in decline will face this challenge.

Anything detracting from a realm’s unity will increase the risk of a Dissolution Faction forming. That means short reigns, low cultural acceptance, war losses, and unallied vassals will all be dangerous to King and Empire tier rulers.

Realms where the vassals either like the heir or can elect their own are less likely to face a Dissolution Faction. And if a vassal can make a claim for the title themselves, they’ll do that instead.


There is a high chance of the Umayyad falling when starting in 867


To go along the theme of the flavor pack, we’ve updated the map for Iberia. The map changes are fairly small in scope this time around though, and the focus was to update northern Iberia, more specifically the kingdom of Aragon.

In order to improve the overall accuracy we added new counties such as Rossello and Pallas. For a better depiction of the area, existing baronies were moved around and new ones added in order to increase the granularity of the area.


In addition to the county set up, the terrain type of some provinces also changed.

In addition to the changes in Aragon, we added cultural naming variations for many Berber and Arabic cultures to many titles across Iberia.


Heads of faith can now be set as characters of a different faith. This is done through script, rather than manually in-game. This means for insular Christians, Conversos, and Mozarabs, the Pope will be their Head of Faith, even though they are of a different faith.



Historical faiths can be emulated by using the Rite tenet. Provided you don’t meet certain red lines for your old Head of Faith, at the cost of a tenet slot, you can keep your old faith’s Head of Faith while converting..
Ecumenical Christians taking this decision keep ecumenism, making them “astray” from the Catholic perspective.



Islam now has a bespoke system for choosing the correct caliph: though Shias are still fairly split between several caliphates and imamates, the mainline Sunnis (Ashari, Muwalladi, and Maturidi) now share the Sunni caliph as a Head of Faith. Muslims who share a Head of Faith view each other as ”righteous”.
Influential members of an Islamic faith whose Head of Faith doesn’t share their faith can attempt to Appoint a Righteous Caliph, claiming (and creating) the caliphate for themselves and splintering the Ummah.


Once splintered, a faith cannot be brought back into the fold. Islam is stronger together, but its differences often become irreconcilable.

New temporal Sunni and Shia faiths cannot appoint themselves as caliphs immediately if there’s a caliph available (either the orthodox version or their prior faith’s caliph). Instead, they must show submission to an existing caliph from whom they derive their authority, even in rebellion, and then follow the path to Appoint a Righteous Caliph themselves. Characters intending to do this all along can get a little boost on the path.


As I’m sure some of you have noticed in the streams and such, we’ve removed Visigothic from the map 867, starting Iberia off pre-split between the 1066 cultures (save for Aragonese, which now emerges as part of the creation of the Kingdom of Aragon).

There’s a few reasons for this - Visigothic was always a bit of a wonky culture, a holdover from CK2’s Charlemagne DLC that made mapping 9th century Iberia very inexact but which added some fun flavour to the region. Since cultures before 1.5 were mostly cosmetic, it didn’t really affect actual gameplay much, even if it fudged history somewhat (not least by making the Visigoths hang around long after they’d diverged or hybridised).

The release of Royal Court changed that situation, making playing in Iberia a very weird flow. You start, you have one set of traditions, then within a few decades an event shifts your culture and you almost certainly end up with a radically different set of traditions with no feasible way to do much about it.

This, plus just being bad history, clinched it for Visigothic, and we had it taken out to the block and given the ol’ Royal Anti-Pardon. As with Suebi and co before it, Visigothic will continue to exist in the files, along with its associated namelist, where it remains useable for history and in mods and such.




Further on from this, we’ve updated, added, and occasionally removed hundreds and hundreds of characters all across Iberia (as well as a smattering in Occitania - if we never read about another character named Bernard, we’ll be happy), adjusting relations, lifespans, traits, and dynasties.

This’ll add a bit of life in both major bookmark dates, but most importantly, it’ll be a bit of colour for those of us who enjoy spelunking the history databases and checking to see if titles in-game have their Migration Period rulers properly associated. Title-nerds need love too. On that note, the Visigothic Kings now have a titular historical title to give them their correct royal dignity & regnal numbers.

For folks who like actual gameplay more than interactive reading, we’ve added the Mozarabic strand of Christianity - Arabicised Catholics who carry on the strongly independent liturgical and ecclesiastic traditions of pre-Islamic Iberia but view the Pope as their Head of Faith (with the aid of the Rite tenet).

Squeezed between the Catholic North and the Islamic South, the Mozarabs struggle to preserve their way of life, and since you can see a lot more of them in 867 than 1066, you can probably guess how it’s going for them.

Previously, we’ve portrayed the sparsely-regulated Leonese portion of Iberia’s Inner Plateau as being, variously, either under nominal Andalusian control (since they notionally held it) or nominal Asturian control (since they grabbed it soon after the Andalusians stopped caring about it).

Neither of these were quite perfect solutions, and relied on fictitious local characters either way, so we’ve now given this rural area over to a collection of minor Mozarabic characters. Abandoned by their Islamic overlords, eyed greedily by their orthodox brethren, these minor landholders soldier on as they have for centuries. At least, they try to, but it’s a difficult life being a one-county minor wedged between larger realms…

It’s not all doom’n’gloom for Iberia’s new minors though, because, on the subject of those larger realms, we’ve also split them up a tad! Asturias has lost Portucale, which they’re actually only in the process of trying to snatch, whilst Andalusia has been given a reality check. Both Portucale and Toledo, whilst paying nominal homage to Cordoba, were functionally independent, with Toledo in particular resisting repeated military expeditions and attempts at taxation.



Andalusia is in the process of making a play to subjugate Toledo more firmly in 867, with Portucale also being on the books, so we represent this as a brace of wars on start. Andalusia is trying to quell its powerful border districts of Toledo and Portucale, keeping them in the realm, whilst Asturias tries to snatch Portucale mid-rebellion.

Finally, Asturias has been tweaked, losing its starting title law of feudal elective. The current king’s father decisively abolished the notion of the nobility electing their kings in the short term, and his son carried that on, so they start sans-title law now. In addition to this, Castile also starts with de jure territory in 867, making it creatable in the earlier bookmark - if Castile actually is created for any reason, Asturias is reduced to Leon. If Asturias is able to de jure drift Castile into itself before Castile can be created, then the union is preserved and Asturias earns its right to perpetually exist for 867 starts.


And last but not least, they are not part of the free update, but the community poll spoke:



Don't click on the Achievements if you don't want to be spoiled of course ;)






And that concludes today’s Dev Diary! See you next week for the release note! Until then, you can follow Hugo and Ola’s adventure in Iberia in tomorrow’s stream :)

Cheers,

Create your own stories in Crusader Kings III ✨
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😎 Crusader Kings III - Royal Edition: -10%

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1158310/Crusader_Kings_III

Hello!

This Dev Diary is collectively written by members of the Art Team who work on these illustrations. We would like to share our process and some of the artistic choices that go into making these images.

🎁 If you would like to see more of our excellent 2D Artists' work, we are launching a Displate contest starting today and running until the launch of Flavor Pack 2 on May 31.
This contest will provide the winners with either a Displate of their own or a discount code for a few more lucky winners. For details on the contest, see here. [link].

This fantastic team of artists will also be hosting a Live Art Stream on May 18 from 14:30 - 16:00 CEST on our Twitch channel!

• Petter: Lead 2D Artist
  
• Oscar: Illustrator
  
• Alessandro: Illustrator
  
• Ahmed: Illustrator
  
• Jon: Illustrator
  
• Nils: Lead Character Artist

► Read our Dev Diary #97 - Event Illustration Showcase and Workflow

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1303184/Crusader_Kings_III_Fate_of_Iberia/




These are the illustrations that show up as backdrops in CK3 events. They have a different style and context than those in CK2. As opposed to being the main storytelling device, their purpose is now to support our amazing new 3D characters and the story they are telling through their appearance and animations. The images are there to add context to the characters’ situation, but make no mistake: the characters are the star of the show.

As such, we make a number of artistic choices to support this goal:

• We avoid characters in the background and other elements one would expect to move.
  
• We do our best to design the composition in such a way that draws attention to the characters instead of the background.

Lastly, an additional tool provided by our 3D artists is the custom lighting setup that helps each character blend into the scene.

Here are some of the Scene Illustrations added with Fate of Iberia.
Click to enhance!







The “Story Event” is a new, yet familiar, addition to Fate of Iberia. Not every type of Event we would like to create fits neatly into the previous format of “Character standing in a scene”. Some Events are more epic, involving a bigger cast of figures, or describe a more abstract idea not well captured by a single posed character. This type of illustration is a more epic version of the old CK2 event format we know and love.

These images are painted in a more expressionistic style and can contain a variety of characters and action. Here are some added in Fate of Iberia - expect to see more in the future!







The first step starts with Game Design. The Designers have some idea of which types of events they would like added to any expansion, and from this emerges a prioritized list of images. We typically want some images that can be used in many instances and some that are more unique and interesting.

The Designers will provide an initial set of references deemed suitable and historically accurate. The Artist will then supplement these with more artistic references, like inspiration for lighting, materials, and details. This is a collaborative process.




The base for these illustrations is always a 3D scene. This provides us with several benefits:

• Accurate scale and perspective become trivial.
  
• Iteration of lighting and camera angles happens much faster.
  
• We can reuse assets in multiple scenes, speeding up the process significantly.

It also helps us maintain a consistent style.


​
Our main priority is always framing the characters such that they are clearly legible.



Here, for example, you can see how the same corridor could be longer.



Or shorter.

The choice of using a shorter corridor here was twofold:

• The more intimate space is suitable for a broader range of events, rather than just those set in a massive palace.
  
• The corridor lines that go towards the vanishing point far away risk guiding the eye out of the scene. By making the line shorter, we allow the character to take more focus.

When we approach the final iteration, we keep doing tests to make sure we are respecting our goals. Here, for example, you can see elements that are too close to the character, which were then corrected in the final image. The vanishing point lines are placed in such a way as to not to excessively distract the player.






It is helpful to view the image in grayscale to get a clearer sense of how the light and dark values work.

If we do our jobs correctly, we end up with an image that is interesting, pretty to look at, and doesn’t overpower the character.


Example 1: MENA Interior​
By Ahmed



The modeling process starts with a template scene in Blender which includes a correct camera lens and human models for scale.



To speed up the process, materials are sourced from various free and commercial sources online. Common materials like Wood, Stone, Tiles, Fabrics and much more can be found in very high quality. The image shows various PBR Materials (source: http://www.textures.com)



Blocking out the big details of the scene to get a feeling of the space.



Walls were added behind the camera to block the sunlight and have the room closed from all directions, to make it darker. The focus was storytelling at this stage, and any added details should support this goal.



Some adjustments in Photoshop were made to get a feeling of the mood. *God rays” were added as well as some coloring tweaks:




Placing a character and UI to see how it will appear in-game. The flipped scene looked better!



After some feedback, it turns out some changes to the composition were needed. Placing the table further back in the scene looked better for the overall composition and prevented the character from looking off-scale.

The simplest way to solve this was going back to Blender. The table is now placed further back in the scene.



Back in Photoshop again, the color temperature was adjusted. Less greens and more reds.



Fixing the lighting, making the lights pop more, adding color temperature to the lights.



3D Characters with correct lighting done by our Character Artists.



The Background behind the blonde bearded guy needed more separation. I went back to Photoshop and some fog was added.



The result.

I hope you found this interesting and enjoyed the process as much as we enjoyed working on these images! As you can see the process can differ and each event image can present a distinct set of challenges, but with guidance and support from our art leads and colleagues we can reach those results.



Example 2: Iberian Throne Room​
By Alessandro

I was excited to be able to do the background of the main menu, partly because it presented a new challenge for me, partly because it was an eye-catching and immediately visible image.

First, we had some discussions about plausible historical references and moods for the scene, as well as the relation to previous works on the game.








Because of the setting, the warm and welcoming atmosphere seemed appropriate, so I immediately started thinking about a yellow and red color scheme.

In the references, white is often used, and it was an interesting idea, but in order not to do something too like the standard Mediterranean Throne Room I opted for a real color. In my image there are still some white elements, but since I decided to use a very saturated sun, the result is still tending towards yellow.






After the initial sketch stage, some technical problems became apparent. The throne itself, one of the focal points in the background, was completely covered by the characters. The second problem concerned the mood.

I wanted to create some interesting shadow patterns from the sun, but this would have created problems of credibility and shading with respect to the characters, so I had to opt for a different solution.

Often when I find myself in complex situations, I prefer to think about it in the final stages, it helps me not to get stuck on an illustration for too long, thinking about too many alternative solutions that in practice I do not yet know how to deal with, making myself waste time.

I started to define the details of the image, making it more saturated and darker, adding purple as a complementary color for the light seen from the windows, to create richer color variations.

I tried different approaches especially for the furniture elements and the floor. I liked the idea of creating a texture that combined large, open areas with more detailed areas - so I tested out a variety of materials.




Speaking during the review meetings we decided to work the floor further, and I decided to add an additional color to create a darker but still rich texture, which I interrupted by larger elements, creating that type design that was in my plans from the beginning.



At this point I started to make the whole image more harmonious. Since it will show up in the Main Menu, it needs all the necessary care and detail. You can see that a whole series of patterns have been added to the walls, like plants and more.



When we got to the end, we felt it lacked something, and there was still an issue with the strange shadow that had been looking for at the beginning.
The solution was to cut the shadow and make the floor pattern less invasive (but still visible), and in general made the whole image deeper, and with distinct levels of reading.

I hope you enjoy the result as much as I enjoyed making it.


​


Example 3: MENA Dungeon​
By Jon



This was the first time I did an event scene illustration for CK3, which was exciting and maybe a little bit intimidating. I really like the art style used in these illustrations and I was looking forward to trying it out myself.

When I started working on this illustration, I had a few things in mind. Since it was going to be a dungeon, it would be sparsely decorated and only have the most basic, roughly cobbled together, furnishing. There was not much room for props, architecture or artworks that could connect this illustration with the area. In order to make this illustration stand out from the other dungeon scenes, I focused more on materials and mood.

Before I started to work on materials and other details, I needed to come up with a good layout for the image. I started by blocking out some basic objects - walls, arches, bars, doors - and tried various layouts and lighting for the scene.

Each layout was tested with characters and UI elements on top, to get an idea of how it would look in-game. It was important that the illustration didn't compete with the other elements by being too busy or by having too much contrast.







After going back and forth, I eventually settled on this design.




When I had settled on a layout, I started to play around with the materials in the scene. I imagined this area being one of the older parts of the building, perhaps it was used for something more extravagant at one point, but now the walls are eroded, the stones have shifted, and the surfaces are worn. The only source of natural light would be a small window placed high on the wall.

I gathered references of buildings in the area, looking for interesting textures and variations in the materials. I tried to achieve a combination of chiseled stone blocks in some areas, with rough, eroded walls and uneven patches of mortar in others.





Another area that I experimented with quite a bit was the metal bars separating the rooms. The first versions of these were based on Moorish patterns, but I wasn't happy with the way they came out. To improve them, I collaborated with our content designers, who helped me find references of other types of Moorish artworks to base the new designs on. In order to make these appear less fancy - this was a dungeon after all - I gave them an eroded material and banged them up a bit.




In addition to the material and design of the bars, I also put in some extra attention to the lighting to make the silhouettes more clear. The left panel would receive a fair deal of natural light from the window, making it stand out from the dark corridor behind it. The left panel would receive less light, so in order to make it more clear I placed an artificial light source behind it, perhaps a lantern burning next to a sleeping guard.



Lastly, I worked on the props for the scene. I wanted to keep them simple - the unfortunate residents would only have a couple of rough benches to sleep on, and would only have access to the most basic necessities.

Once I had everything I needed in my 3D scene it was time to render it. At this point I want all the major aspects of the illustration solved. Since I know that I am going to paint over it, it is not the end of the world if a texture looks wonky somewhere, but I want to avoid doing any major changes once I start to work in photoshop.

I did some test render where I tweaked the lighting and some details until I got a result that I was happy with. After that it was time to bring the illustration into photoshop. This is what the raw render looks like compared to the final image.



When I started in Photoshop I focused on the major things first, such as darkening some areas, tweaking saturation and adding haze and other effects. Then I started to paint over the 3D image - simplifying some areas while adding additional detail to others. This is where I push the image and try to make it as nice as I can. While doing this I am also paying attention to the mockup, testing it regularly to make sure that the image works well in the game.

Throughout this process I worked closely with my colleagues. The support and feedback that I get from my art team is incredibly valuable and appreciated, and I know for a fact that this image would come out way worse if I didn't have their input. I also get a lot of help from our designers, providing tons of cool ideas and references for what to put in the illustrations.

At this point I am mostly doing minor changes, looking for ways to improve the image and testing it in the game. Creating this illustration was incredibly fun and rewarding, and it´s since become one of my favorite things to do for our games.






Process: Story Event Illustration​
By Oscar

Our Designers and Game Director had this idea for a scene showcasing the possibilities that the Struggle represents - a sense of standing at a crossroads overlooking the landscape and not knowing what the future holds.



With this in mind, I started making some simple shapes in black and white to get a composition going. I wanted a strong triangular shape with some characters on it that would lead the eye toward the right side of the image and the horizon.



I kept refining and adding details and tried to add some more definition to the values. I looked closely at various reference images to get inspiration. I made the foreground elements darker so that you get a good separation between elements and a clear focal point.
Color​


Time for color! I overlay some textures with color and use blend modes to establish a mood. I want it to feel a stormy with patches of light shining through the clouds to illuminate the landscapes and characters. This will allow me to model the lights to highlight the important elements to create focus. I also thought it would be a nice detail to give the characters colored flags, it would add a sense of wind and add some much-needed color variation to the scene.



I remove the characters for now and start working on the environment, I add rocks and grass and block out the tree from the first sketch. I add some photos of foliage that I paint on top of to add some color and texture variation to the ground.



I add some more small bushes and work out textures for the ground. I also work a bit on the background so I keep all elements of the environment on the same level of finish. I add a second tree and refine them for some depth in the foreground, adding just a bit of light hitting the top of the trees is a nice way to further push the feeling of dappled light in the scene.



I add back characters and clouds and some brighter clouds on the horizon, to reflect stormy weather and I thought the scene needed some more variation in the sky.



Now I’ve added back all the characters that were planned, I added back the colors of their banners and now it’s mostly a question of where all characters should be positioned to create a nice flow in the image. I’m pretty happy with how the clouds turned out and I think they convey a feeling of wind quite well.



The finishing touches, mostly has to do with small fixes and changes to characters and clouds, I move some elements around and push values ever so slightly to make the image finished. I add some extra small details, like the small tree sticking out of the hill and do some light color adjustments and vignetting to make the composition just a little bit stronger.

I’m happy with how the picture turned out. Throughout the entire process the art team and our content designers have given me many references and plenty of excellent feedback to push the image further.

Hey folks!

Lucia, Nils, and Joacim from the CK3 Art Team are very excited to walk you through some of the new 3D art that you will soon be seeing all over the Iberian Peninsula!
This will be a long one, so grab a hot beverage of your choice and enjoy the ride!

► Read our Dev Diary #96 - Fate of Iberia 3D Art Showcase

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1303184/Crusader_Kings_III_Fate_of_Iberia/




With the Struggle being the main focus of Fate of Iberia, we decided early on that we would put equal attention into the portrayal of both the Muslims and the Christians there. The character art team has brought forth new headgear, clothes and hairstyles for both parties — which you might have seen floating around in the wilds of the web or in the trailer.

Meanwhile, on the environment art side the focus has been on bringing life to the Iberian map. You might remember a few of the monuments featured in last week's Dev Diary, but this time we will give you a sneak peek into the creation process. Those of you who are looking to add some Iberian flavor to your courtrooms – fear not, we got you covered with several new court artifacts!


Nils: When designing new clothes, headgear and hairstyles, the first step - unsurprisingly - is to decide how they should look. In stark contrast to most historical movies and TV shows, we actually at least try to base them on historical examples. With Fate of Iberia, we were fortunate that there are quite a few good sources available of how people dressed and looked in the Iberian peninsula during this time. So we start by collecting all the reference material we can find, put it in an enormous pile and begin forming an idea of what kind of assets we want to add. In addition to historical accuracy, we also look for things like interesting and unique appearance, how well it would translate to a 3D model (i.e. how much pain it’s going to cause us when making it), and if it fits in with other styles already in the game.

As a bonus, a lot of nerd points can be earned during this process. I mean, who isn’t going to be impressed when you start casually throwing around Spanish or Arabic words for obscure medieval clothing items?

Let’s look at some examples:


Showing reference image, concept art and the finished asset of one of the new Christian outfits. We designed these clothes primarily based on a 12th century manuscript illumination depicting Alfonso II of Aragon. The outfit consists of an undergarment with narrow sleeves called a Brial and a looser outer garment known as a Piel. The latter has decorative trims on sleeves, collar and at the hem of the skirt. Both Brial and Piel were often split in the front and back to better allow for riding.



One of the new Muslim outfits. This one was based mainly on an illustration in the 13th century “Codex Rico”, a part of the "Cantigas de Santa Maria" - A famous collection of four codices containing medieval poems with musical notation and many detailed illustrations. The image depicts the Almohad caliph Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada wearing a loose robe known as a Jubba. On the upper sleeves are sewn on “Tiraz” bands, a very popular fashion throughout the medieval Islamic world. The sleeves and neck opening are also decorated with embroidered or brocade trims.


This is based on several sources depicting very similar styles of garments. The examples shown here are from an Andalusian manuscript telling the story called "Hadith Bayad wa Riyad" - An Arabic love story and the "Libro de los Juegos" (Book of games) - A 13th century book commissioned by Alfonso X of Castile containing rules for a large number of medieval board games as well as 150 miniature illustrations. As you can see the clothes are quite similar to the male garment above. Female and male fashions at this time generally had more similarities than differences, and sometimes it is even hard to tell whether an illustration portrays a man or a woman.



This Christian Armor is based on 13th century mural paintings of the Conquest of Majorca by James I of Aragon, presently found in Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona. The sword, with leaf shaped pommel and guard decorations, is based on a sword still in existence, allegedly from the 13th century, at the Royal Armory in Madrid. The armor consists of chainmail Hauberk with mittens, chausses (leggings), a surcoat and something called a “Perpunt” - a light gambeson worn on top of the rest of the armor for additional protection. For head protection a chainmail coif and a “Cervellera” helmet is worn. NGL, this must have been a sweaty experience in the Spanish summer!



This… interesting looking headdress is based on numerous examples from both illustrations and sculptures and must have been considered extremely fashionable at the time. It was probably constructed from strips of ruffled linen or silk wrapped around a light wood base, decorated with embroidered or woven bands and held in place by a “Barbette” (chinstrap). As with most things, the taller the better is the rule here!



The very badass helmet above might look like some impractical fantasy creation but is in fact based on numerous depictions in the "Cantigas de Santa Maria" illustrations. The conical shaped helmet is decorated with a large gilded metal leaf. A day when the Rule of Cool perfectly aligns with primary sources is a good day, in my book.



If we’re really lucky, there might be a suitable extant item that survives to this day, as is the case with this “Capiello” of Fernando de la Cerda, the heir of Alfonso X of Castile (Who seems to - Fernando that is - have had a very CK life and tragically died a father of two at the age of 19). This distinctive cylindrical headgear was hugely popular in 13th century Spain. An extant example like the one shown above is, of course, the ideal type of reference, but unfortunately very few medieval garments have survived in as good condition as this.


So, we’ve decided what to do, that’s all nice and well, but what are the steps involved in actually creating one of these assets? Follow along in this exclusive behind the scenes look at the Character Art workflow! Exciting, right!



Once we have the finished concept art, we start off in a program called Marvelous Designer to create a 3D version of the garment. This is similar to designing clothes in real life as you work with sewing patterns that are simulated to create a natural fall. Again, whenever possible, we try to base the patterns on surviving examples.



The pattern, created using Marvelous designer, for one of the new female Christian outfits. This dress, called a Brial, is constructed based on historical patterns from similar garments that have survived to our time.

We then add any additional details by 3D modeling in a program like Maya or Zbrush. In this case, the belt and brooch at the neck were added at this stage.



The final “High poly” model.

This model consists of several million polygons, which is too much to render in the game (if you appreciate frame rates above 0.1 anyway). Therefore, the next step is to create the “low poly” - meaning the model that will actually be exported to the game. We do this by matching the shape of the “high poly” model as closely as possible but with - you guessed it - a much smaller number of polygons (in this case around 4400, which is around 1000 times less than the high poly model!).



Showing the “low poly” model being created with the “high poly” model as a guide.

The details are then transferred from the high to the low resolution mesh using a normal map. We do this in a software called Marmoset Toolbag.



The models – both low and high –- imported into Marmoset Toolbag for the “baking” step. Coloring is temp.



The resulting textures that we get out of Marmoset allow us to display all the fine details from the high poly mesh. From top left they are called Normal map, Curvature map, Ambient Occlusion map and Color ID map. This will all be on the test so you better pay attention.

We create textures in a program called Substance Painter. But because we use dynamic colors and materials in CK3 the textures at this stage are mostly a neutral white – in the game those white areas will make use of dynamic materials.


Before exporting to the game we need to create something called “blend shapes” - which we use to deform the asset to fit different body types. We also do something called “skin bind” at this stage - which means attaching the clothes to the skeleton that animates the body.



Showing blend shapes before export. From left to right: Average, Overweight, Underweight, Muscular, Old.



Showing the clothes skinned (attached) to the rig (animation skeleton). The pose is anachronistic.

Finally, we are ready to export the asset and look at it in the game. This involves a considerable amount of scripting work to make sure the game knows how to find the asset and when it should show up, what it should be called, who should wear it and so on.




Above you can see the final result with dynamic materials applied. We created new sets of patterns and color combinations for the Iberian assets (of which you can see more examples in the screenshots below).

After all that is done and looking good we can move on to working through the never-ending list of clipping bugs that arise when combining these assets with each other…

And that’s all there is to it! As you can see, very quick and easy.


With Fate of Iberia, we’re adding two new sets of army units representing the Christian and Muslim styles, to be used by Iberian heritage culture. Of course, each model represents a specific tier of army quality so we need to keep this in mind when designing their appearance. Generally, the first tier is supposed to represent something like a drafted peasant, the second tier a professional soldier, and the third tier a knight or equivalent.

Below you can see the concept art and 3D models for all 3 Tiers of the Christian Unit. The Tier 1 model was mainly based on manuscript illustrations depicting commoners and peasants. As you can see, he is not wearing any armor at all. The simple armor of Tier 2 consists of a gameson and a steel helmet. Lastly, we have the Tier 3 unit model — its design is similar to the one used for the new Christian armor that characters can equip, and was based on the 13th century mural paintings of the Conquest of Majorca of James I of Aragon, currently found in Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona.




Much like its Christian counterpart, the design of the Tier 1 Muslim unit represents an unarmored soldier wearing the same kind of clothes as a civllian. Tier 2 is also dressed similarly to the Christian Tier 2, with a gambeson and a helmet. Finally, the design for Tier 3 represents a more heavily armored warrior, with a hooded chainmail hauberk and helmet with noseguard.




How different is the process of creating units from other character assets? Well, let’s delve a bit into that. To create a unit, we go through the same steps outlined above. We start off by creating the pattern in Marvelous Designer and simulating the cloth there.



Belts and similar elements are simulated alongside the cloth to get the fabric to fall correctly, but details are added in the next “high poly” stage in Zbrush. Below you can also see the shield and sword that the unit will use in battle.



The next step is creating the “low poly” version of this unit. Of course, the unit appears quite small on the map so the polygon budget is smaller than for other character assets.



Finally, texturing is done in Substance Painter. Units have a fair amount of wear and tear added in the texturing stage (things can get muddy when you’re fighting wars). Similarly to other character assets, the white parts of the texture will receive a dynamic material in-game.



And that's how units are made! Now, over to my eminent colleague Joacim for a look at the environment art side of things.


For the Iberian peninsula we looked at creating a style of holding that represented the region and makes it stand apart from the Mediterranean, Western and MENA styles. Since Iberia was such a mix of cultures and architectural styles mingled between the cultures and religious influences, we’ve created a style that works for the area as a whole. Below you can see screenshots of the two Iberian cities together with four new castle models.



Here we have the new church and mosque temple holdings.



Lastly, the models for new walls can be seen in the screenshot below:




All over the landscape you’ll now find multiple different kinds of monuments. Some magnificent works that have stood since the age of Rome, others that have been erected since, and some that are yet to be initiated by your architects.

These walls in Galicia were built sometime around 263 and 276 A.D. to protect Lugo, or Lucus Augusti as it was known to the Romans.



Just like with units, we try to hold off from investing too much of our polygon budget into the 3D models for holdings and monuments. Below you can see a screenshot of the low poly model for the Roman Walls of Lugo. Positioning map assets correctly in Maya is an essential step, to prevent them looking out of place once they are actually in the game.



The great mosque of Cordoba is claimed to have been built on the site of a Visigothic basilica, and is one of the oldest structures still standing from the Muslim era of Al-Andalus.



One of the distinct monuments of Iberia from the base game that has now gotten some visuals. A fortress palace whose construction began in 1238 historically. Will you begin the construction early to show off your splendor?



The Cathedral (construction historically began in 1075) was built in the Romanesque style. While the modern day cathedral has seen its facade rebuilt and modernized over the centuries, we’ve recreated this original look of the cathedral for this era.



If you have the Royal Court expansion, you will also be finding some of these new artifacts having unique visuals when presented in your court. But worry not, artifacts are also available as trinkets if you don't have the Royal Court to display them in.

Don't let the animal shape of this bronze craft fool you! It’s actually an ewer for dispensing water which was generally used for washing your hands.


To determine the path, journey and position of celestial objects, scholars would have these spheres created to better understand the skies and stars above them.



After reference gathering (sometimes accompanied by concept art, sometimes not), a low poly blockout is created for artifacts. Below you can see the blockout model for the Armillary Sphere, with a basemesh of a CK3 character next to it, for scale.

After reference gathering (sometimes accompanied by concept art, sometimes not), a low poly blockout is created for artifacts. Below you can see the blockout model for the Armillary Sphere, with a base mesh of a CK3 character next to it, for scale. It’s important to make sure that the silhouette and the shapes appear distinct and are readable from a distance, since Artifacts are seen from a certain distance by the player in the courtroom.



High poly details are added in Zbrush, after which a game-ready low poly model is created in Maya or Blender:




A votive crown is one not meant for wearing, instead it is a religious offering, made for display and to be suspended at altars or shrines. Just like a regular crown they consist of fine craftsmanship, precious metals and stones. Most of the surviving examples of these today come from 7th century Visigothic Iberia.


One of the two swords of the famous El Cid, the other being the sword known as Colada. Its design is based on the museum displayed sword claimed to be the famous blade.



In Iberia, games of skill and tactics were highly praised, and multiple types of chess can be acquired to show your strategically inclined mind.



This grand bell (which you might remember being featured in a previous Dev Diary), if recaptured and recast, can be put in your court to display that feat.



We hope that this sneak peek has got you excited for Fate of Iberia and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on the full experience on May 31st!

For those of you who are interested in seeing more of the behind the scenes process of creating 2D and 3D assets for CK3, we have some good news. On May 18th, 14:30 - 16:00 we will host an art livestream with several artists from the team. We will walk you through the pipeline without holding back on the technical details, so if that’s something for you, be sure not to miss it! The livestream will air on the ParadoxInteractive Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive.

As always, we look forward to your thoughts and we will stick around in the thread for a few hours to answer any questions.

Hello and welcome to Dev Diary #95, about the flavor that makes the flavor pack!

I am Hugo (@Hugo Cortell), and today my fellow content designer Ola (@Vaniljkaka) will walk you through some of our design for culture, faith, and everything else before I introduce you to our events & decisions.

► Read our Dev Diary #95 - Flavor of Iberia

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1303184/Crusader_Kings_III_Fate_of_Iberia/



In a region as dynamic and well-documented as Iberia, we were truly spoiled with possible content, and had to make some hard choices as to what would work best in the context of Crusader Kings III. Yet we have filled the Fate of Iberia with flavor content high and low, from fairytales whispered by a fireplace to grand designs of priests and kings. In the Fate of Iberia, you might encounter the Estadea, the wandering dead of Galician myth, the legendary Garduña thieves, great smiths of Toledo, cheese-making Vikings, and Andalusian polymaths dreaming of flight.

For Fate of Iberia we’ve roped in talented content designers from all over our organization to help us pack Iberia full of historical flavor. There is hardly any subject that does not get some love.


Iberia’s cultures were in a pretty good place already, thanks to the culture rework in the Royal Court. But, we’ve done a pass on their traditions to make sure they’re fitting and interesting. If you have the Royal Court Expansion, you’ll be able to make some compelling hybrid cultures here - why not Sephardi-Norse, or Berber-Castilian? It can also be a good way to get involved in the Struggle from the outside. Among other additions, you’ll find that Castilians are now Tabletop Warriors, able to challenge others to a grand game of chess!


The Kingdom of Castles, indeed!

Concerning faith, our new shared Head of Faith mechanic will add dynamism to Iberia’s fractured religious landscape. More info regarding this will come in a future Development Diary!

There are events for Muslims, Christians, and pagans, but the big addition is the Mozarabic Faith. They’ll encourage historical “what if” playthroughs and some dramatic decisions, exploring the deep Visigothic roots of Iberian faith. Try to take control of Toledo if you play a Mozarabic Christian - it can allow you to convene a new great church council, echoing the one in 711. But take heed - such a council might also affect the struggle… How will your realm be affected by the vicious debates to follow? There are also other new decisions available to Mozarabs - including the ultimate prize, the restoration of the Kingdom of Toledo!

The Mozarabs have a long history of adapting to changing circumstances.


Toledo plays a central role for the Mozarabic faith.

Basque Paganism, the other new faith, is a syncretistic belief with Christian and pagan elements, the most prominent vestige of pagan faith in Western Europe, ensconced in the Pyrenees. Among rulers, it is a dead religion at game start, but its traditions persist among the common folk, and an opportunistic ruler might find reason to Champion the Faith of the Country Basques, and bring it back to prominence.


Remnants of pagan belief have endured in the redoubt of the Pyrenees.


For monuments and special buildings, there are some you might expect - the great mosque of Córdoba, the basilica of Santiago, the walls of Toledo - and some you might not. We’ve begun exploring having natural wonders as province features, so you’ll find the Rock of Gibraltar here, too. While Iberia certainly has a rich history, it’s not as overcrowded in ruins of past splendor as say, Mesopotamia or Rome, so while there are some Visigothic and Roman monuments here, we focused on things built over the course of the Middle Ages. There’s accordingly also a few you can build yourself, after the game has started.


The Great Mosque of Cordoba in all its glory! Art has done a tremendous job in bringing the monuments to life.


The Tower of Hercules, as it is also called, still stands today, the oldest extant lighthouse in the world.

We’re adding new artifacts as well of course, among them the famed Bells of Santiago - or in 1066, their melted-down and reforged state as aquamaniles in the Muslim Court of Toledo. Historically, of course, they were turned into mosque lamps, but that would have been hard to represent well in our 3D courts, so we went with aquamaniles instead. You’ll also be able to find armillary spheres, scallop shells from the pilgrim road to Santiago, chess boards, Visigothic votive crowns, and much more. If you have the Royal Court Expansion, of course some will be impressive items that our art team devoted lots of attention to, to be proudly displayed in your court.


Once the pride of Galicia, they now decorate the Toledo court.

The two new dynasty legacies are Metropolitan and Coterie, expressing the themes of flourishing cities and interwoven, intrigue-riddled dynasties that seemed fitting for medieval Iberia. In the Coterie legacy, you can gain various benefits related to your dynasty and its members, useful for diplomacy and intrigue. The Reliable House perk, will give you 10% of your councillors’ primary skills, while the ultimate perk in this legacy, Pragmatic Roots, makes the Disinherit interaction available for all dynasty members. The Metropolitan Legacy will aid you with development, construction and prestige, unlock a unique Expand Cities decision, and give you some added motivation to build new city holdings in your realm. The Republican Education perk introduces the Town Maven trait, that dynasty members might receive if they are educated in a county with hig development. Metropolitan is a great track if you prefer playing tall, building an economically strong realm.


Coterie members can share secrets with each other.

I’ll now leave it to Hugo, to talk more about our decisions and events.


Fate of Iberia contains a multitude of events and decisions ranging from struggle-specific events which shake-up plans, to flavor events designed to enrich the experience with classic paradox comical occurrences and references to regional curiosities.


As mentioned above, struggle events help add a bit of chaos to the overall equation, presenting many opportunities themed around the current phase for cunning strategists to turn one’s disaster into another’s advantage during the greater conflict. Struggle events are exclusive to characters partaking in the struggle.


Such as this event, in which the player is able to give their word in exchange for a claim on a county. Failing to keep your word will certainly have consequences…


Some events will have you deal with unexpected losses, though you can still gain something from the situation if you play your cards right.

Protecting someone's secrets is a great way to make new friends.
Always trust someone in a sombrero, they clearly know what they are doing.
Other events can grant you advantages when you least expect it, but tread carefully as success is not guaranteed and things can always take a turn for the worse.




Struggle events —though all related, are quite different in the opportunities, benefits, and challenges that they present, encouraging players to adjust their strategy as circumstances call. I would certainly start conquering my neighbors if I got ahold of some good steel, especially since it’d help me get those catalysts I’ve been after for a while…


We have also included a variety of smaller, flavor-focused events that help bring the Iberian peninsula to life and create a greater breadth of content for players in the region to experience. Many of these events are inspired by recorded happenings in the region, while others are simply classic Crusader Kings’ events in a Mediterranean flavor. From a story about frightening “thunder stones”, to the myth of legendary Christian mobsters to a peaceful siesta event, you can be sure you will be getting a full Iberian roster of fascinating, action-packed, and ridiculous events.


Would you eat a whale? Would Allah approve? It probably tastes like chicken anyway.


For anyone who has had horchata, this story should sound familiar. Well, with the exception of the whole “now you must only ever make horchata” option.

People from far away come to Iberia in search for a better life, can you provide that?
The Content Design team recommends you read books, they are good for you!



There'll be no shortage of opportunities to improve your realm.


Besides new events, Fate of Iberia also features unique decisions which can be taken throughout the duration of the struggle at specific phases. Let’s take a quick look at two of them now.

We’ve seen a lot of comments and requests in the previous dev diaries not to ignore the Jewish achievements of the period. In Fate of Iberia, one of its decisions allows you to make the most out of these achievements by enabling you to sponsor a golden age of science.


Sponsoring sciences is a noble but expensive endeavor.

As the sponsor, you will receive various positive modifiers, though everyone else in the struggle will receive a weaker version of them too. This decision is not exclusive and anyone can “steal” the golden age from you, doing so will strip you of the modifier and replace it with its weaker counterpart. I fully expect this to be the correct kind of chaotic during multiplayer matches.


Though not listed in the tooltips, sponsoring a golden age also gives you bragging rights in multiplayer lobbies.

Though not listed in the tooltips, sponsoring a golden age also gives you bragging rights in multiplayer lobbies.

Of course, this decision isn’t just a couple of modifiers strapped to a button. Sponsoring a golden age will lead to one of three random events that provide you with the opportunity to easily recruit highly talented scholars and members of the scientific community.


Making the doctor wait will add them to your court, while performing the operation may help you improve relations with your elderly vassal. Of course, under the... "right mindset", this can also become a learning opportunity for your young child, pre-industrial cataract surgery was a lot more successful with a young assistant present.


Now, for a more standard decision example: In classic Crusader Kings 3 fashion, we also have plenty of decisions to form titles and gain control over land, such as the “Iberian Foothold” decision, which encourages large foreign powers to make a dash for their piece of the metaphorical Iberian cake by letting them end the struggle from the outside. Though the military investment will certainly be large and the many disunified states in Iberia won’t take their conquest laying down…


There are plenty of opportunities to rewrite history in Crusader Kings, will you unite Iberia under the French banner or will a post-unification Iberia conquer Europe?


We hope the content displayed in this dev diary has gotten you excited about our upcoming Flavor Pack, and look forward to hearing your thoughts on the discussion comments below.

Welcome to a dev diary I’ve been champing at the bit to write for months!
Coming with our next Flavor Pack "Fate of Iberia" is a new mechanic called the Struggle which will propose new challenges for the rulers within the Iberian peninsula.

► Read our Dev Diary #94 - Anatomy of a Struggle

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1303184/Crusader_Kings_III_Fate_of_Iberia/



A struggle is a long-form conflict (generally not just a war, though they likely include them) covering a particular chunk of the map. They have different phases, each of which have different variant gameplay rules (e.g., “holy wars are disabled”, “characters of different religions may marry without”, or “Jerusalem can’t declare or be declared war on”).

Phases progress between each other by way of catalysts, specific gameplay actions (“declare war on an involved character”, “two involved characters become soulmates”, etc.) that accrue points towards a future phase. When enough points are accrued, the phase changes to the new one.

Struggles can be resolved, permanently affecting their area in some way, through dramatic and difficult ending decisions.

They are assumed to last at least a couple of centuries: a conqueror carving out a new realm from the ruins of an old giant wouldn’t be a struggle by itself, but if it includes dramatic aftershocks that last for generations, then it just might be.


​So why are we introducing this mechanic attached to a flavour pack? Well, simply put, we didn’t think we could do the historical realities of Iberia justice without something like this.

The changing moods and temperaments of the peninsula over different decades, the way particular activities fluctuated between oddly permissive (by the standards of much of the rest of the world) and intensely strict, the role of notable characters and their policies in shaping the shifting tides of public opinion whether intentionally or not…

Medieval Iberia is just such a fascinating smorgasbord of mercurial special rules that we had to create a system that would allow us to model them, one that guided roleplay whilst giving it consequences, and provided default end goals for players other than just conquering all of Hispania.

Though Iberia badly needed such a thing, it would have been a waste to create a system tailored for only Iberia. Complex and shifting local circumstances and long-form conflicts that don’t always take the form of actively-prosecuted warfare are things seen in many parts of the world, and a setting-agnostic system that catered to the peninsula but could be easily repurposed elsewhere seemed like a very worthwhile project to spend time on.

So let’s get into how it works!


​Struggles are, first and foremost, local things. Local to large areas (Iberia, for instance, is a decently sized little peninsula), but still local. The most basic thing that defines them, then, is the struggle region - a predefined group of titles that the rules of the struggle apply within.

For FoI’s struggle, we’ve used the ol’ reliable world_europe_west_iberia region that’s been in the title since launch, but any region or combination of regions can be defined in the appropriate parameter. At the moment, these are static and only take regions, but we’re considering other options (e.g., titles, regions selected as part of the starting effect, etc.) for the future.




Cultures and faiths are regarded as either involved or not. This defines whether a specific culture or faith is seen as being a part of the “in-group” for the region, even when members of that in-group may occasionally (or frequently) be very hostile to each other. For the Iberian Struggle, for instance, a Castilian and an Andalusian both understand the changing nature of the peninsula instinctively in a way that an Anglo-Saxon would struggle to acclimate to.

Cultures become involved either on first starting a struggle, manually via script, or automatically when a certain percentage of their total counties are within the struggle region (the number is set per struggle, currently at 80% for the Iberian Struggle).

Hybrids and divergent cultures automatically become involved if they convert at least one county within the region on creation.

Neither cultures nor faiths lose their involvement automatically. Once they’re in, they’re in permanently, unless manually removed via script. For Fate of Iberia, this is necessary to keep the ruling class of al-Andalus, predominantly culturally insular families of Arabs or Berbers, involved, but it’s generally there to prevent wonky behaviour with struggles incorporating cultures and faiths from beyond their region who don’t actually have county within it.

A simpler example would be a hypothetical Anglo-Norman struggle for after the Conquest. We’d probably want to set Norman up as an involved culture, and wouldn’t want them to immediately become uninvolved because there are no Norman counties in the British Isles.


​Within the region, characters are defined by their personal involvement: the degree to which they’re considered part of the ongoing medley of social and cultural fluctuations that define an active struggle, and so how other characters (and counties) treat them. There are three levels to involvement:

• Involved
  
• Interloper
  
• Uninvolved

Involved characters are those who are wholeheartedly engaged in the unique power dynamics of the struggle, and seen as insiders within the region. They may differ wildly from other involved characters, but involved characters are generally considered to appreciate the minutiae that make a struggle play differently from the rest of the world. Both their culture and faith must be flagged as being involved in the struggle, and either their capital is located within the struggle region or, if they’re unlanded, they’re physically there.

Interlopers are active within a struggle’s region but don’t quite grasp exactly how or why people from the region act the way they do. They generally don’t benefit from variant struggle rules as much as involved characters, but also aren’t as heavily restricted by them. Either their culture, their faith, or both are not flagged as being involved in the struggle, but their capital (or physical location if landless) is located within the region.

Uninvolved characters are outsiders and outlanders. Their concerns are remote to the struggle region, and even if they’re originally from that region, their isolation from it makes them lose touch with its subtleties and current events. Regardless of culture or faith, if their capital is located outside of the struggle region (or if they’re landless and physically not there), a character is considered uninvolved in that struggle. Uninvolved characters are generally expected to take penalties for holding counties within a struggle region, encouraging them to either delegate to vassals with a better level of involvement, or else getting more involved themselves.




​Alright, so we know how a struggle covers an area, and how people are divided up into categories within that area. What do these categories and this area actually do?

For that, we need to look to phases.

Each phase reflects a sort of mood or temperament within a struggle region specific to that struggle, the outcome of many prior actions leading to a shifting tide of general opinion about what is and isn’t acceptable. Maybe some things that were taboo become mainstream for a time, and things otherwise considered acceptable are baulked at by even very conservative characters.

Though we’ll talk about how exactly you transition between phases a bit more in a moment, it’s worth noting that each phase has at least one (and usually more) future phase predefined for it, a phase that actions take in the course of play will gradually move the region’s “mood” towards.

Within the Iberian Struggle, phases are on a loosely even cycle: though there’s some lateral movement and backtracking possible, they mostly move evenly in a circle. This is purely a design choice, and more esoteric flows are entirely scriptable.


​The actual effects of each phase can be split into three broad categories - parameters, character modifiers, and county modifiers. These are then further split by the involvement of different characters.

Parameters work similarly to doctrine parameters in faiths, or tradition parameters for cultures. They’re special rules, entirely defined within script (and so fully moddable) that can be referred to elsewhere in script to unlock unique content, provide special exemptions, or block off specific actions.

For example: in one phase, involved characters might be able to intermarry between faiths, in another, interlopers might receive cheaper holy wars whilst involved characters have them blocked entirely, and in both uninvolved characters may be blocked from culture converting involved cultures.



As with other breeds of parameter, struggle parameters are identified purely by their exact spelling and can thus be reused simply by duplicating them, either within a struggle or in other struggles, making them very versatile rules.

Character modifiers can be applied directly to involved or interloper characters. This generally chiefly affects involved characters, making some things easier and others harder, but we also use it to let interlopers occasionally have an easier time of bending or breaking local rules. Though these are our current guidelines, since these are all entirely scriptable, they can be changed according to the tonal needs of any given struggle.

Uninvolved characters do not have a character modifier slot - we don’t want characters in India getting negative modifiers for not being involved or interlopers in a struggle in Iberia!

Finally, we have county modifiers. These are applied to any county in the struggle region according to the direct holder of each county and their involvement; they generally have situational variables depending on phase for involved characters, mild to moderate debuffs for interlopers, and moderate to heavy debuffs for uninvolved characters.


​Transitioning from a phase to any of its future phases requires the activation of catalysts: notable events, gameplay actions, and consequences to existing mechanics that drive the current phase towards a specific future phase.

Catalysts themselves can be anything. A war being declared, a type of character being seduced, a certain type of scheme failing, and so on. They’re set inside a phase’s future phase block, and, as with other elements of struggles, are entirely scriptable. Virtually any effect block in the entire title can be made into a catalyst with a bit of thought.

Whenever a catalyst is activated, meaning that the thing that sets them happens, the current phase gains points towards the future phase that that catalyst was tied to (for instance, a notable interfaith marriage might help an uncertainty-focused phase gain points towards a tolerance-focused phase). Catalysts themselves are repeatable and the points they give vary with the difficulty of the catalyst in question - two notable characters becoming soulmates might well be worth more points than a notable character being executed, for instance.

Points for put into simple tallies: when one tally for a future phase is met, that future phase becomes the new current phase, though there’s a grace period of a month before the actual switch.

On the off chance that all of the dozens or hundreds of characters involved in a struggle are being incomprehensibly boring, we should note the existence of one special catalyst: the passage of time. Every phase has a default future phase, and receives a single point per year towards that phase’s tally, representing the natural trend of public discourse towards particular conclusions. This can (and essentially always will) be overridden or exacerbated by more dramatic catalysts being activated, but even in very calm struggle, change is always coming.


​A core part of the identity of struggles is that they’re not things that can be solved just by painting the map - after all, if they were, then the Iberian Struggle would’ve ended in its first decade when Musa ibn Nusayr had essentially subjugated the entire peninsula.

We wanted to provide more difficult and interesting goals for ending a struggle than just conquering the whole struggle region. After all, it really doesn’t matter if you’ve conquered everyone if that hasn’t dealt with the underlying societal causes besetting a struggle locale.

Ending decisions are our solution to this, being major, demanding decisions with consequences for the entire struggle region when taken and usually pretty intricate requirements.

In order for a struggle to be endable through the usual flow, at least one phase must have an ending decision defined, though they can be ended manually through script also. The Iberian Struggle has three ending decisions, each tied (both mechanically and thematically) to a different phase).


​To finish up, let’s take a look at the new Iberian Struggle’s design (though I’ll put an obligatory reminder that this stuff isn’t final and that we generally continue to adjust things as we balance and playtest).

The Iberian Struggle’s phases are Opportunity, Hostility, Compromise, and Conciliation. Opportunity can lead to either Hostility or Conciliation, depending on how the peninsula’s leaders treat each other, whilst both Hostility and Conciliation respectively build or degrade towards Compromise, which in turn decays into Opportunity, starting the cycle again.

In Opportunity, Iberia is approaching a stage of uncertainty after notable spikes (hostile or friendly) in prior relations between faiths and cultures have abated. Struggle modifiers and parameters make war easier and cheaper, changing cultures and faiths easier and cheaper, but also unlock interfaith marriages and block off holy wars. Friendly interrelations between disparate characters activate catalysts guiding it towards Conciliation, whilst violent ones do the same for Hostility.

For Hostility, aggressive actors have brought tensions to a simmering fever pitch, and even the slightest differences may be cause for aggressive persecution. The phase’s effects make wars cheaper and more brutal for all involved, reduce economic and technological progress, and increase the capacity of many characters for hostile schemes. Violence can’t persist forever though, and either efforts at building bridges or simple exhaustion will eventually bring even the most violent Hostility phase towards Compromise.

Standing opposite Hostility is Conciliation, where pragmatic politicking builds bridges between even very disparate realms. Characters in this phase aren’t really tolerant by the modern meaning of the word, but many of the harsher biases of their time are temporarily dropped or ignored in the name of expediency. Wars become more expensive and truces longer, but there’s opportunity to unite against outsiders intervening in Iberian matters, and ruling over more multicultural and multifaith realms becomes easier and more beneficial.

Periods of interreliance like this don’t generally last. Granted privileges decay, ignored biases relapse, and power-hungry nobles tear down bridges for short-term gain. Even the most wholeheartedly supported Conciliation phase decays towards Compromise eventually.

Finally, Compromise. In this phase, Iberia has reached a point of equilibrium. Wars are less likely and most costly, but economic investment and other forms of passive stability are easier and better, whilst interfaith marriages flourish. The exhausted pragmatism of Compromise isn’t permanent, and will someday give rise to the cynical dynamism of Opportunity. The cycle begins anew.

Naturally we’ve peppered all of this with phase-specific events, decisions, interactions, the odd CB, and so on. Most phases also add variant unlocking criteria to existing pieces of content, adjusting the circumstances under which things like the Claim Throne scheme or Found Holy Order decision can be used - most commonly temporarily extending them to characters who’d usually not have access.

Say you don’t want to move on from a phase, though. Maybe you think Hostility’s the place for you, or you’d prefer a more permanent Conciliation, and want to break the endless cycle of social transmutation - well, unless you wanted permanent Opportunity, you’re in luck, because we’ve got ending decisions for Hostility, Compromise, and Conciliation.




Hostility’s ending decision is Dominance, reflecting the final ascension of one of Iberia’s warring states to a position of not just military dominance, but social and spiritual hegemony.

This gives your house an incredibly powerful modifier, making county and faith conversion within Iberia markedly faster, improving relations with those who share your faith or culture but markedly worsening them with other involved cultures or faiths, and making Holy Wars and Conquests cheaper and easier to access. It requires holding several important duchies, having a monocultural, monofaith primary kingdom, and being the only major player independent ruler in Iberia.




Conciliation’s ending decision is Détente, making temporary accommodations into more permanent ones.

Involved cultures gain a huge amount of cultural acceptance with each other, a house modifier that improves the opinion of different faiths and cultures, and several signature mechanics of the Conciliation phase become permanent for involved culture characters within Iberia: namely, interfaith marriage and disabled holy wars. Additionally, Iberian characters may join defensive wars for targets within Iberia against any aggressor from outside of Iberia.

It requires a certain level of fame, being allied to every other independent involved Iberian ruler, and completely controlling an Iberian kingdom without controlling more than a certain fraction of Iberian territory.




Compromise’s ending decision is Status Quo. Where Dominance is enforcing will and Détente finding accommodation, Status Quo is accepting that times have changed, that attempts to unite the peninsula are futile, and that its peoples and realms should go their separate ways and leave their neighbours be.

Status Quo balkanises Iberia, transferring duchies to connected kingdoms if appropriate and making every kingdom within Iberia its own de jure empire whilst permanently destroying Hispania. Ruling houses across the former struggle region gain a modifier for two centuries making them better at fighting in lands of their own cultural heritage, whilst the capital counties of all independent rulers become strongholds for the next century. Some CBs within Iberia become more expensive.

The requirements for Status Quo are a bit byzantine, essentially because it functions as the opt out decision if Dominance or Détente prove too difficult to work towards. If Iberia can’t be subjugated or coerced into cooperation then, in extremis, it can always be destroyed.


​The Iberian Struggle is our first go at a struggle system, and it’s one we’re fairly pleased with. That said, we’ve certainly taken note of how the feature seems to have caught the popular imagination over the last week or so, and we’re very interested to hear your thoughts now that there’s a bit more information available.

First up, though, let’s get a little disambiguation out of the way. The basic mechanic here, the struggle system, is free. It will be merged into the base game with 1.6 and available for use in mods (and potentially future DLCs) immediately.

The Iberian Struggle itself, however, is paid content attached to the Fate of Iberia DLC. Though anyone can add their own struggles without needing to depend on this flavour pack, this particular struggle and its content are part and parcel of the DLC.

With that out of the way, are there parts of the system you’d like to see refined and made more flexible? What are the struggles you’d like to see made in future? What’s your jankiest idea for hope for how to use the struggle system?

As ever, I’ll be around in the thread for the next hour or so to answer your queries.

Greetings!

Winter is slowly fading behind us (at least in the northern hemisphere), and spring is starting to take over. A new season calls for an announcement. I’m happy to present you with our next Flavor Pack: Fate of Iberia, due to be released on the 31st of May!
We are obviously talking about Mediterranean Iberia, not the former Kingdom in Georgia.

► Read our Dev Diary #93 - Turmoil in the Peninsula

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1303184/Crusader_Kings_III_Fate_of_Iberia/



In addition to being one of the most played regions, the Iberian peninsula is interesting because of the complexity of the geopolitical situation, and the richness of the events occurring during the time period of Crusader Kings 3.
It gives us a good opportunity to bring more flavor for both the Christians and Muslims living there.

With this new flavor pack, we want to offer you the opportunity to truly decide the fate of the whole peninsula, either by reenacting history or creating an alternative that pleases you more. In order to model the complexity of the situation, we are introducing a new system, the Struggle.
It will be changing the rules and increasing the challenge for the rulers within the Iberian peninsula. You can have an idea of how the game will be affected in the screenshot below. The effects will vary a lot depending on the stage of the struggle, but we will go into details in the next dev diary :)


The Struggle will both create new opportunities and add constraints for the rulers within Iberia

A new 867 bookmark features a revamped Iberian cast of characters, giving players the perfect place to jump in and deflect history as they see fit. The Struggle will persist into the 1066 start date as well. The bookmark lets you choose between different vassals, either from the Christian Kingdoms, or Al-Andalus. Each of them offers different starting challenges and choices.. For instance, in the south, Emir Adanis and Ibn Marwan are both Dukes under the Sultanate of Al-Andalus. But they also are neighbors and rivals. Starting with one of them will certainly imply crossing swords and scheming against the other.


The new 867 bookmark will be available for everyone, while being more interesting to experience if you own Fate of Iberia


We also seized the opportunity to update the map, refining the county and duchy divisions, as well as the cultures and faiths. This means the stage is more accurately set for the start of our game.


Screenshot of the new county division in Iberia

We mostly focused on the Northern part of the region.


The new culture set up for the year 867


The new faith set up for the year 867


You might have noticed the addition of the Mozarabic faith, but again, we will detail that in a future dev diary, along with the rest of the content you can expect from a Flavor Pack!

We are excited to go into the details and share all of this with you in the coming weeks! Until then, I wish you a lovely day and enjoy the trailer!




Cheers,

P.S.: While we do not expect the save versions to be incompatible, please make sure you wrap up your previous playthrough to ensure a seamless transition. If you encounter issues, you can of course roll these saves back to a previous version UNLESS you are playing in Ironman.