Hello everyone! We’re getting close to release and there’s not much left to cover in our Development Diaries. So today's diary will be about things I think we’ve missed in previous ones. Even though we have had 57 development diaries, not including this one, there’s still been things that have slipped. So it will be sort of a leftover scraps Dev Diary. First up, shortcut/hotkeys.
So how it used to work in order to set up your own shortcut keys in the interface of EU4 you had to mod the interface files, or download a mod from the Steam Workshop. But we’ve now implemented a way for you to configure these settings inside the game instead. EU4 is a game with a lot of interfaces and buttons so we can’t really have a settings screen listing every single possible shortcut. So instead we added this button in the game. Clicking on that will let you then click on any button in the interface that has a shortcut and assign it a new one. Clicking on let’s say the Split in Half button for armies will prompt you with this. Letting you pick whatever key shortcut you want for that button.
Next is a pet peeve of many, your subjects using their colonist for settlement growth where or when you don’t want it. So we’ve added a simple little Subject interaction where you can allow or forbid this to specific subjects. So not much to say there, so let’s move on to something I’ve seen discussed from time to time within the community, which is the French Vassal Swarm. I thought I had already covered this before but no harm in being extra clear. France starts with a very powerful nobility estate and a special privilege specifically for them. Besides being in control of a lot of land from the start, this privilege also gives them +10% Influence making it a hard one to get rid of. There is an equivalent that exists for any other nation that is not French as well, the requirement to pick it requires that you have at least 2 vassals. I hope this clears up any potential misunderstandings from our previous talks about the French Vassal Swarm.
Minority Expulsions have gotten changes to try and make Europe not too homogenous in culture. IT no longer costs diplo power but it also does not convert the home province of the culture/religion. The modifiers that affect its costs are now focused on the money cost instead of the diplo cost. The development that you get in the new world province now also reduces the amount of development that “stays” in the home province to represent the movement of people, and through that sort of making it cheaper for you to culture convert at home. We’ve also made the AI very reluctant to do it overall.
We’ve done some smaller balance changes. First we’ve changed so you can’t overrun an army that can fill out it’s combat width. Overrun being the mechanic where you insta wipe on day 1 if you have 10x the size of the enemy. Going forward we are also looking into redoing some policies values like the 20% Infantry Combat Ability, try and lower the sources of Army Tradition as a whole as we don’t want it to be this easy to get a floor of 100% Army Tradition. We are also looking at reviewing the Hussite modifiers.
I want to end this Development Diary by retracting one of our previous promises, we said at the start of working on this patch that we would solve so you could restart back to the menu. However we have to admit defeat here as we’ve put a lot of resources in trying to fix it but EU4’s architecture simply can’t support resetting it’s game state properly. So even though we thought we had an early victory in getting this to work, after intensive testing it’s shown that we are basically still at square 1. I am very sorry that we have to backtrack on this, especially if it was something you were looking forward to.
Next Dev Diary will be the patch notes for the 1.30 Update.
Today at 1500 CEST the Europa Universalis 4: Emperor Dev Clash continues! Tune in on Twitch to watch the chaos unfold live. Or you can catch up over on YouTube if you missed some of the previous steams.
Good morning! It’s time for the achievements dev diary. Typically we write this one the week before the patch notes dev diary (don’t worry, that’s coming soon too), but we’re uploading these achievements to the Steam backend very soon and we want to get ahead of that.
Without further ado, here are the achievements coming with the 1.30 update: Mary of Lotharingia - Starting as Burgundy, form Lotharingia and have a female ruler named Marie. On the Rhodes Again - Starting as The Knights, conquer and core Constantinople, Jerusalem and Antioch. Spaghetti Western - Starting as Bologna, become Mexico or Texas. Stern des Südens - Form Bavaria starting as München and have your Subject Bremen own Werder. Shoutout to @mikesc for this one! Stiff Upper Lippe - As Lippe, own all of the British Isles. Czechs and Balances - Starting as Bohemia, grant at least two privileges to each estate while having at least 50% Crown Land. Don’t be Cilli - Starting as Cilli, form another nation. Holiest Roman Empire - As either the Papal States or the Emperor, have the Papal States as an Elector while the HRE is officially Catholic. Inner Turmoil - Starting as The Isles, own 20 provinces by 1500, none of which are on Islands. Kingdom of God - Starting as the Papal State, become the Kingdom of God. Shoutout to our very own @Duplo who posed for this image. Certainly a dashing figure.
The following achievements are exclusive to owners of the Emperor DLC: Everything's Coming Up Mulhouse - Starting as Mulhouse, become Emperor of the HRE and completely decentralize the Empire. God Tier - Become a Tier 5 Defender of the Faith as a nation that is neither Catholic nor Sunni. Napoleon’s Ambition - As Revolutionary France, spread the Revolution to 10 countries. AEIOU - Complete the Austrian mission tree. Global Hegemony - Reach 100% Strength as any type of Hegemon.
This brings our total number of achievements to a massive 310. As always we’ve tried to include a mix of difficulty levels and a variety of goals. Personally I think I’ll start with Kingdom of God to get the most out of the new Catholic features, and of course to see “Kingdom of God” printed across the map.
That’s all for today! Join me next week for the final content-focused dev diary that was promised last week. As I’m sure you’ve heard, the Emperor expansion and the free 1.30 update will release on June the 9th. You can pre-purchase Emperor on Steam, or even right here on Paradoxplaza.
Enjoy Paradox Interactive games at up to 80% discount this week-end! Each of Crusader Kings II's DLCs are also 50% OFF. Remember, our DLC Horse Lords is Free to Keep for a limited time until Saturday 19:00 CEST! 🥳
As a reminder: the Monarch’s Journey is a new way of exploring the world of Crusader Kings and will help you earn cosmetic add-ons for Crusader Kings III through Ruler Challenges.
The Ruler Challenges present you with a new realm with a specific objective to achieve. Whether you are a newcomer or a veteran The Monarch’s Journey is your chance to (re)learn parts of the game, try new worlds and new ways of play in our infinite medieval sandbox!
We have released a very tiny hotfix mostly focusing on Linux users! You can discuss it on the forums.
Full Changelog 3.3.3: - Fixed a potential security issue. - Added support for Linux to get access to the currently released rulers for the Monarch's Journey. The rulers for Linux won't be continuously updated however (nevertheless those unlocked will suffice to get all CK3 perks).
Crusader Kings III will take its throne on September 1, 2020! Now available for pre-order!
The herald rides forth to make the announcement all have awaited. Court and commoners hold their breath in anticipation. Jealous rivals, thwarted in their plots, sulk in the shadows, for the glorious day is coming. Crusader Kings III, the heir to the crown of grand strategy gaming, will take its throne on September 1, 2020.
Now available for pre-order, Crusader Kings III is a medieval grand strategy role-playing game from Paradox Development Studio. Guide a royal dynasty through the centuries. Claim new lands through diplomacy and marriage, or use your armies to conquer your neighbors or unite a divided realm. When swords and seduction fail, however, spies and poison may still be effective.
Crusader Kings III is the sequel to one of the world’s most beloved strategy games. Rich with new historical content and character options, it has never been easier to wrap yourself in the ermine cloaks of power, writing your own story of castles, knights, crusades, and murder.
Features of Crusader Kings III include:
Character Focused Gameplay: Every character you play or interact with has their own unique personality. Events and options in the game are largely determined by the type of person you are.
Infinite Possibilities: Play as any noble house from Iceland to India, Finland to Central Africa over five centuries. Interact with wandering guests, stubborn children, devious spymasters and saintly holy men in an elaborate tapestry of medieval life.
Waging War: Rally your vassals and raise your men-at-arms to besiege enemy castles or put down rebellions. Personal prowess on the battlefield can win you great honor, but strategic planning is the path to victory.
Royal Marriages: Spread your dynastic DNA throughout the world, stamping your royal seal on the crests of kingdoms and duchies far and wide. Marry for power and raise children to press claims on new lands.
Saints and Sinners: Keep faith with your religious leaders or perform great crimes in the interest of the state. When the going gets tough, you can always embrace a heresy or craft a new religion more in line with your character’s priorities.
Schemes and Skullduggery: Learn the secrets of your courtiers and vassals so you can blackmail them for their support. Seduce your way into a superior’s good books, or plot the untimely demise of an unfortunate relative.
Events Inspired By History: Experience great holy wars, peasant revolts, cadet branches of dynasties, heretics, superstition, castles, knights and wars over inheritance.
3D Character Portraits: Characters age and change appearance as their traits take a toll on their body. The higher the rank, the fancier the clothing.
And much more: Holy Orders, mercenaries, pagan and Viking raiders, easily customized rule sets and a beautiful new map to play on.
Crusader Kings III is available for preorder at a suggested retail price of $49.99/ £41.99/ €49.99 and will be available to desktop monarchs on September 1, 2020.
Emperor is the newest expansion to Paradox Development Studio’s epic grand strategy game about the rise and fall of empires from the fall of Constantinople to the rise of Napoleon. This expansion opens up three central game systems, offering new gameplay opportunities for the Papacy, the Holy Roman Empire and Revolutionary movements, as well as a host of other changes.
Features in Europa Universalis IV: Emperor include:
A Powerful Pope: Appoint cardinals, publish Papal Bulls and gather tithes. The Vatican and Papal Controller now have new abilities to sway the souls of Christendom.
New Holy Roman Empire Systems: Imperial Incidents provide new challenges to the Emperor's power and authority. Will your empire follow a course to a centralized monarchy or decentralized federation?
Revolutions Revamped: The spirit of Revolution is a contagion that must be either embraced or vigorously opposed. Use the zeal of revolutionary guard units to fight reactionaries at home and abroad.
The Hussite Faith: Bohemia has an early game chance to embrace heresy and stand alone against the Pope until The Reformation.
Hegemonies: Seize the mantle of global leadership if you accumulate great wealth and armies, but be prepared to face great opposition from those who question your right to rule.
New Missions: Over 20 new unique mission trees for a variety of European nations
Defender of Faith: With great responsibility comes great power. Defending a major religion should be different from defending an insignificant one. Now it is!
The Council of Trent and Counter-Reformation: Join other Catholic rulers to slow down the spread of the Reformation by making concessions to the unruly mob or harshly imposing the will of God.
Provoke Rebellions: Risk a larger rebellion now while you think you can manage it instead of waiting for discontent to take its course
Good afternoon! I’m back again with another content-driven dev diary. Today we’ll be taking a look at two of the new mission trees coming with the Emperor expansion: Germany and Lübeck.
The German mission tree takes a lot of inspiration, as you might expect, from Imperial Germany and the accomplishments of Bismarck. Although very much outside of the period, we felt that it was an appropriate way to go given the ahistorical nature of a united Germany within our timeframe.
The conquest branch of the mission tree begins with Blood and Iron, which requires you to own at least 50 provinces across the North Germany or South Germany regions, essentially completing your early German unification. This mission rewards perhaps the most extensive set of permanent claims of any single mission in the game: the Low Countries, Italy, France, and Poland will all simultaneously become your next targets. This is pretty extreme for a single mission, but given the requirements not only of the mission but also of forming Germany in the first place, the player is likely already in a very dominant position by the time that they unlock this mission tree. Completing the Annex Poland mission gives even further permanent claims, this time on the Baltic, Scandinavia, and Carpathia regions.
Next we have an economic branch of the mission tree. You are charged with building manufactories to Industrialize the Rhineland, permanently improving local goods produced in applicable provinces by 15%. You must also Promote Urbanization by reaching at least 30 development in 10 German provinces, and achieve Protected Markets by reaching 75% trade share in all German trade nodes. Completing these missions unlocks the Dominant Economy mission, which requires you to have the highest income of any European nation as well as 10,000 ducats with no loans.
Next up, Germany has a branch of its mission tree dedicated to overseas expansion, beginning of course with the construction of an Imperial Navy. After building 30 heavy ships, you must Burn the Wooden Wall by ensuring that no British country has more than 5 heavy ships. Achieving this will grant you +10% naval morale for the rest of the game, as well as a permanent claim on London. Scramble for Africa and Overseas Empire see you building an empire in Africa and Asia respectively.
Germany and the Holy Roman Empire share a large portion of their missions trees, but each of them have a unique branch available only to them. The German unique branch focuses on state-building, for instance hiring skilled advisors, gaining Crown Land, constructing universities, and gaining absolutism.
This is the Holy Roman Empire’s unique branch of the mission tree. It has been said that the HRE was neither Holy, Roman, nor an empire, but you have the chance to change that. You must become Defender of the Faith (giving you an opportunity to launch a final crusade for Jerusalem), become Papal Controller (if Catholic), and finally centralize the disparate states of Germany into a single nation. Completing the Roman Resolution mission as a Catholic nation fires the following event, representing victory of the Emperor in the dispute between Church and Emperor:
Hi I’m Alfray Stryke , a new addition on the EUIV team. Currently working as QA, although I have assisted with the design and implementation of Lübeck’s mission tree in the Emperor expansion.
The four paths for their missions are:
End the Sound Toll, By forcing or convincing Denmark to end the toll and increasing your trade in the Lübeck trade node, you continue to increase your trade in the Baltic. This leads to gaining claims on the Jutland peninsula and then Norway (subjugation if Norway is independent, permanent claims if they are not).
Ties with England requires either strengthening relations with England or Lübeckian merchants or privateers having at least 25% of the trade power in the English Channel. Completing this will strengthen Lübeckian traders in the British Isles, granting claims in order to form trading cities in London, Edinburgh and Ayr. Setting up trade cities in Edinburgh and Ayr will lead to dominating the North Sea trade and recruiting an explorer to settle Newfoundland (giving a Center of Trade there) and founding the American colony of Neulübeck.
The London Steelyard was historically the main trading base of the Hanseatic League during the 15th and 16th centuries, thus either owning London directly or indirectly via a member of your trade league will grant you a substantial boost to trade.
Defend the City, although Lübeck starts as a relatively wealthy but militarily lacking nation, their first goal should be to ensure they have a standing army capable of holding their own against any neighbours inside the HRE. Complete this via your own soldier or recruiting mercenary companies and you will gain claims on the rest of the Mecklenburg area. After building up your own strength, it is time to return the cities of Visby and Novgorod to the Hanseatic League by either owning them directly or indirectly.
The Merchant Navy, by building up your merchant navy and increasing your coffers, you are then led to formalising bookkeeping and building the Lübeck Krantor (replacing the old decision). After increasing your ship building industry, commissioning the Adler von Lübeck (for owners of Golden Century, the decision now requires a flagship), and asserting naval dominance over the North and Baltic Seas Lübeck can be declared the Queen of the Hanseatic League. This rewards you with increased diplomatic reputation and decreased advisor cost.
The culmination of their mission tree after increasing the reach of the Hanseatic League is to unite the league into a solidified political entity - making any members of the trade league that own historically important trade cities into vassals, with a boost to their diplomatic relations in order to compensate for this. Then using the same system for the Kingdom of God and the Caliphate renaming you are rightfully termed the Hanseatic League!
And that’s all for today! Join us next week for the last in our series of content-focused dev diaries.