Sep 12, 2016
New Worlds: Crusader Kings II Map & History Generator
Crusader Kings II - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Adam Smith)

When you start a new game of Dwarf Fortress, a world is generated. Not just a map, but a world, with its own legends, characters, factions and historical wars. It’s one of my favourite openings to any game and gets me far more hyped than any fancy cinematic intro.

Wouldn’t it be great if Crusader Kings II [official site] could do something similar, rather than sticking to actual historical beginnings? Thanks to a modder who goes by the name Yemmlie, it can. The CK2 Generator can create alternate histories, simulating the appearance and development of cultures, religions, languages, characters and all the rest. It defaults to the vanilla map but if you want a random world to play on as well, that’s supported.

… [visit site to read more]

Sep 7, 2016
Development Diary - Quarantining the bugs
Crusader Kings II - BjornB
Hello all, it’s time for another CK2 development diary. We’re still working on making 2.6.2, and while of course there’s some bugfixing going on, for the most part we’re just adding bonus content. Which is fun!

We are working in a strict priority order, so naturally the first thing to be added was more pet events:


With the vital stuff out of the way, we moved on to more of The Reaper’s Due’s core focus, mortality and death:


We’ve also added some new game rules, such as making regular illnesses less common if desired, keeping prisoners in jail after torture, or disabling titles being named after dynasties or changing due to the culture of the holder.

There’s not much else to show at the moment, but there’ll be more next week. For something else to talk about now, I can reveal some of the new statistics data we’ve been getting about RD and the gamerules.

Of the 50,000 players in the last 24 hours:
90-95% of RD players are using the new Death sounds and have ingame sound on.
96% of players allow the AI to use the Intrigue focus.
92.6% of players allow the AI to use the Seduction focus.
93% of players have kept assassination plot only.
84% of players have Defensive pacts on.
76.3% of players have Shattered Retreat on.

Right now I can only see the numbers for default settings or not, but that will change as our stats people make newer and fancier graphs, and these seem like the most interesting stats for now. Next week, more new 2.6.2 content news!
Sep 7, 2016
Development Diary - Quarantining the bugs
Crusader Kings II - BjornB
Hello all, it’s time for another CK2 development diary. We’re still working on making 2.6.2, and while of course there’s some bugfixing going on, for the most part we’re just adding bonus content. Which is fun!

We are working in a strict priority order, so naturally the first thing to be added was more pet events:


With the vital stuff out of the way, we moved on to more of The Reaper’s Due’s core focus, mortality and death:


We’ve also added some new game rules, such as making regular illnesses less common if desired, keeping prisoners in jail after torture, or disabling titles being named after dynasties or changing due to the culture of the holder.

There’s not much else to show at the moment, but there’ll be more next week. For something else to talk about now, I can reveal some of the new statistics data we’ve been getting about RD and the gamerules.

Of the 50,000 players in the last 24 hours:
90-95% of RD players are using the new Death sounds and have ingame sound on.
96% of players allow the AI to use the Intrigue focus.
92.6% of players allow the AI to use the Seduction focus.
93% of players have kept assassination plot only.
84% of players have Defensive pacts on.
76.3% of players have Shattered Retreat on.

Right now I can only see the numbers for default settings or not, but that will change as our stats people make newer and fancier graphs, and these seem like the most interesting stats for now. Next week, more new 2.6.2 content news!
Aug 30, 2016
Dev Diary - Hotfix Patch 2.6.1.1 [SKBW]
Crusader Kings II - BjornB


Greetings! If you are reading this you have survived the [S]outbreak[/s] launch of The Reaper’s Due. Perhaps you now feel a stirring of hope; can society rebuild? But no, the DLC was too virulent and has spread too far, it is now endemic to CK2 and cannot be cured, there is no hope.

Certain death aside, we are very happy with the reception of Reaper’s Due and the reactions it’s getting. We have had a few problems, but our Code Physicians have been working hard on a cure and if all goes well we’ll be releasing a hotfix today. It’ll cover the education bug non-Conclave owners have, the lack of music when the Context sensitive option is used, and various other things:

########################################################## ########## 2.6.1.1 The Reaper's Due ########### ########################################################## ################### # Bugfixes ################### - Fixes songs from the base game being disabled in contextual songs - If the contextual song doesn't find a song to play, a song will now be chosen by ignoring the contextual song system - Fixed children not getting their education trait upon becoming adults when you don't have Conclave - Can no longer call ally into war against their own liege - You can now get the achievement 'Papal Mache' by killing a Caliph, as implied by the description - Epidemic diseases no longer stall if you are infected while you have a non-serious symptom - The "desires a matrilineal marriage" AI modifier no longer happens when matrilineal marriages are disabled - Horse doctors got a little better - Incapable people no longer steal your food in seclusion - characters will not accuse their liege during witch hunts since they have to approve them - Vassals will no longer refuse their liege's marriage or betrothal offers to get a "better alliance" - No longer will you get upset about your spouse/parent's grave getting robbed if you were the robber - Removed the possibility to search for partial titles for performance reasons - Eunuchs may only select the Groom an Heir ambition if they have a living child - Fixed several cases of when a Christian Holy Order built a new castle, you would be notified that Beit Dejan was built, instead of the actual castle - Court physicians now always ask their own liege for money. - Generic reincarnation event requires your heir to be your child - Added some more ai factors for when head of religion wants to blame Jews for the plague - Fixed some broken text in reincarnation event - The priest generated by event 3021 now has an education - Murderers are now immune to prune (prevents the red skull from leading nowhere) - Characters who are marked as special interest by the player, or immune to pruning are no longer killed by the court cleanser - Fixed in issue with prisoners being able to complain to their liege that the chancellor was looking inappropriately at his wife - Added the sayyid trait to al-Hadi (id 188648), son of Al-Mansur - Crash fix that occurred in some mods using custom maps. - Fixed an issue were you would be notified of eating your own close dynasty members - Fixed 867 Sápmi setup - Event WoL.6120 will now only trigger for adult characters - Further reduced odds of under 16s getting cancer - Rulers are now willing to negotiate non-aggression pacts with their vassals - Fixed so infidel penalty is applied properly for betrothal/marriage - Modded game rules should now be loaded properly. - Fixed so call ally alert no longer shows if it's a war against your ally's liege - Fixed a crash when using custom maps

After this, we’ll be working on the 2.6.2 patch which will, as well as general fixing, add some more events and content we thought up too late to do for the release or that have been suggested on this and other forums post-release -and on that note, please continue to suggest new Game Rules. But 2.6.2 details are for future DDs, that’s all for now!

Read the original post


Useful links
Official Website
Crusader Kings II Wiki
Crusader Kings II Development Diary Archive
Aug 30, 2016
Dev Diary - Hotfix Patch 2.6.1.1 [SKBW]
Crusader Kings II - BjornB


Greetings! If you are reading this you have survived the [S]outbreak[/s] launch of The Reaper’s Due. Perhaps you now feel a stirring of hope; can society rebuild? But no, the DLC was too virulent and has spread too far, it is now endemic to CK2 and cannot be cured, there is no hope.

Certain death aside, we are very happy with the reception of Reaper’s Due and the reactions it’s getting. We have had a few problems, but our Code Physicians have been working hard on a cure and if all goes well we’ll be releasing a hotfix today. It’ll cover the education bug non-Conclave owners have, the lack of music when the Context sensitive option is used, and various other things:

########################################################## ########## 2.6.1.1 The Reaper's Due ########### ########################################################## ################### # Bugfixes ################### - Fixes songs from the base game being disabled in contextual songs - If the contextual song doesn't find a song to play, a song will now be chosen by ignoring the contextual song system - Fixed children not getting their education trait upon becoming adults when you don't have Conclave - Can no longer call ally into war against their own liege - You can now get the achievement 'Papal Mache' by killing a Caliph, as implied by the description - Epidemic diseases no longer stall if you are infected while you have a non-serious symptom - The "desires a matrilineal marriage" AI modifier no longer happens when matrilineal marriages are disabled - Horse doctors got a little better - Incapable people no longer steal your food in seclusion - characters will not accuse their liege during witch hunts since they have to approve them - Vassals will no longer refuse their liege's marriage or betrothal offers to get a "better alliance" - No longer will you get upset about your spouse/parent's grave getting robbed if you were the robber - Removed the possibility to search for partial titles for performance reasons - Eunuchs may only select the Groom an Heir ambition if they have a living child - Fixed several cases of when a Christian Holy Order built a new castle, you would be notified that Beit Dejan was built, instead of the actual castle - Court physicians now always ask their own liege for money. - Generic reincarnation event requires your heir to be your child - Added some more ai factors for when head of religion wants to blame Jews for the plague - Fixed some broken text in reincarnation event - The priest generated by event 3021 now has an education - Murderers are now immune to prune (prevents the red skull from leading nowhere) - Characters who are marked as special interest by the player, or immune to pruning are no longer killed by the court cleanser - Fixed in issue with prisoners being able to complain to their liege that the chancellor was looking inappropriately at his wife - Added the sayyid trait to al-Hadi (id 188648), son of Al-Mansur - Crash fix that occurred in some mods using custom maps. - Fixed an issue were you would be notified of eating your own close dynasty members - Fixed 867 Sápmi setup - Event WoL.6120 will now only trigger for adult characters - Further reduced odds of under 16s getting cancer - Rulers are now willing to negotiate non-aggression pacts with their vassals - Fixed so infidel penalty is applied properly for betrothal/marriage - Modded game rules should now be loaded properly. - Fixed so call ally alert no longer shows if it's a war against your ally's liege - Fixed a crash when using custom maps

After this, we’ll be working on the 2.6.2 patch which will, as well as general fixing, add some more events and content we thought up too late to do for the release or that have been suggested on this and other forums post-release -and on that note, please continue to suggest new Game Rules. But 2.6.2 details are for future DDs, that’s all for now!

Read the original post


Useful links
Official Website
Crusader Kings II Wiki
Crusader Kings II Development Diary Archive
Aug 25, 2016
The Reaper s Due Has Come To Crusader Kings II
Crusader Kings II - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Brendan Caldwell)

Bring out yer dead, we ve got a lovely wheelbarrow ready and waiting. Dynastic strategy and infanticide simulator, Crusader Kings II [official site], has received its latest add-on. The Reaper s Due brings a bunch of new events and mechanics for Europe s worst case of the sniffles. The Black Death will ravage the land and you ll be forced to either fight against it or hide away in your castle with your pet cat. As usual, there s also a free patch tweaking other issues, for all the peasants unable to find 7 in their coffers.

… [visit site to read more]

Aug 25, 2016
Crusader Kings II: The Reaper’s Due available now!
Crusader Kings II - BjornB


STOCKHOLM - August 25, 2016 - Few things are more contagious than the stories people tell about Crusader Kings II. Tales of intrigue, piety, conquest and murderous sibling rivalry have circled the internet for over four years. Today, Paradox Development Studio adds the world’s greatest pandemic to the mix in The Reaper’s Due, the latest expansion to its best-selling medieval grand strategy-roleplaying game.

The Reaper’s Due adds a host of new mechanics centered on the Black Death and other world shaping epidemics. Lock your gates to keep the plague from infecting your court, even if it means cutting yourself off from your suffering citizens. Peace and good management will see your provinces reward you with greater wealth and manpower, but rampant disease may depopulate your countryside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u08K9uvRM3E

The Reaper’s Due introduces many new systems and features to what is already the richest medieval tapestry in gaming:

- The Black Death: New additions to epidemic system include this super destructive disease and a new map mode that track the expansion of deadly illnesses.
- Court Physicians: This new position for learned courtiers opens up a series of events tied to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases with medieval tech.
- Hospitals: Slow down the spread of epidemics by investing in these outposts that care for the sick and infirm.
- Prosperity and Depopulation: Watch your provinces thrive under your careful attention and degrade under the pressures of diseases run amok.
- Seclusion: Take a page from the Masque of the Red Death and hide yourself away with your court as plagues ravage the countryside.

And even more: New physical traits, new events chain and a host of smaller changes.

Are you a clever enough ruler to make it through one of humanity’s darkest moments? Invest wisely and avoid the plague, or shut yourself off and take advantage of the destruction later. The choice, as always, is yours.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/449980/

Free update patch 2.6
And as per usual the expansion is accompanied by a free patch that should have been downloaded by your Steam client already. You can read the patch notes here!

The Reaper’s Due Content Pack
Also a new content pack has been released and is available . You can see a preview of the content here!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/449981/

Full Plate Metal Music Pack!
From Tobias Gustavsson, composer of “Viking Metal” and “Guns, Drums and Steel”, five completely original compositions have been created to add intensity to your Crusader Kings experience, with inspirations drawn from Viking music, the Main Theme, Nordic culture, and – of course – heavy metal. You can get it right here!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/472070/
Aug 25, 2016
Crusader Kings II: The Reaper’s Due available now!
Crusader Kings II - BjornB


STOCKHOLM - August 25, 2016 - Few things are more contagious than the stories people tell about Crusader Kings II. Tales of intrigue, piety, conquest and murderous sibling rivalry have circled the internet for over four years. Today, Paradox Development Studio adds the world’s greatest pandemic to the mix in The Reaper’s Due, the latest expansion to its best-selling medieval grand strategy-roleplaying game.

The Reaper’s Due adds a host of new mechanics centered on the Black Death and other world shaping epidemics. Lock your gates to keep the plague from infecting your court, even if it means cutting yourself off from your suffering citizens. Peace and good management will see your provinces reward you with greater wealth and manpower, but rampant disease may depopulate your countryside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u08K9uvRM3E

The Reaper’s Due introduces many new systems and features to what is already the richest medieval tapestry in gaming:

- The Black Death: New additions to epidemic system include this super destructive disease and a new map mode that track the expansion of deadly illnesses.
- Court Physicians: This new position for learned courtiers opens up a series of events tied to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases with medieval tech.
- Hospitals: Slow down the spread of epidemics by investing in these outposts that care for the sick and infirm.
- Prosperity and Depopulation: Watch your provinces thrive under your careful attention and degrade under the pressures of diseases run amok.
- Seclusion: Take a page from the Masque of the Red Death and hide yourself away with your court as plagues ravage the countryside.

And even more: New physical traits, new events chain and a host of smaller changes.

Are you a clever enough ruler to make it through one of humanity’s darkest moments? Invest wisely and avoid the plague, or shut yourself off and take advantage of the destruction later. The choice, as always, is yours.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/449980/

Free update patch 2.6
And as per usual the expansion is accompanied by a free patch that should have been downloaded by your Steam client already. You can read the patch notes here!

The Reaper’s Due Content Pack
Also a new content pack has been released and is available . You can see a preview of the content here!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/449981/

Full Plate Metal Music Pack!
From Tobias Gustavsson, composer of “Viking Metal” and “Guns, Drums and Steel”, five completely original compositions have been created to add intensity to your Crusader Kings experience, with inspirations drawn from Viking music, the Main Theme, Nordic culture, and – of course – heavy metal. You can get it right here!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/472070/
Aug 25, 2016
Patch 2.6.1 Released!
Crusader Kings II - BjornB
Hi all!

2.6.1 is finally out for you to enjoy. The release of the expansion The Reaper's Due, content pack and Full Plate Metal will be within an hour.

FYI: 2.6.0 + 2.6.1 were merged together and are released at the same time (now), that's the reason behind calling the patch "2.6.1".

Important information:
Older save games should work with 2.6 but if you want to be really safe you should finish off any games in 2.5.2 before updating

How to revert patch level: Right click CK2 in Steam, choose "Properties", click "Betas" tab, select 2.5.2 in the dropdown list and let it update
.
##########################################################
############ 2.6 The Reaper's Due 2016-08-25 #############
##########################################################

###################
# Free Features
###################
- Game Rules have been added to the game - Whenever you start a new game, you can change the rules to customize your experience:
- Major Epidemic (requires 'The Reaper's Due'): Dynamic/Delayed Dynamic/Historical/Deadly
- Gender Equality: Default/Historical/All
- Mongol Invasion: Historical/Random/off
- Aztec Invasion (requires 'Sunset Invasion'): 14th Century/Random/Off
- Shattered Retreat: On/Off
- Defensive Pacts: On/Off
- Dynamic De Jure Drift: Default/Restricted/Off
- De Jure Assimilation Duration: Very Short/Short/Default/Long
- Supernatural Events: On/Off
- Culture Conversion: Default/Restricted/Faster Melting Pots/Slower Conversion/Combination
- Religious Conversion Speed: Default/Slower
- Raiding: Historical/Unrestricted/Off
- Adventurers: Normal/Rare/None
- Interfaith Marriages: Restricted/Open
- Matrilineal Marriages: On/Off
- Custom Realms (requires 'Charlemagne'): On/Off
- Story Events (requires 'Charlemagne'): On/Off
- Vassal Republics: Restricted/Unrestricted
- Vassal Theocracies: Restricted/Unrestricted
- Invitation to Court: Default/Open
- Diplomatic Range: On/Restricted/Off
- Regencies: On/Off
- Provincial Revolts: Normal/Rare/None
- Defensive Attrition: On/Tribal Only/Off
- Pagan Reformation: Allowed/Disallowed/Players Only
- Assassination: Plots Only/Direct Action
- AI Seduction (requires 'Way of Life'): On/Off
- AI Intrigue (requires 'Way of Life'): On/Off
- Provincial Revolt: Normal/Rare/None

- The old succession screen has been replaced with one that is much more elaborate!
- The graphics and layout of the screen has been improved.
- A flavorful text will tell your more of the deceased character and what they will be remembered by.
- A picture representing the characters death has been added.
- You will now hear your own death sound when dying.

- Added events through which one can get female councillors, the women can either be talented relatives, vassals or strangers
- Added a 'Release Tributary' decision
- Added a decision to Recruit prisoners
- Added a decision to ask characters to leave your court (at the cost of prestige)
- Added decisions for Hindu Merchant Republics to claim the Vaishya caste
- Added a confirmation event whenever you expel a holy order to avoid expelling them by mistake
- Added a Continue button to the launcher, which boots the game into your latest save
- Added loads of new nicknames
- Added more autosave intervals: every 10, 25, 50, and 100 years
- Changed and optimized compression to improve Ironman saving (and saving in general) times. Unfortunately this means save files are also bigger. For reference, saving my test case file went from 29s to less than 6s.
- There is now an event informing the world when a Crusade/Jihad etc ends inconclusively
- Skilled or ambitious female vassals may now demand a seat on the council
- Added an event to rename "Middle Francia" to "Austrasia" if no longer held by a Karling

Way of Life:
- Added a bunch of new events for the War Focus (Way of Life) where you can get leader traits and teach them to your commanders
- Added a bunch of events for the Theology focus where you retreat into solitude to pray and reflect upon your life
- The Family Focus can now also remove rivalries between close family members

The Old Gods:
- Added some stronger versions of the Viking trait, Ravager and Sea King, which can be gain from further raiding.
- Added targeted decision 'Appoint Shieldmaiden' for Norse pagan rulers, which grants eligible female character the trait 'Shieldmaiden' as well as access to the Commander minor title
- Shieldmaiden training events
- Combat events where a Shieldmaiden can save her liege on the battlefield
- Event chain for befriending a Shieldmaiden
- Added two decisions for defensive pagans - one to worship the ancestors, where a sacrifice can lead to different outcomes in a chosen area, and one to summon a band of devout warriors when getting invaded by religious enemies.

There is more! Much more, but they don't fit in here, so please click here to continue reading...
Aug 25, 2016
Patch 2.6.1 Released!
Crusader Kings II - BjornB
Hi all!

2.6.1 is finally out for you to enjoy. The release of the expansion The Reaper's Due, content pack and Full Plate Metal will be within an hour.

FYI: 2.6.0 + 2.6.1 were merged together and are released at the same time (now), that's the reason behind calling the patch "2.6.1".

Important information:
Older save games should work with 2.6 but if you want to be really safe you should finish off any games in 2.5.2 before updating

How to revert patch level: Right click CK2 in Steam, choose "Properties", click "Betas" tab, select 2.5.2 in the dropdown list and let it update
.
##########################################################
############ 2.6 The Reaper's Due 2016-08-25 #############
##########################################################

###################
# Free Features
###################
- Game Rules have been added to the game - Whenever you start a new game, you can change the rules to customize your experience:
- Major Epidemic (requires 'The Reaper's Due'): Dynamic/Delayed Dynamic/Historical/Deadly
- Gender Equality: Default/Historical/All
- Mongol Invasion: Historical/Random/off
- Aztec Invasion (requires 'Sunset Invasion'): 14th Century/Random/Off
- Shattered Retreat: On/Off
- Defensive Pacts: On/Off
- Dynamic De Jure Drift: Default/Restricted/Off
- De Jure Assimilation Duration: Very Short/Short/Default/Long
- Supernatural Events: On/Off
- Culture Conversion: Default/Restricted/Faster Melting Pots/Slower Conversion/Combination
- Religious Conversion Speed: Default/Slower
- Raiding: Historical/Unrestricted/Off
- Adventurers: Normal/Rare/None
- Interfaith Marriages: Restricted/Open
- Matrilineal Marriages: On/Off
- Custom Realms (requires 'Charlemagne'): On/Off
- Story Events (requires 'Charlemagne'): On/Off
- Vassal Republics: Restricted/Unrestricted
- Vassal Theocracies: Restricted/Unrestricted
- Invitation to Court: Default/Open
- Diplomatic Range: On/Restricted/Off
- Regencies: On/Off
- Provincial Revolts: Normal/Rare/None
- Defensive Attrition: On/Tribal Only/Off
- Pagan Reformation: Allowed/Disallowed/Players Only
- Assassination: Plots Only/Direct Action
- AI Seduction (requires 'Way of Life'): On/Off
- AI Intrigue (requires 'Way of Life'): On/Off
- Provincial Revolt: Normal/Rare/None

- The old succession screen has been replaced with one that is much more elaborate!
- The graphics and layout of the screen has been improved.
- A flavorful text will tell your more of the deceased character and what they will be remembered by.
- A picture representing the characters death has been added.
- You will now hear your own death sound when dying.

- Added events through which one can get female councillors, the women can either be talented relatives, vassals or strangers
- Added a 'Release Tributary' decision
- Added a decision to Recruit prisoners
- Added a decision to ask characters to leave your court (at the cost of prestige)
- Added decisions for Hindu Merchant Republics to claim the Vaishya caste
- Added a confirmation event whenever you expel a holy order to avoid expelling them by mistake
- Added a Continue button to the launcher, which boots the game into your latest save
- Added loads of new nicknames
- Added more autosave intervals: every 10, 25, 50, and 100 years
- Changed and optimized compression to improve Ironman saving (and saving in general) times. Unfortunately this means save files are also bigger. For reference, saving my test case file went from 29s to less than 6s.
- There is now an event informing the world when a Crusade/Jihad etc ends inconclusively
- Skilled or ambitious female vassals may now demand a seat on the council
- Added an event to rename "Middle Francia" to "Austrasia" if no longer held by a Karling

Way of Life:
- Added a bunch of new events for the War Focus (Way of Life) where you can get leader traits and teach them to your commanders
- Added a bunch of events for the Theology focus where you retreat into solitude to pray and reflect upon your life
- The Family Focus can now also remove rivalries between close family members

The Old Gods:
- Added some stronger versions of the Viking trait, Ravager and Sea King, which can be gain from further raiding.
- Added targeted decision 'Appoint Shieldmaiden' for Norse pagan rulers, which grants eligible female character the trait 'Shieldmaiden' as well as access to the Commander minor title
- Shieldmaiden training events
- Combat events where a Shieldmaiden can save her liege on the battlefield
- Event chain for befriending a Shieldmaiden
- Added two decisions for defensive pagans - one to worship the ancestors, where a sacrifice can lead to different outcomes in a chosen area, and one to summon a band of devout warriors when getting invaded by religious enemies.

There is more! Much more, but they don't fit in here, so please click here to continue reading...
...