Crusader Kings III News

[p]From the Great Wall to the great temple cities of Indochina, from the foothills of Mount Fuji to the river valleys of China, an infinite array of new adventures and stories awaits you in All Under Heaven, the largest expansion for Crusader Kings III to date. The newly expanded map presents a rich and colorful setting for imperial ambition, sacred duties and shadowy scheming with detailed representations of medieval China, Japan and Southeast Asia.[/p][p][hr][/hr][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Coming on 28 October, All Under Heaven takes your campaigns to entirely new settings, unseen in any previous Crusader Kings game. Keep a steady hand on the regional hegemon or manage the tumult of dynastic change in China. Revere the Yamato emperor and his regent in Japan, or pursue the path of the samurai warlord. Build a monumental temple facility in the jungles of Southeast Asia and compel weaker kingdoms to pay tribute to your greatness.[/p][p]
All Under Heaven also introduces Japanese as a supported language for Crusader Kings III, further expanding the international audience that has grown to support this royal game.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

• [p]China: The Mandate of Heaven[/p]
  • [p]Ascend to the highest tier of power with the new Hegemony title, reigning supreme over all empires in the Chinese region.[/p]
  • [p]Navigate the Dynastic Cycle, a living system of stability and chaos. Exploit periods of instability to rise to power and reshape the political landscape.[/p]
  • [p]Explore the Celestial government system, unique to China. Earn Merit through deeds or the Imperial Examinations, gaining favor and influence.[/p]
  • [p]Manage the Imperial Treasury to fund Great Projects, defend against disasters, or expand your influence with statecraft and might.[/p]
• [p]Japan: Rise of the Shogunate[/p]
  • [p]Take control of a Japanese house and forge your destiny. Rise through the intricate courtly system to become a mighty Shogun or Kampaku regent.[/p]
  • [p]Strengthen your position through alliances, intrigue, and ritual, or unite the houses through the strength of your samurai armies; which path you take is for you to decide.[/p]
  • [p]Lead the Imperial Yamato house to restore power to the Emperor, ushering in an age of imperial grandeur.[/p]
  • [p]Experience the rich cultural traditions of Japan, where honor and scandal intertwine, shaping the lives of lords and vassals alike.[/p]
• [p]Southeast Asia: God-Kings and Temple Empires[/p]
  • [p]Rule as a Devaraja with the Mandala Government, uniting tributaries into vast, temple-centered empires.[/p]
  • [p]Pay tribute to the God King by performing Tributary Missions as a Tributary ruler, increasing favor with your subjects.[/p]
• [p]Explore the Silk Road, new Starting Bookmarks and Historical Flavor[/p]
  • [p]Thrive along the expansive Silk Road by profiting from the wealth and innovations of China, even if you are far beyond its borders.[/p]
  • [p]New historical starting bookmarks bring fresh perspectives and new challenges. Play as iconic characters from the past or forge your unique path.[/p]
  • [p]Immerse yourself in  Asia's cultural, artistic, and historical nuances with new throne rooms, events, and traditions.[/p]
• [p]And much more[/p]

[p][/p][p]Whether you aim to unify Japan under your family clan, claim the Mandate of Heaven in China, or thrive as a God-King in Southeast Asia, All Under Heaven expands the boundaries of Crusader Kings III on a monumental scale.[/p][p][/p][p]All Under Heaven will be available on 28 October 2025, and is also available as part of the Chapter IV bundle.
[/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]Chapter IV of Crusader Kings III invites you to explore the struggles of the nomadic way of life and the splendor of Eastern Asia. With a rich lineup of content releasing throughout 2025, Chapter IV brings new challenges, systems, and customization options that deepen your gameplay and expand the game map in thrilling new ways.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]Akash Garg here, 3D artist lead at Studio Black! Today we’re going to cover the new character art coming in All Under Heaven, so let’s get right into it.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We wanted to share some insights into the creative process behind the character apparel in All Under Heaven. Our primary inspiration comes from two of the most aesthetically striking and culturally rich eras in Chinese history: the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) and the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD). Together, the two dynasties fit our game's timeframe perfectly.[/p][p]
Each of these dynasties had its own distinct cultural and creative identity, which we've carefully studied throughout the development of All Under Heaven. Our aim has been to provide a good level of visual variety as well as a believable representation of these historical time periods. We hope our effort in this area results in a richer and more historically authentic visual experience for all of our players.[/p][p]
\[Examples of primarily Tang Dynasty attire. The Emperor is wearing a mianfu, the Empress a diyi. There are Ministers with yuanlingpao robes as well as a soldier in cord-and-plaque armor, and a Taoist priest.][/p][p][/p][p]\[A combination of primarily Song Dynasty attire. The Song Emperor is wearing Tongtianguanfu, and he is surrounded by court ladies, ministers (one of them wearing the iconic spread-horn futou), as well as a soldier with gilded mountain-pattern armor.][/p][p][/p][h2]Research & References[/h2][p]As always, we first needed to develop a solid understanding of the time period and learn as much as we could about the Chinese clothing styles of the Tang and Song dynasties. With great help from our stellar team of beta testers, as well as other team members with extensive knowledge and resources, we started by collecting historical references from:[/p]

• [p]Ancient murals, books, museum collections (e.g., Palace Museum, History Museum)[/p]
• [p]Academic papers and books on Chinese costume history[/p]
• [p]Reconstructions of Hanfu clothing[/p]

[p]
We then set up a moodboard/reference board to collect our sources and ideas in a visual way. At this point we also got help from our talented colleagues in the 2D art team who created concept art for many of the assets. These drawings, combined with the reference images, are what the 3D artists use as guides when working on each item. [/p]

• [p]Tang Dynasty: Typical features include long sleeves with long skirts and bold colors. [/p]
• [p]Song Dynasty: Characterized by wide-sleeved Hanfu clothes, long skirts, floral embroidery, and elegant simplicity.[/p]

[p]
\[A snapshot of (a small part of!) the Miro board put together by the character art team to collect references for everything related to Chinese clothing.][/p][p][/p][p]Overall, we have successfully created a total of 84 Chinese culture assets for this initiative, distributed as follows:[/p]

• [p]16 hairstyles[/p]
• [p]21 clothing assets[/p]
• [p]12 beards[/p]
• [p]12 legwear[/p]
• [p]18 headgear [/p]
• [p] 2 armor sets[/p]
• [p] 3 map units[/p]

[p][/p][p]Below you can see some game renders for various hairstyles, beards, and headgear for both male and female characters. These items are triggered in the game based on the character's ranking and status.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]\[Some examples of Chinese hairstyles and headgear.][/p][p]
[/p][h2]Clothing Patterns from the Tang and Song Dynasties[/h2][p]We’ve also created many new fabric patterns for the Chinese clothes, all based on historical sources. These are applied to clothing in the game both as multicolored brocades as well as more subtle, monochromatic patterning.[/p][p]
[/p][p]\[Pattern textures.][/p][p][/p][p]Since Chinese dynasties had strict rules regarding colors, fabrics, and cuts of garments, we developed a system for classifying clothes according to their Merit ranking in-game. Our approach involves using specific palettes to categorize outfits based on color variations. This is then scripted so that a character like a minister will wear different-colored robes depending on their rank.[/p][p][/p][p]We hope this system will provide players with a clearer understanding of how garment aesthetics played a role in status and hierarchy within China.[/p][p]
\[Some examples of Chinese patterns and color combinations applied to the clothing.][/p][p]
[/p][h2]Color Palettes[/h2][p]We use color palettes like the example below to enhance the color diversity of each outfit. This is what allows us to do the previously mentioned robes for differently ranked ministers, for example, but it also lets us create more colorful outfits with many patterns and complex combinations. This expansion adds many garments with multiple layered components. To support them, we expanded our dynamic patterning system from four to six dynamic materials, which lets us represent the era’s colorful clothing more faithfully.[/p][p][/p][p]\[Chinese Hanfu garments.][/p][p]
[/p][h2]Chinese Armor[/h2][p]Tang/Song Dynasty armors were often made of lamellar and mountain-pattern plates tied together with leather or silk cords, sometimes incorporating metal, lacquered leather, and silk, symbolizing the empire's wealth and martial strength. We have included a Tang-era cord-and-plaque armor and a Song-era elite mountain-pattern armor. [/p][p][/p][p]\[Chinese armors][/p][p][/p][h3]Military Units[/h3][p]In addition to portrait characters, we also represent the military might of the Chinese dynasties with new army units on the map.[/p][p]For every culture, we typically have three tiers of map units. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]\[Chinese map units.][/p][p]
[/p][p]The Japanese Heian Period (794–1185) was characterized by grace, ceremony, and multi-layered clothing, and is the inspiration for the Japanese set of character attire. The rich patterns, hues, textures, and Heian court dress are what we aim to capture.[/p][p]Important clothes :[/p][p]Jūnihitoe (Twelve-Layer Robe): Worn by ladies of the court, this elegant, multi-layered ensemble uses carefully chosen colors to reflect seasons. This was an interesting challenge for our team; we used cloth simulation software to faithfully recreate each layer of this costume, one after the other.[/p][p][/p][p]\[3D model made for the Jūnihitoe][/p][p][/p][p]Sokutai (imperial robe): For male courtiers, from the middle ranks all the way up to the Emperor, the Sokutai includes wide sleeves, tall headwear (kanmuri or eboshi), and a stiff, formal silhouette. Our version blends ceremonial grandeur with slight mobility for animations.[/p][p][/p][p]As with the jūnihitoe, we constructed the sokutai in a true‑to‑life way, with each layer of the real outfit included in the simulation. The outermost garment is the hōeki no hō, worn over six additional layers that help create the sokutai’s iconic silhouette.[/p][p][/p][p]As you can see, we also modeled the ceremonial kazari-tachi sword based on a real example from the Heian Period. [/p][p]
\[3D models of the sokutai and kazari-tachi sword][/p][p][/p][p]Ō-yoroi Armor and Kabuto Helmet: Iconic boxy silhouette with large shoulder guards, chest armor, and a skirt of lamellar plates (kusazuri). Tied with brightly colored silk cords, the armor was both defensive and highly decorative.[/p][p]
\[Combination of Heian Period attire and robes worn by important nobles. The male official wears sokutai and his wife jūnihitoe. There are two men wearing less formal clothing and a third one in full ō‑yoroi armor, as well as a Buddhist monk in Japanese-style kasaya.][/p][p]
\[Combination of low-ranking official, the Emperor in sokutai, and a high-ranking official][/p][p]
\[How the jūnihitoe robe is worn with empress and noblewoman clothing][/p][p]
\[Combination of dō-maru and ō‑yoroi armor along with Ori-eboshi and kabuto helmet][/p][p][/p][p]\[A family wearing clothes decorated with their family kamon][/p][p][/p][h2]Research & References[/h2][p]Similar to the previously described process for creating Chinese garments, for the Japanese assets we started by collecting historical references from:[/p]

• [p]Ancient murals, museum collections (e.g., Palace Museum, History Museum)[/p]
• [p]Books and websites focused on Japanese history[/p]
• [p]Patterns that are still used today in imperial ceremonies and as part of living history events[/p]

[p][/p][p]We set up a separate moodboard for the Japanese collection. [/p][p][/p][p]\[Reference board for the Japanese assets][/p][p][/p][p]Overall, we have created a total of 47 assets for Japanese culture: [/p]

• [p]6 hairstyles[/p]
• [p]18 clothing assets[/p]
• [p]4 beards[/p]
• [p]5 legwear[/p]
• [p]9 headgear pieces[/p]
• [p]2 armor sets[/p]
• [p]3 map units[/p]

[p][/p][p]Here we have some game renders for various hairstyles, beards, and headgear for both male and female characters. These items are triggered in the game based on the character's ranking and status.[/p][p][/p][p]\[A selection of Japanese hairstyle and headgear assets][/p][p][/p][h2]Japanese Clothing Patterns[/h2][p]Much like the Chinese system of government, the ranking system for Japanese dynasties heavily relies on the color and design of garments. We try to group the outfits by rank using color palettes. [/p][p][/p][p]We have also developed numerous brocades and trims that are unique to Japanese culture. [/p][p][/p][p]\[Some of the Japanese patterns and color combinations][/p][p][/p][p]\[Various Japanese garments][/p][p]
[/p][h3]Japanese Military Units[/h3][p]For every civilization, we typically have three tiers of map units.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]\[Japanese map units][/p][p] [/p][p]The Khmer Empire (9th–10th centuries) influences character clothing, emphasizing the splendor of Angkorian‑era style. Royal attire, such as the sampot (a long, wrapped skirt), features golden belts and elaborate crowns or headdresses, and is typically worn by kings or high officials.

Temple-dancer (or apsara) outfits typically feature flowing silk garments and elaborate jewelry. These are usually worn with large, heavily-decorated crowns or headdresses.[/p][p]
\[3D model of the Sampot Tep Apsara and Crown][/p][p][/p][p]Overall, we created a total of two sets of clothes and headgear for this region.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]\[Combination of Royal attire (Sampot with Body Jewelry) and Sampot Tep Apsara along with Khmer Noble's Crown and Apsara Crown][/p][p]
[/p][p]With the map significantly expanded to cover vast new regions, there are many new cultures and peoples represented in the game. One important aspect of that representation is the new ethnicities we added across  East Asia. You can see some examples of character appearances from different regions below. [/p][p][/p][p]\[A selection of characters from all over East and Southeast Asia][/p][p][/p][h2]General Improvements[/h2][p]If you study the screenshots closely, you may notice something that looks a little different from the current version of Crusader Kings III. We have made some overall improvements to skin textures, lighting, shading, and render settings. This affects all characters in the game (not just those from the new areas!) and should result in all of them looking a bit better.[/p][p] [/p][p]\[Some more examples of characters from other parts of the map after the overall improvements][/p][p]
[/p][p]Featuring by far the largest number of assets we have made for an expansion (not to mention focusing on an entirely new area of the world) All Under Heaven provided a significant challenge for us, but it was also very rewarding to dive into this incredibly rich source material and bring it to life within Crusader Kings III. We’re pleased with the results and the volume of content, and we sincerely hope it contributes to the immersion of this new DLC
[/p][p]It’s been incredibly important for us to enable many of you to be able to play in your countries and cultures you’ve always wanted to play (It might even be your own!). While we had a lot of material and references to work with for this expansion, the sheer size of it meant we couldn’t implement everything on day one. There are so many beautiful clothes and accessories from that era that we would love to realize one day, so please, after All Under Heaven releases we would LOVE to hear from you what YOU felt was missing and would love for us to add in the future.[/p][p]
[/p]

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[p]Hello everyone! Today’s dev diary will be a slightly unusual one; while China, Japan, and Southeast Asia have received dedicated dev diaries already, there were enough information gaps in them and unanswered questions from players that we felt the need to revisit them. Simultaneously, we wanted to give players a better understanding of how everything in All Under Heaven actually fits together and interacts when you play it.[/p][p][/p][p]To that end, today’s dev diary will consist of three playthroughs: China in 1066, Japan in 1066, and Angkor in 867. We’ll guide you through the life of a single character in each of these regions, highlighting features that make them mechanically distinct from each other, as well as how these systems interact with the existing core gameplay loop that players are already familiar with.



[h3]Unfortunately, this DD exceeds the character limit for a Steam news post![/h3]
You can read the full dev diary by following this link to our forums or you can watch our video covering this dev diary below.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

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[p]Hello, Chop here again! Today we’ll be taking a closer look at one of the new Situations coming in All Under Heaven, so load up your camels because we’re exploring the Silk Road!

[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]
[/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p][/p][p]Our aim with the Silk Road feature is to represent the movement of ideas and interconnectedness of the East and West. The Silk Road touches on commerce thematically, but it isn’t a trade system, even if it brings wealth and other benefits to participants.[/p][p][/p][p]Though certain routes were more or less prevalent at different times, the famed Silk Road was in fact a myriad of routes that snaked across Asia, with the Hexi Corridor and the Tarim Basin among the best known. These routes carried goods, travelers, and innovations, and many adjacent regions benefitted from this flow indirectly.[/p][p][/p][p]\[The Silk Road Situation and its associated map mode][/p][p][/p][p]In All Under Heaven, the Silk Road Situation is split into six Regions: China, Central Asia, Tibet, Transcaspia, India, and the Occident. Each Region has a Phase, a Hub that serves as its regional center, and an active Silk Road Innovation. Let’s explore each of these in turn.[/p][p][/p][h2]Phases[/h2][p]Regions within the Silk Road Situation fluctuate between three separate Phases: Exceptional Bounty, Steady Trading, and Hardship. As with the Great Steppe Situation, the Phase of each Region within the Silk Road Situation is tracked separately, with different passive effects for all Participants and counties in the region determined by the Phase. The active Phase determines the benefits received by Participants in the Situation, as well as the passive modifiers which apply to the regions as a whole.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]\[Steady Trading Phase modifiers for Lands Under Heaven Participants][/p][p]
[/p][p]\[Hardship Phase modifiers for Silk Road Domains Participants][/p][p]
[/p][p]\[Exceptional Bounty modifiers for Silk Road Realms Participants][/p][p]
[/p][p]So, how do Phases change? As with some other Situations, actions and events can trigger Catalysts that push the Situation towards a new active Phase. Unique to the Silk Road Situation however, is that these Catalysts are applied to each Region separately. One region may be enjoying a boom even while another is hampered by constant war.[/p][p]
\[An image of negative Silk Road Region Phase Catalysts][/p][p][/p][p]Catalysts can be local, or wider-reaching. Because the Silk Road generally flows westward, upstream events (especially those in China) can impact regions downstream. A local conflict may be directly damaging to the Occident, but the collapse of the ruling Chinese dynasty will also be felt there indirectly. [/p][p][/p][p]The Dynastic Cycle is a key driver of prosperity along the Silk Road: as long as it remains in a Stable phase, the prosperity of all regions will grow towards Exceptional Bounty. For this reason, the status of the Cycle is always shown at the bottom of the Silk Road window. In short, the benefits felt by those further west depends on the stability of all regions further east.[/p][p][/p][p]\[The Silk Road routes around the Hub of Lahur in the India Region, and its active Silk Road Innovation][/p][p][/p][p]The routes of the Silk Road in-game are marked by red arrows within the Situation map mode. These aren’t just for show; hostile acts such as raids along these routes reduce the affected region’s prosperity. This map mode also shows the Region’s active Innovation, as well as the progress towards its next movement.[/p][p][/p][p]So, what are these Silk Road Innovations?[/p][p][/p][h2]Silk Road Innovations[/h2][p]Silk Road Innovations are a new set of Innovations that exist alongside the existing base sets.. Each represents a different technology that was discovered in China earlier than elsewhere in the world and can be spread to other Cultures, usually via the Silk Road.[/p][p]
\[The Fire Medicine Silk Road Innovation][/p][p][/p][p]Although there are six Regions, only four Innovations are active at any time: China holds one, Tibet shares one with Central Asia, India shares one with Transcaspia, and Europe holds one. Every twelve years, each Region passes its active Innovation one step downstream. China then adopts a new active Silk Road Innovation at random from its pool of valid Innovations. As the Han Culture unlocks more advanced Silk Road Innovations, they are added to the pool that can be selected from by China.[/p][p][/p][p]Cultures can gain access to these Innovations by:[/p]

• [p]Having Chinese Heritage[/p]
• [p]Having a Ruler of that Culture hold a Hub while the Innovation is active in the Region[/p]
• [p]Having the Sinophilic Tradition[/p]
• [p]Using the Visit Silk Road Bazaar decision to visit a Hub[/p]

[p][/p][p]Chinese and Sinophilic cultures always have access to Han’s known Silk Road Innovations, without needing to participate in the Silk Road directly.[/p][p][/p][p]That’s all well and good, but what is a Hub and how do you visit one?[/p][p][/p][h2]Hub Buildings[/h2][p]Each Region has a single Hub Special Building in a fixed location that represents a key regional center of trade, such as the Khrom of Lhasa in Tibet or Bazaar of Lahur in India. These hubs provide income and Phase-based regional benefits, and can be upgraded to a second tier to grant additional benefits to their holder. Building or upgrading a Hub also triggers a Catalyst that pushes the Region toward greater prosperity.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]\[The Marketplace of Chang’an Hub Special Building][/p][p][/p][p]Hubs serve as sources of Innovations for their holders’ Cultures and as destinations for a new Decision: Visit a Silk Road Market.[/p][p]
\[The Visit a Silk Road Market decision][/p][p]
[/p][p]Every ten years, this decision allows you to spend gold to travel to a Hub where a Silk Road Innovation is active. By passing a Learning and Stewardship skill check, you bring this Innovation back and add it to your Culture’s pool of possible Innovations to research.[/p][p]
\[The Visit a Silk Road Market decision event][/p][p][/p][p]Alternatively, events representing economic opportunities can be encountered during the journey, allowing you to offset the cost of the journey and possibly even turn a profit in the process.[/p][p][/p][p]Well, that about wraps up the Silk Road! [/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]Hello everyone, my name is Ellie! The reason you haven’t seen me here before is because I accidentally got sucked into the Lost Realms for a couple of centuries. A word of advice: If you ever find yourself in the Swedish wilderness, do not approach any fairy circles, cairns, or haunted caverns, especially if they’re near a stranger that could reasonably be described as “mysterious.”[/p][p][/p][p]The upside to my exile is that a wise gnome offered to mentor me in the legendary art of User Experience (UX)! Now that I'm back at the office, I intend to use that gnomish wisdom to make Crusader Kings III as good as possible. If you’ve played the short tutorial that we introduced a while back, then you’re already familiar with my work! [/p][p][/p][p](p.s. please forgive my writing, i know i use too many exclamation points in it (the tutorial) (and also in this section)).[/p][p] [/p][p]Anyway, as I was saying, I intend to carry on my mentor’s legacy. How? By fixing the parts that confuse first-time players.[/p][p]
\[The current Innovations panel][/p][p][/p][p]This panel is fine in parts, but it does have several things we don’t like about it: The visual states are pretty unclear, it’s hard to tell what our current cultural Fascination is, which Innovations are already known isn’t immediately apparent, and so on. Experienced players can manage it well enough, but imagine for a moment that this is your very first time seeing this panel. [/p][p][/p][p]That is raw, unfiltered User Experience. Our mission is to make it good. We want you to have a good time clicking buttons and seeing numbers change. We want the game and all of our different panels and buttons to make sense. They should feel cool, intuitive, and understandable while communicating their information effectively to the player. [/p][p][/p][p]Are we always successful in this? Well, no. I can only hope to one day be as talented as my gnomish mentor from the Lost Realms. Either way, for the Innovations panel specifically, there are issues. Since we’re already working on the Silk Road, we decided this was a good time to give this panel some extra attention. Here’s what we’ve done to increase the user experience value of this panel in All Under Heaven:[/p][p]
\[The new-and-improved Innovations panel][/p][p][/p][p]The Innovations panel now states four things at a glance: your current Fascination, your Culture’s active Spread target and remaining time, the next predicted Spread, and a per-Innovation status label that provides a clear visual distinction between each Innovation’s current status. The changes surface the interface states that were previously easy to miss.[/p][p][/p][p]Quite a bit has changed here, but here comes the hardest part of a UX designer’s job: How do we know that the result is actually good? How do we know we didn’t just make a bunch of changes that end up making the experience worse? Well… we test it! We put it in front of someone and measure whether the panel performs better than before on the outcomes we care about. There’s always room for more improvement though, so if you have ideas or suggestions for other panels then let us know![/p][p]
One of the biggest changes? Innovations have associated skills now! If you have a high Diplomacy skill, then you’ll discover Diplomacy Innovations faster (if you set them as your Fascination, of course). We also renamed Exposure to Spread, and made it a little more visible by placing it next to Fascination at the top of the panel along with the time remaining. We’ve also made it so you can discover Innovations outside of the Era you’re currently in, although progress will be quite slow until your Culture enters the Era that Innovation belongs to.[/p][p]
\[An Era which has not yet been reached in the Innovations panel][/p][p][/p][p]When you browse an Era that your Culture hasn’t reached, the panel makes the gate explicit and Innovations from that era show a long ETA when selected as a Fascination, clarifying that research outside of your Era is slow but possible.[/p][p]
[/p][p]\[Progress breakdown tooltip][/p][p]
The Progress tooltip breaks down the monthly chance to gain Progress into its individual contributing factors, letting you diagnose why an Innovation’s research rate is fast, slow, or completely stalled.[/p][p]
Pretty cool stuff![/p][p]
Now, let’s show how this works in practice and unlock some new gunpowder units. Our first step will be taking the Visit a Silk Road Market Decision that we covered earlier. Once we take the Decision, we actually have to travel all the way over there! [/p][p][/p][p]\[Our Travel Route from Florence to Lhasa][/p][p]
It'll take a while, but a few years spent on the road is a small price to pay for gunpowder. Once we arrive, we have to pass the Learning and Stewardship checks mentioned earlier.[/p][p]
\[The Innovations panel with the Fire Medicine Innovation unlocked][/p][p][/p][p]Poor Matilda got sick during the journey, but we passed the skill checks and got the brand new Fire Medicine Innovation added to the pool of Innovations available to our Culture! Now we can select the newly unlocked Innovation as our Fascination, eventually completing it and unlocking the ability to make some gunpowder units. Can we be trusted with this? Absolutely not. Are we going to do it anyway? Of course.[/p][p][/p][p]Anyway, that’s it for this week! Remember to pet dogs and stay away from wizards who tempt you with promises of eternal youth and limitless power.[/p][p]
[/p]

Make way for King Platypus! Fierce on the throne but irresistibly huggable off it, this royal rascal is here to rule both your dynasty and your cuddle time. With the crown firmly in place and attitude to spare, he’s ready to reign supreme over your arms, your couch, and your heart. Long live the King!

There's only seven days left to summon this noble companion to your court before it vanishes into legend forever, so secure your loyal royal now or risk the eternal shame of having an empty throne.

Head over to Makeship for more information!

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