Crusader Kings III News

Have you been looking high and low for a remarkable Royal Artifact to place in your gaming court? Our finest artisans have just completed a masterpiece that may interest you — we present the regal Crusader Kings III controller from XBox! 👑



► Buy your Controller

While the PC version of Crusader Kings III does not currently support controllers, you can still show off your sovereign style when playing other games with a controller made for royalty. 🎮

Howdy y'all!

We are glad to announce that we have a fantastic Dev Diary from our friends at Lab42 where we will cover the long anticipated and much sought after UI and UX for the Console version releasing soon!

Lab42 have been hard at work and there is not much time left until release, so we hope you enjoy the information and vision they have presented for you. Now with screenshots!

► Read our Console DD #3: UI/UX and Controls



As you would expect, user interface and controls were core components of the adaptation from PC to console. One of the main aims was to create a UI that was easily accessible and facilitated fluid gameplay. There is no set standard for UI and controls for Grand Strategy Games on console, with most approaches being subjective and as a consequence we’ve taken an approach that suited the unique Crusader Kings Gameplay.


[Map Overview and controls]

This started with a control hierarchy that marries UI and button control placement, for example ... using shoulder buttons for the top tier menus – the Command Bar – and bumpers to tab between sub-menus within the main menus. In addition, the decision was taken to assign controls to unique game functions rather than using lots of contextual buttons. Control prompts specific to each menu, screen / game context are displayed at the bottom of the screen to assist the user. The aim is to provide the player with a lexicon of controls that when learnt facilitate fluid interaction with the game UI and functionality.


[Earl Alfred Character View]

We could've taken a very conservative approach to development, but this was not what Lab42 or Paradox wanted. For example, the conundrum of turning a PC control system and UI into a viable console offering could've involved retaining the PC UI and using the controller thumbstick as a virtual mouse, but this approach was dismissed out of hand. User research also showed how popular the D-Pad was as a means of game navigation, especially when dealing with menus. Moving away from the use of a virtual mouse and freeing up the D-Pad for game navigation (as opposed to invoking menus as used in other console strategy games) presented a new set of challenges to overcome.


[Family Tree]

The UI and controls we've adopted is a hybrid approach, leaning on best in class examples as reference and applying them to the unique CK game framework (e.g. top level onscreen menus (the Command Bar), Radials (Character and Maps), and quality of life shortcuts (e.g. Quick Access Bar, Hints, Notifications).


[Council Tab in Top Menu]

When looking at the Crusader Kings user interface it was clear that most of the community want as much information at their fingertips as possible in order to form and execute game strategy. Flicking between menus, the map and popups is a feature of the PC title that we wanted to retain on console. This is also enhanced by the Radials to access your Character Wheel and another that introduces the Map View Radial accessible at any time from the main gameplay window. Allowing you to quickly change between Map Modes and easily accessing your character features without in-depth menu navigation.

[Radial Map Wheel]

Avoiding the use of lots of fullscreen menus that potentially break the immersion of gameplay was a driver here, and this led to the concept of switching focus being introduced. This essentially allows the gamer to quickly move between any open screen elements as well as allowing easy Map Interaction – a critical component of Crusader Kings gameplay.


[Start Date map]


[Martial View]


[Martial View]

That does it for the Console portion of the Developer Diary fresh and hot from the Lab42 presses!

Hi everyone,

Crusader Kings III, Update 1.5.1.1: Now available!
We have been working to enhance our Update 1.5.1 thanks to your feedback & bug reports.
Thank you for supporting CK3, we can't wait to show you what we have in store next!



Here’s the changelog 1.5.1.1:

###################
# Game Balance
###################
- Vassals can no longer join factions if they have a Truce with their liege

###################
# Localization
###################
- Fixed missing text and tooltips for Cultural Traditions and Cultural Aesthetics in Spanish
- Fixed county title macros in Korean
- Fixed missing translations for the south asian event pool
- Fixed inspired person text not being translated in Korean

###################
# User Modding
###################
- Fixed a crash in the map editor
- Tree mask assets should now be visible again in the map editor

###################
# Bugfixes
###################
- Fix law tooltips in tooltips not showing up correctly
- Fixed an issue that caused the Coat of Arms designer to repeat the same patterns if players were scrolling up and down the list
- Fixed an issue that caused the game to sometimes incorrectly display your custom Coat of Arms for other dynasties
- Fixed a rare crash that occurred when the AI was forming a new hybrid culture
- Fix text offset for icons in law tooltip
- Fixed Aslaug, daughter of Ivar the Boneless, being married instead of betrothed at age 1
- Fixed CTD happening on loading a save after rejecting a culture conversion request.
- Holy Orders can no longer raise themselves in wars without a hostile faith participant, even if they are somehow allied in the war
- Renaming event description now targets other characters properly
- Fixed Ivars sons being older than himself in the bookmark screen
- Fixed missing key for culture conversion interaction
- Added correct naming of new eye socket types in the Customize Appearance menu
- Fixed the Train Commanders task not consistently improving Knights/Commanders and also not boosting the strength of new Men-at-Arms types
- Map pin portrait no longer freezes animation of all the other portraits of the same character
- Relaxed Turkish Eagle achievement culture criteria to not require branching directly from Turkish or Greek anymore. It is enough if these two cultures exist somewhere in the parentage of your new culture
- Trade ports should now be clearer on why they cannot be built when you lack the right cultural tradition or innovation
- Turkish Eagle achievement should now fire again for new saves
- Adjusted triggers and localisation for 'Establish the Theravada Faith' decision and event chain
- Fixed some unnatural looking shadows in certain court room setups

One and a half years later, you have told over 2 Million stories! 👑
Every story is unique and every story has led us to where we are now.
What is your story and how will you tell it in CK3?



[h2]In the latest news for CK3:[/h2]
[h3]◘ Console[/h3]

• The release date for PlayStation 5 & Xbox One X|S is set for March 29!
  
• We are sharing some details in our Dev Diaries on our forums. The next information will share more screenshots, previews, videos and even Livestreams as we get closer to the release date.
  
• Crusader Kings III on consoles is being ported by Lab42. Paradox Interactive develops the game on PC.
  

[h3]◘ PC[/h3]

• Update 1.5.1 has been released!
  
• We are working on the next Update to further support 1.5.1. Thank you for your feedback, suggestions, and bug reports!
  
• Once our focus on Console Dev Diaries are done later this month, we will then dive into a whole new series for PC... so keep your eyes peeled!