All Under Heaven is the biggest expansion we’ve ever made for Crusader Kings III, and, arguably, one of the most ambitious add-ons in Paradox history. It adds thousands of new provinces and characters, so it is large in pure numbers. But it is also big because of its scope and themes, adding a new region to Crusader Kings for the first time. Finally, the drama of medieval China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia is coming to the game!

The Crusader Kings titles have generally focused on the history of medieval Europe and the Mediterranean. Crusader Kings II expanded the map to India and North Central Africa, and these regions were in Crusader Kings III at launch. So, expanding the story of the Middle Ages beyond the titular crusade realms is not in itself new. But the differences between, say, medieval China and the Holy Roman Empire are so immense that simply adding a new map would not do justice to the history.

One of the immediate challenges is that the idealized feudal system we use to represent the political battles of Europe is entirely inappropriate for Tang and Song Dynasty China. There was no sense of mutual hierarchical obligations in the Chinese politics of the era.

Fortunately, we were able to test some ideas about how to model China in All Under Heaven in an earlier expansion, Roads to Power. That DLC introduced the idea of the Administrative Empire – a realm that had governors, not vassals (an important historical distinction). We used this design to further distinguish the Byzantine Empire from its Western counterparts. If this design worked here, it might be appropriate to adapt it to East Asia. Ultimately, the Byzantine model, where governors competed for influence with the ruler, proved to be a closer fit for medieval Japan, which is, like Byzantium, easily abstracted as noble families jockeying for position. China required something special.

Imperial Chinese bureaucracy was highly professionalized, with subjects competing in official examinations. Earlier Crusader Kings III expansions had introduced travel and tournaments, so couldn’t the exams be made into similar activities for characters? In the game, characters can organize or attend exams, traveling to the exam location and passing tests defined by the exam host. Good performance on these exams would then be tracked and make characters eligible for higher office. The better the performance, the better the job.

These are just two examples of how we adapted systems designed in previous expansions to bring a little more historical flavor and distinction to East Asia in All Under Heaven.

But the biggest challenge for us, I think, was facing the relative weakness of the team’s historical knowledge about the region. Coming from Europe, it is easy to absorb – or at least know where to find – reliable history for our own continent. How can we promise a plausible historical simulation if we are not starting from a strong historical foundation.

As with most Paradox grand strategy games, we start with what we have on the team. We are fortunate to have some trained historians with us – people who not only know a lot, but are very aware of what they do not know and what needs to be fleshed out.

Paradox is very fortunate to have a large global audience for its strategy games, and we were able to make use of that audience by inviting members of Asian communities to comment on design and art decisions. Working closely with our community members, we were able to avoid errors, both big and small, from making sure that we were using the proper terminology when referring to medieval Asian societies to double-checking the colors used in art and character clothing.

The simple fact is that, for the most part, the real authorities on a nation’s history have deep roots in that society and can point us to the correct sources. Even when some historical facts are a matter of debate – an inevitable fact of life when dealing with the Middle Ages – knowing the ground of that debate and the key issues at stake is very helpful in guiding our content team in the development of the game

All Under Heaven is the biggest expansion we’ve ever done for Crusader Kings III, and required a great deal of effort to design and complete. Having a strong development foundation has made this herculean task much easier than it could have been, given the ambitions we set for ourselves.

We look forward to our community digging into the expansion and writing new stories in exciting new realms.

Crusader Kings III: Starter Edition

Paradox Interactive

☆☆☆☆☆
13

★★★★★

Assume the throne with confidence as you take your first steps into Crusader Kings III, the award-winning role-playing strategy game that drops you into a rich medieval world of power, drama, and intrigue. Expand the power of your dynasty through warfare, diplomacy or underhanded scheming, assuring the safety and security of your realm through the generations across many centuries.

The Starter Edition gives you access to the base game, one Major Expansion, one Event Pack, and some cosmetic additions to make your first forays into Crusader Kings III a deep and filling experience.

The Crusader Kings III: Starter Edition includes:

– Crusader Kings III: Whether you start as a lowly count or a mighty emperor, no throne is safe as you compete for power against thousands of other nobles for prestige and dominance. Write your own histories, with a wide range of personality types, ambitions, and cultural preferences. Play as a haughty duke, a pious prince, or a cunning queen, and then play as their heir as the wheel of time grinds on.
– Tours and Tournaments: Host thrilling tournaments, grand feasts and splendid weddings to bolster your prestige or win new honors for your dynasty. Travel to distant lands on pilgrimage or inspect your vassals on a grand tour of your realm – whether to extort taxes or bolster loyalty.
– Friends and Foes: Deepen your relationships with those around you, forming lasting friendships with childhood companions, bitter rivalries with distant foes or eternal love with a beauty of your choosing.
– Garments of the Holy Roman Empire: Immerse yourself in the Holy Roman Empire with a collection of outfits for both commoners, warriors and rulers of Central Europe.
– Elegance of the Empire: Based on the garments and regalia of Emperor Henry II and the Empress Cunigunde, this pack includes not only new robes and dresses, but historically appropriate crowns and other items.
– Fashion of the Abbasid Court: Give your court a dashing new look with a set of outfits and cosmetic clothing options for the Middle East and North Africa.