All improved (from base CK2) and new features in CK3, Pt. 1

[The Former]

I've already made a post covering all the CK2 DLC content that's making its way into CK3's base game. With several weeks still to go, I thought I'd take the time to dig deep through the dev diaries and highlight all the new features I'm aware of in the game, as well as those which have been improved over CK2's version of the same features. My goal is to highlight at a glance all the new goodies to share my excitement for the game, in effect.

Some of these might be a bit nitpicky, as there will be a grey area between "brand new" and "overhauled from CK2", but I'll try to be as accurate as I can. I'll separate them by the dev diary they popped up in, but that may mean some features that look like they should be in a group end up rather far apart from eachother. Hope that's not too annoying, lads.

Disclaimer: As before, this is NOT an official post. There may be things I misinterpret, skip, or simply forget were or weren't in base CK2. I will, however, link to the official posts for each section for those who haven't noticed the dev diaries, in case you want to read it from the source.

Additional note: I'm not addressing CK2 features that are in CK3 more or less in the same state we remember them nor, obviously, any features or feature improvements I'm not currently aware of.

Additional note: I made a great big post highlighting all the points in a bit of detail, and Steam spit out back out at me. I've learned 1,000 chararacters is the limit, and I refuse to split this into 6+ posts... so instead, I've trimmed it down to a flat list. The links will provide more details.

Observe this key:

[+] – A feature that was in CK2, but as been improved or expanded in CK3.
[!!] – A feature that's brand new to CK3.

Dynasties & Houses

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• Dynasty System [!!]
  
• Coat of Arms Generation [+]
  
• Dynasty Legacies [!!]

Medieval Map

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• Physical Baronies [!!]
  
• Provincial Terrain [!!]

War

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

(Note: One could consider men-at-arms themselves to be a new feature, but I covered them in the previous post, as I consider them to be an upgrade to the DLC content that was Retinues in CK2.)

• Siege Weapons [!!]
  
• Knights [!!]
  
• Screen Attribute [!!]
  
• Advantage [!!]
  
• Fortification Owner Gets Defensive Bonuses [!!]
  
• Fords [!!]
  
• Supply [!!]

Development & Buildings

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• Development [!!]
  
• Control [!!]
  
• Popular Opinion [!!]
  
• Duchy Capital Buildings [!!]
  
• Special Buildings [!!]

Schemes, Secrets, and Hooks

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

Note: Oh how I love this suite of features. Some of these, I may be repeating from my previous post, where they cross over.

• Schemes [+]
  
• New Scheme Types [+]
  
• Secrets [!!]
  
• Hooks [+]
  
  Schemes I've uncovered through reading these dev diaries (in addition to the classic Asssassination, Seduction, etc.):
  
  • Abduction
    
  • Romance
    
  • Elope
    
  • Befriend

Council, Powerful Vassals, & Spouse Councillor

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• State Skills Revamp [+]
  
• Councillor Task Changes [+]
  
• New Councillor Tasks [+] (There are many more than these, it seems, but the dev diary opted for brevity. I'll relay those here for the sake of completion.)
  
  • (Chancellor) Integrate Title
    
  • (Marshal) Increase Control in County
    
  • (Steward) Increase Development in County
    
  • (Spymaster) Find Secrets
    
  • (Court Chaplain) Fabricate Claim on County
  
  
• Spouse Councillor [!!]: (Citing the historical accuracy of spouses serving as vital assistants in running the realm and providing advice, the diary goes on to note that there are two types of support a spouse can provide:)
  
  • Assist ruler has the spouse helping out here and there, providing a minor flat boost to all skills. This is the sort of "default state" for a spouse councillor.
    
  • Specialized boosts for each stat grants you a large portion of their skill as a bonus to your own, representing that you're lending them your authority in exchange for their expertise. Options are Court Politics (Diplomacy), Chivalry (Martial), Manage Domain (Stewardship), Court Intrigue (Intrigue), and Patronage (Learning).
  
  (It's specified that landed spouses can't be utilized as councillors, as they have their own business to deal with.)
  
  
• Bishop Streamlining [+]

Characters & Portraits

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• Personality Traits [+]
  
• Prestige and Piety [+]
  
• Genetic Traits [+]
  
• Portrait Improvements [+]
  
  • Clothing indicates wealth and status. Crowns and circlets are more and more embellished as you go up the ranks of nobility, and clothes are made of brighter and shinier fabrics depending on wealth.
    
  • Poses are animated and will generally be derived from a character's personality traits. A Zealous Blackguard stands with head ♥♥♥♥♥♥ impassively and arms folded, while a Compassionate Lackey stands with arms behind the back, ready to hear either orders or complaints.
    
  • Body types are variable. Character heights and weights are different. Heights are further modified by dwarfism or gigantism, while lifestyle and traits can affect weight. I remember reading that a character's Prowess dictates how pronounced their musculature is.
    
  • Aging is now seamless.
    
  • Illnesses show up on the skin as overlays, and boy is there some gruesome variety. I believe they can also affect weight; a later diary shows a character with consumption looking incredibly malnourished.

Courts, Guests, and Wanderers

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• Traveling Courtiers [!!]
  
• Guests and Wanderers [!!/+]

Lifestyles & Events

Official Lifestyles thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]
Official Events thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

Everything in this group can technically be called an improvement over CK2's Way of Life DLC, but there's so much here (and I didn't cover much of it directly in the previous post) that I've decided to put it here.

• Revamped Focuses [+]
  
• Perks [!!]
  
• Deeper and More Variable Lifestyle Events [+]

Perk Trees

Here I'll compile all the bits and pieces I found within the whole selection of perk tree dev diaries. You can find them here[forum.paradoxplaza.com], here[forum.paradoxplaza.com], here[forum.paradoxplaza.com], here[forum.paradoxplaza.com], and here[forum.paradoxplaza.com]. I won't be counting focuses or individual perks as "new content" on technicality; I'm specifically looking for features in this case.

• Seduction Changes [+]
  
• Dread [!!]
  
• Torture [+]
  
• Chivalry [!!]
  
• Celibacy as a Decision [!!]
  
• Fervor [!!]
  
• Cultural Fascination [!!]
  
• Buy Claim [!!]
  
• Immortality Flag for Modders [!!]
  
• Friend Improvements [+]
  
• Personality-Driven Event Outcomes [!!]

Tutorials, Tooltips, & Encyclopedias

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• Improved Tutorial [+]
  
• Embedded Tooltips [!!]
  
• Current Situation and Suggestions [+]
  
• Fancy Notifications [+]
  
• In-Game Encyclopedia [!!]

Governments, Vassal Management, Laws, and Raiding

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• Government Types [+]
  
• Feudal Contracts [!!]
  
• The Realm Screen [+]
  
• Succession Laws [+]
  
• Crown Authority Changes [+]

Mercenaries, Men-at-Arms, and CB

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• Mercenaries [+]: Mercenaries no longer demand monthly maintenance. You instead pay for a three-year contract upfront, which can be renewed after the three years are up. They also no longer betray you the second you go into debt, because you've already paid their contract out.
  
  Mercenaries are generated in a different way now. Each culture generates one to three Mercenary companies, with each being bigger and more expensive than the previous. They'll also headquarter in a county of their culture, and can only be hired by lords within a certain range of that county. Additionally, Mercenary companies each have different specific men-at-arms types.

Factions & Civil Wars

Official thread[forum.paradoxplaza.com]

• Faction Structure [+]
  
• Discontent [!!]
  
• Civil War Logistics [!!]
  
• Types of Factions [+]
  
  • Independence Faction: Seek to break off from their liege. Vassals only join if they feel they don't belong in their liege's realm, which is usually a matter of either de jure status, culture, or religious hostility. Independence factions thus tend to form "distinct regional blocs within a realm".
    
  • Claimant Faction: Wants to put a liege they like on the throne. If vassals feel they belong to the realm but hate their liege, they might join this faction. Obviously, a legitimate claimant needs to be chosen as the figurehead of such a faction. Opportunistic vassals can also join this faction in order to try and acquire titles for themselves or their relatives.
    
  • Liberty Faction: For vassals who are mostly happy, but want one specific thing to change. Usually this means lowering crown authority laws in the realm, or reducing their obligations to their liege. "Typically the easiest Faction to manage."
    
  • Populist/Peasant Revolt Factions [!!]: Rather than being unhappy vassals, this faction is created by unhappy counties. Counties have an opinion of their lord, influenced by culture, religion, events, and war. If opinion drops too low, they may form or join a revolt. With enough Discontent, these factions will send an ultimatum and declare war if refused. "This completely replaces the random province revolt chance that existed in CK2 – gone are the days of 'Duke McPeasantFace has declared the 19th Orothodox Uprising on you.'"
    
    Populist factions are the more dangerous of the two. They form when counties don't like the culture or religion of their liege, and sympathetic vassals in your realm can also pledge loyalty to their cause. A successful Populist revolt will cause all member counties and vassals to break away and create a new realm. This is different form an Independence Faction, which creates several new realms out of its member vassals.
    
    In the case of a Populist faction, they'll create a cohesive realm and will automatically usurp or create an appropriate title for their leader to hold (including the possibility of Kingdom-tier titles). The ruler of a realm created by a Populist faction will always share the faction's culture and religion, and will almost always be a competent commander as it's implied he was a hero of the liberation war.
    
    Peasant revolts, on the other hand, are said to be the least dangerous faction. There is no minimum military power requirement for peasants to revolt, and thus they're often much weaker than their liege. However, every time they occupy a county, all that counties levies will immediately join them. I find this really cool; a Servile Wars sort of mechanic in which an unchecked rebellion led by a thousand peasants can sprawl into an army of 20,000 if left unchecked. It seems they only demand reduced taxes and fewer levy requirements, so these are manageable.
  
  
• Dealing with Factions [+]

Part 2 here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1158310/discussions/0/2791621875946491764/

[Flickmann]

I'll admit I'm feeling a bit of hype, but I won't be buying until at least a week after purchase and seeing a large majority of positive reviews.

[The Former]

Escrito originalmente por Flickmann:

I'll admit I'm feeling a bit of hype, but I won't be buying until at least a week after purchase and seeing a large majority of positive reviews.

That's certainly wise. You'll have to wait at least three weeks from today, so one more for assurances can't hurt!

[Someguyinhere]

I'm not interested until we get the ruler designer so I can have my own dynasty.

[Athmet]

Thanks OP for putting this together. Very informative.

[Ishchyaboi]

This is dope. I had a question about retinues as I like having a personal army but got a lot of other neat info too!

[The Former]

Escrito originalmente por Ishchyaboi:

This is dope. I had a question about retinues as I like having a personal army but got a lot of other neat info too!

Retinues are now men-at-arms, and do appear in CK3's base game! You can find information on them in these two dev diaries:

https://www.crusaderkings.com/news/dev-diary-3-war
https://www.crusaderkings.com/news/dev-diary-18-men-at-arms-mercenaries-and-casus-belli

One big difference is that they don't stay on the map, you have to raise them when it's time to march. They do, however, remain your loyal personal troops the way retinues did in CK2.

[Athmet]

Escrito originalmente por World's Coolest Old Guy:

Escrito originalmente por Ishchyaboi:

This is dope. I had a question about retinues as I like having a personal army but got a lot of other neat info too!

Retinues are now men-at-arms, and do appear in CK3's base game! You can find information on them in these two dev diaries:

https://www.crusaderkings.com/news/dev-diary-3-war
https://www.crusaderkings.com/news/dev-diary-18-men-at-arms-mercenaries-and-casus-belli

One big difference is that they don't stay on the map, you have to raise them when it's time to march. They do, however, remain your loyal personal troops the way retinues did in CK2.

I really like what they have done with that. And will be looking forward how the knights play :)

[Athmet]

WCOG, look at this : https://www.reddit.com/r/CrusaderKings/comments/gn3r72/updated_ck2_dlc_intigration_in_ck3/

[The Former]

Escrito originalmente por Athmet:

WCOG, look at this : https://www.reddit.com/r/CrusaderKings/comments/gn3r72/updated_ck2_dlc_intigration_in_ck3/

Nice! Clean and concise, and a good measure at a glance.

[Athmet]

Escrito originalmente por World's Coolest Old Guy:

Escrito originalmente por Athmet:

WCOG, look at this : https://www.reddit.com/r/CrusaderKings/comments/gn3r72/updated_ck2_dlc_intigration_in_ck3/

Nice! Clean and concise, and a good measure at a glance.

Indeed, I really like it. Do not get me wrong, love reading your stuff, but if someone wanted a very brief summary with color, I feel it was good :)

[The Former]

Escrito originalmente por Athmet:

Escrito originalmente por World's Coolest Old Guy:

Nice! Clean and concise, and a good measure at a glance.

Indeed, I really like it. Do not get me wrong, love reading your stuff, but if someone wanted a very brief summary with color, I feel it was good :)

Haha, odd as it sounds, actually prefer such summaries. I love to write, but hate to read!

[Athmet]

Escrito originalmente por World's Coolest Old Guy:

I love to write

Granted I do not know you that much, but at least that I knew for sure ! :)

[Ghost Face]

Maybe it is time to bump it to the top as there are new comers(bcs release at the door) asking the diffrence between ck2 and ck3
(Also lets appriciate to World's Coolest Old Guy for his time)

[The Former]

Escrito originalmente por Lemon Tree:

Maybe it is time to bump it to the top as there are new comers(bcs release at the door) asking the diffrence between ck2 and ck3
(Also lets appriciate to World's Coolest Old Guy for his time)

Was my pleasure. :) Also the pain of my aging hands to type, but still, my pleasure.

[Salem Graves]

Escrito originalmente por Athmet:

Escrito originalmente por World's Coolest Old Guy:

I love to write

Granted I do not know you that much, but at least that I knew for sure ! :)

You'll have to wait for the wave of "DON'T RECOMMEND, GAME DOESN'T RUN ON MY 1994 TOASTER, REFUNDED!" "reviews" to end.