The Incredible Sound Design of Crusader Kings 2

[@it202020]

And then there are mass executions where, for each person you execute, the game randomly picks one of the valid execution sounds and plays them at the same time creating an "interesting" cacophony of torture and screaming.

[@kellynolen498]

ever heard 50+ victims with children in the mix its to die for

[@LuizAlexPhoenix]

You should try to keep up, I looted all the petty kingdoms of England, Ireland and Central Europe as a raiding viking. The beautiful blot sounds were to die for, 137 men, women, children and priests.

[@coel3572]

what i listen to in the gym

[@NiceCock]

dopamine hits hard

[@Jame5man]

You call it a cacophony, I call it a symphony

[@Marmychuuu]

1. Never ask a man his salary. 2. Never ask a woman her age. 3. Never ask paradox how they made the execution sound clips in CK2

[@alessiobenvenuto5159]

Probably all the leakers... And employees that suggested changing the DLC policy

[@Solon1581]

Paradox actually had a panel about this at PDXCON2017 where the sound designer behind CK2 explained how certain sounds were made. He for example used carrots and celeri to simulate the sound of bones cracking by breaking them in half with his bare hands. He also mentioned that all male death sounds are voiced by Fredrick Webster, the CEO of Paradox Interactive at the time.

[@Freedmoon44]

@@Solon1581 yes yes thats what they WANT you to think. That or the CEO of the time is a masochist

[@adalet127]

@@Solon1581 yea, that's what they want you to think! /s

[@VieneLea]

@@Solon1581 Man, I knew being a CEO is tough, but I didn't know it's that painful

[@FinDan07]

I remember when they made a whole dev diary about adding new death sounds and talked about how many people were involved in making them lmao

[@hammaadfahim1969]

There were far fewer people at the end than they started

[@xshadow2042]

@@hammaadfahim1969 lmaooo

[@sebastiancarreira5832]

I would guess a ton of people considering that nobody could star in two recordings.

[@pekvek]

@@hammaadfahim1969 how come

[@sfjuhispst8144]

"Unfortunatly, this project hasn't quite had the usual staff retention. Cases of 'burnout' in the crew producing the new death sounds is high, so we've been getting new people in a lot recently. On an unrelated note, the Stockholm police is interested in why our dumpster is producing an above average number of human body parts."

[@garagol9752]

Confirmation that paradox players are indeed psychopaths

[@2stoffire174]

Truly

[@chaosmorris5865]

Yes.

[@DaydreamingSwede]

Their dlc policy already confirmed that sadly

[@VieneLea]

I mean, don't you remember when it turned out that ISIS plays Victoria?

[@Tho-ugh-t]

oh no warcrimes.. meanwhile ck 2:

[@fnorgen]

What really gets to me is that they made such a stupid number of these oddly specific sound effects, in multiple variations too. In total there's about 12 minutes worth of various death sound effects.

[@bjornerluffy]

What really gets to me is how well made they are lmao Full on voice acting and they took actual time to get the sounds right for each one.

[@bjornerluffy]

@@wack8697 CK2 definitely has the biggest "personality" of any paradox game, which suits it really well.

[@Thelionpaladin]

There’s many as well you probably won’t hear. Some require your character to be cruel and be a certain culture and religion. The exposure one for instance I’ve never heard. I remember shitting myself when I executed someone as the Umyads once and hearing this person being brutally crucified

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

Some game put more than a half hour of sounds. 12 ain't bad

[@comicsansseraphim4934]

There's also a mass execute button to hear them all at once and possibly crash the game.

[@Marconius6]

The death sounds were so terrifyingly realistic even Paradox decided to include a toggle for them in the settings...

[@VanBourner]

I think it was mostly for KZbin/Twitch.

[@pavellyfish5]

Don't ask Paradox how they create the kill sound P.S seems like a nice segment can't wait for the whole "review"

[@SarajevoShotz]

Most likely a guy sitting alone in a room breaking salad and hitting the floor with a metal tube

[@irgendwer3610]

with a lot of vegetable abuse

[@OneBiasedOpinion]

I only play Stellaris, where you can actively choose one of several methods of purging you wish to enact on any aliens you conquer and have various bombardment policies ranging from “scare them a little” to “literally terraform the entire planet into an uninhabitable Tomb World.” And I can see I’m playing one of Paradox’s more kid-friendly games.

[@VieneLea]

Ngl you really are

[@2stoffire174]

It's funny how increasing the scale doesn't make the cruelty any worse. It just depersonalizes it. I can destroy millions of lives, but if I have to hear one of their screams for mercy, I might think about it a little lmao

[@OneBiasedOpinion]

@@2stoffire174 I have consigned literal empires of aliens to being transformed into nutrient slurry and selling it all off to the highest bidder without even a second thought. But hearing that woman in the video scream as she was dropped into boiling oil made my blood run cold.

[@weedmantrudeau5783]

Well, in space you can't hear them scream so there you go

[@jjfajen]

@@2stoffire174 "A single death is a tragedy. A million deaths are a statistic."

[@miklosz4162]

We EU4 players don't need such a fancy sounds for doing fucked up things. For us the sound of pure evil is just the sound of pigeon after "cultural converstion".

[@2stoffire174]

"If the native Caribbeans didn't want to be enslaved, then why are they so good at growing sugar?" -Turning Point Castile (I have an EU4 video as well that may be to your liking kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHLEiYx5btNsj9U )

[@miklosz4162]

@@2stoffire174 Lol, you perfectly captured the joy of painting a map in EU4. As I once said in another comment, school taught me the horrors of imperialism and colonialism, but EU4 showed how these two things bring joy through beautiful borders and high income.

[@Joel-kc5jk]

@@miklosz4162 And colours, don't forget the smooth silky colours.

[@therollerlollerman]

Tbf even at the end of EU4’s timeline there were still plenty of native cultural practices, religions, languages etc. It’s when Vicky begins that you REALLY get to perform “cultural conversion”

[@mareksicinski3726]

giga cringe are you one of those people who imagine it means gencodie or something, historically unuaware mf

[@lucasharvey8990]

I just have to wonder how many voiceactors Paradox is hiding in their basement to have made so many sound files.

[@2stoffire174]

Probably not very many. You can only get like one or two sounds out of each of 'em

[@idiocrat3744]

@@2stoffire174 three. There are baby sounds

[@UdumbaraMusic]

In CKII I FELT like I had done something bad when murdering or executing someone. In CKIII I straight up don't care - it all feels a little too upbeat and I feel morally disconnected from the events when they happen. Goes to show how important sound is in creating atmosphere and emotional connection.

[@LuizAlexPhoenix]

CKIII Stress system also rubs me the wrong way. It means that the one dealing with the decisions is the character and I am just the force ordering every now and then.

[@ariavalentine4401]

@@LuizAlexPhoenix I think it's cool actually. sometimes your character has to execute or murder a claimant and when he's Just or Compassionate he'll feel guilty and starts self-sabotaging.

[@LaFonteCheVi]

@@LuizAlexPhoenix I think the stress system was a smart decisions. One of the biggest problems with CK2 was that there was an optimal way to play and zero incentive to take "bad decisions". And it would usually result in characters becoming bipolar. A character who should be paranoid, violent, and cruel shouldn't spend his life becoming a saint. Yet, that is what the game always pushed you to do. The design philosophy is that YOU aren't your character. Your character is your character and you simply are playing them within the confines of that. So if you have a diligent, honorable, pious character, the game incentivizes you to play them that way. You can play them differently, but that causes problems as it should.

[@ArtilleryAffictionado1648]

as one of ck3's biggest critics i have to agree. the whole medieval atmosphere is missing. from sound design to the UI to the weird events. i can't seem to like ck3, no matter how pretty it looks

[@tastycookiechip]

@@ArtilleryAffictionado1648 Ck3 shits all over ck2

[@meirzamsky]

i entered this game a boy and left as a war criminal

[@2stoffire174]

Only a crime if you lose ;)

[@internet_introvert]

The pressing/crushing sounds really got to me. An increasingly panicked noise followed by a wet crunchy sound really made me empathize with those pixels and gave me some existential moments. The worst one was the woman who sounded muffled like she was gagged and then a stone wheel or something was rolled over her by the sounds of it. Great game. I have over 800 hours in it.

[@rattuna4773]

Paradox devs in the studio be like: Yeah this sounds traumatizing and gruesome, drop it

[@KleptomaniacJames]

that boiling one has to be the worst my god

[@Grimmbros1214]

idk the crunching sounds of the spear are pretty bad

[@SovietReunionYT]

@@Grimmbros1214 The spear is bad, but the boiling is definitely worse. But the one at end is on a whole different level!

[@prolofique]

The worst are the babies dying sound imo

[@antokarman2064]

The one lady that got crushed by a boulder will haunt my nights to come. The despair and hopelesness as the boulder is being brought to her, the panic as the boulder and pain slowly creeping in and crunching her body gradually, and the sudden realization followed by a loud scream which then muffled by the boulder sealing that lady's fate...

[@JamesChen-yc2gg]

@@antokarman2064 sadly she was a dangerous claimant 😢

[@andrefasching1332]

its nice when you randomly visit your prison in ck3 out of curiosity and see a prisoner [in prison 51 years] and have that"interesting, but why?" feeling

[@guymann1660]

"oh yeah i was supposed to ransom that guy a generation ago"

[@leoduncan4828]

Max executions after about 20 years of non-stop wars are the most beautifully horrorinducing sound ever

[@ИгорьЗадорный]

+++ . Agreed

[@ИгорьЗадорный]

Especially when you have conquered Egypt as a result of the crusade, and after 20 years you are attacked with cases belli of the Holy War by Muslims calling the entire Middle East region as allies, and a couple of European leaders join you, you barely win this war, and in the end anger defeats all tolerance and you execute all enemies.

[@Eye_Of_Odin978]

@@ИгорьЗадорный You're not executing those desert-dwellers just *because?* You're doing it wrong, then. You don't *need* a reason to put desert-dwelling barbarians in beards and turbans to the sword. That's just what any morally righteous and balanced person would do.

[@imperatorgub6681]

“What kinds of video games do you like to play?” ““I’m into, uh, well, murders and executions, mostly.”

[@Choppytehbear1337]

Thank the algorithm for sending me this.

[@timesnewlogan2032]

Medieval 2 Total War had some pretty good sound effects, too. "Exterminate Populace" and "Execute Captured Troops" were particularly delightful, as was the sound of a dying man crushed between a brick and his horse. But my personal favorite will always be the blood-curdling scream when your King dies.

[@vdre6741]

And the sound of people drowning when your boat sink

[@timesnewlogan2032]

@@vdre6741 I never had that problem: I was the Byzantines!

[@Eye_Of_Odin978]

@@timesnewlogan2032 Yeah, Greek Fire made other nations really think twice about engaging Byzantines at sea.

[@primarchvulkan4013]

Hey, the first Rome Total War had many sounds cues too. The sounds of a marching troops, the sounds of a building sites, and, of course, the sounds of a spy getting his throat slit

[@miguelpadeiro762]

A minute of silence for all the pour souls these nasty swedes kidnaped to make these sounds a reality😔🙏

[@Foxerias]

As a certified crusader kings 2 specialist with over 20k hours in it I can proudly say the sounds in this game bring me satisfaction (especially the execution one's)-(Why are you looking at me like that?)

[@beaub152]

20k hours is insane dude but I have over 150 in AGOT alone so cant say much

[@Freedmoon44]

20k jeez what the hell did you play since day 1 or do you have no life, because i get in total of EU4 Vicky II and CK2 i got what 4k hours (i have NO idea how many thousands of hours i wasted on HOI3 when i was a kid, but im prettt sure i dont reach 20k hours even on thzt one)

[@koekiejam18]

The thing making you a psycho isnt the liking of torture sounds but more the fact that you played ck2 for over 20000 hours

[@Patrick-en8uc]

As an intermediate novice Paradox player (700 hours in EU4, 300 in Ck2, 100 in CK3, 100 in Vic 2), I look upon you in admiration, wishing that I can be just like you, climaxing at the thought of a person getting execu... I mean enjoying the impeccable sound design of CK2.

[@Zaire82]

I've got a sum total of 454.9 hours across CK2, CK3, Europa Universalis, and Stellaris. You've played 1 game longer than I've played _any_ games in my entire life. You have 2.2 years worth of play time. More than 1/5th the time it's been released for, and on average, 5.4 hours of play time per day for those full 10 years. That's why I'm looking at you like this. It's so absurd that I don't actually believe you at all. That playtime is only possible on games you can leave on overnight, like MMORPGs, and Ck2 isn't such a game.

[@kellynolen498]

ahh yes i remember my first mass exectution i somehow got over 30 prisoners and thats after i ransomed the ones i could so i clicked the kill all button and the game played all of there death noices including baby screams because there were children in the mix the first time you hear that really gets you

[@Freedmoon44]

And then as the CK2 experiance draws you further into the hole you start enjoying it till its just the smoothest sound your brain recognises "nothing better than mass murdering at the end of a revolt"

[@liamcassidy5992]

This is what ck3 is missing

[@SpikyDane]

soul

[@TheJoshman01]

@@SpikyDane Paradox has been missing that for years.

[@norgepingvin3745]

no elephant was harmed during the production of these audio

[@beaversforlife1298]

I forgot at some point that ck2 had all these sounds because I had downloaded the lego yoda death sound and got used to that

[@SameedChowdhury]

💀

[@lucario5717]

Arent you the guy who made the other "better" Crusader Kings 2 video? lol

[@beaversforlife1298]

@@lucario5717 no

[@dr0g_Oakblood]

Yeah, even after 2k hours in the game, the sound of breaking someone on the wheel still makes me wince a bit.

[@andreigaina6271]

My biggest disappointment with ck3. Can't really enjoy the game without hearing 100 screams of anguish every time after I defeat a rebellion and execute everyone involved

[@izzy8655]

props to all the voice actors who died painful deaths in order to deliver these voice lines

[@Lidavaz_]

*insert patrick bateman listening with earbuds*

[@oooeee5556]

Can't believe a woman was trampled by elephants just for a game.

[@DrZaius3141]

trampling_elephant_female Me (before): What? They have different versions whether the elephant, tramling through the steppe, is male or female? That's attention to detail! Me (after): Oh... you mean "elephant_trampling_female".

[@hithedragon7842]

I had the same thought process

[@BronzetheGolden]

Your ways of thinking are intresting

[@karlbarx1819]

God I should have paid attention to that squeamish warning. It's been a long while since I played CK2 and I truly forgot how bad that was.

[@solinvictus4367]

and that is why Crusader Kings 2 is the superior game. It fully embraced what it was, the true medieval experience. Crusader Kings 3 is like the Diet Coke version

[@waddo9997]

Your voice and line delivery sounds a lot like Ssethzeentach. Its great.

[@2stoffire174]

Yeah his videos made me realize how important vocal performance is for the kind of jokes I write for

[@waddo9997]

@@2stoffire174 then that's a good teacher to learn from. I'd say Martincitopants and Internet Historian is a good source too.

[@kevinmerlos409]

Compared to losing stability in eu iv, these sounds are music to my ears

[@Trynt33]

"If only we had comet sense..."

[@Freedmoon44]

Losing Stability is just "Pain" Hearing those sounds is closer to a treat, "oh my, i dont wanna be the one to feel that one but thats what you get for disrespecting me b***"

[@kubli365]

*Patrick Bateman listening to his Walkman*

[@mihailos8701]

Thanks, now I'm interested in trying out this game specifically because of this

[@luggyschmuggy]

oh my fucking god

[@Roflmaolinde]

Usually, I think that Americans don’t learn enough history in school. Then again, I don’t know how good it is that I learned about the method of breaking someone on the wheel when I was 11.

[@austria-hungary4981]

Crusader Kings II - Not for the Faint hearted

[@3dbee47]

Stellaris: furiously sweating

[@davidepoggi]

deus vult jumpscare is real

[@akai4942]

I like death sounds, makes it difficult to actually kill your prisioners. When I'm ready to execute several mfs i feel like a piece of shit after hearing the screams of the first one, and it makes me spare the rest.

[@goldrumble5736]

this, this is the reason ck2 is a classic and why i like it more then 3.

[@waleedkhalid7486]

Wow, the more I learn about CK2 the more I realize that despite the excessive dlc a lot of love went into that game.

[@nurgleschosen8145]

For me the crusader kings 2 death sounds are like a nice ambience as im busy torturing my own sons and sacrificing them to dark gods. Crusader kings 2 is amazing if you manage to acquire all the dlcs through means that dont give paradox any cash.

[@nbewarwe]

My favorite thing in any ck2 game is going to the intrigue tab, after 'gathering' 50+ prisoners, selecting the 'tyranny abroad' on the execution filter, and then pressing 'exectute all' and having my ears butchered by the carnage that followed. At first it was a painful cost of cleaning out the dungeon, but soon I became addicted to it.

[@2stoffire174]

This is a small segment from kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXawdpuhhsyjqsU The full video actually has MORE death sounds!

[@LesangdesdieuX]

Simply lovely

[@wolfiedoesyt4230]

Simply lovely

[@jacksonpro9905]

It’s been a few years since i play ck2 and i always play without sound. Lol, i hear that sounds for the very first time and i even didn’t expect paradox put so much effort to make all in game actions sound so well. Tbh, it’s a map game! I also play every paradox game without sound(because i usually watch something on YT on the second screen). Except stellaris because it’s interface quite hard to me so sound notifications are very helpful. Now i should at least try to play ck2 with sounds!

[@Looneyface]

Listen after about 1000 hours you don’t even hear the noises anymore

[@Piecekidd]

I remember years ago when there was only one death sound. I replaced it with the Undertaker gong. The good old days.

[@ryangepitulan5011]

You forgot baby crying then abruptly ending I swear to god I did that shit accidentally (mass execute button) and seeing as my character has a cruel, wroth, and impaler trait (roleplaying fun) that baby ended up, I shit you not, being buried alive shit scars me to this day and yes I loaded an autosave which thankfully was only a year prior to that horrendous experience I mean sure killing teenagers is fine but shit I draw the line on infanticide brutal one at that unless of course, Gavelkind, and no I ain't gonna explain I already sound like a psychopath by this point

[@Kozanik]

2400 hours in and it all just blends in with the music

[@sharemation5339]

And guess what? Non of this is in CK3. Because NOBALLS.

[@ababyharpseal6534]

CK3 has titties, though! What it lost in audio-gore it arguably makes up for in sex appeal.

[@entire9694]

EU4 coin sound wants to talk to you

[@2stoffire174]

If you click the religious tab as a Jewish nation it makes a coin rattling sound

[@hewholurksinthedark7282]

@@2stoffire174 What did paradox mean by this

[@scungoid4798]

i remember finding the ck2 audio files and listening to every death sound, good times

[@monkeydetonation]

I did eventually get sick of hearing these all the time (not squeamish they just get annoying) and installed a mod to replace all of the death sounds with lego yoda's death sound

[@Selesto1]

HEY HEY PEOPLE!

[@accelerator7952]

Yeah I wonder where u get that idea 😁

[@paddotk]

Paradox: "You asked for a more immersive experience. We listened"

[@Cornally]

Idk what's more concerning, either the mere existence of those sounds, or that they made more than one of each sound... Like there are male and female variants and then always more than one of each

[@LuizAlexPhoenix]

It's actually necessary, when you execute so many people the sounds lose the impact without variation.

[@Isaidggfivetimes]

I NEED a mod that adds them to CK3

[@farafyn2770]

Actually there is one

[@Егор-е9ц9л]

honestly a great game

[@getsomezzzs6988]

Well, that goes to my ASMR playlist

[@ismaelnehme379]

Still waiting on a HOI4 war crimes button

[@esense9602]

I miss the old days of CK2 where my character is the emperor of Byzantine/Rome and suddenly someone will revolt. The ending is execution of prisoners.

[@mcnaughe]

I remember one game where a crusade launched just as I brought my viking raiders to sack Rome. Suddenly having 10k event-spawned troops to greet my raiders did not work out for me.

[@someguysomeone3543]

They should revitalise these in CK3. And extend them like adding one about flaying and "the boats" or scaphism however it si called. Imagine horrifying screams with the sounds of bees and larvae moving in the flesh.

[@alertcriminal]

really wish they carried this over to CK3

[@theregalproletariat]

I suspect (or hope) this is just for immersion - and a tacit way to encourage you not to mindlessly execute people.

[@Brendissimo1]

What's really funny is they went to all the trouble of creating specific gruesome death sounds for a whole variety of executions, only to have most of them randomized behind the "execute" button. Probably because the sheer variety of potential executions wouldn't fit in CK2's menus.

[@glassman1130]

Not gonna lie,I feel very relaxed after butchering and listening death sounds of my vassals

[@Baileaf11]

CK2 really stands for Crusader Kombat 2

[@2stoffire174]

Truly

[@alt1f4]

This Channel deserves more subs

[@s7robin105]

I forgot about these they need them back in CK3

[@legolegs87]

"This is why I have videogames. It appeals to a male fantasy" (c)

[@kittykattzee]

I did not know of this. Thank you for providing me an asmr goldmine

[@NotKnafo]

yup its a horror game not a strategy game

[@kavvethehomm3player454]

I cannot unhear this video now thanks for ruining my day

[@Cinderfella_Productions]

This segment from the video is more popular then the actual video

[@2stoffire174]

Yeah turns out short form content performs way better lol. The title and thumbnail for this really grabs the eye in a way a normal review cant

[@S.O.N.E]

Install the Song of Fire and Ice mod and go nuts kiddo

[@dogboy347]

That is one thing that is missing from the new Crusader Kings, as a non psychopath every time I had to have someone killed in my game I really had to think about it and wonder if I wanted to hear one of the lovely and crunchy death sounds.

[@sir-loay]

damn i can't belive that the sound design tortured people just to bring the best audio experience

[@ravenouself4181]

I have never been happier that I mute my pc when I play games

[@RandomAutist]

the screaming burning people will forever live in my head, telling me secrets and who to kill next. GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HEAD PLEAAAAAAAAAAAASE.

[@renatlottiepilled]

Omg Jerma in a CK 2 related video, did not expect that at all, love it tho

[@sirvotka3520]

"Unique adio experience" is why i love this game...

[@Battury]

I actually just play that folder in order when I go to bed at night. Really helps me keep things in perspective.

[@nick-of-all-trades]

Gonna play that plague clip when I tell my daughters to clean their room.

[@logoncal3001]

I still love Sseth's alternative: Bass boosted yoda death sound

[@Hakuna_Mataha]

One of my favorite things in ck2 is killing 100s of prisons at once and my computer lagging from playing all the different sounds at once.

[@mrbones909]

This is why I use the LEGO Yoda Death sound mod

[@tobikenobi7364]

Perfect to watch before going to sleep

[@SoFarSoGoodSoWhat14]

Reminds me of the solid crunch sound from Goldeneye when you'd run enemies over in the tank

[@MichaelLoda]

This is the best advertisement for a game I've ever seen

[@elfarlaur]

Glad I'm not the only one who got jumpscared every time a crusade was declared.

[@simonbrandberg1732]

This has to be the best sponsor for a game through all time now I know what I have to get.

[@WingMaster562]

A certain African Warlord replaced all the death chime with the sound of bass boosted Lego Yoda falling

[@thor8606]

"Look no further" Lovely illustration we have here

[@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y]

Since Berserk will be back, we can listen to those sounds while reading.

[@ZechsMerquise73]

Prepare to hear the "pleased female" and child birth sounds on a loop for 100 hours.