Paradox’s upcoming All Under Heaven expansion for Crusader Kings III isn’t just stretching the map to cover all of Asia—it’s giving the entire game world a fresh coat of paint.
The art team has reworked the terrain using Gaea, a terrain-generation tool that simulates erosion for more realistic mountains and landscapes. This replaces the older hand-painted heightmaps and tiling normal maps, which often produced noisy results in dense mountain ranges. Each of the game’s seven biomes now has its own unique texture set and color palette, stitched together for a cleaner, more distinctive look.
Lighting has also been overhauled, allowing terrain and objects to be adjusted separately for better clarity. Map text now has a softer, textured style, political map textures have been upgraded to higher resolution, and water visuals feature more varied color, improved shoreline waves, and balanced wave patterns. Cloud shadows now drift over the map, and players can zoom in closer than before.
For those who prefer a stylized touch, a new illustrated paper map—drawing from East Asian folklore and Shan Shui painting—will be used by default for most East Asian cultures, complete with mythical creatures like the Azure Dragon and Vermillion Bird. The original paper map style has also been extended to the east.
While the expansion promises new gameplay content, this visual update is about making the map itself more readable, more vibrant, and more atmospheric—without requiring new engine tech. Most of the changes will be optional, with settings available for those concerned about performance. Check out Crusader Kings III on Steam.
