PDOX Games VIII: Communism Will Win

[Lunas Legion]

Starting to think that Đại Nam is very underrated.
I annexed Siam in about 10 years. Now to move onto whatever other targets I can get. Maybe Brunei or Atjeh? Johore? Depends on their relations with the U.K.

Until the Yuropoors show up and go 'give colonial clay'.

[Valrifell]

Don't judge, lads, but I'm still under 750 hours in CK2 and EU4. I-I swear that I, too, am a PDX devotee, p-please don't execute me for heresy.

[Ifreann]

Don't judge, lads, but I'm still under 750 hours in CK2 and EU4. I-I swear that I, too, am a PDX devotee, p-please don't execute me for heresy.

[Lunas Legion]

Don't judge, lads, but I'm still under 750 hours in CK2 and EU4. I-I swear that I, too, am a PDX devotee, p-please don't execute me for heresy.

Is that under 750 in both individually, or in both combined?

[Valrifell]

Don't judge, lads, but I'm still under 750 hours in CK2 and EU4. I-I swear that I, too, am a PDX devotee, p-please don't execute me for heresy.

Is that under 750 in both individually, or in both combined?

Individually.

[Abserdia]

Hm.

[Valrifell]

Formed Hispania as Vikings because I thought a pagan swooping in (FROM OUT OF NOWHERE) and stealing the peninsula from the Moors and the Catholics to be way too good to pass up. After I formed the Empire, I set my sights on forming Outremer some time later in the game, so I quickly convert to Catholicism

Without realizing that (partially through my own actions) it had 0% moral authority.

Fuck.

[The Rich Port]

Formed Hispania as Vikings because I thought a pagan swooping in (FROM OUT OF NOWHERE) and stealing the peninsula from the Moors and the Catholics to be way too good to pass up. After I formed the Empire, I set my sights on forming Outremer some time later in the game, so I quickly convert to Catholicism

Without realizing that (partially through my own actions) it had 0% moral authority.

Fuck.

Smooooooooooooooooth.

You never go full Catholic, dood.

Always go full incest tho.

[The Vekta-Helghast Empire]

On the HoI4 thing about people being unable to get into it, I'm at 848 Hours on it, and around 500~ on HoI3, and I'd say that Hearts of Iron has thrived off of it's multiplayer community as far as vanilla is concerned, but yeah - there's a lot of Mods that I consider, "Need-to-have" for SP, like player led peace conferences. MP community is exceptionally diverse and got a whole lot goin' for it. I'm part of both a meta-community and an RP one, so it's pretty neato.

[The Rich Port]

On the HoI4 thing about people being unable to get into it, I'm at 848 Hours on it, and around 500~ on HoI3, and I'd say that Hearts of Iron has thrived off of it's multiplayer community as far as vanilla is concerned, but yeah - there's a lot of Mods that I consider, "Need-to-have" for SP, like player led peace conferences. MP community is exceptionally diverse and got a whole lot goin' for it. I'm part of both a meta-community and an RP one, so it's pretty neato.

We're not saying you can't get into HOI4. We're saying HOI4 is hard to get into, especially compared to the other games.

I feel Crusader Kings 2 is by far the best of the Paradox games in terms of both accessibility and complexity.

Small region, big annoying neighbor? You have a lot of options at your disposal. Assassinate the shit out of their leadership to throw them off balance! Have a good relationship with the ruler! Use religion to encourage unrest! Outspend and out-mercenary them! MAGIC! INCEST!

How do you win in HOI4? Have a better tech tree and research it fast, maybe with some coups and puppet states.

In the other games, small regions aren't anywhere near as viable as they are in CK2. Sure, that might be realistic, but it's not necessarily fun.

Not to mention, the diplomacy system in Victoria 2 and HOI4 make no goddamn sense. I was trying to create The Australian Empire and it depended heavily on an alliance with Britain, who was hostile against the Ottoman Empire, and so was I. Our relationship was at 200. Do they give me an alliance? Of course not, because why would they, I guess. Of course, this resulted in the Ottomans steamrolling me out of Arabia and steamrolling Britain out of Egypt.

Same thing with the Soviet Union in HOI4. One playthrough I randomly got invited to join the Comintern, but that ended up badly. When I restarted my playthrough, doing almost exactly the same thing I was doing last playthrough, the Soviets never invited me or allowed me to join despite us having positive relations. It doesn't help the game doesn't TELL YOU WHY. In CK2, every modifier has a reason you can just hover over to see. Meanwhile, I have to fumble around with the Vic 2 and HOI4 interfaces just to see who is allied to who.

Or at least I'm saying that. The poll is about which unmodded game is the most playable, which is tangentially related.

[The Vekta-Helghast Empire]

On the HoI4 thing about people being unable to get into it, I'm at 848 Hours on it, and around 500~ on HoI3, and I'd say that Hearts of Iron has thrived off of it's multiplayer community as far as vanilla is concerned, but yeah - there's a lot of Mods that I consider, "Need-to-have" for SP, like player led peace conferences. MP community is exceptionally diverse and got a whole lot goin' for it. I'm part of both a meta-community and an RP one, so it's pretty neato.

We're not saying you can't get into HOI4. We're saying HOI4 is hard to get into, especially compared to the other games.

I feel Crusader Kings 2 is by far the best of the Paradox games in terms of both accessibility and complexity.

Small region, big annoying neighbor? You have a lot of options at your disposal. Assassinate the shit out of their leadership to throw them off balance! Have a good relationship with the ruler! Use religion to encourage unrest! Outspend and out-mercenary them! MAGIC! INCEST!

How do you win in HOI4? Have a better tech tree and research it fast, maybe with some coups and puppet states.

In the other games, small regions aren't anywhere near as viable as they are in CK2. Sure, that might be realistic, but it's not necessarily fun.

Not to mention, the diplomacy system in Victoria 2 and HOI4 make no goddamn sense. I was trying to create The Australian Empire and it depended heavily on an alliance with Britain, who was hostile against the Ottoman Empire, and so was I. Our relationship was at 200. Do they give me an alliance? Of course not, because why would they, I guess. Of course, this resulted in the Ottomans steamrolling me out of Arabia and steamrolling Britain out of Egypt.

Same thing with the Soviet Union in HOI4. One playthrough I randomly got invited to join the Comintern, but that ended up badly. When I restarted my playthrough, doing almost exactly the same thing I was doing last playthrough, the Soviets never invited me or allowed me to join despite us having positive relations. It doesn't help the game doesn't TELL YOU WHY. In CK2, every modifier has a reason you can just hover over to see. Meanwhile, I have to fumble around with the Vic 2 and HOI4 interfaces just to see who is allied to who.

Or at least I'm saying that. The poll is about which unmodded game is the most playable, which is tangentially related.

I'd say if we're talking about accessibility, HoI4 is actually the second easiest of the games to get into / learn. Stellaris being first, due to it's common-elements with most 4X games / traditional RTS'. Victoria 2 I consider the most difficult just because it's so overwhelming for a new-start.

Also how do you win in any Paradox game, only really Stellaris has defined victory conditions. HoI4 I think has indisputably the best combat system of any Paradox game so far, because it's modern and a bit more relatable I guess. I think Europa has the best diplomacy system though, that can't be challenged much. And CK2 is just a totally different beast (it's my second favourite Pdox game after HoI, who doesn't love incestious and murderous dynasties?)


HoI4 is just like Europa and CK2 in the sense that, once you learn why things happen the way they do - you can control outcomes significantly easier. Victoria 2.. I don't even know what's happening 90% of the time but I sure do have a blast.

For me it depends on what people mean by the most playable unmodded. HoI4 I think is most satisfying combat-wise. Europa I feel is the most generally rounded game (so I guess it should win my vote really), CK2 I think is the most diverse but is a bit of an aquired taste. And Victoria 2 is good for masochists and pie-chart enthusiasts.

(Personally, HoI4 is still my favourite simply because of the MP community and combat).

[The Rich Port]

Funnily enough, despite my playing Europa a lot, I never quite understood how to play it compared to Victoria 2 even though they have a lot of similarities.

Granted, maybe I shouldn't start a game based on iSorrow XD

Either the man cheats like crazy or he is a fucking god because I can't figure out how he made Australia viable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHdzYn_T6D8

[The Rich Port]

Also, Victoria 2 and CK2 both have win conditions, more or less.

Victoria 2 getting or staying a Great Power can be considered a win, while CK2 scores you passively on just how much of an impact your dynasty made. You can end with literally one province in CK2 but if your dynasty had a big impact, it doesn't matter.

I guess I can kinda pat myself on the back. I brought Australia from rank 92 in the world to rank 16, a secondary power

[Wallenburg]

Hm.

Why is it that in all these Vicky2 screenshots the US invades that weird western sliver of Canada?

[Lunas Legion]

Hm.

Why is it that in all these Vicky2 screenshots the US invades that weird western sliver of Canada?

It's uncolonised territory at the start of the game, so if the US moves fast enough west they can get colonists to it before the UK does.

[Abserdia]

Why is it that in all these Vicky2 screenshots the US invades that weird western sliver of Canada?

It's uncolonised territory at the start of the game, so if the US moves fast enough west they can get colonists to it before the UK does.

It’s actually weird if the UK gets it. 90% of the time they’re too slow and the USA colonizes it, which may cause a few problems for the both of them. The Northwest Territories often becomes the subject of a colonial crisis.

[Bralia]

Today's HoI4 Dev Diary is something of a tutorial/review of many things that have been covered in previous DDs. A teaching of how to be mindful of all the angles with the new systems.

[Impaled Nazarene]

Today's HoI4 Dev Diary is something of a tutorial/review of many things that have been covered in previous DDs. A teaching of how to be mindful of all the angles with the new systems.

so for all of this, no naval rebalance? Hail Britannia indeed.

[The Vekta-Helghast Empire]

So, I tried playing Victoria 2 again - and this time as Prussia. It started well, kind-of..

I quickly got the Prussian economy stabilized and was making some nice cash, like 1.5k+, focussed on a balance of military and industrial tech to begin with. Expanded my sphere into the Netherlands, Sweden, etc. And eventually fabricated on France for Alsace-Lorraine. Conveniently they ended up in a war with Spain just in time for my justification to finish, and I'd gained allies in Britain and Two-Sicilies so when the war broke out, their armies were divided on three fronts and their Italian allies in the Vatican were overrun. I went for some Schlieffen plan shit, abandoned my East to be besieged by the Russians while I wiped out the French, and apparently that gave me enough war score to make peace. Woo-hoo.

But then, this is when things get bad. I had a Jacobin revolution that overthrew me while I was moving my armies back to deal with them. Uh-oh. Eventually I recovered from this little revolt and was thankfully much stronger than I had been before it. Now I had been planning to wage a war with Austria as to weaken them and hopefully knock them out of great-power status, when suddenly, WAR. "Unsurprisingly X has accepted our call to arms." Spam.

France had declared war on me thinking they could retake Alsace Lorraine. This time I did the reverse of my last plan and focussed East and after a HUGE battle with the Russians (they lost 100,000 men and this is only like 1848). I basically broke them in the east for a while - only to realise my British and German allies had failed to keep the French distracted and that my western territories were all occupied. And that Russian + Italian troops were flowing in through Austria. Sooo, basically what ensued was a 3 year slog fest that eventually ended in my victory thanks to the AI being unable to properly group up. But now I only have like 20 brigades, and I'm pretty terrified that Austria might make a move on me due to our -179 relations. What do?

[Impaled Nazarene]

So, I tried playing Victoria 2 again - and this time as Prussia. It started well, kind-of..

I quickly got the Prussian economy stabilized and was making some nice cash, like 1.5k+, focussed on a balance of military and industrial tech to begin with. Expanded my sphere into the Netherlands, Sweden, etc. And eventually fabricated on France for Alsace-Lorraine. Conveniently they ended up in a war with Spain just in time for my justification to finish, and I'd gained allies in Britain and Two-Sicilies so when the war broke out, their armies were divided on three fronts and their Italian allies in the Vatican were overrun. I went for some Schlieffen plan shit, abandoned my East to be besieged by the Russians while I wiped out the French, and apparently that gave me enough war score to make peace. Woo-hoo.

But then, this is when things get bad. I had a Jacobin revolution that overthrew me while I was moving my armies back to deal with them. Uh-oh. Eventually I recovered from this little revolt and was thankfully much stronger than I had been before it. Now I had been planning to wage a war with Austria as to weaken them and hopefully knock them out of great-power status, when suddenly, WAR. "Unsurprisingly X has accepted our call to arms." Spam.

France had declared war on me thinking they could retake Alsace Lorraine. This time I did the reverse of my last plan and focussed East and after a HUGE battle with the Russians (they lost 100,000 men and this is only like 1848). I basically broke them in the east for a while - only to realise my British and German allies had failed to keep the French distracted and that my western territories were all occupied. And that Russian + Italian troops were flowing in through Austria. Sooo, basically what ensued was a 3 year slog fest that eventually ended in my victory thanks to the AI being unable to properly group up. But now I only have like 20 brigades, and I'm pretty terrified that Austria might make a move on me due to our -179 relations. What do?

Spam nice things

[Hanafuridake]

So you have to pay money for a graphic pack if you want to play a Mongolian character who looks ethnically accurate.

I expected nothing, and am still disappointed.

[Hammer Britannia]

Stellaris is just RTS spore

Change my mind

[Impaled Nazarene]

So CK2 question you are down to your last character and his heir. You are a catholic but your son is a secret Sunni and you don't have Sword of Islam because a bunch of idiots with subscribers told you it isn't mandatory. When you die what happens?

[Lunas Legion]

So CK2 question you are down to your last character and his heir. You are a catholic but your son is a secret Sunni and you don't have Sword of Islam because a bunch of idiots with subscribers told you it isn't mandatory. When you die what happens?

I... Honestly don't know.

I'd say save, use the kill console command on your character if it isn't ironman and see what happens.

[Hanafuridake]

So CK2 question you are down to your last character and his heir. You are a catholic but your son is a secret Sunni and you don't have Sword of Islam because a bunch of idiots with subscribers told you it isn't mandatory. When you die what happens?

It counts as a game-over. I had that happen to me before I bought Rajas of India because my heir was a Buddhist.