V2 Beta AAR : RELee's CounterIntuitive USA AAR or What I Did This Summer

I was debating whether to encourage pop promotion for artisans or officers when I wandered over and took a look at the colonial map mode, and then I scrolled out when I noticed something odd. Using tooltips, I determined that two colonial areas were being colonized by foreign powers, indicated with the red circles. Colorado is being colonized by Mexico while the UK is going after Idaho and Washington. The size of the naval base in New Orleans prevents me from attempting either Washington or Oregon, which are indicated by the pale green circle, so I will use a National Focus point each on Idaho and Colorado along with a brigade of dragoons to help colonize those territories before either of my rivals. Oklahoma, shown as bright green territory, I'll trust to stay untouched until I can get to it. The far Northwest will have to be addressed at a later date.

I can't emphasize enough the value of using the different map modes and the tool tips offered by this game. The wealth of information available to players is simply mind-staggering, and all of it is extremely useful.

So, we'll set colonization for Colorado






Should be self-explanatory. But looking at it again, perhaps not so much.

The first screen shot is a province window which has a red arrow indicating the tan colored check box to click so that you can assign a National Focus point. I see that Mexico is already starting to colonize Colorado. I don't think so.

The second screen shot shows the window after clicking the NF button. You can see the tool tip from hovering the mouse pointer over the colonization icon.

Which leaves the third screen where I have selected the colonization action and now you can see that both Mexico and the USA are attempting to colonize Colorado. I like to think the two nationalities are working together side-by-side in the pioneer spirit.

I'll repeat those same steps with Idaho. Separating my US Dragoons into its constituent regiments, I'll send one each to Idaho and Colorado to help speed the colonization process. That kinda blows the whole peaceful pioneer spirit thing, but I don't like losing.



We've done all our initial information gathering, taken our first moves, and selected all our initial settings. Time to let some time run off the clock.

21 days in - good time to make some budget changes.



Lowered taxes to allow POPs to more easily purchase their goods. Raised maintenance on the military and administration to a 60% level while maxing out education. We will maintain this as long as we can. Still getting a decent increase on the treasury, but sometimes the economy will dip quickly, so you have to watch it.



It dawns on me that I have forgotten my diplomacy settings again. This is another new feature in Victoria II that is going to be a real game driver, but my old ways keep creeping in and hamstringing my best efforts. I'll concentrate my priority on Texas, as they are already at war with Mexico. Already have friendly influence on the ol' boys. Used my single diplomacy point to increase relations from 50 to 80, then realize I should have asked for an alliance. I'll live with my mistake. Hopefully we'll all learn something.

Feb. 5, 1836


Mexico's attack is slow to form. We gain another diplomatic point and check out our chances with Texas. Looks like they are very likely to accept an alliance offer. I think it's time we make the offer.



And so, 6 days later:



After giving movement orders to our existing corps, I let more time run past until I get another diplomatic point so I can check out possible war goals. While there are several to choose from, they will give me a case of infamy heartburn that I'm not quite ready to suffer. I decide the main goal of this war is to keep the Texicans out from under the thumb of Santa Anna, and so I concentrate on destroying the invading Mexican divisions.

March 25, 1836

Texas War of Independance​

Gave you a lot to sort through here, if you like. Combat in Austin betwixt the Mexicans and Texicans, with the US Army of Observation only 1 day away from engagement approaching from Houston. The Slavery Debate event has just fired. This event raises consciousness by +0.01 according to the tool tip, 1%, and stays in effect until sometime in 1866.

Note under the units in the map view. The Texicans strength number is in a red box, a sure sign that organization and strength levels are approaching a critical level. The Mexicans, with a yellow box, are in a bit better shape in one way or another or perhaps both. My own corps is showing green, indicating that my unit is at 100% in both strength levels and organization. We stand a good chance of making a difference in the Austin battle.

On down south below Austin in San Antonio you can see a full strength Mexican unit occupying the province, notable due to the faint smoke around and above the unit. Once all my forces have arrived in Texas, we'll see about doing something about that.


And here's is the glory shot you all want to see. Combat! Sure, we're playing a game noted and praised for its emphasis on economics, politics and diplomacy, but admit it. This is what you are all interested in seeing.

The US Army of Observation has joined battle, placing themselves under the command of General Sam Houston of the Texican forces against the Mexican Activo Oajaca under General Martin de Cos. This is probably an inadvertently wise choice on my part, as Houston appears to give the combined US/Texican forces a decided advantage in leadership, with the Mexicans taking a hit as the attackers having to cross a river to get to us. So two lucky breaks on our side. We did not have a leader to interfere, assuming that the Texas forces share their leadership advantage with the US, something I'm not 100% about, and we arrived before the Texas forces could be defeated allowing us to be part of the defending forces. Otherwise we would be suffering a river crossing penalties as the attackers.

All this is assuming I'm reading the combat window correctly.



After one day of battle, the tide has turned against the Mexicans in the province of Austin.



There was never a doubt.

Notable observation, the units of Texas and the USA cooperated in battle. Expeditionary forces, which are not in this game, were not needed. Military access did not have to be given as the alliance took care of that automatically. This is such a clear and unqualified improvement over Victoria and Revolutions that I have to make a deal of it.

If you haven't made the determination yet, let me spell it out for you. This game is AWESOME!!!



Ah ha! An excellent opportunity to point out to the newcomers to this game, and remind all you old war horses out there, that the messages in Victoria II are customizable by the player. Being a world power, I wish to be kept informed of important happenings that might occur even if they are a long ways from my immediate concern. Some players may not wish to know about war breaking out halfway around the globe, but I find that knowing these things may present an opportunity, or may prevent me from making a terrible faux pas later on.



As US, Texican, and Mexican forces maneuver for some perceived advantage, we take a quick look to update our status on colonization efforts. The 1st Army, made up of only a regiment of dragoons, has arrived in Colorado and is already making a difference in the rate of colonization. We are pulling ahead of the Mexicans, who have sent no forces. The bar graphs help to keep us informed at a glance.



A costly mistake on my part. I was overly eager to strike. I thought I could send a low org unit running with my regiment of dragoons, and almost managed to do it; but I was so intent in watching the org graphs I forgot to keep an eye on my personnel loses. At 5 to 1 odds, I should have been more attentive.

REMEMBER EL PASO! will become our rallying cry.



Our other forces arrived just as the first battle ended and moved out that quickly. Vengence is swift, and the Mexican forces must retreat from a two-pronged attack originating from Lubuck and Austin. Meanwhile, The Army of Texas along with the US Army of the South are occupying an undefended San Antonio.

Note the Production and Budget tabs at the top of the screen. I have some economic concerns to address. I will increase taxes just a few points for each POP class to cover the shortfall. I'll leave the Production to fend for itself for a while longer.



Another busy screen shot. The war is over! Or, at least it will be once I agree with the white peace as leader of the alliance. Texas will remain a sovereign nation and Mexico should give us back Cody, Wyoming, an occupation that I missed being busy in the Texas arena. Looks like I need to make some message setting changes. I could very well setup some more war goals and continue the fight, but I'm going to avoid that temptation. I expect that Mexico and the USA will come to cross purposes again very soon, so don't despair that ol' RELee is some weird peace-nik or something. For the present, however, I think I will concentrate on getting my colonies under control and working on the economy. I see by the Outliner on the right-hand of the screen that we are already busy building railroads and a fabric factory. Just need to get back to a peace time economy for a while.

December 15, 1836

US Expansion Continues!​

End of year means it's time to rearrange the Upper House.



However, like RELee, they decide to remain no-holds-barred conservative.


It's now June. The growing season is in full swing, and sure enough, our new crop of colonies are starting to come in. I immediately invest the extra National Focus point into some other area of interest. I think new artisans are needed somewhere in the frontier. In August, Idaho becomes a colonial state of the US, and this NF point I assign to colonizing Oklahoma. Checking factories, we find one bankrupt, so we check and are able to reopen, so we do. It immediately starts to produce a profit again, so check those bankrupt factories from time to time. After they've been closed for a while, circumstances can change to the profitable.


Having received at least two, perhaps three, of these events in the recent month, I'm suspecting that increasing consciousness may be the cause. In an effort to help slow down these acrimonious events, I will enact both the Gag Rule on the House of Representatives as well as the Clay and Douglas Act, both of which help to reduce POP consciousness. I suspect that this will only slow down the problem rather than eliminate it, but you do what you gotta do.

In November of 1837, Texas petitions for and is granted application to become a state. I enable their request to be added as a slave state.

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March of 1838 sees an international incident give the US cause to go to war with Mexico again. Plus, they are trying to colonize Oklahoma, a clearly aggressive stance on their part as they attempt to seduce us with kindly words and offers of alliance and ever-lasting friendship. Pah!



War shall be declared. Texas should be united and whole.



April of 1839, Texas can start the party again. Friends and family are reunited. Santa Anna is said to be seen sulking on the banks of the Rio Grande.
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1840 and I believe it's time to take stock of our situation.


The US has obtained another casus belli against Mexico, but going to war before 1844 is not a good idea. Plus we need to work on our diplomatic and economic fronts for a while as we let our country work its way through an election year.


I've reduced Rich taxes to zero. I have tons of craftsmen out of work. Evidently either POPs are promoting with no factories to work in, or they are immigrating from Europe in the hopes of landing work. The need for more factories outweighs the need for more money in the treasury at the moment. I'll have to work on the budget some more. Ignore the number discrepancy, as I spent money to re-open that fabric factory up in New England again.


In deciding what to research, we note the gaining of Manifest Destiny through the acquisition of Romanticism. This decision grants us a lot of new cores to allow the spread of the US through the West. I definitely want this to aid in my expansion efforts. While there are a handful of rebels floating about, it is certainly nothing to be worried about at the moment. I do note way up in the Population tab that I have forgotten to reinvest one of my National Focus points after gaining Oklahoma as a colony. I think I'm leaning toward factory production of some type. I'll be a good boy and concentrate my efforts to the North and not create an industrial South prior to the possible ACW to come.

Just a quick update without going into any details. 1845 and while my truce with Mexico is gone, so is my reason for attacking. I was afraid my CB was for a limited time, but I had to see. There may have been an expiration date somewhere, but I failed to see it. I've been busy helping build railroads, forts, and naval bases. During this time I've pulled several nations into our Sphere of Influence, including Brazil, Haiti, and Hawaii. Income has increased nicely and I've been able to adjust taxes down. Researched Romanticism.

One lesson regarding diplomacy as a GP. Leave other GP's alone unless absolutely necessary. Don't just Ban Advisers or use the Decrease Opinion against them unless you are ready to start a diplomatic fight, and to be successful in one of those, unless I'm missing some message setting somewhere, you have to be on your toes regarding your influence points constantly. It's one area where the AI has the advantage over you. As soon at the AI hits 50 points of influence, they're going to hit you. You, on the other hand, may be busy somewhere else when you hit the 50 influence point mark with some country and miss out entirely. Being trumped by the AI is a bad thing. It makes you feel stupid. On the other hand, having to remain in the diplomacy screen all the time just reminds you how limited you are as a human. Fail-fail.

Interesting note: Lucca has made it to GP status as the #8 power.

Well, even the best plans of a conservative player will eventually get side-tracked into change of some sort. I choose the more conservative of the two choices, the one that doesn't cause any militant increases.


Here, I'm looking for a way to shutdown the sudden awakening of the French diplomacy AI. To do so, I stop influencing all other countries and concentrate all my influence upon Brazil. I don't think this is something that the AI is able to do, so I've found the Achilles heel that trumps the omniscience of the AI's ever watchful eye. This way, I'm generating influence points in Brazil much faster than France is able to do so I can try banning their embassy. Hopefully this will give me an advantage that will give me some breathing room, in this case, a year's worth of breather.


My next step is to click the French flag and Proceed.

The way that I understand this, a GP generates a set number of influence points. I don't know if this maximum number of points is the same for each GP, of if other factors alter the number, but I do know that application of the points are influenced by the affected nation being in the same continent vs. another continent. You can only store up 100 points of influence against each nation, however.


Looks like I'm headed in the right direction.


A few days to confirm we've stopped France in their diplomatic tracks. This is good news for me, since I was dumb enough to setup this dilemma in the first place. As an extra added attraction, when viewing Brazil I can see a cute little icon next to added to France with a tooltip telling me that I've banned their embassy until June 2, 1847.

If only one person learns the lessons here about diplomacy, then my job is complete.

Examples of flavor events that boost militancy and/or consciousness and even sometimes life ratings of states.


The UK is trying to get sneaky, but I expect they are too stretched to follow up. They've been annexing some smaller nations.


I'll try the same stunt that shut down France in Brazil. I don't know if there are repercussions to banning another GP's embassy from a country, but I can't think of a more direct way of finding out.

I was able to ban the UK from Liberia and ban the French embassy from Brazil for the second time. I'll need to build up influence in Liberia back to 100 points in order to get them back in my SoI, but that should be easy enough with the UK banned for the next year. After, I'll just have to see how it works out. I may have to sacrifice Liberia to maintain influence in the Americas, which, like Monroe, will be my primary goal.

Before I move on to the next screen shot, please note the tool tip at the top of the screen. The population has grown through normal means as well as immigration/assimilation until it has exceeded 3 million Yankees culture people. Which brings us all to the next screen shot below.


It's time to pick a new technology to research. Ideological Thought will gain us an extra influence point. I ain't figured out how to spend it yet. Better to not spend your chickens before they hatch, my Granny used to say.




Finishing up this entry are a couple more USA flavor shots.

Why ... it's, it's almost like reliving my childhood.

Howdy, everybody!



It's 1849, and I've managed to research Ideological Thought. As you can see, along with my increased population, it increases my MAXIMUM National Focus by 1, giving me 3 Focus points to work with now. I need to determine a new technology to research, and invest my new Focus point. The tool tip helps remind me of the new available NF, and it tells me where I've currently invested my other two points. Handy. At the rate that my population is growing, I may just find it difficult to keep up with technology to keep my National Focus points at maximum.

"But, I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."



I've decided to go with Clean Coal this time around, usually one of my first picks for research if I don't already have it. Provides a nice boost to RGO production of goods typically useful for a growing industrial nation. Of course, this is a habit picked up from Revolutions days. We'll see if it still helps as much as it did. At the top, I've provided you with the tool tip that breaks down research for you. It's the info from the magnifying glass in the Technology tab.

Which reminds me, in Victoria and Victoria:Revolutions, I pretty much had to spend most of my time in the game's ledger. In v2, I appear to spend more time in the main screen tabs and the main screen. There is some information in the ledger, but I typically don't feel that I need it. We may make a foray over there eventually. We'll see.



Here's a multi-layer shot for you now. Paying attention to the tooltip, you can see how I've reallocated my National Focus Points. You'll notice that I've stopped encouraging officer conversions and trying to increase immigration out in Oklahoma. Don't ask me why. It just seemed the thing to do at the time. I'm still encouraging pop promotion to clerks in New York. And looking to get some Capitalists in Ohio, since there are none at the moment.

I'm in the military tab, located at the far right of the upper screen. Looking in that tab, you can see that I have 48 available brigades for building, but only 14 are built. My leaderships points have maxed out at 60, and I have a surplus of leaders who don't have units to command. I have 23 ships in the navy, but currently only 1 brigade available for mobilization from poor pops. I know that this is mobilization figure will be modified by two inventions after researching Military Plans under Army Techs. I don't know if anything else helps this to figure to grow or not.

Anyway, it would appear that we are doing well on the military side of things right now. I'm going to commit to some Budget changes to reflect the new reality, I do believe.



I've already reduced military spending to 30%. I'll keep an eye on the number of available brigades and make sure they don't drop too quickly. I had been at 46% and the number of available brigades kept growing. That's a good sign that they are not being to heavily taxed, or so I would say. I need to bring up my number of administrators, though. They've been stuck at 2% the entire game. I would like to see that get better, without creating a bureaucratic nightmare, of course. Since the tool tip clearly states that this will aid in Crime Fighting, I'm hoping that increased bureaucracy will help cut down on POPs rising up in revolt.

Taxes on the rich will remain at 0%. Taxes on the middle and poor classes I've reduced to 18% for each. That only gives a positive growth of 16 initially. I'm more interested in keeping my population happy and productive than I am having a huge treasury, since it's already a fair size at the moment.

Time to start up time again. Bring Liberia back into the SoI and look at possibly adding some more South American countries.

TTFN!

Oops! Spoke too soon, now didn't I.



An invention from one of my previously researched technologies is already helping with mobilization. Guessing, but fewer civilian pops will be affected during mobilization and hopefully lessening the impact on my economy. If I'm incorrect, someone please correct me.

I also forgot to mention that I will be building railroads and expanding naval bases manually while I'm playing the diplomacy game. One or both seem to be beneficial to the economic environment, along with bringing countries into our Sphere of Influence.

I tell you now. This game may not be everybody's cup of tea, but it sure fills mine up and adds cream and sugar too.



The Election of 1849



I hit the UK with a double-whammy. I had a good head start in influence points in Liberia, and they were building influence although not quite as quickly as I. So I first used the Decrease Opinion button so that the Opinion of the UK/Liberia dropped from Friendly to Cordial, and then as soon as I had 51 points, I used the Expel Advisors button to reduce their influence points in Liberia to 0. One day later, the screen shot above occurred. Oh well, I wasn't trying that hard in Two Sicilies anyway. I just wanted to see if I could get away with it. I'll reduce my influence priority, thus increasing it back in the Americas.

A first! I have liberals in the Upper House. The winds of change appear to be blowing.

In research, I completed Positivism and have moved on to begin researching Strategic Mobility under Army Tech.



My concern at the moment, other than the pesky diplomatic wars that continue, is the rising consciousness. Militancy is rather low, although I'm having to squash a few rebellions each year, the militancy slowly drops on its own over time. Events such as the ones I showed earlier continue to add both militancy and consciousness each time they fire. So, I believe it is time to start making use of some consciousness-lowering decisions that I have available.

I begin with the Nashville Convention, as it requires the highest national consciousness to enable, at 6. This lowers consciousness by 1 in the Southern States. Next I enable the Fugitive Slave Act, which lowers consciousness by 2 in each of the slave states. It is at this point that I notice the Corwin Amendment, which actually requires a national consciousness of 8. I totally missed that earlier, but still my consciousness is close to 8.5, so I'm still able to enact it. This one actually lowers the consciousness of all POPs in the USA. Nice!



Finally, there is the Kansas-Nebraska. A double-edged sword, but I guess it's time to put it into play. It should provide an overall negative effect on consciousness, although it will raise consciousness in POPs in the North.

Eventually, I get the US consciousness down to 6.73, which is somewhat of an improvement, although not as much as I had hoped.

That will be all for now. I'm going to pass on the Trail of Tears, at least for the moment, although I will probably enact it soon just to keep the game semi-historical. The others will wait for the time being. I'm going to continue to work my diplomacy war in my attempt to keep Liberia away from the UK and Brazil from France It did dawn on me today that both GP's have states in the continents with the countries they are working to take away from me, which places my efforts at a disadvantage.

So, my plan is to continue for a couple of more years and see what transpires while working to improve relations with both France and the UK. Hopefully our little battle of the Spheres will not cause any ill feelings that might come back to bite me in the rear.



Oh, not this book of lies again! Ahhhh! So much for my efforts at reducing consciousness and keeping the peace in this fair land.

Minor update: Argentina becomes a Great Power, pushing Spain down to a Secondary Power status. I decide to give up on the diplomatic battle with the UK and France and look to consolidate my gains in the Americas, hopefully without losing any. Being able to retain any of my Sphere holdings after 1860 might be a tad difficult anyway, especially now with a GP in South America.

I have managed to gain another CB against Mexico. More on that later.o


Here, well, I'm still fighting rebels. Evidently they are being created by POPs who are out of work. It occurs to me that perhaps I might see what I can do to help them to find work.

Anyway, on the bottom-left you can see the window with province info. The thermometer shows the life-rating of the province, and to the right of that you can see a firing cannon sitting atop what happens to be a progress bar showing how far along the occupation has advanced. Of course, it has just begun here. If you haven't noticed in the past, the outliner is open with everything enabled. There is so much info there that it has become a scrollable window. I can see that the US Army, the Army of New York, and the Richmond Cavalry are all in motion. Clicking on any military unit will take you straight to that unit. Very cool and easy to work interface. Y'all are gonna love it.


Obviously, I have engaged some rebel forces. My point here is to note that in the Outliner the Army of New York is still on the move while the Army of Tennessee is showing that it has become engaged in battle.


Seems my concern over Argentina was misplaced. Pulled down out of GP status by the Netherlands.

By this time, however, I had already tired of the diplomatic struggle and redirected my influence to try and stymie Argentina's bid for a SA SOI. Well, I'm just going to monitor the situation for now. I may start my bid for Brazil again. Liberia I may just leave for now.


I've finally managed to research Strategic Mobility.


And I've decided to start researching the Naval Tech, Fire Control Systems.


A new year begins, meaning a rearrangement of the Upper House is called for, and an election finishes with the Whigs actually winning this time. The liberals have take control. Interesting times, because I'm not 100% sure what this will mean to the USA.


I bring you to the Politics screen to discuss my fail point in this game.

My intention was to bring you a fairly historical game of the USA, however, distractions and my tendency to play the game the way that I do has caused me to just let the Manifest Destiny decision slide by and I have not held the Mexican-American War of the 40's. Not sure when it exactly occurred to me, but regardless, I've unintentionally shown that the decision process does allow a player to choose his own course through the game either by trying to recreate history or my creating his own. In my case, I just kinda let events take me, just where ever.

I've let slip my basic strategy in most of my games where I'm not sure where the game is taking me and I don't have a firm grasp of the game mechanics. I play very, very safe and conservatively. I know you are all shocked to discover this trait in me.

Another trait that I have will result in me bulling through this game as it stands. I seldom take do-overs. I take 'em. Just not that often. And I'm not scripting this. I post it as I play it.

Just look at all those cores from Manifest Destiny! It could have been glorious!

Having established what a pitiful player I am, let's move on to 1854. Turns out to be a really boring year of consolidation with a handful of rebellions to put down. Seems that the rebellions are mostly fueled by immigrant populations such as the British, French and German pops who have not assimilated. I've expanded the army a bit and research is progressing nicely. I've definitely made up my mind to concentrate on the Americas and ignore the rest of the world, just as a good isolationist USA should.

In reality, I'm waiting for the ACW shoe to drop



Here's one of those oddity events that Paradox will throw in from time to time that I personally love. Sometimes a body is faced with a no-win situation so that they are forced to pick the lesser of two evils. Decision one will increase consciousness in all pops, which in my view causes them to start bickering over those private little favorite issues that don't amount to a hill of beans. Kinda like visiting the OT forum here. Know what I mean? The second decision causes the rest of the world to lose some respect of the USA, that is, we lose some prestige, and we gain some war exhaustion. That idea just wears me out to think about it, so I go with decision number one.


The next odd event is an easy one to pick. Money I have but prestige for a peace monger is hard to come by. I spend the money and host the fair.



If I were playing more aggressively, this would be a godsend. Concentrating on kicking the UK out of the north could be very satisfying. Then again, it could make for a miserable rest of the game, especially when you consider that I have not expanded the navy at all since the beginning. As it is, this will pass by quietly ignored.


A new year begins again, with the usual reordering of the Upper House, getting more liberal each year it seems; and a new invention should add a bit of mobilization pool size for the US. You can also see that my capitalists are busy building factories and railroads. I have not initiated any of these builds.


Finally, for those of you who love these things, a consolation prize in a world map at the beginning of 1855. You'll note there are no black areas between the US and Mexico. The UK has colonized Washington Territory and Mexico holds land from Arizona to California. Perhaps of particular interest might be the northern extent that British India has reached and just how far south Russia has extended until they now have open water ports in the Indian Ocean. It could be my imagination, but it looks as if Russia has also taken some northern Chinese land. I'm also pretty sure that Brazil is a bit too large.

At this point, I will have to say a sad adieu to my AAR. Real life interference, changes to the beta code, and the need to continue with what little help I provide with the beta induce me to close at this point. I hope you've enjoyed it.

Thank you, monsieur.