• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
It seems to me like Alaska waited on the end to show it's real powers. Also you can state that you did defeat an european power, atleast indirectly as your CN (after getting destroyed by natives) won over Burgundy! A nice paradox there in my opinion. :D

Also, everything that is good has to come to an end, even if it feels like it was yesterday that I started subscribing to this AAR.

I saw what you did there. :) I am glad you approve of my glorious victory by proxy, or proxtory.

Nicely finished. I'd suggest you convert to V2, but random new world makes that a lot of work.

How is the progress on that converter? I don't really have time at the moment to do much conversion work myself, and I think our glorious winner has a very different plan for the next AAR...

A great end to a great AAR. You totally crushed all your fellow Asian neighbours.

I would agree that Alaska's victory is also your victory. It's like seeing your kid beat up the kid of the old bully from your high school. :p

I like the sound of that!

I'd love to see this make it in some shape over to V2, the stronger Japan would make for a very interesting balance of power!

I think so too, and it's something I'll keep in mind if I run out of other ideas.

The end is now here
The last Japanese ship sinks
Who can we mock now?​

There are always opportunities for mocking, my friend. Always.

We're going to do two appendices. One, which I'm working on now, will have all the map action that you can handle. The second one -- tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, more likely Wednesday -- will have all manner of statistics and pages from the ledger.
 
Appendix 1: A cartographer's dream come true (featuring some data)

Let's get to the maps, shall we? These first four are of the New World. First, the Northern Continent:

kiyhg.jpg


The Middle Continent:

jae5.jpg


The Southern Continent:

2t3s.jpg


And New Japan Island:

scj4.jpg


By the time I was able to colonize, a lot of the richest parts of the New World were already gone; we'll see that made especially clear in appendix #2 tomorrow.

Southeast Asia and the Pacific:

rdfd.jpg


Here, I got most of the good stuff; Brunei is my protectorate, after all. Kind of regret missing out on western Australia and Tasmania, but eh, they weren't worth a lot.

East Asia:

12or.jpg


If the game continued, say, another 25 years, I'd probably have absorbed Xi and moved onto Zhou. Maybe with that, I'd feel confident trying to take on Russia again. Maybe. I could always have eaten Zhou and Shun... Still, this is better than Japan did by 1936, and it's only 1821, so hey, I think I ought to get some credit. I did achieve all of the goals I set for myself. *pats self on back*

Now, for the ROW.

South Asia/Near East/Middle East/North Africa and friends:

mhlr.jpg


Kind of boring, actually. Let's keep going.

Africa:

zlqv.jpg


Nothing super interesting here either.

Last (and most certainly least!), Europe:

xsf4.jpg


Burgundy still has a presence abroad, but that's pretty much it. Bohemia's run rampant over the HRE, but if memory serves Prussia's been the Emperor for quite a while now. GB's had to reclaim Wales and Cornwall more times than I can remember; at least four. However, looks like in this timeline, there's no Sweden. I wonder if that means Johan would be speaking Danish?

Okay, the rest of the world is boring. More about Japan! Here's my government, advisors, and pretty awesome ruler (that I didn't get to use for very long):

9tpq.jpg


I skipped the diplomacy screen -- nothing much interesting there. My enemies were Spain, Portugal, Russia, and GB. My rivals were Burgundy, Xi, and nobody. On to trade!

9tv7.jpg


And the other trade nodes I'm aware of:

06lr.jpg


I think if I played over again, I would have taken Trade much, much earlier. It was an extremely lucrative idea set, as this demonstrates:

ie57.jpg


I'm making lots of money, and I've not built all that many buildings, which is the strange part. Something to make sure I incorporate into my next EUIV game. Speaking of ideas...

ilpr.jpg


I think maybe I ought to have taken Innovative first, simply to get the most benefit out of it, at least after exploration. That segues nicely into...

qvu9.jpg


I think I did pretty well for starting out with the Chinese tech group.

My loyal vassals:

fc4ow.jpg


I'm not a big fan of spending scarce admin just to bump up tariffs, and they honestly weren't that lucrative. Especially New Japan.

We close with our discussion of Japan with the most important part: the army and navy.

uznbn.jpg


To close out appendix #1, I offer you a world map and a religious map.

qm66.jpg


38s0.jpg


See you next time, when we shall bring this AAR to its formal end!
 
Bravo!
 
Regarding the converter, the post for the latest release contains most of what you'd want to know (see in particular the limitations section).

The difficulty would be with random new world. The converter can't really do anything with that, so you'd have to start by making an appropriate map mod, then merge that to the starting mod, and then you could convert. Too much work except for the most dedicated.
 
Congratulations on finishing your AAR, it's not too often that an AAR actually ends with the 1821 map. That New World is pretty hideous :wacko:

But yay! Japan stronk! I wouldn't bother converting to Vicky though, too much of a hassle.
 
Congratulations Avindian for making it all the way to 1821! :cool:

Not too shabby since the only game I ever made it to 1821 was a game with France, that I started with the 1789 scenario date! :p
 
An excellent AAR! I was inspired by your effort and have been working on a Shiba Japan game, which is going surprisingly well! Punching Date in the face right off the bat paid off, as did taking down Takeda and their gold province.
 
It is a shame to see this come to an end, but I'm looking forward to your next one, and shall be looking to find any previous ones from you, as I think that this is one of the best AARs I have read. Consider me a new fan of your AARs.
 
Good job (you could had invented better names for the new world isles though ;)) !

However, looks like in this timeline, there's no Sweden. I wonder if that means Johan would be speaking Danish?

No, but Groogy would instead be the boss.
 

How peculiar that you are the first to comment on that update. ;)

Regarding the converter, the post for the latest release contains most of what you'd want to know (see in particular the limitations section).

The difficulty would be with random new world. The converter can't really do anything with that, so you'd have to start by making an appropriate map mod, then merge that to the starting mod, and then you could convert. Too much work except for the most dedicated.

Okay, I'm dedicated to my AARs, but not that dedicated. Maybe Vicky 3 will include a converter!

Congratulations on finishing your AAR, it's not too often that an AAR actually ends with the 1821 map. That New World is pretty hideous :wacko:

But yay! Japan stronk! I wouldn't bother converting to Vicky though, too much of a hassle.

Thanks very much!

Congratulations Avindian for making it all the way to 1821! :cool:

Not too shabby since the only game I ever made it to 1821 was a game with France, that I started with the 1789 scenario date! :p

:D This is my first game making it to 1821, believe it or not.

Congratulations on making it this far and you did very well. It would have been immensely interesting to see what would have happened in V2 with the powerful Japan that you built.

It is a dream for a later day, perhaps.

An excellent AAR! I was inspired by your effort and have been working on a Shiba Japan game, which is going surprisingly well! Punching Date in the face right off the bat paid off, as did taking down Takeda and their gold province.

Punching your Date in the face, however, is not recommended.

It is a shame to see this come to an end, but I'm looking forward to your next one, and shall be looking to find any previous ones from you, as I think that this is one of the best AARs I have read. Consider me a new fan of your AARs.

Excellent! New fans are always welcome!

I love how the British Isles are pretty much split up how they are in the modern day. XD

Perhaps the only thing that ended up almost the same as real life!

Good job (you could had invented better names for the new world isles though ;)) !



No, but Groogy would instead be the boss.

Names and titles are hard. If my wife and I ever have children, there's a decent change I would name them "boy" and "girl," if there were one of each. :)

The final update will follow this post hot on its heels!
 
Appendix #2: Twice as useless as appendix #1?

Let's begin by looking at the global economy!

swa6.jpg


First, we have the second largest income in the world. However, I direct your attention to the massive amount of cash Oman is hoarding. I'm quite certain that, were this game to jump straight to HOI3, they would spend everything on nuclear weapons and win the game on the first turn. A very crafty plan, Oman. We'll break down the income more in a bit. Note Spain's massive inflation -- Philip V was no wiser in this game, it would seem. Of course, Spain could be Kilwa instead... I finished 7th in the world in total manpower, BTW -- between Vijayanagar and the Hansa. Russia was first. I had 79 total techs... oddly enough, behind both New Japan and Alaska, who had 83 and 82 respectively. I was still the most advanced formerly Chinese tech country by far. But you want to know my score, don't you?

Then that is what you shall have!

7xp80.jpg


We're #8! We're #8! I actually have the highest Dip rating in the world. I am quite pleased, all things considered. But who is our winner, the only person to guess that I would come in eighth? Keep reading, my friends.

Feast your eyes on one of the most dominant religions in the world:

g5xo.jpg


That's mighty fine converting, if I do say so myself. Of course, persuasion helps with that, and the best persuasion is persuasion with guns. Lots and lots of guns.

l8m0.jpg


6th in the world is not too shabby. I have no idea why the Hansa is armed to the teeth, with almost double its force limit. Actually, a few nations are over their forcelimit, but none to the degree of the Hansa. I was #5 in global artillery -- behind Bohemia, Russia, the Hansa, and the Ottomans -- so I did learn my lesson. Now, navies, on the other hand...

p0krq.jpg


Imagine how large my navy would be if I didn't recklessly and repeatedly sink it? 96 more ships than #2. Essentially -- Great Britain + Oman < Japan. That's the kind of math you can sink your teeth into. If ships had teeth. Well, sometimes the figureheads do. I was #1 in Heavy Ships and Transports. #2 in Light Ships (GB had four more than I did) and Galleys (Denmark had 11 more).

Back to armies for a moment, these were what I had at the end of the game:

i0dg.jpg


All well armed, except the Surabaya garrison, which I'm pretty sure I inherited from an annexed vassal.

The next few charts cover income distribution. I think there's some neat stuff here, so let's take a look! First, taxation:

0nk6.jpg


Russia has the most tax income in the world. I dare say no one is surprised. I'm pleased Japan is 4th, and slightly surprised the Ottomans have less than I do. Note the absence of Portugal, but the presence of a Portuguese CN, Caraibas. A shout out to Algiers, with a respectable income. Production is pretty much the same; some late game manufactories push me into 3rd place there (behind Russia and Bohemia). Zhou actually has more production than tax, which is a bit odd -- I think there's a modifier of some kind at play there. Ayutthaya is in the last position, with significantly more production than tax (15.46 to 21.45).

Here's trade:

s6qj.jpg


A very clear correlation between trade and naval power, you'll recognize. The only truly land based power here is Russia. Nice going, Kilwa, by the way -- if only you didn't have such obscene inflation. A very respectable #2 for Japan! Japan is 4th in the world in gold, with Russia, Spain, and Portugal ahead of them. However, if Japan absorbed Alaska, we'd jump to second place. Way to go Alaska! Or, more properly, way to go Japan for finding the sweet gold deposits! This next (and final) income chart is my favorite: we have a new Spain in our timeline, and it isn't Spain.

udq1.jpg


Portugal earns more from her colonies than the rest of the planet combined. If New Japan was even the least bit profitable (it's like Alaska without the gold), I'd have a better showing. We only had six colonizers in our timeline, only one of whom was wildly ahistorical -- me. I do lead the world in income from vassals. I am this timeline's Portugal when it comes to vassals. That earns me less than 2 ducats per month, so it's less impressive than it sounds.

Pie charts!

d54au.jpg


The world has a single coalition: Alsace vs. Bohemia. This is not destined to be one of the world's greatest coalitions, I have a feeling. Portugal is absolutely destroying Spain in a war.

kyvp.jpg


We conclude this AAR by remarking that Japan, far from busting, is the third greatest country of all time according to the game's rankings.

j1z8.jpg


If you, dear reader, much like me played a lot of EU3, you may benefit from breaking some of the nasty habits which I'd developed.

1. Loans are your friends. Inflation need not be crippling (unless you're Kilwa).
2. Mercenaries -- although I didn't use them -- are an excellent way to supplement a low manpower country. They are not utterly useless, as I found them in EU3.
3. Do not underestimate artillery.
4. Trade is, surprisingly, easier to understand (and more profitable) in EUIV. I can only assume WON makes it more so.
5. Do not scout the Pacific with your entire fleet.

Before closing out this AAR, I would like to invite our glorious contest winner, Sakura_F (apropos, no?), to share their vision for my next AAR. The stage is ours, my friend!
 
This AAR would be a grand-campaign spanning from CK2 to Victoria II, idealistically.

The AAR would begin us as Jorvik in the year 867 under Halfdan Hvitserk, with the goal of conquering England, forming Britannia and reforming the Norse faith. And then, in EU4, be the strongest nation on Earth, and in Vic2, having the most prestige, industrial power and military might.

Let us deliver Odin's wrath upon the White Christ, and let us march on, my friends!
 
This AAR would be a grand-campaign spanning from CK2 to Victoria II, idealistically.

The AAR would begin us as Jorvik in the year 867 under Halfdan Hvitserk, with the goal of conquering England, forming Britannia and reforming the Norse faith. And then, in EU4, be the strongest nation on Earth, and in Vic2, having the most prestige, industrial power and military might.

Let us deliver Odin's wrath upon the White Christ, and let us march on, my friends!

You want pure gameplay or would you prefer narrative?

Thank you for not going with the Byzantine idea, incidentally -- I think there are too many excellent Byzantine AARs already. :)
 
You want pure gameplay or would you prefer narrative?

Thank you for not going with the Byzantine idea, incidentally -- I think there are too many excellent Byzantine AARs already. :)

Narrative would be cool. Chronicle the reigns of each monarch into the 20th century. :p
 
Congrats on your excellent ending, Avindian.
 
Narrative would be cool. Chronicle the reigns of each monarch into the 20th century. :p

Fair enough -- any house rules you want to stipulate?

Exploring is pretty ahistorical in EU4 anyways. If Columbus would've been in the EU4 world, he would've sailed three galleys.

That's a good point. :)

I can't seem to see the images.

They work fine for me -- anyone else having trouble?

Congrats on your excellent ending, Avindian.

Thanks very much!

I'm hoping to start the next AAR "soon." No earlier than next week.