I recently attended the Paradox Convention in Stockholm and would like to share some of my impressions of Victoria 2.
• First off, Victoria 2's map is not only Paradox's most aesthetically pleasing map yet; it is also very accurate. Rivers were being added to the map during my visit, and I can assure you that the Mississippi is where it should be. The Balkans may never be depicted in a way that every South Slavic nationalist supports, but it was good enough for a Montenegrin friend with an obsessive compulsive attitude towards the depiction of Balkan geography in strategy games, which says a lot.
• The sprites were looking better than in previous titles, and the CSA, USA, and Zulu infantry sprites seemed much more detailed than the infantry in Hearts of Iron 3. Currently, there are no plans to include Cavalry sprites, but hopefully Frederik will create an awesome one and present Johan with a fait accompli.
• There are plans for including a save game converter, so that people can continue their Victoria 2 games into HOI3. Also, it is possible that countries like Hawaii will be added to HOI3 in a future patch, due to the off chance that they survive a game of Vicky 2.
• Pops like to think of their country as one of the greatest in the world. If a great power slips into second rate status, then its Pops will grow increasingly militant. You will be warned when you are about to fall from Great Power status and will have a chance to rectify the situation. Austria might launch a risky war in hopes of retaining its status, but if that fails then minorities like the Czechs and Hungarians will try to strike off on their own.
• Pops will now loan money to governments. There are still some shadowy international financiers, but your biggest creditors will now be Pops. Nobody likes to lose money, so Pops are going to get quite militant if you go bankrupt. They can also loan money to foreign governments and will expect you to step in if the debtors default. This could affect your foreign policies. For instance, France will have ample reason to try to prop up a Russian government that is heavily indebted to French investors. She would also have good reason to intervene against a revolutionary Russian government that repudiated the old regime’s debts.
• There are no longer colonial buildings or colonial wars. Instead you will stake a claim on a colony, and once your claim is strong enough, you will gain control of the territory. One way to speed up this process is to station an army in the province. Armies may clash in contested colonies without a declaration of war.
• Victoria 2 will not include the EU3 system for gaining cores on a territory over time. Nor will you gain a core on a province merely because your accepted culture is now the majority in the province. It will, however, use Eu3's “rebels with a cause” system. So prepare to suppress all manner of political and nationalist revolts.
• It is possible that autocratic states will intervene against liberal revolutions in other countries. You may also keep your people so backward that they will totally clueless about 1848 style revolutions in foreign lands.
• The immigration model is looking much better than Victoria's model, where the USA was an immigrant magnet regardless of its policies or the policies of other countries. Now a mixture of policies (and possibly your national value) will determine how attractive your country is to immigrants. Those aren't the only factors involved, of course. Immigration is now tied to consciousness, so enlightened liberal Pops may move to the USA, while backward peasants won't consider moving to the next province over. Additionally, Pops prefer to move to areas where members of their nationality are gainfully employed, so Boston will look mighty inviting to destitute Irish in Dublin. It will also be possible to entice Pops to migrate to specific provinces, similar to how free land was offered to encourage settlement in Oklahoma.
• The technology system will be fairly similar to Victoria's, but some inventions will spread by way of province events. New York City may have electricity several years before rural Arkansas, for example.
• Provinces are still grouped into states, but there are no longer any single province states. Thus, some US states are amalgamated into others. For example, Connecticut and Rhode Island are separate provinces, but are considered part of the same “New England” state. Likewise, South Carolina has been forcibly incorporated into Georgia. Time will tell if Americans are as particular as Balkan nationalists about these sorts of things.
• I saw some of the code for Pop behavior, which may be modified in notepad. Everything seemed straightforward, and Victoria 2 promises to be every bit as modifiable as other recent Paradox Games. I eagerly anticipate the inevitable Modern day scenario for Victoria 2.
Overall, I’m excited by what I saw of Victoria 2. It looks like Victoria 2 will improve upon the great internal politics of the original while cutting out micromanaging busywork and deterministic events that had nothing to do with your actions in game. Victoria 2 is also shaping up to be Paradox’s best looking 3D title thus far. My only fears are that the final project won’t live up to Chris King’s ambitions. Will the AI attempt to address the concerns of its Pops? For example, will it use military force to insure that its capitalists get a return on their foreign investments? Will the Pops respond favorably to wars aimed at liberating their ethnic kinsmen or preserving their country’s great power status? If Paradox can make the line between domestic and foreign policy as blurry as it can be in real life, then Victoria 2 may well be the best geopolitical game yet.
• First off, Victoria 2's map is not only Paradox's most aesthetically pleasing map yet; it is also very accurate. Rivers were being added to the map during my visit, and I can assure you that the Mississippi is where it should be. The Balkans may never be depicted in a way that every South Slavic nationalist supports, but it was good enough for a Montenegrin friend with an obsessive compulsive attitude towards the depiction of Balkan geography in strategy games, which says a lot.
• The sprites were looking better than in previous titles, and the CSA, USA, and Zulu infantry sprites seemed much more detailed than the infantry in Hearts of Iron 3. Currently, there are no plans to include Cavalry sprites, but hopefully Frederik will create an awesome one and present Johan with a fait accompli.
• There are plans for including a save game converter, so that people can continue their Victoria 2 games into HOI3. Also, it is possible that countries like Hawaii will be added to HOI3 in a future patch, due to the off chance that they survive a game of Vicky 2.
• Pops like to think of their country as one of the greatest in the world. If a great power slips into second rate status, then its Pops will grow increasingly militant. You will be warned when you are about to fall from Great Power status and will have a chance to rectify the situation. Austria might launch a risky war in hopes of retaining its status, but if that fails then minorities like the Czechs and Hungarians will try to strike off on their own.
• Pops will now loan money to governments. There are still some shadowy international financiers, but your biggest creditors will now be Pops. Nobody likes to lose money, so Pops are going to get quite militant if you go bankrupt. They can also loan money to foreign governments and will expect you to step in if the debtors default. This could affect your foreign policies. For instance, France will have ample reason to try to prop up a Russian government that is heavily indebted to French investors. She would also have good reason to intervene against a revolutionary Russian government that repudiated the old regime’s debts.
• There are no longer colonial buildings or colonial wars. Instead you will stake a claim on a colony, and once your claim is strong enough, you will gain control of the territory. One way to speed up this process is to station an army in the province. Armies may clash in contested colonies without a declaration of war.
• Victoria 2 will not include the EU3 system for gaining cores on a territory over time. Nor will you gain a core on a province merely because your accepted culture is now the majority in the province. It will, however, use Eu3's “rebels with a cause” system. So prepare to suppress all manner of political and nationalist revolts.
• It is possible that autocratic states will intervene against liberal revolutions in other countries. You may also keep your people so backward that they will totally clueless about 1848 style revolutions in foreign lands.
• The immigration model is looking much better than Victoria's model, where the USA was an immigrant magnet regardless of its policies or the policies of other countries. Now a mixture of policies (and possibly your national value) will determine how attractive your country is to immigrants. Those aren't the only factors involved, of course. Immigration is now tied to consciousness, so enlightened liberal Pops may move to the USA, while backward peasants won't consider moving to the next province over. Additionally, Pops prefer to move to areas where members of their nationality are gainfully employed, so Boston will look mighty inviting to destitute Irish in Dublin. It will also be possible to entice Pops to migrate to specific provinces, similar to how free land was offered to encourage settlement in Oklahoma.
• The technology system will be fairly similar to Victoria's, but some inventions will spread by way of province events. New York City may have electricity several years before rural Arkansas, for example.
• Provinces are still grouped into states, but there are no longer any single province states. Thus, some US states are amalgamated into others. For example, Connecticut and Rhode Island are separate provinces, but are considered part of the same “New England” state. Likewise, South Carolina has been forcibly incorporated into Georgia. Time will tell if Americans are as particular as Balkan nationalists about these sorts of things.
• I saw some of the code for Pop behavior, which may be modified in notepad. Everything seemed straightforward, and Victoria 2 promises to be every bit as modifiable as other recent Paradox Games. I eagerly anticipate the inevitable Modern day scenario for Victoria 2.
Overall, I’m excited by what I saw of Victoria 2. It looks like Victoria 2 will improve upon the great internal politics of the original while cutting out micromanaging busywork and deterministic events that had nothing to do with your actions in game. Victoria 2 is also shaping up to be Paradox’s best looking 3D title thus far. My only fears are that the final project won’t live up to Chris King’s ambitions. Will the AI attempt to address the concerns of its Pops? For example, will it use military force to insure that its capitalists get a return on their foreign investments? Will the Pops respond favorably to wars aimed at liberating their ethnic kinsmen or preserving their country’s great power status? If Paradox can make the line between domestic and foreign policy as blurry as it can be in real life, then Victoria 2 may well be the best geopolitical game yet.
