AHD: First impressions

[Naselus]

Now with the new DLC and the positive raves what I want to know is the game less boring - less like an accountant with a spreadsheet?
So far no-one has really gotten down to the nub of a proper "at a glance" quick review.
Yes the game has only just been released, i realize this, - but it seems users are certainly willing to throw in their impressions of first play.
Can any of those willing users give me a critical overview - or will I just have to wait for the press reviews?

You mean like the at-a-glance review I wrote and posted?

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?582255-Naselus-reviews-ahd

 

[Spikehughes]

Granted and thanks for the response.
Yes I appreciate your comments, but there are ways of making research industrialization and taxation a more pleasant experience for the end user. A lot of what paradox does is at the Nerd end of the user base (pardon me if I have insulted anyone with that remark), but it is my belief Paradox can do a better job and make these types of functions within a game more, well, user friendly and intuitive - I take it from what you responded with that the game interface and functions remain largely the same with some "tweaks" to certain repetitive actions?

 

[Naselus]

Granted and thanks for the response.
Yes I appreciate your comments, but there are ways of making research industrialization and taxation a more pleasant experience for the end user. A lot of what paradox does is at the Nerd end of the user base (pardon me if I have insulted anyone with that remark), but it is my belief Paradox can do a better job and make these types of functions within a game more, well, user friendly and intuitive - I take it from what you responded with that the game interface and functions remain largely the same with some "tweaks" to certain repetitive actions?

The UI has been improved considerably, tbh; it's easier to get the information you want and there's usually 2-3 ways to do so. Many new buttons on the interface reduce micromanagement and tedious repetitive actions. Extra features give you more to do, and make you feel more involved.

I find it hugely intuitive and enjoyable, but then I probably would since I enjoyed vanilla. So really, I can't answer whether you'll find it boring; I find most FPS games unimaginably dull, but I understand that other people enjoy them.

 

[Spikehughes]

Naelus,

Thanks, missed you epistle obviously. Glad you think the DLC Awesome - obviously money well spent for you. I remain unconvinced however after reading your quick review. It seems most of what Paradox wants users to do is all in the users minds (their sense of imagination adds or heightens the gaming experience by neatly crafted AI responses) - it sounds like this is not for me. I have to admit as I get older I have less time for deeply involved economic games unless they are offering a greater degree of intuitive responses. I found with Vic 2 I really did try to give it the benefit of the doubt, but in the end I could not make that imaginative leap required to drill down and enjoy it. Had the interface been a lot better and the information screens more intuitive maybe my opinion would be different.

 

[Sternness]

I love how tight cash is now. It reminds me of Vicky 1. It even makes combat more tense when you have to actually go into the red to supply your armies high enough to win a battle.

I also like that Chile can carve the Atacama away from it's northern neighbours without cutting deep inland into Bolivia. Would be nice if the two southern provinces in Alto Paraguay were their own state though so Argentina could take their cores without taking all of Alto Paraguay.

I can't seem to find any impassible mountain ranges though, besides Tibet's south-western and southern border. (I tried looking everywhere after disabling fog of war.) I can understand it, as the Andes, Alps, etc... at least have a history of armies crossing them at some point in the period, but I was hoping for an impassible spot or two to make things more interesting.

 

[jacob-Lundgren]

Ha! I love the French population event. Will at least add some decent challenge to France now counting my usually handicap tactics.

 

[unmerged(220682)]

This might be my favorite Pox expansion to date. Everything is glorious. Even the things I was skeptical about work well - the new create war claims system is great, the new Modernizing system is great, and the game runs like a greased pig.

 

[Llwellyn]

Naelus,

Thanks, missed you epistle obviously. Glad you think the DLC Awesome - obviously money well spent for you. I remain unconvinced however after reading your quick review. It seems most of what Paradox wants users to do is all in the users minds (their sense of imagination adds or heightens the gaming experience by neatly crafted AI responses) - it sounds like this is not for me. I have to admit as I get older I have less time for deeply involved economic games unless they are offering a greater degree of intuitive responses. I found with Vic 2 I really did try to give it the benefit of the doubt, but in the end I could not make that imaginative leap required to drill down and enjoy it. Had the interface been a lot better and the information screens more intuitive maybe my opinion would be different.

Not every Paradox game is for every person. Victoria, and especially Victoria 2, are very particular even in their genre. The things that you find lacking are present in some of the other Paradox games and other grand strategy games set in the time period. It's honestly OK to not like it. I may have a lot of icons under my name, but there's only about 2 or 3 of them that I play, and not even regularly at that. Some of them aren't my cup of tea, but I am a huge Paradox supporter because of the reasons you state and the types of games that they do make. There are other games out there that may suit you better, and there is nothing wrong with that, and there's not necessarily anything wrong with stating your opinion in the matter so long as you are willing to support your position. Also, if you feel things were overlooked, there are suggestion threads here; well-defended and well-thought suggestions tend to get implemented either in the game or in the popular mods.

If you've never tried it, I highly recommend waiting for PDM to be revised for AHD and giving it a spin. For that matter, if you haven't played it on vanilla, patch up a copy of your non-AHD version and give 4.5.2 a spin. It's like playing a different game, although the core features you seem to be displeased with aren't necessarily changed, as the engine does have its limitations (most of which were altered with AHD).

 

[heliostellar]

Is it just me or are war leaders a little screwy now? I declared war on Austria as Prussia. They brought in their allies which include among other the UK, Sweden, and the OE. The OE is no longer a GP and the UK obviously still is. I think they're ranked #1 still. Anyways, the OE is the war leader??? I've never seen something like that happen before. I would think the UK should be the war leader. This is my second war against Austria with pretty much their same allies and the UK was the war leader that time.

 

[City Builder]

its intended. all new savegames/settings etc go in your documents folder under Paradox Interactive\Victoria II

it makes things much neater if you have multiple people using the computer, and less problems writing files if you install in protected directories. All our new games will follow this model.

if you dont like it you can get it working like before by setting a custom directory. just make a file called userdir.txt in the games directory and put a single dot(.) in it. that will make he game check for all files in its directory instead. I do recommend using the new way however. its much better

I was about to write, that while it makes things neater (for your company I assume), it's just one more step now that I have to choose that new folder for the backups that I make from time to time on my computer, since the my documents folder is way too large to try to backup on my computer and unnecessary since not everything in the my documents folder needs backing up. However... Thank you for allowing me to choose where the saved games will be saved, now I don't have to change my backup settings on my computer.

 

[Spikehughes]

llwellyn,

Now there is a fine welsh name
Thanks I assume PDM means Post Developer Mod ?? (all these acronyms get confusing).
And you know I have not tried Vic 2 version 4.5.2 as after I lost interest I figured most patches would just fine tune bugs

Thanks for your response

Spike

 

[Kalelovil]

There's some serious weirdness going on with the chinese substates, half are presidential dictatorships and half are monarchies.

That doesn't seem particularly unrealistic.
Historically, in some areas of China (such as Qinghai) there were military and civilian officials governing the region under the authority of the Qing Empire, while in others (such as Mongolia and Tibet) there were feudalistic and theocratic hereditary rulers (although still under the at least nominal authority of the Qing Empire).

 

[Kalelovil]

Is it just me or are war leaders a little screwy now? I declared war on Austria as Prussia. They brought in their allies which include among other the UK, Sweden, and the OE. The OE is no longer a GP and the UK obviously still is. I think they're ranked #1 still. Anyways, the OE is the war leader??? I've never seen something like that happen before. I would think the UK should be the war leader. This is my second war against Austria with pretty much their same allies and the UK was the war leader that time.

What were their respective military scores?
Bug report it.

 

[James The 1st]

llwellyn,

Now there is a fine welsh name
Thanks I assume PDM means Post Developer Mod ?? (all these acronyms get confusing).
And you know I have not tried Vic 2 version 4.5.2 as after I lost interest I figured most patches would just fine tune bugs

Thanks for your response

Spike

It's this mod here.

 

[Revshawn]

I just spent the past 3 hours micro-managing the hell out of the CSA army in the American Civil War. The result? Complete annihilation of the USA armies. Over 35+ prestige gained from battles alone, it was a wonderful sight to behold.

I'm considering writing a helpful hint guide for battles so that the younger AHD gamers can learn how to better play the game when it comes to war. I quite love AHD and I've learned a lot about how to win wars while playing it. The trick is to surround the enemy during a battle and have a unit in every single escape route so that the enemy cannot retreat. And after that, once your opponent runs out of organization, their entire unit will be wiped from the field and you won't have to chase them anymore.

One of these things that made me upset though was the automatic status quo casis bella for the Confederacy. Being a US Civil War scholar, I know that this is historical, but I so wanted to take Kentucky and Missouri during the war after the US had lost all their troops.

Next war I suppose!

Also, the CSA Generals have a tendency to die quickly. Robert E Lee died a few months before the war was over and Jackson followed him a little bit later. This seems a bit silly! Does the CSA hire a bunch of old men to run their armies or something? They barely lived a full year after game start! I would recommend that Paradox get fix this if they can! I don't think the CSA would hire a bunch of old men to run their armies, talented generals or no.

I also love the War Justification system. What a wonderful addition to the game! It's both a talented addition to help save BB so you don't get as much and a welcome addition to game content already there. The free market system is not only fixed, but alive and well in this newest expansion. After the war the CSA went crazy with it's industry while the USA were forced to lick their wounds after the CSA mopped the floor with their faces.

I still have a little bit to go. For example, I want to see how the UK's massive empire dissolves under the assault of rebels with nationalism in their hearts. I'll save it for a future post!

 

[Helios Ra]

The only problem I've encountered is that in my Prussia game my population has basically no Jingoism, so I can't add any wargoals in an ongoing war. Has anyone else had a similar problem? I ask because my spherelings seem to have no such problem and in vanilla I've never had a problem like that.
Otherwise everything is amazing!

 

[Foxbyte]

The map scrolling feels so much better than before.

I wish the folder in My Documents was in My Games instead [I just make it hidden and link a shortcut from My Games, but still]

A tutorial that's actually useful? Amazing.

 

[Revshawn]

The only problem I've encountered is that in my Prussia game my population has basically no Jingoism, so I can't add any wargoals in an ongoing war. Has anyone else had a similar problem? I ask because my spherelings seem to have no such problem and in vanilla I've never had a problem like that.

It's the results of the Great Tea War against England. The battle was so heavy that they are more than happy to settle down and have no war for a couple of decades. And drink tea of course!

 

[Spikehughes]

James the 1st

Thanks for the redirect.
Actually, coming back to my previous comments if you will permit me, I believe my comments about this VIC 2 not being sufficiently intuitive enough is born out by the number of forum questions relating to the complexities of the system and why this and why they can't do that and my diplo score is this level why can't I invade ?- or why is this happening etc,. Etc. I am trying to be respectful here - so troll thru the forums yourselves and you will see what I am talking about.

Watching the Paradox preview videos of the new DLC , here we have the Developer admitting aspects of the sequel to the original Vic not perhaps working as they should and how the DLC is going to improve or add features. My point being that Paradox is obviously listening and good on them for responding accordingly. Even they admit to having to fine tune aspects of the directions and interpretations of how the game plays. (which is a good thing).
But watching the Preview videos of the DLC, (and yes I know it is the preview pre release beta), it seems it is so familiar as to why I abandoned VIC2 in the first instance.
Just as an example, Is it not possible to get factory output and resources requirements without having to drill down so deeply - why cannot there be a generic messages from a minister of production like, "we need more food, guns, steel and these countries are were we can get them with trade deals. ??" Or am I completely off base here and it is what you all love about this game?

 

[gradenko_2000]

What's the effect of puppeting a nation? I don't think this was in the original game and I have no idea what it does.