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I apologize! I've let myself allow feedback to linger. Again. :) I may reply to each of you more than once, depending how many comments you've left. Some of them I've replied previously in individual feedback.

Nice job defeating the dutchs.
Now you just need beat the frenchs, this will be an easy taks. :)

I wish! :D Give me another day, and maybe I will.

Nice!!!

How about researching tech that gives more research points?

Indeed. :) Coming up! And I have to some degree... just been concentrating on other stuff too.

In my first year at university, someone had Lawrence of Arabia on, so I watched a few hours of it, and then had to leave for orchestra rehearsal, which was over an hour, maybe two. Then I went back and watched the last hour or so. I'm currently reading Robert Graves' biography of him, which is entertaining.

Yeah, the movie is really incredible. I don't remember if they had one or two intermissions! lol I've read a number of books about Lawrence, but none all the way through. Usually for research papers.

Rensslaer:[/B] ...Once the new War Aim is in place, I’m set. We have 37 Warscore against the Dutch alone – better than just 15 against the whole Alliance – and Java only costs 30. They’re still not willing to deal, but they’ll be close soon, as we grab more territory.

OK, so why is not 37 Warscore enough to capture a 30 Warscore province ? ?

Rensslaer:
...The war with France continued.

time for a WP ! ! ;)


Yup! :D The Dutch were just being stingy with their territory. I've found that sometimes I need about 50% more Warscore to get what I want. Other times I've seen them give up while I still had less than I needed, so... Some randomness, certainly, in whether they'll accept. You can TEST this randomness and hope for luck, provided you have the Diplo Points for it.

Nicely done! I really was completely unaware that you can negotiate a separate peace by adding a war goal to the alliance leader. That's a very useful thing to know, it probably would have helped me out of some tough situations in the past...

Yeah, it's one of those rules hidden deep in the Manual and/or Strategy Guide. I do love complex games, though, where there's always something you don't realize until....

Now you have to humilate the French or suffer a prestige loss. Good luck on that.

I don't mind the Prestige loss, all that much. It's I think 10 Prestige lost, which can be made up by a good Colonial Trade Fair or something. I wonder if in later versions they'll change the Prestige cost to be more meaningful.

Well, your excursion to the sands of Araby was... instructional... Goodness, your troops got pasted!

What does your warscore versus the French look like? How far away are you from humiliating them (well, as far as warscore goes: in land battles you might embarrass them (killing that many Siamese for such low French losses is not cricket, old chap!), but humiliating them seems out of the realm of the possible)? Will you settle for a white peace?

I imagine that you can still go toe-to-toe with the French navy, assuming that they come to the Orient in dribs and drabs (here's hoping the British stay at war with them), but if they ever manage to land a decent-sized army, you're in real trouble.

Let's see how you end this war: on your terms, or theirs?

Instructional! Yes, that's what we'll call it! :D Humiliation requires 15% I think, and I was nowhere near. In combat with the French Navy, I was managing, but that's only because I had fresh ships to throw at them. That game would have run out, eventually. The White Peace was good enough -- at least I didn't have negative Warscore.

You should make it your priority to humble the French as soon as possible. They're just too powerful.

Welcome, Midge! I really wish I could have! I retain hope that I can knock them down a notch in the future. We'll see.

I would focus on expanding your country in Asia. The next "natural" step would be the conquest of Philippines. However, Spain seems to be a formidable enemy...

Believe me, the Philippines is on my mind, but I have to wait until I can attack without drawing another "France" into the fray (like maybe the UK). The rest of Asia, I'd love to take, but in many cases the cost in Infamy would be too high to justify what I'm taking.

Hey, I've started reading your HOI 3 AAR -- good stuff!

Nice work on taking Java for the dutch (sorry, i'm one update late :p).

Given the gap still remaining in research between you and the french, you should possibly have waited for them to come to you, having an advanced port for your fleet in the controlled Bourbon (ok, you didn't control it yet, but it wouldn't take too long). Perhaps, you got like me a bit too greedy, given you seem to hold your own against La Royale (nickname even now of the french navy)... at least better than against land gas attacks.
(Wow, am i giving adince on how to beat my homeland ? :wacko: :D)

:D I was wary of allowing them into my region with their invincible troops. Their navy was vulnerable, so I kept both ships and soldiers at arms' length while I could.

re: gigau's advice: I'd be very leery of playing defense against a European power with Gas Attack as long as you can't protect yourself. (More so with 1.2)

Any time you are facing an enemy with a significant numerical and technological land and naval advantage in V2, waiting for them to attack can severely limit your ability to contain them if you lose. The AI likes to keep feeding in troops, which is OK when you're slaughtering them, not so OK if they manage to gain a foothold and seal off a significant part of your country. It would not be impossible that if events turn badly, you might end up with 100 French divisions tromping around - and of course, as a great power, if you become too weak, angry neighbors (Netherlands in 5 years) will take advantage.

I quite agree. If I'd found I couldn't even contain their navy, I probably would have been clamoring for White Peace just after the war started. A Diplomatic OOPS, Nevermind! :)

I was seeing the fact that he was compelled to sign a 10 prestige-worth white peace to avoid to get his african expedition slaughtered... Had he lost those troops, he'd also have had trouble to contain the troops afterwards. I was thinking of keeping his troops less spread out, first using his 150 ships to eliminated as much as possible of the 59 french fleet seeing he is less at a disadvantage on sea). And then, after that go forward, having restricted french movements.

But i see your point. Thanks :)

You know, megastacks are great in other environments, but I suspect I would have been vastly penalized if I'd tried to concentrate forces against the French in Africa, much of it jungle. Then again, I might cause him to lose more troops by causing Attrition than by combat! :D

Sometimes you just have to lose the prestige. I'm assuming that 660brigades is their fully mobilized force. You got what you really wanted off the Dutch -Java. That's what you went after and succeeded.

The British have more brigades than the French, but usually have most in India. Their navy usually annhilates any opposing navy. Catching up on seas is a requirement. if you can sink the French navy, they can't land troops on Siam. Taking the rest of the Dutch East Indies might take you quite a while -it's a decent aim or you could make China a protectorate. A war with China would be an interesting war.

I agree -- despite losing 10 Prestige, and some combat losses, it was all worth it to me, and I got what I wanted. The overall costs were outweighed by what I took, and I call that a victory.

I would even have considered bribing them but white peace is better than bribes.

Ahh, yes. The old EU game solution! Actually, you may not have V2, so you may not realize there are no monetary concessions in V2, except, I think, for accepting a "Cut down to size" wargoal, which involves military reductions and I think a monetary penalty.

Wow, Java was certainly worth a lot of trouble. It must be nice to have your private coffee empire. ;)

Getting out of the war with the French is a good idea: continuing the slaughter just wasn't worth it. The costs of obtaining a victory were much higher than the costs of forgoing the humiliate wargoal.

The coffee is good! And I agree it was worth it. Good addition to the empire!

Yes, tis I. I've been away for far too long, mostly due to the hectic nature of real life. :p But I am back, and it's good to be back. I purchased Vicky 2 last night partially because of AAR's I had started reading like these :D This still is and always will be my favorite part of the forum.

Also, good job humbling the French. Siam is becoming what Japan would become in the early 20th century.

Thanks! Great to hear, Henry! AARs are addictive, aren't they? As much as the games themselves.

Shame about having to concede to a White Peace with France. The fact that they're bigger, stronger and more technologically-advanced made it a tricky prospect from the outset, but you did at least get what you wanted from the Dutch.

Yeah. I'm playing with the big boys, so I guess I should expect some setbacks. In playing Paradox games, sometimes you can build up until you're big enough to contend with the largest countries. Other times, you don't know that you already ARE able to contend with them until you try it!

Just read through this whole AAR in about two hours. What a ride! You plan more for a single war, than I do for a single game.

Thanks, CaptRobau! And Welcome! Great to have your readership.

You didn't go for Ideological thought until the 20th century on 1.1? That's got to be more than 100,000 RP down the drain. :rofl:

Good stuff though.

Probably true, but like I said, for me it's not about doing the mathematically-best options. I feel my way through games by whim, sometimes. Otherwise it gets too much like taking an accounting class! :D Alot of my strategy is just instinct for me, but I don't give it a whole lot of forethought. Thanks!

A mighty industrial power you shall be!
30 rp is not that much, but good for Siam. :p

Yeah, we'll see about that. I'm doing okay, so far.

Strangely enough my role playing is pretty much the opposite of yours. I tend to focus heavily on raising RP and economic efficiency, but only go for wars if they're historically plausible or I've got a valid CB.

Playing as Prussia -> Germany I got annoyed how quickly France turned its overseas colonies into states because it seems more fitting to take them in peace deals than to annex chunks of Metropolitan France. Paying full warscore for them is a little grating.

I have a feeling that as long as you don't get too much Infamy the British will leave you alone, but then again I don't have them sitting on my doorstep.

My difficulty with playing for RP and economic efficiency -- maxing out the game-winning options -- is that it causes you to win the game. lol Pretty easily. I guess I just find it more interesting to play more historically and get into trouble because my tech isn't #1 and my economy is coming along slower than it could be. That's just me. I would find playing a WC utterly boring, because it's just so formulaic!

Quite funny to see a European nation be set in the SoI of an Asian one... the the early XXth century :D

Nice doing... i really enjoying watching your RPG unfold. Gives a feel of plausibility to your world. Awaiting the next update with great anticipation :cool:

Yeah, I kind of like that inversion. :) The Europeans were interfering in Asia in our timeline. I want to see what they think of my dabbling in their sphere!

Mein Gott, Ottomans in Persia? The age old animus decided in favour of Istanbul! This just proves their diabolical plans over Asia, and I'm glad to see you are taking action against this by taking Oman. Ten to one the Ottomans were behind that massive Communist revolt.

:D Yup! I'm sure of it. Well, Persia is really the first, or most extensive, expansion of European power into Asia, so.... Seems like I should do something about that. Obviously the Dutch have gotten into Asia, too, but not on my watch.

Good job with Java and Oman. And the French, well, I expect you'll serve them a nice cold dish in the late 20s/early 30s :D Poor Prussians, though, they seem to get the wrong end of the stick in most games.

Your role-playing makes the game more interesting, although I disagree with you in just one tech: while I can imagine the Siamese disregarding Ideological Though and other cultural fripperies, I doubt any westernised nation at the time would have snubbed railroads, the all-shiny, all-showy, non-ideological tech of the 19th century by definition.

It is my hypothesis that Prussia is nerfed in v1.1 (and maybe others) because their states are all split up and it's more difficult for them to staff factories. But this is only a partial explanation, since in some games I see they haven't even built ANY factories. I really don't know why that is.

I agree about railroads, and I would have researched them earlier, but there were other priorities which interfered at different times. I've tended to favor military techs -- army for a while, until the navy gets outclassed, and then.... Well, you know, my industry has suffered a little. But I'll make it up!

Wooh, just read through the whole AAR (where'd the daylight go?) and I like it. Kind of makes me want to play again for once in a while.

:D Thanks, MistMage! Welcome! Hope you do play again -- I really enjoy this game.

Wouldn't Brunei been a better state to protect than Oman. I'm not so sure you need to get up close to the French or the Ottomans, for that matter. You'd have oportunties to colonize.

Well, part of my choosing Oman was to have a base nearby them, where I could build a naval base to project my power into the Mediterranean, or to the opposite coast of Africa. I don't have the tech yet to colonize Brunei... But that's about to change!

A reminder about the AARLand Choice AwAARds! Just a couple of days left to vote! This is NOT a plug for my AARs, but rather just an encouragement to participate in what has become a great AARLand tradition. I'm desperately trying to get my votes in, though in past rounds I've not had time.

Thanks again for reading, everybody! I have screenshots ready for the next update, and just need to write text for it. Next couple days, probably.

Rensslaer
 
Thanks! Great to hear, Henry! AARs are addictive, aren't they? As much as the games themselves.

For me, the AARs are even more addictive than the games - I can almost never find enough time to actually play, but I can almost always find a little time for AARland... And then the Developer Diaries and the Beta-AARs and the regular AARs convince me to buy the next game in line, even though I know I won't be playing it much. Somehow, the AARs always make it feel like a good deal, regardless. :) Having these forums up has netted Paradox quite a few of my Dollars. :)
 
Thanks! Great to hear, Henry! AARs are addictive, aren't they? As much as the games themselves.

Indeed. At least the well written ones. Of which there are many. Glad Paradox lets these thrive.
 
My difficulty with playing for RP and economic efficiency -- maxing out the game-winning options -- is that it causes you to win the game. lol Pretty easily. I guess I just find it more interesting to play more historically and get into trouble because my tech isn't #1 and my economy is coming along slower than it could be. That's just me. I would find playing a WC utterly boring, because it's just so formulaic!

Funnily enough, I feel the same way about continually being on the warpath and exapanding through conquest (and moreso about world conquests being dull). It's testament to the depth of V2 that it can accommodate our differing playstyles and still offer a fun game.
 
Things carried on, through the 19teens, in relatively peaceful fashion. At least, abroad. There was restiveness at home, as the Socialists were agitating for reform.

WageSlavery.jpg


In the end, the King decided some accomodation could be made with the Socialists in order to reduce tensions. The country was industrializing, and there was more support for them in general. The King decided this could be made a useful tool against the reactionaries who he disliked. He announced major reforms in pay for workers, and many of the liberal members of the Upper House supported him, and came into temporary alliance with the Socialists (in game terms, they "became" Socialists, but since they went away at the next election it seems more plausible this was the same members switching temporarily).

Technology and innovative methods were transforming the Siamese economy.

Tech1913.jpg


At this point, techs which increase output are welcome, but in some ways techs which reduce input cost are more welcome, because there are still a few factories which have trouble making a profit without subsidies (either improved input/output helps this, of course, but it's my opinion -- maybe wrong -- that output cannot improve until the input goods become cheap enough to get the factory going again -- opinions?).

Prestige gain will improve, too, which improves the rate at which I catch up with the other Great Powers. The next tech, due in 1914, will give us another National Focus -- something which I can definitely use, because now I can colonize. I'm not overly impressed with the rate of improvement an NF gives to population classes, so it's my style-preference to use these in colonization.

In January 1914 the Socialists lose half of the gains they made in the previous year, but the other 15% remains. You will see, later, how I use this.

ElectionNejd.jpg


The dreaded French, now easily considered our most concerning foe, choose to expand their reach further into Arabia, with the potential to gain a border with our Omani colony.

In another corner of the world, a war begins which is significant enough to have implications closer to home. The UK and USA begin fighting, along with allies.

UKUSA.jpg


This means Egypt is involved, which we find an interesting development. We expect British troops to encroach upon Egyptian territory soon. What would that mean for us? And what for, perhaps, France? Or even the Ottomans?

Our OTHER potential enemy -- though one with which we still maintain good relations -- is the UK. She probably won't bother us while she's at war with the USA. But what about after? What if things go bad, and relations drop? What, even worse, if some incident causes a permanent rift between us?

ReconIndia.jpg


As part of a precautionary analysis, we send ships to reconnoiter the perimeter of the nearby British Empire. What we see has us agape!

Yes, we knew the UK had a tremendous number of brigades -- more than the French -- but we didn't realize so many of them were based in Asia.

In electoral news, the Socialists appear to have permanently replaced the Liberals as the dominant opposition party in the Upper House (and lower).

NewFocus.jpg


The new Focus, for now, is employed in improving our number of Clerks in our capital province.

The shift of my attention toward the west is now readily apparent. The Italian Two Sicilies becomes a central focus of our GP Influence Points. It's a long shot, but most of my Sphere acquisitions are now secure, and I can look outside.

TwoSicilies.jpg


I thought about a country like Prussia, instead. But Prussia is too far away for us to really support, and are already locked in a recurring "bad relationship" with France! :D Two Sicilies is safer, plus they do own Syria, now, which means they're closer to us geographically than other countries.

If you look at the numbers in Japan, notice that I have no priority there, and USA has more points than I do. But I have enough points that I can immediately negate USA's points if they get too close to the 100 threshold, and why should I waste my points taking action BEFORE they're at 100? No reason, so long as there's not a second rival for Influence there (Spain is stagnant -- those numbers haven't changed in years).

We successfully colonize Wake island, which also draws with it Midway Island. Since Midway is further east, we begin building a Naval Base there. No telling what we might turn that into later. It may help us blockade the American eastern coast if it ever comes to that.

FrenchArabia.jpg


Sure enough, Arabia becomes mostly French. This bodes ill for the likelihood of future conflict.

This raises the spectre of another "gas war", and so I look more determinedly at what techs I need to get for defensive countermeasures (and offensive equivalent). I need inorganic and organic chemistry. We'll put those on the schedule, even though they're higher-tech items which will take longer to research.

In 1916, we gain yet another Focus, plus our Liferating improves, opening many more options for colonization. We get busy! :)

Colonization.jpg


All of Borneo is now open to us, so we begin working there. The other half of New Guinea remains uncolonized, and we begin working toward colonies there, too. We send army troops to these locations to improve colonization rates.

Next comes better railroads, to improve our economy.

ColonizeNewGuinea.jpg


But colonization itself can improve our economy, through income, as well as long-term our position in the world through Prestige. Many of you have probably seen how Luxury Furniture can bring in good profits to some well-placed factories. Having tropical wood in our Sphere will help our factories get there (in reality I don't hold much use for Lux Furniture factories -- they're not actually that great in my experience -- but other countries seem to like them, and so they'll buy more wood from me).


Now...


Hold onto your seats! :)


I am about to do something no one who knows me would ever predict. No one who has seen my other AARs. No one who knows me personally (ESPECIALLY no one who knows me personally!!!). No one.


Period.


I'm dropping the A-Bomb.


SocialParty.jpg


The Socialists have been steadily gaining in power. But they always come just shy of what they need in order to enact reforms. I'm not chomping at the bit to reform -- I have relatively low Militancy -- but I consider it a good safety valve, should I ever get into trouble as we continue to industrialize and I get into the turbulent last decades of the game.

It's also to make it more interesting -- that RPG factor again.

We'll see if this turns out to be a mistake, or a farsighted move.
 
Hey, I have a rough knowlege of your political opinions, and I knew you would come around to socialism eventually cough cough I mean it's just a game so I'm not really suprised at your pragmatism here.

You know what you need is a world war, you and Great Britain against France, and the US just to make it a world war but Siam isn't concerned with the Americas except insofar as the Americas concern themselves with Asia.
 
Well, your NV is order, so switching to Socialist party will help a few pops become more socialists, but not many.
 
Hm, Siam's flag is the right color, but there's still something missing... I think that elephant needs a hammer and sickle on his trunk. :p

Planned economy/protectionism is probably not a bad idea for a developing economy like Siam's, but isn't the anti-military stance going to hurt your military? That would not be helpful, if the French come knocking again...
 
Interesting trick that, blockading America's eastern seaboard from Wake Island, in the Pacific Ocean.

It's thinking like that that has got the King to choose a Socialist government. If you plan to re-organize your factories, it's probably a good idea.
 
Dang, France and AUSTRIA are carving up the Arabian peninsula? It'll be interesting to see how that develops.
 
A reminder to please VOTE in the AARLand Choice AwAARds!

This is the last weekend to vote. I don't believe you can still vote Feb 1 (or maybe that's the last day).

Participation is way down from previous cycles. Please finish your votes if you've started.

This is NOT a plea to vote for my AARs -- there are plenty of great AARs -- but I don't wish for this great tradition (which favors new authors) to go out the window.

Thanks!

Rensslaer
 
Even with a Socialist government, Siam’s economy doesn’t change in radical ways. Military Spending is still high enough to maintain a positive increase in brigades, soldiers, etc. Taxes, because they do not actually take the full percentage of each POP’s income, are low enough to allow them to still have significantly robust incomes to purchase needed goods, including many Luxury Goods. Plus, we’re still adding to our substantial surplus.

Budget1916.jpg


Tariffs are higher than I normally have them, but that’s because I’m going to be building more ships soon, plus we have railroad expansion, and I want some buffer cash. Remember, high Tariffs don’t really help Siam because we have to purchase so much of what we need from the world market.

In January, 1917, we do see a marked increase in the number of Socialist ministers in the Upper House – back up to where they were before, by event. Also, Communists make modest gains.

UpperHouse1917.jpg


My Great Power game in Two Sicilies gets halted, temporarily. I’ll come back to that.

We get better railroads, and we go into expansion mode with those. Next on our agenda is Inorganic Chemistry – the track to Gas Attack and Defense.

Tech1917.jpg


Our colonization program has finally gotten us almost all of the rest of Borneo. This is helpful, and there are some good goods there.

BorneoColony.jpg


I could be building Factories faster – no excuse for why I’m not, at this point. Not sure why I’m having trouble producing enough Fabric to keep up with demand. Steel and Lumber have always been issues for us.

Factories1917.jpg


We add Burma to our Sphere of Influence – that was previously in the British Sphere, but we were able to implement a long-term strategy to grab them.

We’re in 4th place, internationally, now. Long ways to go for 3rd, though – look at those numbers! Will we ever have a chance? The Ottomans are at 5th, below us, quite a ways back.

SomaliaColony.jpg


We add more of the Horn of Africa to our colonial holdings.

Inorganic Chemistry is achieved, and Organic Chemistry follows. Our Supply Limit improves, which is welcome – we’ve had difficulty with this in the recent past.

SocialCoalition.jpg


Suddenly, in 1918, we see an electoral boom for extremist parties! Radicals and Communists suddenly outnumber Liberals and Royals, and Socialists remain strong. It is not, however, quite enough to push us over the threshold for social reform. I re-evaluate whether I’m hurting my country or helping it with this experiment with Socialist government. I decide to stick it out long enough to get one reform through, then I’ll revert.

Now… I do something REALLY stupid! :D

I do a lot of things when I’m on the computer. I switch back and forth into/out of Facebook, I check e-mail, I work on other writing projects, or this or that. So I often alt-tab out of the game to do these things. Sometimes, I even have some pop-up window on my desktop that takes me out of the game automatically.

But when I have any control over it, I ALWAYS pause the game before alt-tabbing.

Okay, almost always. :)

YearofRebels.jpg


As best I can figure, the game was running, unpaused, for about a full year’s time!

When I came back, and was startled to find dozens of leftover popups, I was shocked by what I saw. Massed rebels all across my country! The Communists had risen, at least 2 – 3 times, while I was away. They were all over. They had conquered whole provinces. The only thing that kept my capital from being taken by them was the fact I had standing armies inside fortresses arranged in a twin-layer around Bangkok. At places, I saw 80,000 or even 100,000 rebels! My largest stacks of Siamese Army units were about 18,000.

There was no way to go back – all my autosaves were overwritten by that point – so I decided to accept this consequence of stupidity and take my country back. It was a long, drawn-out process, but I got through it all.

LaeColony.jpg


By the time I’d finished that project, I’d colonized all the remaining parts of New Guinea, as well as New Britain and the Solomon Islands. More islands, further into the Pacific, were already being groomed for colonial status.

Finally, I decided to do one of the game manipulations I’d long thought about but had never done. I maintain this is NOT a cheat – it’s overcoming a bug in v1.1 (which is what I’m still using).

The problem is that it’s impossible to assimilate Bureaucrats in colonial territories, so in v1.1 it’s 100% impossible to ever turn a colony into a state, even if it was large enough to become a state when it was first acquired.

This had always bugged me when I went into Japan and Korea, which were easily big enough to become states when I took them over in 1873. All it would have required was a few months or a couple of years to assimilate their Bureaucrats to Thai, and….

But it never happened. That’s more than 40 years of lost income – income which could have been produced by factories there, etc.

So I modified the files, finally, to admit my first two conquests as states. I think seeing that huge gap between Siam and France pushed me over into doing a mod, whereas I normally will not. My inadequacies in industrializing are not all my own fault.

TwoStates.jpg


I began building factories immediately – there had been craftsmen there for 40 years. I cover my 3 biggest needs – the 3 goods which I have the most difficulty finding for my existing factories – Steel, Lumber and Fabric. That should be ready by 1920.

I reserve the right to modify the files to admit other states later, as it seems reasonable to do so.

So… We head toward 1920, when I should hopefully have Gas Defense capability, better naval range thanks to new bases, and some better ships, etc. What should be next on the agenda?
 
What next? I dunno, that Communist rebellion seemed like a lot of fun, why not have another one? :p
 
Did the King dismiss the socialist government as a result of the communist uprisings? It seems that the attempt to pacify the masses by granting a programme of gradual reforms has failed and repressive tactics should now come back into vogue.

Don't suppose there are any communist countries nearby you can accuse of formenting revolution. You could begin an anti-bolshevik (or whatever the Siamese equivalent is) crusade.