micromanagement too much?

[unmerged(17657)]

I don't have the game yet--one of those people who got burned by EB's inept handling of the game release, but i was just wondering if those who have the game and have played extensively with it can provide informative knowledge as to whether the game has excessive micromanagement? based on what i have read so far from people's posts, it does look like the game has an exceedingly tedious micromanagement system. although in general i really like micromanagement, i detest a game with too much of it (too tiresome). . . . one of the reasons i really disliked HOI, since in that game one has to command everything, particularly the dreaded convoys. from the looks of it victoria seems to be at least that, since the military system is just about the same as HOI and there is the added socioeconomic model.

so, i would appreciate if any players can give their honest opinions on this and help me decide whether i should buy the game or not. thanks in advance.

 

[OriginalRafiki]

There is a fair deal of micromanagement, but if you learn the shortcuts and let the AI assign workers to RGO's and factories (which seems to work fine), it's on an acceptable level, even for fairly large countries.

Haven't tried playing the very largest countries, so it might be different WRT them. (US is largest so far)

Rafiki

 

[Paradox Interactive]

it is hard to compare Victoria to HoI but IMHO:

Victoria has more depth than HoI
Victoria has more automation than HoI that you can switch on/off.
Victoria has a much improved interface
Victoria has many more shortcut keys to assist in improving your provinces etc.


Patric

 

[Varyar]

Once you get a hang of using the shortcut keys, everything works surprisingly smooth. Not to mention that you can let the AI handle it all together if it becomes boring.

If you don't buy this game, you're going to miss one of the greatest strategy games ever. That's my humble opinion

 

[Steel]

In my experience even playing China (that's Greater China, including much of SE Asia, Russia, India, Persia etc) the gameplay is smooth and doesn't require pausing to micromanage anything. It's easier to do some things while paused, for example POP conversion and assignment to factories when you have auto-assign set to ON but want to do it in a specific way to optimise production, but it's basically your choice to do it or not. By comparison in HoI I sometimes feel that I *must* pause in order to set up a complex attack, when re-assigning lots of leaders or when splitting units.

 

[Dark_Teuton]

I dont think there is too much micromanagement at all. Convoys you dont have to worry about (I never do, the AI handles them well), the world market can be tweaked to suit your needs in a few minutes after the game starts, and building industries and converting POP's is easy.

 

[unmerged(17657)]

thanks for the replies. i had really feared that victoria would be something like HOI, where it was really tiresome to play and the enjoyment drowned out by the ever tedious management. from what you guys said it seems like it is better, so i think i am better informed now. i personally prefer more of a socioeconomic game rather than a pure military onslaught, so i am personally drawn to victoria from the beginning.

 

[cthulhu]

As russia, the build railroad part was a bit boring but that's not even a real complaint.

 

[Octavian]

Originally posted by Patric
it is hard to compare Victoria to HoI but IMHO:

Victoria has more depth than HoI
Victoria has more automation than HoI that you can switch on/off.
Victoria has a much improved interface
Victoria has many more shortcut keys to assist in improving your provinces etc.


Patric

You forgot one thing! Victorias micro management is a hell of alot more fun to do than HOI's... It's great playing a minor like Denmark trying to build up an industry and an economy... at least thats what I think

 

[Paradox Interactive]

Originally posted by Octavian
You forgot one thing! Victorias micro management is a hell of alot more fun to do than HOI's... It's great playing a minor like Denmark trying to build up an industry and an economy... at least thats what I think

Hehe, yes... You are right! I only play Sweden when I play for fun nowadays and then I have to plan my moves but I've never been able to win the game. I guess I'm not aggressive enough for that.


P

 

[unmerged(11929)]

Originally posted by cthulhu
As russia, the build railroad part was a bit boring but that's not even a real complaint.

Try China, all those little provinces in the south will keep your clicking finger strong and healthy.

Advice from the wise man (me): pick a little crap country to avoid lots of micromanagement.

Seriously, there's not too much micromanagement in general. The only thing I want added to the game is the automatic conversion of POPs into craftsmen. It's a bit boring to find all the unassigned workers and convert them manually so that your factories are not running on empty. Hopefully, that will be included in the next patches.

 

[OriginalRafiki]

The thing I "micro-manage" the most seems to be railroad-building. Is it be possible to add a shortkey for upgrading all railroads in a state? That way, to upgrade loads of railroads, you'd only press one button per state instead of one per province (in addition to whatever is necessary to for switching screens).

Rafiki

 

[dtroiani]

I keep seeing people say use the short cut keys. There are not that many short cut keys. I guess the the expand RGO, add worker, expand railroad and expand fortress keys must do a lot.

 

[OriginalRafiki]

Originally posted by dtroiani
I keep seeing people say use the short cut keys. There are not that many short cut keys. I guess the the expand RGO, add worker, expand railroad and expand fortress keys must do a lot.

Add to those the shortkeys for going to next or previous "thingy", where "thingy" might be a province, a state, a factory, a POP, a unit and so forth.

I underestimated the shortkeys at first too, but now I'm starting to love them

Rafiki

 

[unmerged(14393)]

Originally posted by Patric
Hehe, yes... You are right! I only play Sweden when I play for fun nowadays and then I have to plan my moves but I've never been able to win the game. I guess I'm not aggressive enough for that.
P

Perhaps the aggressive strategy is a bit too easy to win with?
I wouldn´t mind an even greater bad boy rating.

Then again...maybe I should keep my mouth shut until I played on furious level.

 

[Peter Ebbesen]

Originally posted by knubbel (regarding railroads)
Try China, all those little provinces in the south will keep your clicking finger strong and healthy.

r,r,r,r,r,r,r0,0r,r,r,r,r,r0,0r,r,r,r0,0r,r,r,r

(This line really belongs in a FAQ - I think I will write one on the subject of cutting down on micromanagement in the weekend)


There! You just updated railroads in four states, the first with 7 provinces, the second with 6, the third with 4, and the last with 4, using 47 keypresses and NO mouseclicks. That is about a minute of real time, and even with China, you wont often have enough resources to build railroads in more than 4 states at once. If you have, just keep hitting those keys! The keyboard remains the best device for rapid orders

Seriously, the shortcuts are one of the best things since sliced EU2.

 

[unmerged(11929)]

Originally posted by christianx
Perhaps the aggressive strategy is a bit too easy to win with?
I wouldn´t mind an even greater bad boy rating.

Then again...maybe I should keep my mouth shut until I played on furious level.

NOOO!!! I thought the badbot thing is already worse than in EU, I get attacked by everyone already when my badboy was around 16-18. And that is on easiest level.

 

[unmerged(14393)]

Originally posted by knubbel
NOOO!!! I thought the badbot thing is already worse than in EU, I get attacked by everyone already when my badboy was around 16-18. And that is on easiest level.

*Lol* That is what you get for being a bad boy...