PDXcon schedule released, 5 mystery slots, wonder what they could be?

[Wagonlitz]

There was 3 Major PDS projects being worked on last time the Devs opened up about it (which was around August last year) all could be at different stages of development though.

Yep: Projects Titus, Tiberius, and Caligula. (Project Dallas is another name for either Titus or Tiberius---it was what it was called when they received funds from the EU cultural fund: I.e. whatever it is the EU cultural fund considered it sufficiently supporting European culture and history. Vicky III would fit that bill, though so would Rome 2.)

 

[Tob.Ristlin]

End of the mistery.

 

[Nelfe]

*sobbing in fetal position*

 

[vukica]

I don't get the V3 obsession. If two was good, that doesn't mean three will be better or at least the same. Maybe letting the devs do it their own time is better than whining about it and trying to force it

 

[Ipsissimus]

Disappointed about the game announcements but It's ok, I can wait a bit longer for Vicktoria 3 and the summer is good for triathlon.

 

[marshman]

All published games? I fell in love iwth PDOX for the history games. Man this is dissapointing.

 

[DominusNovus]

All this hype for a Paradox Con and there's no actual Paradox Games? Apple may as well use their big event next month to tell everyone about their acquisition of Beddit.

What a waste. Anyone want to remind me what the board's policy on cursing is?

 

[Quaterlife]

So... have they announced literally anything related to grand strategy we didn't know about before?

I don't get the V3 obsession. If two was good, that doesn't mean three will better or at least the same. Maybe let the devs do it their own time is better than whining about it and trying to force it

The problem is Vicky is the best PDX game for many, the possibility that it might have been announced was the only thing that made me even slightly interested in PDXcon, and given that no one at paradox came out to deny the widespread speculation I reserve the right to feel somewhat cheated. It seems right now that the devs are still focusing on EUIV, which is disappointing because of the reasons I mention here:

I've recently come to the conclusion that I don't really like EU IV all that much. I've only put 64 hours into it in contrast to the 209 I've sunk into Vicky 2. I really think that, despite the array of rather simple features layered on top through DLC, EUIV is really all about expanding a blob of color on a map. Admittedly I haven't bought Mandate of Heaven, Mare Nostrom or the Rights of Man, so maybe these would improve the game somewhat.

There are two things you need to simulate right to make me feel like I am actually controlling a real nation: Government, Economy and Population, Victoria simulates these better than any other Paradox game. EUIV, to the extent that it simulates these things at all, presents us with rather dumnbed-down alternatives. If they did extend the timeline to encompass the Victorian era, I do not believe they would remake Victoria's mechanics, expanding your blob will still be the order of the day, and most we would get is a few simple mechanics + a fifth tier of unit models.

It's always felt to me that the only interesting things to do in EUIV is going to war or preparing for war, Vicky 2 made peacetime gameplay just as interesting, with the complex pop system, the array of reforms that could be passed, the way governments were formed, the jostling between different parties the spread of movements and the rise of new issues, the economic system and the building of factories, the diplomatic system, allowing you to create mini-cold wars in order to expand your sphere at the expense of other GPs and so on...

All of that made peacetime and internal politics in Vicky just as, if not more compelling than anything in EUIV. I don't see how bringing the Victorian era in EUIV would emulate that, it would most likely be a glorified timeline extension.

I would ask that if the devs don't want to spend the time and resources developing Vicky 2 themselves that they get in touch with some of the most enterprising modders, like the people behind PDM or CoE and give them the Clauswitz engine to work on it. I could only imagine what those guys could do with the whole engine thrown-open to them.

 

[bitmapmedivh]

Exactly. Vicky fills a niche in PDS' catalogue, not just in terms of era, but in gameplay style. CK2 is the only other game where you can immerse yourself in internal politics, but that is all about characters and their interaction. Vicky2 is the only game I've played where I can play as a non-expansionistic Belgium and still feel like I've accomplished something at the end of the game, having turned a largely agrarian nation into a modern industrialised and cultural powerhouse with a highly educated population. It would be a true shame if PDS decide to not make a sequel, and it would be an even greater shame for them to try to casualize "streamline" it like they've done with HOI4 and Stellaris.

 

[Quaterlife]

Exactly. Vicky fills a niche in PDS' catalogue, not just in terms of era, but in gameplay style. CK2 is the only other game where you can immerse yourself in internal politics, but that is all about characters and their interaction. Vicky2 is the only game I've played where I can play as a non-expansionistic Belgium and still feel like I've accomplished something at the end of the game, having turned a largely agrarian nation into a modern industrialised and cultural powerhouse with a highly educated population. It would be a true shame if PDS decide to not make a sequel, and it would be an even greater shame for them to try to casualize "streamline" it like they've done with HOI4 and Stellaris.

Not to mention internal event chains, like the slavery debate in America. The feeling of running a country with it's own bitterly divisive internal issues, all working towards some big change really contributed to the feeling that you were governing a real nation with actual people in it who were affected by their governments policies and decisions. It would be nice if they could have done similarly complex event chain for other parts of the world. (Irish home rule, internal rot of the Ottoman Empire, buildup to 1848)

I don't mind the changes they made to HoI4 though, I found 3 way too daunting and hard to get into, and the whole point of the game is basically to fight World War II.

 

[Mendeth]

I don't mind the changes they made to HoI4 though, I found 3 way too daunting and hard to get into, and the whole point of the game is basically to fight World War II.

It's the smallest of things but the way the counters merge on zooming out in HOI4 completely breaks the immersion for me. Not only does it remove any semblance of strategy (how are the divisions spread over a vast front line? Is there sufficient balance between the north, the south, the centre? Often difficult to tell) but it makes the game feel like Risk; have more divisions in a country than an opponent and congratulations, you'll win (with inevitable attrition).

Sorry, OT rant over.

 

[loup99]

So... have they announced literally anything related to grand strategy we didn't know about before?

Third Rome, a new EU4 DLC. But it may not interest you if you don't like EU4.

 

[Quaterlife]

Third Rome, a new EU4 DLC. But it may not interest you if you don't like EU4.

Didn't they announce that yesterday, before the conference?

 

[loup99]

Didn't they announce that yesterday, before the conference?

Ah maybe, I don't know when the conference starts or if it was a pre-conference announcement.

 

[J_Master]

I don't get the V3 obsession. If two was good, that doesn't mean three will better or at least the same. Maybe let the devs do it their own time is better than whining about it and trying to force it

Victoria 2 is a great game, but it has fundamental flaws. Things that mods like PDM can't fix. Mainly the UI. There is a lot of depth, but because of the bad UI, it isn't easy to understand. Heck, I have over 500 hours in that game, and I know barely anything about the economy. If the UI was easier to understand, I would be better at the game.

 

[Mendeth]

Didn't they announce that yesterday, before the conference?

From the looks of it the announcements of new releases may have all taken place at the media day prior to the public convention. It was still the convention, just not the public part.

 

[LiberiusX]

Victoria 2 is a great game, but it has fundamental flaws. Things that mods like PDM can't fix. Mainly the UI. There is a lot of depth, but because of the bad UI, it isn't easy to understand. Heck, I have over 500 hours in that game, and I know barely anything about the economy. If the UI was easier to understand, I would be better at the game.

To be quite honest, the mystery of how the economy works is one of the great things about Vicky 2. It's reflective of the real world economy in that sense. We have Several competing theories on how things work, and that encourages experimentation and makes every play through different. Something that works for one country under certain circumstances may not work in another country. That's true for the real world as well.

 

[Mujado]

It's absolutely bizarre that first Pdxcon and no new internal game was mentioned, only published game that few care for. What a waste of event.

Whoever made that decision needs a sack.

 

[Sanny]

It's absolutely bizarre that first Pdxcon and no new internal game was mentioned, only published game that few care for. What a waste of event.

Whoever made that decision needs a sack.

Could be to do with PDS's new policy on not announcing games that are half finished (see Hearts of Iron IV) to avoid disappointment.

But yeah PDXCON without any PDS announcements (except EU4 minor DLC) is just bizarre honestly.

 

[Seven Sulivin]

Well that was a waste of a convention. All published, bar a EU4 minour DLC.