Okay, here is my opinion.
I. Things to make Vicky not completely broken:
1) One big manpower pool. I just love that when after ten years of peace half of your army is red because soldiers demoted/promoted/emigrated/whatever. Also it makes modding new scenarios with existing armies much more difficult than it should be. And the navy must be tied with this manpower too.
2) After playing Democracy 3 I realized how ridiculously easy it is to move the tax/tariffs sliders. Increasing/decreasing the taxes should be almost as difficult as taking political reforms. It's crazy when on day one you make rich tax 5% coz capitalists can build industry while simultaneously making poor tax over 60% coz ignore the peasant rabble. And NO ONE CARES even if you are a democracy with universal voting rights.
3) Where are all the traders, construction workers and ALL OF THE SERVICE SECTOR? It makes modern age scenarios quite stupid-llooking.
1. Having all soldier POPs centralized in the capital of a state à la capitalists would be a better solution. For like a 3/4 of the game, having local manpower pools is just far more accurate than a general one.
2. Very much agree. Too much freedom when it comes to something like that.
3. This. The infrastructure (train factory) and service (construction, finances) industry could add a lot to the game. Especially for those OPMs who have no industrial base, but could become rich by becoming something like modern-day Switzerland or Luxembourg.
A few things I find necessary for V3 to shine:
-Better scenario setup. 1836 is awful in the way it's set up. France will never take over Algeria, Paraguay is about as big as it is now (the whole Triple Alliance War was fought because Paraguay was much bigger and thus more powerful), American political parties are inaccurate, etc. Since that starting point will influence the rest of the game, it has to be impeccable.
-Interesting colonial game. In real-life, colonization was as much about the relationship between colonial powers (which has been worked pretty well in recent expansions) but also about the relationship between colonizer and local. Outside of maybe India, V2 completely lacks the idea that you could diplomatically incorporate locals into your empire. You should be able to offer trade bonuses or protection from neighbouring countries in exchange for a pledge of allegiance. Afterwards you should manage your colonies through policies and what not, to prevent uprising and ensure a profit.
-Cooperation between Great Powers. Half of the interesting events in the 19th and early 20th centuries happened because two or more GPs worked together. The response to the Boxer Rebellion, the partitioning of the Central Powers, Berlin Conference, Open Door Policy, etc.
-No more nonsense wars. Every single war in Europe was fought over territorial claims. Had Russia set on a Conquest of Southwest England, it would've faced a growing alliance of European GPs who wanted to keep Russia from upsetting the balance of power. Perhaps all wars between Great Powers should be handled by something like the crisis system, but extended so it could also result in a 1-on-1 fight.
-A redo of alliances. Victorian alliances weren't permanent and more importantly, where mostly defensive. A country being in a sphere of influence also didn't mean it would become an ally. Alliances should be hard to establish for the player and the AI and should have a limited duration, which can be extended. It should also be regional. The alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary only applied to direct attacks from Great Powers (so Europe). Had the French started a small colonial war with Germany (without any conflict in Euroope), I doubt Austria would've intervened.
