"Southern Revolutions": An Enhancement/Bug-Fixing Mod for Victoria: Revolutions Version 2.01
Slapped Together by CSABadass and currently maintained by Jamhaw
I. What This Is
Ever tried playing the CSA in Victoria? Ever try playing it for long? More to the point, did you have any fun?
If you answered "no" to any of those questions, the "Southern Revolutions" mod (or "SR", if you're into the whole brevity thing) can help. Its aim is to fix all that is broken in V:R's CSA-related files (and there's a whole bunch of that), as well as giving the game a much-needed dose of historical accuracy. All this is done in the interest of making the CSA a fun--if still challenging--country to play.
Don't come to this mod with visions of Confederate troops marching up to the Canadian border (that would be the "South ROXXOR and the North SUXXOR" mod, which I am not associated with). This is the mod where--if you're smart and lucky--you just might get Confederate biplanes dogfighting over the trenches of the Western Front in 1916.
Mmmmm...Confederate biplanes--does it get any cooler than that?
Don't spoil the mod's likely rep, but it also tosses some historical bones the Union way as well. While the North gets boned far less than the South in the vanilla game, rest assured they do get their share. SR (despite the name) addresses this, and restores to the Yankees some of their historical advantages.
As a special added bonus feature (at no extra cost to you!), SR adds the prospect of fighting the Great War (or something close to it) to the game, even when playing the Grand Campaign or 1861 scenarios. Franz Ferdinand won't always snuff it (especially if history goes off the rails beforehand), but in SR there is at least the possibility of some relief from the inevitable and tedious 70 end-years of peace in the vanilla game.
II. How to Install It
First of all, make sure OHGamer's V:R hotfixes are installed. Otherwise, an error is triggered whenever the 1861 scenario is loaded (with or without SR installed). You can download said hotfixes here: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=264737
Once you've got the mod file downloaded, unzip it into your Paradox Interactive/Victoria directory (where your regular V:R files are installed--no worries, SR doesn't overwrite anything).
Next, go to your Paradox Interactive/Victoria directory and click on the JSGME utility you just copied there. In JSGME, select "Southern Revolutions" from the list on the left and hit the ">" arrow. When JSGME has done its work, "Southern Revolutions" will appear on the right on the activated mods list. Start V:R as normal, and the majestic SR load screen will greet you and let you know it's almost time to kick some ass, Southern style.
When you're done with SR, just click on JSGME again and reverse the procedure above. That takes you back to the vanilla game. (JSGME works this same way for all your other mods. Try it out--it's a great utility!)
III. What's Changed/Fixed
1) The New South: What's new for the CSA in this mod? Ohhhh, nothing much. Just new & revised: AI files, graphics, POPs, order of battle, unit names, leaders, events, reforms, parties, borders, bug fixes, and factories.
But other than that, nothing much.
2) Get Over It, Already!: Now let's get to the heart of the CSA's problems in V:R, the Every Five Years War with the Union. There is what amounts to a "US Gets Over It and Moves On" AI file which is supposed to kick on in 1868. Trouble is, the triggering event is broken (Trust me, I tried everything short of cheat codes and that bastard just will not activate). SR fixes that--beat the USA, keep the peace, and the Yankees will get on with their lives as intended in the vanilla game.
To that end, the USA also loses the Southern states' provinces as cores when they make peace with the CSA. Just be wary it won't write all of them off. A beaten Union will let Georgia walk away, but take away Maryland or California and it's a different story. So keep this in mind when Ol' Scratch starts trying to make you greedy at the peace table.
Word to the wise: while a defeated Union will come to accept the CSA, they won't ever love it. If their relations deteriorate to a low enough degree, the North Will Rise Again and try to even up its record against the Confederacy.
3) The Mod To Begin The War To End All Wars: In an effort to alleviate the really long, dull seven decades of peace that are the norm after the War of Northern Aggression, this mod contains an event chain which replicates the historical onset of the Great War. Of course, history can go completely off the rails between 1836 and 1914, and these events take that into account--if Austria and Russia are BFF in the game in 1914, not even the Dual Monarchy's bullying of Serbia will lead to war, for example. Still, *something* provactive (probably) happens in 1914, and a Great War may indeed be the result, even if it doesn't 100% mirror the real one.
Please note these events can fire in either the Grand Campaign or the 1861 scenario, regardless of whether you're playing the CSA or not.
4) V.I.P. Treatment: With the kind permission of the hard-workin' modders over at the Victoria Improvement Project, a number of CSA-related events from the VIP mod are incorporated into SR. SR does them a few better by adding a number of flavor events for the CSA which take place in the extended V:R timeline.
IV. But the Damn Yankees Are Still Winning!
If you're losing to 80,000 man Union armies in the first month of the war, the problem is in your installation. You should install Victoria, the Victoria 1.04 patch, Revolutions, OHGamer's hotfixes, and the SR mod, in that order. Proper installation will cut the Yankees down to size.
If you need some strategy hints, HannibalBarca's tips on How To Curb Yankee Arrogance: http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/showthread.php?t=263212
My tips are here:
http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5813807&postcount=24
Now, go thrash those bluebellies!
VI. Tech Support
DO NOT contact the Victoria Improvement Project (VIP) team about technical problems with SR. They are not associated with this mod beyond allowing me to appropriate bits of the VIP for use here. Also, please do not contact CSABadass, rather state your grievance on the thread and pm Jamhaw and he shall offer you what assistance he can.
VII. Credit Where It's Due
"Massive amounts of Jim Beam were involved in the making of this mod."--Rocketman, late of the PI forums.
This mod incorporates some events from the Victoria Improvement Project (VIP) mod. Where this has been done, the VIP modder is credited by (nick)name. Extra special thanks to everyone associated with VIP for allowing me to borrow a bit of their doings.
To learn more about their über-good mod, please check out the VIP forum: http://www.terranova.dk/
Thanks also to HMS Enterprize, OHGamer, jrb001, Frodon, Sempor Victor, Admiral Semmes, Volga, JohnnyReb, Armfeldt, Locmar, and Thorgrimm.
IX. Download
http://www.mediafire.com/?0ji7kfv9rm31012
Slapped Together by CSABadass and currently maintained by Jamhaw
I. What This Is
Ever tried playing the CSA in Victoria? Ever try playing it for long? More to the point, did you have any fun?
If you answered "no" to any of those questions, the "Southern Revolutions" mod (or "SR", if you're into the whole brevity thing) can help. Its aim is to fix all that is broken in V:R's CSA-related files (and there's a whole bunch of that), as well as giving the game a much-needed dose of historical accuracy. All this is done in the interest of making the CSA a fun--if still challenging--country to play.
Don't come to this mod with visions of Confederate troops marching up to the Canadian border (that would be the "South ROXXOR and the North SUXXOR" mod, which I am not associated with). This is the mod where--if you're smart and lucky--you just might get Confederate biplanes dogfighting over the trenches of the Western Front in 1916.
Mmmmm...Confederate biplanes--does it get any cooler than that?
Don't spoil the mod's likely rep, but it also tosses some historical bones the Union way as well. While the North gets boned far less than the South in the vanilla game, rest assured they do get their share. SR (despite the name) addresses this, and restores to the Yankees some of their historical advantages.
As a special added bonus feature (at no extra cost to you!), SR adds the prospect of fighting the Great War (or something close to it) to the game, even when playing the Grand Campaign or 1861 scenarios. Franz Ferdinand won't always snuff it (especially if history goes off the rails beforehand), but in SR there is at least the possibility of some relief from the inevitable and tedious 70 end-years of peace in the vanilla game.
II. How to Install It
First of all, make sure OHGamer's V:R hotfixes are installed. Otherwise, an error is triggered whenever the 1861 scenario is loaded (with or without SR installed). You can download said hotfixes here: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=264737
Once you've got the mod file downloaded, unzip it into your Paradox Interactive/Victoria directory (where your regular V:R files are installed--no worries, SR doesn't overwrite anything).
Next, go to your Paradox Interactive/Victoria directory and click on the JSGME utility you just copied there. In JSGME, select "Southern Revolutions" from the list on the left and hit the ">" arrow. When JSGME has done its work, "Southern Revolutions" will appear on the right on the activated mods list. Start V:R as normal, and the majestic SR load screen will greet you and let you know it's almost time to kick some ass, Southern style.
When you're done with SR, just click on JSGME again and reverse the procedure above. That takes you back to the vanilla game. (JSGME works this same way for all your other mods. Try it out--it's a great utility!)
III. What's Changed/Fixed
1) The New South: What's new for the CSA in this mod? Ohhhh, nothing much. Just new & revised: AI files, graphics, POPs, order of battle, unit names, leaders, events, reforms, parties, borders, bug fixes, and factories.
But other than that, nothing much.
2) Get Over It, Already!: Now let's get to the heart of the CSA's problems in V:R, the Every Five Years War with the Union. There is what amounts to a "US Gets Over It and Moves On" AI file which is supposed to kick on in 1868. Trouble is, the triggering event is broken (Trust me, I tried everything short of cheat codes and that bastard just will not activate). SR fixes that--beat the USA, keep the peace, and the Yankees will get on with their lives as intended in the vanilla game.
To that end, the USA also loses the Southern states' provinces as cores when they make peace with the CSA. Just be wary it won't write all of them off. A beaten Union will let Georgia walk away, but take away Maryland or California and it's a different story. So keep this in mind when Ol' Scratch starts trying to make you greedy at the peace table.
Word to the wise: while a defeated Union will come to accept the CSA, they won't ever love it. If their relations deteriorate to a low enough degree, the North Will Rise Again and try to even up its record against the Confederacy.
3) The Mod To Begin The War To End All Wars: In an effort to alleviate the really long, dull seven decades of peace that are the norm after the War of Northern Aggression, this mod contains an event chain which replicates the historical onset of the Great War. Of course, history can go completely off the rails between 1836 and 1914, and these events take that into account--if Austria and Russia are BFF in the game in 1914, not even the Dual Monarchy's bullying of Serbia will lead to war, for example. Still, *something* provactive (probably) happens in 1914, and a Great War may indeed be the result, even if it doesn't 100% mirror the real one.
Please note these events can fire in either the Grand Campaign or the 1861 scenario, regardless of whether you're playing the CSA or not.
4) V.I.P. Treatment: With the kind permission of the hard-workin' modders over at the Victoria Improvement Project, a number of CSA-related events from the VIP mod are incorporated into SR. SR does them a few better by adding a number of flavor events for the CSA which take place in the extended V:R timeline.
IV. But the Damn Yankees Are Still Winning!
If you're losing to 80,000 man Union armies in the first month of the war, the problem is in your installation. You should install Victoria, the Victoria 1.04 patch, Revolutions, OHGamer's hotfixes, and the SR mod, in that order. Proper installation will cut the Yankees down to size.
If you need some strategy hints, HannibalBarca's tips on How To Curb Yankee Arrogance: http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/showthread.php?t=263212
My tips are here:
http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5813807&postcount=24
Now, go thrash those bluebellies!
VI. Tech Support
DO NOT contact the Victoria Improvement Project (VIP) team about technical problems with SR. They are not associated with this mod beyond allowing me to appropriate bits of the VIP for use here. Also, please do not contact CSABadass, rather state your grievance on the thread and pm Jamhaw and he shall offer you what assistance he can.
VII. Credit Where It's Due
"Massive amounts of Jim Beam were involved in the making of this mod."--Rocketman, late of the PI forums.
This mod incorporates some events from the Victoria Improvement Project (VIP) mod. Where this has been done, the VIP modder is credited by (nick)name. Extra special thanks to everyone associated with VIP for allowing me to borrow a bit of their doings.
To learn more about their über-good mod, please check out the VIP forum: http://www.terranova.dk/
Thanks also to HMS Enterprize, OHGamer, jrb001, Frodon, Sempor Victor, Admiral Semmes, Volga, JohnnyReb, Armfeldt, Locmar, and Thorgrimm.
IX. Download
http://www.mediafire.com/?0ji7kfv9rm31012
