Wait, so Empire of the Platypus isn't a joke?

[Noah11101]

Paradox, I like you I really do. I understand that this name is meant as a joke but it really does not belong in a professional game. It's not that the name breaks immersion or something like that, it's that you went and published a game and included 'Empire of The Platypus' and 'Kiwi Empire' as the official names for fascist Australia and New Zealand used in the game. This is something that should appear in a modification or at least be toggleable, not be published with a final product.

 

[Broletariat90]

Devs will you at least explain why you gave silly names like this?

 

[Pete0714]

Joke names should be a choice (in options, check a box for " ahistorical humor") or taken out entirely. Seriously, devs claim to have worked so hard on this game, and then add in sophomorish nation names? Yes it is a game, but it is not Civilization. After all, you released it on a day remembered for thousands of lives lost, at least make the game have a medium level of seriousness. People, or at least I myself, don't play this game to see how many inside jokes and punny phrases they can find. I play to think about how the world was in this time, to get an understanding of the war, and perhaps how it might or might not have happened differently.

 

[Ksyr]

Devs will you at least explain why you gave silly names like this?

It made me laugh. Maybe thats what they intended.

 

[TheGreatSnoop]

I genuinely don't understand how people can defend calling Fascist Australia "Empire of the Platypus", it just seems like one of those things that can't be defended, yet I feast my eyes on the dislikes on posts disliking it and we're 8 pages in. Fascinating.


I question why these name changes need to occur anyway? Why would Fascist Australia not just be called "Australia"? Italy is still Italy regardless of being Fascist.

 

[Ksyr]

I think this was done so the players could more easily spot changes. Fascist Italy is named Italy because thats what we players expect. And I would expect Australia to be good old democratic Australia. When Denmark suddenly is named North Sea Empire I know something has changed.

 

[Broletariat90]

Joke names should be a choice (in options, check a box for " ahistorical humor") or taken out entirely. Seriously, devs claim to have worked so hard on this game, and then add in sophomorish nation names? Yes it is a game, but it is not Civilization. After all, you released it on a day remembered for thousands of lives lost, at least make the game have a medium level of seriousness. People, or at least I myself, don't play this game to see how many inside jokes and punny phrases they can find. I play to think about how the world was in this time, to get an understanding of the war, and perhaps how it might or might not have happened differently.

It is an insult to those who fought Fascism.

 

[Sails]

Out of interest, what are the Swedish alternate country names?

 

[Ksyr]

It is an insult to those who fought Fascism.

Actually I was thinking just the opposite. It's laughing at the silly fascist

 

[TheGreatSnoop]

Out of interest, what are the Swedish alternate country names?

I'm holding out for Federation of the Moose at this rate.

 

[safe-keeper]

Goddamn it that is dumb. I thought when this thread popped up that it was a joke, but seriously? Yeah yeah the game is easy to mod (though achievements = disabled). But come on. Putting joke names in a professional game isn't funny, it's just a pain for people like me who want to play a legitimate fascist Australia game. The mod should be for the joke names to replace the serious ones. Not the other way around. (I love the game so far. Don't get me wrong. But this is stupid. Why don't you just go ahead and add Biggus Dickus as a main general for EU: Rome II while you're at it.)

Edit: New Zealand is called "Kiwi Empire/Republic" as well. Seems like Paradox just view our two nations as a geography joke, or a far away fantasy land or something from the Simpsons, not actual places with history where people live.

Australia is a real country?

Seriously, though, I just find it funny, myself. Bit surprised they didn't rename Denmark or Norway, though. I can easily see them naming Norway "Moose Kingdom" or something.
Be happy, it could be worse. Kiwis are 3D models for New Zealanders, Australian cavalry riding emus...

PS: it's because the PDX logo is a fossilised platypus, in case you didn't know.

 

[Brawler]

I genuinely don't understand how people can defend calling Fascist Australia "Empire of the Platypus", it just seems like one of those things that can't be defended, yet I feast my eyes on the dislikes on posts disliking it and we're 8 pages in. Fascinating.

It's mind boggling. Absolutely disgraceful.

 

[Broletariat90]

Actually I was thinking just the opposite. It's laughing at the silly fascist

Won't make this political, but you don't laugh at extremism. If all you do is laugh, you let it grow and bite you in the butt.

 

[Sagrido]

One thing is pretty obvious though. PDX is not going to change every country that people dislike into something more likeable, since opinions are subjective, it is impossible to please everyone and some will be mad either way, and not satisfied with the new name they come up with.

The only thing I can see happening here is that PDX decides to scratch - or gives the option to scratch - ideological country names altogether. This will result in nations that will not change their names no matter what ruling ideology they have.
Personally, I really hope they dont remove it altogether, I like the idea of different nation names, I just dislike some of these very much.

So again, give us the option to uncheck it! And I want answers regarding what exactly is mod compatible with achievments. Some say changing leader pictures and flags are compatible, some say even changing nation names are compatible. All this was possible in EUIV while still running for achievements of course, but then, some say that something as minor as chaninging a picture disables achievements in Stellaris. So what gives? I want clarification.

 

[Earmuffs]

lol, you got it right, unfortunately
from the defines:
fascist NZ: "Kiwi Empire"
liberal NZ: "New Zealand"
neutral NZ: "Free Kiwi Republic"
communist NZ: "People's Republic of Aotearoa"

*cringe*

People's Republic of Aotearoa makes some sense. THOUGH not in the time line. Maori were not well treated/viewed back than. And they certainly had limited role in politics compared to where they are today. New Zealand was very much a British colony, NZers viewed themselves not as Kiwi's but as British. The change from a British colony into viewing ourselves as far more independent was a result of WW2 and the Cold War.

For me the issue is not the names, because I don't see them as offensive (though if I was Australian I'd be a little pissed off with the platypus thing...), but the lack of care given to NZ and Australia. You can spend however much time and effort making a free DLC for Poland, a country that didn't exactly last very long in the war, but you can't spend 30 minutes - an hour brainstorming and researching better names for Australia and NZ?

We always get shafted (example, the two NZ provinces are called North Island and South Island. Neither of which is a state or region or county or whatever but simply a geographical location), us more so than Australia but them too. Our soldiers fought and died in WW2 too ya know. My granddad shot down Japanese planes in the pacific.
I feel like we deserve a little more respect and consideration than "lolololol Empire of the Platypus". As someone said earlier, save the jokes for the achievements. There's nothing wrong with jokes like that. But for the main game please show our two countries the respect we deserve and so often do not receive.

 

[TheGreatSnoop]

One thing is pretty obvious though. PDX is not going to change every country that people dislike into something more likeable, since opinions are subjective, it is impossible to please everyone and some will be mad either way, and not satisfied with the new name they come up with.

Shouldn't the name be scrapped if the majority dislike it though? Sure, it's subjective, but you can't say, if we were talking about a democracy, opinions are subjective therefore we shouldn't hold elections.

 

[Ksyr]

Won't make this political, but you don't laugh at extremism. If all you do is laugh, you let it grow and bite you in the butt.

How I act in relation to real life and how I act in relations to a game may not be the same

LOL at disagree. This thread is still entertaining.

 

[wisecat]

Devs will you at least explain why you gave silly names like this?

I wonder if there is now a huge witch-hunt at PDX office to find who left these platypi jokes in release version and whom to sack for it.

Really, I am beginning to think that this was some DevTeam insider joke that was supposed to be cut from release version, but was left in by mistake (or maybe some low-level text editor in PDX is really pissed at his bosses).

 

[FieldMedic]

I actually agree that this 'joke' is a little of out context given the subject matter. It would be different if you could change the name (maybe you can?) of your country in-game but I don't think that's possible and you shouldn't have to mod something like this.

 

[Arandur87]

Maybe just patch in an option, whre you can rename the county yourself, if changing from, let's say, democratic France to fashist France?

I could name the country mself or just let it be "France" or if I'm into call it the "Frog Empire" or whatever...

Works fine with other games to, so if there are so many "what would be if...."s, than let us choose, what it would be like completely^^