Why isn't there a new starting date in HOD?

[Kensai7]

I was really hoping to have a new starting date, possibly by the 1880s, when the whole Scramble for Africa theme was firing up. Is it possible that you add one in a future patch? 1861 is a tad too early. What do the other players think? I feel HOD really needs a later date for some right-to-the-action colonial competition games leading to alternative WW1 scenarios.

 

[RedRalphWiggum]

Creating a new bookmark is an enormous job for Victoria. Researching POP levels, balancing techs, literacy, etc etc. And nearly everyone plays the 1836 start in any case.

 

[Kensai7]

Enormous but well justified for a game that spans a century of playing. I may belong to that nearly-NOT-everyone minority that craves for a late Victorian conflict. Starting from 1836 (or even 1861) and trying to get to more or less the pre-WW1 standoff (early 1900s) is difficult if not impossible as far as you go behind. I fully understand it is difficult, but this was a major DLC (in price as well!), so I was kind of expecting it.

Is it possible to do something about it even as a community project and then submit it to Paradox for future inclusion? I am not talking about a mod here, but an official inclusion.

 

[podcat]

If the community makes one I think it could be a great mod, but there arent enough years in the game to cut away most of it with a start point considering the enormous amount of work making an extra start point is. I think even the 61 start point is borderline too late.

 

[delra]

The 1861 start got a lot of work though.

 

[podcat]

The 1861 start got a lot of work though.

yup!

 

[Kensai7]

Maybe it's doable through community work. Mass input and suggestions from many players for each nation. The borders are easy to find (a map from 1880 would do it) but it will take some time to get the armed forces set up and balanced.

 

[delra]

Not just soldiers -> armies. You'd have to research all other POPs (how many Craftsmen in Pittsburgh), their issues and literacy. All the buildings, factories, naval bases, forts. All parties in power, all international relations at that moment in history (was USA friendly or unfriendly with Morocco, Siam, Persia), alliances, wars and CBs. Fleets and techs and inventions for every country. It's plenty of work, plenty of time devs would be spending not doing something more useful. IMO they should be altering actual game mechanics rather than late start dates only a fraction of players would ever use... It really is best done as a hobby and a mod.

 

[Goodfortune99]

That's pretty well told.

 

[ashandresash]

Yes, new bookmark is too much work to handle for not too much profit IMHO.

And I agree it's already a short game to reduce it even more... For Victoria 3 (whenever it comes) it should be adressed. Maybe not more years (1836 is a good day indeed) but dividing days in some parts (not in an hourly way like in HoIs), but day/night period (maybe 2 tics for day and 2 for night). That would be good specially for battles.

 

[Illanair]

A new starting date would have been awesome as a "Scramble for Africa" scenario kind of thing - but it really is a lot of work to re-balance everything (historically and gameplay wise)

I'm sure we'll see modders pick up the mantle eventually though.

 

[SuiciSpai]

Well, one new start date could be before 1836 not after. 1824 maybe? (random date) There is a lot of techs with year date of 1830 so that could work.

 

[Six-Monts]

If the community makes one I think it could be a great mod, but there arent enough years in the game to cut away most of it with a start point considering the enormous amount of work making an extra start point is. I think even the 61 start point is borderline too late.

I thought that a later date existed in Victoria 1. Isn't it impossible to take the info from the first and use them in the second game? I understand that the game would be shorter, but sometimes a "short game" (relatively speaking) is ok too.

 

[InnocentIII]

I thought that a later date existed in Victoria 1. Isn't it impossible to take the info from the first and use them in the second game? I understand that the game would be shorter, but sometimes a "short game" (relatively speaking) is ok too.

I agree with the desire for a short game on some occasions. I tend to play Paradox games until I feel I've done all I want with it, not until the end date (usually I quit one game because I'm anxious to start the next game I've thought of). So a later start date would give me the same playing time, but a new and unusual beginning. Never did it much in CK2 though, only EU3.

Perhaps running a hands-off game for 50 years might produce a save game which would fit the bill? Granted, many of the areas of the world will be too odd to often to spark your interest. However, all you need is a few counties in a couple areas to make it an interesting scenario, especially if you consider possible spin-offs you could create by playing a GP for an instant and releasing something.

It should be easy enough, and if you're watching, you can spot the place you want to jump in.

 

[chrism2012]

Maybe it's doable through community work. Mass input and suggestions from many players for each nation. The borders are easy to find (a map from 1880 would do it) but it will take some time to get the armed forces set up and balanced.

The inner mechanics of Vic2 aren't constructed in the way PoN was, Kensai.

There are far more factors to be calculated and balanced; maybe take a deeper look into PDM (Naselus and Rylock).


It might be a doable thing for the community but, the way it looks right now, it would be done for a minor part or the players...and therefor should be done by this minor part.

Atm, there are quite some things to balance for the long run campaign of 1836...

 

[Naselus]

The inner mechanics of Vic2 aren't constructed in the way PoN was, Kensai.

There are far more factors to be calculated and balanced; maybe take a deeper look into PDM (Naselus and Rylock).


It might be a doable thing for the community but, the way it looks right now, it would be done for a minor part or the players...and therefor should be done by this minor part.

Atm, there are quite some things to balance for the long run campaign of 1836...

This. Adding a scenario and getting it both reasonably accurate and have the systems work with it is absurdly hard. Even with the huge amount of effort sunk into 1861 with HoD, it still won't work as ideally as 1836 does, since 1836 is where the economy is balanced for (since like 85% of people play from that start date anyway). Previously, there's been little point even looking at 1861, since it was totally imbalanced.

Think of it like this; getting the right economic balance for a scenario is like guessing the correct card randomly drawn from a deck. Getting the balance right for two scenarios is like guessing the right card twice in a row. Getting it right for three in a row... You make it exponentially harder to get the 'right' economic balance with every new start date, as you remove a whole slew of economic setups that work well enough each time.

 

[jdrou]

I thought that a later date existed in Victoria 1. Isn't it impossible to take the info from the first and use them in the second game? I understand that the game would be shorter, but sometimes a "short game" (relatively speaking) is ok too.

There are 1881 and 1914 scenarios in V1 (1881 was added in the first patch). Still, 1836 was certainly the most-played and therefore probably the most balanced & least buggy scenario. I think it's notable that when Revolutions was released it basically broke the 1861 scenario for people who installed over an unpatched Victoria (which is generally the recommended way to install).

 

[NikkTheTrick]

There are 1881 and 1914 scenarios in V1 (1881 was added in the first patch). Still, 1836 was certainly the most-played and therefore probably the most balanced & least buggy scenario. I think it's notable that when Revolutions was released it basically broke the 1861 scenario for people who installed over an unpatched Victoria (which is generally the recommended way to install).

Well, I still remember 1914 scenario: the war ends after 1 week with UK handing a bunch of colonies to Germany

 

[DominusNovus]

I do have to say that the 1861 start does seem better balanced than the 1836 start. Things seem to work much more historically than 1836.