Paradox Interactive Games Thread

[dead0man]

as this is kind of the "general gaming" thread at this point, I'd like to point out that Ark:Survival Evolved is free on Steam right now.  Probably didn't deserve it's own thread, but I thought some of you might want to know.  Big download (125gig).

[FT-02 Senator A.F.E. 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

Italy Dev Diary #1



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[dead0man]

as this is kind of the "general gaming" thread at this point, I'd like to point out that Ark:Survival Evolved is free on Steam right now.  Probably didn't deserve it's own thread, but I thought some of you might want to know.  Big download (125gig).

this game is just STUPID hard

[Bacon King]

i am so pumped for Vicky 3 y'all i already preordered it

[Liminal Trans Girl]

i am so pumped for Vicky 3 y'all i already preordered it

I can't wait to get a rebellion to overthrow the Government that not only puts the same type of Government in Charge, but also put the exact same type of party in charge

[Del Tachi]

i am so pumped for Vicky 3 y'all i already preordered it

I don't believe in pre-ordering.  It rewards dev teams to release buggy, incomplete games.

I'll wait for Vicky 3 to drop, read reviews for 2 weeks, and then decide if it's a complete enough product to justify buying it without a major patch/overhaul/DLC.   

[Not Me, Us]

i am so pumped for Vicky 3 y'all i already preordered it

I don't believe in pre-ordering.  It rewards dev teams to release buggy, incomplete games.

I'll wait for Vicky 3 to drop, read reviews for 2 weeks, and then decide if it's a complete enough product to justify buying it without a major patch/overhaul/DLC.   

It's apparently really buggy in the dev streams they've done, so I'd hold off until some patches. CK3 was great at launch though, so who knows.

[GenerationTerrorist]

Still having lots of fun in CK3 with Mr Haesteinn in the 867 start in particular. After lots of island-hopping, I now have a Norse-Hindu Empire in the south of India.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Anyone else planning on getting Victoria 3? I've already pre-ordered it myself, which isn't something I usually do. Probably the game I've most been looking forward to in over a decade.

Hell, if enough people here start playing I think an Atlas multiplayer game could be fun someday.

[axiomsofdominion]

I swore off Paradox games after Imperator and also because of what they did to my precious CK2. All the resources and focus on the shallowest parts. I heard bad things about Vicky3. We'll see what happens but the streamer meme advertising thing is not impressive.

[Alben Barkley]

Am I the only one who thinks it's a little weird how in HOI4, Germany (despite being the real life losers) is the hardest nation to beat and easiest to play as? Like Operation Sea Lion is a joke, it's so easy. I should NOT be able to establish Naval Supremacy and Air Superiority over the British so simply, then once I land just march all the way to Scotland and capitulate them in like a day. Like, that's not AT ALL how it worked in real life.

Meanwhile, invading the Soviets is as simple as drawing a line from Leningrad to Stalingrad and pressing play. Again, not AT ALL how it worked in real life.

I never actually did a full Nazi Germany playthrough before today, believe it or not. Both because it just isn't that interesting to me compared to historical alternatives and because I find it a bit distasteful (yes, it's just a game, but still). And maybe it's simply because I'm a better player now than I used to be, but the fact that I was able to completely beat the Allies AND Comintern by 1942 (and could have earlier if not for waiting on justification focuses/non-aggression pacts, and playing as historically and methodically as possible) just seems a little farcical.

Was the point supposed to be that if Hitler wasn't stupid enough to open a two front war, he could have easily won? Because that's not really historically accurate. Most scholars think Sea Lion was never going to work anyway, and that Germany might have been screwed against the Soviets alone. Yet it's much easier for me to beat the Soviets as Germany than vice versa.

Plus after beating the Soviets, I'm now at war with a back-stabbing Japan and am actually aligned with the US against them which also seems unrealistic. Historical focuses are on, but the Japanese invaded my German East Indies I took from the Dutch. I had planned to launch an invasion of the US from Nazi Canada but oh well, guess I gotta deal with Japan first. Don't really want to though, fighting them is always annoying. Might just call it quits on this game after already achieving all of Hitler's goals. Plenty of Lebensraum now!

Anyway, I think Germany might need a serious debuff in future updates. Both to make them more challenging if you play as them and easier to beat if you play against them. As it is I just think it's unbalanced and unrealistic.

[Devout Centrist]

Went ahead and pre-ordered Vicky 3. Most reviews look very positive (game is a bit buggy, but underlying systems are strong). Not too worried about the warfare changes, but we'll see how it plays.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

Bought the deluxe version of V3 a few days ago and downloaded it this morning. Haven’t actually played it yet though.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What's the first time starting country for Victoria 3?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Well apparently the game itself recommends Sweden, Belgium, Chile or the Cape Colony as starters. I went with Sweden. Chile seems kind of random.

[dead0man]

Am I the only one who thinks it's a little weird how in HOI4, Germany (despite being the real life losers) is the hardest nation to beat and easiest to play as? Like Operation Sea Lion is a joke, it's so easy. I should NOT be able to establish Naval Supremacy and Air Superiority over the British so simply, then once I land just march all the way to Scotland and capitulate them in like a day. Like, that's not AT ALL how it worked in real life.

Meanwhile, invading the Soviets is as simple as drawing a line from Leningrad to Stalingrad and pressing play. Again, not AT ALL how it worked in real life.

I never actually did a full Nazi Germany playthrough before today, believe it or not. Both because it just isn't that interesting to me compared to historical alternatives and because I find it a bit distasteful (yes, it's just a game, but still). And maybe it's simply because I'm a better player now than I used to be, but the fact that I was able to completely beat the Allies AND Comintern by 1942 (and could have earlier if not for waiting on justification focuses/non-aggression pacts, and playing as historically and methodically as possible) just seems a little farcical.

Was the point supposed to be that if Hitler wasn't stupid enough to open a two front war, he could have easily won? Because that's not really historically accurate. Most scholars think Sea Lion was never going to work anyway, and that Germany might have been screwed against the Soviets alone. Yet it's much easier for me to beat the Soviets as Germany than vice versa.

Plus after beating the Soviets, I'm now at war with a back-stabbing Japan and am actually aligned with the US against them which also seems unrealistic. Historical focuses are on, but the Japanese invaded my German East Indies I took from the Dutch. I had planned to launch an invasion of the US from Nazi Canada but oh well, guess I gotta deal with Japan first. Don't really want to though, fighting them is always annoying. Might just call it quits on this game after already achieving all of Hitler's goals. Plenty of Lebensraum now!

Anyway, I think Germany might need a serious debuff in future updates. Both to make them more challenging if you play as them and easier to beat if you play against them. As it is I just think it's unbalanced and unrealistic.

I like to play the game, but I'm not very good at it.  I hate to say this out loud, but when playing vanilla, I enjoy playing as Germany the most.  I don't like dealing with the Navy stuff and the Germans don't really need a top Navy to win and they get to beat on the French and Russians nearly every game.  Sure, you're Nazis, just don't think about that part.  It's not like part of the game is rounding of Jews, Roma and handicaps.

But yes, invading England as Germany is depressingly easy.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

So for what its worth, despite the criticism some are levying at Vicky 3 for being a bit sterile (as if they've never played a Paradox game at launch) I'm really enjoying it so far, I've already got nearly 7 hours actually. The mechanics are solid, the map is beautiful and I can't wait to see what the mod community does with it.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

So it looks like the player consensus is that Belgium is the best first play country so I'll try that one tonight.

[Helsinkian]

Playing as Sweden, it's easier to learn than Victoria II (which I dropped pretty quickly). Managed to conquer Denmark but went bankrupt in the process. I wish there were more country-specific events (you have a lot of them in EUIV, and it doesn't seem like it would be hard to implement). The war system needs to be improved so it's not just a bunch of numbers on a front. At least add more interesting animations of land and sea combat.

Built a lot of industry early on which helped me marginalize the landowners (who generally hate all reform attempts). Also marginalised the church with reform policies. Passed a bunch of reforms with the support of the industrialists and the intelligentsia, including free trade which was not necessarily the right move for my budget early in the game. But the latter interest groups include many republicans, and now the trade unions are also on the rise, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to remain a monarchy. Was able to start colonising only once I had bolstered the armed forces interest group which supports it the most (intelligentsia tends to oppose it).

[Alben Barkley]

Canada is now playable in HOI4, thanks to a recent update which made it possible to boost both manpower and industry, both of which Canada desperately needs. Before you had to choose between the two. Using this update, I was able to lead the charge in defeating both Germany and Japan; most of West Germany is the Canadian Occupation Zone and Japan is split between me and my American allies.

Even before that, I was able to get an achievement for defeating the US and burning down Washington as Canada. This was actually pretty easy. All you have to do is go fascist, ally with Germany, and make a beeline to DC. I capitulated the whole US in the end but you get the achievement even if you don't, all you have to do is occupy DC.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Canada is now playable in HOI4, thanks to a recent update which made it possible to boost both manpower and industry, both of which Canada desperately needs. Before you had to choose between the two. Using this update, I was able to lead the charge in defeating both Germany and Japan; most of West Germany is the Canadian Occupation Zone and Japan is split between me and my American allies.

Even before that, I was able to get an achievement for defeating the US and burning down Washington as Canada. This was actually pretty easy. All you have to do is go fascist, ally with Germany, and make a beeline to DC. I capitulated the whole US in the end but you get the achievement even if you don't, all you have to do is occupy DC.

The US is pretty weak in HOI4 in the early years. It takes time to become a behemoth...

[Bacon King]

current game time, two and a half years later:

Crusader Kings II: 2,600 hours (+1,737)
Europa Universalis IV: 1,690 (+847)
Victoria II: 579 (+161)
Stellaris: 511 (+437)
Europa Universalis III: 363 (n/c)
Crusader Kings III: 231 (new)
Victoria Revolutions: 79 (n/c)
Darkest Hour: 50 (+11)
Imperator Rome: 8 (new)
Arsenal of Democracy: 7 (n/c)
Hearts of Iron IV: 0 (n/c)

Total Steam gameplay time as compared to 18 months ago, not including games I haven't played since then

Europa Universalis IV: 3,190 hours (+1,500)
Crusader Kings II: 2,745 (+145)
Victoria II: 590 (+11)
Stellaris: 563 (+52)
Crusader Kings III: 501 (+270)
Victoria 3: 66 (new)

Since my last update I've become completely obsessed with the EU4 Anbennar mod and it's honestly so great, totally blows vanilla EU4 out of the water

The vast majority of those CK3 hours were spent in the Elder Kings 2 mod though I've also recently been enjoying the Game of Thrones mod's open beta

despite its mixed reception I actually really like Vicky 3 even if it is a bit rough around the edges but honestly every paradox game is like that at first. If I didn't have a job or a social life to limit my time spent gaming, I'd probably have put 500 hours into Victoria 3 by now

(actually realistically speaking if I had another 500 hours to waste sitting around playing paradox games, I'd end up spending >400 of them playing even more Anbennar lol)

I still haven't played HoI 4, although I know I'd really enjoy it if I could find the time, especially with how many excellent mods exist for it. I bought most of the game's DLC during a recent Steam sale so I should probably start actually playing the game soon so I can at least pretend that purchase was remotely justified lol

[Bacon King]

Actually does anyone have any beginner advice for HOI4 they are willing to offer? Like what's the most important stuff to keep track of? What are some common noob traps to avoid? Who are the best nations for beginners?

As you can see in my previous post I'm familiar all the other modern paradox games so feel free to frame your explanations by compare/contrasting with similar mechanics in any of those you might be familiar with.

In middle school I spent hundreds of hours playing the first Hearts of Iron game (once upon a time I even created a terrible AAR on the official paradox forums lmao) and spent even more time playing HOI2 in high school and college. There's probably a lot of general gameplay concepts I'll recognize and be familiar with once I start playing 4 but I have no idea what they might be

[Alben Barkley]

Actually does anyone have any beginner advice for HOI4 they are willing to offer? Like what's the most important stuff to keep track of? What are some common noob traps to avoid? Who are the best nations for beginners?

As you can see in my previous post I'm familiar all the other modern paradox games so feel free to frame your explanations by compare/contrasting with similar mechanics in any of those you might be familiar with.

In middle school I spent hundreds of hours playing the first Hearts of Iron game (once upon a time I even created a terrible AAR on the official paradox forums lmao) and spent even more time playing HOI2 in high school and college. There's probably a lot of general gameplay concepts I'll recognize and be familiar with once I start playing 4 but I have no idea what they might be

1. Most important stuff to keep track of: Manpower and fuel spring to mind. In some early games I made the rookie mistake of letting both slip to 0 and, naturally, had a bad time. So be sure to up your conscription laws if you're running low on manpower, and of course don't create more divisions than you can sustain. No oil will slow you down pretty bad too, so be sure to not have too much naval activity (the biggest gas guzzler) going on unless you can afford it. It's a good idea to build refineries if you're playing a country (such as Germany) that doesn't have a large supply of/access to oil too. However fuel is basically unlimited as the US. Also of course keep a close eye on your logistics screen, which shows your production deficits and surpluses.

2. Common noob traps to avoid: Well, there's what I wrote above. Also keep in mind a lot of advice in videos, etc. on the internet is outdated. No longer are 7/2 divisions of 20 width recommended for example. So try to get up to date tips, especially if you have all the DLC. Make sure you keep an eye on your supply lines and that your troops actually are getting what you are producing, there were some big changes there with the "No Step Back" DLC.  Oh and it's for the best to build civilian factories early, then (if needed) refineries, THEN military factories. Rule of thumb is civs in 1936-37 at least. Reason is you need those factories to trade, produce other things including military factories, and (with the La Resistance DLC) build and upgrade a spy agency. Speaking of which, spy agencies are really only all that potent IMO if you are playing a non-democratic nation. Democratic nations can't use the "collaboration government" operation which can make capitulating an enemy (especially the USSR) much faster and easier. That's by far the best use for a spy agency.

3. Best nations for beginners: Germany actually. Few reasons: First, you basically get to set the pace of the game since you are the aggressor. You can essentially build up until you are ready to attack. Plus the German focus tree allows you to annex Austria, Czechoslovakia, etc. without firing a shot. Second, Germany is insanely OP, which is ironic considering real life. You're actually powerful enough to take out Poland and the Soviets at the start of the game if you really want to push it, then walk over the Western Allies and it's pretty much game over before France fell in real life. (But I wouldn't recommend that for a first game.) Third, you don't have to worry too much about being spread too thin or even doing anything particularly complicated with your navy because you don't have a vast colonial empire to handle like the UK and France. Fourth, there are three political routes to go down (historical, Kaiserreich, and democratic) and all are fun. Historical because it's just fun to play the bad guy sometimes, and again you're the aggressor in the thick of things so there's more action. Kaiserreich because it can play out in a variety of ways (ally with Britain, basically redo WW1, even restore the Holy Roman Empire!). Democratic because you can take history's bad guy and turn it into the good guy with a pretty powerful "Central European Alliance" that takes on the Soviets. (As I recently did, posting about it next.) Gives it nice replay value.

US is also a pretty solid beginner nation because you basically can't lose, and you get to spend a lot of time preparing for the war with lots and lots of resources at your disposal. Dealing with the politics and debuffs at the beginning is the only real problem, and it's mainly just a minor nuisance. That and you might get bored doing so much waiting, unless you join the war early which is actually a weaker route than going historical with the Neutrality Act.

Italy used to be a good beginner nation maybe, but with the latest DLC it's become much more complicated. If you don't pay close attention to a rather annoying mechanic the game imposes on you, you risk being deposed and plunged into a civil war. Fun. Same with the USSR, it's now more complicated with recent DLC that includes a "Paranoia Meter" minigame for Stalin.

For the other majors, France is hard if you don't know what you're doing. Country is a mess of political instability, economic problems, etc. that have to be sorted out. You also of course have the ticking time bomb of Germany's invasion, and unless you have sorted everything out by the time it happens and prepared a solid defense, they'll probably march to Paris and capitulate you immediately. That said, if you want to practice defense, it's worth trying. It also has some fun alternate history routes that can turn you into the aggressor like the Napoleonic route! One of my favorite countries nowadays actually but it was pain when I was a noob.

UK has the problem of having to either decolonize or cover a vast colonial empire. You don't start out with that huge an army but do have the biggest navy. But navy is relatively complicated. More fun alternate history options here though, like Edward VIII becoming a dictator and forcing the Anglosphere and colonies (US included!) to fall in line. But it's more of an intermediate than total beginner country I think.

I haven't played Japan very often tbh so can't speak much to that. I know people like to complain about its rather dated focus tree. Like the UK, it seems to be more naval-focused as well and as I recall you're pretty much railroaded into an early war with China.

You can also pick pretty much any minor (except for some obvious ones like Poland -- though it's good if you REALLY want to practice defense, and does have some awesome alt history easter eggs!) for a relatively relaxed experience if you'd rather do that to start off. Canada is a good one, especially after recent updates as I mentioned in an earlier post. I've had fun with others like Turkey as well. Beauty of the game is you can pick literally any country and unless it's like, Luxembourg, you can probably figure out SOMETHING fun to do with it.

Anyway, hope you get into the game, it's one of my all-time favorites now (I'm pretty much the opposite as you in that I have EU4 and the pass with all DLC but I've barely played it, but have a lot of hours in HOI4). "Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking." (Seriously though one last tip, it's actually worth buying the Allied Speeches Pack and extra music if not too expensive because it makes the game more epic. Nothing like doing D-Day while listening to Eisenhower's actual speech kick in!)

[Alben Barkley]

I think I've perfected the "Good Guy Germany" game. I unironically brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to Europe! Liberated most of the continent and brought it DEMOCRACY! Most European countries except like Britain and France (which have their own faction) are now in my faction and/or democratic, including Russia! After tackling Hitler and Stalin, I decided that wasn't enough freedom and democracy so I took out Italy as well. The game mechanics with deposing Mussolini and the Italian Civil War turned it into my puppet, which I gifted all of Italy's core territory to at the end. Ethiopia of course was liberated.

Now Spain is the last real vestige of authoritarianism on the European continent, but unfortunately I can't declare war on them because they haven't generated world tension and I'm a democracy. I guess Franco, like in real life, will hold on to power by staying neutral. But overall, I think this is a much better outcome for European WW2 than what we got! Almost all countries stay free, independent, and mostly democratic.