Victoria 3

[Tamas]

I've read that Grey's mod series improves the game a lot, although apparently it tweaks a lot of things from vanilla.

At this stage I am skeptical of overhaul mods. The whole Paradox team have been struggling to balance this complex system, I doubt a lone modder or couple of modders could do significantly better.

[Syt]

Agreed. Many popular mods seem to either push hard in one or other direction (to the point of railroading AI in what they research and build when and where), or undo certain changes to gameplay (like making transportation and electricity global goods again - the current system isn't ideal, but I'd rather not go back to AI Britain powering their Empire with a massive stack of power plants in the Falklands as they did in some of my games ).

Political Overhaul seems still popular, though I think that it's a bit superfluous? It splintered the IGs into many times the original number to reflect what (I think) movements are meant to represent.

Though ultimately it comes down what's fun for you. Not meaning to yuck anyone's yum.

[grumbler]

Had some time to finish my Japan game ( turned out to be fun, but not much happened internationally for Japan) and then started a GB game to explore the diplo system.  The diplo system was okay, but the naval stuff was ludicrously bad.  The #1 mission for fleets in this era was blockade/counter-blockade, and what mission is completely missing in Vic3? Blockade. Enemy fleets and transports just sail right by one's own ships (probably with a mutual dipping of the flag) so sea control is useless.  Even convoy raiding and protection are essentially meaningless.  Naval invasions were incredibly rare in that era, but invasion/counter-invasion is pretty much all that fleets do in the game.

I also had to laugh at the UK AI continuing to build shipyards when every shipyard in the UK was losing money, and some were closing down.  The American investors were meanwhile building coal mines in the UK, which was the smart way to go.

[Syt]

They've reshuffled the bundling on Steamn. More importantly: new Season Pass will be announced next week:

[Syt]

Big dev diary today. Trade will be completely redesigned. They will add a world market ... but not as in Vic2 (i.e. a void where all goods go ). From what I understand it's mostly to determine world market prices and trade advantage (plus tariffs, relations, embargos .... ) will then determine how much you buy from whom. Though they say bilateral trade agreements will still be a thing (to be covered later).

It's a lot, ut OPB made a video.

[The Minsky Moment]

I'll take a look over the weekend.

The problem with Vic3 trade is that the game has all the elements needed in theory to model a proper trade system.  The game could in theory take the production cost calculations it already makes and then add shipping and transport costs based on tech, distance and trade infra. That would allow replicating the trade dynamics of the period, e.g., Britain shipping significant quantities of coal to northern France and North Germany.

My understanding why this isn't done is that the sheer volume of calculations would overwhelm CPU capacity and Paradox's ability to optimize.

I'm skeptical of the use of a world market mechanism but I will keep an open mind. But any system that fails to take into account distances and the advantages of sea vs. land transport is going to struggle to create historically realistic trade patterns.

[Syt]

If I have it right they would turn the shipping costs into a factor like "trade advantage". A big change, IMO, is having "trade areas" (though they admit they need to figure out what to do with big countries like Russia) served by hubs (which will be dynamic?), which would mean that Australia or South Africa would have a harder time trading for their goods, instead of having full magical access to the entire British Market as they currently do as part of the British Empire.

[The Minsky Moment]

People are saying how terrible the WOKE and Radical Far Left new trade system is in Victoria 3.  As Your Favorite President of the United States (better than Lincoln who couldn't even get back up after being shot), I immediately announced Liberation Day with Tariffs on Canada.  Instead of declaring the AUTOMATIC VICTORY we deserved, nothing happened. It only raised a small amount of money, not even enough to upgrade my Golf Course PMs or pay for the Gold Toilet mobilization option (We cannot be #1 for our military unless we support #2). I told my generals to prepare INVASION and made Canada the 26th state, only to be told that the UK would back Canada! That could never happen because Keir told me how much I am loved in Britain and King Charles said I was his Favorite President.  It is the fault of the Evil TERRORIST Woke Left Radicals that made the game.  They are angry because I want to free Greenland from their Swedish overlords. I am issuing an Executive Order immediately banning all sales of PERVERT PARADOX games. This time, the game will be over BEFORE the fat lady sings.

[Syt]

---------

New Expansion Pass:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3562940/Victoria_3_Trade_Ships_Bonus_Pack/

Watch the benefits of trade roll into port with the Trade Ships Bonus Pack, an art pack immediately available for free to everyone who buys the Victoria 3: Expansion Pass. This pack includes three new ship designs for the on-map representation of commercial vessels crossing the trade lanes of the globe.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3450170/Victoria_3_Charters_of_Commerce/

Planned Release Date: 17 Jun, 2025

Victoria 3: Charters of Commerce

Build a financial and trade system to enrich your nation and overwhelm your rivals in Charters of Commerce, a new Mechanics Pack for Victoria 3. Charters of Commerce adds more depth and new options to Victoria's sophisticated trade model, including new ways to regulate company expansion, new diplomatic tools, and new unique goods variants that your nation will be known for.

Features of Victoria 3: Charters of Commerce include:

• Company Charters: grant charters to your nation's companies to give them an advantage in the cutthroat game of international trade.
• Trade Charters let companies trade their manufactured goods on the world market
• Investment Charters allow companies to establish regional headquarters and invest in foreign markets
• Colony Charters make it possible for companies to govern colonial regions
• Industry Charters give companies permission to expand their field of business into other types of production.
• Monopolies: Encourage monopolistic industries in your country, whether it be a highly efficient but costly state monopoly, or a private company monopoly that crowds out competitors in the production of vital goods.
• Diplomatic Treaties: Sign new types of diplomatic agreements, including imposing uneven trade deals and setting limits on colonization.
• Prestige Goods: Let successful companies branch out into the production of high quality goods like champagne, establishing your unique cultural imprint on a good type and gaining an edge on your competitors.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3562730/Victoria_3_National_Awakening_Immersion_Pack/

Planned Release Date: Q3 2025

Victoria 3: National Awakening

A century of national struggles in Central Europe and the Balkans take center stage in National Awakening, an Immersion Pack for Victoria 3. The Ottoman Empire is losing its grip on its European territories while its Austrian rival is riven by internal political struggles - some ideological and some nationalist. Explore the tumult of the tinderbox of Europe in this immersion pack.

Victoria 3: National Awakening has content related to:

• Austria: Guided by the bureaucratic and diplomatic genius of Metternich, Austria starts in a strong position - but social and technological revolutions threaten to undermine the absolute Habsburg authority. Transform the Empire into a  cosmopolitan state under bureaucratic leadership, or try to harness the national aspirations of its many peoples towards reform.
• Hungary: Once freed from Austrian rule, Hungary has a chance to be a crucial weight in the balance of power in Eastern Europe.
• Serbia: Take sides in the rivalry between the Serbian royal houses of the Karadjordjevic and Obrenovic dynasties.
• Bulgaria: Establish freedom from Ottoman rule and establish the reputation of Prussia of the Balkans.
• Montenegro: Lead this tiny theocratic state to secular monarchy and potential expansion.
• Yugoslavia and Illyria: Form a new southern Slavic state, based on the historical Serbian led model or an alternate Croatian-Slovene nation.
• National Awakenings: New narrative events tied to National Fervor to better model the historical rise of nationalism in the Balkans.
• The Great Eastern Crisis: The rise of nationalism in Southern Europe deals an almost fatal blow to Ottoman power in Europe as formerly subject peoples rise up in rebellion
• The Balkan Wars: New content to encourage a united Balkan front against the exhausted Ottoman Empire in Europe.
• New historical characters
• New art and regional building set

Balkans flavor pack? Yeah, I'm sure discussions about that its features be polite and civilized.


EDIT: Oops, forgot two:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3562810/Victoria_3_Songs_of_the_Homeland_Music_Pack/

Planned Release Date: Q4 2025

Victoria 3: Songs of the Homeland
Step into the transformative world of the Victorian Age designed to immerse you in an era of bold national identity, the rise of modernism, and the birth of the truly international era. This evocative Music Pack promises to:

• Evoke National Pride: Stir your emotions with powerful anthems that capture the fervor of emerging national identities and the pride of a people defining their place in an ever changing world.
• Celebrate Modern Innovation: Experience the living pulse of modernism through dynamic, forward-thinking compositions that mirror the transformative spirit of the Victorian era.
• Capture Global Ambition: Feel the energy of a burgeoning truly international world, with tracks that reflect the excitement and ambition of a world on the brink of globalization.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3562890/Victoria_3_Iberian_Twilight_Immersion_Pack/

Planned Release Date: Q4 2025

Victoria 3: Iberian Twilight

Reverse the fortunes of the waning Spanish and Portuguese Empires in Iberian Twilight, an immersion pack for Victoria 3. Advance the banners of either reform or reaction as you endeavor to restore these once-mighty powers to their rightful place on the world stage.

Reform outmoded political and economic systems and foster an agricultural and industrial revolution on the peninsula.

Victoria 3: Iberian Twilight has new content related to:

Spain:

• Once the grandest empire on earth, now reeling from the loss of most of its American colonies.
• Choose your side in the Carlist Wars - will you embrace liberal reform or rally behind the counter-revolution?
• Reduce political instability and factionalism, and contend with forces seeking to challenge your rule.
• Reaffirm your position as an imperial power and expand your influence in both the Old World and the New.
• Modernize national institutions, and encourage an industrial boom in Catalonia, the Basque Country, and beyond.

Portugal:

• A once powerful state that maintains a diminished empire in Africa and Asia.
• Deal with the fallout from the War of the Two Brothers and navigate competing visions for Portugal's future.
• Expand your influence and territorial holdings in Africa and Asia, reestablishing Portugal as a premier trading and colonial power.
• Establish a mutually beneficial relationship with Brazil, fostering economic, cultural, and perhaps even political ties.

Other:

• Embrace Iberism, and strive to unite the peninsula under one banner.
• Updates and improvements for nations in the orbit of the Iberian powers.
• New historical characters for the nations covered in the immersion pack
• Art: A set of new buildings and unit models, as well as a new UI skin and new event images.

[Solmyr]

Tamas should like the Austrian DLC?

[The Minsky Moment]

• Diplomatic Treaties: Sign new types of diplomatic agreements, including imposing uneven trade deals
  

[Trump] I take it back, get me the DLC now [/Trump]

Seriously it looks like they are gating the unequal treaty feature behind the paid DLC.

Like most of these things, the paid content is not enough to justify paying list price.  But it's Victoria, so I will probably make an exception.

[Syt]

Yeah, V3 and CK3 are the only ones where I preorder the passes, because I know I will play those games no matter what. EU4, Stellaris or HOI4 I don't play nearly enough to justify it. Though Stellaris I might eventually pick up when I feel like playing some space 4X again.