I keep trying, but I just can't have fun

[ArtyClyde]

Literally dominating the game as the United States. What could possibly go wrong when my GDP is higher than the next 10 combined? Russia declaring war on me, and i lose because even though neither of us have fired a shot, I have more radicals in my country than them.

That's right! Paradox with another ridiculous war mechanic. A country far away can just declare war on you, and your score ticks down because of radicals. So although Russia has done nothing, no invasion, no convoy raiding, ZILCH, the war is unwinnable for me. my only option is to invade Alaska but you guessed it the bug where naval invasions just straight up cancel comes in to make things worse! You're right admiral, don't go forward with the naval invasion, just go back to convoy escorting New England.

This is my last game I think. Iv'e played 3 or 4 games that have gone 5+ hours, there never seems to be a World War. It just doesn't feel that after you stabilize your economy that there's any content left for you. You cant get into warfare because opposing countries either capitulate before the war and give you 1/5 of what you were asking for, or your officer with 60 divisions fights battles with 3 units against 12 and you then spend the rest of your day picking out new keyboards on amazon.

This was my last go to think maybe I could have fun, but it's just not happening. The game is so mundane, it feels kind of like cookie clicker or adventure capitalist. Like you just sit there and aimlessly click buttons to make prices shift, check your clock and realize the entire game time could've been spent doing anything more productive.

Not sure how everyone else feels about this game but I probably won't be buying anything paradox puts out for a while. This game is going to get better, but why wait for the 20 dollar update once a year. Just remember all the content they release in the first update (assuming it's like every other pdx title) is going to include things that should've been in the base game, but they remove and make certain you pay extra for it.

[Marcus]

I have many hours in EUIV & Crusader Kings III & Cities Skylines love these games and will replay again. I have never played any of the Victoria games but took the risk and bought the Grand Edition at £66 I played 20 hours so far and the game is not for me!! Boring AF its like been an accountant flicking from screen to screen juggling figures and juggling other mundane numbers and statistics! Sure some will enjoy the game but not for me!

[ArtyClyde]

That's what I'm saying. It seems like the reward for doing something entertaining like warfare, or going certain political ways is heavily outweighed by the risk of your econ crashing, pops rising up, and the game being over 3-4 hours in.

[Good Graces]

fewer players than hoi4 already

[Oddible]

A) sounds like you're playing on easy mode (note that the game starts on easy mode so if you want to play Standard you have to set it as such. B) you literally don't know how to play the game if you lost to the Russians due to Radicals without a shot being fired. Just cuz you suck at the game doesn't mean it sucks.

[Don Vincenzoo 57]

Originally posted by Oddible:

A) sounds like you're playing on easy mode (note that the game starts on easy mode so if you want to play Standard you have to set it as such. B) you literally don't know how to play the game if you lost to the Russians due to Radicals without a shot being fired. Just cuz you suck at the game doesn't mean it sucks.

BOOM !

[Althar]

Not saying the game doesn't need a substantial balancing & bug fixing pass but I feel a lot of (new to the series) players have come to Victoria 3 expecting something akin to EU4, HOI4 or even CK3, but during the Industrial revolution, where every game mechanic is explicit and the effects of an action are 'immediate' and obvious.

For me, the beauty of the Victoria game is in how indirect every game mechanic is, and how the repercussions of any action can take a while to ripple through the system before you realise you've messed up (in your case, as people have pointed out, the Radicals were your Achilles heel)

You want to build your army in CK3, HOI4, or EU4, click a few buttons, raise your troops and provided you have enough manpower resource, you're good to go. Here you have to first build the infrastructure needed to support an army, make sure you can buy and supply the gear, and then you need to convince your pops, who are probably busy providing for your economy, that it is a good idea to put on a uniform and become cannon fodder.

[Nats]

Not everybody will like it. Maybe its not for you. I am not entirely sure myself yet although I am having fun so far. But one thing I can say is 5 hrs for one game is not a long time. Are you rushing through it? I expect to spend 30-40hrs on one game myself. I've already played around 15hrs and barely even started. Dont think I am even one year in yet. Maybe you need to learn more about the game's mechanics to enjoy it more?

[*s*t*a*r*s*]

Originally posted by Oddible:

A) sounds like you're playing on easy mode (note that the game starts on easy mode so if you want to play Standard you have to set it as such. B) you literally don't know how to play the game if you lost to the Russians due to Radicals without a shot being fired. Just cuz you suck at the game doesn't mean it sucks.

From what I see there are no modes for gameplay such as easy, moderate, hard etc. There is however AI aggression and AI behavior towards players. 'Settings' and sub menu 'Game' shows nothing either related to game modes.

[Sneaky Trumpet]

agreed

[Landhund]

Originally posted by Good Graces:

fewer players than hoi4 already

If you gotta lie, try something that isn't very easily verifiable.
Victoria 3 24h peak: 32,710 (https://steamcharts.com/app/529340)
HOI 4 24h peak: 29,137 (https://steamcharts.com/app/394360)

Just because you wish for something to be true, doesn't mean it is.

[AmesNFire]

Like many PDX games, give it 3-5 years before any significant amount of content will be avaliable to players and thus make the game worthwhile.
Conveniently, the AI will be significantly better and the game will be playable beyond 'click-to-win'.

[Attelso]

If your the defender, russia needs to capture atleast one cell of your lands before your warscore ticks down past 0

[shiggies713]

Well that’s pretty much what vic1 and 2 were minus you could actually control your armies in those, so you probably should have watched more gameplay before buying. It’s pretty much what I expected.

[Zero, Dark Knight]

Yeah, I expected a game about economic simulator, which I enjoy - and will enjoy one day - when I buy it. about management, graphs, and growth... but the crashes, the bare bones nature of this. I was horrified when I saw the dev streams of gameplay and bugs that close to release, and then the forums started talking about slow downs of game, etc.

This game might be good in 2 years. but I wanna know why it isn't good 'now'. Some of the things which are causing issues, were fixed by modders on day 1 =/

I'd like an explanation why that's possible if it's such an easy fix for people to do?

[Nats]

Well I spent well over £150 each on CK2 and EU4 and tbh I am enjoying this game more. Even though those games have had so many dlc packs and content added I still find them repetitive after a few hours. But then I am not that interested in the renaissance or medieval times. Far more interested in the Victorian era, don't know why. Maybe I can relate to it more, being the start of the modern age. But for me Victoria 3 is no less enjoyable than those other games that cost me nearly 10x as much over the years. Yet to see any bugs or slow downs. But all games have people who cant play them. Its usually their hardware that is at fault.