Description of the Difficulties?

[Kristen Reid 𒈠𒀯𒀯]

Have to post here again to ask another question.

After playing a bit, struggling in some areas and succeding in others I sought out the different difficulty modes - I noticed that there are a few ones beyond easy, normal, and hard that are listed however I can't seem to find any description for them in the game anywhere. Anyone mind cluing me in as to what they are? Also, do any of them happy to be a 'super easy' mode? xb

[RealEdge69Hehe]

There's only one scenario; The Mistake.

If you mean difficulty levels, I believe the easiest one was Utopia.

[Kristen Reid 𒈠𒀯𒀯]

Originally posted by RealEdge69Hehe:

There's only one scenario; The Mistake.

If you mean difficulty levels, I believe the easiest one was Utopia.

They refer to themselves as 'game modes' so I just assumed they were scenario-ish. And I don't seem to have a 'Utopia' difficulty - I have easy, normal, hard, and three game modes.

[RealEdge69Hehe]

Oh, for the Scenario, you say? I believe that for the main game there was a Utopia scenario (I would know; That's how I started), but maybe the Scenario indeed only has that much.

[Kristen Reid 𒈠𒀯𒀯]

Originally posted by RealEdge69Hehe:

Oh, for the Scenario, you say? I believe that for the main game there was a Utopia scenario (I would know; That's how I started), but maybe the Scenario indeed only has that much.

No, here - let me use a screenshot
On this page - I don't see a Utopia difficulty x3
https://puu.sh/y37Ja/77b5bb3972.png
https://puu.sh/y37JU/e816c02364.png

Three difficulties - three game modes.

[Kristen Reid 𒈠𒀯𒀯]

I am not seeing Utopia Anywhere, what I see are:
perestroika, 19q4, soly something, easy, normal, and hard

[DasMudPie]

The "19Q4" mode is the super easy mode you were looking for! You begin with 3000 to spend and a good economy. Of course, the game's mechanics still apply, so don't overspend everywhere or you will face corruption and environmental problems...

The "Solzhenitsyn" mode is the hardest, where everything is bad except the army and the KGB.

The "Perestroika" mode makes it harder to avoid reforms and maintain authoritarian rule as time goes on due to high mind liberalization.

Originally posted by Useless:

I am not seeing Utopia Anywhere, what I see are:
perestroika, 19q4, soly something, easy, normal, and hard

That's because the "Utopia" difficulty had been renamed "Easy" in a previous patch ;)

[Kristen Reid 𒈠𒀯𒀯]

Originally posted by DasMudPie:

The "19Q4" mode is the super easy mode you were looking for! You begin with 3000 to spend and a good economy. Of course, the game's mechanics still apply, so don't overspend everywhere or you will face corruption and environmental problems...

The "Solzhenitsyn" mode is the hardest, where everything is bad except the army and the KGB.

The "Perestroika" mode makes it harder to avoid reforms and maintain authoritarian rule as time goes on due to high mind liberalization.

Originally posted by Useless:

I am not seeing Utopia Anywhere, what I see are:
perestroika, 19q4, soly something, easy, normal, and hard

That's because the "Utopia" difficulty had been renamed "Easy" in a previous patch ;)

That makes sense - and damn. I did try out 19Q4 and noticed the money - but it seems to evaporate into the aether so quickly :b Even quicker than the money seems to on easy.

I've only managed to get a victory ending with it by blowing up the world, which was only because it locked me out of all the other options. x3

[DasMudPie]

You should spend responsibly, investing more in "state mechanism", "support for ecology" and "infrastructure" as you spend more elsewhere!

Try to avoid having a trotskyist majority if you want to lead the USSR to a more "conventionnal" victory in the Cold War. It's much more satisfying to win by making the USA collapse, dissolving NATO and leading a world socialist revolution with the USSR :D

[Kristen Reid 𒈠𒀯𒀯]

Originally posted by DasMudPie:

You should spend responsibly, investing more in "state mechanism", "support for ecology" and "infrastructure" as you spend more elsewhere!

Try to avoid having a trotskyist majority if you want to lead the USSR to a more "conventionnal" victory in the Cold War. It's much more satisfying to win by making the USA collapse, dissolving NATO and leading a world socialist revolution with the USSR :D

World revolution is exactly why I usually play Trotskyist or LWR. I will try with a more moderated approach.

I just don't get the economy side of things at all it seems. I did read that you should put into mechanism, but that only seems to prolonge the economic collapse. The guide seems to suggest that at some point you can stop other investments - but they decay when you do.

[DasMudPie]

Trotskyists in this game are quite trigger-happy. The options you are allowed to select during the events are determined, among other things, by factionnal majority. If you let the trotskyist faction grow too much in the Congress of the CPSU, they will block any "moderate" diplomatic option.

Your economic collapse could also be explained by the fact that bad relations with France triggers a French embargo on the USSR along the American one, which is bad for export profits, your main source of income. Bad relationship with France could also be a result of a hard diplomatic stance caused by decisions the trotskyist faction supports.

The game's main economic challenge comes from the collapse of oil prices in 1986, cutting away quite a bit of monthly income. The only way to overcome the crisis is to increase exports by getting a free trade deal with France, access to the Chinese market and more countries in the Comecon. With a planned economy, industrial automation technologies will improve the USSR's production capability, increasing export profits, and reduce the need to invest more in all industries.

That or make the USA lift their embargo by being subservient to the interests of the West :p

[Kristen Reid 𒈠𒀯𒀯]

Originally posted by DasMudPie:

Trotskyists in this game are quite trigger-happy. The options you are allowed to select during the events are determined, among other things, by factionnal majority. If you let the trotskyist faction grow too much in the Congress of the CPSU, they will block any "moderate" diplomatic option.

Your economic collapse could also be explained by the fact that bad relations with France triggers a French embargo on the USSR along the American one, which is bad for export profits, your main source of income. Bad relationship with France could also be a result of a hard diplomatic stance caused by decisions the trotskyist faction supports.

The game's main economic challenge comes from the collapse of oil prices in 1986, cutting away quite a bit of monthly income. The only way to overcome the crisis is to increase exports by getting a free trade deal with France, access to the Chinese market and more countries in the Comecon. With a planned economy, industrial automation technologies will improve the USSR's production capability, increasing export profits, and reduce the need to invest more in all industries.

That or make the USA lift their embargo by being subservient to the interests of the West :p

That makes sense - its probably it. I figured that trotskyist, given the world revolution stance, was going to be something that allowed me to very easily spread but it seems that they make the posturing into a much more real threat!

I did manage to finally get a game last night - I have to play as one of the pre selected characters, the neo-stalinist conservative guy. I went full automation or whatever and somehow that created a nearly infinite source of money that I just always invested into mechanism, infra, army, propaganda, and law and order.

I did notice though that I had to actually go full Stalinist to be able to support left wing opposition in the US. There isn't any way to beat the US without going to one of the authoritarian extremes or going nationalist? I really wanted to try as Bukharin, though that also seems to come with an economy that spontaniously combusts from too much freedom.

[DasMudPie]

Originally posted by Useless:

I did notice though that I had to actually go full Stalinist to be able to support left wing opposition in the US. There isn't any way to beat the US without going to one of the authoritarian extremes or going nationalist? I really wanted to try as Bukharin, though that also seems to come with an economy that spontaniously combusts from too much freedom.

It's not really support for left opposition, but rather leftist terrorist groups, so that's why only the left wing of the Party will allow it! Interestingly, if the liberals are the majority, the option switches to support for extreme right terrorism!

It's technically possible to make the USA fall without reforming the USSR in either direction at all, but it's possible that you won't be able to win before 1996. Appoint anti-American and pro-military ministers, research economic, space and military technologies, support revolutions in pro-American countries in the Third World to make them pro-Soviet and don't concede anything to the USA during the events (act boldly when the economy allows for it or support an option which doesn't compromise the USSR). Eventually, the USA will collapse.

With Bukharin, you could try to allow the stalinist faction, save 100 political points, open the Finance Ministry and revert to a planned economy to avoid corruption problems caused by capitalistic reforms.