Unfortunately, Wiz seems to have forgotten what makes Victoria 2 a fun game, the ability to have both micro-management of things -and- the ability to have AI macro manage parts of your state. The war system is dreadful, it feels like something a Free to Play clone of EU4 would do. The utter removal of sprites and the simplification of the war system to a point a starfish could play it is deeply, deeply troubling for a game about a time where war was -very- common. Secondly, the constant push for liberalization and heavy handed, (wink wink, nudge nudge), that only utter liberalization will permit you to have a functioning state I feel reflects more upon Wiz, the main directors personal political ideologies, rather than what was at the time a massive revival of Autocratic and Imperial concepts. The fact that this game speaks highly of diplomacy and of making the world of the Victorian age come to life, yet does not simulate things such as the 1848 Liberal rebellions that -caused- this Autocratic revival is distinct and noticeable.

The nations are bland, empty, and feel like they are all the same, simply differing on how far ahead of the starting line of economy. The economy system -could- be good, but instead forces you to have a command economy ala Vicky2 ALL the time, thus replacing the war micromanagement they whinged about with economic micromanagement that is -far- less enjoyable than it's predecessor. Furthermore, it feels like the only system that actually makes sense is the trading system, which despite what I have just said is extremely obtuse and does not show you exactly what you have in stockpile, nor how your market functions, and even that is iffy given how mentally braindead the AI is.

The thing that bugs me as-well is just how gorgeous the game is! The maps look the best I've ever seen from a PDX title! Yet there is -NOTHING- on them! Nothing going on! A beautiful landscape where you can see.....Cities, no little things like farms, fisheries, etc. Ontop of not having ships moving along the water, the inclusion of military sprites and naval sprites would add more life to this game in just its visuals.

All in all I am quite disappointed with this game, and fear that it will get the same treatment Imperator did, they'll fix this upto the state it ought to have been on release then abandon it when they realize their past actions and dubious practices alienated the playerbase and drove them away. I -hope- that is not what happens, but with Wiz at the helm and his utter failures in the past noted, I doubt it will truly be the successor that Vicky 3 should have been.

Unfortunately, Wiz seems to have forgotten what makes Victoria 2 a fun game, the ability to have both micro-management of things -and- the ability to have AI macro manage parts of your state. The war system is dreadful, it feels like something a Free to Play clone of EU4 would do. The utter removal of sprites and the simplification of the war system to a point a starfish could play it is deeply, deeply troubling for a game about a time where war was -very- common. Secondly, the constant push for liberalization and heavy handed, (wink wink, nudge nudge), that only utter liberalization will permit you to have a functioning state I feel reflects more upon Wiz, the main directors personal political ideologies, rather than what was at the time a massive revival of Autocratic and Imperial concepts. The fact that this game speaks highly of diplomacy and of making the world of the Victorian age come to life, yet does not simulate things such as the 1848 Liberal rebellions that -caused- this Autocratic revival is distinct and noticeable. The nations are bland, empty, and feel like they are all the same, simply differing on how far ahead of the starting line of economy. The economy system -could- be good, but instead forces you to have a command economy ala Vicky2 ALL the time, thus replacing the war micromanagement they whinged about with economic micromanagement that is -far- less enjoyable than it's predecessor. Furthermore, it feels like the only system that actually makes sense is the trading system, which despite what I have just said is extremely obtuse and does not show you exactly what you have in stockpile, nor how your market functions, and even that is iffy given how mentally braindead the AI is. The thing that bugs me as-well is just how gorgeous the game is! The maps look the best I've ever seen from a PDX title! Yet there is -NOTHING- on them! Nothing going on! A beautiful landscape where you can see.....Cities, no little things like farms, fisheries, etc. Ontop of not having ships moving along the water, the inclusion of military sprites and naval sprites would add more life to this game in just its visuals. All in all I am quite disappointed with this game, and fear that it will get the same treatment Imperator did, they'll fix this upto the state it ought to have been on release then abandon it when they realize their past actions and dubious practices alienated the playerbase and drove them away. I -hope- that is not what happens, but with Wiz at the helm and his utter failures in the past noted, I doubt it will truly be the successor that Vicky 3 should have been.