Art of the Possible: Backgrounds

@Sonereal and Shadowbound: Agreed, although I've decided that while creating a new doctrine will remain 100 +1 EP per unit, upgrading will cost 2 EP per unit. I feel that this should discourage "outsourcing to Ecuador" for the great powers of the world. The base price may go down to 50 at a later date, but that is uncertain until I establish everyone's EP and IC.

@SouthernKing: Based on the histories and geopolitics of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, I'd say that by 1900 the British would have still likely taken over the remainder of Burma by the game's starting date. As for independence movements, you may be right, but I suppose that will be up to France as the game begins. I'll look into possible border switches in Indonesia.

EDIT: @Ahigin: There is no manpower pool. The unit will always count against the total allowed divisions of whichever nation it is currently held by.
 
@Sonereal and Shadowbound: Agreed, although I've decided that while creating a new doctrine will remain 100 +1 EP per unit, upgrading will cost 2 EP per unit. I feel that this should discourage "outsourcing to Ecuador" for the great powers of the world. The base price may go down to 50 at a later date, but that is uncertain until I establish everyone's EP and IC.

But if a country has over a hundred units, it means it is cheaper to just create new doctrines instead of adopt them, even if the same doctrine already exists in the wild. The thought process for every country, subtracting political considerations, look like this.



The issue is that at numbers greater than 100 divisions, not worrying about sourcing from other countries or other political considerations, a country is almost always better off creating a carbon copy of an existing doctrine. If you set the fixed cost to 50, same problem only it comes at 50 divisions instead of 100 divisions.

If build = 100 + 2x and upgrade = 1x, then the point where x = y is negative, meaning that is would always be cheaper to adopt an existing doctrine (not taking into account what the country charges for you to adopt) than create a doctrine with the exact same stats.
 
Yes, that seems to be working as intended. Ideally a large nation with over 100 divisions would have the resources and inclination to create their own design, even if an identical one exists. Plus this would create competition among nations to see who they can get to follow their designs. Remember, units can only be traded between nations with the same doctrine. Now, I will point out too, that nations with 100 Divisions would be extremely rare based on the current setup of events. For example, at the current makeup of stats, Austria (a fairly relevant power) has only 12 divisions. I believe at start only China will have more than 100 Divisions. Now, we may have numbers greater than that by the time we reach the 1930s and 1940s for more nations, but I believe that the current flow chart you have there is more or less what I was going for.
 
I believe at start only China will have more than 100 Divisions.

If they weren't crap, it would be even better. :p:D
 
What's the assumed division size, EQ? Historically, the size varied from 5 to 25 thousand, depending on the nation. I doubt you're going to take that into account.
 
@Ahigin: The assumed division size is around 15,000 as I feel it's a nice median.

For everyone else, the last sample of the day, the partial stats of Europe, though so far I will point out that economic power and fuel production has not yet been calculated.

Europe

Spoiler :

Austria-Hungary: Terran_Empress
Formal Name: Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen
Absolute Monarchy: Emperor Franz Joseph Habsburg (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-Ethnic Tensions
-Labor Unrest
-German Nationalism
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 150 (-67)
Fuel: 5 (-2)
Army Size: 11 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Division (12/144)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: Austro-Hungarian Army 1890
Navy: 2 Destroyer Squadrons
Navy Doctrine: Coastal Defense Fleet 1890

Bavaria:
Formal Name: Kingdom of Bavaria
Absolute Monarchy: King Otto Wittelsbach (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-German Nationalism
-Labor Unrest
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 60 (-26)
Fuel: 0 (0)
Army Size: 4 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Division (5/28)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: Austro-Hungarian Army 1890

Bohemia:
Formal Name: Kingdom of Bohemia
Absolute Monarchy: King Rudolph III Potocki (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-Anti-Polish Dissent
-German Nationalism
-Labor Unrest
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 50 (-21)
Fuel: 0 (0)
Army Size: 3 Infantry Divisions (3/34)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: Polish Army 1890

Confederation of the Rhine:
Absolute Monarchy: King George Wettin (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-German Nationalism
-Regional Separatism
-Labor Unrest
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 200 (-91)
Fuel: 0 (0)
Army Size: 8 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Division (9/44)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: French Army 1890

Courland:
Formal Name: Kingdom of Courland
Absolute Monarchy: King Joseph Czartoryski (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-Anti-Polish Dissent
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 40 (-17)
Fuel: 5 (-1)
Army Size: 2 Infantry Divisions (2/6)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: Polish Army 1890
Navy: 1 Destroyer Squadron
Navy Doctrine: Coastal Defense Fleet 1890

Denmark: Dunebear
Formal Name: Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway
Absolute Monarchy: King Christian IX of Oldenburg (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-Ethnic Tensions
-Labor Unrest
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 250 (-124)
Fuel: 40 (-19)
Army Size: 8 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Divisions (9/30)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: Danish Army 1890
Navy: 4 Destroyer Squadrons, 3 Cruiser Squadrons, 3 Capital Ships
Navy Doctrine: High Seas Fleet 1890
Colonies: Total EP/IC Production of Colonies
Spoiler :

Danish East Africa:
-Governance: Local Governor
-Garrison: 1 Infantry Division
-Colonial Issue: Demands for Autonomy
Danish Gold Coast:
-Governance: Local Governor
-Garrison: 1 Infantry Division
-Colonial Issue: Demands for Autonomy
Danish West Indies:
-Governance: Direct Rule
-Garrison: 1 Destroyer Squadron
-Colonial Issue: Demands for Autonomy
Iceland: EP/IC Production
-Governance: Local Legislature
-Garrison: None
-Colonial Issue: Labor Unrest


France: <nuke>
Formal Name: Empire of France
Absolute Monarchy: Emperor Napoleon IV Bonaparte (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-Various Regional Nationalisms (German, Dutch, Flemish, Italian, Catalan)
-Labor Unrest
-Ethnic Tensions
-Government Reform
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 2,200 (-1,097)
Fuel: 440 (-217)
Army Size: 35 Infantry Divisions, 5 Cavalry Divisions (40/216)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: French Army 1890
Navy: 31 Destroyer Squadrons, 30 Cruiser Squadrons, 42 Capital Ships
Navy Doctrine: High Sees Fleet 1890
Colonies: Total EP/IC Production of Colonies
Spoiler :

French North Africa:
-Governance: Direct Rule
-Garrison: 2 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Division
-Colonial Issue: Demands for Autonomy
French Pacific Islands:
-Governance: Regional Governors
-Garrison: 3 Destroyer Squadrons
-Colonial Issue: Foreign Traders
French Sub-Saharan Africa:
-Governance: Regional Governors
-Garrison: 1 Infantry Division, 1 Cavalry Division
-Colonial Issue: Demands for Autonomy
French West Indies: EP/IC Production
-Governance: Direct Rule
-Garrison: 1 Destroyer Squadron
-Colonial Issue: Demands for Autonomy
Indonesia:
-Governance: Regional Governors
-Garrison: 3 Infantry Divisions, 5 Destroyer Squadrons, 3 Cruiser Squadrons, 5 Capital Ships
-Colonial Issue: Tribal Unrest
Madagascar:
-Governance: Governor
-Garrison: 1 Infantry Division, 1 Destroyer Squadron, 1 Cruiser Squadron
-Colonial Issue: Demands for Autonomy


Greece:
Formal Name: Hellenic Republic of Greece
Parliamentary Republic: Prime Minister Georgios Theotokis
Parliament: Modernist Party (Moderate)
Dominant Issues
-Ottoman Oppression of Balkans
-Labor Unrest
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 110 (-51)
Fuel: 10 (-5)
Army Size: 4 Infantry Divisions (Total/15)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: British Army 1890
Navy: 3 Destroyer Squadrons, 1 Cruiser Squadron
Navy Doctrine: Coastal Defense Fleet 1890

Italy: Nailix
Formal Name: Kingdom of Italy
Absolute Monarchy: King Conrad III de Beauharnais (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-Anti-French Dissent
-Italian Nationalism
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 150 (-71)
Fuel: 0 (0)
Army Size: 6 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Division (7/55)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: French Army 1890

Livonia:
Formal Name: Kingdom of Livonia
Absolute Monarchy: King Michael II de Tolly (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-Polish-Russian Economic and Political Rivalry
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 80 (-36)
Fuel: 0 (0)
Army Size: 4 Infantry Divisions (4/15)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: British Army 1890

Moldovia:
Formal Name: Kingdom of Moldovia
Absolute Monarchy: King Dimitrie III Cantemire&#537;ti (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-Labor Unrest
-Anti-Polish Dissent
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 50 (-21)
Fuel: 0 (0)
Army Size: 3 Infantry Divisions (3/11)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: Polish Army 1890

Naples:
Formal Name: Kingdom of Naples
Absolute Monarchy: King Achille II Murat (Conservative)
Dominant Issues
-Anti-French Dissent
-Italian Nationalism
-Labor Unrest
Economic Points: Bank (Per Turn)
Industrial Capacity: #
Supplies: 170 (-81)
Fuel: 0 (0)
Army Size: 7 Infantry Divisions, 1 Cavalry Division (8/66)
Army Strength: 100%
Army Doctrine: French Army 1890

Poland: TheLastJacobite

Portugal:

Prussia: Justo

Russia: Ahigin

Sardinia:

Sicily:

Spain: Tolni

Sweden:

Switzerland: Civ&#8217;ed

Ukraine:

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: Masada

Westphalia: Bair_the_Normal
 
Dominant Issues
-Various Regional Nationalisms (German, Dutch, Flemish, Italian, Catalan)
-Labor Unrest
-Ethnic Tensions
-Government Reform
What is the difference between regional nationalism and regular ethnic tensions? Do ethnic tensions represent antisemitism, Jim Crow laws, and such?
 
Does the Panama(Or Nicaragua) Canal exist? And the Suez?
 
I'm interested in Bavaria, is there room to join?
 
>tfw no paraguay army doctrine when i thought it was meant to be the big dog of south america

Am I correct in understanding that army strength is spread over all your fronts and not just the home front? What if i'm doing fighting an enemy on a second front?
 
@Ahigin: I did "Various Regional Nationalisms" for France because it was a lot simpler than four different issues of German, Dutch, Flemish, and Catalan Nationalism. Also, because i promised no more than 5, and that would have put us way over for France. Nationalism is when there is call for a nation for that particular ethnicity. Ethnic Tensions is when you have multiple ethnicities within your borders that hate each other as well as you.

@Tolni and <nuka>: The Suez Canal exists, the Panama Canal does not.

@Red_Spy: There will always be room, until the last nation is taken. Bavaria is yours.

@Grandkhan: The reason Paraguay is so awesome is because it DOESN'T do the same thing as other South Americans. Paraguay is getting French military doctrine, because historically speaking, that would be the one most likely chosen by Paraguayan leaders. Brazil gets its own doctrine because I needed a doctrine for the lesser Americans. Yes, Army Strength is spread among your entire army. When you are waging a multi-front war, you will have to assign divisions to each front, and the army strength that exists at the start of the turn will be applied to the combat that takes place within the turn.
 
How is regaining your army strength going to work?

Also I'm probably going to be self sabotaging here but if the main metric for simulating manpower is the division cap and Army strength then it should be really expensive to replace. You shouldn't be able to reach your division cap, fight a massive war on the scale of WW1 or the War of the Triple Alliance, demobilize your divisions afterwards, and then five years later regain army cap and be able to fight another war on the same scale.

Manpower was one way of simulating that, but i feel like it should take a reasonably long time to recover the ability to fight a war on a similar scale. After six/eight years Germany and Japan were scraping the barrel in terms of manpower in 1945.
 
Yeah, I was saving the regaining army strength for later as I'm sure it may be a bit contentious. During peacetime it's easy, by demobilizing and returning to peacetime status, you will automatically regenerate army strength each year. At the moment I am leaning towards regeneration of 5% per turn. Disbanding divisions would also restore some percentage of your strength, representing the merging of various units in a time of demobilization.

Rather than having a manpower pool, the cost for reinforcing army strength will be dependent upon the number of divisions you possess. Now, to pay for reinforcing army strength, you will pay with EP or IC per turn. Not banked EP, but EP per turn, meaning that each time you reinforce your army strength, you will become economically weaker and be able to afford less in future turns. Therefore the longer the war goes, the worse off your nation will be if you sustain heavy losses and damages, as you try to replace casualties. For economically powerful nations this won't be too much of a problem for the start of a war, but 2-3 years of total war will definitely take its toll on any state. This is also considering the additional costs of war in producing supplies and new ships/planes. Therefore, unlike in other games I've done where the manpower was key to depleting an enemy in a war of attrition, the target will (and should) be the economic power of the enemy instead.

To that end, I'll give you more information than you asked for! In previous games things like submarine interdiction warfare and strategic bombing served little to no purpose beyond flavor. In Capto Iugulum mechanically there was no point to building heavy bombers when close air support was more relevant in a war. At best you MIGHT have knocked off one or two EP from your enemy. In Art of the Possible, strategic bombing will always destroy at least some amount of Supplies and/or EP, and while bombers may not always make it through, they will always do some damage at least. Same goes for submarines, as targeting enemy trade will deplete their stocks of supplies. In this game, strategic economic warfare is just as or more important than simply defeating the enemy on the battlefield.
 
Since we touched the topic of Great War - does every turn represent one year, like in CI? So, the WWI would last for 4 turns, right?
 
First, Asian backgrounds have been updated to accomodate a view changes, like independent Vietnam and Russian Manchuria. After doing some research I discovered that Russian forces remained in Manchuria after the Boxer Rebellion historically, and with them as part of the Six-Nation Alliance, it seems reasonable to keep them there here too.

@Ahigin: Correct, each turn will be 1 year, so historical WW1 would last 4 turns.
 
theDright is Ukraine.

Question, is the Ukraine a state based upon a territorial nationalism or a cultural/linguistic one.

Also, I guess there are still many Ukrainian speakers under Polish rule.

I have been having trouble understanding what historical demographics were for Russia as well. Who lived east of the Ural to the Pacific before the Russian state conquered/integrated it?
 
Ukraine is an artificial state carved out of Russia by Poland in the wake of the 1870-1874 war.

From my understanding, there are/were a number of different peoples in the lands from Ural to the Pacific before Russian conquest.
 
So is the current Ukrainian regime more tied to the idea of a territorial claim, ie monarchy of the Ukraine, or more tied to the idea of a separate Malorussian/Ruthenian/Ukrainian culture and linguistic identity?

So it's pretty much as artifical as the rest of eastern Europe then :p
 
Yes, the Ukrainian regime is more tied to the monarchy of Ukraine (which is Polish) rather than a separate identity. I could see the leadership attempting to spur such an identity however in the recent years, to help maintain the throne.
 
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