How is your Victoria Game going?

[Antilogic]

This is the first ever game of Victoria 2 (or any grand strategy, for that matter) that I have played to completion. I was in first place for a good portion of the game, but Britain's military score and the USA's monstrous industry score (6000!?) resigned me to third place. A fun game, though easy, I'm hoping to expand my horizons next game and play a Central American nation from the ACW start point, Costa Rica preferably. Only thing deterring me is their pathetically small population...

Looks like a good game. The USA usually takes the top industrial slot by the 1930s unless the Confederacy survives the Civil War...then, both the USA and CSA tend to become major powers, but not in the #1 slot.

I like playing in Central and South America, there's plenty of possibilities for warfare, plenty of room for growth, challenging on the tech/literacy side, and it's a struggle to encourage immigration. If you are a democracy, your small population will be heavily augmented by people leaving Europe, and that can fuel industrialization. The challenge for many of those South American dictatorships is how to pass democratic reforms.

 

[salty mud]

I was thinking of using the New World democratic bonus to the fullest advantage. Perhaps by placing a focus on immigration for a few years, followed by maximum clergy encouragement, I can get my nation on course for mid-late game industrialisation. Prestige techs will be paramount from the start so I'm not left high and dry when it comes to the market. Should be fun.

 

[SouthernKing]

I was thinking of using the New World democratic bonus to the fullest advantage. Perhaps by placing a focus on immigration for a few years, followed by maximum clergy encouragement, I can get my nation on course for mid-late game industrialisation. Prestige techs will be paramount from the start so I'm not left high and dry when it comes to the market. Should be fun.

I once saw a youtube LP as Texas where the player used an immigration NF to jump-start his economy, and eventually ended up with a glut of industrialization in the 1860s and 1870s, so that might work well if you are a New World minor.

 

[germanicus12]

I am still learning how this game works so if you could help me figure this out so I am successful in future negotiations that would be great.

The year was 1858, I was playing the USA and we were in the middle of a war with Mexico to claim our rightful territories after declaring Manifest Destiny when the UK invited me to send representatives to determine the fate of Oregon. At this point my army numbered around 300K troops with approximately 75K of those fighting in Mexico and the remaining forces spread out along the long US-Canada border and 21,000 in Cuba. Britain had only 100K troops positioned in Canada, 50K in Quebec and 45K in Vancouver, both of which faced armies that double their numbers not involved in the Mexican war. Not to mention my South American allies and strong navy. (Though admittedly my navy cannot stand toe to toe with the entire British navy but they can take on British squadrons and supply convoys.)

Expecting war I demanded that Britain surrender Vancouver and all of Columbia and recognize Oregon Territory as a US core. To my surprise the UK accepted and ceded everything I demanded without a fight. (In previous games I have attempted to get Russia to sell Alaska and failed every time... so this came as a shock.) If there is something I have been doing and I am not seeing it please let me know so I can keep doing it so I am ready when it comes time to purchase Alaska from Russia instead of fighting them for it every time.

If it is simply the threat of military invasion that convinced the UK to agree to my terms, then good thing the territories I got from the UK now borders Russian Alaska.

 

[ZeletDude]

Just to keep this thread alive, I've abandoned my Japan game because APD was updated.
So I decided to try a nation I've never played before, Russia!

So I started the game by justifying a war against The Ottomans, and allying to Greece and Serbia. I declared war on The Ottomans to conquer the Kars region (It's Russian! ) and soon enough The Ottomans were at war with me and Greece, but then the Oriental Crisis happened and then Egypt went to war with The OE.. Couldn't have asked for better timing .. Within a few months Russian troops had conquered half the Balkans and were on Istanbul's doorstep, once the mighty capital fell, the Ottomans surrendered, Serbia and Greece both gained land (Northern Serbia, and Thesselia respectively), and I gained The Kars region...

Now I'm slowly industrializing (I have 6th largest economy, and I am number 2 power.. )

 

[GamezRule]

I still haven't gotten AHD yet.

But that game sounds awesome!

 

[That nerdy kid]

Don't know how well I am doing, but as Prussia, I have formed the NGF and am moving toward war with France to bring about the Empire, but as of now I am #5 Great Power, with a lowish industrial score (564) compared to France's 4000.

 

[Antilogic]

Depending on the game version, some factory types boost your industrial score far more than others (that you would expect). It used to be the rule to ignore steel, since it was lower value, and max out on luxury furniture and luxury clothes, since they had awesome profit margins. I think they have done some work to fix it. Check the ledger and see if they have significantly more population, or a greater fraction of their people are craftsmen, etc. Additionally, the German minors don't always industrialize well, which you can fix after you have them annexed, that could be a factor.

Good job on the NGF, though! I find one of the hardest parts of forming Germany is maintaining influence over all the German minors, and once they are properly annexed it gets much easier.

 

[SouthernKing]

I am also playing Prussia (NGF since 1851) - in APD.
The glut of pan-nationalist uprisings that occur (in APD, I'm not sure about unmodded) helps a fair bit too.
What I do is usually try to make war on Austria and drive their prestige to rock bottom (which isn't really an option in vanilla, without manufacturable CBs) to try and knock them off the top 8. I drove them all the way down to #20 at one point, which was due to my war and a jacobin rebellion wiping out their army.
Once that is done, all you have to do is guard your SoI like an angry dog and tech State and Gov't. I was able to form it on April 1, 1851 - I could have formed it in February, but for role play reasons decided to wait until my elections were over.
It's now 1855 - I have the South German states in my SoI, but I am reluctant to DOW France because I have 180+ relations with them.

 

[Ashurdan]

I have no idea what I am doing, and how bad infamy is, I have nonmodded a house divided and took over Algeria but took a on of infamy because of it. Should I have waited for a better cb? I think my infamy is like 20, are there any lps or walkthroughs as france for AHD?

 

[SouthernKing]

If you are playing AHD, you can manufacture CBs.
If you have 20 infamy it sound like you used Conquest CB, which isn't that great of an idea unmanufactured.

 

[Antilogic]

I have no idea what I am doing, and how bad infamy is, I have nonmodded a house divided and took over Algeria but took a on of infamy because of it. Should I have waited for a better cb? I think my infamy is like 20, are there any lps or walkthroughs as france for AHD?

You can get colonization CBs, which allow you to annex un-Civs for cheap, once you progress in Culture tech. I think you need "Nationalism & Imperialism" to enable them.

Conquest CBs are terrible to use unless you are a minor and only plan to fight one war for a long while (i.e. Italian minor annexing Modena when it wasn't in Austria's sphere).

 

[That nerdy kid]

update on my game as Germany: Belgium, Switzerland in my sphere. This means I go to war with Netherlands. I took most of the Dutch east indies, and I have Franche-Comte from multiple wars with France. My infamy was up at 50, but I have been easing it back down. Currently Portugal, France, and Britain are taking over all of Africa, with my tiny colony on the West coast (Benin area). It is sad to see that france has a score of over 10000 by 1890

 

[SouthernKing]

I always take Zanzibarland from Oman as Prussia or a similar country to help provide a nice naval base.

 

[Ashurdan]

How do you prevent spain from taking morroco at the start? As france should I go for an early war with them instead of algeria?

 

[Antilogic]

How do you prevent spain from taking morroco at the start? As france should I go for an early war with them instead of algeria?

You could, but that will just delay them until the war is over. You probably need to do a Free People CB to re-establish the Moroccan state while simultaneously sphering Morocco (so you can come to their defense when the Spanish come knocking).

 

[ZeletDude]

Or sphere them in the beginning of the game ?

 

[Antilogic]

Or sphere them in the beginning of the game ?

I'm assuming it's too late for that in his current game, or Spain is declaring war before Morocco is in the French sphere. Yes, though, this would work as well.

 

[ZeletDude]

APD updated again so I had to leave my Russian game behind, and I have begun a new game as La Belle France.. nothing too interesting to report yet

 

[SouthernKing]

Looks like they're adding great wars to the 2.3 beta.