Victoria - Empire Under The Sun

[Alrowan]

well i just picked up Victoria the other day, and after reading the manual and starting a campagin, i can finally rest assured that EU has a worth succesor (HoI was dissapointing in many aspects)

its quite an in depth game, and i really like the new options in the diplomacy menue, and the political engine is a wonder indeed.

What does everyone else think of this game?

[The Scourge]

Got it and it seems like it'll be a good game ,but as I've got a few new games I haven't really had a chance to get really into it yet.
Been playing quite a lot of Pax Romana ,which is very similar ,but set in Rome.
The main difference is that you can play with the political game turned on ,so you've got to fight for power(Elections ;games etc.)to even before you're allowed to get a chance to win glory on the battlefield.
Still needs a little patching though´.

[Shahed]

thx for the game tip

[Shahed]

Question (maybe a stupid one):
which pnations can you play as ?

[The Scourge]

If you mean Victoria.I'm pretty sure all of them.
Pax Romana ,just Rome.

[Alrowan]

yeah, victoria you can choose any of the nations in the 1836-1920 timeline, from the civilised great powers, to the barbaric powers in africa, they are all playable

[Efrem Da King]

Can you play aus after 1901?

[Alrowan]

well there is 3 campagin start dates, 1836, 1850 something and 1914

im sure u can play them in 1914

[Leet Eriksson]

I usually play china,britain,ottoman empire and the CSA..

but i also play Abu Dhabi,Oman and other uncilivised nations just for fun

Its a pretty cool game,but a bit buggy...

[Alrowan]

i noticed the bugs at first as well, but when i patched to 1.03 it solved most fo the probs.

I just started a campagin as the Russians, hopefully i can get them ready for the great war in time. The CSA would be fun to use though, always wondered how they would fare if they won

[RisingSun]

Been considering buying Victoria for a while now- so you guys all recommend it? That might make me go out and get it. It is a bit hard to find out here in the states, though...

[Leet Eriksson]

I had to pre-order it...since it never came here

[Efrem Da King]

HEY HOW IS ARTILLERY HANDLED


THe queen of the battle field of WW1, the way art was handled in HOI ruined the game for me. How you used your art and how much art you had was the desisive factor in WW1 battles over 1/3 of all casualties were caused by it. I hope that is reflected in the game.

[Alrowan]

its still handled as sub divisions, but i tihnk it gives you more of a boost when attacking entrenched forces

[Efrem Da King]

Thats crap. I'm not getting it.

In WW1 artillery fought the battles infantry just took over won positions. (or died in the thousands if the artillery failed).

If its like that I take it you can't choose to lauch 7 days artillery bombardments in an attempt to wipe out the enemy.

In a major WW1 battle the only way you could keep count with how quickly the shells were falling was by chattering your teeth as fast as you could and you'd still be quite a bit behind then.



Why they choose to ruin what would be a good game like that I do not know (BLOODY EMOTICON LIMIT)

[econ21]

Do you have any sources for the dominant role of artillery in WW1, Effrem? My impression was that because the technology was rather backward, artillery was not nearly as effective as you make out. You may be right it was the big killer, but I am not sure how many offensive battles it won. Generals over-relied on it. WW1 seems to be a catalogue of offensives that were supposed to be decisive because of the weight of supporting artillery, but still became bogged down. War only became fluid only when they had mastered other approaches - infilitration tactics, tanks etc. Dogged infantry, dug in and defending in depth with ample machine guns can take a lot artillery fire (going out of context, Monte Cassino in WW2 is a case in point). Even if they break, it's not hard to establish another trench line a few miles back if the follow throw to any successes is delayed (as it often was due to the poor communications of the time).

[Cazbol]

The problem with long artillery bombardments before offensives meant that you had just announced to the enemy that you were about to storm the place in a while. As a result the infantry would just run into recently arrived reserves.

[Basileus]

I dont know but i never like the games Paradox makes, Victoria Thorne of Blood EU etcetera..im ot patient enough perhaps heh

[Alrowan]

yeah, patience is a biggie, for me i found the patience needed is for learning the game, then once you got that covered its all fun and games.

Right now im going to be trying a prussian campagin from the very start, either that or a CSA campagin from 1861

[Efrem Da King]

Quote[/b] (Cazbol @ Mar. 04 2004,04:18)]The problem with long artillery bombardments before offensives meant that you had just announced to the enemy that you were about to storm the place in a while. As a result the infantry would just run into recently arrived reserves.

Thats why you don't launch 7 day ones, you launch 1 hour ones that are devistating and use tanks to crush wire.


But it is very hard to move in re-enforcements under an artillery barrage.

[Alrowan]

yikes, ive learnt a tonn in the last little bit, and im realising war is a bitch to fight

started a campagin as the CSA and it dumped me right into the civil war, i then started learning FAST how to manage and make armies, because i had to (i had the USA running ofver me at first)

now the fight back is on, can the CSA with its new conscription bill fight off and hold out against the USA

only time will tell

[Alrowan]

ok, after a lot more time to get the hang of this game, i finally now can say that it really is quite in depth. I started a french campagin in 1836, its now 1859, and my french empire is expanding with colonies in africa and the pacific. Russia is now at the mercy of several nations, barely escaping a great war, with them on one side, and the rest of europe on the other, but only time can tell.

As far as conquests in my own area go, im have conquered several smaller uncivilised nations in africa, and i am expanding my colonies in the south. One major problem the french face is lack of literacy, this tends to inhibit industrial growth past a certain point. Hoppefully i can break that soon

[Sjakihata]

I've just bought this game, seems much more complex than EU2.


Can someone explain what I need to do in the beginning in order NOT to lose all my money at once?

[RisingSun]

Play the British, because as I understand it, all the other nations are ridiculously hard.

Download the patches, the game was horribly difficult and buggy for a while, I hear.

[Sjakihata]

got 1.03, but I still lose around 1000 gold in one year, without doing anything. Maybe that's the problem ;)

[RisingSun]

Take a look at their forums, that should help you out.

[el_slapper]

http://www.europa-universalis.com/forum/

And ask, ask, ask. That's Really a deep game... ¨Playing the States is really tough, I've found. Sweden 1861 is my advised tutorial game.

[Alrowan]

the paradoxplaze forums have been helpnig me a lot. The main key to success in this game is getting that industry up and running. Uk or the USA are powerful and easy to start with, but i reccomend belgium, if u can hold off the initial war, its easy to learn the ropes with them, small, but not too backward, allowing some room for error

[the Count of Flanders]

Quote[/b] (Efrem Da King @ Mar. 04 2004,15:06)]

Quote[/b] (Cazbol @ Mar. 04 2004,04:18)]The problem with long artillery bombardments before offensives meant that you had just announced to the enemy that you were about to storm the place in a while. As a result the infantry would just run into recently arrived reserves.

Thats why you don't launch 7 day ones, you launch 1 hour ones that are devistating and use tanks to crush wire.


But it is very hard to move in re-enforcements under an artillery barrage.

Tanks in WW1? You mean those metal cans that got stuck in the mud all the time?
The machine gun was way more decisive in trench warfare then artillery. It wasn't up till 1917 that the allies realised (and could succesfully do it) the value of curtain bombing followed by infantry assault. But even that tactic failed in most of the cases.

[Obex]

Quote[/b] (Sjakihata @ Mar. 10 2004,04:55)]I've just bought this game, seems much more complex than EU2.

If i hadnt picked up the game, id assume that this would be impossible. My buddy and i had our first look at it mp, and were were both amazed at (and lost in) its depth and complexity. You are right, it makes EU2 look simple.