I felt that I should write something for the Blog, given that it has been days since I last written something. This week has been a particularly hectic one due to next week being Thanksgiving. I was hoping to use whatever I have now to relax because I am certain that I will have that time in the following week. In the meantime, I thought I should discuss what I have been doing as of late.
Currently, I have been playing the 2010 grand strategy game, Victoria 2. After being fascinated by the political-economic simulation aspects, I decided to give it a few tries this week. Victoria 2 is set in the Victorian Period, between the 19th and early 20th centuries, and focuses on the Industrial Revolution and the Modernization of Europe. In those decades, Europe was undergoing rapid expansion on a worldwide scale, establishing colonial empires that would define the political world map prior to the World Wars. All the ideological and technological developments that occurred during the period are recreated in superb depth that encourages subsequent replays.
Colonialism and Imperialism, two trends that characterized the 19th and early 20th centuries, are prominent in-game features. With parts of the world unsettled and uncontrolled, the player can conquer regions in Africa, bringing them and their natural resources into their empires. New subjects can be brought under control by propping colonial administrations that are ruled by their imperial nations. Even established territories in Europe, Asia, and the Americas are not immune to such fates.
What I found particularly interesting about the game is how it depicts the rise of Liberal Capitalism and the subsequent opposition that came from its emergence. At first, the opposition came from those Monarchists and Ultramontanes advocating for the perpetuation of nations ruled by Church and State opposed to Parliament. The greatest source of contention, as I see it, is whether to support the Liberal Capitalists’ efforts to remake Europe (and the world by extension) in their image or to support the Monarchists and Ultramontanes. The coinciding rise of Communism and Fascism also present other options, which is a nice touch as the historical period of the Victoria series in general precedes the one from the Hearts of Iron series.
The economic simulation aspect, meanwhile, is the toughest and most difficult to master. Outside of the British Empire, the other great powers of the period are expected to compete with the British by industrializing their national economies and developing new technologies to bolster their manufacturing capabilities. There is a proper as well as an improper moment to industrialize a nation because some nations have very large artisans and craftsmen that they can afford to industrialize gradually. China and Russia are both notable examples, as was the case historically.
So far, there are two issues that I have encountered while playing Victoria 2. Since the game is running on the same engine as Hearts of Iron 3, this means that game crashes are very frequent (too frequent for my liking, unfortunately). Whenever I load the game, I can always expect it to crash to desktop anywhere between thirty and sixty minutes later. I have no idea as to why that happens. Another issue that I encountered is that the AI does not properly colonize unclaimed lands. Towards the end of the 19th century, there were still lands in Africa that had yet to be colonized, and historical events that did not occur as they should. While it does ruin the fun, that issue is nowhere as problematic as the crash-to-desktop issue.
From what I heard, these issues have been well-known among players for the past decade. The solution is to install the “Historical Project Mod (HPM)” in order to make the AI perform as it should and include some quality of life improvements that enhance the stability of the game. But to install that mod, the Heart of Darkness expansion pack for the base game is required.
Other than that, I am interested in trying out the “Cold War Enhancement” mod for Heart of Darkness. That mod essentially puts the gameplay mechanics of Victoria 2 in a post-1945 context, where colonial empires are collapsing as the Jeffersonians and Soviets become the two superpowers of the late 20th century. There is also a post-Cold War scenario for those who want to play the mod after the Cold War, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. I intend on playing the mod at some point. And when I do, I will record my observations in a follow-up post.
Categories: Blog Post
The Fourth Estate 
Leave a comment