Victoria III the long-awaited game, which will arrive in 25.10.2022 and which, at least according to the crumbs we’re getting served from the developers, will be a total blast. I watched all the dev diaries and today I want to show you some things which I like about the new Victoria III.
Disclaimer: The screens which I use in articles are from official videos on YouTube when the game will be available for us (players) I will try and write about all game mechanics so I will create my screens. So I apologize for this imperfection for now. And yes screenshots are from early phases so what you see could be changed to full versions.
Player objectives, goals of Victoria III
[This was in #13 update] – Grand strategy games are more complex than other games. So not only do they have a more complex tutorial (since they have a lot of game mechanics), but they are also more difficult to play overall because you have to figure out what goal you want to achieve.
The developers came with a new “objective” screen which will be opened before starting a new game. There you could set up different modes and the game will try to help you to achieve your goals. This screen could look like…
… there will be 5 options which you could play. From the devs diary, I should show you some details. There are options which you could choose:
- Learn the game – this scenario will gradually show you the whole game and explain everything.
- Economic Dominance – focused on producing and building the strongest economy.
- Hegemony – there is one goal which is to expand your country.
- Egalitarian Society – you must focus on your people and your civilization.
- Sandbox – is a free game, you could do everything – like in other games.
Every scenario will have some recommended countries with some storyline that you can put yourself in and you can gradually accomplish individual goals or play your way. And there is how will objects look:
My opinion and conclusion: This game mechanic will please all new users that this game appeals to. And it will guide us older and more casual players a little better through how the game can be played, and I believe it will lead to more people playing the game for longer.
Tutorial in Victoria III
[This was in #13 update] – One of the parts is a tutorial. We will have a diary to guide us through the game. I suppose it will always be available and in that special mode “learn the game” will be journal and popups more detailed. There is a screenshot of how will journal look…
… after the journal, there will be tutorial popups that have two main ideas. The first is showing me how to do something and the second is showing me why to do something. This is an interesting new approach for me.
Because you will get information that you must do something and if you don’t know why you are doing this you could find more information about game mechanics in the game.
My opinion and conclusion: As I write above everything which is made for a new player is a good step. From screens and how developers talk about these tutorials, I must say that this will be a good feature. If you will need more information you will get them.
Detailed map
[This was in #13 update] – This looks like a huge update from Victoria II. The new map looks more dynamic than the previous version (there’s also a 12-year wait) but to be fair I think it’s also up against other games Paradox has released in recent years.
The map will be significantly more complex and we should see significantly more detail on it, and the map itself will evolve as we progress through the game. I think the liveliness will be one of the interesting advantages, I just hope that the growth will not be repetitive. However, the developers promise that the growth of the “hub” cities will be visible to the eye, just as a mine or forester will be visible in the landscape.
But it’s not just about the flourishing of civilization. The developers promise that the regions through which the war will take place will also look more realistic. So after a long war, we will see scorched earth and the overall recovery will take longer.
In addition to all this, the map will show transport much better, whether by horse, rail or ship. Maybe I’m just wondering if this will be too much.
My opinion and conclusion: At least I like the style in which the map is currently presented. I’m curious to see the final scenery and hope we won’t be overwhelmed with information.
Unifications and creation of new countries
[This was in #12 update] – Uniting nations is something that Victoria III has in common with Crusader Kings III but this game mechanic is also getting a big revival and changes and it definitely won’t look and work the same as in CK III.
The goal will probably be to recreate more prestigious nations to do this you will need to own the countries in question, and you will also need to have people among your population who fall into that culture. At the same time, you will only have the power to create more “complex” groups. If your current state is a principality, you can only create larger kingdoms. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to go the other way i.e. from kingdom to a duchy.
It will be interesting that when there will be more candidates to form a nation so you will have to compete first with another candidate for power and only then you will be able to form another nation. So this mechanic looks considerably more interesting than in CK III where you just had to fulfill land ownership and you were done.
My opinion and conclusion: Overall the mechanics seem more complex, I’m not sure if I’ve got it 100% right, but more realism and fun seems like it could be a great next step. It won’t just be about who owns more territories and can create a title anymore, but overall this is going to be more intricate and I welcome that.
Battles
[This was in #11 update] – The battles will most likely take place between two countries and it doesn’t matter if they are on sea or land. And there will be many different battalions joining the battle. However, each side will have to have it is own general or admiral (in the case of a sea battle). At the moment we know that there will be one big line of battle and it will depend on details like the ruggedness of the terrain and so on.
The fight will be fought in rounds and in each round, each side will inflict maximum losses to the opponent. The war will be fought until one of the sides surrenders or disappears. How fast the battle is will be affected by the offensive or defensive skins, which you will be able to increase by researching.
We can prepare for the morale and also the rate of supply. If the attacker manages to lower morale or cut off units from supplies, there is a higher chance that units will surrender or die.
My opinion and conclusion: For me, the battles are still a big unknown something we’ve seen, but I can’t currently judge if it’s the way to go or not. A lot will change and I’ll have to wait to try the game out.
Construction
[This was in #10 update] – The developers promise that the game will be built a little differently than other strategy games. Each country will build with a base, so your buildings will gradually grow…
…but, if you want to build faster and more efficiently you’ll have to build a state building with the name “construction sector” which will make sure you build more and better. But these buildings will consume materials that you will have to get from somewhere.
In addition, there will also be special options in the game for how and where to build. We can say that each land will have its advantages and disadvantages. Also, don’t worry according to the developers you won’t build a canal in ten days and there will be some attempt at realism. If you are trying to build a farming society, it will be easy and quick for you, but if you want to be a leading nation of the 19th century, you will have to invest a lot.
My opinion and conclusion: I like the attempt to innovate. It looks interesting at first glance and I can’t wait to try out the builds and bonuses.
Other interesting features
There are more features and I will look for them in the next few days. But I want to share some parts with you for now. So there are other interesting things which about I will write soon.
- Market and trade routes [#10]
- Colonization and decentralized nations [#9]
- Decisions and expeditions [#9]
- Technology [#7]
- Wars [#6]
- Standard of living, slavery, migration [#4]
- Infrastructure [#3]
- Pops [#3]
How does Victoria III look so far?
Now I’m super motivated to buy this game. It looks like Paradox combined their successful games, picked out what works well, made it better, and served it up to us. When and how much will they ask for Victoria III? We don’t know yet, but keep an eye on StrateGGames to find out in time.
Where can I find more dev diaries about Victoria III?
Developers from Paradox are creating developer’s diaries on YouTube where you could watch them. I’m watching these videos when they came and actualise this article. So if you were satisfied with my aggregation I will be pleased if you add this article to your bookmarks and you will come back later.
Or if you want the official sources there is the link to the YouTube playlist.
Is Victoria III worth it?
Now when I look at the individual game mechanics I see hours and hours of fun coming at us. The game won’t be easy, but by all accounts, the developers are going to be very accommodating – I’m excited about it and I think Victoria III will be worthwhile and I’ll definitely be one of the first to play the game.
More information about Victoria III:
All information about Victoria III game | Victoria III why this game will be good? | Victoria III preview of game features | Victoria III – pre-order and release date | Soundtrack of Victoria III | Developer streams of game | Most powerful countries in Victoria III
