Q-Kee wrote:I think it might be time for an update, although there is nothing really extraordinary to report.
The army is still by far the greatest around, and so is the navy. We are now researching steel battle ships and other modern stuff. Nigeria is a full colony and we are starting on Camerun. People are quite content, although not everywhere they are fully enthusiastic.
We have just finished a war on France and Italy in which we gained Alsace, but we gave France compensation in form of Savoy which shoulkd be rightfully French anyways. We have successfully fought a stack of doom, but it took 6 of our armies to encircle and trap it.
We are looking forward to more challenge, but we may also consider pausing the game for a longer time.
Q-Kee wrote:I have decided to pause the game - actually I have removed it from my PC, it really did mess it up.
You are right, HerrDan, that more challenge would be good, and more action. PON is quite more simcity than other AGEOD games, and having 1000 more or less capital next turn is not all that exciting. What I absolutely disagree about is "challenge = constraints". You have mentioned this quite a few times already, but I do not think those "historical" constraints have anything to do with how challenging the game is. Actually I do not even think these constraint are really "historical". As for the limit on number of buildings or factories, I cannot see the reason why one could make 10 more stee factories but not a single chemical plant - economy is about supply and demand, so if the workforce is there for 10 factories, those that produce what is in demand should be built, if the game wants to be realistic. For military units, I could create 2 divisions, but not 1 corps consisting of 2 divisions, that is nonsense. And about SOI - do the devs really want to tell me that (using my own exemple) the Habsburg family, who at times ruled over lands stretching from Eastern Europe to the American west coast and always liked to grab whatever they could easily get, would refuse a territory offered to them just because it was not inhabitated by German speaking population or adjoining their existing territory? Had they had a chance to regain Tuscany f.ex. which they had lost just a few decades ago, or the former Spanish Netherlands, would they not have jumped at the chance?
About the mod - first of all PON and any other AGEOD game gives you the chance to make your own decisions which can either follow or differ from the historical ones. AGEOD games as I understand them are about alternate history just as much as they are about correct historical background. Kensai created a very interesting "what if" scenario which is not at all unlikely! The likelyhood of the Habsburgs remaining the premier power in Germany is about as big as King George III. keeping his American colonies, given the numbers of their armies. Yes, all of Germany plus the Habsburg empire is quite a superpower, but not an unlikely one, see WWI when Austria-Hungary was more or less dependent on Germany or WWII when it was annexed by Germany. And the lust for colonies came in German economic circles just as naturally as in British or French, just a bit later – so who is to say it could not start a bit earlier, espcially given the stability and power (both militarily and economically) of unified Germany.
Finally, increasing difficulty IMHO is not possible in PON nor any other AGEOD game. All you can do is (further!) reduce the impact of game rules on the AI. Supply consumption and command malus are already reduced for the AI anyways, I see no need to worsen this relatively to the player, nor am I willing to grant it bonus for activation or detection. I would be willing to give the AI ships and armies it missed to build to make up for its lacks, but no cheating. Cheating would distort the game and make the war gaming dissatisfactory since no matter if one wins or loses, one would always know the other side did not play fair. Unfortunately, while the AI is better than most other game AIs, it is no match for a human player by far. Without any modding or turning off restrictions in BOA “my” George III could reconquer the American colonies until 1778 (if he didn’t always take the time to sort his regiments by color…). “My” Confederate States of America would secede unmolested and could have a BBQ at the Capitol in 1862 if General Lee did not insist to wait for all his general officers to turn up and form units strictly by state, and no modding or turning off in AACW either, so modding can surely not be blamed for player success.
Kensai wrote:I am partly responsible for the lack of challenge in this mod, but I had warned you: doing the Großdeutschland Unification creates a behemoth, unrivaled in Europe and beyond in population and organization. Imagine how the WWI would have been in real life if Austria-Hungary was as organized and effective as Prussian Germany. Now think if all of this pool of potential under a unique banner!
Q-Kee wrote:No, you are not. The game is not all that challenging, especially for a player like me who likes war games AND does not have that much time to spend on them. It is the imagination of A-H being effective that is a) the reason I play PON as A-H and b) what made your mod so attractive to me. I may well continue this game (I have the savegame) later and play until WWI. Your mod is great, because it gives the player the chance to alter history in one of the many ways that could very well have been. I am very grateful for this big piece of work you did!
HerrDan, I thank you too for correcting the one missing face, although I seem to have forgotten what events you made for me for which I ask you to accept my apologies. Just in case my previous post was too long for you to bother to read, I have played 4 other AGEOD games besides PON so far and loved them all even though the AI is no real challenge. And there is a difference between giving the AI more weapons under the same rules which would be ok for me, or bend the rules for the AI - if the AI does not build up a decent army, no bended rules will win it any battles. Anyways I am a bit surprised to find you willing to all but call me an idiot who knows neither history nor economy, but not bring up any arguments against mine, and then claim to do it for the sake of "our fellowship". Well, I sure do not regard anyone as a fellow who calls me an idiot, so please do not feel the need to restrain yourself if you cannot help it.
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