Work In Progress Crisis II: Choose your own problematic world event

[Nodlied]

Greetings old investigators! Your success in defusing the tensions over the July crisis have managed to reach the history books and are known to have delayed the outbreak of the war by a month. While you were still doing all kinds of administrative jobs, a follow-up crisis over Vojvodina, where the Serbian government pushed the weakened Austro-Hungarian government for the release of lands inhabited by Serbs, blew up and started a global war on the 4th of August 1914. The war would last until 1919, and in some cases, 1921. The resulting Treaties of Versailles ensured that a war like this could never again.

At least, that was the intention.

 

The year is now 1936 and the prospect of retaining the everlasting peace as set by the Treaties of Versailles has now become uncertain: revangist states are waiting for the moment to strike, many nations face ideological and political dilemmas, an empire has become overstreched and planet earth is about to face the worst economic disaster in recorded history. Another global war is coming. The only questions are: when will it happen and who will be fighting on what side?

 

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Right then, that intro should set the tune for now and shouldn't provide any real spoilers unless you recognise a few bits here and there. In any case, on to the point of this thread!

After the successful July Crisis game Voe and I hosted last year, we've been meaning to do a sequal. And we will do a sequal around the summer holidays. However, you will be able to choose which game you'd like to play this time around.

All games will feature similar features to those found in the July Crisis: Items, different roles, some sort of tension or stability meter, investigation reports, sneaky if indentifyable mechanics, fun references, etc. However, we will also expand a bit on the game mechanics, including an as of yet hidden end-game mechanic that will apply to all games.

What games can you choose from? Well, look no further!

 

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The Haute-Savoy Crisis

The Haute Savoy Crisis is the least complex game and is the easiest to develop and balance. It is the closest to the original in that it focusses on finding evidence and preventing a hostile France from taking Haute-Savoy, which currently falls under a Swiss mandate. Will Switzerland prevail against the French giant?

Features:

• Easy to learn game mechanics
• A referendum mechanic to boost certain aspects of the Swiss team, or the French one, depending on the results
• Many different outcomes, for better or worse
• Items and personal traits
• Evidence and item locker

 

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Ausgleich '37

In Ausgleich '37 we return to Central Europe and the Balkans. The Austro-Hungarian Empire has been going through a tough time since the end of the war. It needs reforms and Emperor Karl I knows it. He failed during the ausgleich of 1927 and fears that failing again would mean the end of the empire. Of course, such a moment of weakness will not go unnoticed and Austria's enemies are lurking from afar. Will Austria-Hungary finally fall? Or will Karl the 1st be able to reform the empire and show the world the true power of a unified Austria-Hungary?

Features:

• Slightly more difficult to learn game mechanics than Haute-Savoy
• A more elaborate way to push reforms though the game than the Haute-Savoy crisis
• A hunt for scum that seek to destroy the empire while finding a way to ensure that your reforms are chosen
• Mechanics that will allow people to build cases on other players, such cases will be necessary before those players can be fully eliminated by voting (imprisoned/lynched)
• Return of the item locker and new mechanics related to the item locker

 

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The Presidential Election of 1936

The Presidential Election of 1936 is about the political divide in the United States in the wake of the Great Depression and the failure of President Hoover to resolve those issues. A new president will have to be chosen to restore a strong economy in the US. However, the ideological tensions may very well cause the US to collapse into a political crisis or worse if the new President is not able to adress all concerns. Yet even then forces are on the move to realise their own vision of the US... or lack thereof.

Features:

• Most complex game out there
• A complex political system to see to it that band-aiding the nation is as painful as it should be
• Backstabbing is the order of the day as objectives vary wildly
• Winning the election will bring more options for you, but will likely also make you a target
• Tools for secretly eliminating the most dangerious opposition

 

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Please keep in mind that some features might change if Voe and I are not able to balance them well enough. Other than that, go vote! Then Voe and I will be able to fully develop one of these games, which we hope to host somewhere in July. So please, go vote in the poll!

[OrangeP47]

These are all Kaiserreich, aren't they? :p

Very excited.

[OrangeP47]

Anywho, I guess I should explain my votes.

I really want to play Presidential 1936, however I didn't vote for it.  Why? Because it's the most complicated, and thus takes the most GM effort to set up.  From my knowledge of Kaiserreich (I'm in the credits for the mod on HOI2 and DH btw, wrote the California Foreign Policy events), that's likely to be, at the very least,  a FOUR faction setup, maybe five.  That sounds pretty awesome.  But, and this is a big BUT, that takes time and a lot of skill to balance.  I'd prefer to play a simpler game first, allowing time for the Presidential game to be perfected as an encore, a third game down the road, if you will, allowing for extra experience and inspiration from the games that run in the meantime.

[Category 5 Hurricane]

Does Kaiserreich make a Switzerland campaign interesting?

[OrangeP47]

9 hours ago, Category 5 Hurricane said:

Does Kaiserreich make a Switzerland campaign interesting?

You get the option to give in or resist France bullying you, but I've never seen the AI resist so I don't know what kind of events are down that road.

[iLikeToSnipe]

Is there a link to the previous game?

[OrangeP47]

2 minutes ago, iLikeToSnipe said:

Is there a link to the previous game?

https://w3dhub.com/forum/topic/416401-game-over-the-july-crisis-mafia/

[Category 5 Hurricane]

14 hours ago, OrangeP47 said:

You get the option to give in or resist France bullying you, but I've never seen the AI resist so I don't know what kind of events are down that road.

It's a tradition of mine that whenever I play a new Paradox game or new mod for that game, I play as Switzerland first so I can be introduced to the new mechanics without being hassled. Usually all I get to do is watch the one of the AI factions quickly take over all territory around me and maybe I can get in a position where I can declare war on someone as they are about to lose anyway, and steal some territory. In Hearts of Iron 3, I once managed to take a naval port from Italy when the Russians were coming to ruin their day, only to find out it was impossible to start the naval tech tree unless you already had a naval unit...That was a fun bug.

[OrangeP47]

8 hours ago, Category 5 Hurricane said:

It's a tradition of mine that whenever I play a new Paradox game or new mod for that game, I play as Switzerland first so I can be introduced to the new mechanics without being hassled. Usually all I get to do is watch the one of the AI factions quickly take over all territory around me and maybe I can get in a position where I can declare war on someone as they are about to lose anyway, and steal some territory. In Hearts of Iron 3, I once managed to take a naval port from Italy when the Russians were coming to ruin their day, only to find out it was impossible to start the naval tech tree unless you already had a naval unit...That was a fun bug.

HOI3 was kind of the runt of the litter.  To this day I still play 2 and DH over 4, though someday I might get 4.

I will say though, kind of the entire point of Kasierreich is that no country is boring.  Everybody has options, or at least one option, towards an interesting game.  Off hand I cannot think of a single country that's inactive in the mod.  You could always just play as Switzerland and give in, which would leave you alone for the rest of the game.  I always do my test games as Sweden, but I think Sweden can get more involved with the drama than they do in Vanilla as well, though I'm not so sure exactly what.  I know they have some election drama event, which likely leads to them being able to join factions.  I know Norway frequently buddies up with the UoB via events like that, for instance, and I think Sweden is balanced to join Germany.

[FRAYDO]

[Category 5 Hurricane]

17 hours ago, OrangeP47 said:

HOI3 was kind of the runt of the litter.  To this day I still play 2 and DH over 4, though someday I might get 4.

I will say though, kind of the entire point of Kasierreich is that no country is boring.  Everybody has options, or at least one option, towards an interesting game.  Off hand I cannot think of a single country that's inactive in the mod.  You could always just play as Switzerland and give in, which would leave you alone for the rest of the game.  I always do my test games as Sweden, but I think Sweden can get more involved with the drama than they do in Vanilla as well, though I'm not so sure exactly what.  I know they have some election drama event, which likely leads to them being able to join factions.  I know Norway frequently buddies up with the UoB via events like that, for instance, and I think Sweden is balanced to join Germany.

I'm the same. I'm still so deep in modifying Darkest Hour that I haven't picked up 4 yet (and given that they just announced another expansion for it, I feel like I may as well wait anyway) I mostly play Cold War expansions, but I've always been looking at Kaiserreich as something I should play someday, especially if it can get tied in with other campaigns.

That said, I can't wait to get caught up in this nonsense. 

 

 

 

 

[Jeod]

When is mafia?

[Nodlied]

On 5/30/2018 at 6:26 AM, Category 5 Hurricane said:

Does Kaiserreich make a Switzerland campaign interesting?

Most definately.

 

6 hours ago, Category 5 Hurricane said:

I'm the same. I'm still so deep in modifying Darkest Hour that I haven't picked up 4 yet (and given that they just announced another expansion for it, I feel like I may as well wait anyway) I mostly play Cold War expansions, but I've always been looking at Kaiserreich as something I should play someday, especially if it can get tied in with other campaigns.

That said, I can't wait to get caught up in this nonsense.

Should you ever get IV, don't expect a sequal to II or III, IV has its own mechanics and way of playing the game. It's like how EU IV is different to EU III. Then again, it's a lot of fun and you can do a lot of crazy things if you know how to pull it off. 

 

11 minutes ago, Jeod said:

When is mafia?

Bloody hell lad, some more effort could have been put into that question. The answer is somewhere in July.

[OrangeP47]

I mean, if we're being honest, the big reason I don't get 4 is because I'm always so engrossed with CK2 of all things (and Stellaris.... and my large library of non-paradox games...)

Kaiserreich is definitely recommended though, simply because unlike the base game, it's different every time you play.  No two runs will ever be close to one another.

[Jeod]

2 hours ago, Nodlied said:

Bloody hell lad, some more effort could have been put into that question. The answer is somewhere in July.

Fine. "Oi mate, do you have your mafia loicense?"

[iLikeToSnipe]

4 hours ago, Jeod said:

When is mafia?

What is Mafia?

[Killing_You]

3 minutes ago, iLikeToSnipe said:

What is Mafia?

Why is Mafia?

[Nodlied]

1 hour ago, Killing_You said:

Why is Mafia?

Where is Mafia?

[Voe]

On 5/29/2018 at 6:23 PM, OrangeP47 said:

Anywho, I guess I should explain my votes.

I really want to play Presidential 1936, however I didn't vote for it.  Why? Because it's the most complicated, and thus takes the most GM effort to set up.  From my knowledge of Kaiserreich (I'm in the credits for the mod on HOI2 and DH btw, wrote the California Foreign Policy events), that's likely to be, at the very least,  a FOUR faction setup, maybe five.  That sounds pretty awesome.  But, and this is a big BUT, that takes time and a lot of skill to balance.  I'd prefer to play a simpler game first, allowing time for the Presidential game to be perfected as an encore, a third game down the road, if you will, allowing for extra experience and inspiration from the games that run in the meantime.

Awful excuse, the Presidential Election 1936 is by far the most exciting option for us as GMs and we're boiling over with ideas ?

[OrangeP47]

55 minutes ago, Voe said:

Awful excuse, the Presidential Election 1936 is by far the most exciting option for us as GMs and we're boiling over with ideas ?

So, by waiting, we'll harness the power of your frustration and have a plethora of extra features you'd not have thought of if we rushed it

[Nodlied]

1 hour ago, Voe said:

Awful excuse, the Presidential Election 1936 is by far the most exciting option for us as GMs and we're boiling over with ideas ?

And that doesn't apply to Ausgleich '37? (currently the most popular option)  There are loads of interesting things about that game as well.

[OrangeP47]

TBH a part of me wanted Ausgleich too so I can implement Search All Serbs 2.0.... or just to give my run as an Austrian a second go seeing as I did not get too far the first time :P

[FRAYDO]

20 hours ago, Category 5 Hurricane said:

That said, I can't wait to get caught up in this nonsense. 

Rimmy is hilarious! That one is definitely one of my favorites of his HOI IV videos.

[Voe]

12 hours ago, OrangeP47 said:

So, by waiting, we'll harness the power of your frustration and have a plethora of extra features you'd not have thought of if we rushed it

You make a fair point monsieur fruit

[Voe]

11 hours ago, Nodlied said:

And that doesn't apply to Ausgleich '37? (currently the most popular option)  There are loads of interesting things about that game as well.

Ausgleich is great too ?

[Retaliation]

On 6/1/2018 at 8:07 AM, Nodlied said:

Most definately.

 

Should you ever get IV, don't expect a sequal to II or III, IV has its own mechanics and way of playing the game. It's like how EU IV is different to EU III. Then again, it's a lot of fun and you can do a lot of crazy things if you know how to pull it off. 

I had great fun ousting hitler and making non-aligned the dominate ideology in the center of europe and south america. Also there's a fantastic fallout mod (rockpapershotgun article).

[Blujet]

I voted for Ausgleich '37 as it seemed more interesting than Haute-Savoy, and I want to save the 1936 election scenario for later, as if this is drawing inspiration from Kaiserreich, then there may be changes  as the USA is set to reiceve a rework in the next major version for Hoi IV (not sure about DH) that may yield some interesting ideas for that game.

[FRAYDO]

So we're all getting together for a HOI IV game after this one? ?

[Nodlied]

4 hours ago, FRAYDO said:

So we're all getting together for a HOI IV game after this one? ?

I'd be up for that. 

In any case, this poll has served its purpose. It's time to start the preparations for Ausgleich '37.

[iLikeToSnipe]

7 hours ago, FRAYDO said:

So we're all getting together for a HOI IV game after this one? ?

I'd also be down for that.