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Developer Diary | Alt-History Germany

Hallo, wie geht es dir?


Stay tuned for tomorrow, Thursday November 7th, that there will be a Dev AMA over on Reddit!

Paradox_Danne here one last time to guide you through the final German Dev Diary before Götterdämmerung drops and you can experience all of this first hand. Buckle up, because today we’re diving into German alt-history! Before we get started though, let’s have one last look at the old German Focus Tree and then compare it with the new one.

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The Old German Focus Tree has served us well over the years

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But it’s time to let a new German Tree sprout

As you can see, the new German Focus Tree is something of a behemoth and by far the largest Tree in the game. If you’ve read the previous two Developer Diaries about the Historical branches and the German systems (if not, stop reading this and head over there immediately!) most of you will recognize a lot of this, but there’s uncharted territory here as well. Hoist your proverbial sails and let’s see where the current takes us as we explore Germany’s alt-history.
But a word of warning before we cast off; all you are about to see is very much a work in progress, which means things might and will change.

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Germany’s democrats and monarchists have received more to do and are now even accompanied by the communists

As you might be able to tell, the alt-historical branch has been greatly expanded upon and offers a wide range of different playstyles for Germany. One thing that remains the same though is the actual Civil War. We decided very early on not to expand this bit or alter it all that much; we reasoned that if you want to play alt-history you want the Civil War to begin and end as soon as possible. So it’s very much straight to the point still (with maybe one or two new minor surprises). Before moving on to the various political paths, let’s talk about the few Civil War-centric focuses there are.

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After starting the Civil War you have a few focuses to help you through these dark times

With the Civil War tearing Germany apart, you can Rally the Nation to bring down the Nazis faster and Rebuild the Nation to help your industries recover faster, which then can be expedited with Revitalize the Nation. All of this should bolster Germany and help it recover quickly to move on to other things, such as tending to the future and deciding what kind of politics you want to pursue.

Democracy or Monarchism

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The Democratic and Monarchist paths share most focuses but cater to different playstyles while not excluding any of them

You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to quickly deduce that the Democratic and Monarchist branches share almost all focuses between them. This of course means you can be hyper-aggressive as a Democratic Germany, or become the savior of East Europe as the Kaiser and fend off Soviet aggression. This has been done to offer different ways of playing Germany, but it also has a basis in reality. After WW1 Germany never ratified the eastern borders set by the Versailles treaty (it would actually take until 1970 for the eastern borders to be accepted and ratified properly), and it always harbored a desire to regain these territories. Even during the Weimar Republic, Germany coveted these areas and never fully accepted the loss of these lands. You’ll be able to regain these lost parts of Germany through different means - but more on that later. Let’s discuss what exactly sets Democracy apart from a revived Kaiserreich.

Democracy

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After you Re-establish Free Elections you can become a technological powerhouse, secure better relations with your Western neighbors, but also become a beacon of Democracy

The Democratic branch is all about cooperation, reconciliation, and technological advancements. You can Reverse the Brain Drain to kick your research into high gear and then further improve it with Shared R&D Programs to really accelerate the research pace. And by making amends with your Western neighbours you can increase trade with them or even regain some of your old colonies. Depending on what you choose between Embrace Liberal Leanings or Strive for Conservative Values you’ll either make political advisors, Economic and Trade Laws much cheaper or get all political and military advisors at a slightly reduced cost while Conscription Law also gets a lot cheaper.

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Cooperation and reconciliation will lead to technological innovations and more trade

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The Shield of Democracy comes in two different flavours



Monarchism

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After you Revive the Kaiserreich you can start to realize the Imperial Forces’ true potential

The keen-eyed among you will notice that you can now choose which flavour of authoritarianism you want; the rule of good old Wilhelm II or install a Military Dictatorship with Wilhelm III as figurehead, with the Fourth Supreme Army Command as the true power in Germany. This also has a historical background with the Army Command being the de facto authority in Germany during the later parts of WW1. Both options have their own exclusive focuses with the Kaiser geared more toward research and the development of Special Projects while the Supreme Army Command is all about preparing Germany for the next war and strengthening its military. What’s true for both though, is the eagerness and willingness to rearm and demand lost territories and exact vengeance….

Weltpolitik

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With Germany’s old colonies lost, the question is how you will regain them

Now, after having chosen your leader and political course, it’s time to set sail and venture out on the open seas to rebuild your old empire through some good old-fashioned Weltpolitik - which simply means “world politics”. This was the imperial foreign policy under Wilhelm II as Germany aimed to become a global power. There are basically two ways to become a global empire once more; you can either accept British naval dominance and ask nicely (and sometimes not so nicely - looking at you Portugal) to get your old colonies back, or you can simply go to war over your old claims and demand your rightful place in the sun. Wedged in between these two paths you have a third option; to align more closely with China and offer both industrial and military help to bolster them. In the end, you’ll carve up Asia between yourselves in spheres of influence. “But wait, hold up, hold up”, I hear you say after taking a long, hard look at the picture above, “‘Carve up Congo’ doesn’t sound like anything the British would agree on”. Believe it or not, but this also has a basis in history; the then Prime Minister of Britain, Chamberlain, once offered Hitler to carve up Congo between both nations. This was a part of his appeasement strategy (famously working out oh-so-well), and the idea was that this would placate Hitler and his lust for conquest. Lmao. I thought it was a neat idea and put it here instead.

Realpolitik

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What alliances and deals will you strike to strengthen Germany?

If Weltpolitik is all about global power plays on the world stage, then Realpolitik is about how you conduct politics and diplomacy closer to home. The big name associated with the term is of course Otto von Bismarck, who used Realpolitik to achieve the unification of Germany and created a delicate balance of alliances in Europe designed to keep Germany out of a two-front war (which abruptly fell apart as soon as he left office - leading to WW1). There’s quite a lot to go through here actually, so let’s get started - and we’re starting from the far left with:

Mitteleuropa

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Tie other nations closer to Germany by strengthening their industries and exploiting their resources

Mitteleuropa of course means “Middle Europe” and is a German term for Central Europe, but the definition of what Mitteleuropa encompasses has shifted throughout the ages. It is not merely a geographical term, but also a political one. Mitteleuropa envisions a German-dominated central Europe with countries strongly tied to, or even ruled by, Germany. And this is exactly what you can achieve by going down this branch. After the Civil War you stand alone, without allies, but this changes here; this is where you once again can form your own alliance to weather whatever may come. This is also where you decide how to handle poor old Austria; do you invite them into your newly founded faction or do you push for unification, giving Burgenland to Hungary to entice them to join Mitteleuropa? From here you have to decide whether or not to restore the old Central powers (with either Austria or Hungary depending on your earlier choice), but under a much stronger German influence, or try to unify as much of Europe under your leadership as possible while making every faction member stronger until you’re able to form the European Confederation?

See to the Eastern Front

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Who said playing nice can’t be fun? Protect Eastern Europe before the Soviets come knocking on your door

What happens if you play it cool and don’t decide to gobble up other nations? Well, someone else is just going to take your place, aren’t they? There’s a very high likelihood that the USSR will start to eye the countries between them and you with increasing appetite (so not very different from history actually). Who’s going to stop them anyway? You? Ravaged by Civil War you can’t possibly hope to save the countries of Eastern Europe from their fate. It is sealed. A done deal. The Soviets will have these nations for breakfast. Well, I guess you can always try to help them. Offer them guarantees, construct forts, build up their industries, train their militaries - do whatever you can. There’s even a possibility that you can invite them into your faction and further boost their industries….

Restore the Brest-Litovsk Borders

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Coerce your eastern neighbours into giving up lands so you can restore the borders set by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Well, what if you don’t want to play nice? Oh, there are options for you too (the Weltpolitik branch notwithstanding)! Many of you may already know this, but Germany signed a separate peace deal with the Russians towards the end of WW1, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, where the Russians lost ⅓ of their population and over 50% of their industrial lands. So, a pretty severe blow. Well, all of this was undone by the Treaty of Versailles which annulled the treaty, and all of the lands Germany had gained became free nations. It is now within your grasp to restore these borders and German honour!

Reject the Locarno Treaty

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If you are of the mindset that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair you can Reject the Locarno Treaty and reclaim Elsass-Lothringen

The Locarno Treaty was signed between Germany and a whole bunch of other nations to secure and guarantee Germany’s new WW1 borders with France and Belgium. If you have chosen to bring back the Kaiser from his exile or appoint a military dictatorship, you have the option to first bully the Danes into giving back southern Jutland (another piece of land lost with the Treaty of Versailles), before you can Reject the Locarno Treaty and have at it with France one more time. As you may have noticed, this path is also accessible if you Accept British Naval Dominance in the Weltpolitik branch; the caveat being that France has to fulfill certain criteria first, much like the old focus with the same name.

But what if you don’t want to play a fascist, democratic, or monarchist Germany? Well, there are slim pickings then, but you can always start;

The Proletarian Revolution

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Throw off the shackles of capitalism and free workers around the world as Communist Germany

Welcome to the revolution comrades, it’s been a long time coming. It’s time to establish the Proletariat and bring it to the masses all around the world. There are two ways of doing this, one more aggressive than the other, but neither is peaceful (those damn capitalists just won’t see common sense!), but before we get ahead of ourselves we have to discuss how to turn Communist in the first place. You didn’t think you’d do it by the press of a button, did you? No, you need to press several buttons!

Some of you may deem this the most unrealistic path for Germany to take, but they had several socialist uprisings just after WW1 and some even broke away from Germany and proclaimed their own, independent Soviet republics. In fact, it was the Kiel Mutiny of November 1918 that sparked the following revolutions and uprisings and the downfall of the monarchy in Germany. This mutiny had clear socialist undertones, and while the Left was finally defeated in the German Revolution of 1918 and all German Soviet republics abolished, the Weimar Republic emerged from this turbulence helmed by the Social Democrats. Ok, why am I giving you this quick history lesson? Because this is kind of how you turn Communist; by mimicking history.

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Spread the Proletarian Revolution to new states to gain momentum for your cause!

For each state you spread the revolution to the stronger the Communist movement grows, but so does the instability of Germany. And be mindful that not all states are equal; the more industries a state has the more workers you can sway to your cause, and the bigger the impact in loss of stability and increase in Communism support you’ll get. You might also have noticed the Imminent Proletarian Revolution that’s ticking down. So what happens if you reach 0 days?

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The Second German Civil War

The states you manage to spread the Proletarian Uprising to will join you in any potential Civil War. Luckily, this Civil War is avoidable - if you play your cards right. For each state you spread the Proletarian Uprising to, you'll add days to the Imminent Proletarian Revolution, postponing the Civil War by a few days. This can also be achieved by completing certain focuses. It’s a race against the clock, but one which you should be able to win - especially if you plan ahead just a little bit.

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With The People’s Victory, you have finally become a true socialist nation

So, you’ve emerged as a Communist nation - what now? How will you secure the Revolution, or even spread it elsewhere? There’s a lot left to cover so let’s do a blitz through the various shared branches the Communists have.

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If you like the spy game, a Communist Germany is what you’re looking for where you can form the infamous Stasi

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Get Communist militias and upgrade Ernst Thälmann’s advisor trait in the Nationale Volksarmee branch (where you might have to sack some generals but also get new ones)

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Nationalize Industries to improve August Thalheimer and your factory output before expanding your Recruitable Population with Women’s Rights and Equality

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Sign the Second Treaty of Berlin to boost your and the Soviet’s industries and maybe trade some of your factories for resource rights

And that’s it for this blitz round. Let’s turn our attention to more intricate stuff, like how you-

Spark the Flame of Revolution

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You have had your revolution, comrades, but what about everyone else?

If you like flipping countries Communist, this is the path for you! Here you can Bolster Communist Sentiment in countries, and in doing so eventually trigger a Civil War in said nation. But to secure the Revolution and guarantee that your side comes out on top, you can send Infantry Equipment to countries embroiled in a Communist Civil War, or even send boots on the ground with your volunteer forces. By completing Spark the Flames of Revolution you’ll also create your very own faction: the Proletarian International. With Strengthen Proletarian International you’ll automatically invite any country you helped turn red to your new faction (so those pesky Soviets don’t sweep right in and reap what you’ve sowed by enlarging the Comintern).

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Turn all of Europe Red to bolster your faction in ever-growing numbers and put an end to Fascism in Europe


Root Out Imperialism

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You might have ended Fascism in Europe and turned all of your neighbors into docile allies, but what about the rest of the world?

If you want to spread the Proletariat beyond Europe’s borders you’ll have to Root Out Imperialism and increase resistance and autonomy in African and Asian countries suffering under the boot of colonialism. After that, you can spread the word of Marx to South America or the Middle East before facing off against the forces of Capitalism (which we all know resides in the USA) and the remnants of corporatism in Japan (we don’t care if they’ve turned their backs on their emperor or not - to us they’ll always be fascist sell-outs unless they’re actually Communists, which makes them waaaay cool).

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Communist hegemony won’t be realized until we have Hegemony over Europe


Legacy of the Spartacus League

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Look toward the past and follow in the footsteps of the Spartacus League

The roots of the German Communist movement and the German Communist Party (the KPD) can be found in the Spartacus League, a breakaway group of the Social Democrats. The Spartacus League was founded and led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg (both murdered during the Spartacist uprising in 1919), who both were very much anti-militarists. Luxemburg in particular believed in Democratic institutions and that Communism should use those venues to gain power, while Liebknecht believed in the proletarian revolution. This is also reflected in the exclusively Communist National Spirit of Politbüro.

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Politbüro will take on different aspects depending on which Communist path you go down

Honoring the Legacy of the Spartacus League emphasizes the spread of the revolution and embracing Democratic institutions, which all come together in a brand-new type of subjects, exclusive to this path - namely the:

Volkskommissariats

By spreading Communism to neighbouring countries you can subjugate them to Protect the Revolution after you Embrace Democratic Institutions and protect Civil Liberties. This in turn will let you create Volkskommissariats out of these neighbours. The Volkskommissariats will give you a higher percentage of their industries and manpower to their Overlord, namely you.

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The Volkskommissarit will strengthen its Overlord’s industries and military

You can also choose to develop your Volkskommissariats’ industry, which in the end will boost your own production. You can also help Instill German Discipline in your subjects, to make them a more effective fighting force

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Boosting your Volkskommissariats will inevitably strengthen you too

And in the end, you can choose to integrate any Volkskommissariats and create the German Socialist Volksunion. But what if you want more action? What if you don’t like taking your time map painting? What if you’re the impatient kind who just wants war? Welcome to the-

Proletarian Dictatorship

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The Proletarian Dictatorship resembles the other branches more in the sense that you get to gobble up a bunch of nations

This branch is more straightforward and to the point compared to the Legacy of the Spartacus League with its ability to set up Volkskommissariats; here you simply apply superior forces to conquer other nations. Yay! But before you can start your world-conquering rampage you have to sign a Defense Treaty with the Soviets to exchange mutual guarantees with each other, and after that, there’s just one more step; carve Europe into Spheres of Influence. Divide Europe into your respective playgrounds, where you’ll relinquish control over the East but have the West all to yourself. How fun! This will mean that it becomes more expansive for you to try and take any state that resides in the other’s influence.

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The Spheres of Influence will divide Europe between you and the Soviets

Okay, you must be getting tired of reading about how to turn Communist, or thinking about if you want to protect Eastern Europe from the greedy Soviets, or if you want to gobble it up yourself. We’re nearly done, let’s just look at some pretty pictures before saying goodbye.

Country Leaders

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Feast your eyes on some (but not all) of the new country leaders you can get with
Götterdämmerung

There might be some more surprises besides these, but the only way to find out is to play the game once the DLC has been released.

Advisors


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The political advisor roster for Democratic and Monarchist Germany

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The political advisor roster for Communist Germany


The Various Shapes and Colours of Germany

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Germany has a plethora of new formables

Units

Phew, we’re very nearly done! Thanks for sticking around this long (it’s been quite a long read). To finish this Dev Diary off we just want to show off some of the very cool new models we have! This is not all of them, but some of them.

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Some handsome German Infantry

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Some very hot German Infantry

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Some very cold German Infantry

And with that, I would like to say so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen. This is the last Developer Diary about Germany before the release of Götterdämmerung on November 14th, but it is not the final Developer Diary. Next up we have Performance and Modding dropping on November 11th, and after that, the last Dev Diary, Art and Achievements, out on November 12th. I hope you have enjoyed reading about what’s in store for Germany and I can’t wait for you to actually get to play it! See you around folks.
 
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The Cautious Trait will just make him less likely to get wounded and doesn't really make him better in defensive roles, unlike Old Guard which gives +1% Entrancement - which is why he received that trait
yeah, I know - it's just to add some nice flavor. You're not forced to use it as a player
That’s what the cautious trait does, thanks for reminding me.

The defensive bonus of the Old Guard trait would be some nice flavor, if it wasn’t for that massive -25% experience gain debuff which cripples him. I’m not opposed to flavor, and I absolutely like that you try to add some, I just don’t agree with this particular example.

Wouldn’t another option be to increase his base defense stat?
 
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Now all that's missing is a pacifist branch where Germany disbands it's military, only to then use the funds to literally construct the Death St... I mean a planet-sized orbital laser and blast earth to smithereens.

Or at least that's the energy I'm getting reading this, the way it all seems to devolve into conquering Europe and/or establishing [insert fancy german name]-satellites really hits the mark on your promise to make Germany feel like the main character. Not sure how I feel about that flavourwise, but the game really does dry up if they just sit there peacefully so points for that!

There's one thing I need to ask though, does FDR still dislike Germany irregardless of the situation or has that been changed?
 
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Finally. A german communist path. Both branches of Spartacus League and Proletarian Dictatorship look incredible.
I expected they were bigger but it's still an amazing work.
 
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ok i have to ask again but do we get a scripted peace deal decision for brest litovsk to end the war with the USSR earlier? or do we constantly have to beat them completly but then dont have more unique vassal states for the rest of russia?

i would prefer a white peace deal decision to end the war with the ussr, the vassal states are created but stalin can keep his position and the ussr continues to exist.

it would really bug me if we can create those cool vassal kingdoms but still have to conquer all of the SU but we are unable to do anything flavorfull with that, so please either an early peace deal option or flavor vassals for the rest of russia aswell. i guess we cant even bring the romanov back to russia if we go down that path or?
 
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No republican path? At least we can do communism now. And I'm assuming there's still only three potential kaiser/ins? Are we getting more content regarding the monarchies within Germany?
Else, the tree does like good. I'm interested to try it out now. Many interesting things to try for both historical and alt.
 
No republican path? At least we can do communism now. And I'm assuming there's still only three potential kaiser/ins? Are we getting more content regarding the monarchies within Germany?
Else, the tree does like good. I'm interested to try it out now. Many interesting things to try for both historical and alt.
i always wonder what the difference ingame would be for such paths, like how would a republican tree differ from the democratic tree, or a restore weimar tree
 
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1.If Germany loses WW2 will West and East Germany be able to make its own ideology focuses or they stay fascist like they currently do?
2.Will there be option to choose Churchill and Roosevelt plans for borders in Yalta conference event?
 
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I already did in a different post

Yes

You can't make a puppet out of Poland, and the other Grand Duchies' I've shown of in a post already

You can annex Austria AND Czechoslovakia! You can form the EU through European Confederation. Yes, British Naval Dominance is more or less the same as the old content

Oh he might be there somewhere ;)
Thanks a lot for answering

But my question regarding Paneuropa is more about the possibility to name the EU Paneuropa and add the Flag of Paneuropa. Historically Paneuropa Was the first Movement for a United Europe. I understand that Paneuropa is less known today. But it is a little bit sad for me that the Paneuropean movement was not mentioned in the dlc. There could be smaller but also larger Implementations. The Founder of Paneuropa Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi who is also in some Mods could be at least an advisor for either germany or austria. If that is to much work for a honestly rather small detail I still would be glad if we could choose the Paneuropean flag similar to the different Lithuanian flag added in a war effort.
 
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Would just like to suggest this again. The names for the Operational Planning decisions seem a bit generic, being "Campaign Instructions against country X". I would like to suggest renaming some of these to the historical codenames Germany had for the military operations against these countries. For instance "Prepare Fall Weiss" in case of Poland, or Fall Rot in case of France. It adds just a bit more flavour to the whole thing and only requires changing some localization.

View attachment 1207916
 
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They're either Supervised States (I think) if you're Democratic or Personal Union if you're Monarchist/Non-aligned

Yes, that's the look, name and flag you get if you go with the Military Dictatorship

Yes, you can find them in a previous reply I made

You can form the EU through Mitteleuropa och the European Confederation. Going Communist you can core France and Britain through a decision. Volkskommissariats can only be created in neighboring nations

Getting Victoria is quite similar to the older content, but updated to fit the new content too
Why is Pavlenko leader of Ukraine? Irl he fought for the People's Republic pretty consistently and had nothing to do with the Hetmanate. Both Danylo and Pavlo Skoropadskyi, the latter being the literal Hetman, were alive at the time and Danylo was even active politically. This feels like an oversight
 
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I doubt it's part of a deal with receiving a guarantee.

What would the guarantee even be for then? It would boil down to, "You give us the territory you want to keep the most, so that we can guarantee that you can keep the territory which you want less."
Somewhere between "You give it to us, so we won't have to take it, especially when Stalin comes over and wants the land back you took in 1921. Two-front wars aren't fun." and "You give it to us, and in exchange we will actually help you when Stalin comes knocking. Possibly averting a war alltogether, but definitely improving your chances."
 
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There should also be an option to forgive Romania for betraying the Hohenzollerns or go to war to make them puppets.
This ^^^
+ I hope Paradox didn't forget about Napoleon VI's French path where you can dis-unite Germany, how would that focus affect the current update?
Also before the update, idk how many ppl knew this, would the Oister conspiracy be kept in the game? basically if you fail the Munich conference and dont take any Czech states for 6 months there is a chance you get a civil war where you can play REPUBLICAN GERMANY or get Himmler or Goerring in power, will this be kept or?
 
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Will the Dutch focus "foundations for a European Union" get an update? Since the European Union focusses for Belgium, Austria, and Germany are so different. At least from the impression I had.
 
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