Victoria 3 - Dev Diary #114 - The Great Game

[PDX_Pelly]

This comment is reserved for developer responses.

Thanks for the dev diary @PDX_Asteraceae. When can we expect the new dev diary schedule (like the ones we had before the release delay)?

Hello! I can answer that!

I can give you a broader overview of what is coming up, but not a direct schedule as it allows us to move around dairies if needed.

So in no particular order, we will be covering: Art (2d and 3d), Modding, Cultures, Map Changes, UX/UI changes and improvements, some changes in 1.7 (this one is a bit broad, but can include say something that doesn't fit nicely into the other diaries) and some more about power blocs.

Nice! Out of curiosity, do u have to specifically play as Uk through the Great Game Objective to acccess the mechanics? Or can u access the Great Game mechanics through sandbox or other objectives?

Any country that is part of the Great Game objective will be able to access the Great Game central journal entry and subgoals. All non-subgoal content is accessible for these countries in any playthrough.

Given that, by the early 1900s, Japan and Russia were locked in conflict for power over Korea and China, could we expect a great-game like system for that in the future?

Korean content, and Japanese ambitions in Korea, will be shown next week.

If I understood correctly, some Great Game content will only be available if we set up objectives on the singleplayer start up. Did I get that right?

How will this work on multiplayer? Will two players be able to play the Great Game to its fullest together or is it reserved only for singleplayer?

Objectives aren't compatible with multiplayer at the moment. This may be subject to change in the future.

If other countries like Qing or Mughal pushes both Britain and Russia out of the region, will the Great Game be forced to a close？

Only countries centred in the Central Asia or Persia strategic regions, such as Persia, Afghanistan, the khanates, etc, are able to force the European great powers to end the Great Game.

The great game content looks lovely, and I really like the fact that we may finally see dynamic borders in central Asia.

That being said, I find it disappointing that the main JE is locked behind the objective - I feel like it sets a really bad precedent when it comes to regional content.

The main JE exists primarily to inform the player what is Great Game content and to keep a track of victories or defeats, its impact on gameplay outside of the context of the objective is minimal.

New map skin?

keen eyes.

Will the EIC try to absorb more of the Princely states as well as Punjab and Burma now more often?

Making EIC more willing to expand will be part of the AI for the Great Game, yes.

Do I get it correct that you can't just declare war on Central Asian countries now?

No. You can declare wars on Central Asian countries as normal.

What happens if I tear apart Great Britain or Russia?
What if I start mass conquests in that area?

If either Great Britain or Russia is knocked out of Great Power status, or is no longer the leader of a power bloc, the Great Game fails.

Idk, maybe I'm not reading right, but I'm quite confused as to what content is locked behind the special great game objective and what content is just avaliable in regular games. Could you clarify this?

Anything referred to as a "subgoal", as well as the core Great Game tracker [which is also a subgoal] is locked behind the Great Game objective. Everything else is available in regular games.

Another Question: Can the Ottomans get involved, in particular with the caucausian war? They do still hold the title of Caliph and I can see a resurgent Ottomans wanting to get involved, in particular as their main geopolitical rival during this era is the Russians.

The Ottomans have some events regarding the Caucasian War, which will be covered next week.

Is there any unique content planned for the local Afghan nations or Persia? They're listed as playable nations in the game objective and historically the ways in which local powerholders took advantage of foreign influence to propel their own ambitions was very important, but the diary focused largely on Russian and British content.

This will be covered next week.

Its very strange decision on your part. Why do you lock dlc content behind Objectives to begin with? What if i want to play as Persia/Russia/GB/any other country in the region with narrative content AND economy/dominance etc objective for example?

The only content that's specific to the Objective are a few very light Journal Entries that serve as a "progress tracker" through the Great Game, so you can think of picking the Objective as more of a "quick-start" to play in one of the most interesting regions affected by the expansion's new mechanics and narrative content. All the meaty stuff in the Great Game is available to expansion owners playing in the relevant countries (as well as AI countries, of course) in any game mode, including Sandbox, just as in e.g. Colossus of the South. Sorry if that was unclear!

I do hope that discovering the Pallas’ Cat doesn’t actually give a chance for 50% migration attraction, no matter how rare that is.

While Pallas cats are quite amazing, 50% migration attraction was a typo, would be much lower (5%).

Do I understand it correctly that stuff "exclusive to the Great Game objective" will NEVER happen unless the player plays as one of the nations with the Great Game objective? This does not sound nice as it includes a lot of stuff related to nations outside of the Great Game. Eg. if I play as Japan (thus no Great Game objective) then Russia will NEVER ever interact with China?

 

[PDX_Pelly]

Thanks for the dev diary @PDX_Asteraceae. When can we expect the new dev diary schedule (like the ones we had before the release delay)?

Hello! I can answer that!

I can give you a broader overview of what is coming up, but not a direct schedule as it allows us to move around dairies if needed.

So in no particular order, we will be covering: Art (2d and 3d), Modding, Cultures, Map Changes, UX/UI changes and improvements, some changes in 1.7 (this one is a bit broad, but can include say something that doesn't fit nicely into the other diaries) and some more about power blocs.

 

[PDX_Asteraceae]

Nice! Out of curiosity, do u have to specifically play as Uk through the Great Game Objective to acccess the mechanics? Or can u access the Great Game mechanics through sandbox or other objectives?

Any country that is part of the Great Game objective will be able to access the Great Game central journal entry and subgoals. All non-subgoal content is accessible for these countries in any playthrough.

Given that, by the early 1900s, Japan and Russia were locked in conflict for power over Korea and China, could we expect a great-game like system for that in the future?

Korean content, and Japanese ambitions in Korea, will be shown next week.

If I understood correctly, some Great Game content will only be available if we set up objectives on the singleplayer start up. Did I get that right?

How will this work on multiplayer? Will two players be able to play the Great Game to its fullest together or is it reserved only for singleplayer?

Objectives aren't compatible with multiplayer at the moment. This may be subject to change in the future.

If other countries like Qing or Mughal pushes both Britain and Russia out of the region, will the Great Game be forced to a close？

Only countries centred in the Central Asia or Persia strategic regions, such as Persia, Afghanistan, the khanates, etc, are able to force the European great powers to end the Great Game.

The great game content looks lovely, and I really like the fact that we may finally see dynamic borders in central Asia.

That being said, I find it disappointing that the main JE is locked behind the objective - I feel like it sets a really bad precedent when it comes to regional content.

The main JE exists primarily to inform the player what is Great Game content and to keep a track of victories or defeats, its impact on gameplay outside of the context of the objective is minimal.

 

[PDX_Pelly]

New map skin?

keen eyes.

 

[PDX_Asteraceae]

Will the EIC try to absorb more of the Princely states as well as Punjab and Burma now more often?

Making EIC more willing to expand will be part of the AI for the Great Game, yes.

Do I get it correct that you can't just declare war on Central Asian countries now?

No. You can declare wars on Central Asian countries as normal.

What happens if I tear apart Great Britain or Russia?
What if I start mass conquests in that area?

If either Great Britain or Russia is knocked out of Great Power status, or is no longer the leader of a power bloc, the Great Game fails.

Idk, maybe I'm not reading right, but I'm quite confused as to what content is locked behind the special great game objective and what content is just avaliable in regular games. Could you clarify this?

Anything referred to as a "subgoal", as well as the core Great Game tracker [which is also a subgoal] is locked behind the Great Game objective. Everything else is available in regular games.

Another Question: Can the Ottomans get involved, in particular with the caucausian war? They do still hold the title of Caliph and I can see a resurgent Ottomans wanting to get involved, in particular as their main geopolitical rival during this era is the Russians.

The Ottomans have some events regarding the Caucasian War, which will be covered next week.

 

[PDX_Asteraceae]

Is there any unique content planned for the local Afghan nations or Persia? They're listed as playable nations in the game objective and historically the ways in which local powerholders took advantage of foreign influence to propel their own ambitions was very important, but the diary focused largely on Russian and British content.

This will be covered next week.

 

[lachek]

Its very strange decision on your part. Why do you lock dlc content behind Objectives to begin with? What if i want to play as Persia/Russia/GB/any other country in the region with narrative content AND economy/dominance etc objective for example?

The only content that's specific to the Objective are a few very light Journal Entries that serve as a "progress tracker" through the Great Game, so you can think of picking the Objective as more of a "quick-start" to play in one of the most interesting regions affected by the expansion's new mechanics and narrative content. All the meaty stuff in the Great Game is available to expansion owners playing in the relevant countries (as well as AI countries, of course) in any game mode, including Sandbox, just as in e.g. Colossus of the South. Sorry if that was unclear!

 

[PDX_Pelly]

I do hope that discovering the Pallas’ Cat doesn’t actually give a chance for 50% migration attraction, no matter how rare that is.

While Pallas cats are quite amazing, 50% migration attraction was a typo, would be much lower (5%).

 

[PDX_Pelly]

Do I understand it correctly that stuff "exclusive to the Great Game objective" will NEVER happen unless the player plays as one of the nations with the Great Game objective? This does not sound nice as it includes a lot of stuff related to nations outside of the Great Game. Eg. if I play as Japan (thus no Great Game objective) then Russia will NEVER ever interact with China?