We zijn nu druk bezig met de ontdekken van Europa Universalis IV - erg leuk game van het bedrijf Paradox Development Studio. Een Grand Strategic Wargame zoals het in de volksmond wordt genoemd.
EU4 begint van 1444 tot diep 1700.

Bij het bezoeken van de website van Paradox Development Studio kwam ik Victoria II (2010) tegen en tot tegenstelling tot EU4 begint deze game in 1835 tot het begin WOII.

De opzet van Victoria II heeft veel weg van EU4 alleen in de wereld van Victoria II zijn de meeste zo niet alle gebieden al gekoloniseerd.

Nations' populations are divided into cultures, religions, and occupations. There are several different population groups or "pops" including aristocrats, officers, clergy, capitalists, clerks, craftsmen, soldiers, laborers, and farmers. Victoria II introduces two new groups, artisans and bureaucrats. As in other Paradox titles, like Europa Universalis, historical missions that are micro-objectives in the larger game have been added. There are thousands of historical events and decisions as well.[4] These events and nationalist forces can lead to the creation or disintegration of nation states

Economy

The economic system in Victoria II attempts to simulate the flow of resources in a world market. Every province in the game produces a resource in resource gathering operations or RGO's.[9] Some resources, such as wheat, are demanded principally by your population. Other materials, like iron, are consumed by industry, but are still tradeable.

The production and unemployment system from the original Victoria has been revised to better reflect market forces, whereas in the original the state provided the funds for resources and the player possessed a wide range of options with which to build their economy, provided they had access to the proper raw materials. All resources can be collected or produced by industry. The game also has a cottage production system simulating pre-industrial economies.[4]

Diplomacy

Victoria II contains a deep political simulation reflected in the dozens of different types of governments, a new sphere of influence system, gunboat diplomacy, and a new election system with coalition governments and legislatures.[4]

In the game controlling a Great Power gives special diplomatic options not available to other countries. Great Powers do not just influence how a country sees them; they have the added ability to use their influence on other countries to change their perception of other Great Powers. The struggle for influence that the Great Powers wage around the world is not a simple bilateral basis but occurs with each other inside different countries, giving an added dimension to diplomacy which was not present in the original Victoria.

Warfare

Warfare is regarded as a lesser priority than politics and economics in Victoria II, though it follows the basic pattern used in other Paradox grand strategy games, with armies moving between provinces and engaging enemy armies and capturing enemy territory. The basic combat system is a combination of the systems used in Europa Universalis III, Europa Universalis: Rome, and Hearts of Iron III. A key component to combat is "frontage": the number of units in an army at the front line, which decreases as technology improves to simulate the change from roving armies to the continuous trench lines of World War I.

Several aspects of the military have been changed from Victoria. The base unit has been reduced from a 10,000-unit division to a 3,000-unit brigade, which is no longer raised from a national manpower pool but directly raised from a provincial soldier POP, to which the brigade remains connected. A new aspect to the military is reconnaissance. This is a value that gives a bonus (or penalty, if low) to capturing provinces and defeating enemy armies; in prolonged combat, however, the reconnaissance value drops. Units such as cavalry and aeroplanes have high reconnaissance values and are intended to be used as scouts.

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