Let's Play Victoria 2: The South Shall Rise!

Welcome to another Paradox LP, as I am a hopeless fanboy. This time, we'll be gaming the system to form a stable empire as the Confederate States of America!



Expect a lot of shitty Dukes of Hazard jokes combined with a healthy dose of Kodexian racism! So without further ado, Let's Play:



A few notes on how this will shake out. We're using the 1.4 beta patch, which puts a bit of a dent in the UK. France tends to go crazy with the Industrial score in this patch, but they're not impossible to catch up with. The only modifications I've made was an increase of the badboy limit from 25 to 50, which will lead to more wars and more territory changing hands both for myself and the AI, as well as an increase to soldier pop damage, which will make losing soldiers far more costly to the war effort. Beyond that, this is pretty much vanilla.



To become the Confederate States of America, you must first start as the United States, or the Damn Yankees as they will be henceforth referred to as. There are a series of events that fire and decisions you can make that will either hasten or delay the oncoming war. As a general rule, I feel that it is wise to delay, so you can build as many Dixie soldiers as possible.



Look at those amber waves of grain!



Our research points are shit, so we'll focus on raising those with techs that have a lot of plurality gains. Military techs would also be helpful, but until after the Civil War, I don't expect any major fights with anyone outside of Mexico.



Industry starts off slow.



And pops start off pretty low (at least in relation to the European countries). Also, we have a good bit of dead weight that we are carrying around, also known as the White Man's Burden: Slavs. I mean Slaves.



I'll go full derp and leave the trading screen automated.



And the tale of the tape for the Great Powers. The European Powers will likely shift a lot due to wars (especially with the heightened BB limit), while the US (and CSA) will start off slow, and then steadily pick up steam.



And the current wars. Texas is fighting for her independence (and does a much better job of it than in the release version), and then some shit going on in Europe, but who cares because that's not America



And I'm guessing to prevent the British from always nabbing Washington, both Washington and Oregon start the game on their way to being colonized.




Well, that's the end of the first, teaser update. First major update will take place sometime tomorrow. Now, to form the CSA and make them stable, it requires some gamey tactics (like building all Dixie units so the CSA has a standing army come war). Also, I do my best to ruin US relations with the other majors, especially Britain, to prevent them from joining in to the conflict on the US side, which would make a tough task even tougher. I also don't take advantage of that lovely CB the US has against Mexico beyond the rest of Texas, just to give the CSA somewhere to expand other than against the US.


Stay tuned for the War of Northern Aggression!

The south shall be victorious.

Here's something you'll want to do as well: Make as many colonial states into full states as possible, and have them join as Slave states. This will significantly increase the land and population CSA has to work with, and it's possible to get Michigan to the CSA that was as well. You might also want to seize Cuba, as it'll be handy for the CSA as well. Delay the civil war as long as you can, so CSA cores appear in all Slave states.

Don't forget to take California and other areas from Mexico as soon as you can, and make them Slave states. It also makes the Mexicans less of a threat to the CSA in the early years. It's better to take the states and make them Slave states as the Kwa than get them later as the South.

Also, if you aren't going for lulz you may want to abolish slavery yourself. There's absolutely no benefit to it, for slaves consume almost no goods, provide no taxes and are worse workforce than labourers and farmers as well. So I'd recommend you mod slaves to be between 1.5-2 times as effective as workforce than normal pops.

You may want to be prepared to cheat with Plurality as well, since CSA starts at 0% plurality with almost no way of raising it if the Damn Yankees have already studied State & Government.

Your first order of business as an independent state will be to take Illinois and the East Coast from the Damn Yankees to better build up your industrial and population base. Afterwards, turn your eyes to the Chinks, for China is prime real estate rich in Coal, Timber and Grain.

Actually, and maybe this is different in 1.4, but I played through a bit before I realize I made a mistake in one of my modding decisions. The CSA started with over 100% plurality, and maintained the education level of the USA (although not the pops, there was a drop in research). I've got to fix mobilization size, because when the USA, Britain, and France were all mobilized at once my game slowed to a crawl.

Anyway, full update maybe late tonight/tomorrow.

All roads lead to China in Vic 2.

What if you play as china?

You either steamroll everyone after Westernizing, you slow the game to a crawl, or you are Britain's little bitch.


Anyway, here's what I recommend doing as far do-it-yourself modding goes:

Drop Mobilization to at least 1/100 or disable it entirely, because it's broken (since you can't give a higher pop casualty rate to mobilized troops).

Give national values different, actual effects instead (my effects: 0.01 militancy with Order, 10% immigrant attraction for Liberty and -0.03 monthly badboy, 10% assimiliation rate for Equality and -0.01 monthly badboy).

Set the base casualty->pop casualty ratio to 0.33, which is the same as the cost of raising troops. Then put the medicine inventions to lower it to 0.15 so Medicine is extremely important (and so you can massacre Chinamen).

Add Texans to CSA's accepted cultures if they aren't there already.

Lower the USA Homestead Act modifier, because at 20% attraction is make almost everyone to immigrate to US even if you try to attract immigrants.

You may want to add more effects to military policies, since there's no advantage in Pacifism and Anti-Military. I made them lower badboy by 0.03 and 0.01 monthly respectively.

Lower the pop promotion rate for Soldiers in minorities and colonials, so your main force pool is your mainland and your accepted cultures.

Is there any way to give the CSA a War of Unification CB against the States?

You have to mod the CB to cover their culture group.

Also, get the British India mini-mod. You won't regret it.

I haven't noticed Britain being able to use a ton of soldiers or industry... in fact, they're getting overtaken by France in industrial score fairly early... maybe something new added in the 1.4 beta patch?

It just means the AI hasn't managed to make the Indian colonies into states. But once that starts happening (and it will), Britain will be unstoppable.

Alright, downloaded the British mod, changed mobilization to -.98, changed soldier pop damage and increased medicine, and added Yankee as an accepted secondary culture. Would that be enough to get a unification CB on the USA?

No no no, you need to mod the Casus Belli itself. The Casus Belli is granted based on your culture group, not your culture itself. IIRC, it only covers Germans and French at the moment, but it's fairly easy to add the Polish culture group (this is what you need to do if you play as Krakow) and American (I don't know what the Kwan group is called) to the triggers.

I'm not sure about adding Yankee as an accepted culture though. Maybe through an event after the civil war, but definately not at get-go (like the possibility to get Cherokee as an accepted culture, save that for the CSA as well instead of doing it as the Kwa). You might want to decision for buying slaves instead.

You may also want to try this equilizer modifier I did for non-GPs to give them a better chance at fighting them. I can post it here by wednesday in earnest. It adds bonuses for researching land and naval tech, significantly more leadership (so minors will have better generals on average), and better organization regain and supply consumption. Gonna check if I can also raise RGO and factory efficiency as well.

I've also been thinking of modding in a new factory that can convert timber to coal (charcoal works as an energy source as well as agricultural aid or ingredient to gunpowder), or just significantly increase the coal and timber outputs so minors aren't starved for them (though with a charcoal factory I'd only need to increase the Timber output).

The south has not risen yet.

Update in about two hours...

Edit: Make it more like five-six hours from now. Ran into a small issue.

come on, boy, git wid 'em thar updates!

Update 1: Let's kill us some Spics!

Before we get under way in earnest, let me explain the modifications I've made to the game. I've increased the Badboy to 50 and increased the rate it decreases to 1 a month, as opposed to .1 a month. I also decreased the mobilization size considerably. I made a slight adjustment to National focus, which normally requires 1 million of a pop for a point, and changed it to 500,000. I also installed the British India mod, which prevents India from becoming ridiculously overpowered and producing limitless battalions and industry. Beyond that, it's just the 1.4 beta patch. Also, I'm going to be a little gamey in helping out the Confederacy, using at least one of the National Focus points to build soldier pops, and I'll be building exclusively Dixie troops, although I might add in a few Yankee troops so the Civil War isn't too easy. Anyway, on with the show!



Welcome to the first update of our Let's Play of the Confederate States of America! Sadly, we have to start as the Kwa, but the South shall rise from their oppressive dominance! It's merely a matter of time.



We see our brothers, the Texans, currently embroiled in a war for their own independence. This is a cause we find as just, so we will keep an eye on these developments, and if our brothers need our help, we will intervene on their behalf against the mixed bean eaters from the South.



Preparing for our possible intervention, we relocate our armed forces to the border with Texas. We separate the Dixie troops and unite them in the Army of the South.



Texas may be needing some help soon.



We throw an alliance offer their way, which they gladly accept.



The Texans are not able to stop the flood of Mexicans pouring over the border. SOUND FAMILIAR!!!



We end up with a large concentration of forces facing down in Southern Texas... This is the battle that will determine the course of the war.



The soft Yankees manage to win the battle... the Spics are on the run.



We are going to take a much harder line toward immigration than those faggy Leftists, so we give chase. One of our generals has a ridiculous +4 attack modifier, so we'll use him in the vanguard. Also, we're looking to drain the northern Soldier pops, so we'll leave the fighting to them, while leaving our Dixie troops to clean up. Like I said, I'm cheating.



A look at that +4 in action.



The victory comes with a nearly 6 to 1 casualty ratio.



The following battle was a bit more bloody on our side, but still a decisive victory. From here, their organization is broken, and mop up operations begin.



Their last two armies are broken, and they are left with no military force. All that is left is to occupy some provinces and force a peace.



A picture of that in action.



After a time, the weak Mexicans realize they stand no chance against the far superior white men from the North. The white man is beginning to bring civilization to this wild land.



The Texans are so impressed with our might, they join this sham of a Union.



The question then arises... What to do with the... erm... negroes? The wise white men decide that the negroes, left unchecked, would form massive machete wielding rape gangs, and thus needed the stern, steady hand of the enlightened masters to guide them. Texas is made a Slave State.





We pass the Kansas-Nebraska act, which should shut up the bleeding heart liberals about Slavery for awhile.



So the first year and change goes by. We've gained a new state in our union, and we've put the Mexicans in their place. We've extended our guidance over the negro, so that they may learn enlightenment from their masters. Next, we'll prepare to take more of our rightful land from the Mexicans, and bring it under our enlightened rule.

Well done Sah, keep it it up and these uncouth scum will soon learn to respect the authoritah of the Confederecah

Yes, there will be times when people can no longer endure their government's authorithaw.

Anyway, I recommend seizing Cuba when you do that one decision, and then seizing everything Manifest Destiny decision gives you on Mexico. If possible, you could see if you can get more slave states elsewhere as well.

Definitely... although I try to take one state at a time from Mexico... evidently if you take more than that you can't get the decision to turn it into a slave state. I'm also going to try to get from Michigan through Iowa at least as Slave states, if not a few more.

The states you get cores for are Colonial states though, so you can grab those at once. Nevada-Utah is automatically a Free State though, due to an event.

Update 2: Expansion

Welcome back to another installment of Victoria 2. We've assisted the Texans in separating from Mexico, which they then followed by joining the United States.



God damn liberals!!!!



While there are tons of events that will raise consciousness, we also get a lot of events to lower it, which will delay the Civil War.



The USA is a just, and benevolent ruler.



More consciousness raising events. We'll be getting these a lot.



And this will help us turn more colonies into states and build more Dixie soldier pops.



These techs are almost universally useless, but this tech is required for us to get Manifest Destiny, which will give us cores on the contiguous 48 states.



Purty flowers. In the manner of sabotaging the United States, we take every prestige lowering option we can find. Fucking Kwa.



Niggers gonna nig.



The first of many plurality increasing inventions, which will greatly increase our research points.



And the first core event for the CSA. These will, over time, pop up in every slave state in the Union.



We're killing us some Mexicans!



As soon as the truce wears off...



Bullshit! They're trying to eliminate our States Rights!



And this event gives us a core on Cuba.







We start building a series of transports for our invasion of Cuba.



And more consciousness losing decisions. Our goal is to make the CSA not only independent from the United States, but to make them the preeminent Great Power in the world!



Oklahoma is formed, which allows us to relocate the Cherokee there.



In the ol' Trail of Tears, one of the high points in the history of the Benevolent Empire.



We mobilize our forces on the border with Mexico. TONIGHT WE FEAST ON TACOS!



Our goals for this conflict will be to take the rest of Texas and New Mexico. We could probably end up taking all of the Mexican holdings in the states, but there is a slight flaw in the coding which prevents us from turning more than one state into a Slave State at a time.



We quickly occupy their territories. They don't have much of an army, so the warscore will have to come from occupation.



Their tiny military force comes North, and is quickly routed.



A Peace Offer, but not enough.



They build another army, but that one is defeated as well.



And after awhile, they are finally willing to accept our generous peace offer.



And of course we make New Mexico into a slave state, much to the dismay of the Damn Yanks.



Michigan also becomes eligible for statehood, which we of course extend, also making it a slave state.



Richard Dawkins is angry...



Some god damn slants are disrespecting our white men!



We get more National Focus points, and we spend two on encouraging Dixie soldiers, one on colonizing, and one on turning Wisconsin into a state.



Here's a look at the Western frontier of the United States. Idaho is almost ours, which will leave our only path to expansion through Mexican territory.



As we go, more states end up core-ing for the CSA. I think with the exception of West Virginia, Maryland, and Missouri, every state that cores for the CSA will join at the outbreak of the Civil War.



This event normally fires right after the start of the game, but for some reason it took ten years of game time to do so. That is fine, as it probably gave us a bit of time before the Civil War.



The institution of Slavery is necessary as it reaffirms the inherent right of the White Man over the lesser peoples on the globe. Anyway, off my soapbox... this lowers the consciousness yet again.



M:



There seems to be a mighty war in Europe right now, with Austria up against... well, the rest of it. Now would be a good time to try and take Cuba from the Spaniards.



So we do. Russia and Belgium join in, but neither will be a threat.



We land a force in Cuba with a general who is pretty good defensively (+3). The first battle will be the one that tells us how the war goes.



Expecting to get attacked when I landed, I was forced to initiate combat, which prevented me from putting a general better suited into action.



It was a victory, but a costly one.



Another battle is won, but it is still not decisive. I decide to occupy the province I am in and await reinforcements, lest the army is lost on foreign soil.



Russia and Belgium back out of the war, leaving it just as just me and Spain.



Spain also asks for peace, but we ignore their pleas.



With a new general in charge, we continue the offensive against the Spanish.



While the losses were still rather high, they were much more acceptable, and set the stage to finish the routing Spanish forces.



It takes some back and forth, but we end up finishing them off.



While we're finishing off the Spanish territories in Cuba, our eyes turn once again to the wetbacks... our truce ends shortly, and we're eyeing Arizona and perhaps Nevada in the next war (since evidently Nevada can't become a slave state anyway).



After Cuba is fully occupied, Spain agrees to our terms, having neither the ability nor the desire to fight an extended war so far from home. The Spanish Colonial Empire is almost entirely gone, and the last vestiges of their Catholic meddling will be swept away.



Cuba joins the United States as a Slave State.



Next update will feature more warring with the Mexicans, as the time until the Civil War gets closer.

You show them spaniards what them dixie boys are made of, they will respect our authoritah!