14 DAY TRIAL // Heart of Darkness is the second expansion for Victoria II, designed to enhance various elements of the grand strategy experience, and Softpedia got a chance to talk with game designer Chris King about the philosophy behind the game, the Crisis mechanics and modding.
Softpedia: What prompted you to revisit Victoria II, the most politically focused of the grand strategy family that Paradox Development Studio has created?
Chris King: All our games are labors of love, so we always love to revisit them! And since no game is ever completely perfect, there are always thing we can do to make them even better. So the main reason is we felt that this was the right time to do it. At Paradox Development Studio, we always work to support our games for a long time with patches that includes both improvements and new features. And if we have a good idea for an expansion, we always try to make it happen if we can.
And to be perfectly honest, the fact is that we have reached new gamers with the success of our strategy/RPG Crusader Kings II. So naturally we hope that new gamers get an opportunity to discover our previous games including Victoria II. Because all our games are so radically different in their gameplay and all our gamers including us developers all have our own favorites. I personally enjoy the Victoria series a lot since it offers a focus on political simulation where the population will react to your decisions. It is a very intricate and challenging game that makes you think in completely different ways when using politics as your primary tools.
Softpedia: Can you succinctly explain the biggest changes from the core gameplay of Victoria II that the second expansion introduces?
Chris King: Victoria II: Heart of Darkness focuses on two core features. Firstly there is a new colonization system that makes being the first to colonize a province less important and makes the colonial race more competitive. It also ties colonial empire to naval size making releasing dominions a very useful this to do.
Then we have the new crisis system which allows the Great Powers to support sides in territorial conflicts and allows a potential peaceful solution to them. It acts as a tie breaker on colonial races, gives minor powers a means of expansion and also allows states that do not exist a means to come into being.
Softpedia: How did you come to make the Crisis idea so central to Heart of Darkness and how much will they change the face of conflict in Victoria II?
Chris King: Well, we honestly didn’t start that way. We began with what we could do to improve the game, then looked to develop these ideas and expand on them. The Crisis system began as an idea and as it was developed, we saw the true potential that the system offered and we increased the amount of focus on the system. So it was a very organic development process, where we really invested in a feature we felt was truly enjoyable.
Softpedia: How much will the Artificial Intelligence be improved, especially when it comes to stubbornly refusing to make peace even though it has no shot at victory?
Chris King: Although improving the AI is always desirable, sometimes you can actually make the AI better by improving the mechanics. We have added ticking war score into the game and this means that if you hold the target of the state for a war then you can force the AI to peace. This makes the peace system a lot better, because there is now a nice clear way to bring the AI to the table.
Softpedia: Are you afraid that the new limitations on Big Ship building will generate a strong reaction among players who love to create colonial empires with minor nations?
Chris King: Our goal is to make naval technology more important for colonial powers in Victoria II. There is still nothing stopping someone playing a minor country and colonizing, not at all. All we are saying is that you had had better invested in your naval technology and built up your naval infrastructure to do it.
Softpedia: Any plans to make the economic system, which is genuinely enthralling, easier to understand for newcomers or players who lack the time to explore it over multiple games?
Chris King: We have definitely done some tweaks to the economic system to improve its functionality. The Capitalist AI has been made better in its factory selection, and the artisan AI has been improved. So even if this may not make it clearer, we definitely do hope these tweaks will make the system function better, thus giving players more chance to get into the game.
Softpedia: What modder-generated ideas have influenced the expansion? Do you plan to open up the game even more to player modifications?
Chris King: A lot of ideas! We invited quite a few modders into the beta, because we wanted them to be part of the development and have input on how we shaped the Heart of Darkness expansion. And by doing this, they could also develop their own mods so that they can go live with their creations around the time of the release for the expansion.
Softpedia: Aren’t you worried that the Ticking War Score might be a little too complex as a mechanic and might frustrate some players? I admit I had to read the diary about it a few times before wrapping my head around the concept.
Chris King: Ticking War Score is actually not a new concept for us, it first appeared in Crusader Kings II. And we feel that the feature works very well, because rather than trying to conquer a huge state like Russia or the UK you only need to capture your war targets to win. The first time you see it in action, I promise that the penny drops very quickly, winning wars involves targeting the region the war is about.
Softpedia: Will the Heart of Darkness expansion push the Victoria II concept more towards historical realism or more towards a true sandbox simulation?
Chris King: We have always aimed for a blend of history and sandbox in all Paradox Development Studios games Our goal with the crisis system is to allow the historical result (for example the Great Powers forcing the Ottomans to free Bulgaria) in an open system (where anyone without a country who gets angry can spawn a crisis to free their country). So naturally we hope that Victoria II: Heart of Darkness will create a more open system while at the same time allowing for more historical results .
Heart of Darkness for Victoria II will be delivered on April 16 via PC digital distribution services.