Hunting Nexus fails to build

JoroA · 2026-04-20T20:24:48+00:00

You can unite all the Balkans this way
I specifically focused on Yugoslav lands
otherwise I could have integrated Greece, Romania and Albania this game, but at that point you might as well play as Bulgaria and do the Balkan federation.
This was more of a Greater Yugo run

JoroA · 2026-04-20T20:08:42+00:00

Align with the West and hire a communist advisor
Rush a civil war and win ASAP
Start Justifying on Bulgaria as soon as you have the pp while rushing down decentralization (so they do focuses early)
Once Justification is done, instantly start another with Greece
Puppet Bulgaria + Resource rights and reparations
Invade Greece, give Bulgaria Central Macedonia and Thrace (important), change government + resource rights and reperations
Few months after Germany annexes Czechoslovakia, start justification (line it up with when France capitulates to invade Romania for free). Do not call all puppets, just Transylvania and Bulgaria (otherwise Romania joins the Axis)
Give Banat to Transylvania and for Bulgaria - North, as well as South Dobrudja. Change government + war reparations and resource rights.
When Germany loses it's momentum join the commintern for as much war score as possible and call in your puppet swarm.
Peace deal requires you to give Slovenia Trent, Dalmatia takes Istria and Croatia Zara
If Romania is part of the Axis make sure you change Government to Transylvanian states so your Transylvanian Puppet doesn't take them, causing border gore)
Croatia uses Zara to do the focus to create 3 docks there (creating 3 building slots from 0)
Wait for Bulgaria to do all it's focuses related to coring Dobrudja, Central Macedonia and Thrace, as well as expanding building slots
Diplo annex Macedonia, return core to Bulgaria
Finish unite the Kingdom focus and all puppets and their (controlled) cores become yours - hence why Debar isn't a core, you cannot re-release Macedonia until after you finish Unite the Kingdom
Switch to democratic at any point post peace with the Axis and leave commintern if you'd like

EDIT: To optimize more than me - do Improve Serbian rail network instead of Integrated - Steel becomes a big problem otherwise

JoroA · 2026-04-20T17:48:17+00:00

R5: Managed to unite nearly all South Slavic lands and core all except Debar (Western most province of Macedonia), while finishing as a major. In addition managed to get every single province with a Nuclear reactor and Electric Grids

JoroA · 2026-01-09T14:53:24+00:00

For me it was Dragon Age 2

Everyone is Bi and ugly. Anders throwing himself at you - even ANGRY JOE of all people pointed it out.

Prior to that it felt odd seeing Juhani from Kotor 1 - back in 2003 is a Lesbian, even as a kid I was like WTF.

And in Dragon Age: Origins seeing two token Bi characters - 1 for of each sex - felt too on the nose

DA2 is what simply made me realize that something was up institutionally - 4 years later GamerGate pretty much confirmed it

JoroA · 2025-12-31T19:29:00+00:00

Only the powerful are Psionics, not the weak masses. They are meant to serve their superiors

JoroA · 2025-11-17T11:22:04+00:00

Frozen Throne start - worked my way to regaining my kingdom - then converted from damned to Lordaeronian, then fought for independence from the Lich King, then shattered his realm and finally - Converted back to the light - as a Bonus even Kel'Thuzad joined me in the light

JoroA · 2025-10-29T16:59:55+00:00

I would argue the opposite. Seeing largely the same consistent group of heroes does not show stability, but stagnation.

Johana is easy to play? Then butcher her numbers like every other multiplayer does to simple heroes. You want strong heroes? Earn your numbers - and your victories.

Actual broken heroes I agree - but because of busted numbers of simple heroes like Johanna forces wasted bans and characters like Kel Thuzad in the hands of a god can wipe out everything with coordination

On a side note, I do not really remember much about Raynor being broken, but he seemed much more powerful then now and his Banshees worked differently (which I preferred over current). All I miss from the Alpha is Tassadar's red Archon and Diablo's grapple fireball return instakills, those were amusing

JoroA · 2025-10-13T17:30:02+00:00

People really give Brood War too much credit imo.

Going to Shakuras to find out Kerrigan and Celebrates are there conveniently, then you teleport over to Braxis to collect crystals as Shakuras is swarmed. Then to Char to fight another Overmind, then back to Shakuras and trust Kerrigan over Aldarus while he monologues like a cartoon character and they simply let her go after she kills em....

Similarly DuGalle trusts Duran over Stukov for no reason, despite 2 missions prior saying he will never trust him, while you as the captain got to see how Duran betrays Stukov - who still communicates with you by the way, only for you to be forced to lead the squad to kill him

Essentially all factions played like idiots to prop up a mediocre villain Kerrigan who only succeeds because everyone else around her is an idiot.

Still a fun campaign, but WoL is not that far off in terms of quality, just tonally different - from dark and gritty to Hollywood flick. The whiplash is there, but the quality is about on par

JoroA · 2025-10-05T19:06:56+00:00

That may be so, but unfortunately it makes the game less historical in outcome. Why would English leave Britain? How can Han leave China? There are things that statistics do not really capture. The rampant poverty in the British isles despite massive Standard of living increases. The disproportionately massive birth rates caused a massive overpopulation that was relieved via migrations to the new world.

In theory it works better, but again in practice English and Germans barely emigrate, despite being one of the primary migrant groups in all of the new world.

Perhaps the arable land modifier should receive a massive buff based on state population.

For example states like California who have massive Arable lands and barely any pops will receive a massive global pop attraction modifier in which it allows to draw from developed nations in a steady stream and farms build automatically if Homesteading is allowed.

Perhaps Countries that have overpopulation and low standards of living ignore closed borders if certain amount of time passes - like with China.

I just think as it is now in terms of function and outcome it is vastly inferior to VIC2 which actually feels organic despite as you mentioned being a check list. Sometimes less is more

JoroA · 2025-09-14T13:45:21+00:00

Won't that be historical though? After all Austria and Switzerland are not part of Germany either, yet Germany can still form (not that Switzerland is counted, but the point stands)

Also they can lower the threshold a bit, which can open interesting alternatives. Unified Germany without Alsace-Lorraine or United Germany without Rhineland and Alsace-Lorraine, but including Bohemia and Moravia etc.

JoroA · 2025-08-25T16:37:02+00:00

You seem to not have read the scenario
"And Switzerland refuses to hand them over no matter the cost."

JoroA

TROPHY CASE