I actually got council republic in 1900. Almost lost but cheesed a victory with allies and naval invasion.

Kinda sad that I'll have to give up my current Sokoto game to get the new features and stuff, but I guess it's unavoidable. I'm pretty excited for custom units, though. What do you guys think?

My process for reading these was a bit wonky--- I read the first 41/2 in Chinese, then finished the last 1/2 in English, so I don't know how accurate my impressions will be for the first few. However, now that it's over, I'd like to share a few thoughts I had.

First, heretics was definitely my favorite, although you can't really compare the Dune books like you do others. For example, Dune and Heretics felt like the more action-oriented parts, while everything else from children to god-emperor felt more like a buildup to Heretics. Chapterhouse similarly would've been a sort of prequel to the would-be Sandworms. I'm sure Brain's adaptation is decent and all, but I still would've liked to see Frank's version. Especially since Daniel and Marty basically said they were Face Dancers at the end of Chapterhouse.

My favorite thing about the Dune series was probably getting to see how the universe evolved, from the stagnant Imperium, to the madness of Paul's Jihad, and then the almost sleepy state of Leto II's empire, and finally the breaking away from traditions and the excitement and danger of the post-scattering universe. Again, it's really a shame that we didn't get to see Frank's Sandworms--- I would've loved to get some more lore on what happened during the Scattering.

Anyways, I'm going to keep cramming Dune references into my Danganronpa Fanfiction(because yes) and try to find some copies of Brian's books in a library. They can't be that bad.

A lot of the people think that the last two were worse than the ones before, but personally I don't see the problem with them. Heretics is probably my favorite Dune book, with chapterhouse and god-emperor as close seconds. Anybody else have thoughts?

Also

Bros trying to get me to pass cooperative ownership :skull:

From the moment I first opened the game, I was filled with awe at the complete complexity of the intricate systems that manage the massive economies across the globe. The design aesthetic of the map was wonderfully delightful, a symphony for the eyes as much as the soundtrack was for the ears.

Although everything was complicating and confusing at first, as they all say, fortune favors the prepared. I had spent many long hours poring over every single page in the Victoria 3 wiki previous to "privateering" it. Therefore, I was quickly able to conclude that the way to solve the annoying shortages that were plaguing my economy was to build specific buildings to increase supply of certain goods.

After several horrible games as Prussia, Shewa, and the Qing Empire, I finally decided to play as Mexico, a nation where my primary issue regarding money was that I had an excess of it due to my lucrative gold mining industry, to the point where I was forced into the position of bankrolling Britain to clear up my gold reserves.

I can say for certain that Victoria 3 was extremely well-planned and designed. The gameplay is rich and in-depth, bringing to life the Victorian era better than any previous game could.

I do have some minor criticisms, namely the lackluster warfare, although I will say that warfare is not a large focus of the game, and there's much satisfaction to be extracted from staring at numbers get smaller as your superior armies devastate those of your opponents.

In conclusion, Victoria 3 is one of the best, if not the best, grand strategy games ever made. I would encourage you to buy it if you haven't already, or, if you're so inclined, obtain it through other means.

I've been playing communist China a lot recently, and I wanted to share my experience. So, here goes:

Research electronic engineering and production methods. After that, research better guns, artillery and support, and industry. Tanks aren't of much use but planes are.

immediately justify war on Shanxi and then Xibei San Ma and Sinkiang, in that order. Don't go for the war goal focus since that takes too long. Once you can declare war, they will have plenty of defense gaps, so just take as much of their territory as you please before they capitulate. On civilian difficulty, you should be able to to defeat all three around the time Japan declares war. When Jiang is captured, ally with him against the Japanese. If the Japanese attack before you can get your divisions to the front, wait until your divisions are in position and entrenched before joining the war.

You should always get Zhu De as your military advisor, because of the extra army experience. Then, research trench warfare for the bonus entrenchment, but save xp for other doctrines later. Oh and also build a supply hub in your province closest to Japan, and use the decision to get it done faster. And build civ factories first. For division templates, you'll want to make them progressively more complex as you gain industry, starting with just 9 infantry battalions and a single company of support artillery, then adding engineer and recon companies, then switching to multiple battalions of line artillery as well as adding more infantry.

The first year or so of war against Japan will be the hardest. if you're lucky, nationalist China will hold well and not lose any ground to the Japanese, in which case you should be able to hold off the Japanese attacks on your land fairly well, although you might need to reposition troops to help with hard battles. After Japan loses enough steam and you've built up your forces, attack their plains provinces and try to go for a mass encirclement . You should be able to easily destroy a large chunk of the Japanese army this way, and then pushing to Korea with the 100 regiments offensive decision should be a piece of cake.

If Nationalist China falls back, however, you'll have a hard time defending. In this scenario, fall back to a river and build your army up slowly until the Japanese advance halts. Then, attack and encircle. After Japan capitulates, immediately go down people's war doctrine if you haven't already. Guerilla warfare is very OP for defense and will be useful when fighting nationalist China.

Get infiltration and infiltrate Beijing or any other province to level 3, then launch communist uprisings so you'll be able to go to war without China placing troops at your border. As long as you have enough (90-ish) divisions, you should be able to easily defeat nationalist China and the warlords. Also get collaboration government in Tibet before invading, it will make compliance much easier.