itch.io

Some simple suggestions regarding the game as is:
I was going to have only two suggestions but went overboard, and I hope you don't mind. The game is great as is, I don't want to seem to imply it isn't.  

Inflation:
Having state buyer (in agricultural policy) should have a monthly effect on inflation, particularly when you also control the finance ministry. 

If you control the finance ministry should make the Reichsbank help you in the event High Inflation. 

Having high inflation should have a passive negative effect, like deflation has. 

Values such as nationalism, socialism and pro_republic:
There should be a lowest value for nationalism, as is now it can get ridiculously small.

There should be more ways to promote socialism, I might have missed something in the code but I think only focusing on radio has an effect. If you do end up changing this, there should be a max value of socialism too. 

Values such as pro_republic, socialism and nationalism should have a bigger effect when campaigning, maybe as multipliers? 

Stahlhelm ans SA:
Having banned SA and Stahlhelm should effect them more so that they gain less during events or when dealing with the reichsbanner.

The strength of SA should be taking more into account during events such as all quiet on the western front, and the threshold for a civil war should be based on the strength of sa + sh, but not take whether they are banned or not into account. 

I've been thinking if you form the EU before '31 (but didn't do any economic policy) would the increase in unemployment be as harsh as it is when you don't form the EU? Would the councils controlling the economy have an effect on the increase in unemployment?

Bug: I had economic_policy_timer at 14, I think I might have had it at a lot higher before, guessing advisors might be bugged.

Additional suggestion: If you have formed the EU the West and East should be guaranteed to help you in the case of a civil war (not sure about this if it is the Prussia coup though).

Suggestion: Maybe also normalize the unnormalized support for the parties among different groups? Right now you get less out of a group the more that you campaign in it (that may very well be intended). 

Suggestion: If you have formed the EU forming a customs union  with Austria should not hurt your relations with the west and maybe should not result in the collapse of the banking system. 

It's a lot more difficult to get less than 1% unemployment  now (the game automatically sets it to 1% if it's below 1%). 

My method is, get two land reforms during 1929, get WTB-plan implemented ones 1929 and once more january 1930 (unemploment is then 15.6% which makes WTB nr 2 remove 5% unemployment), then land reform twice during 1930 (unepoyment has to be over 5% for land reform and WTB and lowering taxes to have an effect), AND lower overal taxes ones 1930 (if done 1929 in conjungtion with two land reforms WTB nr 2 is weaker), do the WTB-plan again january 1931 and then do the third work council reform 1931 (removes 2% unemployment, if done earlier it gets uneployemnt to low for the WTB-plan to have the dissired effect), january 1932 and 1933 do the nationalizations (remove 1.2% uneployment twice) and if you keep capital strike progress low enough you can survive high inflation without business even getting worried (raises unemployment). 

I forgot to mention it before, you can pass the WTB before the crisis if you chose to deal with economic crisis first in the Confronting the Nazis card. I'm guessing that this is not intentional.

Bug: The adoption of the WTB-plan still doesn't work. If you have wtb support at 2 save, and test it a few times, sometimes you get it adopted, sometimes you don't (this also applies to the left plan and probably also the reformist plan so I think it's a quite serious bug). If you change an advisor before the card shows up it sometimes starts working.

My theory on the problem (this might be completely wrong btw): The card checks the requirements when it shows up, but it doesn't "see" the wtb support (or left support or reform support) until you change scene maybe? Not sure about this since going to the library or doing another card does not fix the problem, only removing (adding?) an advisor.

Bug: Labor unrest fired for me while I had the labor ministry.
Bug: Clear the agenda does not work (testing the new easy mode, so it might be related to that)

Inspect element. It's a Swedish map from before WW1, but cropped so that it looks like the world of Kaiserreich.

It is a bright time for democracy in the Reich... (Kaiserreich)

Suggestion: I don't think the advisor actions should take a turn and should not reset the timer for the normal card associated (if there is one) and I don't think any event should take a turn.

Runs the risk of limiting what players can do. Maybe if you have a good enough relation with Hindenburg he doesn't? Or you can send the reichsbanner (and if KPD is on your side the RFB) to make sure he doesn't? Or maybe do a legislative coup if he tries?

They would be allied to Germany not to the SPD, so it would depend on which civil war you got. 

Getting Thälmann elected is already possible, but you get an automatic civil war. 

Now that Braun can be more authoritarian do you think you know how to implement a possible Thälmann presidency?

Bug: The enemies card does not count down

Okay. I will change my strategy accordingly.

Additionally, if you succeed on every point and then get a KPD vote of no confidence the game thinks you failed their demands. And you can still shuffle ministers despite being in a government where all the ministers belong to the SPD (left front) and when you do shuffle the ministers you cannot see the agriculture minister.

Additional bug: If KPD blows up the coalition you still get to take all the ministerial positions if you get into the weimar coalition, did not test the grand coaltion.

In a game where I had done all of these before the coalition was started , none after, all of them I did one time only:

- Expand social welfare programs - failed

- Enact a land reform program. - success

- Start substantial nationalization of the economy. - failed

- Make taxes more progressive. - failed

- Support workers in labor disputes. - failed

- Reduce funding for the Reichswehr. - failed

In a game where I had done all of these after the coalition was started , none before, all of them I did one time only:

- Expand social welfare programs - success

- Enact a land reform program. - success

- Start substantial nationalization of the economy. - success

- Make taxes more progressive. - success

- Support workers in labor disputes. - success

- Reduce funding for the Reichswehr. - success

It did for me. I can test it again for all the goals.

Bug: KPD goals for social welfare and labor seems to not be working properly (in the code it's += 1 instead of just = 1).  

And if you return the economic democracy card it discards it. 

Also, I think it's odd that you can choose worse coalitions. Like if you have Weimar coalition available you shouldn't be able to take the grand coalition, and if you can be in the left front you shouldn't be able to take the popular front coalition. And if you get a majority by yourself you should have to govern by yourself. You should always be able to back out of coalition talks (you can't if you choose Weimar) and as long as you have less then 50% you should ba able to refuse to go into any coalition. 

Speculation about bugs:

From my reading of the code the kpd_coalition_dissent can go up even if you're not in a coalition with them. Also if you are in a popular front or left front coalition and then have an election, geting in to a coalition with KPD should not risk a civil war anymore, since it's already been done. 

From my reading of the code you will still be able to get negative unemployment. 

From my reading of the code you will still be able to get negative support in the military if you block the building of the ship.

Normal bugs: 

If you hold an election before Müller dies you can choose Breitschid as Chanselor. 

Sometimes you cannot adopt an economic policy when you should be able to. I have no clue why, I saved on the crisis screen with WTB support being 2 and saved. Modified it several times and tried over and over again and it just did not accept it. Not when I had 4 not 3 not 2. Then I loaded to an earlier save made no memorably different actions and it accepted the plan. 

It's possible to get 0% unemployment! I actually had -2% for a while (less than a month) until the capital strike struck.

I would suggest that you change the code so that if the unemployment gets bellow 0.1 it's set to 0.09 to avoid this (not via event as you could get more unemployment in another event and then click the set unemployment to 0.09% event), and to ad a line at the end in case you have less than 0.1 unemployment, maybe something like "Unemployment has sunken to a level where they are insignificant! This is a success of our economic policy."

The game can clearly still be beaten, I could have done better electorally if I had not insisted on passing all three land reforms, taking the State Buyer decision and  passing every social reform as I had to defund the unemployed and such...

To do this you have to pass WTB-plan twice, (the second one HAS to be after 1930 has begun) and expand the councils three times before you pass three(!) nationalizations and then get the capital strike and empower workers to seize the factories without raising taxes ones. (Done on easy)

Bug: coalition_affairs_timer does not decrease

Bug (if I understand the code, which I may not): In economic_policy you have written "unemployed -= 3; unemployed -= 1.2 if works_councils >= 3; workers += 2.5;" But you should have written "unemployed -= 3; unemployed -= 1.2 if works_councils >= 3; workers += 3;  workers += 1.2 if works_councils >= 3"

And in agricultural_policy (land reform) you have written unemployment -= 1; What is that?

I think it might be too difficult at the start, but when (if) you implement the WTB-plan (and nationalisations) you can get pretty big anyway. Though I do think that the first election might be to difficult actually, maybe the start date should be earlier? 

Bug: When nationalizing the budget taken is sometimes larger then it should be. And if you have started nationalizing you can "continue" the WTB.

She confirmed that the game is not going to go beyond 1933.

Bug: The military policy timer does not actually go down, it just stays at 6.

Bug: If you make Otto Wells Chancellor you cannot reelect him after the election.

On easy I accidentally got it after the first election. You just need SPD + DDP + KPD to be 50% (or above 50% I have not tested this) but you don't actually have to be in coalition with them, as long as you are in government. On normal I suspect you need to get the Weimar coalition then investigate corruption or pass land reform or something ASAP, get an election and win that, then go into coalition with DDP and Z again.

Do you think it would be possible to remove Braun from Prussia if he becomes president (and/or Chanselor)? I think there were both leftists and centrists that could have taken his place (or at least had been Minster-President before).

Bug: It seems like you cant do agricultural policies if you get a majority with SPD.

Small complaint regarding agricultural policies, I think doing the land reform costs too much, at least if it is intended that you should do it three times.

Since the WBT-plan can be implemented at 8.60...01 you may still be able to get negative unemployment by cutting taxes (though I think you have to cheat for this).

Sad to hear, but understandable. And I am really happy for the future nationalization plans, hope they are effective but a hell to pass!

Bug: There seems to be a bug which makes you able to implement the economic plan several times more than you should (you can even get negative unemployment using this).  

Question: Will there be more left wing possibilities for leadership (both presidential and the chanselor)?

I got my best end so far (got rid of Hitler, "fixed" unempolyment and legalized abortion by having an election in February 1932, and THEN got Thälmann elected). Though it was done on easy.

Thank you! I think you have to ban the SA before the option shows up, I couldn't until I had.