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Angry Imperialist Spreadsheet Hell: Let's Play Rule The Waves 3

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Jenny

Jenny

anonymous user
Location
maryland
Pronouns
She/Her
I've been sent to Hell, which is weird, since my people don't even really believe in it. It's not your Aligheri-esque sort of hell, with the fire and brimstone and ironic punishments -- though with enough HE, you get the former in the game, and I suppose it's ironic that I go from my day job of 'spreadsheet wrangler' to be stuck playing a game that's primarily spreadsheet-based. But it's hell, nonetheless -- I am cursed to find this weird niche game about running an empire's navy in the 20th century bizarrely fascinating... and to have to play it, again and again, and report on my mistakes for your amusement.

What sort of hell have I been sent to, this time?

[ ][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets)
[ ][HELL] Balkan Hell (Play as Italy, 1900 start, very large fleets)
[ ][HELL] Treaty Hell (Play as France, 1920 start -- no Versailles, random treaty, larger fleets)
[ ][HELL] Cursed Hell (Play as USA, 1935 start -- the two curses with the most votes are applied, large fleets)

What has cursed this run?
[ ][CURSE] Curse of avarice (I must always choose options that increase my budget as much as possible (regardless of tensions), and may never scrap a ship willingly)
[ ][CURSE] Curse of bellicosity (I must always choose options that increase tension, and may never ally with another power)
[ ][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)
[ ][CURSE] Curse of pride (I must always choose options that increase prestige, and must seek to have the biggest ship on order or in service)
[ ][CURSE] Curse of wrath (I must fight every battle offered, and may never recommend peace)

OOC:
What is this, you ask? Well, I got the game Rule the Waves 3 a few days ago, and am kinda obsessed with it, despite it having laughable graphics, a niche focus, and being a pretty difficult game. Obviously, the thing to do is to turn this into a semi-interactive Let's Play, with a weird gimmick that'll make it even harder!
 
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[X][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of avarice (I must always choose options that increase my budget as much as possible (regardless of tensions), and may never scrap a ship willingly)
 
[X][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)
England redemption arc
 
[X][HELL] Balkan Hell (Play as Italy, 1900 start, very large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)

the rare commie rtw3 run
 
[X][HELL] Cursed Hell (Play as USA, 1935 start -- the two curses with the most votes are applied, large fleets)

[X][CURSE] Curse of bellicosity (I must always choose options that increase tension, and may never ally with another power)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)

Considering I'm doing an RTW3 USA "DESTROY THE EMPIRES" run, I condemn you to try the same.

Changing the bote vote to better fit the ideal
 
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[X][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of avarice (I must always choose options that increase my budget as much as possible (regardless of tensions), and may never scrap a ship willingly)
 
[X][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support
 
[X][HELL] Treaty Hell (Play as France, 1920 start -- no Versailles, random treaty, larger fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of pride (I must always choose options that increase prestige, and must seek to have the biggest ship on order or in service)

quick someone dig up another napoleon


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwzRQPobRlw
 
[X][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)
 
[X][HELL] Balkan Hell (Play as Italy, 1900 start, very large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)
 
[X[HELL] Treaty Hell (Play as France, 1920 start -- no Versailles, random treaty, larger fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of pride (I must always choose options that increase prestige, and must seek to have the biggest ship on order or in service)

Gib cursed French ship design (also, the 1920s start is one of my favs, you're on the sweet spot of big bang bang ships and carriers starting to be a thing)
 
[X][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of avarice (I must always choose options that increase my budget as much as possible (regardless of tensions), and may never scrap a ship willingly)
MORE BOATS (and best when they're screwy 1890 boats)
 
[X][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)
 
[X][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)
 
actually, no

i have a PROPER curse

[X][HELL] Cursed Hell (Play as USA, 1935 start -- the two curses with the most votes are applied, large fleets)

[X][CURSE] Curse of bellicosity (I must always choose options that increase tension, and may never ally with another power)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)
 
[X][HELL] Cursed Hell (Play as USA, 1935 start -- the two curses with the most votes are applied, large fleets)

[X][CURSE] Curse of bellicosity (I must always choose options that increase tension, and may never ally with another power)
[X][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support)
 
[X][HELL] Treaty Hell (Play as France, 1920 start -- no Versailles, random treaty, larger fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of pride (I must always choose options that increase prestige, and must seek to have the biggest ship on order or in service)

HON HON HON
 
[X][HELL] Treaty Hell (Play as France, 1920 start -- no Versailles, random treaty, larger fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of pride (I must always choose options that increase prestige, and must seek to have the biggest ship on order or in service)

Uphold the legacy of French battleship design!
 
Ok, so I screwed up the vote count, time to do this manually.
[X][HELL] Micromanagement Hell (Play as Britain, 1890 start, super large fleets) -- 7
[X][HELL] Balkan Hell (Play as Italy, 1900 start, very large fleets) -- 2
[X][HELL] Treaty Hell (Play as France, 1920 start -- no Versailles, random treaty, larger fleets) -- 3
[X][HELL] Cursed Hell (Play as USA, 1935 start -- the two curses with the most votes are applied, large fleets) -- 3

[ ][CURSE] Curse of avarice (I must always choose options that increase my budget as much as possible (regardless of tensions), and may never scrap a ship willingly) -- 3
[ ][CURSE] Curse of bellicosity (I must always choose options that increase tension, and may never ally with another power) -- 2
[ ][CURSE] Curse of idealism (I must always choose the least morally indefensible option, per 21st century morals, even if I have another curse that would say otherwise, and may only put submarines on Fleet Support) -- 10
[ ][CURSE] Curse of pride (I must always choose options that increase prestige, and must seek to have the biggest ship on order or in service) -- 4
[ ][CURSE] Curse of wrath (I must fight every battle offered, and may never recommend peace) -- 0

Curse of wrath eliminated from future runs.
 
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[X][HELL] Cursed Hell (Play as USA, 1935 start -- the two curses with the most votes are applied, large fleets)
[X][CURSE] Curse of avarice (I must always choose options that increase my budget as much as possible (regardless of tensions), and may never scrap a ship willingly)
[X][CURSE] Curse of pride (I must always choose options that increase prestige, and must seek to have the biggest ship on order or in service)

The curse votes are ordered by priority, if you don't want for USA votes to come with two corresponding votes for curses.
 
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Micromanagement Hell I, 1890-1899: This is the curse of hypocrisy, too
  • Threadmarks
    • First off, some notes:
    * The least morally indefensible choice for running the navy of a world-spanning empire would be to either resign, or pull all ships from the colonies (in the hopes that they take advantage and seize independence). However, #1 means no game, and #2 means a game that lasts maybe 2-3 in-game years, tops, due to the 'prestige' mechanic. In test games, this was not enough to lead to successful uprisings in the colonies, so I will instead allow my ideals to be corrupted by hypocrisy.
    * None of the great powers in the game are morally defensible states in this period. (No great power ever is, but these were especially bad states -- they were empires, ruling over colonized peoples to exploit them for as much resources as possible). As such, there's less of a moral duty to maintain a peaceful status quo.
    * The 'prestige' mechanic, btw, is how the game scores your performance; dovish answers frequently cost prestige. At 16 or under, you run a risk of being sacked each month; as I am still trying to play the game through to the end, this leads to some... moral flexibility (see the first point). Still, the concept of this run is to try to run the Royal Navy as ethically as possible, within the constraints of the game, so.
    * As a result of my occasional hypocrisy, an additional requirement is imposed on me for this run: all new ships, and any refitted ships, must be equipped with Spacious accommodations, as it's more ethical to ensure all crew have comfortable accommodations. Even on small ships like destroyers.

    With that in mind...

    The fleets of 1890. The Royal Navy has a massive edge, especially in battleships. While some of them are terrible ships with no range and only a 3-gun broadside (the maximum amount of guns that could be brought to bear on a target), the rest of the world's fleets are little better. Still, they have time to improve, and, flush with cash, I start developing a new battleship (instead of the junk under construction) and a new armored cruiser (five-gun broadside, good speed for 1890, good armor, and spacious accommodations). I also scrap a few ships -- the 'colonial service' ships, which per the manual are specially fitted for colonial duties, including carrying extra marines and supplies [to put down rebellions].

    Of course, I'm very flush with cash to start; as such, I have a lot of money I could spend, and little need to spend it on anything in particular. So, I consider what might be ethical to do with it within the narrow confines of the game, and settle on 'build up infrastructure in the colonies', which while it could make repressing the colonies easier, it also potentially develops a more skilled technical base among the locals, and hopefully leaves them with more to work with post-independence. Can you feel the hypocrisy?

    Additionally, there's a matter of research. In Rule the Waves 3, like its predecessors, you prioritize areas of research, rather than choosing what to research next; I've set them in accordance with trying to develop technology that will benefit ordinary people.

    Over the first half of the decade, I slowly phase out the Anson class for the new Wat Tyler class, start building new Artemis-class cruisers, develop a protected cruiser design and build my first destroyer (with spacious accommodations forcing lighter armament and slower speed), and mostly just vibe... up until I notice some foreign ships that I think look pretty decent (check out that 5-gun broadside and matching speed!). There's shifting periods of tensions with America, Germany, Russia, and Italy, but nothing boils over against me. That being said, Austria-Hungary and Italy do go to war!

    My next little generation of designs include:
    A fast [predreadnaught] battleship!
    A new armored cruiser, with newly-purchased upgraded 9" guns!
    A new, faster, protected cruiser!
    And a new destroyer! (Also notice my prestige)

    But the rest of the world is starting to catch up -- while a lot of foreign battleships still have weak guns and slow speeds, some are getting better. Plus, new technical developments let me bring more and heavier guns aboard as secondary armament, so I begin a design study for a new battleship at the end of the decade. (And then immediately realize after starting the design study that my 9" guns are better performers than my 10" guns, so. Luckily, there's an optional 'rework' phase, so...)

    Here's a global look at the world's fleets, by tonnage.

    Selected events in 1890-1899:
    Following democratic oversight!
    Not supporting the arms trade!
    The Dreyfus Affair is in this game!
    A situation where there's no real ethical option!
    Bellicosity is still kinda immoral!
    An honest assessment of defense needs is more ethical!
    Hypocrisy!
    Reformism!
    A legitimately morally defensible stance, that's also good for my budget and prestige!
    Ethics in sports!
    Reformism again!
    I could've pushed for war, but not on suspicions alone!
    Helping support the arts!
    Not my reasoning, but still more moral than supporting the arms trade!
    Talk things out rather than going straight to war!
    Do a world cruise in style and comfort!
    Doing the bare minimum, as that's all that the game allows me!
    Ethics in personnel management!
    My most genuinely anti-colonial action in the game!
    I'm not fond of the Double Monarchy!
    It's funny when ethics and better in-game outcomes align!
    No alliances with Tsarism, but also an opportunity to push for arms control!
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • I mean, more moral than supporting the arms trade, but perhaps less moral than letting the South Americans defend themselves from angry European nonsense.
     
    Night said:
    I mean, more moral than supporting the arms trade, but perhaps less moral than letting the South Americans defend themselves from angry European nonsense.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Fair, except when the debt they rack up to buy such ships (which do literally nothing unless they do successfully provide deterrence, and which create basically no jobs for them) screws with their economies. Still, that's a clever, and valid, way to think about it. I'll need ethics like that!
     
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