(First proper post, if I made a mistake or goofed up somewhere with forum etiquette please let me know)Hello all, welcome to my first AAR and coincidentally my first proper play through of Vicy II. I thought it'd be amusing to record my attempt to get to grips with this infamous paradox title, I'd tried it before but it had defeated me. I'm back, I'm armed with some tutorial videos I watched half a year ago, as well as lots of experience with paradox's other well known titles (namely EU4 and CKII).I've chosen the Two Sicilies mostly on a whim. I'm assuming a secondary power might be easier to learn with (assuming and asses and you and me springs to mind however), as well as staying in Europe. We'll see.As you see I've progressed a couple of months but all I've done is slid some sliders until red numbers became green. Having been weaned on EU4 having all these numbers and ways to modify them is rather intimidating.My goal with this little campaign is to learn, to survive, and maybe even form Italy. Hopefully I can bring you along for the ride, and I'll detail what I learn as I go.First lesson, the printscreen hotkey is F11. It didn't seem to work, even after finding the folder there was nothing in there. Going to use Steam's screenshot function instead. Great start.I've setup some clergymen in my two highest pop provinces, because I do remember people saying that literacy is very important. Clergymen do literacy right? Can't see anything in game that says what any of the national focuses do... It took me a long time to even find the button, didn't realise I had to click on the map first.I've also started to court Austria with some fine Napolese pizza, and promptly spent 2 diplomatic... points? That I didn't realise I had. Welp, guess my initial diplomatic moves are done.Going on a limb and assuming that bullying Tunisia would be a great idea to boost myself early game. War is the best lecture theatre, right?I have no idea what establish protectorate means. In EU4 it means you suck money out of them, and I'm game for some glorious pounds sterling. Bodies to the war machine!My God, what does it even mean?According to the trade window at the top, I'm importing a lot of grain. So, I guess grain would be a good target?And would you look at that, Tunisia has some grain. I always know what I'm doing.After some vigorous searching, by which I mean straining my eyes towards the screen looking for a small number, I found the infamy display. It's still 0, so that's good. I assume. Not sure how lucky that is, or if I can take that kind of chance for granted.What could possibly go wrong?Their numbers are bigger than mine (they're not btw, I'm just bad at counting -future me), but I assume I have quite the technological advantage against them. If EU4 taught me anything its that, by 1820, a European power has tech to stomp 3 times their own number against such uncivilized brutes.Just noticed that I don't have a general. How do I get a general?Aha, found you, you sneaky little horse man. I've shipped him off to Tunisia, time to crush the natives!There's only one way to solve this minor disagreement, and thats with piles of bodies. Incidentally, I don't know how to view the war's progress, but I do remember the CB telling me I needed 85% or something like that. For now I'm having to navigate to Tunisia's diplomacy screen to check the warscore. Hopefully this'll jump it way up.Ah excellent, slaughtering them in the thousands like I hoped. I suppose it was a bit overkill to outnumber them so. Ah well, that grain needed a bit of fertilization anyway.Good job lads! Extra pizza when you get back, after you finish starving to death in the desert I've sent you to, because supply. Oops.Hmm, I seem to be at war with the Turks, not sure how that happened. It is mildly alarming, they really do outnumber me. A lot. Didn't get any popups other than to tell me that the Upper House has 20% more liberals, whatever that means to an absolute monarchy anyhow. I checked Tunisia, they aren't under any sphere or anything, nor alliers nor even cordial people. So... What?Good news! I've found the warscreen! It still doesn't tell me why the Ottomans are in it, and their blockades are apparently bad for business... But hey, now all my army is stuck in Tunisia, brilliant.We decline sir! That sand is rightfully Italian, because I need to learn!After a short naval tussle, where I realised near the end that my “screens” (whatever that means) were facing off against capital ships (we still won though!) that I was quite navally outclassed. Without any home protection forces I'd loose all of the mainland, and probably the war. So status quo it will have to be. Guess I get to learn some other time. Do you need grain for pizza? I hope not...I seem to be getting a lot of liberal agitators, and consciousness apparently. Never heard of the word before. I queued some transports to be built since I lost some, and I need them for my ambitions, but only one of them was built. The funny thing is, the others are sitting there doing jack. Builders probably eating too much pizza or some such. I mouse over it, like you can't see, and I don't have enough convoy stuff? Also, fun fact, my budget screen tells me I'm loosing money hand over fist, whilst the window in the main view shows gloriously green.Again, not a clue.Oh and can someone tell me why my ships are dying whilst docked up? I moved them to Naples, in the hopes that might help, but they've been (slowly) shipping dudes back from Africa to Palermo and now they seem to be unable to even pick up dudes. They're just chilling in the sands now. (Not sure what happened there, they allowed dudes back on board next month -future me).Also apparently Austria has too many alliances, as do the British, so maybe France would like to protect my stupid ass? I was hoping to get someone else but to be honest I don't thick the Spanish could hold a candle to France's flame. Ah well, I'm sure the papal state will join my ranks at some later point.In an effort to stimulate the economy (fancy words, no idea what that actual entails), increase my score by having a factory (because now I realise I'm not even a secondary power having lost all my prestige), and do something because I'm bored and I don't know what I should be doing, I will fully fund this factory. Sounds like I'm about to lose everything, yippie.Except apparently machine parts don't exist in the world. Never mind, at least my money isn't spiralling downward. Yet.In an effort to boost my prestige a little, all those inventions look juicy. Also just finished researching medicine, which also had a bunch of inventions.my navy has stopped dying. Not sure though, a lot of them are still very low.Radiation medicine! My Italians are so advanced... Shame their militancy keeps going up and up. They mustn't like glowing or something...Yikes, that's a lot of red dudes. At least the army in Palermo has their stuff together, not even I could cause -3000 survivors.Nevermind, Naples, ever one to one-upmanship, decided to best Sicily with -15000 survivors. Impressive.I think I've blundered by not letting their organisation recover, but I couldn't let them take Naples! Will somebody think of the pizza! Besides, they're only dirt irregulars.Good job Giacomo! You squished the stinking red shirts and their petty complaints, and not so petty rifles. Best bit is, I didn't even learn how to assign generals or merge damaged units. I'm starting to see that units function very differently than in EU4.Its 1841, and 5 years have passed, and I've reduced us to a mere civilized nation. The rebellion was put down successfully and I've learnt a few things, although I am still very confused about The Ottomans trying to kick my teeth in and, as you can see, my ships have decided to start expiring again. But, we're still alive, none of my ships have actually spontaneously sank just yet, and Tunisia is sitting pretty. I will have that grain!If you have any advice, or could explain to me, with small words, some of my confusion away, that'd be much appreciated.Cheers for now, Bellaby.