![[PR5] Progress Report #5 - Monumental Work](https://preview.redd.it/m706x1lrzk2h1.png?width=140&height=100&auto=webp&s=ab3f2c489974fc10fe731f132c2b407e159c2df3)
[PR5] Progress Report #5 - Monumental Work
Hello everyone, this is BobbertCanuck once again. This month’s progress report is coming a bit later than usual but sometimes these things cannot be helped. A lot of the past month’s work has been focused on the American Southwest, mostly due to us having bursts of inspiration. We’ve done a fair bit of reading and have drawn up what we hope to be some fairly interesting gameplay. A bit later on we’ll also be talking about some of the other matters out east. But first I’d like to talk about something that’s been picked at on-and-off ever since they first made their debut in Götterdammerung…
MONUMENTS
One of the things added (relatively) recently to HoI4 that I really enjoy are Landmarks. I just think they’re neat. As such we’ve added a whole bunch. At present there are 36 within the code with 31 on-map at game start (there are a few that can be constructed during the game). Now I must confess we’ve had these for a while, but I’ve made a recent push to have descriptions and icons made for them. I’d like to show you what we have for the monuments of north america.
I might remake a couple of the icons
Now, unfortunately, we are unlikely to ship TPOF when it is ready with custom models for these monuments, even the ones with models in vanilla. Attempts to make a model for the Alamo never materialized usable results (still, all thanks to hismajestyyy for his hard work) and PDX policy prevents us from using the vanilla models without locking them behind their requisite DLC. So until we get a modeller, or one of us knuckles down and learns, we’ll be using a… placeholder.
What do you mean that isn't a Pyramid?
We have a much longer list of monuments scattered all over the globe, but we’ll talk about those in later reports. Now onto the Southwest!
SOUTHWESTERN STATES
The American Southwest in TPOF is one of the most contested areas on the continent. Since the 1870s the area has been the subject of multiple major wars between Texas, California, and even Mexico. Some 11 years of bloodshed have stained the soil from the Mojave to the New Mexican Plateau, not a single generation has passed without knowing war. This situation, unfortunately, is not looking much better in 1934. Before we get into specifics, let’s have a look at the political geography of the area.
Let’s get into the situation, starting with Arizona.
ARIZONA
The lands of Arizona and the Redrock Confederacy have largely served as extraction colonies for the major powers in the region. At present the area is under control of Texas though this is far from a stable situation. Arizona in particular is ripe for political upheaval. The territorial governance of the area since the resumption of Texan suzerainty has been largely under the control of Aritex Holdings, a Wall Street firm that commands many of the copper mines and refineries in the southwest. This control over the local economy has resulted in the Government of Arizona being more-or-less under the control of Aritex, to the point where the President of Arizona is the Person of Influence rather than the leader.
The Corporate led government seeks vast controls over its workforce and has employed a number of racist policies to facilitate their marginalization. The price of copper, after all, is the lifeblood of the Company and Arizona. The alienated Hispanic majority, comprising an estimated 80% of the population, have not taken this lying down. Aided by Mexican refugees that have fled during the Revolution and the la Cristada and a local chapter of the Sons of John Brown the population stands united in “La Lucha,” or “The Struggle.”
The outcome of La Lucha will be dictated by the player. There are a variety of possibilities but unfortunately you’ll have to wait for a future progress report for more details…
Ah what the hell, have this small taste of what can happen.
Now I’ll pass you onto Lsky so he can tell you about the Red Rock Confederacy.
RED ROCK CONFEDERACY
The Red Rock Confederacy is a “nation.” To call it a unified authority within the Western confines of “government” is a bit of a stretch. It can more accurately be described as a loose confederation of tribes united by a shared need to deal with the White People in a way that benefits all parties. There is something you could call a legislature, the Naach’id, which convenes at irregular times and irregular places, and only when there are pressing matters to discuss. There is something you could call a leader, the Naataanii of all Red Rock, though it’s largely a ceremonial position which mostly acts as a representative for the peoples to the broader world. Day to day administration is largely handled by the communities and tribes that make up the Confederacy.
In-game, the politics of Red Rock reflect this situation. The largest tribe in the Confederacy by far is the Navajo, evidenced by terms borrowed from them to describe governmental bodies. Ever since Red Rock’s founding there has been a concerted effort to equally represent all of the tribes, though this state of affairs has been slowly eroding over time, and by 1934 is on the verge of collapsing entirely. Careful navigation of complex issues will be needed to preserve the Confederacy (or not, your choice). I’ll hand it over the Archivist to explain Texas and its quirks.
TEXAS
Thanks Lsky! Texas has had mixed fortunates since its independence. From winning the First Southwest War, losing the Second and to the victories of the third, it has become clear that while Texas is the hegemon of the Southwest, that position is tenuous.
Texan foreign policy is focused heavily on maintaining the (highly profitable) status quo of Southwestern dominion, and protecting their erstwhile allies from the return of Californian control. However, as some of you may have noticed from the teaser yesterday, they will also have a small degree of influence in the Antilles.
Internally, Texan politics are divided between two major parties; the Jeffersonian Democrats, and the True Democrats. While largely sharing the same social policy, the two differ highly in their economic vision for the county, with the TDs favoring government intervention while the JDs believe in a laissez-faire approach. The Republicans, while still around in Texas, have largely been relegated to a few local offices thanks to political restrictions such as the White Primary. As shown in his leader description, Moody’s time as president is up, and your two candidates for the TDs and JDs in the 1934 elections are Tom Connally and W. Lee O’Daniel, respectively. (Portraits by Lsky) While this dynamic will remain largely unchanged if Texas is victorious in the 4th Southwest War, the same cannot be said if they lose…
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This has been a sneak peek into the Southwest and the machinations therein. Unfortunately that’s all we have for you right now but rest assured that we will go further into detail in later progress reports. Now we’ll hand you over to Roman to talk about a bit of an update the FAS has gotten.
SPIRITS OF “LIBERTY”
Hello all, Roman here. Lead for the Federation. After all of the new content brought you to the southwest, let's go back to the Great Lakes for a moment. The FAS is getting some reworked national spirits to coincide with its new lore. The last time we showed you their spirits was in Part 1 of the FAS Mega-Teaser back in 2021. Some may look similar, and some are completely new.
As you’ll notice with the “Fear City” spirit, certain states will have a “Local Mafia Disruption” modifier that represents the damage that organized crime is doing to the local economy (and yes, they are based on the locations of actual mafia rings!). This what they’ll look like state-side:
These spirits will now neatly fit in with the new content that has been planned and is currently being worked on for them. And now to Lsky and the land of New England, where there is something strange brewing in the background…
THE ALLEGHENY PLOT
New English content is slowly but surely getting done and dusted, and part of that is their foreign policy content. New English foreign policy is not terribly complicated, all things considered. Most of the time, Canada is your bestest friend, and together with the Confederacy and maybe some Midwestern states, you endeavor to knock the Federation down a peg or two. The impetus for all of this is the “Allegheny Plot.”
About a few months into the game, the Federation will get this event, detailing a rather strange event that happens in the city of Ithaca, part of the Federation state of Allegheny. A few days later the New English will be apprised of the events.
The gist is that New England is emboldened by these events to further antagonize the Federation, kick-starting their diplomatic efforts to isolate the Federation in preparation for an all out war. As such, it’s the beginning of your diplomacy tree:
Later on, you can even use those sentiments to cause trouble for the FAS
From there, your options to beat the FAS once and for all are quite expansive, with diplomatic actions available for most of the continent. And as we wrap things up, we once again have a ton of amazing art to show you!
ART
Hot art, fresh off the presses! Portraits, advisors, icons, and so much more! All for the low, low price of FREE!
All courtesy of our lovely art team :)
CONCLUSION
We hope you enjoyed the Progress Report. A lot of work has been done for the Southwest and while not all of it is in a presentable state we will show more off when we are able to. We’ll also be sure to show more monuments as we add icons for them (wouldn't be worth much to show you the models considering statements made above). As always if you have suggestions, questions, or feedback feel free to comment. We’ll see you all in the next progress report!
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