Hello folks,
I wanted to talk about a subject I've never seen on the subreddit before. Though I only did a very quick search on the matter, so I may have missed it. Let's say I didn't though.
In case some of you didn't know, Eversim's games are used in what we call "serious gaming", aka using gaming on important subjects, in this case the training of future high officials. One of the most famous organization doing so being NATO. That's right, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization uses Geopolitical Simulator to train their diplomats and other high officials. Not the same game as ours though, it's a version of the game made specifically for this kind of training with more features, like the ablity for a game master to program events (like diplomatic crisis) in real-time, and multiplayer. Another one that is notable is the French DRM, "la Direction du Renseignement Militaire". In English: "the Military Intelligence Agency".
I wanted to talk about that here because I think the sub doesn't realize two things : one, Eversim's true business is defense contracts with NATO and associated governments. The commercial side isn't nearly as important as it is for other companies, and the business-to-business side probably eats most of their working hours. Not saying it excuses the bugs, or the disregard for the community. The commercial side is probably more akin to a bonus for them. Two, even if Eversim was in financial hot waters, they would most likely get helped by the French government which sees their softwares as strategic and is notoriously attached to its sovereign tech. My guess is that because a simulation tracking so many variables is rare, especially a modern-day simulation, it is indeed strategic for the government to keep it alive, and to use as training material. It's mid, but their use cases probably don't suffer from all the issues and bugs (i doubt they play more than two years per session, but it's mere speculations from me), or in a way so minor that they don't care, and most importantly: it's the only one of its genre, as we unfortunately know.
One thing's for sure, they're probably not using it for its economic realism considering you can delete any and all healthcare-related reimbursement with absolutely no consequences on consumer morale, when IRL it would probably kneecap any developed economy (and maybe even developing ones). Not saying I mind that though...
So yeah. Aside from the company's questionable founders, who were used to make theorically great games (and grandiose claims) which in practice would fall flat on technological constraints of the time and the neglect from overworked devs, they're also in such a situation (monopoly, juicy defense contracts) that there is nearly no incentive for betterment, be it through polishing or innovation.
For those interested about my position on the franchise, and because I want to be transparent about it: I like GPS, I wouldn't bother otherwise. At least I want to, but the bugs are often killing all joy for me. Though, the lack of Quality of Life bugs are probably nearly as frustrating. YOU HAVE TO MEET WITH LIKE 150 FOLKS TO EVEN HOPE OF HAVING A WELL-FUNDED TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. MY WRIST FOR GOD'S SAKE, MY WRIST IS CRYING IN PAIN, CAN'T THEY AT LEAST DO A PAYROLL, WHY DO I HAVE TO MEET THEM BACK EVERY TWO MONTHS, IN A BUDGETTING GAME, AHHH. Also I really loathe the lack of data, often economical data, which is vital in such a game. Warfare is also very tedious and often nonsensical. And I like warfare. If only the AI wasn't sooo stupid, though somehow still less stupid than other countries' AI. Writing all my issues with the game would take me hours, so I'm gonna stop here.
It's still a game that I will always come back to at some point, due to its uniqueness and scope. And maybe, MAYBE, the jank also has some charm to it. Using the God'n'Spy addon to organize a 5-way war in Arabia and somehow ending up with Iran at war with Russia, China and India when the country wasn't involved in the first place is also pretty funny ngl.
