Here is my guide to the best midterm outcome. It holds up in this draft.
Speaking of the midterms @RFKramer , if we marry Walfort, I think we should see a cousin or other relative at the fundraiser giving us +2 midterms (even if Issac and Claudia themselves aren’t present). The Walfort family should also give us money if we go to Santorini.
There might be something wrong with the fundraiser, then? Says Moore Can give you $50 million at the fundraiser and the others give you half that, but I don’t ever remember getting that kind of money; with him, I go from 15 to 27. I did manage to get the midterms to go my way though, with going to the fundraiser with him and all the Cassidy related stuff
Finished playing the demo, and I’m grateful to have the privilege of enjoying the game for free while it’s public. The story handles the beginning quite well, I feel like I’m really sitting within the oval office and laying out the groundworks for my administration.
However, I feel as if after the Saudia Arabia situation, especially after the midterms, the MC and their office take a backseat for the rest of the story. They’re not as diligent and driven as I feel like they could be. The Greats always chased their causes and goals, being more proactive instead of reactive. Of course, what really made them shine was either a great challenge or war.
Instead, the focus was so much on winning seats within Congress and preparing/winning re-election, that it misses the point of becoming president in the first place. To make use of that position, in terms of legislation, executive, and even as a commander in chief. Of course, to match the average number of executive orders that are made in reality would require a great deal of coding and development. Yet, I hope there will be a way to at least match that amount of proactivity and more. Of course, the amount of stuff that comes with being a president would be way too much for a story to encapsulate all of it.
But, this is fiction, let’s have fun with it and make a story for one of the greatest presidents to ever appear on the history books. Forgive me for being blunt, but I want to be great, not just average or decent. Or even an infamous president!
Nonetheless, the game is truly a refreshing tackle on modern politics, as there are not many. And I’m eager for future updates and installments. Cheers!
Thank you all for your feedback and comments, I can’t respond to all of them but if you’ve left a message, I’ve made sure to add it to my to-do list! I’m hoping to be able to issue weekly updates to the public beta in place of my usual writer’s diaries, so you can expect updates to be released (for the most part) over the weekend.
I may have written this part a bit un-clearly, but Moore should raise about $50 million for the party (giving you the largest midterms boost I believe) and then raise about 12 million for your personal PAC (the value you see on the stat screen).
There has been a good bit of feedback about fundraising and playing as non-corrupt characters, so I’ll likely include another sort of fundraiser event or ability to raise your PAC funds without corruption early in Chapter 5.
First of all, I’m glad you’ve liked the demo for the most part! I do think your point about the Presidency of the main character being more reactionary is a valid one, which is honestly just an unfortunate outcome of my decision to split TPH into two books. While I still think this was the right move (I likely wouldn’t be anywhere near publishing for another few years otherwise), it does mean that a lot of the more action-packed and history-making moments of the story just don’t appear in Book 1.
Another person mentioned not using their abilities as Commander-in-Chief, which was another planned major focus of the second half of the story (now Book 2). What I might do (if time permits) is write in some of the smaller crises I had planned for Book 2 to incorporate throughout later chapters. These wouldn’t be long-term, chapter-long events, but would be more like the Saudi/OPEC crisis; crises where a solution can be reached in a few scenes.
I, unfortunately, can’t write in the bigger plot points of Book 2, but I think that by adding in some of these moments where the PC can act unilaterally (without Congress) and by adding in a more hands-on response to the impeachment inquiry, I can help to make Book 1 feel more like your character is taking control of things rather than just reacting to them.
Thanks again for your feedback, this has all been incredibly helpful!
Yeah, that would probably do it; right now, post midterms, it’s impeachment plus family things plus election campaign; throwing actual things into that mix, even if it’s only a small scene here and there, that would make it feel a lot more like you’re actually doing something.
It might also help with the general election campaign side of things, as well, because even though you can be extremely successful: pass your signature legislation with bipartisan support, sign a major military treaty in Asia/handle a major national disaster competently, talk with foreign countries trying to take advantage of the US like what happened with Saudi Arabia, stay off a feckless impeachment push, stay popular with the media and the public, it’s entirely possible to then turn around and get absolutely thumped in the general election anyway. My very first run was something like that; the midterms weren’t great but otherwise I did pretty well on the policy front, Hoffman came in, and it felt a lot like a campaign where he had the upper hand the whole time. It’s not like we’re talking about a recession or any other problems that are currently happening that your opponent can take advantage of, outside of maybe the teachers strike and that’s only one of many things that are happening on the campaign Trail. I don’t entirely know where I’m trying to go with this, but to me, if you are a relatively successful president, have built up foundations for a second term, aren’t disgraced or underwater popularity wise, even if you’re going up against a previous president, it should not feel like a brutal and end-to-end campaign that could go down to the wire any moment. It shouldn’t be a coronation, either, and you would obviously have to invest resources and make smart decisions, but that was not the perception I got.
I like the idea a previous poster had, some sort of unilateral foreign policy move like a drone strike; not on anybody important that would inflame Geo political tensions, but just make up some fictitious terrorist that they’ve been trying to get their hands on. You finally find the guy, and then you hit the moral quandary of, is this the right call? You are, in essence, assassinating a supposed enemy of the state on foreign soil without due process, and even if it’s justified, that’s going to impact any world leader with a moral compass, especially if this is the first time you have to face up to what’s necessary. Do you follow through? Do you scrub it? Do you authorize a manned operation to capture him instead, despite the extra risks? You can do a lot with that without having to really write much variation.
Maybe a scene related to our hundred-day issue (if we passed it in Chapter 2) in Chapter 5? If we didn’t pass it in Chapter 2, maybe a second attempt with the moderate version?
I second this (I had to code dive to start getting election wins lol). Maybe instead of the opponents Hoffman and Burch subtracting from the campaign score (White being the only opponent that subtracts 0), maybe Hoffman adds 0 to it (+1 if he had to fight for his nomination rather than cruising to it), Burch adds +2 to it, and White adds +3 to it.
A couple other minor thoughts:
Although we know a lot about the main character from a political standpoint and about their early career, we know very little about them as a person. You can’t really define their preferences, personality, it’s like playing a character who’s already been mostly established except even then, in games that go down the route instead of going fully customizable, there’s an established personality in place so that puts you into a weird middle ground where they just aren’t as interesting as the rest of the cast (the spouse, Jackson, whatever). There’s not much you can structurally do to change this, but more choices like the White House dog/cat thing, Little personal touches about who they are as a human being, that could help.
The VP is a character who starts to fade out of the spotlight when reelection comes around to the point where it’s generally more of a good idea to ditch them and go for somebody new. There probably should be some more incentive to not making that shift, one that isn’t just, I don’t want to throw this extremely loyal dude under the bus.
There’s really more that could be done with the hurricane event, whether you’re there to oversee the situation personally or send your VP; in the sense that it’s not over after the disaster hits, there’s cleanup, there’s recovery, there’s a ton of stuff that could be done there. What sank Bush with Katrina wasn’t just his initial reaction, it was everything else that came afterwards. and since I’m on it, I’d like to reiterate what I’ve said before; it would be nice if there were more nuanced choices with how you handle the storm when it’s coming down/what the VP does, mainly, there’s a lot you can still do involving coordination and central planning amongst the various states involved. Right now, your options are order an evacuation or don’t and not much of anything in between. One of them results in thousands of deaths, the other doesn’t. it takes some seriously bad screw ups for a result like the former to happen, and that one choice, as effective as it is, isn’t what would make the difference between those two outcomes.
With the political connections spouse choice, I’d like to see an option where you can define what this relationship is exactly right near the start. Is this also a love match, on top of it being two people who genuinely want to succeed politically as well? Or is it a marriage of convenience, they both still care for each other, but political victories are the overarching goal here.
No matter who the spouse is, there’s always some level of personal friction, because, well, the job is a pain in the ass when you have a family, and I would not be surprised if somebody in the White House caught a hold of some gossip, leaked it to the papers, and decided to give the opposition something; even if you the player don’t choose to play dirty, People, and opposing politicians absolutely do so that should probably come up somewhere
I would really love suggestions (not just from you, but from everyone testing out the beta) as to what kinds of these decisions you think would help to define the character a bit. Obviously, I kept the President sort of a blank-slate since I know a lot of people read through the story as a self-insert. I do think more personal choices could help define them as the story continues, though, and would love ideas on how to best incorporate them.
The VP is a character I’ve struggled with keeping relevant for the main reason that the VP typically isn’t too relevant. I do think I’ll include at least one strategy decision in Chapter 5 to make your running mate more prominent in the chapter.
I think this is a very fair point and I’ll work to incorporate some more in-between responses. I do think having another meeting after your return from the trip abroad would be helpful for this point, too. I’m not sure what strategy decisions post-hurricane I’d include off the top of my head, but at very least a scene to coordinate the response would be beneficial I think.
As I said a while ago, the food choices would be helpful (especially the first presidential meal, as that gets reported on. There are vegetarian players, and players who would rather have steak and lobster than chicken). I like the breakfast choice in Chapter 5.
The main character thing is really, really tough. Personally, I think the self insert factors more into what people believe in on a policy front, personality wise, politicians, especially those who are elected president, And absolutely in the modern cycle post 1960 or so, have to be built a certain way. They have to be charismatic, they have to be likable, they have to be outgoing, And if you want to compensate for self inserts on the personality front, you just can’t make it work. Rally style, maybe? You could flush those out a little and maybe change some of the wording of the speeches on how you like to frame yourself to people. are you a campaigner in the model of Clinton, someone who can make an inspiring speech and then start chilling with the crowd five minutes later? Can you connect yourself to the people on a personal level that very few can match and gather enthusiasm that way? or can you take the facts, the numbers, the laws, and distill them down into basic concepts that can be funnel into advertisements and stump speeches? you can’t spend a campaign rally blabbering on for half an hour about the specifics of tariffs, but you can either talk to people about how those tariffs must feel on a personal level and how they’re weakening peoples livelihoods, or you can explain the tariffs in a basic format, say exactly how you’re going to fix them, and point blame that way. That sorta thing. I don’t know whether it would be worth implementing something like that, it would take a lot of backtracking over what has already been written and writing the occasional variation for any grand announcement, but that’s what I think of off the top of my head
First ever Hindu US president be like… “The fuck I supposed to do with all this beef?” /S
How do we win a 2nd term can’t seem to win it keep getting beaten
I think that some of the comments concerning non-corrupt characters are accurate; even paying the bribe to get your bill out of committee and promising a rail line to the Minnesota governor isn’t enough. I am familiar with the code up to about the half-way point, and I still lost re-election by a hundred EC votes. I had a popularity above 50%, charisma of 66%, and ran a non-aggressive campaign. If there’s a way to win re-election without Cassidy, I’m just not seeing it.
I also agree that after the Saudi oil crisis, the President sort of doesn’t do much except react to scandal. Maybe some more policy action in the second half would help. Here’s a list of lesser known actions by the current administration that might be of use for brainstorming purposes.
You don’t need to bribe Kern at that point in the game. You should threaten to use a discharge petition. I think 60 percent approval rating is the threshold for that to succeed, and quite easy to have at the beginning of Chapter 2. Your bill gets to a vote, and you save money!
This whole election thing gives me flashbacks to the I the forgotten one beta and when so many of the testers weren’t able to win the final battle; Took a while to get the balance there
Right, but the discharge petition costs at least some party support.
Yeah, but in my playthroughs it’s a drop from 85+% to 75+% (I forget exact numbers), so it’s something that I can earn back later and remains high (and is still high enough to pass every check later). But every choice costs something in game, at that point, so it’s up to you what you’re willing to sacrifice.
Attend the fundraiser, pick up Senator Roger Moore, and spend $25 million to help your party to campaign.
So, after my first playthrough (and code-diving afterward), my random thoughts…
I feel like a Republican going into law should have gone for another career track than Civil Rights law. Republicans have not been a party historically associated with civil rights since the '60s at the latest.
“I’m a woman of the people, Ms. Brown. I’ve always been able to connect with the everyday voter and that will put me over the edge in this race.”
I’m feeling darkly amused that I can choose this as an upper-class candidate.
When the button question comes up, Diet Coke must be an option. It’s Donald Trump’s choice.
Ooh. I got a messy bug. We’re debating the climate change bill that will be the focus of my administration:
“As the leader of the Moderate Republican Caucus, we’ve put forward a more…” she pauses, “palatable climate bill. Our moderated proposal refrains from strict mandates and instead encourages change through incentives. Notably, we’re planning on expanding existing tax credits, instating a fee on greenhouse gas emissions, and putting in place a carbon border tax.”
You turn to the Democratic leadership. “What is your view of Speaker Peters’ proposal?”
“Frankly, Madam President,” Minority Leader Reed replies, “though it’s much preferred to a more conservative proposal, Republican Party Leadership is fairly strongly behind Reed’s proposal.”
Hold on. I’m a Republican. Why is Minority Leader Reed of the Democrats speaking for Republican leadership? Why am I not getting the Democratic position on the moderate climate bill?
In Tokyo:
Jessica sneaks in and spends the night with you long after Jackson left. You stay up for a bit with them talking about each of your days in Tokyo.
Her.
Please double the length of the pages in Japan (and presumably other tours?). There haven’t been any choices for several pages and a no-choice period that long is really bad form IMO. Maybe drop in a fake choice or two somewhere?
He sat down and straightened his tie, “Well I wanted to reiterate my incredible thanks in your selecting me to represent you. Our team was pleasantly surprised and we’re going to do our best to be a good representative of this Administration and it’s values.”
“You’re a great fundraiser, Senator, there’s no denying that. We were happy to tap you to act as my surrogate in Denver.”
Why do I need a surrogate or representative? I’m going to Denver with Senator Moore!
Hoffman gestures to quiet down the crowd so he’s able to continue.
“I commend my Democratic colleagues on a race well fought, but tonight we’ve made it clear: the Republican Party wants another Hoffman term.”
Hoffman’s a Dem, I’m a Rep.
“former President Hoffman has won the safely-Republican states of New York, Connecticut, Maine, Colorado, and New Mexico.”
lol
BALANCE OF POWER U.S. SENATE
DEMOCRATS: 3546
wut
Post-code-dive:
Florida isn’t a swing state anymore. Virginia, however, is.
I’m not really sure why being upper-class would increase your charisma more than any other class?
When dealing with Saudi Arabia, is it intentional that the drop in approval is a flat number and the rise after putting King Abdullah in a chicken wing is fairmathed?
Opinion after my first run:
I think you need to go through the last chapter with a fine-toothed comb to get rid of the assumptions that it’ll be a Democratic PC 
Loved it though. I tanked in the Jessica scandal, alas. But I’ll be going for another run soon.
Guys, how is your approach with the national convention? How do you achieve the best outcome?