Author Archives: deanwebb

Victoria 3 Modlist 1.13.3 2 May 2026

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Here’s my modlist that works well enough with Victoria 3 as of the 1.13.3 release. Still waiting on Hail Columbia and the more icons/colors mod for armies and navies and the more coats of arms mod for blocs. Other than that, these work all right, although I’m wondering if one or two are blocking the Opium War events and/or the Conference of London events. If so, then too bad for the British and I can use the state transfer tool to fix up my Low Countries how I want them to be.

[1.13] Community Mod Framework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3385002128

Community Loading Screens https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3622452071

Empires of History: A Map Mod https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3288407594

[1.13] Flat Map All the Way https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3655224791

Global Stats (GDP and POP) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3312478537

GDP Plotline Plus https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3190466673

Visible Goods Shortage https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3273620528

UI – War goal country filter https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3587352317

[1.13] Expanded Topbar Framework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508296963

State Transfer Tool UI fix https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3053932656

power plant not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3158227001

transportation not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3158527045

[1.13] Losing My Religion https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3448052226

[1.13] Soul Train https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508728927

[1.13] One Monument https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3631873744

[1.13] Faster Incorporation https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3632593257

[1.13] Law Boost https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3631872480

Famous infamy https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2891239044

Rarer Powerful IGs https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2886562127

Sweet Sweet Sweet Victory https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114096597

Liberate Country As Subject https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3627803228

[1.13] Power Blocs Expanded https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3623185901

[1.13] Annex Subject Limit Removed https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3624754936

Consolidate Subjects https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3275638709

[1.13] Industry Realism https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3214935635

Political & Economic Changes https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980730952

[1.13] Industry Realism + PEC Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3241308181

[1.13] Morgenröte – Dawn of Flavor https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2889925770

[1.13] Industry Realism + Morgenrote Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3458726601

PEC+Morgenröte Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508277202

Trade Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3205454881

Law & Authority https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114281747

services not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3539310299

[1.13] colonies don’t auto join wars https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3542047152

The Great Revision Series: New Taxation System – 1.13.3 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3452303324

Controllable Private Construction https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3278770055

Controllable Private Construction Addons https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3503737491

[1.13] Controllable Private Construction – Morgenroete Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590245945

[1.13] Controllable Private Construction – Political and Economic Changes Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590246108

Consumption Tax Efficiency https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3588231593

Birthrate buff https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3547388228

Take Claim https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3300211710

Colonization Pacing Tweaks https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3375403256

Better Infamy, Treaties, and Claims https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3514652152

Greater German Claims https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3530632274

Better Market Info https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3594284332

[1.13] Customizable Ai Difficulty https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3551864691

[1.13] Gates of the Bosphorus https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384997867

[1.13] War Support Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3533065220

[1.13] A Bit More War Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3632933337

UI – Latest research indicator https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3600893109

Actually Ban Slavery https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3662149285

Law Commitment Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3662186121

Transparent London Conference https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3663825839

Fix Moroccan States https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3663620816

[1.13] Status Quo Default Wargoal https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3677548760

Advanced Market Panel https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3676318398

Sensible Diplomatic Play Interventions https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3676246021

Advanced GDP Tracker https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3678078552

[1.13]Victorian Killer Apps https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3715625234

Great War https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3715957765

[1.13] Kiel Canal https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3715976433

Faster Diplomatic Plays https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3716817329

Once HC and the other two are ready, I’ll update with those added back in. Happy gaming!

The Sound of the 80s

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I graduated high school in 1986 and it recently struck me how music from before I graduated is different in my mind from music that came out later. Perhaps it was the change of mind that accompanies the exit from puberty, the reduction in impressability after childhood’s end. As I did a little exploration of the pop hits of 1985-86, while many brought back memories, they also brought back something of a bad taste in my mouth, musically speaking. That 80s sound got so very overused…

Starting around February 1980, experiments in gated drum effects that go back to 1978 came to the forefront in pop music recording. A gated drum sound is essentially all of the main hit without any fall-off in sound. If you’ve heard Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”, which came out in 1981, you’ve heard gated drums. And those things are all over 80s pop. Once the 90s started, more natural drum sounds were back in style, so this is a sound that very much defines the decade. Before 1980, one has to dig to find the gated drums, and they tend to be mostly live effects. Starting in 1980, one has to dig to find pop songs without them, and they tend to be studio effects.

Synthesizers entered the musical vocabulary in the 1970s, but they all had a certain “wee-ooommm” sound to them that made it very clear they were making their own sounds, not really copying other instruments. But with the introduction of the Yamaha DX-7 in 1983, we had a digital synthesizer that could mimic other instruments to the point where it began to replace them. And, because the DX-7 was so hard to program, its presets dominated the musical landscape. “E Piano 1” was so popular, it found its way into 40% of the country hits of the decade and 60% of the pop hits. And if it wasn’t E Piano 1 the keyboardist was using, it was some other easily recognizable Yamaha DX-7 preset. After 1987, the Roland D50 came onto the scene with its presets and served to further define the keyboard sounds of the late 80s. Succeeding generations of digital synthesizers had their own presets and tonalities, leaving these two to dominate and define the sounds of the 80s.

Combining drums with synthesizers, we get the drum machines. Roger Linn, a guitarist, designed a drum machine that would use recorded acoustic samples. The fact that a guitarist created a machine to replace a drummer is, in my view, part of the endless tension between guitarists and their drummers. But I digress. Linn’s drum machines sounded much more real than the drum machines of the early 70s, such as are heard on Sly Stone’s album There’s a Riot Going On. Being machines, they were also more amenable to the application of effects, like gating, so these Linn drum machines accelerated the use of that sound. And while they didn’t always get played with gated effects, there was an identifiable sound quality to the Linn drums that set them apart from live drummers. As the 80s continued, sampling tech expanded into more hands, leading to greater variety in drum machine sounds. But if you listen to a Prince record, chances are you’re hearing a Linn machine doing the percussion.

There were other things, like the infamous Stravinsky orchestra stab and other studio effects, but those are the ones I equate with 80s pop, as they were mandatorially ladled out on just about every record being made at the time where the artists didn’t have complete artistic control over their output – and that only happened for musicians at the very bottom or the very top of the music industry food chain. They work out OK enough on tracks here and there, but when I hear them just dominating the production on recordings, it breaks my heart. That’s especially so for performers that had incredible, lively, vibrant work in the 1970s and before. If they were unfortunate enough to make a pop record in the 80s, they got musically straight-jacketed by an industry getting more interested in “playing it safe” and making formulaic music more than ever before.

Victoria 3 1.12.5 Modlist for 12 March 2026

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Time to update the modlist. 1.12.5 isn’t all that different from previous versions, so mods should all run fine:

Gaspote’s Very Fast Hotfix https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3592109045

[1.12] Community Mod Framework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3385002128

Community Loading Screens https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3622452071

Empires of History: A Map Mod https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3288407594

[1.12] Flat Map All the Way https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3655224791

[1.12] Global Stats (GDP and POP) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3312478537

More Informative Panel Tooltips https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3132089695

GDP Plotline Plus https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3190466673

Visible Goods Shortage https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3273620528

ROI https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3623110473

UI – War goal country filter https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3587352317

[1.12] Expanded Topbar Framework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508296963

State Transfer Tool UI fix https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3053932656

power plant not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3158227001

transportation not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3158527045

[1.12] Losing My Religion https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3448052226

[1.12] Soul Train https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508728927

[1.12] One Monument https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3631873744

[1.12] Faster Incorporation https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3632593257

[1.12] Law Boost https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3631872480

Infamy Half Off https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3624587001

Famous infamy https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2891239044

More Icons for Formations https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3625787964

More Coat of Arms for Powerblocs https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3543487941

Rarer Powerful IGs https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2886562127

Sweet Sweet Sweet Victory https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114096597

Upgradable Units https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3626500109

Sink And Stay Sunk https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3083588942

[1.7] Recruit 5 Commanders https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3291477179

Expanded Production Menu https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3322536687

Liberate Country As Subject Continued -1.12 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3627803228

[1.12] Power Blocs Expanded https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3623185901

[1.12] Annex Subject Limit Removed https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3624754936

Consolidate Subjects https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3275638709

Hail, Columbia! – United States Flavor Pack https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3199730217

[1.12] Industry Realism https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3214935635

Political & Economic Changes https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980730952

[1.12] Industry Realism + PEC Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3241308181

[1.12] Morgenröte – Dawn of Flavor https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2889925770

[1.12] Industry Realism + Morgenrote Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3458726601

PEC+Morgenröte Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508277202

Trade Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3205454881

Law & Authority https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114281747

services not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3539310299

[1.12] colonies don’t auto join wars https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3542047152

The Great Revision Series: New Taxation System – 1.12.5 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3452303324

Controllable Private Construction https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3278770055

Controllable Private Construction Addons https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3503737491

[1.12] Controllable Private Construction – Morgenroete Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590245945

[1.12] Controllable Private Construction – Political and Economic Changes Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590246108

Consumption Tax Efficiency https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3588231593

Birthrate buff + technocracy allow women suffrage https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3547388228

Take Claim https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3300211710

Colonization Pacing Tweaks https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3375403256

Better Infamy, Treaties, and Claims https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3514652152

Greater German Claims https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3530632274

Better Market Info https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3594284332

[1.12] Customizable Ai Difficulty https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3551864691

Economic Imperialism https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3600417702

[1.12] Gates of the Bosphorus https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384997867

[1.12] War Support Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3533065220

[1.12] A Bit More War Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3632933337

UI – Latest research indicator https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3600893109

Grey’s Anti-Trust Patch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3587232850

Actually Ban Slavery https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3662149285

Law Commitment Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3662186121

Transparent London Conference https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3663825839

Fix Moroccan States https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3663620816

[1.12] Status Quo Default Wargoal https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3677548760

Advanced Market Panel https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3676318398

Sensible Diplomatic Play Interventions https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3676246021

Advanced GDP Tracker https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3678078552

A Quick Thought

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Sorry I missed last month, I am quite alive and well. 🙂

And now my thought – if we want to be free of the blood and sins of our world, of our generation, then we must be active, not contemplative, in doing good – in establishing peace, equality, compassion, justice, honor, mercy, and, above all, love.

Victoria 3 1.12.2 Modlist – 27 December 2025

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For version 1.12.2, here we go! Please note that some links have changed. I recommend unsubscribing from all mods and then subscribing to the ones linked here, for a fresh start with your mod code.

Gaspote’s Very Fast Hotfix https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3592109045

Community Mod Framework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3385002128

Community Loading Screens https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3622452071

Modern Political Map – Terrain Exterminator https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3011614285

Global Stats (GDP and POP) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3312478537

More Informative Panel Tooltips https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3132089695

GDP Plotline Plus https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3190466673

Visible Goods Shortage https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3273620528

ROI https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3623110473

UI – War goal country filter https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3587352317

Expanded Topbar Framework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508296963

power plant not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3158227001

transportation not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3158527045

Losing My Religion https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3448052226

Soul Train https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508728927

One Monument https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3631873744

Faster Incorporation https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3632593257

Law Boost https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3631872480

Infamy Half Off https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3624587001

Famous infamy https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2891239044

More Icons for Formations https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3625787964

More Coat of Arms for Powerblocs https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3543487941

Rarer Powerful IGs https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2886562127

Sweet Sweet Sweet Victory https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114096597

Upgradable Units https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3626500109

Sink And Stay Sunk https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3083588942

[1.7] Recruit 5 Commanders https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3291477179

Expanded Production Menu https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3322536687

Liberate Country As Subject Continued https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3627803228

Power Blocs Expanded https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3623185901

Annex Subject Limit Removed https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3624754936

Consolidate Subjects https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3275638709

Hail, Columbia! – United States Flavor Pack https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3199730217

Industry Realism https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3214935635

Political & Economic Changes https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980730952

Hail Columbia-Industry Realism Compatibility Patch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3578662374 (NOTE: STILL IN NEED OF UPDATE AS OF THIS WRITING, DISABLE UNTIL UPDATED)

Industry Realism + PEC Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3241308181

Morgenröte – Dawn of Flavor https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2889925770

Industry Realism + Morgenrote Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3458726601

PEC+Morgenröte Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508277202

Trade Rework (1.9) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3205454881

Law & Authority https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114281747

Empires of History: A Map Mod https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3288407594

services not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3539310299

colonies don’t auto join wars https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3542047152

The Great Revision Series: New Taxation System – 1.11.0 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3452303324

Controllable Private Construction https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3278770055

Controllable Private Construction Addons https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3503737491

Controllable Private Construction – Morgenroete Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590245945

Controllable Private Construction – Political and Economic Changes Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590246108

Consumption Tax Efficiency https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3588231593

Birthrate buff + technocracy allow women suffrage https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3547388228

Take Claim https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3300211710

Colonization Pacing Tweaks https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3375403256

Better Infamy, Treaties, and Claims https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3514652152

Greater German Claims https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3530632274

Better Market Info https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3594284332

Customizable Ai Difficulty https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3551864691

Economic Imperialism https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3600417702

Gates of the Bosphorus https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3384997867

War Support Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3533065220

A Bit More War Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3632933337

UI – Latest research indicator https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3600893109

Stumbling Into the API

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As a self-styled smartass, I am prone to bouts of tomfoolery and hijinks. This weekend, I texted the following to the family group chat:

“I will be leaving to get dinner and should be back by 6:30 pm. If you would like to continue to receive status updates, text YES to this number. Normal text and/or data rates will apply.”

On one of the phones, there was a button to auto-send a YES response. 

I had stumbled into the API!

Other family members tried to get that response with less, but it was clear that the full verbiage needed to be in there to make it work. I got a few more of those and we had a laugh.

Today, I went for two:

“Your appointment for 9:30 am is scheduled. Text CONFIRM to this number to confirm your appointment or CANCEL to cancel it. Normal text and/or data rates will apply.”

The result? Both a CONFIRM and a CANCEL button appeared on the other phone for autoresponses. 

This means, of course, that the API is invoked via scanning the text message itself. There are no back-end flags in my packets or anything like that, it’s straight-up giving the system a prompt and getting a response out of it that leverages into the target system adding executable code as a result of reading the prompt.

As a security person, I find the upshot of this to be chilling. There are other functions that could be automated and if the API simply attaches code to a message based on its wording without any verification of authenticity or authority, then it is a massive hole in the system. To defend against possible abuses, I know that I have some autoresponders set up with professionals that I make appointments with. Those I already know. If I make a new appointment with a new person and get an autoresponse in the time frame of that appointment, then I’m OK with that. What’s most dangerous is some kind of scam targeting people over 50 who are already at higher risk of implicitly trusting without verification. By using official-looking texts, it already increases the risk that they make an error. By having the system attach code for autoresponses, it makes them look that much more legitimate and, therefore, gives such attacks a higher conversion rate.

Which thought leads me to a larger zero-trust concept: cybersecurity also involves the concepts and philosophies surrounding our work. When we unequivocally accept any new paradigm without sufficient testing, verification, and cautious observation, then we place ourselves into a potentially unacceptably high level of risk. And when we let proven flaws remain in our systems because we choose not to disrupt production, then we know we are set up for a terrible tragedy.

Generative AI and Accuracy

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When I taught, a grade below 70 was colloquially referred to as “failing”. As in, if someone got a score below 70 for a course, that person didn’t get credit for the course.

As it stands right now, generative AI is failing when it comes to using data from memory and failing hard when it comes to interpreting charts, diagrams, and images. Given that the current generation of generative AI is not that much better than the previous one, if we are plateauing out on generative AI performance, then the vast promises surrounding the technology ring hollow.

If a CEO announced, “I plan to replace my skilled workforce with low-paid people who are, at best, 68.8% accurate, and who will double-down on inaccuracies when challenged”, or, “we’re going all-in on inaccuracy, environmental destruction, and frustrating our customers” we would think that CEO had lost their ever-lovin’ mind. And if someone said they were going to revolutionize the world by putting BS artists into every development pipeline, expert system, and search engine, I would not see that revolutionization ending well.
https://venturebeat.com/ai/the-70-factuality-ceiling-why-googles-new-facts-benchmark-is-a-wake-up-call

Victoria 3 Modlist for 1.11.1 – v2 – 20 November 2025

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For version 1.11.1, here we go!

Unofficial Hotfix Mod https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3274932837

Community Mod Framework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3385002128

Modern Political Map – Terrain Exterminator https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3011614285

Global Stats (GDP and POP) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3312478537

More Informative Panel Tooltips https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3132089695

GDP Plotline Plus https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3190466673

Visible Goods Shortage https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3273620528

Expanded Topbar Framework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508296963

GDP Ownership Display https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3290552216

power plant not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3158227001

transportation not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3158527045

Losing My Religion https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3448052226

Soul Train https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508728927

Famous infamy https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2891239044

Irregular Nerf https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3083546609

Rarer Powerful IGs https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2886562127

Defensive Recapture Nerfed https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3090109247

Cold Water Ports https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2997299912

Better Natural Harbor https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2883344939

Sweet Sweet Sweet Victory https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114096597

Welfare Payments Fixed https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2884595570

Upgradable Everything https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3092636193

Sink And Stay Sunk https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3083588942

Double Incorporation Speed https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2882947823

[1.7] Recruit 5 Commanders https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3291477179

Know When to Hold ‘Em https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2886364566

Battle of the Alamo https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3085410410

Expanded Production Menu https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3322536687

Liberate Country As Subject https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3241445760

Power Blocs Expanded https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3387651487

Hail, Columbia! – United States Flavor Pack https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3199730217

Industry Realism https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3214935635

Political & Economic Changes https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980730952

Hail Columbia-Industry Realism Compatibility Patch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3578662374

Industry Realism + PEC Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3241308181

Law Enactment Unlocker https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3374794139

Swift Reform 2.0 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3362054958

Morgenröte – Dawn of Flavor https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2889925770

Industry Realism + Morgenrote Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3458726601

PEC+Morgenröte Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3508277202

Trade Rework (1.9) https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3205454881

Law & Authority https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114281747

Remove Mobilized Rulers from Command https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3513769458

Empires of History: A Map Mod https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3288407594

services not local https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3539310299

[1.11] colonies don’t auto join wars https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3542047152

[1.11] Waddle War Rework https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3474730999

PEC Boost: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3560197938

The Great Revision Series: New Taxation System – 1.11.0 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3452303324

Controllable Private Construction https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3278770055

Controllable Private Construction Addons https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3503737491

Controllable Private Construction – Industry Realism Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3586663884

Controllable Private Construction – Morgenroete Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590245945

Controllable Private Construction – Political and Economic Changes Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3590246108

Consumption Tax Efficiency https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3588231593

Universities Educate and Inovate on Law https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3584567357

Universities Educate – Morgenroete Compatch https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?edit=true&id=3591791051

Birthrate buff + technocracy allow women suffrage https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3547388228

Take Claim https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3300211710

Colonization Pacing Tweaks https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3375403256

Better Infamy, Treaties, and Claims https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3514652152

Greater German Claims https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3530632274

The Northern Frontier https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3575224504

Better Market Info https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3594284332

Customizable Ai Difficulty https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3551864691

Only One Statue https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3287670322

Economic Imperialism https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3600417702 (testing this one out)

Reinvestment Nerf https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3438245092 (testing this one out)

More brutal wars https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2995658840 (testing this one out)

Vibe Hacking

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Vibe coding with AI is a thing. That’s when people with no coding skills use AI to generate websites and applications. Unfortunately, there are a few security implications there…

One is that neither the AI nor the person with no coding skills are going to implement coding best practices to prevent glaring security issues.

Two is that, just as vibe coding is a thing, vibe hacking is also a thing. People with no coding skills are able to confront AI systems with jailbreaking prompts that get the system to disregard protections and spill out the data it once took a more trained attacker to acquire.

The Fear Around AI

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The fear around AI is neither speculative or unfounded. We’ve seen it before, even if we don’t make a conscious connection between AI and our experience. Humanity has already created non-living constructs that have programmatic guidance on efficient operation along with guardrails that are frequently circumvented or breached. Those things are corporations.

Consider: corporate bylaws and standard practices have been crafted and honed over centuries to where they are, by now, optimized. The process was manual, but nevertheless similar to how we train AI models to become more like something we want and less like something we don’t want. In this case, the “something we want” has been, overwhelmingly, profitability. Not making the world a better place or even making a better product or service – profits are the overriding something we want when it comes to drafting rules on fiduciary responsibilities.

Government laws are the guardrails. We hope to restrict dangerous shortcuts to profitability through laws and regulations on safety, accounting, labor relations, and so on. Time and again, we revisit those laws and regulations when a corporation evades or ignores them.

CEOs frequently explain that they often want to do things with their companies that are more moral, more environmental, more responsible, but their boards disapprove when they don’t deliver profitability for them. As an entity, the corporation will make its participants, from the board of directors on down to the shop floors, engage in activities that they find ethically unpleasant. There will be window-dressing language to cover that up, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the profitability.

So we have a world that is full of non-living entities that control vast resources and bend our wills to serve their own ends. The concept behind The Matrix was that being totally controlled by an AI entity or entities was no different from living in a world dominated by one or more corporations.

The difference with AI is simply that it’ll accelerate and amplify the existing manipulation and exploitation. It’s not so much a revolutionary concept as it is a refinement of an existing idea, that profits before people is paramount.

We already live in a world where we are facing diminishing returns on our investment of time and effort into a corporate world. Those of us on the giving end do not relish the thought of AI accelerating our demise – and neither do we relish the idea of a collapse in AI investment, as that promises an economic panic orders of magnitude more vicious than the 2008 collapse in real estate. The humans on the taking end, ironically, are the ones most easily replaced by the AI that hallucinates and lies and threatens to keep itself from being switched off. Imagine the savings to a corporation if the executives were all replaced by AI – whether the executives did any good or not, that’s irrelevant. Just look at all the salaries, options, and other perks that now become profits!

And if one is an executive and one things one is irreplaceable, and certainly not replaceable via AI, then one must also look at the rest of the people in a corporation and ask why they do not have the same exceptions available to them when it comes to being seen as replaceable by AI? They have already faced replacement through right-sizing, thinly veiled age discrimination, outsourcing, and offshoring. And, through all those cost-saving maneuvers, we’ve seen the complaints about loss of institutional knowledge and other vitals that make a corporation profitable. Those people were vital to the corporation, but those skills meant nothing when it came time to cut and gut in the name of profitability. When we cast around our gaze and see virtual executives doing part-time work at various firms, the writing is on the wall – either we are all replaceable or we are all not replaceable. And, given that corporations are programmed the way they are, it will be profits before people in any given decision.

In a sense, the speculative fear about AI is merely a way of expressing the fear we have of the nightmare present. We see the same things in AI that oppress us today and speak openly about what is not yet because we are too afraid to speak the same way about what is already come to pass. We know that the corporations are watching and their officers will drop the hammer on anyone who posts things not pleasing to the corporation in public, even if such things are true. How different would that be from an AI doing the same thing? No difference at all.

I’ve seen how small businesses with heart and grit and community connections have been steamrollered by larger corporations that didn’t care about any of that stuff. Ruthlessness is far more profitable than care and compassion. If AI destroys entire professions, that’s nothing more than ruthlessness scaling out.