PDXCon Remixed is next week, and everyone is hoping that Victoria 3 will be the new grand strategy game announced by Paradox Interactive during the show. Maybe it will be, or maybe we’re looking at Europa Universalis 5 or even a new fantasy-themed game, which would be quite cool.
But let’s be honest, you don’t need Victoria 3. Victoria 2 is right there, and it’s still pretty boss (if a little old-school by now), and now you can take it to the next level with this Victoria 2 mod that can almost give you a 3D map.
It’s called Mish Mash Map Mod, and it’s a visual mod that attempts to uplift Victoria 2’s campaign map so that it looks less flat. Terms like “parallax occlusion mapping” are thrown about a bit, as are “pixels”. It all sounds very technical, but the end result is that you get a 2D map that’s still a 2D map, but it doesn’t look like a 2D map, which is the important thing.
Here’s a video you can watch that shows the new effect in real-time:
At the moment, the mod only really amps up mountains and hills – the creator would like to look at improving the heightmaps a bit more, perhaps even adding water effects as well at some point down the line.
Honestly, while there is a slight teasing tone to this story, it’s actually great to see fans still making mods for this game, and supporting them, which is the key issue. If you read our Victoria 2 mods guide, you’ll note that the mod scene can be a bit hit and miss.
Related: The best strategy games no PC
Alongside Victoria 3 (maybe), we’re expecting news on the next Crusader Kings 3 expansion, as well as other announcements. PDXCon Remixed runs from May 21 – 23.