The systems themselves, honestly, aren't the problem. PDX has already responded to a number of our complaints about systems, they are working on them, and otherwise I'm really very happy about the economic system at launch.

The big problem for me is the UI/UX.

The game systems treat you like an adult. The UI/UX is infantilizing and seems to have been designed solely so the game could not be accused of being a "spreadsheet simulator". It's tabs within tabs within tabs, nothing viewable at a glance, with absolutely no information density nor organizational logic, all to avoid looking like a chart.

The game mechanics prompt you to ask questions that the game's interface is incapable of helping you with. It's designed to be "pretty", but it's frankly not at all functional.

My guess is there was a lot of pressure to make Vic3 more accessible like CK3 was, but CK3's break into mainstream consciousness was extremely short-lived and had a way higher value proposition for mainstream gamers as an RPG. Vic3 is a complex economic simulation hiding behind a child's Etch-a-Sketch for an interface.

It's as though the team working on mechanics and the team working on the UX of those mechanics never, ever spoke to one another.