Ooh, I've been meaning to play this once some more updates came out. I'll write my impressions of the game as I play the new version:
I got it to start just fine and the interface looks pretty at 1080p. I have a laptop which uses integrated graphics on unfamiliar programs- the game was running very slow on my Intel HD 4000 graphics, which is pretty surprising for a business sim. Anyways, I restarted it and made sure to use my Nvidia graphics, it seems to run without triggering my laptop's fan, so maybe there's intel optimization issues. I found my way to the tutorial without issue, started it, and opened the buy/sell window as instructed. Immediately I'm confused: Where did the tutorial window go? After opening and closing the buy/sell window a couple times I realized that it window was on top of the tutorial window and I could move it out of the way, but that was confusing. Also, because the buy/sell window was huge, I couldn't put it anywhere without obscuring part of the tutorial window- I wonder how bad this is at lower resolutions.
Then, I tabbed out to write all the text above here, and I noticed the game doesn't make an icon on the task bar (I'm using Win7 x64, by the way). I could tab in to again fine, but that's weird. Also, I don't know how to pause the game's clock, and it's now mid-april as I'm writing this. Japan has request 115 submachine guns within 85 days, I'm told- I could easily miss that time limit while going to get a sandwich, I think. Next I bought my guns, 14 of the cheap rocket launchers from china, and built my vehicle, perplexed by the way the sonar makes it go faster. I settled on a yacht that goes 438 miles an hour (!), carries 160 tons, and has a stealth of 6 (is that good?) I can't really picture what this thing is supposed to look like and the customization feels kind of weird. Next I open the travel planning windows, as the tutorial instructs, and I find my yacht actually has a speed of 876 miles an hour, apparently. I also note the lack of a "load cargo" button, before choosing "select course and cargo".
It takes a lot more fumbling to actually go somewhere: I have to click finland on the map, then choose the check box on the bottom left of the screen that says travel to finland, then choose review, then it doesn't actually say anything in the review screen, then I confirm. Next I bribe the general (some of the buttons really need backgrounds, the text doesn't pop out from the screen as being a button). Next I'm told to bid on the auction, so I do that- takes me a moment to realize I have to click the price box (it looks like a slider), then realize that the bid button isn't working when I try to bid a $1000 dollars. Before long though, I manage to place a bid that's over the stated minimum bid.
Now I'm told to open the buy/sell menu again, so I do that, and after finding the "only stock" button and pressing it (for selling, I feel like that should be on by default, and those tick boxes are in a weird place where I always miss them at first) I realize I haven't actually brought my rocket launchers with me to finland. It takes me a minute to close the buy/sell menu: It has a red X in the wrong place, and I have to click where regular windows have their grey X, which is blank space in the buy/sell menu.
I finagle with the transport window- I go back to russian with my family yacht, then to finland again with my custom yacht, this time finding the button to actually bring my rockets. I sell them, and I'm told I have to go bid on a SMUG auction, and in turn must travel to madagascar. After a bunch of confusion, I come upon what I must do: Click madagascar, click private transit, click all the countries I must travel through in order (this is the part that confused me, because before i had just moved to an adjacent country), click private transport again to open the travel window, then click review and confirm. Then I place a $9,000,000 bid on the unnamed (as far as I can tell) water class transport that has a speed of 210 MPH, carries 500 tons, 1 stealth and a 68% smuggle chance.
Next I'm told to take out on of a bunch of seemingly arbitrary loans, so I do so, and then i have to fulfill a request- Japan wants SMGs still, apparently. It looks like that request has the most value if I supply BSA 1949's from the UK, so i go to the UK- or rather, I move my custom yacht from Russia to the UK- I only just figured out that my vehicles don't move as a fleet, and that my family yacht is in Madagascar while the custom yacht is in europe. Then, I move my family yacht to the UK, since apparently it is what needs to be there for me to actually purchase the guns. Notably, i can't find a way to bring back the window that shows each country in a vehicle's route after having closed it. When I get to the UK, I realize they only have 6 of the SMGs, and I couldn't even afford the 115 Japan wants. Oops! That's curious, because if I click on the UK in the map and then click trade, it shows a supply of 1203 submachine guns. Instead I guy to the US and buy 115 thompson M1's. While my custom yacht is carrying those to china, I move my family yacht to sell some sniper rifles to Mexico, and make a little cash successfully. Once my custom yacht gets to its location, I find the "fullfill request" button doesn't work, so I move the family yacht also- I find it annoying that I have to hide the sides of the interface to travel to Hawaii and Caledonia, it would be nice if the map scrolled. I then fulfill the request, plus a 25% bonus since the guns came from the US.
Now, it says I get to start a war. Woo! After flipping through several countries, I decide to have Canada attack Cuba. For a mere $500,000, the Black Umbrella corporation causes Canada to have a drought (?) so that they'll go after Cuba for their water supply. I then go to execute some false-flag attacks, plant drugs on politicians (not really a game mechanic, these options are just randomly presented to you and you see if they work) but it doesn't get anywhere. Ultimately, I can't get Canada to go to war with Cuba after eight tries, so I decide to try to get Chad to attack the western sahara instead. I arrange a food shortage in Chad, and the sparks go flying.
Next I'm told to open the agency tab with the W key (no clickable button?) and the bonuses menu with the P key (again?) and I've completed the tutorial.
I'll try playing a game proper soon, and see how that goes.