r/paradoxplaza • u/colepercy120 • 3h ago
Afterworld My hope for the Midwest in Afterworld
Im from the Midwest, and I think most post apocalypses tend to either ignore the region or make it essentially a no man's land without much going on. And im hoping afterworld can give the region some more attention.
The Midwest and Great Plains are by far the world's single most productive agricultural region. Even without modern fertilizer and farming techniques, the state of iowa alone can produce enough corn to feed 50 million people. With modern techniques and technology the state can easily feed the entire us, in addition to its raw agricultural potential the entire region is connected by the largest series of navigable rivers in the world, about twice the length of the next 2 or 3 systems put together. This has always been one of the core strengths of the us, easy interconnectedness and plentiful food. And given the environment of the post war us it would be one of the best places for civilization to survive or reemerge. (The mid west was already the place where the largest settled pre-Columbian societies lived)
I am hoping that the devs acknowledge the regions importance instead of just focusing on the coasts like every other post apocalypse. The midwest is the heartland, and it would be far more strategically important than the east or west coasts. Imagine a string of riverine cities either biult after the fall or were surviving remnants of Omaha, Minneapolis or Des Moines, or a rump state of the US ruling over moderately sized populations based out of chicago. The great plains are a lot like the western Eurasian steepe and could easily support a mix of settled people's and nomadic hordes in the vast plains. It potentially could be the most important interesting region in the game, if the devs give it attention.