SimonG: You don't need manuals for the Paradox games, they are logically structured. After my usual playthrough of Sweden (which is the tutorial nation of just about any Paradox game) there weren't any real issues left. Vicky II is way more accessible than its predecessor and yet they increased complexity.
True enough, but still, figuring out the whole game on your own takes months. I could've tried basic tactics via trial and error basis in Hearts of Iron 2 and 3, but just reading through manual spared me weeks of figuring that out.
Paradox games manuals are the rare example of well written things. There's EVERYTHING in there.
But I'm glad I've found one person on the web that isn't moaning "Vicky 2 is too hard and complex!" , and I'm surprised that person is you :P