Hearts of Iron 2: Initial Impressions

[Airhog]

Finally got a chance to sit down today and play through the tutorial. It was pretty short, but it does give the basics of gameplay. I pretty much liked everything I saw in the tutorial, and it seems so far they have done a good job eliminating some of the micro-management. I paticularly liked the simplified reseach tree, that has you focus on the end product, rather than the steps. The tree was very similar to the first game. I didnt get much of a chance to try anything else, but I will post more thoughts in a dynasty I plan to write.

[Fritz]

I started a game as the US in the 36 campaign the other night. Most historical events seemed to be happening on time, so I geared my policies/production/research/trade areound a dec 41 war date.

At great cost I advanced a program based around controlling the sea and projecting power via carriers.

The Yorktown was already under construction, but I quickly initiated work on the Enterprise and had Newport News Shipbuilding start design work on the improved carrier. By Dec 7 1941 the American Pacific Fleet sported 9 CV Task forces with 3 more on the way. The 2 newest ships were Essex class, years ahead of history. A shored based naval bomber program was also initiated to allow places like Midway, Wake, and Guam to function as unsinkable carriers.

To combat Germany, Strateigic Bombers in the form of the B-24 were built. Grouped in 5 clusters of 3 wings the planes are supported by P-38Js for escort.

And then, the Japanese did not show up for the party.

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Fritz

And then, the Japanese did not show up for the party.

Must have been the hidden "Admiral Kimmel rents a f***ing clue" random event.

[Fritz]

fwiw, its now august 42 and still no war for the americans. all these toys and nowhere to play.

from the ai's point of view, this is a clever tactic.

[Godzilla Blitz]

I've been hearing some outstanding feedback on this game. Heading off to pick up a copy now.

Fritz: Is there something that makes declaring war on the Japanese and/or Germans a bad move?

[vtbub]

I'm not Fritz.

Because the US is isolationist, you are not allowed to declare war.

[TazFTW]

The US gets two (or more) "Gearing Up" (lend/lease) events that move the US from isolanist to intervention. Plus you can make a policy change once a year and use that to go to interventionalism.

Japan still doesn't declare war on you though but I guess you can join the Nat China alliance if you want to.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm thinking about buying this game which sounds very interesting. My question is: If you don't build up your forces like Fritz did, will Japan attack the USA?

[Desnudo]

Anyone have a comprehensive opinion? How easy is to get into for a newb to the series? I've played the Europa Universalis series.

[Fritz]

What a nation can do diplomaticly, and how much of their production is consumed by population, is largely affected by a series of polar policy options. isolanist vs intervention is one set of policies. There are some events that move you towards intervention, but others that drag you to isolation.

By september '42 I noticed that I could join the Allies, which put me at war with Germany/Italy/et al. It did not put me at war with Japan. I ended up sitting on joining until Feb 43 so I could go into some final production runs for equipment, and make sure my supply stockpile was large.

As soon as I joined, 6 Heavy bomber groups - (3 B24s, 1 P38 each) were moved to England, along with interceptor groups (F4F) and fighter groups (P40).

My P40s, flying in groups of 3 on day missions, have had the duty of wearing down the German Fighters while my HB Groups bomb the snot out it by night. The P40s are no match for the German air, and I only get a good night or two of bombing in before the Hun switches his fighters to night support and knocks my bomber fleet out.

This bring us to a new item in HOI2 - replacement points. As before, there are manpower unitis used for building units. replacement points are a way to spend production points. So repairing my current B24s is keeping me from building something else.

---
What is ole fritz going to do about his airpower problem? First of all, I don't have everything earmarked for Europe in the area yet. So I need to bring the rest of it over.

Step one will be to bring some more fighters online. The country is producing several new fighter wings (P40s) and research on an new aircraft model, the P51B, is at the testing phase. This, coupled with some emerging airpower theory should help out.

The fighters will be placed in SE england and run continual sweeps of the skies. Behind them, B-26 tactical bombers will target airfields and flak sites in the region, hoping to reduce the ability of the germans to park fighters in the area. The Heavy Bombers will then go to work on the region.

[Fritz]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm thinking about buying this game which sounds very interesting. My question is: If you don't build up your forces like Fritz did, will Japan attack the USA?

I don't know if it was my buildup, or policies. It may even have been somewhat random policies by the Japanese.

It may also have been that I didn't keep the US fleet in Hawaii, it was in San Diego. A strike on Hawaii would have netted very little.

----
Now that game has gone on long enough for the US to be allied with the UK, I plan to initiate a program of reinforcing US possesion (Guam, Wake, Midway, Samoa), placing a strong Corp in the PI, placing units on dutch possesions, and shoring up British positions in Burma and India. Places where US troops are based will be covered by interceptors. Liberal placement of modern submarines and naval bombers will complete the front line shield.

Not sure if militarizing the region will prevent or stimulate conflict, but either is fine.

[Airhog]

A few points.

The Ai will not attack a province with overwhelming force in it for some reason. I had 47 Infantry in once province and they refused to attack it.

You can get 4-1 ratio if you trade excess goods. This may be off, but im not sure

Diplomacy sucks still, because the AI can influence your countries sliders way to much right now. I have had my sliders move 5-6 times in one year as a small country. There is no way that outsiders would influence my country more than me.

I wish there was a way to let the computer auto manage my resources. I think this is a more severe problem playing MP where you are unable to slow down the game or pause.

I like the new tech tree, but you have no way to know how long it will take to research something, AFAIK.

[bhlloy]

With regards to research time there is a formula - can't remember the whole thing but the factors involved are:

Blueprints - half TOTAL project time
Researching techs ahead of time - double(?) TOTAL project time per year (e.g. researching a 1937 tech in 1936 doubles the total research time)
Researcher speciality - halves INDIVIDUAL MODULE time if the researcher specialises in that area
Skill level vs module difficulty level - modifies research time for the INDIVIDUAL MODULE e.g. a 7 level researcher will murder a 3 level module, but will have a considerably harder time dealing with a 10 level module
Last module wierdness - if the last module is a prototype or a test (maybe a few more key phrases I can't remember) then the time for that INDIVIDUAL MODULE is doubled

You can get the formula from the HOI boards at Paradox Interactive to work out exactly how long something will take, but even if you don't do that following the rules above and just playing the game I've become pretty good at estimating within a couple of days how long something will take to research.

One essential rule is that it's always worth matching the specialities because of the half module research rule - a level 4 researcher with 2 "matches" to the current project is infinitely preferable to a level 8 researcher with 1 "match"

[Fritz]

It would be easy to spend the whole game never looking at map. Keeping production working without too much or too little going any one place, managing resources, and researching technology is a handful

------------------
Hey, its midway through 1943 in my first game and the US has a bunch of new research teams. Pity I am still using mostly older ones.

-----------------
Going on Dec 43:

The med is hard for the US forces to work in. The British and Free French control north Africa. I moved a an Army of 6 division, plus transports, surface support, fighters, bombers, and an aircraft carrier.

But the French/British don't want to send supplies and oil to my area, and I don't see anyway to create a supply run to them.

I tried an invasion of Sardinia with a second army of 6 divisions, but control of the territory passed to Canada.

--------
My air war vs. the AI started off badly. I massed fighter and bomber squadrons in south east England, but they would just get hammered as they passed over the Netherlands. Germany had installed quite the collection of fighters there. The German fighters were better, the leadership was better, and I think their doctrine was better. Looking for an outlet I noted that Norway was not well defended.

Germany had two ways to get to Norway. One, via black sea transport, and a northern route from Finland (which Germany had annexed).

3 corp units were assembled for the invasion. A 3 Division Mountain Corp (1 Mountain Div, 2 Inf Divs to take Bergen, and a )Marine assault corp (2 Marine Divs, 1 Infantry Div) to take the territory south of Bergen. The Bergen assault was completed by a Para drop from the 82nd Airborne.

Supporting the attack were 6 battleships and 2 cruisers in a surface/ground support group, a destroyer division conducting ASW, 5 Carrier Task Forces, a submarine group parked in the sea space between Denmark and Oslo, and some naval bombers.

Several times the Germans sent un-coordinated naval attacks out, but the invasion force was well prepared for them.

The strategic bombers in England that were being mauled over France shifted to a ground support role in Norway, and the allied invasion corp landed quickly.

With support from 6 more divisions and an Army HQ (led by Macarthur), the Americans kicked the Germans out of southern Norway, leaving nothing but the northern route for supply. The Amphibious corp re-embarked and landed south of Narvik, cutting the German forces off.

Most of my leadership for this operation were low grade LT Generals, but I noted their experience was building. I needed to get that experience in the hands of a more formidable ground commander, so General Patton was given command of a second army and 5 divisions and moved to the Narvik area where he attacked southward.

While this battle for central Norway raged, much of the strategic bomber fleet was relocated to Oslo. While American fighters and tactical bombers in South England wrestled with German fighters, the American Heavy Bomber force began a bombing campaign against central and northern Germany.

As the year is turning, new fighters (P-51Ds) and heavy bombers (B29s) are starting to roll off the assembly lines.

As of Dec 43, an invasion of mainland Europe looks like it will happen on 3 fronts. 1.) Northern France (historical). 2) Denmark 3) Southern France. A force reserve will be kept to invade Greece and Italy as well. The challenge here will be a) finding enough shipping and b) freeing up enough production to cover losses while expanding the force.

-----------------
Production covers several areas. 1) Consumer goods - you have to make these to keep the population happy. Right now, the US has a relatively low requirement for this. 2) Production - this is what is need to create brand new divisions, wings, and ships 3) supply - needed for feeding your troops and buying them bullets 4) replacements - needed to replace combat losses. In an active war, this can outstrip your means very quickly 5) upgrades - needed to bring the newest models to you troops.

So I think at some point a nation needs to control their unit type upgrades, because they cant afford to modify the troops in the field, and focus instead on doctrine and non-upgrade upgrades. I also think a nation needs to cut way back on building new units and focus on keep the old one in fighting shape.

The challenge as a solo player is making enough troops to fight, and occupy, a large amount of territory. I have no expectation that the British will operate in co-ordination with my US operations, so I have to be prepared to do it alone. I have the manpower for that, I think, but not enough manpower to be constantly active everywhere.

That said, there is no way the Germans can afford to do that as well, so there may be some logic in an attrition strategy that focuses on bringing them combat losses.

[Fritz]

Hmm, 1944

I have combat fronts in Norway and Italy.

In Norway, the AI has placed just enough troops to conduct limited operations and to keep me from running around.

In the Med, the Italians were a no show, and I was able to March up the boot and take all of Italy proper. Only one German unit, as well as a handfull of garrison types tried to put of a defense. Most of the Italian troops were in annexed Greece. The only way for them to get there was by transport, and the Allies control the seas.

I have made a small push into Vichy France, and the Germans have not yet turned out for that one either. A second push into Austria has drawn the attention of several German Units. Not an overwhelming force though. I don't have enough troops to break out into south Germany yet, so I will consolidate ground until enough guys can be brought up for a broad front push.

In both cases the Germans are using a mix of Wehrmacht and other Axis troops to form the front.

To be honest, I am not sure where the axis troops are hiding. The French coast, Denmark, and Germany proper look to be lightly held. The only thing I can figure is they are in Russia trying to hold down the territory they gained after Stalin signed an armistice.

--------
I shifted a ton of production points to replacements and my forces started to recover. Now that they are in fighting shape, I have been keeping a healthy portion of my budget dedicated to keeping troops in the field and it seems to be working.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Fritz

I started a game as the US in the 36 campaign the other night. Most historical events seemed to be happening on time, so I geared my policies/production/research/trade areound a dec 41 war date.

At great cost I advanced a program based around controlling the sea and projecting power via carriers.

The Yorktown was already under construction, but I quickly initiated work on the Enterprise and had Newport News Shipbuilding start design work on the improved carrier. By Dec 7 1941 the American Pacific Fleet sported 9 CV Task forces with 3 more on the way. The 2 newest ships were Essex class, years ahead of history. A shored based naval bomber program was also initiated to allow places like Midway, Wake, and Guam to function as unsinkable carriers.

To combat Germany, Strateigic Bombers in the form of the B-24 were built. Grouped in 5 clusters of 3 wings the planes are supported by P-38Js for escort.

And then, the Japanese did not show up for the party.

I am thinking about getting into a strategic WW2 sim and have been interested in finding out more about this...and wouldn't you know, my old friend Fritz. However, the way you started this post bothered me to no end. How in the world can one play a strategy game where you would know or predict future events??? But then again, the Japanese didn't show up. So the question remains, are there hardcoded events in the historical scenario?

[klayman]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I am thinking about getting into a strategic WW2 sim and have been interested in finding out more about this...and wouldn't you know, my old friend Fritz. However, the way you started this post bothered me to no end. How in the world can one play a strategy game where you would know or predict future events??? But then again, the Japanese didn't show up. So the question remains, are there hardcoded events in the historical scenario?

There are some hardcoded events that trigger on certain variables (be it dates, capturing enemy provinces, etc), but most events allow the user and AI a choice between outcomes, each with it's own benefits and penalties. So in the '36 scenario, the Spanish Civil War will always happen, but if any governments actually support either side is up in the air, as well as the outcome of the civil war.

[Desnudo]

I've tried three games so far, twice as the US and one I just started as the Soviets. In game one, Japan did agree to join the Axis in the historical event and that later led to the Pearl Harbor attack and war. In my latter game, Japan did not join the Axis and no war occurred. I eventually moved all of the US assets in the Pacific to Europe. Playing as the Soviets, Japan has already declined a Germany anti-commie proposal, so it looks like they'll be on the sidelines again.

Overall I'm enjoying the game, but I do have a couple of major gripes. One is the ally AI is horrendous. You're basically on your own as the US when it comes to land fighting. I got frustrated and took over England's armed forces, moving about 24 divisions from England to Denmark and then returned control to England. Those units sat there for two years doing nothing as I expanded around them. The second is that it is a little too hard to see what the oppositions unit composition is. I have all the scouting stuff researched and still get a "?" on German units. It would also be nice to be able to see who you're facing before the battle starts. Historically, they usually had a decent idea of likely suspects.

[TazFTW]

Good to know that in some games, Japan does attack. I guess the AI is the same from HOI 1 where Japan, only attacked if they had a certain political viewpoint.

Although, it may still suck as from what I've read at the forums, the Japanese don't build up their navy.

[Fritz]

A frustration:

My land attack in Italy broke into Austria/South Germany nicely, so I complemented the operation with a Northern invasion that Started in Kiel, moved through Denmark and South, chopping forces in France off.

Since I completely controlled the sea, I would imagine a strong effort to break back through should have occured. But then again, it may not have had to.

I landed a 7 division force at Normandy, but instead of American blue, the land territory turned some puke yellow color. the Puke yellow was the national color of Ecuador, who had also landed. The problem is, ecuador had no ability to supply my troops.

Also, all of my troops in Europe seem to be supplied via Palermo. Troops in Denmark supplied via Palermo. If I were playing the Axis, I would try my best to park some subs on that convoy route.

---------

With the fighting going heavily, but not full bore in Europe, my replacement needs have comeplete outstripped production. This means new units and upgrades have had to be lowered in priority to almost a trickle.

[Calis]

My dumb question for the day.

It is possible to get extra research slots isn't? I know I've seen/read on how to do it, but now that I need to I can't for the life of me remember how.

Just fired up my first game of it this morning, going to start out as Sweden for something a little different. Really liking the changes so far. I'm only at the beginning '37 now though so can't comment too much. An extra research slot would be quite nice.

EDIT: Looks like I figured it out, just had to some research on uhh oddly enough, research. Didn't really explain it well, just said I'd get a 5% boost to my research, but when it was all said and done I now have another slot, so I guess that's it. I also just built some more industries so maybe that's it? Either way, I'm happy now.

[sachmo71]

Did you guys download the enhancement pack?

http://www.europa-universalis.com/fo...d.php?t=180604

[HerRealName]

Originally Posted by Calis

My dumb question for the day.


EDIT: Looks like I figured it out, just had to some research on uhh oddly enough, research. Didn't really explain it well, just said I'd get a 5% boost to my research, but when it was all said and done I now have another slot, so I guess that's it. I also just built some more industries so maybe that's it? Either way, I'm happy now.

The number of slots available is equal to the following formula:

slots = 1 + (IC/20)

[bamcgee]

it's always mind-boggling to read the changes that Paradox crams into a patch. Such a reminder of the game's complexity tends to make me want to give them a little more slack when they release a stinker like Victoria or the first five patches for HOI.

[Godzilla Blitz]

I was really excited about this game, bought it, and played through the Polish campaign. Looked forward to playing the campaign game, but these reports of goofy AI are making me rethink whether the game is worth the time before they patch it up. It all sounds so similar to HOI 1.

Some of the AAR's I've read are bizarre. In one, the Germans ran over Poland but let 50+ Polish divisions hole up in Warsaw for a year or so. The Poles broke out and cut off the German forces in Russia with a north-south, two pronged attack. Then the Poles marched on and took control of Berlin, with basically no German resistance. Yikes.

I really want to like the game, but I get concerned when I read stuff like this. Even taking the difficulty level into consideration, things really don't look that finished.

I've heard there are some user mods that attempt to improve the AI (make the Japanese more aggressive, etc.). I think I may wait to see how things develop before I play in earnest.

[Calis]

HerRealName- Thanks for the info, that explains it!

Well my try as the Swedes ended in failure, mostly from my just horsing around. I decided when the Soviets invaded Finland to come to the Fins rescue, not being at all prepared for a war, think I had 2 armor divisions and 4 infantry at the time, along with my 1 squadron of tactical bombers. So needless to say it didn't go well.

Odd thing was, the Russians had mauled all of Finland and I was regrouping to try and help save Helsinki which was about the only province left, the Finns were hurting. Then....the Russians up and left. They got nothing from the deal, no idea why that happened..the Germans were still a long way from coming at them, odd.

Well anyway, then I jumped the gun invading Norway right after Germany declared on Russia and while I mowed down the defenses they had there, the retaliation via Denmark was brutal. I didn't expect them to be able to spare the amount of troops they did to teach me a lesson. I haven't finished yet, but I think I'm in pretty horrible shape, and I can't get the allies to let me in or help me in the least.

Great game though, lots they improved from last game, but still lots of weird stuff. I like doing this mid-power country stuff though, I need to decide who I'll try out next.

[Desnudo]

The main problems with the AI are unit composition, aggression and game planning. I checked at the start of the Germany-Soviet conflict in 1940 and the Germans had 4 tank divisions and 160-something infantry divisions. I rolled them back easily since my tanks outnumbered them 4-1. The US builds mainly garrison units and Japan builds mainly nothing.

The AI also needs to be far more aggressive. Besides the German expansion, which is triggered by events, nothing happens that the human player doesn't initiate. I've never once seen England, Free France, or anyone else for that matter, do anything except sit around. Even in the game where the Pearl Harbor event happened I think the Japanese took two islands the whole time. And I didn't have any units west of Pearl Harbor.

This probably ties into my last gripe, which is gameplanning. The AI doesn't seem to be able to develop a long term gameplan and implement it. It should be based on whatever government type they have, plus historical influences, but I don't see any signs of life. I can't blame Paradox too much as this seems to be a common AI problem. I've noticed it happening in games like TW: Rome too.

[Fritz]

played some of another game last night. I had the difficulty turned up but still got into 43 with no war for the US. Once again I asked to Join the Allies. The bulk of my Atlantic fleet was sent to Iceland and Scapa Flow.

My plan was to take control of the seas between the UK and Norway. Man oh Man have I taken a pounding on the high seas. older destroyers in asw groups were mauled by a strong german surface fleet that also demolished my older sub fleet. These ships were all older, so I figured it was to be expected.

Coming in behind these ships was the pride of my navy - Carrier TFs (several, each made up of a CV,CL, and 4 DDs.) in combat patrols, these guys took a pounding, with the Ranger TF being completely destroyed. I also deployed what I call the "Atlantic Heavy Surface Group" which is 1 Montan Class super BB, 6 modern CAs, and 4 CLs. A surface engagement almost sunk the BB and 2 CAs and did sink 1 CA and a CL.

imho, the harder AI also gets a little odds help.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Fritz

played some of another game last night. I had the difficulty turned up but still got into 43 with no war for the US. Once again I asked to Join the Allies. The bulk of my Atlantic fleet was sent to Iceland and Scapa Flow.

My plan was to take control of the seas between the UK and Norway. Man oh Man have I taken a pounding on the high seas. older destroyers in asw groups were mauled by a strong german surface fleet that also demolished my older sub fleet. These ships were all older, so I figured it was to be expected.

Coming in behind these ships was the pride of my navy - Carrier TFs (several, each made up of a CV,CL, and 4 DDs.) in combat patrols, these guys took a pounding, with the Ranger TF being completely destroyed. I also deployed what I call the "Atlantic Heavy Surface Group" which is 1 Montan Class super BB, 6 modern CAs, and 4 CLs. A surface engagement almost sunk the BB and 2 CAs and did sink 1 CA and a CL.

imho, the harder AI also gets a little odds help.

I think that subs are a little overpowered too.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

I think that subs are a little overpowered too.

Subs have been tweaked. Next patch should make you happy.

[Fritz]

Okay, I think i have the north Atlantic figured out.

I had a few naval bomber units in the area, so I sent them on naval attack missions. They engaged the enemy, but did not take horrific losses like my ships did. So I set all my TAC and STR air on naval missions and started to see them engage the Germans. After a month of this, I retired most of them and reorganized them, grouping the formations that had plenty of org left. Then I started to send out naval forces to act as bait. once the german took the bait I launched all of my air in the area, and sailed more fleets in. This seemed to do the trick, though I still took losses.

[Buccaneer]

Are there any AAR that you guys know of that is from a newbie to HOI?

[Fritz]

Bucc, look over at forums.paradoxplaza.com

I can't get to the site from work, or I would link you

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Fritz

or I would link you

Subby will be pissed.

[Fritz]

Sweet Molly the Russian winter is killing more Germans than the rooskies could dream of.

[Fritz]

In my current game as germany, I was a little less agressive than in history. I did take over part of Czechoslovakia, and did start a world war over poland in 1939, but it was just with France and the UK. I did not attack Denmark or Norway. In fighting france, I just couldn't get past the Magino line, so I had to invaded Belgium, but not the Netherlands. They eventually declared war on us.

41 came and went (no alliance with Japan, and no Japanese attack on the US) and I did not attack the USSR. the USSR decalred war on Japan though. In the first half of 42 the USSR declared war on Germany. Annexation of the Baltic states as well as some other actions, combined with all the war making must have pissed off Roosevelt, because the US declared war on the USSR and joined the axis a month later.

My German forces, assisted by Austria launched out of poland and headed for the black sea. By the winter we had pretty much taken the German high water line, plus Moscow and settled in for a frozen winter.

Then I noticed that the US (now at war with the Allies) had been mostly occupied by Canada. Since the US/Germany axis ruled the seas, I felt it wise to assemble a 3 division Amerikakorps, which I shipped off to Norfolk, followed a month later by a second corp.

Into Early 43, much of the US is still in Canadian hands, but most of the industrial parts have been liberated. I expect a Russian counter offensive as soon as it thaws, but feel strongly that forces in the east can handle them.

---
I had completely ignored certain aspects of the military in order to progress rapidly in others. the Winter of 42/43 saw the formation of the first Parachute troops. These troops are destined for the UK, but are initially being staged in Russia for the 43 offensive. I don't expect the germans to need the vertical envelopment, but the Airborne forces need experience.

The German 43 russian offensive will look to modestly expand everywhere, but a real push will be launched north of Stalingrad by strong armored forces, and south of Staligrad towrads russian oil by mountain troops.

The long range goal is to bring 6 airborne divisions across the channel and into scottland and southern england where they will be joined by amhibious invasions. Of course, the other thing I have negelected is the German surface fleet. Prior to a 44 invasion I can possibly build a few cruisers and a bunch of destroyers, but submarines and naval bombers will have to bear the burden of dispatching whatever British fleet comes forward to defent the home island.

[sachmo71]

Canada, eh? Gotta wonder what the US was thinking.

[Fritz]

The american AI was so odd. It had sent several aircraft formations to help me whack russia, all the while losing Boston, Chicago, and New York to the Canadians. Instread of Infantry formations, the AI had HQ units moving about. HQ units are very poor combatants, and take several time longer to build, not mention take more resources. As my germans started to liberate the Mid-Atlantic, the Americans started to move.

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Something else I have done that differs from history is "liberate" some nations. Latvia and Estonia were liberated. I can do the same ot Beylorussia, the Ukraine, Lithuania, Flanders, and Wallonia. In all likelyhood, I will liberate the Ukraine, but not the rest.

[Peregrine]

I just bought this game myself, and have been checking it out. Definitely a much improved interface from the previous game, though the AI seems to have the same problems. I'm enjoying the mission system for planes and ships, definitely a big improvement there.

[TazFTW]

Haven't played much of the game since my last post in this thread. Continued my game as the US, low and behold the Japanese got the Pearl Harbor/Surprise attack event in Aug. '43 and so they have declared war on me. Which is quite beneficial for them as I had already moved most of my military to the atlantic theater. Most of my navy in the Pacific is outdated, so this could really be a challenge (provided the Japanese has improved their navy, which I've heard their AI doesn't).

[Fritz]

A small frustration: During the winter, your leaders start to die off. So when my German forces are camped halfway into Russia, many of the good Generals start to die off.

[Peregrine]

It's not usually the winter, what happens I think is that everytime a new year starts, the leaders that have that year set as their death date start to die. So unrealistically you see everyone die in the first couple of months of a year, and usually it says "on the battlefield" even if they're safe at home. You can adjust the death dates in the config files if you really want.

[Fritz]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

It's not usually the winter, what happens I think is that everytime a new year starts, the leaders that have that year set as their death date start to die. So unrealistically you see everyone die in the first couple of months of a year, and usually it says "on the battlefield" even if they're safe at home. You can adjust the death dates in the config files if you really want.

I know that is part of it, but the death rate in my games is MUCH higher than historical.

[WSUCougar]

Did they all have the fish for dinner?

[Fritz]

Building in a series

One feature of HOI2 is series building. The idea is that a industry become more effecient when building the same item several times in row. The game reflect this by reducing the build time of items in a series. If a tank division take 120 days to produce, a second tank division takes only 116. A third may take 112 and a fourth 108. So the total run would be 456 days long. Lets say a tank division costs 15 Industrial points per day (IP) placing 4 seperate 1 tank orders back to back would take 480 days at a cost of 7200 IP. The series production would end almost a month earlier and cost 6840.

[Peregrine]

And of course one of the policy sliders you have to manage is Standing Army vs. Drafted Army. If you have the latter, you get bigger gearing bonuses (quicker build times for series) but less organization, and Standing Army gets less gearing bonuses and more org. Germany is a Standing Army country, US a Drafted Army one.

[Fritz]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

And of course one of the policy sliders you have to manage is Standing Army vs. Drafted Army. If you have the latter, you get bigger gearing bonuses (quicker build times for series) but less organization, and Standing Army gets less gearing bonuses and more org. Germany is a Standing Army country, US a Drafted Army one.

Do you move it all the way to standing Army? I keep it somewhere in the middle for Germany until 42 or so (when most of my forces are built) and then start to move it.

[Peregrine]

Not all the way, but most of the way. I like org bonuses more than a few extra divisions, I usually go a quality over quantity approach.

[dacman]

Bump for the much anticipated version 1.3 enhancement (read: patch) released on Veteran's Day, no less. The timing was completely intentional, I'm sure.

http://www.paradoxplaza.com/heartsof...Page=Downloads

[Calis]

For those interested

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/...d.php?t=219906

Expansion announced, major things being an expanded timeline, up until 1953, and some hypothetical scenarios. It's standalone also, looks like it could be a good pickup, supposed to retail at $19.99 also.