Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour Expansion Manual, Interviews & Reviews

[Regina]

Curious about Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour Expansion?

Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour Manual
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?634406-Their-Finest-Hour-Manual

Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour Reviews

The Wargamer
”I think Their Finest Hour is a must have for any serious HOI3 wargamer & newbie alike.”
http://www.wargamer.com/article/3267/pc-game-review-hearts-of-iron-iii-their-finest-hour

Softpedia – 8,5/10
"Hearts of Iron III – Their Finest Hour is a must for those who have always loved the series and want the best simulation of World War II they can get at the grand strategy level because it allows the game to show off its true potential."
http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/games/pc/Their-Finest-Hour-Hearts-of-Iron-III-Review-298715.shtml

Gameaspect – Score: 8/10
“There is so much to do and experiment with in any Paradox Interactive Grand Strategy Game, but you won’t find any as satisfying as the Hearts of Iron series. With this new expansion for Hearts of Iron III, you can be pretty well sure that the available options and sheer scope of replay value offered here is enough to warrant the $19.99 price tag.”http://www.gameaspect.com/2012/10/hearts-of-iron-iii-their-finest-hour-review.html

Vagary.tv – Score 4/5
“Their Finest Hour is an excellent upgrade to Hearts of Iron 3. The Battle Plan Editor is a game changer, the landing craft enable a more historical path, and the elite units and a new leadership system flesh out your armies in ways that make them more interesting and colorful. If you’re a longtime fan, it definitely gives reason to come back and play more.”http://vagary.tv/archives/review/pc-review-hearts-of-iron-3-their-finest-hour

Game-Debate - Score: 8/10
http://www.game-debate.com/articles/index.php?a_id=1539&graphics=

Noobfeed - Score 80/100
http://www.noobfeed.com/review_infos/view/804

Gamesite.sk –Score: 80/100
http://www.gamesite.sk/pc/recenzie/12468-hearts-of-iron-iii-their-finest-hour-recenzia.html

Gamerscritic.it – 7,3/10
http://www.gamerscritic.it/videogiochi/hearts-of-iron-3-their-finest-hour/

Rebgaming
“…if you like war games, especially real time strategy/simulation with super in depth mechanics/GUI then this is most definitely for you. “
http://www.rebgaming.com/hearts-of-iron-3-their-finest-hour-review-short-and-sweet/

RTS Guru - Score 7/10
http://www.rtsguru.com/game/290/article/4221/Hearts-of-Iron-III-Their-Finest-Hour-Review.html

Everyeye.it – Score 7/10
http://www.everyeye.it/pc/articoli/hearts-of-iron-3-their-finest-hour_recensione_17902

Video review - Score 9/10
[video=youtube;z2eP0uKKrxI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2eP0uKKrxI[/video]

Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour Previews & Interviews

The Strategy Gamer Preview: Hearts of Iron 3 – Their Finest Hour
http://vagary.tv/archives/22098

Interview at Grogheads with David "Darkrenown" Ballantyne, Scripter on the upcoming expansion:
http://grogheads.com/int-hoi3.html

Interview at Strategy Informer with Dan Lind, project lead:
http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/heartsofironiiitheirfinesthour/387/interview.html

Read all Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour developer diaries here:
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?626339-Their-Finest-Hour-%96-Developer-Diaries

Read the Beta AAR for Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour - Explorations in Custom Game Mode
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...-Finest-Hour-Explorations-in-Custom-Game-Mode

Hearts of Iron 3: Their Finest Hour - Interview at Gamereactor
[video=youtube;GrWPptmoK5M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrWPptmoK5M[/video]

Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour - Video Dev Diary: Unique National Elite Units
[video=youtube;9sWDd49ZVEk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sWDd49ZVEk[/video]

Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour Video Dev Diary: Custom Game & Map Planning Modes
[video=youtube;_5E5xNJY-Xk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5E5xNJY-Xk[/video]

Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour Dev Diary: Leader Traits & Tactics
[video=youtube;iWZZ6MOBpVI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWZZ6MOBpVI[/video]

Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour Release Trailer
[video=youtube;UmcFhYau-VM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmcFhYau-VM[/video]

Cheers,
regina

 

[1alexey]

doesn`t look like anything new.

 

[Cybvep]

Any idea when can we expect DDs?

 

[Chromos]

Thank you Regina and Darkrenown.

And to those "quick/hasty" readers..
Take your time reading, as "David "Darkrenown" Ballantyne" is in fact "spoiling" new infos about long wanted features by the community!

Cheers!
Chromos

Edit: And thank you Cybvep! For bringing it up so fast and first here->: Facebook-updates

 

[LodovicoAriosto]

slowing down enemy movement via espionage? That sounds pretty useful.

 

[kaspar42]

We've changed the invasion mechanics somewhat in Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour, so invading units are much less effective until they have unloaded from their transports.

IMHO the problem isn't so much that amphibious attacks are too easy, it is that you can just unload in a empty province next to a harbour. In my last Germany game I landed a strong corps in an empty province next to Leningrad and proceeded to attack and capture it, completely bypassing the coastal fortress and amphibious penalties. The UK AI used the same trick to try and take Hamburg and Wilhelmshafen.
A way to solve this could be that freshly landed troops in a non-port province were automatically out of supply (so they can't attack) unless you had developed and manufactured some sort of costly Mulberry-solution. That could add a considerable expense and planning to doing invasions

We've also added two new units: Landing Craft and Assault Ships which are able to unload troops faster. We hope this will discourage early invasions using only the basic Transport units since the defender will have more time to react to these invasions. Hopefully we'll also get some more Pacific action too, but it's not directly related to the new units...

Usually you don't know you are being invaded until you get a pop-up informing you that you have lost a province. Unless we get a "The enemy is making an amphibious invasion into our territory!" pop-up, I don't see the use of an unloading delay.

 

[ashandresash]

And to those "quick/hasty" readers..
Take your time reading, as "David "Darkrenown" Ballantyne" is in fact "spoiling" new infos about long wanted features by the community!
Facebook-updates

Are you refering to... this?

... the name is also party due to our new Strategic Warfare screen which player can use to judge how the overall war is going. The Battle of Britain, like the Battle of the Atlantic, was more of a campaign than an individual battle, with relative rates of production and losses being more important than who won a specific skirmish.

If it is actually what I'm thinking, I'll be really happy

 

[mbabbs]

The screen shots have a tech "Invasion Tactics 1" - 1940.

I hope this is what I think it is ........ although maybe not as you need landing craft tech as a prerequisite. I'd have thought it was the other way round.

 

[HMS Enterprize]

IMHO the problem isn't so much that amphibious attacks are too easy, it is that you can just unload in a empty province next to a harbour.

Couldnt this be solved by using the HOI2 system and having certain provinces with a beach icon, meaning they are suitable for an amphib invasion? No beach- no landing. Simples.

 

[Chromos]

Couldnt this be solved by using the HOI2 system and having certain provinces with a beach icon, meaning they are suitable for an amphib invasion? No beach- no landing. Simples.

That would get my support too as we also know from reality:
Landing_Craft_Air_Cushion on wikipedia

According to the USMC the craft can cross 70% of the world's coastlines as opposed to about 15% for conventional landing craft, though the craft has more difficulty in rough seas than a conventional ship.

So no big deal as the beaches positions could be retaken from HOI2, but would need new code for showing and handling also in HOI3

Cheers,
Chromos

 

[1alexey]

the beach system is needless, and I`m glad it gone.

 

[plasticpanzers]

It would be easier to simply go the other way and make some provinces non-invadeable.

 

[1alexey]

It would be easier to simply go the other way and make some provinces non-invadeable.

for example?

 

[plasticpanzers]

some of the coastal areas in Norway come to mind. Marshlands on Hollands coast. Also i don't
think battleships and landing craft would be storming the Dikes there. There should be some areas
simply to rugged or with such minimalized space that landing there would be impossible. They may
acutally have a small port there (or you could build one) but trying to put 100,000 troops ashore
would be impossible. Dover is accessible but the cliffs certainly are not. It would require an over-
view of all coastlines on the map with a geological map showing actual terrain but since your looking
for really bad terrain its easier to find that than argue about 1 mile of clear coast in 40 miles of cliffs.

 

[Chromos]

some of the coastal areas in Norway come to mind. Marshlands on Hollands coast. Also i don't
think battleships and landing craft would be storming the Dikes there. There should be some areas
simply to rugged or with such minimalized space that landing there would be impossible. They may
acutally have a small port there (or you could build one) but trying to put 100,000 troops ashore
would be impossible. Dover is accessible but the cliffs certainly are not. It would require an over-
view of all coastlines on the map with a geological map showing actual terrain but since your looking
for really bad terrain its easier to find that than argue about 1 mile of clear coast in 40 miles of cliffs.

Good idea!

Cheers,
Chromos

 

[delra]

Darkrenown, if you like the story of Simo Hayha so much, check out the "White Death" song by Sabaton.

 

[TheBromgrev]

doesn`t look like anything new.

You must've missed this little tidbit:

The phrase “Their Finest Hour” is memorable for a specific time, place, and battle. Will there be any greater emphasis placed upon air combat, and more specifically, the Battle of Britain, in this expansion? If not, why was the name chosen?

Firstly, there's no such thing as too much Churchill, but the name is also party due to our new Strategic Warfare screen which player can use to judge how the overall war is going. The Battle of Britain, like the Battle of the Atlantic, was more of a campaign than an individual battle, with relative rates of production and losses being more important than who won a specific skirmish.

The other interview mentioned it too, so it sounds like we'll have some form of military statistics showing IC and/or MP loss comparisons. From the wording it sounds like it could be sunk convoys compared to damaged ships or something like that. I'm curious to see how that feature will work out, if indeed the feature is what it sounds like, given a certain forum rule...

 

[AlexLifeson]

That awesome new feature of being able to draw battle plans is not used to plan with the AI, only human palyers?......

 

[1alexey]

You must've missed this little tidbit:



The other interview mentioned it too, so it sounds like we'll have some form of military statistics showing IC and/or MP loss comparisons. From the wording it sounds like it could be sunk convoys compared to damaged ships or something like that. I'm curious to see how that feature will work out, if indeed the feature is what it sounds like, given a certain forum rule...

Well, we kinda guessed the tab from the screanie, so i think it is not quite a news.

But again, in any case, it just expands(if at all) on the things we know, while nothing new that was not mentioned before or what we would`t gess about from screanshots.

 

[unmerged(14719)]

the beach system is needless, and I`m glad it gone.

Actually I like the Beach System. The problem is that the Maps uses a Province system so it makes for some rather quirky and unrealistic behavior. Not every coastal area is fantastically suitable to disgorge a corps onto a beachhead. The only way I can see this is if they broke the map into a Hex grid like on skool board games. Some places that have coastal mountains will require specialized infantry, etc.