Development Diary #14 - 28th of January 2009

[Wiking]

It's when it changes specific name, like Panzer IV -> Panther. The names are flavour, they are both medium tanks, but one just has more research than the other.

[PIT_AMERO]

Would there be some pictures for the techs?
Like when you start researching "artic warfare" to see some troops with white camouflage and ski. IMO it would add more flavor to the game.

Would the "practical experience" help the building time and cost, or only the research?

BTW it looks very nice that, that you can choose with what to equip your divisions (more or less AT, small arms ...)

[King]

Will tech's upgrade the Brigades instantly upon research, or will you actually have to use IC's to upgrade the old ones?

Got to pay to upgrade them just like HoI2

[praxiteles]

As far as I understand the militia small arms debate, I can assume that researching more advanced infantry small arms would give a huge bonus to researching militia small arms so that once you get infantry small arms, you can quickly pull your militia to a similar tech level, but at the same time preventing china who was boosted militia-tech-wise turn into an infantry research powerhouse.

That's all my assumption of course.

[Slaughts]

I love it Johan, looks definitly improved from the tech team system . So basically what you mean is that if a certain number of techs are avaible, then a specific model is able to built? Like I have to wait for a 37mm gun and medium tank chasis to upgrade to a Panzer III on the German side.

[King]

Would there be some pictures for the techs?
Like when you start researching "artic warfare" to see some troops with white camouflage and ski. IMO it would add more flavor to the game.

Would the "practical experience" help the building time and cost, or only the research?

BTW it looks very nice that, that you can choose with what to equip your divisions (more or less AT, small arms ...)

Practical helps with building time and cost too.

[Gen.Schuermann]

It most likely means that YES, you can develop new level of weapons anytime you want, but every 2 years there is a barrier similar to the 'historical date" of development in HoI2.

Which means it's ineffiecient to do that all at once - as it will take ages to develop new model before historical date gets close.

Looks good on the first glance. Now, whip those betas to make it work perfectly!

Ah, i see, yet i hope with no restraints within that "timeframe" of 2 years. Hmm i like that approach ebtter than the silly waiting got 1943 to get the next rifle models.

Or does that mean i can only research one model per 2 years, or are there in-between solutions?

[praxiteles]

Ah, i see, yet i hope with no restraints within that "timeframe" of 2 years. Hmm i like that approach ebtter than the silly waiting got 1943 to get the next rifle models.

Or does that mean i can only research one model per 2 years, or are there in-between solutions?

you can always delay some other research and tech-rush the precious gewehr 43 and give it to your '39-by-other-standards infantry brigades. The consequence is you will fall behind some other area of research, important or not.

[Gen.Schuermann]

I love it Johan, looks definitly improved from the tech team system . So basically what you mean is that if a certain number of techs are avaible, then a specific model is able to built? Like I have to wait for a 37mm gun and medium tank chasis to upgrade to a Panzer III on the German side.

What i get is when certain viriables match with the database, then it is named "Panzer III" or something. As soon as they change, the database checks again for a similar one, like "Panzer IV Ausf. A" or so.

[Alojzy]

Ah, i see, yet i hope with no restraints within that "timeframe" of 2 years. Hmm i like that approach ebtter than the silly waiting got 1943 to get the next rifle models.

Or does that mean i can only research one model per 2 years, or are there in-between solutions?

Hey, I'm not dev - but since game will most likely follow HoI2 behavior to some extend, you will be able to start earlier, and depending on your theoretical/practical modifiers, time to "historical date" (here date + offset, actually) and R&D spending, you will be able to develop it some time before the historical date. Still, it will be getting progresively harder each time you try to "outreach" historical development and hampers your R&D on the other fields.

I'm not worried about this part, it seems solid (unless theoretical/practical values get out of hand and allow players to develop things waaay to early - but betas shoudl take care of balancing it out).

More interesting is the question of those 4 sliders that divide R&D, Officer, Diplomacy and Espionage spendings. I just hope they are as exploit proof (no 100% R&D for example) as historical dates of techs are.

[Nikolai]

You are under no obligation to research any tech. Militia technologies give you better Militia units, if you have no interest in building Militia then don't research it. The same could be said for Aircraft Carriers or Strategic Bombers as the German player.

But wouldn't it in some cases be true that one tech area could influence another tech area?

[Gen.Schuermann]

you can always delay some other research and tech-rush the precious gewehr 43 and give it to your '39-by-other-standards infantry brigades. The consequence is you will fall behind some other area of research, important or not.

Yet according to the code i saw there is a time limit to that, every 2 years. or is that only the OVERALL division, and i can research rifles as much as i want, so a G3 in a 1945 division could be realistic?

[Tyson_48]

Very nice DD...Thx to paradox!!!

[Hansag]

You are under no obligation to research any tech. Militia technologies give you better Militia units, if you have no interest in building Militia then don't research it. The same could be said for Aircraft Carriers or Strategic Bombers as the German player.

Perhaps A Militia and Infantry brigade are as powerful (though I doubt a militia is as efficient), but since research isn't poured into militia research, they aren't really as high quality as Infantry.
In a way, one could imagine Leadership on militia research as political lobbying here though.


Unit Organization could also be a good research tech (i.e. you make studies on what the units really need in terms of current weapons etc. so that they use them more efficiently etc.)

[Hansag]

Got to pay to upgrade them just like HoI2

Sweet

[Nikolai]

Got to pay to upgrade them just like HoI2

Would it be cheaper than in HoI2? Upgrading there was time consuming. Not to talk of micromanagement hell, adjusting that slider all the time. And with the new tech system, it appears to me you'll have to upgrade more often than in HoI2.

[Cpack]

Hey, I'm not dev - but since game will most likely follow HoI2 behavior to some extend, you will be able to start earlier, and depending on your theoretical/practical modifiers, time to "historical date" (here date + offset, actually) and R&D spending, you will be able to develop it some time before the historical date.

I'm not worried about this part, it seems solid (unless theoretical/practical values get out of hand and allow players to develop things waaay to early - but betas shoudl take care of balancing it out).

More interesting is the question of those 4 sliders that divide R&D, Officer, Diplomacy and Espionage spendings. I just hope they are as exploit proof (no 100% R&D for example) as historical dates of techs are.

Hmm...if you can research some like cavalry smallarms (+0.2 HA) endless, in the most tech I don't see a "historical" date.
Because of all these small bonuses on combat, it is an ungoing process, which has no historically context.....at least for some techs.

The only difference is that someone has level 5 (+1.0 HA) and another country has level 3 (+0.6 HA). And exactly this could be the advantage, that there's no direct link to a historical date

[Hansag]

Got to pay to upgrade them just like HoI2

Sweet.

(can you leap-frog though? i.e. upgrading Mauser 98k to Assault Rifle 44 without adopting a Semi-Automatic one in between. - Later DD perhaps)

[Gen.Schuermann]

Hmm...if you can research some like cavalry smallarms (+0.2 HA) endless, in the most tech I don't see a "historical" date.
Because of all these small bonuses on combat, it is an ungoing process, which has no historically context.....at least for some techs.

The only difference is that someone has level 5 (+1.0 HA) and another country has level 3 (+0.6 HA). And exactly this could be the advantage, that there's no direct link to a historical date

Now THAT sounds awesome.

[King]

Hmm...if you can research some like cavalry smallarms (+0.2 HA) endless, in the most tech I don't see a "historical" date.
Because of all these small bonuses on combat, it is an ungoing process, which has no historically context.....at least for some techs.

The only difference is that someone has level 5 (+1.0 HA) and another country has level 3 (+0.6 HA). And exactly this could be the advantage, that there's no direct link to a historical date

The numbers mean nothing at the moment.