Oh hey guys, wanted to mention this; if you have a spare 20, pick up AOD. It's not OH MY GOD revolutionary, but it's the HOI2 HOI2 should have been and well worth the money. Everything makes so much more sence now, no random rebuilds, magic supply lines, broken fleet combat systems. For example, I'm running a British Empire solo-game right now, fighting Axis and Americans at the same time just to check out the top-level strategical warfare stuff, and I can be content to say it works. After bombing entire Japan for a full year and three years of convoy warfare, targeted at specific provinces (like a massive strike on Tokyo, then Nagasaki, then a region, then finish off with random bombardments all over Japan to keep them from rebuilding), the Empire of the Rising sun is on it's knees. It has 14IC, NO way of bringing it back up (as rebuilding IC costs resources, which they don't have because I cut their supply lines). All over the Pacific, their islands are strangled, their troops in China are on 2(!)% ESE. Check it out.
As you can see, I can defeat their armies with just about any force now, there's nothing left
Their fleets are useless, with no oil they're trapped in Nagasaki, where my bombers slowly grind them to dust
. Germany and Italy have been doing smart stuff too, Italy invaded Libya after I took it, then invaded the ME twice (now I have their fleets locked in port). They still have some TPs left, but it won't be a problem soon as my airfleets in malta are preparing to give the bastards a taste of complete strategic destruction
. It's 41 now, and me and Germany are struggling over control of the skies, the battle is more or less deadlocked, Germany has been unable to take UK skies but I can't take Europe either, I'm absolutely amazed at how well the AI uses air. The AI seems a bit dumb and slow at first, but once past '40 they start throwing out some real tactics. Good stuff
-Vincent