E3 2012: New Expansion for Hearts of Iron III Announced!

[Nicolas I]

the nerf on promotion is that they gain experience slower than they used to in the higher chains of command

Yes, there's already a downside. At army group and theater level the experience gain is ridiculously slow. I understand it's some kind of last promotion as you reach the summit of the hierarchy, but leading and army group or theater for YEARS (and winning sometimes many, many battles) should give more experience than a few percent points !

[Loke]

I noticed in the screenshot that Bessarbia is occupied rather than owned by the USSR. Does that mean you can now occupy provinces while at peace? That would make the Chinese Civil War work in a much more realistic way if true.

Nice one Sherlock! ;-)

[FeliksD]

When an expansion has been announced, it's probably to late to wish for things to be included, but I will throw my hat in the ring anyway.

What I have missed in all of the HoI-games, is a percentage-slider allowing the player to control how much of your basic IC that are running (or rather at what level the industry is working). As it is now, once the ICs are in place, they run full tilt until they get a raw-material shortage, and then a whole bunch of industries abruptly shuts down. An influence over this could make for better planning. In dictatorships this would be easily achievable, and in democracies we could chalk it down to the market forces at work.

The slider might even go up to 110% for those special national grand efforts, but with the side-effect that after a while random industry points would suffer breakdowns similar to being strat-bombed. They would have to be repaired back up again in the same manner as after a bombing. The degrading effect could be affected by how high the slider is set above 100%, and the time it has been there. Perhaps also modified by national unity, on the basis that the more you are behind the regime, the harder you work to keeps things running.

[Rudawitz]

When an expansion has been announced, it's probably to late to wish for things to be included, but I will throw my hat in the ring anyway.

What I have missed in all of the HoI-games, is a percentage-slider allowing the player to control how much of your basic IC that are running (or rather at what level the industry is working). As it is now, once the ICs are in place, they run full tilt until they get a raw-material shortage, and then a whole bunch of industries abruptly shuts down. An influence over this could make for better planning. In dictatorships this would be easily achievable, and in democracies we could chalk it down to the market forces at work.

The slider might even go up to 110% for those special national grand efforts, but with the side-effect that after a while random industry points would suffer breakdowns similar to being strat-bombed. They would have to be repaired back up again in the same manner as after a bombing. The degrading effect could be affected by how high the slider is set above 100%, and the time it has been there. Perhaps also modified by national unity, on the basis that the more you are behind the regime, the harder you work to keeps things running.

Sounds good to me.

Command-hierarchy for airforce and navy would also be very, very nice. Even nicer in fact.

[Wminus]

I'm really disappointed. Landing crafts weren't needed (abstracted into marine divisions), and the main problem with the intelligence system wasn't lack of missions, but rather lack of balance and too much micromanagement imo. I say go back to HoI2's excellent espionage system. Also have you thought about merging cav militia and infantry techs?

The other additions are unimpressive imo - you should've focused on improving the AI, but I guess that doesn't sell well so I understand...

just my opinion, so don't lynch me now

[jprc]

Excellent news!!!
As I often play Japan, at the opposite of Wminus, I need landing crafts!... . Germany can do good use of it for attacking England and USA...
True that I won't use many if I am playing a landlocked country though or with little naval warfare and techs...

I guess this will be usefull to the AI for landing on your shores...

[Jazumir]

When an expansion has been announced, it's probably to late to wish for things to be included, but I will throw my hat in the ring anyway.

What I have missed in all of the HoI-games, is a percentage-slider allowing the player to control how much of your basic IC that are running (or rather at what level the industry is working). As it is now, once the ICs are in place, they run full tilt until they get a raw-material shortage, and then a whole bunch of industries abruptly shuts down. An influence over this could make for better planning. In dictatorships this would be easily achievable, and in democracies we could chalk it down to the market forces at work.

The slider might even go up to 110% for those special national grand efforts, but with the side-effect that after a while random industry points would suffer breakdowns similar to being strat-bombed. They would have to be repaired back up again in the same manner as after a bombing. The degrading effect could be affected by how high the slider is set above 100%, and the time it has been there. Perhaps also modified by national unity, on the basis that the more you are behind the regime, the harder you work to keeps things running.

In a way, that´s in since the latest beta and overproduction of consumer goods is noted as ´waste´ and does not take ressources anymore (if i am not mistaken, that is). This basically achieves what you wish for, as you can limit IC-use and ressource throughput by overproducing consumer goods and have your ´grand national effort´ by underproducing them (causing dissent, which will have to be ´repaired´ later). Granted, it´s not quite the same as you suggest, but close enough, i´d say, to not warrant taking the effort to alter it (revamping of the whole production slider-set).

[Thaegen]

The new elite units that are restricted by x percentage of your total army.

Does it work inexample by adding the line Elite = yes in the brigade file and can the percentage be altered per country?

It would be great to link the x percentage for elite of your total army to doctrines. Which should allow diversity for majors.

Anyway this expansion sounds extremely good for what I like to mod.

[Jazumir]

Talking about elite units: It has been said, that each major gets one type. How about adding paras to the list? So you can have x% of your troops be paras or elite?

EDIT: Actually, it would be way cooler to just have a ´quality manpower pool´, source of it being manpower converted (oil-to-fuel style) based on officer ratio and all quality units have a ´QMP´-requirement, instead of basing the number of allowed (boolean) elite units on the number of existing troops.

[Wminus]

That's an excellent idea. "Untrained manpower" would be the total manpower in your country, including those working in industry (so if you want more raw recruits you need to close factories), while "Trained manpower" would be those you build high quality divisions from. The ratio of conversion could depend on training laws and so on. Only divisions made from untrained manpower would be militia, garrison and infantry, and those would always have zero experience. Divisions made from trained manpower would have an experience depending on the average quality of the trained manpower (ie depends on what training laws have been used and in which periods), but always have at least 10 exp.

Other things that could be changed about this would be: Much more expensive reinforcements and national unity affecting manpower amount (less draft-dodgers etc.).

[ATLeow]

I would really like to see a developer diary or something like that explaining exactly how these elite units will work.

[SAS]

Hey podcat how about a dev diary on any new modding commands/options in the new expansion. I am hoping for the ability to change the party in power.

[AlexLifeson]

How about a LUA interpreter that works with HOI III :P

Actaully, there are quite a few things in HOI III that have sort of been pushed to the side. Production licensing, and most importantly the supply system could use a hug.

[Jazumir]

That's an excellent idea. "Untrained manpower" would be the total manpower in your country, including those working in industry (so if you want more raw recruits you need to close factories), while "Trained manpower" would be those you build high quality divisions from. The ratio of conversion could depend on training laws and so on. Only divisions made from untrained manpower would be militia, garrison and infantry, and those would always have zero experience. Divisions made from trained manpower would have an experience depending on the average quality of the trained manpower (ie depends on what training laws have been used and in which periods), but always have at least 10 exp.

Other things that could be changed about this would be: Much more expensive reinforcements and national unity affecting manpower amount (less draft-dodgers etc.).

Well, just MP is what it is today, but there is a second manpower pool, for ´quality manpower´ (men who aren´t lethally afraid of heigths and would be able to paradrop, unlike me, for example). This pool would have its grow-rate defined by the (MP-grow rate [or pool] * officer ratio / constant) and each unit would take a certain amount of MP, as well as ´QMP ´, where ´QMP´ may replace MP if MP is zero, but not vice versa. Militia, infantry, garrison and some other units would require 0 QMP, but paradrops and elite units certainly wont (planes/ships?). For production and replacements.

[orion250]

excellent!

+1

[plasticpanzers]

"A Little Piece of England" for the US player or AI suggestion

The US AI or player has difficulty in setting up theatres in the UK to presue operations in
France in the 1936-38 games due to their being no 'US Controled' territory in Britian to act
as an 'anchor' for US forces ground, naval, and air units and most especially HQ.

This suggestion is also based upon the information that there will not be a way for the Western
Allies nations to form single "Allied" armies except by the current EXP force which cannot be
asked for, only given.

IF: during the period after the US enters the war on the UK side the following ports would
become "US" territory for game purposes:
Pembroke, Anglesey, Bournesmouth.

Before somebody starts screaming 'he's raping England' hear me out....

In this preliminary move these three ports would become US territory to allow intial US HQs
to have an 'anchor' on UK soil. These ports provide NO industry to the UK and are not VP
cities. This would happen by event for the installation of an auto created "SHAEF" HQ (US)
theatre with a tonnage weight that cannot be moved from England (no need to anyway).

This would give the AI (hopefully) or the US player a base HQ to assign units for a buildup
in England. Over an extended period the following provinces would also become US territory.
Bangor, Aberystwith, Cardigan, Brecon, Shrewsbury, Bournesmouth, Reading, Aldershot.

This would allow the US player or AI to build up these ports and to construct airfields in the
UK. The AI would be blocked from building industry in any of these provinces. It could built
infrastructure as well.

This, from about mid 1942 thru 1944 would allow the buildup of US forces and a real bomber
campaign from the UK and ease the strain of supply by the UK for US forces.

positives:
US will use its supply convoys to supply US forces and Commonwealth forces on these "US"
controled provinces, easing UK supply problems. US forces could still be stationed anywhere
in the UK as before

HQs (especially the SHAEF theatre) will operate more correctly. Currently if you put a theatre
run by AI in the UK it does not properly conduct air missions over France/Germany nor does it
properly build up forces in the UK over time. It often sends troops you assign it BACK to the
US and off to other theatres to help them, and air units assigned to bomb Germany to the AI
will suddenly end up at Clark Field in the Phillipines or in W. Africa (I have seen this happen).

With US convoys now openly going to the UK they are now vulnerable to German surface and
sub attacks which is more realistic for both sides.

There is no negative to the UK as all provinces used are not industry used nor provide much in
port usage for convoys in trade that cannot be taken up by other, larger UK ports. There is
plenty of infrastructure for internal UK usage.

The AI can more properly use units assigned to it allowing more use of the UK for basing US
forces which gamewise now can only be done in the MED when you capture Vichy N. Africa
and parts of Italy. This forces the US player or AI to concentrate on the MED and less on
France which was THE priority to US planners.

Although invasions of France can occur by the US they always come direct from the US which
is ahistorical as many of the landing ships were not capable of over the seas usage. If they
exist in this new mod they can be used correctly in a true cross channel invasion

cons:
none except if you don't like the idea of the US 'controlling' parts of the UK but understand this
is for game purposes only and in the real war so much US tonnage of supplies and equipment as
well as thousands of US Engineers building airfields for US bombers and fighters it is totally real.

The UK would lose (over a year period) 3 very small ports (level 1-2) and 7 non-VP provinces.

In conclusion:
The US did "share" (tho not always happily by some UK citizens accounts) sections of the UK
for the purpose of getting at Germany as part of an Alliance. The US realistically CANNOT be
fighting the entire war from Washinton DC or Tunis, French N. Africa. To have a, over a real
period of time, abilty to build up in the UK for the invasion of France (building ports up, building
and improving airifields and infrastructure) is totally real. The only loss is visual as the terrain
will appear as US tho it never is except "gamewise"

Its solves so many damned problems IMHO.

Thank you (you may throw tomatoes now...)

[princeseth]

nice idea....

[CplKatie]

nice idea....

Yeah, he should give Paradox credit since he basically copied the Iceland/greenland event word for word only he wants to take UK ports instead.

@Plasticpanzers Look at the undeclared war event line and look up the iceland/greenland event section. Iceland is your ticket to europe as an AI player who doesn't wanna give up expos to the UK.

[AlexLifeson]

right now yes

I will give you 1,000,000 billion dollars if you make that request a reality...

you take post dated cheques ? ;p

[Leckan]

Shut up and take my money already!!!!!

Came here to say this.