What game does this work best with Hoi2/DH/AoD?

[Doctoxic]

Hi all

I bought this when it first came out, was very dissapointed then and haven't played since. Also, coming back to the forums its not that clear exactly whats been going on.

However there now seems to have been a few patches and more activity so am giving it another go as this game does have some really good ideas.

When it first came out i think the idea was you could use it with any of the 3 games (Hoi2/AoD/DH), however i am getting the impression from the forum that IC-Arma seems to be the main focus - i'm assuming IC-Arma means the Hoi2 Armageddon version).

So, back to my original question - which is the best game for Iron Cross to be used with. Or maybe even explain the pro's/cons of each.

Many thanks

[ifail]

I ve been playing Ic arma due to the new features it seems nice although you get decision events in DH IC

[stevetry]

IC Hoi2 Armageddon version is the best version i play all 3 so i shuld know

[Cliff60]

Its mainly directed at Arma. but it has made minor improvements to AOD and DH. Havnt got DH so dont know what it has done to that. Im currently installing it on AOD to see how that works with IC. But it makes Arma a lot better. Mainly in the tech tree improvements. Im hoping it will improve AOd as i was very bored with it as its nowhere near as good as Arma even without IC on it.

[Titan79]

Im hoping it will improve AOd as i was very bored with it as its nowhere near as good as Arma even without IC on it.

AoD not even as good as Arma...? Maybe you missed some of the game's new mechanics and (huge) improvements over Arma...?

[Cliff60]

I did see the new stuff. but i didnt like them. I was also restricted on how many units i could build during the run up to the war. I couldnt even build enough to defend against poland let alone the allies. I only managed to have 1 div in each prov along the french border and only 2 divs in each prov on the polish border. By the time the restiction was lifted by an event it was to late to complete enough units to defend germany let alone attack poland. But IC seems to have fixed that. But i forgot to add the save game folder so all the hard work of getting ready was ruined as i couldnt save the game cause it crashed due to not having the save folder. With iC i was able to build more units in 1 yr than i could in the 3 yr run up to danzig or war. Ive now added the save folder so will try it again later to see if it saves.

[Titan79]

Mmh, I've never nearly experienced what you're writing. If it were so (i.e. playing with Germany almost impossible due to the inability to even defend against Poland ) the AoD forum would have been flooded by fix requests and nobody would have played the game anymore... obviously, it is not so.

However, if you've played just 2 hours of it (as I've seen in another post of yours, in the AoD forum) you definitely need to give it a bit more time. Also, be sure to install the latest patches (1.07, currently, but 1.08 is on its way) which correct some bugs (but not the "super-weak-Germany", which never existed ).

[Cliff60]

Ive been playing AOD+IC for a few days now and it is working a lot better. It now works the same as Arma though with only 5 tech slots instead of the 8 i had with just AOD. The only improvments over Arma i see that i like in AOD is the intel bit and trade and being able to upgrade units in production. Apart from that i cant see much diff between the 2. Well it has got the new sliders in production but dont think their of much use.
Think im going to have to uninstall it again though cause the game has just screwed up. I got to 43 as Germany SU surrender event triggered and suddenly Mil+arty r costing 99.3 ic to produce and r only taking 24 hrs to build. SU DOW Germany in mid 42. By mid 43 Germany has reached Mongolia. Thats a lot faster than i managed with Arma. Even Poland lasted longer than france. I went through the Maginot line the day Danzig or war triggerd and i took paris in a week. Poland lasted 3 weeks. And thats with half the army i used in Arma. Production is a lot slower due to the retooling bit so it takes a lot longer to produce anything.
I dont need to get patch 1.07 as it was already on the game when i got it. But looking at what the patch does, it doesnt really do much for AOD. Its mainly patches for the Arma version.

[quintelosky]

... and being able to upgrade units in production.

With 1.03beta you can upgrade units in production and increase the size

[Titan79]

Ive been playing AOD+IC for a few days now and it is working a lot better. It now works the same as Arma though with only 5 tech slots instead of the 8 i had with just AOD. The only improvments over Arma i see that i like in AOD is the intel bit and trade and being able to upgrade units in production. Apart from that i cant see much diff between the 2. Well it has got the new sliders in production but dont think their of much use.

If you don't like it then there's nothing to add, in fact - I mean, it's also a matter of taste, so no need to argue of course.

However, I'm a bit astonished to read that you don't regard the automatic sliders useful. What?!?!? It's probably the feature I appreciate most in AoD, as it makes me spare soooo much time compared to old HoI2 days, when I had to manually move those #@!§% sliders after every single, small change in my economy (for example, after an enemy raid on my factories, but there is plenty of examples).

Maybe you didn't activate the full automation? You need to check both "use advanced silders" and "automate sliders" (or something similar, don't have it in front of me right now). If you just check only the first box, I'm not surprised you didn't enjoy all the benefits this ingenious feature gives.

Apart from that, I'd like to stress the possibility to bomb single provinces (your Stukas will no longer attack those useless militias in the wrong province of the region you've ordered them to bomb), the greater importance of quality vs quantity, the longer battles, the usefulness of air raids (now provinces cost IC to be repaired - and an effective bombing campaign in WW2-style can be quite crippling), and so on.

If you still prefer Arma, though, then fine. De gustibus non disputandum est

[quintelosky]

...Apart from that, I'd like to stress the possibility to bomb single provinces ....
...now provinces cost IC to be repaired...

With Arma-IronCross too

[Cliff60]

I have checked auto and advanced sliders. But it doesnt do anything. But its not those sliders im on about. Its the new ones under them. IE expenses. I cant see any need for them. Im having a problem with mil in production now though. Up till 43 they were working properly. But now when i build them they dont retool and only take 1 day to build. If i add arty to them the cost jumps from 4.1IC to 99.3 on the production cue but when im in the create list it says 4.1 for mil and 123.9 with arty with 15 day retool and 1 day to build with the brig added. If its a serial run im building them every day and the complete bit is saying 500% and rising each time 1 is built. Im using mil to defend the beaches and ports to free up my main units to go elsewhere. Putting 2 mil+arty in a level 10 coastal fort holds off any amphib long enough for the regs to get there. I have noticed that AOD has the same problem as ARMA regarding amphibs. The AI can do an amphib anywhere it wants regardless of how far it is away from a base. IE the USA doing amphibs into italy from the USA which is their closest base when gib and suez is in axis hands. But i cant do an amphib from greenland to the USA as its beyond the range of criuser TP. I can only just reach newfoundland. Ive seen Japan do amphibs on Norway from Japan. I cant even do sea transports that far let alone an amphib lol. Im having to hop across the atlantic to reach the states. 1st iceland as greenland is to far for direct sea transport from the UK. then to greenland. Then onto st'johns and then onto the USA east coast. So why can the AI go as far as they want without needing to island hop? What's worse is i have cruiser TP they have level 1 TP. So i should have a longer range than them. The same thing happens in HOI3 as well.

[Titan79]

I have checked auto and advanced sliders. But it doesnt do anything. But its not those sliders im on about. Its the new ones under them. IE expenses. I cant see any need for them. (...)

Ok, if you don't get how they work no problem, it's a lot of additional lost time for you when you play but hey, if you're fine with that... (Edit: you might want to read this small guide on how advanced sliders work).

The five expense sliders below the standard sliders are, by the way, another great feature of AoD. They let you manage a lot better than before money - the best example being that, if you've got dissent, you can simply increase civil expenses by the appropriate bar and not raise your consumer goods IC bar like crazy, as it was before. This also means that, if you've got enough money import, you can produce very low money yourself (i.e. your consumer goods bar can be set on a low level) while you spend the money you earn from selling goods for civil expenses. Another top feature I couldn't play without once having tried it.

P.S.: for reading ease, could you please tap the "Enter" key sometimes? It isn't very comfortable for the eyes to go through your HWOTs .

[Ko4evnik]

DH is the best for war with ally-PC (interface shows allied units with you iwn)
In AoD economic system is better (infra bonus to IC, bonus to IC for concentration, building infra increase resourses)

UPD
played for SOV till 1942, lose to German to Bitter Peace (specially). And after chose the Bitter Peace the game crashes...
It is Darkest Hour 1.2 + Iron Cross 1.2

[Titan79]

UPD
played for SOV till 1942, lose to German to Bitter Peace (specially). And after chose the Bitter Peace the game crashes...
It is Darkest Hour 1.2 + Iron Cross 1.2

Try asking in the DH or IC Tech Support forum - provided you register these games first, of course.

[T.j. Arnold]

DH is the best for war with ally-PC (interface shows allied units with you iwn)
In AoD economic system is better (infra bonus to IC, bonus to IC for concentration, building infra increase resourses)

UPD
played for SOV till 1942, lose to German to Bitter Peace (specially). And after chose the Bitter Peace the game crashes...
It is Darkest Hour 1.2 + Iron Cross 1.2

It's an issue with Iron Cross being added on, as there is no known issue in DH that causes this. That is, except if you have Tech Team Takeover on, that causes crashes (already fixed for the next patch).