Darkest Hour - Dev Diary #15 - Questions & Answers Session Part 2

[MartinBG]

We have been working on manpower, mobilization and generic concepts these last two weeks.
We know excitement is growing fast among the community and many of you cannot wait to get your hands on Darkest Hour.
We got some very kind messages on our Facebook page lately.
Some were short and simple.

Any ETA on when this will be available? I'm dying to play it!

Some were longer and inspiring.

Honestly: just the thought of playing this game moves me! I'm so happy to have been introduced to this gaming series, because it has changed my life. I work as a history teacher and these games have given me so many ideas for my classroom w...ork. And on the private side, I spend soooo many hours with HoI in all shapes and forms, that it now defines my life. When I lie in bed I think of strategies for upcoming moves; I keep a notepad by the bed so I can write them down. And now the concept of WWI...I can't wait. I really CAN NOT wait!

And some were just plainly weird.

I want to have sex with Darkest Hour.

We are sorry though, you can't have sex with Darkest Hour.

Moreover, in case you've missed it, a new Mod based on DH has been announced: Drunkest Hour!

So fellow wargamers, with no further ado, here is the Second Q&A Session.

Will there be two sets of techtrees? Or is there just one, extensive techtree covering 1918-1948 (or whatever)?
You mean there really is just one, spanning the entire timeline? I asked specifically because it seems like a LOT of techs to fit on those small screens, and an even larger LOT of awesome and win.

I wonder if there are countries in 1936 scenario with 1914 level techs. Seems like there were a couple such places around.

We have extended the technology screen and are working over a large tree spanning from 1914 to 1963 technologies.
This way we can work on scenarios that will use the same database.

Is trade improved? If so, does the player see which countries favour you more than others (trade ratio thing)?

The trading system has been drastically improved compared to oldest Hearts of Iron games for you can now assign priorities to exports and imports and let the AI strike the best possible deals on the world market. The trade system should be introduced in the next development diary.

Is money going to be more important and just not wasted?

I am adding generic decisions that will let you play with budget surplus (we showed some screenshots in the December Specials). They will be probably introduced in a future development diary too.
Besides, peacetime should now be more interesting.

I just ask for a yes/no on this one: Will there be any secret techs for WW1?

Yes.

What battlescenarios will we get (that we did not have before)?

We are working on a new Finnish Civil War scenario, but we don't know if it will released with the game or with a later patch because there's still a lot of work to do.

More than 5 research slots possible?

As of now, Darkest Hour has a maximum of 5 research slots but this may be subject of changes in the future. Moreover it is now moddable and can be increased up to 50 slots (hardcoded limit); also the IC needed for a new slot can be modded (it is still 20 in DH right now). Here's the setting that can be modded from misc.txt:

    # Use new Technology page layout - allow for more techs and better view. 0 - use vanilla; 1 - use new
       1 #0
    # Max active tech teams at a time (cannot be more then 50). Note: New Technology page layout will be auto-set for values above 5!
       5 #5
    # Min active tech teams at a time (available teams regardles of current IC)
       1 #1
    # Required IC for each tech team above the min
       20 #20

Will WW1 be balanced so that long deadly battles much like World In Flames will happen when there are fortifications or difficult terrain/weather?

Battles in DH are longer and deadlier.

How are the peace events represented for WW1 and WW2?

By events, decisions and AI mechanisms.

Are there advanced sliders?

You can add/remove items from production lines and upgrade models, but this will be better covered in another DD.

Can political sliders be moved more than once a year?

Political sliders can be moved by events, decisions and at player's will every two years. However, we are currently refining the sliders system and this may change. The interval between moves is moddable of course.

How will the flag-switch be integrated? (Like in Victoria or did you come up with something new?)

Flag switch is new and not copied from Victoria. There are new event commands that handle it (see DD 11)

Will you introduce new unit types? Like in WW1 mod new infantry divisions: for example Reserve, Guards and Light Inf. maybe?

We will introduced new units or brigades, but maybe not those you mentioned.

Will countries like Ethiopia or China be able to field armies comparable in size with their historical numbers?

Yes.

Will there be an option to change/will you change the country's colors to something much brighter?

It's easily moddable.

Is there an easy to use moddir function (that works, most importantly)?

Absolutely.

There will be a "give province to" on the right mouse button like in Iron Cross ?

There are options that can be enabled and which allow to transfer owned and non owned provinces:

# If owned (!) provinces can be sold/transferred to non-allied countries. 0 = No, 1 = Yes (player could offer such provinces), 2 = Yes (player cold offer and ask for such provinces)
0 #0
# Allow non-owned (just controlled) provinces to be transferred to allied(!) countries if provinces are cores for that ally. 1 - Enabled, 0 - Disabled (default):
1 #0

What will the effects on certain generic decisions be (and requirements), such as issue new currency?

It can be taken when your country has below X money. This situation reflects either budget deficit or more precisely negative trade balance (because money rate is too high for instance).
Issuing currency therefore allows you to get extra money instantly which in turns creates inflation reflected by a slight loss of industrial efficiency in game.

Will the first TRP version for DH be just a conversion of the old TRP 0.94 to DH? Maybe incorporating a few new things like decisions?

From the TRP team: The first TRP version for DH will be the conversion to the new map. We will not convert TRP 0.94 but TRP 0.95 with a lot of fixes which are valid for the "Arma 1.3 Beta 2" engine as well.
Some new things will be added, but it just depends on the time we have between map conversion and release of DH.

The AI uses nukes?

Yes. Beware!!!

How much of DH's awesomeness you have not revealed yet?

Quite a bit. As always, Wait&See.

In Dev Diary 2 when you talked about the new map features, the biggest new feature that intrigued me was the new distance calculation algorithm that said that the distance between Berlin and Moscow would be the same ingame as it would in RL.

Can you show us a screenshot of that or something similar to us?

View attachment Berlin-Moscow.PNG


No other screenshot for today (come on, we gave you all those December Specials!), but here's a link to a video made by the fun. It made us laugh, we hope it will do the same for you! See you next year!
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?510409-quot-Hitler-learns-about-Darkest-Hour-quot

 

[tuore]

Ah, but you just posted a screenshot! I'm sure you guys have always wanted to see the distance of Berlin and Moscow!

 

[JRHINDO]

The distance in the pic is off by 15 kilometers

 

[tuore]

The distance in the pic is off by 15 kilometers

Note that the website version is form Berlin's airport to Moscow's airport.

 

[Fulmen]

Very interesting responses. Looking forward to DH.

Lol at the distance pic.

 

[Cybvep]

BTW will airwings have more realistic ranges? New distance calculations will be useless without them.

Nice session, BTW. Hopefully, the air combat system will be improved in DH and naval-air coordination - more important (of course, the AI must realise it, too) .

 

[Fulmen]

BTW will airwings have more realistic ranges? New distance calculations will be useless without them.

+1

Also I hope to allow more historical accuracy airwings should have a lot more brigades to allow specialization. This could also be in part simulated by tech tree choices.

 

[oribiasi]

BTW will airwings have more realistic ranges? New distance calculations will be useless without them.

Nice session, BTW. Hopefully, the air combat system will be improved in DH and naval-air coordination - more important (of course, the AI must realise it, too) .

I think that the current system in HoI2 is logical, though. It just takes the busy-work out of flying and having to go airbase to airbase within range. Sure, you can't fly from Paris to Moscow in one day. But, it is abstracted to allow just one click and in return you can make the flight in X hours and you just take a ORG hit. Right?

 

[Cybvep]

I think that the current system in HoI2 is logical, though. It just takes the busy-work out of flying and having to go airbase to airbase within range. Sure, you can't fly from Paris to Moscow in one day. But, it is abstracted to allow just one click and in return you can make the flight in X hours and you just take a ORG hit. Right?

Airbases should play a greater role and maximum range should be just that - maximum range, NOT optimal range. IMO mission efficiency should be partially dependant on range. Sure, you can bomb faraway provinces, but you need to load much more fuel than usual, your planes are heavy and pilots are worried about their own safety. Introducing such mechanics would have serious consequences as the player and the AI would have to fight for strategically important provinces in order to maximise the efficiency of their aircraft.

Also, availability of supplies and fuel should play a greater role. This is when logistics enters the stage. Supplying some distant airfield in Africa should be harder than it is in HOI2 and usage of supplies should be much higher during combat/bombing.

Regarding rebasing, I think that AOD got it right. Rebasing over great distances caused huge ORG loss, which could even get into negative values, which gave more realistic results.

About air combat itself - airwings are too "blocky" IMO. They act like flying divisions. You can't e.g. split your airwing into two units with capped strength. You can't customise your aircraft by adding new "attachments". Moreover, detection isn't important enough and IRL it is crucial in aerial warfare.

 

[Fulmen]

About air combat itself - airwings are too "blocky" IMO. They act like flying divisions. You can't e.g. split your airwing into two units with capped strength. You can't customise your aircraft by adding new "attachments". Moreover, detection isn't important enough and IRL it is crucial in aerial warfare.

Very much agreed. The skill level and tactics (doctrines?) should also be I'd say as much as five times more important than they are now regarding air combat. Certain countries during WWII were able to achieve "miraculous" K/D ratios against enormously superior numbers and against much more superior aircraft.

 

[Porkman]

Very much agreed. The skill level and tactics (doctrines?) should also be I'd say as much as five times more important than they are now regarding air combat. Certain countries during WWII were able to achieve "miraculous" K/D ratios against enormously superior numbers and against much more superior aircraft.

This is the loudest I've ever heard someone say a word without actually typing it.

 

[Vidboy10]

You missed my questions...

 

[Fulmen]

This is the loudest I've ever heard someone say a word without actually typing it.

And? Even if that really applies to one nation it is no justification to not be taken into account. Germany too for example, even though having up-to-date aircraft throughout the whole war, eventually became massively outnumbered and still managed to get very good K/D ratios in the air (though mainly against the VVS - again I stress the importance of skill/XP level).

 

[Cybvep]

I hope that the importance of training will be properly represented in DH. Remember UK's pilot problem and all those "foreign" pilots who fought with the Germans in the Battle of Britain

 

[xtfoster]

You missed my questions...

No we didn't, they just don't apply to this thread. All I could find that you asked in the correct thread were:

1) Will there be any ministers go up to 1963 for the DH port of KR?

This question should be asked to the KR developers, who are working along-side of us, but not "with" us.

2) Will there be choice to choose a new monarch to success the old monarch?

This question has been answered (in many different forms) in previous DDs and threads, no need to answer it again.

 

[pakotorino]

There are options that can be enabled and which allow to transfer owned and non owned provinces:

# If owned (!) provinces can be sold/transferred to non-allied countries. 0 = No, 1 = Yes (player could offer such provinces), 2 = Yes (player cold offer and ask for such provinces)
0 #0
# Allow non-owned (just controlled) provinces to be transferred to allied(!) countries if provinces are cores for that ally. 1 - Enabled, 0 - Disabled (default):
1 #0

Ok, but it will be integrated on the right mouse button on the province or in the diplomacy screen ? it's more comfortable hit the province with the right mouse button and decide who to sell it in a list is much more complicated to find the right province to be sold. Ty for the reply.