You want to fix the learning curve with HOI4 without destroying the complexity? My suggestion would be the look at civilization 5, and in specific their civilopedia feature. The thing that always frustrates me about paradox games is that while everything was well laid out and explained in the manual of EU 1, there seems to have been a trend since then of putting more and more complex mechanics and and leaving people to figure it out for themselves. While the egos of a few hardcore paradox fans such as myself who enjoy decoding these complex back rules may be hurt by explaining some of them, there would also be some value in knowing what's going on.
For example, in HOI3 throws around a lot of terminology, such as 'tendency to drift to internal pressures' or difference between morale and organization. On the surface I can guess from the name what it means but it'd be helpful to have a reference source where I can see everything it affects. Instead of leaving the new player to spend 10-12 hours trying to figure out what 75% of it means and never fully knowing what the other 25% affects, why not include something such as a civilopedia that would be an accessible in game reference that lists and explains every modifier or terminology used. Obviously I'm not saying steal it outright, but as far as in game references that turn a complex game into a much easier to hand one it is among the best.
I'm not as young as I once was and don't have as much time with work and whatnot these days to tackle the learning curve... Keep the complexity but please give me something I can access in game that explains every piece of vocabulary/terminology used so I don't have to run to a wiki or forums every 2 minutes for the first few months that I play.
For example, in HOI3 throws around a lot of terminology, such as 'tendency to drift to internal pressures' or difference between morale and organization. On the surface I can guess from the name what it means but it'd be helpful to have a reference source where I can see everything it affects. Instead of leaving the new player to spend 10-12 hours trying to figure out what 75% of it means and never fully knowing what the other 25% affects, why not include something such as a civilopedia that would be an accessible in game reference that lists and explains every modifier or terminology used. Obviously I'm not saying steal it outright, but as far as in game references that turn a complex game into a much easier to hand one it is among the best.
I'm not as young as I once was and don't have as much time with work and whatnot these days to tackle the learning curve... Keep the complexity but please give me something I can access in game that explains every piece of vocabulary/terminology used so I don't have to run to a wiki or forums every 2 minutes for the first few months that I play.
