Darkest Hour - Dev Diary #21 - Mobilization system

  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Great! Maybe the best part of DH so far
 
I really am looking forward to this change. It creates a much more realistic mobolization system, this should really constain a nation's peace time armies. Will I build a navy, fleet, or armored corps? Will I build a little of everything? This will really change how I play the game!
 
Mmmm...

That 4,5% figure seems wrong indeed. It would mean 4.500.000 men for a country of 100 million, and that's 4.500 MP which is massive even by Soviet Union's standards, as it's just for moving from one-year to two-year conscription.

4,5% for one year means that the cohort of, let's say, 20 to 21 years old (assuming one-year conscription applied for people who were 19 years old) amounts for 4,5% of the total population. Therefore the total population would be concentrated in a little more than 20 years, ie., 100/4,5 = 22.22. Of course there's something called premature mortality, but that actually increases the problem: if the 20 years old represent 4,5% of population, younger people would represent even bigger percentages. It doesn't add up, or am I missing something?

And to another related thing. Don't know whether you are still doing research in the conscription polices of each nation, but in Spain it was one year under the Republic and two years under Franco.
 
I really am looking forward to this change. It creates a much more realistic mobolization system, this should really constain a nation's peace time armies. Will I build a navy, fleet, or armored corps? Will I build a little of everything? This will really change how I play the game!

Exactly.
Darkest Hour really is about making hard choices that will define the future of your nation.
 
Mmmm...

That 4,5% figure seems wrong indeed. It would mean 4.500.000 men for a country of 100 million, and that's 4.500 MP which is massive even by Soviet Union's standards, as it's just for moving from one-year to two-year conscription.

4,5% for one year means that the cohort of, let's say, 20 to 21 years old (assuming one-year conscription applied for people who were 19 years old) amounts for 4,5% of the total population. Therefore the total population would be concentrated in a little more than 20 years, ie., 100/4,5 = 22.22. Of course there's something called premature mortality, but that actually increases the problem: if the 20 years old represent 4,5% of population, younger people would represent even bigger percentages. It doesn't add up, or am I missing something?

And to another related thing. Don't know whether you are still doing research in the conscription polices of each nation, but in Spain it was one year under the Republic and two years under Franco.

I just cross quote on part of our internal concept, might make things clearer

3. With normal conscription you enlist a class of age for one year. We saw a class of age was about 0.75% of a country’s population, but only a part of it is actually mustered in. The rest is postponed, upheld, unfit for service, sent to auxiliary service, and we must also deduce the men who are affected to purely administrative tasks. According to data about the French military service in the mid 30’s, I found the following result: on-map MP x 4.0.
 
On-map MP represents 1/1.000.000 of total population, four times that amount represents 4/1.000.000, of course. In my 100 million country example, you'd have 400 MP, so 400.000 more conscripts for one year, or 0.4% of the total population. So the first post possibly meant 0.45% instead of 4.5%, which sounds much more plausible. :)
 
On-map MP represents 1/1.000.000 of total population, four times that amount represents 4/1.000.000, of course. In my 100 million country example, you'd have 400 MP, so 400.000 more conscripts for one year, or 0.4% of the total population. So the first post possibly meant 0.45% instead of 4.5%, which sounds much more plausible. :)

If a one hundred million pop country is able to raise a pitiful 40 divisions WITHOUT anything left for reinforcements, wow. That's harsh. :p
 
Does this specific situations include Poland 1939 campaign? afaik germany was fully mobilized by the end of august
A country which is not already at war cannot go to General Mobilization, but only Partial Mobilization. I am quite sure that what Germany did in August 1939 can be modeled by what we called "Partial Mobilization" (classes that had just accomplished their military service term are recalled under the flag, [..] some reserve units are activated, reservists are sometimes called back too.).

On-map MP represents 1/1.000.000 of total population, four times that amount represents 4/1.000.000, of course. In my 100 million country example, you'd have 400 MP, so 400.000 more conscripts for one year, or 0.4% of the total population. So the first post possibly meant 0.45% instead of 4.5%, which sounds much more plausible. :)
You're probably right, I was in a hurry and didn't take the time to do the math and check if I was giving the right number, sorry. :(
Thanks for your help.:)

If a one hundred million pop country is able to raise a pitiful 40 divisions WITHOUT anything left for reinforcements, wow. That's harsh. :p
The 400 MP are the result of simply changing from one-year conscription (level 4) to two-years conscription (level 5). Mobilizing the country would get a few more men, let me reassure you. :D
 
This MP system seems like a really great idea. I think it has the possibility of preventing totally unrealistic armies where countries like UK end up having 400+ divisions over a long period of time.

But I do have this question about the interbellum. Will the AI demobilize it's armies after the end of WWI or will there be a chance that the USA for example remain completely mobilized.

I think that if countries were forced to demobilize after the war (at least AI) it might provide a better chance for having a realistic WWII.
 
This is something which has been lacking in HOI2 for a long time indeed. Some mods tried to remedy this with only limited succes. AOD did not touch it, which is a shame. Your solution is looking pretty darn good.
 
Can we hear something about the requirements for decreasing mobilization? It is mentioned that, up to partial mobilization, there is a generic decision for moving up on the moblization ladder if MP is low, but is it possible to go the other way if one has a large enough surplus of manpower?
 
The 400 MP are the result of simply changing from one-year conscription (level 4) to two-years conscription (level 5). Mobilizing the country would get a few more men, let me reassure you. :D

Well, yeah. The exact numbers just a matter of balancing, anyway. The idea itself is pretty great. :)
 
What If I like to field a larger standing army of trained professionals, will there be decisions which give MP in exchange of money? Giving the player a minimal increase of manpower which reflects general population growth certainly makes sense, but there are ways and methods to make young men choose the military as employer.