Development Diary #14 - National Focuses

[GunthiHrod]

National Focus for France is the same for Vichy France?
or is ther a path to become Vichy France?

 

[FOARP]

Second this.

I can't really get behind a game where Italy is a Major and China isn't.

China would also have a great set of choices. Diplomatically, there's the question of whether to stall for time with the Japanese or lobbying to stay in Germany's good graces. Militarily, there are questions about centralization, equipment, officers. China had an army that was low quality in most things. How and what to modernize, where to focus a very limited amount of trained manpower and good equipment was a huge quandary for them and something that I would love to go through as a player. Within China, there's also the political scene. The urge to centralize with the need to keep support from local warlord forces. The strain of maintaining the United Front with the communists.

The tree for China would be epic.

Three main Axis powers (Germany, Japan, Italy) all get their own national goals. The 5 main Allies (China, USSR, US, UK and France), only 4 get national goals.

China, good enough to get a permanent seat on the security council. Good enough to suffer the second most casualties of any belligerent. Good enough to fight the war 8 times longer than France. Not good enough to get their own national goals.

China is definite expansion-fodder. I would be very surprised if it doesn't end up getting a dedicated expansion DLC that would address all the issues with it. Too much stuff that needs specially designed mechanics not to do this.

BTW - is anyone else thinking about how having an actually-coded DMZ in-game could be used in a Cold War scenario?

 

[Gamer_1745]

Yeah, he's gonna search through entire book just to give you one quote. Sure.

Well when you make statements that don't seem based in reality 'Poland was 4th major power in Europe in 1939 (France was 3rd)' and where would you rank Germany, Britain, Italy, Soviet Union (4 countries)? I would say Romania & Czechoslovakia were more military powerful than Poland (I am not saying they were majors).

 

[Denkt]

Poland did defeat Soviet union.
However in 1936 Soviet was the strongest country in Europe but I doubt many tought so.

 

[toroltao]

Your own revelation was far less interestning than this one. If you have other stupid comments to make, talk to your dog or something...

The game begins mostly on Jan 1936, you know, and at this time, France was one of the very few super-power in the world, what ever you like it or not.
This to not even mention that my initial comment was to answer a guy who wanted to exchange the France specific tree for a newly created one for China, which was pretty idiot itself as a tree for China doesn't mean in any way that the dev team would need to remove the yet done one for France...
And by the way I'd vote for a China's specific tree too, as this country is called to become a great power espacially thanks to the WWII issue.

I don't even care that France is a major, just that it's fairly unimportant in terms of WW2 as far as combat and international importance is involved. As I said, it had a first rate military armament at hand, but it failed to organize into a coherent military to resist the German forces. Under this requirement as a "major", France absolutely fails. Nationalist China is far more important as a player in the game of WW2 as an active force still in combat, compared to France which was at best in a state of revolt after being conquered. Despite China's shitty industry and equipment, it still managed to exist WW2 as relevant and independent power that never surrendered. I fail to see how France was more "relevant" as a country which failed to stop the German advance for even two months, and did just about nothing after the war started. I am not arguing that France should be taken out of the game as a "major", because it's rather stupid PI can't just in another nation or two with their own unique focuses, but by what prerequisits does France fulfill that make it more important than Nationalist China during WW2 which fought throughout the entire duration and then some? If France was a superpower, then it was certainly the shitties one of them all, judging by its performance during WW2 and afterward as well with how it handled its colonies. None of this matters because China definitely will be expanded on in future dlcs, but let's stop pretending that France was anything but disappointing at best during WW2, and at worst completely irrelevant, not even worthy of being a punching bag for Germany.

 

[Centurion1973]

......

1. Hope we can see some larger screen grabs of these national focus systems for the major powers.

2. Also I hope that even if the plan is for the major powers only to have their own national focus for the main release, having eventual DLC releases for many of the other minor nations would be contemplated at some point.

Not the truly minor nations with no real involvement in the war, but groups of minor nations with their own national systems.

For instance release DLC with 3 regional powers per DLC and after that's done then DLC with 4 to 5 minor powers per release. I'd pay $5 per DLC to get that content on the regional powers and minor powers.

1. I agree, some 4K screenshots would be great (high-res screenshots would capture all items in that nations focus system)

2. IMO, mods will take care of such items much faster than PI could release such DLC.

 

[sermaciej]

Well when you make statements that don't seem based in reality 'Poland was 4th major power in Europe in 1939 (France was 3rd)' and where would you rank Germany, Britain, Italy, Soviet Union (4 countries)? I would say Romania & Czechoslovakia were more military powerful than Poland (I am not saying they were majors).

Soviets, Germany, France, Poland, Italy - IIRC that was ranking of land powers (Britain sucked at land) in 1939
can't quote it because I had that book from librar

 

[Labrynian Rebel]

Instead of tying foci to "major powers" they should be tied to "historically important" so we can stop arguing that Italy wasn't powerful enough etc. IMO the only additional countries/factions that were really important for the time period that should have historical goals are the two sides of the Spanish and Chinese civil wars.

 

[Rudawitz]

I like the system, but I also think that befriending Denmark, Netherlands and Norway seems like a waste of three good focuses. There could be a point with Norway I guess, but since you would already have expanded the fleet by then, that country would probably require a much smaller garrison than it did.

But I do like the system. And of course France should be a major with all those battleships and tanks. I mean Jesus...

 

[FOARP]

China, good enough to get a permanent seat on the security council. Good enough to suffer the second most casualties of any belligerent. Good enough to fight the war 8 times longer than France. Not good enough to get their own national goals.

Sorry, I support your general point (though I think China requires a DLC to do it full justice) but:

- Chinese casualties are not a sign of China's power: quite the opposite.

- Pretty obviously France did fight for longer than 1939-40.

 

[FOARP]

Soviets, Germany, France, Poland, Italy - IIRC that was ranking of land powers (Britain sucked at land) in 1939
can't quote it because I had that book from librar

In what way did Britain "suck" at land warfare? We fought campaigns in which we defeated three of the countries listed here (we defeated Vichy France in the Levant and Madagascar).

 

[Cardus]

Poland did defeat Soviet union.
However in 1936 Soviet was the strongest country in Europe but I doubt many tought so.

Yes, and Vietnam defeated the USA hence, according to your logic, Vietnam should be a major power

Yeah, he's gonna search through entire book just to give you one quote. Sure.

Yes otherwise I can tell you many books supporting that I'm nicer and richer than Cluney

 

[toroltao]

Yes, and Vietnam defeated the USA hence, according to your logic, Vietnam should be a major power

Vietnam never defeated the US. The great US army performed a tactical retreat to fight another day.

 

[Pellaken]

The seven majors in HoI4, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Soviet Union, Japan, Italy and France have their own unique historical national focus trees they can progress through, while all other nations share a generic one. Sadly the development team ignored my direct order to add Sweden as a major power for this purpose.

Do some research into the role that Canada played during the war.

I may be getting biased information due to my location, but from what I know, Canada was one of the 8 top nations in the war.

 

[GunthiHrod]

Instead of tying foci to "major powers" they should be tied to "historically important" so we can stop arguing that Italy wasn't powerful enough etc. IMO the only additional countries/factions that were really important for the time period that should have historical goals are the two sides of the Spanish and Chinese civil wars.

Yeap, agree

 

[Gen. Skobelev]

Looks very lovely. What affects the speed of national focus getting finished? Is it just predetermined amount of time (~70 days at peace and ~120 at war) or is there more variables to it? And are there competing national focus that will hinder or outright prevent other nations from finishing their focus (like France and Germany competing for the "befriend Netherlands" focus?

 

[Cardus]

Do some research into the role that Canada played during the war.

I may be getting biased information due to my location, but from what I know, Canada was one of the 8 top nations in the war.

Yes in terms of production not sure in terms of divisions

 

[toroltao]

Do some research into the role that Canada played during the war.

I may be getting biased information due to my location, but from what I know, Canada was one of the 8 top nations in the war.

Yes, Canada always gets ignored. There were so many contributors during WW2, it's sad that all we get are the "seven majors" and everyone gets left out, again.

 

[General_Yan]

Great stuff! Maybe throw some flavor on the generics to change things up, such as focuses for different countries on different continents. Break out a war in SA or NA for example.

 

[Denkt]

Yes, and Vietnam defeated the USA hence, according to your logic, Vietnam should be a major power

I did not say that Poland should be a major power, only that it did defeat Soviet Union.