Development Diary #15 - 4th of February 2009

[Darkrenown]

I would be much more pleased to have a system where:
Axis gains an offensive bonus in homeland (useful in defensive counterattacks as well, though a better representative of the typically revanchist/nationalistically expansionist attitudes of the regimes).

Does the Axis really need any inherent combat bonus just for being the Axis though? If it's just to make sure there's a nice early advantage for big gains at the start of the war starting tech values and the high consumer goods needs of the Allies should be enough.

 

[Alex_brunius]

The Allies – Members of the Allies have greater consumer demands during peace, but this is lowered during wartime. In addition guarantees of independence by Allied countries apply equally to all members of the faction, not just the country that issues the guarantee.

I agree that this sounds pretty weak and not so interesting.

What about things to help cooperations more? Like beeing able to use each others units to support attack to greater effect or something? Or a commonwealth thing that would let Austrailian, Canadian & British fleets cooperate against The Japs and Uboats? Other Things that might be fun are research boni or perhaps radar/codebreaking, Or amfibious assaults bonuses? Perhaps a general Leadership bonus since "all free and intelligent men" would be more attracted to their Ideology and Propaganda? What about the allied historical air superiority?

IF I was giving out major bonuses to everyone though Id give Allies = Sea, Axis = Air & Commitern = Land.

I was hoping that the gearing up for war would be handled by Laws/Decisions/Events actually. And I agree with what others have said about Polish/Dutch exc loosing much needed IC just because they want to join the allies.

 

[Delta107]

Does the Axis really need any inherent combat bonus just for being the Axis though? If it's just to make sure there's a nice early advantage for big gains at the start of the war starting tech values and the high consumer goods needs of the Allies should be enough.

I don't agree, it is enough for them the doctrines.

 

[Bullfrog]

Like I said earlier, any kind of bonus or penalty should not be based on faction but rather the individual nation's socio-political 'alignments.'

For instance, the UK should perhaps be hindered by CGs more so than France and less so than the USA.

Italy gets no defensive bonus for anything.

The Soviets might have an expansive and organized spy network, but not unless the player deems that a priority.

IMO, the bonuses and penalties thing has some potential but the current setup (as it was presented anyway) leaves much to be desired.

Also IMO, faction bonuses/penalties should apply to law making, some diplomacy, dissent, political alignments but certainly not on combat, and perhaps not on intelligence, production or anything that gives undo bonuses to all the nations in a faction.

 

[unmerged(131221)]

Yeah those faction bonusses are a little odd... and why other fractions cant declare limitted war? i dont like it at all.

 

[unmerged(88983)]

OMG You actually added Backa Palanka Love the map of Yugoslavia, even though it contains some errors atm.

 

[unmerged(38672)]

I think the Allies should have:

- Bonus on espionage. The free, democratic nations had many sympathizers in occupied countries, and in Axis and USSR. This made it easy for them to build up an effective network of spies.

- Malus on counter-espionage: since democratic societies are open they are also more vulnerable for leak of information. This would make it easier for Axis and Comintern spies to gather information.

 

[Thracian]

axis and comintern may both have manpower bonus since they can force people

 

[Executor]

Personally, I think a bonus to trade and diplomacy would be more appropriate for the Allies. For instance, Allied nations could get a 10% bonus to goods received from trading, eg. Britain signs a trade agreement to send 100 rares to America in exchange for 100 oil, but because Britain is part of the Allies, it actually receives 110 oil each day for its 100 rares. Maybe in addition, Allied nations could get a 5% increased chance of diplomatic missions succeeding.

 

[zeekater]

No offense to the developers but somehow I feel that all of the exiting Development Diaries have been done already

The amount of provinces, the new model system for units, the division designer, leadership, the new tech system with practical/theoretical values, command structure, supply system, espionage..
There doesn't seem to be anything left to suprise us with

The "Wow!" factor is gone a bit, it'll be more details now it seems (not that there's anything wrong with that!)

 

[Shadow Knight]

Sweet! And having those factions as editable as you're making them opens up some really cool options for modders. Thanks, Johan!

 

[OHgamer]

Sweet! And having those factions as editable as you're making them opens up some really cool options for modders. Thanks, Johan!

Yup. If they decide that only the Axis should get a bonus, it's a 2 second tweak to a single file to give that bonus to other sides for your own gaming pleasure.

The best thing about Paradox games, customization to suit the individual player's tastes and preferences.

 

[unmerged(38672)]

That's what the AI control is for. AFAIK you can task your armies at any level of organization: divisional up through army group.

So the point of going from grand strategic to tactical is so the AI can manage the war for me? Sounds fun...

 

[unmerged(38672)]

Well you don't have to... there is always HOI2 Armageddon!

And with Arma 1.3... it is even better!

Oh shameless plug...

I still haven´t got Armageddon. Is it worth getting now? Yes, I guess I have to stick with it and leave HoI3 to you hardcore wargamers with unlimited time, devotion and patience on your hands...

 

[unmerged(38672)]

Not sure if Paradox has clarified this or not, but in HoI2 you didn't have to conquer every province to have the country officially surrender, my guess is that it would be the same or similar here.

No, of course not, but you will have to fight over a lot of provinces to get to those juicy victory points provinces. Just imagine the wars in Russia and China with the amount of provinces there...

 

[Piggy]

So the point of going from grand strategic to tactical is so the AI can manage the war for me? Sounds fun...

You're a hard person to please, we get more provinces which is good, no its great (HOI2 had too few), and we also get the option to decide how much we want to control ourselves "if" you feel overwhelmed and still its not good enough?

I really dont understand...

Besides, this game hardly qualifies as a tacticle war game, there isnt one thing that would put this game into that category.

Actually, this game is even more grand strategy with the added provinces and specifically, the ability to allow the AI to control things.

Its all about choices...

 

[OHgamer]

No, of course not, but you will have to fight over a lot of provinces to get to those juicy victory points provinces. Just imagine the wars in Russia and China with the amount of provinces there...

well that sounds rather right, considering neither the Germans nor the Japanese were able to successfully complete the conquest of their respective "bitten off too much to chew" victim. Distances in Russia and China (and pretty much everywhere else in the world except the European heartland, where everything of importance is pretty much tightly concentrated within a few hundred KMs of each other) are massive.

WC should be a herculean effort, not something that any gamer with a year of experience should be able to accomplish without breaking a sweat.

 

[unmerged(38672)]

You're a hard person to please, we get more provinces which is good, no its great (HOI2 had too few), and we also get the option to decide how much we want to control ourselves "if" you feel overwhelmed and still its not good enough?

I really dont understand...

Besides, this game hardly qualifies as a tacticle war game, there isnt one thing that would put this game into that category.

Actually, this game is even more grand strategy with the added provinces and specifically, the ability to allow the AI to control things.

Its all about choices...

Well, we have to see when the game is released how it will work in practice, but just because I don´t like micromanaging units over thousands of provinces doesn´t mean I want to leave the AI in control of important decisions. I want to have control of everything, but not be overwhelmed if that makes better sense?

Also, even if the AI might be able to handle small-scale unit battles, it is still me that creates and deploy the units. The logistics of correctly deploying all your troops in preparation for Barbarossa is the project for an entire weekend now...

Sorry if I am whining. Maybe I just don´t fit into the typical HoI-player-mold...

 

[unmerged(38672)]

well that sounds rather right, considering neither the Germans nor the Japanese were able to successfully complete the conquest of their respective "bitten off too much to chew" victim. Distances in Russia and China (and pretty much everywhere else in the world except the European heartland, where everything of importance is pretty much tightly concentrated within a few hundred KMs of each other) are massive.

WC should be a herculean effort, not something that any gamer with a year of experience should be able to accomplish without breaking a sweat.

I think I stick to playing Cuba or Costa Rica if I get HoI3...

The units will have to move over provinces a lot faster in HoI3 to accomodate the larger number of provinces with same scale of time.

A country like Yugoslavia had 22 provinces in HoI2. How can that be considered too few?!?

 

[Piggy]

Well, we have to see when the game is released how it will work in practice, but just because I don´t like micromanaging units over thousands of provinces doesn´t mean I want to leave the AI in control of important decisions. I want to have control of everything, but not be overwhelmed if that makes better sense?

Sorry if I am whining. Maybe I just don´t fit into the typical HoI-player-mold...

Oh no need to apologize at all, you're not whining, you're simply stating your opinion based on your playing style and what you enjoy, its just a game after all, right . Sorry of what I said came across the wrong way...o

I like micro management sometimes, and sometimes I dont, it all depends on my mood. Thats why I think being able to give control to the AI if you want to is really a great feature.

Im also a little daunted by the vast number of provinces, however I often felt in HOI2, especially on the eastern front (which was my favorite theatre) that more provinces with smaller army stacks would be more fun instead of just having an uber stack that you knew couldnt be beaten.

But you're right, we'll can spectulate all we want but untill we actually try it out for real we wont know for sure if it works or doesnt. However, I have faith it will make the game more fun and possibly add more replayability. The vast number of provinces is bound to ensure that no two games army dispositions will be the same once you start.