Although I did not post here in a while, I will reply since I certainly qualify as one of those to whom mothers didn't tell anything about keeping quiet about design flaws (as mentioned in one very optimistic thread around here). Here comes:
1) Basic tradesystem and supply components are fubar and can't be fixed since it would be effectively remaking of the make and modifying old design decisions made at a very early stage of development. To add to that, I know from one betazoid that supply/trade isn't even on discussion, so.
2) Before I shut my mouth off (a quote), I can explain to you why I uninstalled the game- because aforementioned trade and supply components are fubar and are killing the game. I am not one of those quake players who would look at this game and say "bah, too hard for me." This game is way too easy for me, plus it has some absolutely horrifying design flaws for which PAradox should definately be embarassed. However, below is the explanation:
Provinces: I don't know if I can really criticize this one since the
decision was the very initial one, but then it makes whole game concept wrong. First off, start up the game and look at the east front. Count the provinces. From Baltic Sea to Romanian Bessarabia- about ten provs. Line Karelia-Moscow-Crimea- about ten provs. In other words, front WIDTH stays absolutely the same thus not simulating reality of German over-extension by Dec. '41 in any way. In other words German continue attacking on the same front width all throughout the campaign season, which makes it fairly easy for them to crush Red Army and kill off USSR, like it usually happens in the game, since the fact that Wehrmacht's forces were critically overextended in Dec. 1941 is dropped from the game.
Also, as provinces go, most important difference between German and Allied operations isn't simulated. Difference between exploitation and attrition. Awkward size and shape of the provinces make it almost impossible to execute a true pincer operation under most conditions, it takes just one understrenght division to cut off entire Army Group, etc. In other words German campaigns effectively become battles of attrition. Besides, in the game Germans can easily break through MAginot, so using complex timing mechanisms of the game for exploitation warfare become tedious and unpractical when you can just roll over the opposition without having much plan in general.
Supply system is one of the worst in the game. Thing is, supply can not be simulated with "supply/out" system. No unit ever had 100% of all neccessary fuel and ammunition it needed, and none ever completely ran out, certainly not on divisional level on which the game is represented. Lack of numerical tracking of supply is what gives Finns ability to march to Moscow- they can be any distance from Finland, but as long as line of supply is still open, they are operating at 100% of possible strenght. As units become short on fuel and ammunition they start to conserve those and become less and less effective as their supplies dwindled. However in HoI that isn't represented- supply at 1000 kilometers from main depot and 10 kilometers is handled in the same way.
Infrastructure in general and specifics is another serious and unfortunately barely fixable gripe. Beyond simple mistakes made in editor (too high infra for some and too low for others), game doesn't handle railroad movement and movement in general correctly. FIrst off, it shouldn't take units same amount of time to get from Moscow to Leningrad or from Vladivostok to Brest-Litovosk- train movement isn't instant you know. But that is minor. What is major is that again, because of provinces game doesn't simulate units going a long distance away from good roads or railhead and losing effective resupplying ability as they do (another gripe with lack of numerical supply for units). Plus, it's possible as some players do to "rotate" units with good general constantly up and down the line. Historically it would take division at LEAST a few days to figure out what goes where and how to be integrated within new corps/army. In the game however they arrive and are thrown into the battle instantly, then pulled out, thrown into a sector 1000 km away, etc. Thing is, as division moves it becomes disorganized- convoys get stuck, one battalion could stumble upon a minefield, other could be ambushed, railroad could be damaged etc. etc. etc. but game never loses any organization due to movement, which is woefully incorrect. A minor thing never simulated but one that could be- first off retreating armies have a nasty habit of blowing up bridges and damaging railheads, which is NOT unfixable, and other one is that, quite frankly, railroad system in Russia was initially hardly useful for the Wehrmacht because Russian tracks were wider than central and west European ones, which undoubtedly contributed to Wehrmacht's over-extension and exhaustion in Dec. '41. Add to these "traffic gripes" the fact that IJN can waltz in and out of Suez and Panama whenever it wishes, and ship ranges are sometimes way off (although that IS fixable).
The last one, the beaten horse- tradesystem. Enough is said, buying oil from Romania by UK in 1943 is ridiculous, so is almost unlimited oil and rubber supplies as long as you have coal and iron (As a major), and total impossibility to keep economy up as a small industrial minor like Czechoslovakia.
I honestly believe all of these are legitimate and UNFORTUNATELY unfixable gripes. Personally I believed in PAradox to the very day I bought the game, and I was very dissapointed, so forgive my spelling and occasional rudeness. It's just that these decisions were made too early and can't be fixed now.
1) Basic tradesystem and supply components are fubar and can't be fixed since it would be effectively remaking of the make and modifying old design decisions made at a very early stage of development. To add to that, I know from one betazoid that supply/trade isn't even on discussion, so.
2) Before I shut my mouth off (a quote), I can explain to you why I uninstalled the game- because aforementioned trade and supply components are fubar and are killing the game. I am not one of those quake players who would look at this game and say "bah, too hard for me." This game is way too easy for me, plus it has some absolutely horrifying design flaws for which PAradox should definately be embarassed. However, below is the explanation:
Provinces: I don't know if I can really criticize this one since the
decision was the very initial one, but then it makes whole game concept wrong. First off, start up the game and look at the east front. Count the provinces. From Baltic Sea to Romanian Bessarabia- about ten provs. Line Karelia-Moscow-Crimea- about ten provs. In other words, front WIDTH stays absolutely the same thus not simulating reality of German over-extension by Dec. '41 in any way. In other words German continue attacking on the same front width all throughout the campaign season, which makes it fairly easy for them to crush Red Army and kill off USSR, like it usually happens in the game, since the fact that Wehrmacht's forces were critically overextended in Dec. 1941 is dropped from the game.
Also, as provinces go, most important difference between German and Allied operations isn't simulated. Difference between exploitation and attrition. Awkward size and shape of the provinces make it almost impossible to execute a true pincer operation under most conditions, it takes just one understrenght division to cut off entire Army Group, etc. In other words German campaigns effectively become battles of attrition. Besides, in the game Germans can easily break through MAginot, so using complex timing mechanisms of the game for exploitation warfare become tedious and unpractical when you can just roll over the opposition without having much plan in general.
Supply system is one of the worst in the game. Thing is, supply can not be simulated with "supply/out" system. No unit ever had 100% of all neccessary fuel and ammunition it needed, and none ever completely ran out, certainly not on divisional level on which the game is represented. Lack of numerical tracking of supply is what gives Finns ability to march to Moscow- they can be any distance from Finland, but as long as line of supply is still open, they are operating at 100% of possible strenght. As units become short on fuel and ammunition they start to conserve those and become less and less effective as their supplies dwindled. However in HoI that isn't represented- supply at 1000 kilometers from main depot and 10 kilometers is handled in the same way.
Infrastructure in general and specifics is another serious and unfortunately barely fixable gripe. Beyond simple mistakes made in editor (too high infra for some and too low for others), game doesn't handle railroad movement and movement in general correctly. FIrst off, it shouldn't take units same amount of time to get from Moscow to Leningrad or from Vladivostok to Brest-Litovosk- train movement isn't instant you know. But that is minor. What is major is that again, because of provinces game doesn't simulate units going a long distance away from good roads or railhead and losing effective resupplying ability as they do (another gripe with lack of numerical supply for units). Plus, it's possible as some players do to "rotate" units with good general constantly up and down the line. Historically it would take division at LEAST a few days to figure out what goes where and how to be integrated within new corps/army. In the game however they arrive and are thrown into the battle instantly, then pulled out, thrown into a sector 1000 km away, etc. Thing is, as division moves it becomes disorganized- convoys get stuck, one battalion could stumble upon a minefield, other could be ambushed, railroad could be damaged etc. etc. etc. but game never loses any organization due to movement, which is woefully incorrect. A minor thing never simulated but one that could be- first off retreating armies have a nasty habit of blowing up bridges and damaging railheads, which is NOT unfixable, and other one is that, quite frankly, railroad system in Russia was initially hardly useful for the Wehrmacht because Russian tracks were wider than central and west European ones, which undoubtedly contributed to Wehrmacht's over-extension and exhaustion in Dec. '41. Add to these "traffic gripes" the fact that IJN can waltz in and out of Suez and Panama whenever it wishes, and ship ranges are sometimes way off (although that IS fixable).
The last one, the beaten horse- tradesystem. Enough is said, buying oil from Romania by UK in 1943 is ridiculous, so is almost unlimited oil and rubber supplies as long as you have coal and iron (As a major), and total impossibility to keep economy up as a small industrial minor like Czechoslovakia.
I honestly believe all of these are legitimate and UNFORTUNATELY unfixable gripes. Personally I believed in PAradox to the very day I bought the game, and I was very dissapointed, so forgive my spelling and occasional rudeness. It's just that these decisions were made too early and can't be fixed now.
