Cheers for the DD Podcat
. As always, it looks good, but I do note that the UK in HoI4 seems to be the 'rock' around which the sandbox for other nations is built. By all means turn Germany democratic, or take the US to war with the UK, or turn France in any number of directions, but the UK seems to be far more 'locked in' to a more traditional route (other than war with the USSR). I'm not suggesting this is a bad thing (if the AI/NF system can't handle every country being off the wall, then there needs to be a cornerstone, and the UK is comfortably the best choice), but if there was scope to give the UK the same range of sandboxy choices down the track it would be cool. A focus for intervening in the Japanese-China conflict, for example, shouldn't send things too far out of whack.
This looks tops - I'd be all over something like this being in the game - would make for a good DLC path as well (more models and the like)....
finding the right tank to please everyone is hard. UK didnt even classify tanks in heavy/medium/light. The matilda was an infantry support tank which is likely what you will use that tech level tank for. We could invent some made up model there that would "fit" better, but the thing is that the Matilda II was well known and produced in pretty high numbers, so would silly not to be able to have it in the game. In these cases we have gone with including them even tho it doesnt fit perfectly
Agreed it's tough to please everyone, but when the UK has a wide range of 1918 level tanks, and more in the early 1920s, going with a French tank there looks really, really odd. There's no need to invent anything - there are a number of better options available literally at a glance. The UK tech tree looks like it's been put together by someone who really isn't too on top of UK tanks (I'm an air/naval person, not a tank person by any stretch, but if it stays as is, I'll be modding in more sensible choices into my naval mod because it'd be quick and easy to). Britain was far more active in tank development and design in the early 1920s, a French model here is implausible and unnecessary.
As for the Matilda II thing (although this applies to the FT-17 and Valentine as well):
- People that don't know about the Matilda II/FT-17/Valentine won't care whether it's those models or something else (more plausible) in those slots.
- People that do know about those tanks will think it's ridiculous that the Matilda and Valentine are light tanks, and that the British tank tree starts with a French model.
Changing to more sensible models (others have posted good examples) is all win - people that know about the tanks will be happier, people that don't know will still be oblivious. This isn't a matter of choosing between a range of bad fits (the UK actually had quite a few light tanks in development around that time), it's a matter of fixing bad choices.
As others have suggested, another heavy slot in 1937, 38 or 39 would make a lot of sense - but if we're not going to have a slot there, then leave the Matilda out altogether and let people make it through variants. Better than people having fast moving light tank divisions filled with Matilda IIs, which to anyone that is familiar with the tank is as ridiculous as it sounds!
Suggestions:
First model - either the Medium Mk C, Medium Mk I (although might be a bit 'modern' for what you're going for) or Mk V tank (if you're looking for something that served in WW1). There are (at least - you could put the Whippet in here as well) three British models for use - why has a French model been chosen instead?
First light tank - Light Tank Mk III, actually built in 1934, by Vickers, but the Mk II, while a tad outdated by that time, goes well enough.
Second light tank - Light Tank Mk VI, another Vickers model, of which over 1500 were built and served (actually as a light tank) in WW2. There's no sensible argument for preferring the Matilda over the Light Tank Mk VI in this slot.
Third light tank - the Valentine was a slow and relatively heavily armoured (for its weight) tank - it didn't serve in a role as a light tank, and is an odd choice here. The Tetrarch (otherwise known as Light Tank MK VII) is the obvious pick. This would mean leaving out the Valentine for the Crusader, but like the Matilda, anyone who knows the Valentine will think it's odd it's a light tank, and anyone who doesn't won't mind.
I really dont see what the problem is some people have here. The British always do things a bit silly compared to europeans, just like their tank concepts in WW2. They didnt really had Light/Medium/Heavy tanks but rather the cruiser tanks (fast thinnly armored mobile tanks) and infantry tanks (heaviely armored to keep up with the infantry) concept. Because of that it is pretty hard to categorize them propperly ingame. The second "light tank" slot is really the only one where the matilda makes sense. Besides that its armament kinda fits the light tank theme aswell, since infantry tanks had rather small guns compared to other nations.
The British also had light tanks (they even called them Light Tanks, to make it extra easy for people making tech trees 70 years later to know where to put them
). The Matilda and Valentine were never used for the roles that light tanks performed. The issue is that there is no slot that fits the Matilda, because the UK developed a wider range of tanks than anyone else in the 1930s, and so has a surplus of models for the slots. A 1938 or 1939 heavy tank slot would make a lot of sense, and be a good place for the Matilda to go.
If playing as a commonwealth country, will there be options to break away from UK ties and carve out your own empire? ... New Zealand annexing Australia and the South Pacific for examples.
Keep dreaming
. (Not a serious comment, just friendly Australian-New Zealand banter).
