My beef with Cornflakes

[Dan1109]

There are two of them, easy.

1. A huge problem the Germans faced when invading the USSR was the wider rail gauge, which was a mammoth undertaking to convert. A NF giving a temporary national spirit increasing infrastructure repair and build speed could counter this.

2. If the war isn't won by a certain date (let's say 1943) then the Germans can take a "Festung" focus, adding fortifications to key VPs and maybe along defensive lines (nothing huge obviously except in places like Poznan but something to get you started).

There's another one that would probably work with the upcoming war support mechanics: promising autonomy to the Soviet republics. This would lower war support in the USSR as the Ukrainians especially, but also the other various non-Russian groups, would have less support for their Soviet overlords and would be more welcoming to the Germans. If the German player takes this focus and doesn't actually grant that autonomy, the penalty could be that those nations "rebel" and spawn an OOB of some sort, and go to war with Germany.

Sounds like a mini mod, not a full blown NF Update feature that they hope to sell.

 

[Secret Master]

There’s no decisions to make, no pros/cons to weigh.

Really?

I don't really understand this. Now that there are continuous focuses, you have to make some tough choices once 1938 rolls around (assuming a semi-historical start to the war in 1939).

I'll give two examples:

1) Under the current rules, I've considered annexing Malaysia as the UK in MP. But doing so is going to cost 300 PP on top of the equipment/building required to get their autonomy down. In order to do it as fast as possible (to get the maximum benefit from selling the rubber), you could just not run NFs until Malaysia is annexed, since NFs cost 1 PP per day. And if you are playing in an MP game where the Axis decides to keep WT lower than certain thresholds (especially with a late SCW), you might not have the WT to even fire the best NFs before you could annex Malaysia anyway.

2) In our most recent game, Germany pulled a fast one on us. Myself (the UK) and the Allies discussed whether to fire the "Coerce Spain" NF to keep Gibraltar safe (under our house rules, the Axis is not allowed to invade Spain if Franco is fascist and neutral). We decided to delay it for a few months while I ran some other stuff. But we didn't realize until too late that Germany was running her own NF on Spain. Result: Germany coerced Franco to join the Axis right out from under us, losing us Gibraltar (again, damn it!). Had I made a better choice, things might have gone radically different in the Mediterranean this time.

 

[hkrommel]

Sounds like a mini mod, not a full blown NF Update feature that they hope to sell.

Sounds like you asked for examples and I gave them, and now you're shifting the goalposts to try and preserve your point. I never said that 3 foci would be an exhaustive list, or that simply changing the German tree in this way would constitute an entirety of the expansion, that's ridiculous. You asked for "some suggestions" and I gave them. If you want an exhaustive DLC plan, then ask for that.

 

[Reinner]

There's another one that would probably work with the upcoming war support mechanics: promising autonomy to the Soviet republics. This would lower war support in the USSR as the Ukrainians especially, but also the other various non-Russian groups, would have less support for their Soviet overlords and would be more welcoming to the Germans. If the German player takes this focus and doesn't actually grant that autonomy, the penalty could be that those nations "rebel" and spawn an OOB of some sort, and go to war with Germany.

I agree, especially about Ukraine, i would do same thing with Baltics (if they got annexed by SU) and also event or focus for Continuation War and get Finland in.

 

[SgtHydra]

Sounds like a mini mod, not a full blown NF Update feature that they hope to sell.

Well unfortunately there are no 'mini-mods' when it comes to things like focuses, because unlike something like Stellaris, HOI4 mods can basically only be run one at a time - especially if they change things like Focuses and Techs. Trying to fit conflicting mods together is simply a non-starter, and it's equally a non-starter for Paradox to expect that modders create an entire late game for free.

Which really goes to show how much of a hole that Paradox has dug for itself by having Focuses be an end all be all for your nation's events, foreign and domestic. The simple fact is that Diplomacy is a joke and your options with it are extremely limited and often heavily influenced by the focuses. WW2 itself is likely to be declared through focuses, and not through a Casus Belli system or a wargoals system. The post-war diplomatic system is non-existent, there are no early cold war events like the establishment of the UN, Berlin Blockade, Iron Curtain, Operation Unthinkable, etc. World Tension never drops, and so a war basically erupts when either you or the AI gets bored. No prep for WW3 either. Nothing.

If we actually had a diplomatic system and left focuses to internal politics, we'd be much better off than this unilateral 'one size fits all' system that offers no end-game whatsoever.

HOI4 after 1942 is BORING. Pure and simple. So I've conquered Europe. Big whoop, I can do diddly squat with it except spam IC.

 

[CrazyZombie]

Well unfortunately there are no 'mini-mods' when it comes to things like focuses, because unlike something like Stellaris, HOI4 mods can basically only be run one at a time - especially if they change things like Focuses and Techs. Trying to fit conflicting mods together is simply a non-starter, and it's equally a non-starter for Paradox to expect that modders create an entire late game for free.

Which really goes to show how much of a hole that Paradox has dug for itself by having Focuses be an end all be all for your nation's events, foreign and domestic. The simple fact is that Diplomacy is a joke and your options with it are extremely limited and often heavily influenced by the focuses. WW2 itself is likely to be declared through focuses, and not through a Casus Belli system or a wargoals system. The post-war diplomatic system is non-existent, there are no early cold war events like the establishment of the UN, Berlin Blockade, Iron Curtain, Operation Unthinkable, etc. World Tension never drops, and so a war basically erupts when either you or the AI gets bored. No prep for WW3 either. Nothing.

If we actually had a diplomatic system and left focuses to internal politics, we'd be much better off than this unilateral 'one size fits all' system that offers no end-game whatsoever.

HOI4 after 1942 is BORING. Pure and simple. So I've conquered Europe. Big whoop, I can do diddly squat with it except spam IC.

Well, HOI4 AI is far from EU4 one. Latter at least had some ideas, what exactly it was doing, some long-term goals and was able to evaluate threats and risks.

 

[Bundeswag]

I really think you are asking too much from them. For two reasons, actually.

1) The world situation may be so insane after 1942 that context sensitive NFs will be meaningless. They would be as bad as the scripted Crimean War event from Vicky. Hell, they only make any sense now, because the game is on some historical rails in 1936.

2) Let's not forget that NFs cost 1 PP a day. You might end up with players ignoring later NFs because they want the PP for other things. Like occupations. Or changing laws. Or swapping out ministers. Or running the ever valuable constant NFs like aircraft production.

To explain the insanity of scripted wars etc, I will quote this old post from Secret Master.

We already had a game like this. It was called Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun (the original).

That game had scripted wars (such as you are suggesting), like the damned Crimean War. You know what happened? Here's a list.

1) The Ottoman Empire and Russia just signed a peace treaty three days before the Crimean War fires? Too bad, it's time to fight the Crimean War.

2) Russia is in another war against three other Great Powers and losing? Too bad, it's time for the Russians to attack the Ottomans or turn down the event that fires the Crimean War and take a hit to prestige for no damn reason.

3) All of the Great Powers, including the Ottomans and Russia, are involved in colonial conflicts with uncivs like China? Too bad, it's time to fight the Crimean War.

4) Russia and the Ottomans do not share a land border? Too bad, time to fight the Crimean War.

5) Someone else owns the Crimea and Russia has no warm water port on the Black Sea? Too bad, it's time to fight the Crimean War.

6) Russia's government has been overthrown by anti-war anarchists who have no interest in continuing the Czar's foreign policy against the Ottomans? Too bad, it's time to fight the Crimean War.

7) The Ottomans are a rump state and puppet to France for some weird reason? Too bad, it's time to the fight Crimean War.

8) You know it's a two years until the Crimean War fires? Time to prepare for the Crimean War with your psychic foreknowledge.

Scripting wars to fire on specific dates is even more insane than the AI's behavior.

 

[CrazyZombie]

To explain the insanity of scripted wars etc, I will quote this old post from Secret Master.

Because "scripted conflicts" should work in completely different way. If to take mentioned Crimea war, how should it work if made decently:
1) Events for Ottoman Empire and Russian Empire, starting the conflict. Russia can chose - push to get ready to use CB or ignore opportunity (well, things happen). Ottoman Empire can chose between accepting ultimatum or refusing.
2) France and Britain get events for involvement in case of war is going not well for Ottomans. Still, both can leave everything as it goes (not very likely, if take into account that both were trying to solve their own internal problems in such way as small victorious war, but anyway).

So, even with retarded HOI4 AI and diplomacy, lacking any depth, scripted wars can be made pretty well, if to invest some work in them.