Noob observations and a couple of questions

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Hi folks,
Came across HOI3 while browsing Steam and thought that I'd give it a shot. Downloaded it but, after 2 hours, it still wasn't running. My running round the interweb looking for help with HOI3 had convinced me that there was a good game in there, I just couldn't get to it so I downloaded HOI2 to play until HOI3 gets a patch that works with my machine.
So glad that I did, what a great game!
My first question - I've worked out how to start playing the game but not how to stop playing it. I start when I get home from work and I've been playing until 2am, and once until 4am, before getting up at 8am to go back to work. Every time I decide to go to bed, some crisis erupts that I just have to see through. My question is - should I be more disciplined about my gaming or should I just buy more coffee to ensure that I stay awake at work?

I'm at the great position of being right at the bottom of the learning curve and everything is brand new. I'm making loads of mistakes but that makes it so much more enjoyable when something goes right. Case in point - playing as the Brits I was having major probs in North Africa with the damn Italians stealing all my land. Switched my Med Fleet to Convoy Raiding to cut off the supply to Africa and before long I was the desert daddy. Now who's eating all the pasta!

Just been reading Blue Emu's U-boat thread. Isn't it great to see the depth of the game and how player actions on one side of the globe impact on the AI everywhere else. It's made me realise that my current problems with money may be down to my convoys getting hit so I'll be checking my ASW when I get home tonight.

Next question, it's now early 42, the Japs have attacked and declared war with the allies but the States won't ally with me. My influence? is 200 but I only get trade & negotiation options in Diplomacy so can't ask them to join the alliance. I suspect it's down to my politics but I haven't been paying much attention to that so I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

Finally - my thanks to Paradox for a great game and my thanks to you guys and the guys responsible for the Wiki for all the help.

 

[Pal]

Hi folks, [..] I downloaded HOI2 to play [..]. So glad that I did, what a great game!

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Indeed it is a great game! Which version did you get? I recommend buying Doomsday+Armageddon and then patching it to Arma 1.3beta2. That way you get the real experience and don't get bogged down in bugs...

My first question - I've worked out how to start playing the game but not how to stop playing it. I start when I get home from work and I've been playing until 2am, and once until 4am, before getting up at 8am to go back to work. Every time I decide to go to bed, some crisis erupts that I just have to see through. My question is - should I be more disciplined about my gaming or should I just buy more coffee to ensure that I stay awake at work?

Hehe, well this was originally coined the "Civ syndrome"... I have to admit that I lost about one semester at university just to EU2 and HoI2... Damn those gems of gaming! You should really try to only play when you got the time, but I know this is not that easy in reality...

It's made me realise that my current problems with money may be down to my convoys getting hit so I'll be checking my ASW when I get home tonight.

Money problems connected to convoys? You mean you are selling resources for money, but someone intercepts the shipping? This is possible, but unlikely, especially if you get your cash from the USA.

Also be aware that the ASW mission for ships is not working in any version prior to Armageddon 1.3beta1. So if you want to do anything about subs, then either park a fleet of DDs along the shipping lanes, or have those destroyers sweep the Atlantic with standard naval combat missions.

Next question, it's now early 42, the Japs have attacked and declared war with the allies but the States won't ally with me. My influence? is 200 but I only get trade & negotiation options in Diplomacy so can't ask them to join the alliance. I suspect it's down to my politics but I haven't been paying much attention to that so I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

There are two restrictions to inviting someone into your alliance:
1) you need to be the alliance leader (OK)
2) the "target" mustn't already be in an alliance (USA is allied to Phillipines and Liberia - AHA!)

You just have to wait until they apply for acceptance into the Allied camp. It should happen anytime soon.

Finally - my thanks to Paradox for a great game and my thanks to you guys and the guys responsible for the Wiki for all the help.

The Wiki is a community product. Just register there and you can be part of the "responsibles", too. There is a lot of knowledge being posted around this forum everyday which is not yet in the Wiki, because of the lack of dedicated people doing the time-consuming editing...

 

[unmerged(189666)]

Thanks for the welcome.
Not sure of the version. Basic vanilla download so I assume it's the latest version without add-ons or mods.
I've not noticed many bugs apart from an occassional habit of sticking in the 'region' map mode when I'm setting up patrol areas for my planes and not allowing me to switch back to 'terrain' where I normally play.
My money problems started with the fall of France and I assumed that the U-boats were using the French ports whereas before I had the Home fleet and the Reserve fleet guarding the Kaggegat and the approaches to Kiel and Wilhelmshaven so the subs were getting hit before they could do any damage. However, your comments make me think that it was actually my 'Dunkirk' plan that's upset my finances. When the Germans broke through into France I 'rescued' as many allied divisions as I could and moved them to England. Would having 20 extra divisions sitting around chatting up the English women impact on my money?

 

[Pal]

Not sure of the version. Basic vanilla download so I assume it's the latest version without add-ons or mods.

Well, I meant are you playing Hearts of Iron 2, Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday or Doomsday: Armageddon? I guess it's just HoI2 then, which is a pity, as the latter two are much better.

I've not noticed many bugs apart from an occassional habit of sticking in the 'region' map mode when I'm setting up patrol areas for my planes and not allowing me to switch back to 'terrain' where I normally play.

When setting up the missions, it's perfectly normal for the game to automatically switch to area mapmode. But as soon as you finish issuing the mission orders, it should automatically revert back to the mapmode you used before. Personally, I prefer the political one, but then I already know the map in and out and thus don't need the static information about the terrain...

My money problems started with the fall of France and I assumed that the U-boats were using the French ports whereas before I had the Home fleet and the Reserve fleet guarding the Kaggegat and the approaches to Kiel and Wilhelmshaven so the subs were getting hit before they could do any damage. However, your comments make me think that it was actually my 'Dunkirk' plan that's upset my finances. When the Germans broke through into France I 'rescued' as many allied divisions as I could and moved them to England. Would having 20 extra divisions sitting around chatting up the English women impact on my money?

No. In HoI2 the only ways to generate money are to produce it with the consumer goods slider (being at war will half you CG demand and thus also half your money income) and trading for it diplomatically (which is about eight times more efficient). The only way to spend money (apart from costs associated with deliberate actions you take) is to research, the cost being directly proportional to the tech team skill and modified by your political settings.

So your money problems will come from either not trading for enough money or from losing large part of the trades to commerce raiding. You being the UK, I would bet it's the former.

 

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Another question

Playing with HOI2 V1.0 (Subsequently upgraded to 1.3A)
Ok, I'm a bit annoyed. In this game I fought Germany to a standstill in Northern France, managed to avoid the the Vichy collapse, the Italians stayed out of the war until they got bored and declared war on Russia. I decided to start a new front in Europe to take some of the pressure off the French border so I landed troops in Aalborg (Denmark) hoping to pull German divisions from France. It worked like a charm and I start building up my forces to march through Denmark and hopefully cut off the German divisions in Belgium/Netherlands.
Unfortunately the Russians steamrollered Germany who surrendered and
Denmark is reinstated. My 21 Divisions in Denmark disappeared!
Are they all gone or are they stored somewhere that I can't find?
Also, my plan was to hold the germans on the French border. If I could get enough divisions to hold the Germans then French could continue their suicidal attacks and my troops would allow the French to reorganise without letting the Germans advance. Unfortunately my troops have started to attack with the French! I haven't given them any oders (i.e. Support defence et al) but they still move forward. Are the doctrines I've researched allowing them some tactical freedom or is it the generals in charge?