HoI 2: Can declare war on anyone. It's a world war wargame, in fact.
HoI 3: Can declare war only after bringing down neutrality to 0, using domestic spies.
HoI 3 FTM: The game decides arbitrarily the way you play.
Imho, this progressive erosion of player's choice is BAD. Very bad. From the "game" perspective as well the simulationist one.
I understand these changes are made to force historical outcome, but they are badly conceived. Ideally what one wants is that if one runs an "hands-off" game then that game goes historically.
The fact is that this is a GAME and not a movie. If it was a movie then it would play "historically", meaning that it plays always the exact same way. The fact that this is a GAME, means that we have choice and can play things *differently*. As different as we decide. Removing choice is BAD. The AI should play historically as long pre-conditions are met. If they aren't then the AI should play adaptively to those specific changes that the player brought to the war.
It's the PLAYER with his choices that determines if the game goes historically or a-historically. Not a script that forces the player's choice.
Now, in HoI 3 the neutrality feature may have had a justification. But it was for BALANCE reasons, not historical ones. If one started the war much earlier then he'd gain an unfair advantage. So the "neutrality" could have been a (crappy) way to limit player's choice in the name of the game's balance.
The new changes instead seem simply about removing the player's choice without bringing ANYTHING useful to the game.
You got everything wrong: it's the REST OF THE WORLD that should play historically, and the game coded to do it. NOT MY OWN ACTIONS. Or I would watch a movie.
So, can we at least get a clear explanation of the new rules? What is affecting neutrality now? You can't tell me it's a "number of factors", I need to know specifically the rules of the game or it's a game that is unplayable.
Is there anything I can do specifically to affect neutrality?
Say, as Italy I want to declare war on Yugoslavia ASAP, what is the best pattern? Just prioritize spies on Yugoslavia and rise their threat?
Is that all I can do to accelerate the process?
I faithfully bought the expansion but it goes always the same way: buy HoI3. Get horribly frustrated and raging at the worst design choices. Go back playing HoI2.
HoI 3: Can declare war only after bringing down neutrality to 0, using domestic spies.
HoI 3 FTM: The game decides arbitrarily the way you play.
Imho, this progressive erosion of player's choice is BAD. Very bad. From the "game" perspective as well the simulationist one.
I understand these changes are made to force historical outcome, but they are badly conceived. Ideally what one wants is that if one runs an "hands-off" game then that game goes historically.
The fact is that this is a GAME and not a movie. If it was a movie then it would play "historically", meaning that it plays always the exact same way. The fact that this is a GAME, means that we have choice and can play things *differently*. As different as we decide. Removing choice is BAD. The AI should play historically as long pre-conditions are met. If they aren't then the AI should play adaptively to those specific changes that the player brought to the war.
It's the PLAYER with his choices that determines if the game goes historically or a-historically. Not a script that forces the player's choice.
Now, in HoI 3 the neutrality feature may have had a justification. But it was for BALANCE reasons, not historical ones. If one started the war much earlier then he'd gain an unfair advantage. So the "neutrality" could have been a (crappy) way to limit player's choice in the name of the game's balance.
The new changes instead seem simply about removing the player's choice without bringing ANYTHING useful to the game.
You got everything wrong: it's the REST OF THE WORLD that should play historically, and the game coded to do it. NOT MY OWN ACTIONS. Or I would watch a movie.
So, can we at least get a clear explanation of the new rules? What is affecting neutrality now? You can't tell me it's a "number of factors", I need to know specifically the rules of the game or it's a game that is unplayable.
Is there anything I can do specifically to affect neutrality?
Say, as Italy I want to declare war on Yugoslavia ASAP, what is the best pattern? Just prioritize spies on Yugoslavia and rise their threat?
Is that all I can do to accelerate the process?
I faithfully bought the expansion but it goes always the same way: buy HoI3. Get horribly frustrated and raging at the worst design choices. Go back playing HoI2.
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