Should I start with BICE?

[Poopfaust]

In HOI 4, to me, you need to know the Vanilla version cold (several hundred hours) before attempting BICE - which is awesome.

My question is with HOI 3 BICE. Should I just start studying HOI 3 BICE right now as I re-begin my research on HOI 3? Or should I attempt to get a firm grasp of Vanilla before shifting to BICE?

Thank you

PS - Any mods the veterans suggest I should use that ‘fix’ things? And are they available on Steam.
PPS – Is the HOI 3 BICE community still active?

 

[Count Blue]

There is subforum for BICE in HOI3 and its very active I can tell you.
If you have never played HOi3 it might be ok to play at least one game of vanilla first before starting wit BICE.

 

[Kovax]

There are several major differences between vanilla HOI3 and BICE, but most of the concepts and mechanics are similar enough to apply to both. BICE is a lot further toward the deep end of the pool, so learning to swim in the shallower end first is generally recommended.

That said, while I appreciate a lot of what the BICE team did, there are a few design decisions that really rub me the wrong way, particularly when the game throws massive boosts or stacked penalties at you to enforce historical outcomes. The tech tree is also a lot more convoluted, and until you know what techs you're going to need down the road and which techs have to be researched early to unlock them, it's a bit of a "trial and error" thing. Vanilla is far more forgiving, and easier to learn. Ultimately, the added depth in the mod is mostly a good thing, but the approach they chose leaves something to be desired. My preference leans toward the less-drastic mods like Downfall, Fox & Lion, Historical Plausibility Project, etc.

 

[Poopfaust]

Very helpful and interesting

 

[Heero]

Very helpful, indeed. Thank you.

I am just getting back into the game. I remember BICE and remember feeling similarly as you.

 

[Rancher]

I have just returned To HOI3 ans have started a game in Downfall and although not too far in yet and not having a too critical mind at the moment Im finding it enjoyable. I say not too critical because I am having to learn a lot of things now forgotten over something like 7 years. I have also found in the computer memory some stuff onlystarted all those years ago but will critique those when mind has stopped spinning