Spirtes vs counters

[987655mm]

Hey!
I have started playing Hearts of Iron 3, however, I am having a hard time getting used to the counters. What are the benefits of having Counters over Spirites and should I just get used to counters or switch to Spirites? And is there a mod that makes the same information displayable on spirites when you would play on counters?

 

[Opanashc]

Counters are easier to understand. They give more details.

 

[Pugmak]

You can actually do both.

There's a setting that allows you to set the zoom to which sprites will turn to counters on the map. Zoom in and you get sprites, zoom out and you get counters. This can help you learn to associate counter with unit type.

I use it because zoomed in, I like to watch my marchy/shooty soldiers and my tankity tanks in all their colorful glory. And, I can zoom back out to use the counters as they're easier for me to keep organized in my head, and they provide more info at a glance.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Counters show you either the name of the unit or the name of the commanding general or at least the first few letters. They also give you rough values for how powerful the unit is through those two little numbers on the bottom edge. The colour reveals which country it belongs to, and there might be a little flag showing that it's an expeditionary force unit. It shouldn't take you long at all to get used to them. Also, mods which introduce new units might not have proper sprites for them, forcing you to use counters if you want to try that mod.

 

[987655mm]

You can actually do both.

There's a setting that allows you to set the zoom to which sprites will turn to counters on the map. Zoom in and you get sprites, zoom out and you get counters. This can help you learn to associate counter with unit type.

I use it because zoomed in, I like to watch my marchy/shooty soldiers and my tankity tanks in all their colorful glory. And, I can zoom back out to use the counters as they're easier for me to keep organized in my head, and they provide more info at a glance.

I think they really did a good job in the Hearts of iron 4 gameplay footage to convey that.

Is there any way to make spirites also contain the information you have when you use counters.

 

[lunfa_reo]

I use the mixed option (counters while zoomed out and sprites while zoomed in). This way I get the benefits of counters but I can also see exactly where I'm being attacked from by zooming in and looking at where the enemy forces sprites are shooting to.

 

[Cpt Crash]

Use both. Just work the adjustments until you find one that seems right for you.

There are a few locations where it is impossible to select an airbase if you have counters on--another god reason to use sprites when zoomed in.

 

[Pugmak]

Is there any way to make spirites also contain the information you have when you use counters.

I have no clue. You might ask up in the mod section.

 

[987655mm]

Thanks for all the answers! I will try out the zoomed in and zoomed out option.

 

[Leadfingers]

I've never understood why people think counters are hard to understand. They're very consistant. The first time I saw them was when I played the old Avalon Hill game "Wacht Am Rhein!" I think it took me 5 minutes to get all the counters organized in my head.

 

[Kovax]

The first historical boardgame that I ever played used counters, and it took only a few minutes to figure out that "X" is infantry, "/" is cavalry, a stretched "O" is a tank track, and anything with two or more dots under the symbol is motorized. The various gun types (ART, AA, AT) take a little more effort to remember. The two numbers below the symbol indicate offensive and defensive strength. Once you know the major symbols, you can see at a glance what you've got and what you're facing a lot more accurately than with the little sprites, and there's no going back.

 

[987655mm]

I've never understood why people think counters are hard to understand. They're very consistant. The first time I saw them was when I played the old Avalon Hill game "Wacht Am Rhein!" I think it took me 5 minutes to get all the counters organized in my head.

They are not really hard to understand, but I like spirites a lot more visually, but of course you are right, counters aren't really complex.

 

[szcott69]

Also if your a Military history buff, or like 'war' games in general, getting to know counters will pay off since they are pretty much universally accepted norms.

 

[Pro_Consul]

To me it comes down to a simple, logical, practical issue, one which renders further debate pointless:

Counters are more macho.

 

[Oof]

I started my first game in HOI1 with sprites but soon found out you missed a huge amount of information and made the wrong decisions based on the sprite I saw. Since I also started off with Avalon Hill board games (Advanced Third Reich, Vietnam, the Korean War) I was already accustomed to counters. And really it isn’t very hard to understand. It’s actually quite logical. A cross is INF, an oval ARM and a cross through an oval is MECH, etc. Just try for some time and you get used to it and see the benefits.

 

[Rey]

Is there any graphical mod to make counters more distinctive/visualy appealing?

 

[987655mm]

Is there any graphical mod to make counters more distinctive/visualy appealing?

Yes, francesco's models.

 

[Rey]

Yes, francesco's models.

Thx, found them here. Gonna try them.