The Appeal of Hearts Of Iron 4?

[InsidiousMage]

I was thinking about picking up the game since it is currently on Steam and was wondering what the appealing aspects of the game where. Obviously, alt-history like all Paradox's history games and warfare but what specifically about the war mechanics are interesting and appealing? What do you get a lot of satisfaction out of doing in the game? Stuff like that.

Also, do nations not highly involved in WW2 have a decent amount of content? Specifically thinking about nations like Turkey, Iran, Mexico, Brazil and even places like India that where on the edge of the conflict?

 

[duke engin]

I was thinking about picking up the game since it is currently on Steam and was wondering what the appealing aspects of the game where.

Don't know where to start...

Obviously, alt-history like all Paradox's history games and warfare but what specifically about the war mechanics are interesting and appealing?

Assigning generals to divisions you design and watching them get better. Looking at their portraits and feeling proud.

What do you get a lot of satisfaction out of doing in the game? Stuff like that.

Fulfilling dreams about "what if...."

lso, do nations not highly involved in WW2 have a decent amount of content? Specifically thinking about nations like Turkey,

Going above and beyond my expectations for Turkey. Mind blowingly realistic and fantastic at the same time. You can tell the devs really worked hard on this one.

Iran,

Not much here.

Mexico,

Somewhat interesting.

Brazil

I guess not much here either.

and even places like India that where on the edge of the conflict?

India has it's stuff as well.

 

[LordWahu]

For me it's mods

The core gameplay loop is fun. When things aren't happening it's easy to run in the background making plans and preparations, and when they are it's rather engaging as you watch things progress

But the best feature is the National Focus Trees. Each one allows you to practically play a new game, and makes repeat playthroughs feel fresh as the situation is never static, and no two nations play alike

Many mods make fantastic use of that, and make sure no two experiences are alike

 

[Hermerico]

what the appealing aspects of the game

It has by far the most immersive, interactive, complex and realistic combat of all Paradox games (but by far the worst in everything else not related to war, such as diplomacy and economy).
It is also among the most assymetrical games, while simultaneously not being artificially so.
Meaning that a poor/small country will never be able to compete with a large/rich one on even terms, and the short timeframe doesn't allow for much growth either, but at the same time you don't HAVE to compete on equal terms and there are several different viable strategies you can adopt to wage war on your strengths while avoiding your weaknesses. Also there aren't many fixed bonuses, but instead nations excell at different things because of the resources they have access to, the political choices they make and the general geopolitical situation around them.

Also, do nations not highly involved in WW2 have a decent amount of content?

If it's a nation with it's own DLC yes. If not, then it's very generic.

 

[Insentient]

What do you get a lot of satisfaction out of doing in the game?

I for one get a lot of satisfaction in forcing Edward VIII's marriage to Wallis Simpson down the throat of British public, reconquering all the unwashed traitorous dominions, then conquer USA, France, Italy, Germany and USSR while they're all at war with each other (in that order), conquer the rest of the world, then release USA as a monarchy and have the queen become the ruler while imagining the look on the faces of the American people.

Because love... Love conquers all. (Tanks and planes and exploited factory workers help a bit of course)

The Most Romantic Game of All Time. Would buy it again 10/10.






(I'm not British btw but I do enjoy tea while HOI4ing)

 

[pheonicia]

Hoi4 is fun, theres lots of things to do and it's really engrossing. I will take issue with your description of india as "on the edge of the conflict". 2.5 million in arms is not on the edge by any measure, though India's content is unfortunately old and lacking comparatively to more recent dlc.

 

[CrasherZZ]

No other WW2 game has both the global scale and the minute details with a heavy emphasis on non-combat aspects such as production, diplomacy, trade, and country specific focus trees, ideology, and politics. It's not for everyone because if you find some significant components tiresome that may adversely affect your chances of ultimate victory since all aspects of the conflict are related and tied together.

Fortunately, the AI is not competent at all aspects of the game so your chances of winning are still good even if you chose to ignore some mechanics of the game. In other words, you don't have to be competent in all parts of the game to win but the AI is good enough to beat you if mess up on the important stuff.

 

[safe-keeper]

If you're playing as a historically neutral country, you have to start stuff yourself, because no AI powers will mess with you because it's not in the script, so to say. I'm hoping to see this change where applicable, actually -- that you have to actually work to remain neutral, at least if you're playing as that country, like Switzerland has to in the next DLC, but I digress.

As for what appeals to me about HoI4, I suppose the chief thing is to "relive" historical battles and campaigns in our recent history. Take the reins of Germany or the USSR and duke it out on the eastern front. Hold off the Japanese invasion as China. Play as Britain and stave off the Axis advance around the world, eventually taking the fight to them. Oh, and of course there's the "what if" scenarios as you say. HoI4 is different from HoI3 in that you're not on a tight script, but can play in "ahistorical mode" and explore different directions WWII could've taken.

Neutral countries are a bit lackluster, though. Many of them are really OP compared to what they were in reality, but still, mostly the majors are the interesting ones (and some of the more powerful minors, like Brazil).

Warfare is decently fun, but I wish it was more operational -- as in, "draw up (and possibly name) a new operation, wait for your forces to prepare, and then execute the operation and advance until you have to stop and take up new defensive positions". As it is, you pretty much endlessly fight along the entire front. Still big fun at times, though, and I like that paratrooper landings and amphibious invasions actually take time to plan and prepare now.

 

[CrasherZZ]

Warfare is decently fun, but I wish it was more operational -- as in, "draw up (and possibly name) a new operation, wait for your forces to prepare, and then execute the operation and advance until you have to stop and take up new defensive positions". As it is, you pretty much endlessly fight along the entire front. Still big fun at times, though, and I like that paratrooper landings and amphibious invasions actually take time to plan and prepare now.

Agree - this is the thing I miss the most in HoI4 but it was purposely left out because it doesn't mesh, supposedly, with the Grand Strategic level and scope of the game design. Some historical aspects such having named corps, armies, and theatres that existed IRL cannot be represented in the game. It makes it oddly ahistorical in that respect.

 

[CrasherZZ]

No one has mentioned the Designers so far. The division, ship, plane, and tank designers are big deals aren't they? The division designer was what hooked me initially, and was my biggest disappointment eventually (combat width issues).

 

[Cavalry]

the HOI war mechanics is unique and deep. I didn't found any game similar yet.

 

[Aeroclub]

What appeals to me the most is that HoI4 does model the factors that actually decided WW2 in the long run: economic mobilization, production optimization, infrastructure, logisctis, supply etc. I mean, in the end, you don't win by moving your units around smarter than the opponent does (like in all other strategy games), but rather with better truly strategic decisions at the highest possible level. And I feel like this is exactly what made WW1 and 2 different than any other conflict in history as it wasn't won and lost with one smart maneuvre during a single decisive engagement, but rather with a long-term planning over years and years.

 

[Morrowind3]

Admittedly, it's my least favourite paradox game because it's a pretty slow-paced one-trick pony. That is to say, there's a huge amount of abstraction on all aspects of civil management and aside from micro'ing combat, the rest of the game comes down to some form of waiting, clicking the right buttons every now and then to improve your starting position for war. This makes especially peaceful years quite tedious. The satisfaction of victory is also cut short because you know that any gains you make from ww2 are superficial since the game is pretty much over at that point.

That being said, it does have its moment. Having to actually work for your victories instead of throwing two doomstacks at eachother makes victories itself more satisfying, and if you like map painting, you'll also feel right at home.

Also, there are some really cool mods for HoI 4. Old World Blues for example, is an extremely extensive overhaul that places the game in the Fallout universe, and The New Order is a dystopian, narrative-focused alt-history mod with interesting original worldbuilding and cold war mechanics.

 

[elektrizikekswerk]

Specifically thinking about nations like Turkey, Iran, Mexico, Brazil and even places like India that where on the edge of the conflict?

Each country can be played quite well in Vanilla. There's no "unplayable" country.
However, every DLC contains some content for specific countries.

In the base game all majors (Germany, USSR, UK, USA, Italy, Japan) have specific content.
The free Day-0 DLC "Poland: United and ready" contains specific content for Poland.

That's the base game. Then come DLC:
"Together for victory": Canada, South Africa, India, New Zealand, Australia
"Death or Dishonor": Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
"Waking the Tiger": Japan* (and Puppets), China (all Chinese factions), Germany*
"Man the Guns": USA*, UK*, Mexico, Netherlands
"La Resistance": France*, Vichy France, Spain (both/all sides of the Spanish civil war), Portugal
"Battle for Bosporus": Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey
"No step back": USSR*, Poland*, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
(Not yet released) "By Blood Alone": Italy*, Ethiopia, Switzerland

So Iran and Brazil have (so far) not received any specifc content

*That's additional/changed content in contrast to vanilla.

/edit: And then there are of course mods. There are tons of mods that add/change the content for about every country there is...

 

[safe-keeper]

No one has mentioned the Designers so far. The division, ship, plane, and tank designers are big deals aren't they? The division designer was what hooked me initially, and was my biggest disappointment eventually (combat width issues).

The designers rock. Also the ability to build divisions on a company and battalion level. Gradually building your war industry feels really rewarding, too. You start with a few production lines as you struggle to keep up with demand for rifles, guns, and fighters, and gradually progress to lots and lots of factories churning out the most advanced ordnance you can muster. Researching a new, more advanced tank or variant, for then to build it and be able to assign it to more and more divisions is a great feeling.

 

[Vapiritapiri]

Pulling off big encirclements, now that's the stuff.

 

[GSP Jr]

A big part of the appeal, to me, is the difference that can happen game to game.
I usually play pretty 'historical' - at least until what I do causes things to go off the rails.
Every once and a while though, when that gets too predictable, I like to go wide open, ridiculous alt-history, just so the absurd can happen.

Like others have mentioned, the mod-ability of the game is a HUGE plus, both trying new ones and creating my own.

 

[Sourlol]

It’s the only Wargame that lets you control all fronts, in real-time in addition to “the back office” of your country.

War in the East 2 is better when it comes to engaging in operational level combat on the eastern front…but that’s all it is.
In hoi, I get to manage the nations production, fight in Africa, prepare the west, wage war upon the Soviets, cripple the British in the Atlantic. I had to take poland, Norway, france and Yugoslavia.

No other game has *all of it*

 

[Kazakk]

The base game is very arcade-ish, and although I do like it and play it sometimes, I spend most of my time in mods that focus on challenge and historical accuracy. Mods like BlackICE and Endsieg (update plis), that pay a lot of attention to historical accuracy and try to push for the most realism as possible.

I hope the game keeps getting more complex and realistic over time. I wonder what HOI5 will look like. Huge map pls?

 

[safe-keeper]

It’s the only Wargame that lets you control all fronts, in real-time in addition to “the back office” of your country.

War in the East 2 is better when it comes to engaging in operational level combat on the eastern front…but that’s all it is.
In hoi, I get to manage the nations production, fight in Africa, prepare the west, wage war upon the Soviets, cripple the British in the Atlantic. I had to take poland, Norway, france and Yugoslavia.

No other game has *all of it*

On balance, that's why I prefer HoI4. WiTE can be fun and challenging in its own way, and while I don't actually do it myself, I admit I'm fascinated by how deep the simulation goes (for those who don't know, WiTE will tell you about firefights between individual fireteams in a game where you move divisions around the map)... but I guess I just feel too detached from it all. You can juggle generals and decide what division gets the motorcycle recon battalion and exactly where to lay new railroads, but your army is just handed to you at the beginning of the scenario, and even things like what reinforcements you receive are on a fixed script. Need three more rifle divisions? Sorry, you're at March 1942 and that's the cue for another Panzer division.

In HoI4, you're in charge of research, production, and even designing your ships, tanks, and airplanes, and when the war begins you experience how all your efforts come together.