So I've been continuing a multiplayer game a friend and I had going, with me as Germany and him as Italy (Regular, boosted US), in single-player. I've been playing solo since 6 months into our 1942-start Barbarossa and its Feb '44 now. I wanted to make sure the US would present the greatest challenge for my invasion, so I've avoided confronting her generally (outside of destroying her trade convoys with Russia).
With the Soviets on their last leg and Japan (minus most of their fleet, which the US and Britain swept away in the first year after the Jap(anese) DoW on Dec 11, 1941
) perpetually tied down against an American-led invasion of Indochina , I decided I would tag-over and see how the "Arsenal of Democracy" was utilizing it's vast, untouched industrial and resource might!
The US has mobilized it's industry like a beast (over 500 IC with just about 250 MIC/200 CIC and 60ish shipyards) and is filling whatever space it has left in the "lower 48" with MIC (maybe room for another 100 IC?) Shortages in steel since I reduced Russian exports to nil and minor aluminum shortages as well, but not so bad yet that their production would be mortally wounded.
However...
...when I check their production lines...ugh.
Must have had 10 different lines of different tanks with one to three factories assigned to each line. All light tanks (in 1944!) All are seriously limited due to resource shortages because, above them, there are dozens of lines like that for fighters, ships, equipment, etc. Scattered and poor in efficiency, the US has barely scraped together 5k aircraft of all types. It's short infantry equipment, tanks...well, everything!
So many variants. So many duplicate- templates.
I try cleaning it up. Reducing numbers of lines to focus production...then I stop and reload.
Stupid me. The AI will immediately erase all my efforts. I'll just give them a bunch of equipment, manpower and convoys through console. Let the AI burn through those.
At least they managed an 83-ship navy with 12-carriers filled to the brim with aircraft complements!
Too bad the Kriegsmarine has 97 (only 9 subs) ships with another 50-60 by this time next year. Including 10 (plus 5 more being built by '45) CV's.
That pesky Luftwaffe, with its meager 25k aircraft will, sadly, blow the USAAF out of the sky in the first 6-months. Just like I did to the Red Air Force's 5k planes in '42.
I hope the AI can be taught to clean-up it's unit- design and production-planning so it can take advantage of the production technologies it's researching.
"Part two!" *echo* *echo* *echo* *echo*
I'll keep it short after that.
I think we need more options for a future tier of ships. 1944 is very late for designs during the real war, but my games often pass 1945-1946. Like other techs that often disappear in '44 (or even '43 for some) it takes an aspect of a sandbox game, right out of the player's hands.
Heck! Most techs forcibly lead to adaptation of jet technology, anti-air and anti-tank and even infantry weapons are capped as if nations developed the "Pak 88"/"Stg44"-equivalent in 1943, dust-off their hands and say;
"Great work guys! Never going to need anything better than that in 3 or 4 years. Close-up shop and head home forever!"
I miss the older tech-trees in the other HoI games that went on to the 1950's (sometimes the '60's!) and allowed for more flexibility for the "what-if" scenarios that evolve from player's choices and actions.
Sometimes I finish the Allies and Soviets off so fast, that I end up in a sort of "Fatherland"-like "Cold War" with the US (which I sometimes let defeat Japan, separately...or even help defeat sometimes) that often goes nuclear-hot after I get ICBM's by the late '40's or early '50's.
Variants help, but I'd love an extended tech- line for most of the trees.
Please and thank you!
/end novel
With the Soviets on their last leg and Japan (minus most of their fleet, which the US and Britain swept away in the first year after the Jap(anese) DoW on Dec 11, 1941
) perpetually tied down against an American-led invasion of Indochina , I decided I would tag-over and see how the "Arsenal of Democracy" was utilizing it's vast, untouched industrial and resource might! The US has mobilized it's industry like a beast (over 500 IC with just about 250 MIC/200 CIC and 60ish shipyards) and is filling whatever space it has left in the "lower 48" with MIC (maybe room for another 100 IC?) Shortages in steel since I reduced Russian exports to nil and minor aluminum shortages as well, but not so bad yet that their production would be mortally wounded.
However...
...when I check their production lines...ugh.
Must have had 10 different lines of different tanks with one to three factories assigned to each line. All light tanks (in 1944!) All are seriously limited due to resource shortages because, above them, there are dozens of lines like that for fighters, ships, equipment, etc. Scattered and poor in efficiency, the US has barely scraped together 5k aircraft of all types. It's short infantry equipment, tanks...well, everything!
So many variants. So many duplicate- templates.
I try cleaning it up. Reducing numbers of lines to focus production...then I stop and reload.
Stupid me. The AI will immediately erase all my efforts. I'll just give them a bunch of equipment, manpower and convoys through console. Let the AI burn through those.
At least they managed an 83-ship navy with 12-carriers filled to the brim with aircraft complements!
Too bad the Kriegsmarine has 97 (only 9 subs) ships with another 50-60 by this time next year. Including 10 (plus 5 more being built by '45) CV's.
That pesky Luftwaffe, with its meager 25k aircraft will, sadly, blow the USAAF out of the sky in the first 6-months. Just like I did to the Red Air Force's 5k planes in '42.
I hope the AI can be taught to clean-up it's unit- design and production-planning so it can take advantage of the production technologies it's researching.
"Part two!" *echo* *echo* *echo* *echo*
I'll keep it short after that.
I think we need more options for a future tier of ships. 1944 is very late for designs during the real war, but my games often pass 1945-1946. Like other techs that often disappear in '44 (or even '43 for some) it takes an aspect of a sandbox game, right out of the player's hands.
Heck! Most techs forcibly lead to adaptation of jet technology, anti-air and anti-tank and even infantry weapons are capped as if nations developed the "Pak 88"/"Stg44"-equivalent in 1943, dust-off their hands and say;
"Great work guys! Never going to need anything better than that in 3 or 4 years. Close-up shop and head home forever!"
I miss the older tech-trees in the other HoI games that went on to the 1950's (sometimes the '60's!) and allowed for more flexibility for the "what-if" scenarios that evolve from player's choices and actions.
Sometimes I finish the Allies and Soviets off so fast, that I end up in a sort of "Fatherland"-like "Cold War" with the US (which I sometimes let defeat Japan, separately...or even help defeat sometimes
) that often goes nuclear-hot after I get ICBM's by the late '40's or early '50's.Variants help, but I'd love an extended tech- line for most of the trees.
Please and thank you!
/end novel
