I know this has probably been discussed before, but I hope some of you will humor me.
I play HOI in a multi-player group, and the part of the game that has the most heated discussion right now is US War Entry level. We are currently playing a game that is up to January, 1940, and France is just about to fall. The player running France will move over to play the US once France cashes in her chips. We have houserules governing when the US is allowed to enter the war, and one of those rules allows the US to declare war or enter an alliance once their war entry level reaches 100. Well, we're already there! The French player can have France collapse, take the US position, and declare war the next day ... January, 1940!
I guess my question is, for those who are much more knowledgeable than I, what determines US War Entry? Is it a variable that changes every game, or is it determined by proscribed events that raise it regardless? If the fascist powers do such and such, then the US is going to get ticked off? Is the system too aggressive all the time, or is it simply a function of a game that seems to compress time lines across the board (i.e. France falls in late '39 or early '40 rather than the historic mid '40)? We have a winter attack going on right now in France, and it doesn't seem to slow things down, when historically I don't think it would have happened (winter combat penalties are not nearly harsh enough).
I ask this from the standpoint of our axis players who feel there is no point to playing because they feel their position is hopeless if the US can enter a full two years before it did historically, and we can't agree on any method to rig it some artificial way because the allied side wants the US in the war.
I play HOI in a multi-player group, and the part of the game that has the most heated discussion right now is US War Entry level. We are currently playing a game that is up to January, 1940, and France is just about to fall. The player running France will move over to play the US once France cashes in her chips. We have houserules governing when the US is allowed to enter the war, and one of those rules allows the US to declare war or enter an alliance once their war entry level reaches 100. Well, we're already there! The French player can have France collapse, take the US position, and declare war the next day ... January, 1940!
I guess my question is, for those who are much more knowledgeable than I, what determines US War Entry? Is it a variable that changes every game, or is it determined by proscribed events that raise it regardless? If the fascist powers do such and such, then the US is going to get ticked off? Is the system too aggressive all the time, or is it simply a function of a game that seems to compress time lines across the board (i.e. France falls in late '39 or early '40 rather than the historic mid '40)? We have a winter attack going on right now in France, and it doesn't seem to slow things down, when historically I don't think it would have happened (winter combat penalties are not nearly harsh enough).
I ask this from the standpoint of our axis players who feel there is no point to playing because they feel their position is hopeless if the US can enter a full two years before it did historically, and we can't agree on any method to rig it some artificial way because the allied side wants the US in the war.
