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Hearts of Iron IV

Started by Ian C, May 13, 2016, 01:07:15 PM

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RyanE

I saw this on Reddit and found it helpful as a beginner to HOI overall.  I had played HOI3 a little but was completely overwhelmed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/paradoxplaza/comments/4ndo3r/over_200_tips_for_new_players/

Ian C

#586
9:00 April 8 1942. I'm the U.S. player. Iron Man game mode. Pay particular attention to my air power on those Carriers.

Anyone want to guess the outcome?







sandman2575

Wow, that makes the Battle of Midway look like child's play.

Also, what on earth are you doing with a 7 CV task force patrolling off the coast of ... Nagasaki??  Are you near to defeating Japan? (Although I suspect a Japan near defeat wouldn't have 6 CV and 9 BB at its disposal...).

Given the huge advantage Japan has in terms of surface vessels, I'm guessing you got your clock cleaned here? Or maybe not -- looks like Japan has a serious malus going on with its aircraft (although you don't appear to be suffering from the same).  ...and you have 178 torp. bombers... Hmmmm...

Ian C

#588
I knew the enemy fleet with 6 carriers was around that area and waded in. I didn't know the exact force though. I didn't take the weather and number of aircraft into account for my naval air ops and I lost all 7 carriers and 2 Battleships. I was counting on my naval air power but the weather was crap and there were 'too many' aircraft present resulting in some kind of negative modifier. Those 9 Japanese BB's closed in as well as 80 DD's with torpedo attacks and that was it. It's going to take a good 3+ years at least to replace those carriers and BB's. All because I knew a major Japanese fleet was present in that area and I wanted a decisive outcome. I got one. It was a terrible opportunistic decision resulting in a catastrophe. I was fixated on taking out those 6 CV's.

I'm on Ironman, which I've played for several days from 1936 onwards. I'm undecided whether to continue and tough it out or restart. Staying with it would be interesting but I can't really rationalise the ineptitude of my naval skill. Chester Nimitz wouldn't have made such a mistake. Until the patch I guess I'm just 'training' anyway.

I've found Ironman mode is a great way to play as it really makes the game quite dramatic and deep. You screw up. It's permanent. You win, and it's a big deal.

glen55

Quote from: Ian C on June 21, 2016, 02:43:24 PM
I knew the enemy fleet with 6 carriers was around that area and waded in. I didn't know the exact force though. I didn't take the weather and number of aircraft into account for my naval air ops and I lost all 7 carriers and 2 Battleships. I was counting on my naval air power but the weather was crap and there were 'too many' aircraft present resulting in some kind of negative modifier. Those 9 Japanese BB's closed in as well as 80 DD's with torpedo attacks and that was it. It's going to take a good 3+ years at least to replace those carriers and BB's. All because I knew a major Japanese fleet was present in that area and I wanted a decisive outcome. I got one. It was a terrible opportunistic decision resulting in a catastrophe. I was fixated on taking out those 6 CV's.

I'm on Ironman, which I've played for several days from 1936 onwards. I'm undecided whether to continue and tough it out or restart. Staying with it would be interesting but I can't really rationalise the ineptitude of my naval skill. Chester Nimitz wouldn't have made such a mistake. Until the patch I guess I'm just 'training' anyway.

I've found Ironman mode is a great way to play as it really makes the game quite dramatic and deep. You screw up. It's permanent. You win, and it's a big deal.

I just parked my 7 carriers in a blocking position south of Midway and waited for them to come after me.  Finally, they did - with ONE carrier (Hiryu).  The expected happened.

To Sandman: it's not that hard to have 7 or even more carriers active by early '42.  You can build Yorktown-class carriers from '36 and if you really put your back into building them and their air complements, I'm sure you could have 10 or more by that time.
Things are more like they are now than they have ever been before.
  - Dwight D. Eisenhower

sandman2575

Lost all 7 carriers?  Oh the humanity!

Seriously that is a huge bummer. I'm not sure I'd have the heart (ha) to carry on after such a catastrophe. Sign the instruments of surrender and start again.   8)

Nimitz wouldn't have made such a mistake... but Halsey might have  ;)  (A cheap shot, admittedly. Halsey was a great commander.)

@glen -- I wasn't marveling at the number of CVs so much as Ian's decision to park his task force right off the coast of Japan in 1942!  The man has balls.

Ian C

Quote from: sandman2575 on June 21, 2016, 03:37:02 PM
I wasn't marveling at the number of CVs so much as Ian's decision to park his task force right off the coast of Japan in 1942!  The man has balls.

I wouldn't say balls though...more like overconfidence and not being totally familiar with the ways of the game as yet!
I was hoping that I could do some real harm with my carrier's air power before the rest of their fleet could close, but the weather and too many aircraft were my undoing. It was a very costly mistake.

One thing about the weather - I really like the way that it's depicted directly on-map. It really adds deep immersion for me.
In a new Ironman game as The Reich in '39, I set up my forces for Case White and on 29th August it started to rain. And rain. And more rain. And then storms.
It was the 12th September before I launched the campaign but it was great. I loved every second of not being able to do anything. There are indeed some issues, some rough edges but I really freaking love this game. The map on a good graphics card set to max is very pretty. I wish there was some way to rotate the camera.

jomni

Quote from: glen55 on June 21, 2016, 03:35:57 PM
Quote from: Ian C on June 21, 2016, 02:43:24 PM
I knew the enemy fleet with 6 carriers was around that area and waded in. I didn't know the exact force though. I didn't take the weather and number of aircraft into account for my naval air ops and I lost all 7 carriers and 2 Battleships. I was counting on my naval air power but the weather was crap and there were 'too many' aircraft present resulting in some kind of negative modifier. Those 9 Japanese BB's closed in as well as 80 DD's with torpedo attacks and that was it. It's going to take a good 3+ years at least to replace those carriers and BB's. All because I knew a major Japanese fleet was present in that area and I wanted a decisive outcome. I got one. It was a terrible opportunistic decision resulting in a catastrophe. I was fixated on taking out those 6 CV's.

I'm on Ironman, which I've played for several days from 1936 onwards. I'm undecided whether to continue and tough it out or restart. Staying with it would be interesting but I can't really rationalise the ineptitude of my naval skill. Chester Nimitz wouldn't have made such a mistake. Until the patch I guess I'm just 'training' anyway.

I've found Ironman mode is a great way to play as it really makes the game quite dramatic and deep. You screw up. It's permanent. You win, and it's a big deal.

I just parked my 7 carriers in a blocking position south of Midway and waited for them to come after me.  Finally, they did - with ONE carrier (Hiryu).  The expected happened.

To Sandman: it's not that hard to have 7 or even more carriers active by early '42.  You can build Yorktown-class carriers from '36 and if you really put your back into building them and their air complements, I'm sure you could have 10 or more by that time.

So where's the Washington Treaty?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Naval_Treaty

Boggit

Quote from: sandman2575 on June 21, 2016, 03:37:02 PM
Nimitz wouldn't have made such a mistake... but Halsey might have  ;)  (A cheap shot, admittedly. Halsey was a great commander.)
Halsey was right to argue against taking on Peleliu. Nimitz won the argument, but a lot of good men died. In terms of strategy Halsey was probably right in hindsight.
The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own. Aldous Huxley

Foul Temptress! (Mirth replying to Gus) ;)

On a good day, our legislature has the prestige of a drunk urinating on a wall at 4am and getting most of it on his shoe. On a good day  ::) Steelgrave

It's kind of silly to investigate whether or not a Clinton is lying. That's sort of like investigating why the sky is blue. Banzai_Cat

FarAway Sooner

Halsey was the right guy at the right time, but his track record as a commander (and his judgment in when he chose to display independence) seems very inconsistent to me.  His performance at Leyte Gulf was disgraceful and entirely consistent with a vainglorious fool, while his decisions to sail into the face of a storm turned out to be a pretty poor one.  Halsey seemed to measure upside much more effectively than to manage downside.

I have no idea if the game models this, but it took a lot of work to get carrier air group operations working smoothly--especially for the US Navy who hadn't been fighting for as long as the Japanese.  There's a reason why the Japanese air attacks at Midway arrived in two compact forces (one against Midway, the other against the Yorktown) from 4 carriers, while the American attacks on the Japanese carrier force arrived in something like 11 different installments.  Heck, the American carriers couldn't even get their own flights (e.g., dive bombers and torpedo bombers) to arrive together.

Parshall and Tully give a great account of carrier air group operations on both sides in Shattered Sword, for anybody who hasn't read anything about Midway in 20 years...

glen55

Quote from: sandman2575 on June 21, 2016, 03:37:02 PM
Lost all 7 carriers?  Oh the humanity!

Seriously that is a huge bummer. I'm not sure I'd have the heart (ha) to carry on after such a catastrophe. Sign the instruments of surrender and start again.   8)

Nimitz wouldn't have made such a mistake... but Halsey might have  ;)  (A cheap shot, admittedly. Halsey was a great commander.)

@glen -- I wasn't marveling at the number of CVs so much as Ian's decision to park his task force right off the coast of Japan in 1942!  The man has balls.

Well, you see, the thing is . . . I don't know how it went in his game, but in mine the Japanese never came after Pearl.  In fact, they never invaded ANYWHERE where I had a garrison.

It's true that I drew my line in from the very beginning and tried to make a few strongpoints instead of defend the whole Pacific, and I built a lot of air and it was mostly for the Pacific, but still, they were disappointingly timid.  I withdrew all American forces from the Philippines in January '36 and I played up to late '42 and the Japanese still hadn't invaded the Phils!  They did at least take Java and Singapore and got the resources they had to have, but they were pretty much giving me a pass.  Leaving 'em alone until they get ready to squash you like a bug is not exactly the way for them to take on the Americans.
Things are more like they are now than they have ever been before.
  - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Ian C

#596
Quote from: RyanE on June 21, 2016, 11:07:33 AM
I saw this on Reddit and found it helpful as a beginner to HOI overall.  I had played HOI3 a little but was completely overwhelmed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/paradoxplaza/comments/4ndo3r/over_200_tips_for_new_players/

Great tips. after reading this it's possible to set rally points for freshly deployed units:


How To have new units deploy to a custom rally point


1. Create or designate a non-combat group and select the Fallback Line tool.






2. Draw the rally point line.






3. Open the Recruit & Deploy Screen and click on the grey circle here, then left click on your rally line:






4. The circle turns brown. Those divisions will now deploy on map around the line.


Ian C

#597
NOTE: If you are using the AI Research Vision Tweaks mod from steam, it is bugged on the Weserubung National Focus Event for Germany (gain cores on Denmark Norway for invasion).

The bug is that for the event to be met, France must not control Brittany. This is obviously very wrong.

I've reported it to the modder (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=704100462) but for those of you who know how (I take no responsibility if you screw up and are doing this for the first time), here is the correct code:

focus = {
id = GER_weserubung
icon = GFX_goal_generic_more_territorial_claims
prerequisite = { focus = GER_danzig_or_war }
mutually_exclusive = { focus = GER_denmark_friend }
will_lead_to_war_with = DEN
will_lead_to_war_with = NOR
bypass = {
AND = {
OR = {
DEN = {
is_in_faction_with = GER
NOT = { country_exists = DEN }
}
}
}
}


available = {
POL = {
NOT = { controls_state = 85 }
NOT = { controls_state = 10 }
}
OR = {
has_war_with = ENG
NOT = {country_exists = ENG}
}
}
x = 17
y = 7
cost = 10
ai_will_do = {
factor = 10
modifier = {
factor = 0
date < 1939.1.1
}
}
completion_reward = {

if = {
limit = {
NOT = { DEN = { is_in_faction_with = GER } }
country_exists = DEN
}
create_wargoal = {
type = take_state_focus
target = DEN
generator = { 37 }
}
}


if = {
limit = {
NOT = { NOR = { is_in_faction_with = GER } }
country_exists = NOR
}
create_wargoal = {
type = take_state_focus
target = NOR
generator = { 110 }
}
}

add_tech_bonus = {
name = tp_bonus
bonus = 0.5
ahead_reduction = 1
uses = 1
technology = transport
technology = landing_craft
technology = tank_landing_craft
}
hidden_effect = {
news_event = { hours = 6 id = news.233 }
}
}
}




You have to hit two locations:

x86\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\394360\704100462\ai_research_division_tweaks\common\national_focus\Germany.txt

and

Documents\Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron IV\workshop\content\394360\704100462\common\national_focus\Germany.txt

search for 'Weser' and it will take you to the header of the code entry.



jomni

Ah Germany Capitulates and Japan turns communist (still at war with them though).  This is Feb 1942.

Pete Dero

Quote from: Ian C on June 22, 2016, 04:58:43 AM


Great tips. after reading this it's possible to set rally points for freshly deployed units:


How To have new units deploy to a custom rally point

1. Create or designate a non-combat group and select the Fallback Line tool.

I use the garrison command for this purpose and that works just as well.  As a bonus the garrison units
will react if there are invasions in their designated area(s) (I usually put them in coastal areas)