Breaking into the great Paradox abyss

[bboyer66]

 HOI III : Tried to get into it. But the deeper you delve into it, the more you see how flawed the AI is, and that it is not going to provide anything resembling a realistic WW II experience.

Crusader Kings II: Tried to get into it playing a small kingdom in Ireland. Just really did not hook me. Im going to give it another try eventually.

EU IV : Now this is my cup of tea. Above average AI gives you a pretty good challenge. Plus if you are familiar with the other EUs, its not too hard to figure out. Usually play as England and have a blast dominating the British Isles, colonizing, and taking advantage of anything that pops up in Europe. In my opinion this is the best strategy game out now. It has a good mix of playability and complexity.

[sandman2575]

AI control at the highest Theatre level is odd so only set AI to Army-Level HQ's or lower. Assign air assets directly to these groups, not to theatre level AI.

For me, army AI-control option is one of the best things about HoI3.  Yes, it's fiddly, tempermental, prone to stupidity -- in other words, far from perfect -- but I love it.  I find I get the best results using AI control at Corps level.  It's also important not to overwhelm the AI. Give the Corps a *single* objective or at most 2, ideally pretty deep behind enemy lines.  Equally important, set an "axis of advance" for the AI-led Corps by Ctrl-right-clicking in the area of the objective.  This helps keeps the Corps driving toward the objective, making it less prone to idiotic diversions.

It's takes some practice to use correctly and to learn what you can and cannot expect the AI to do.  Still, I can't go back to individually micromanaging every single division.  I'm very, very psyched that HoI4 is going to integrate battle plans with AI control. It will finally be possible to plan and direct real operations -- not just unit shuffling.  Can't wait.

[Nefaro]

HOI III : Tried to get into it. But the deeper you delve into it, the more you see how flawed the AI is, and that it is not going to provide anything resembling a realistic WW II experience.

Crusader Kings II: Tried to get into it playing a small kingdom in Ireland. Just really did not hook me. Im going to give it another try eventually.

EU IV : Now this is my cup of tea. Above average AI gives you a pretty good challenge. Plus if you are familiar with the other EUs, its not too hard to figure out. Usually play as England and have a blast dominating the British Isles, colonizing, and taking advantage of anything that pops up in Europe. In my opinion this is the best strategy game out now. It has a good mix of playability and complexity.

EU4 is definitely the easiest to learn, of the lot. 

I would suggest starting with that if someone wasn't familiar with their stuff.

[KyzBP]

After digging through Steam a bit I figured out that I bought HOI:3 Complete back in 2011 and never played it.  I went ahead and bought the rest of the DLC so I'm about to start a game as Norway (no particular reason) in 1936.  Any last minute advice?

[sandman2575]

Why Norway  ??

I mean, great country IRL and all that... but in HOI3?   Seems like the makings of a pretty uneventful game, just given a country like Norway's lack of resources for waging war --

[JudgeDredd]

Maybe to just get a grip of the mechanics...not be overwhelmed like. I would likely start in a quiet country given the option. Just to see IC, industry, research etc...though you admittedly wouldn't be doing much.

[KyzBP]

Why Norway  ??

I mean, great country IRL and all that... but in HOI3?   Seems like the makings of a pretty uneventful game, just given a country like Norway's lack of resources for waging war --

I wanted a country that would be a bit slow at first so I could learn the game.  I'm figuring out trade and research right now.  Production will be next and then to begin building my Home Defense Force.  A gun behind every tree.  I have Germany to my South and England to my west.  Surely I'll be a juicy target for one of them once the war starts.

[Jarhead0331]

I'm starting to "feel" like my ground forces are really coming together organizationally. They look good on paper, at least, but it remains to be seen how they will ultimately perform in battle. I have really no idea if they will be effective. For instance, I'm not sure if I have a good mix of infantry and armor, or whether the brigade composition maximizes unit effectiveness.  I guess this is something I may have to figure out through trial and error. It's December 1937, so I still have some time to prepare.

So, what about aviation and naval forces? How should the Air Force be organized? I'm focusing production on interceptors and close air support/tactical bombers in preparation for blitz style warfare. Like I was with the ground component before, I really have no clue how to organize these squadrons to avoid penalties and maximize effectiveness. Advice?

What about naval forces? I think it makes most sense to focus on the submarine fleet for now.m don't see Germany ever being able to be build a fleet capable of challenging the British. At least, not until I've accomplished my initial goal of pacifying Western Europe. Thoughts?

Finally, is it possible to win the game while deviating from history? In other words, as the German player with the benefit of hindsight, it would seem to be prudent to not invade the Soviet Union until after the western powers have been defeated. At this point I've played longer than ever before. I seem to now be very competent with managing the economy, production, domestic politics and R&D. I understand unit organization, at least, from the perspective of building and shifting units within the framework f the UI. All that is really left is to master the art of war.

[Ian C]

These are pretty neat guides:


http://www.paradoxian.org/hoi3wiki/Strategy

http://www.paradoxian.org/hoi3wiki/Reference

http://www.paradoxian.org/hoi3wiki/Country_guides


If you want a better looking map with traditional counters try my own mod (some work included by Modestus, also contains Nazi flag):
http://www.gamefront.com/files/24066322/clear_map_mod.zip

Unzip both files and copy to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Paradox Interactive\Hearts of Iron III\tfh\mod

Will build a new map cache (a few minutes, once only at start).

[undercovergeek]

I'm starting to "feel" like my ground forces are really coming together organizationally. They look good on paper, at least, but it remains to be seen how they will ultimately perform in battle. I have really no idea if they will be effective. For instance, I'm not sure if I have a good mix of infantry and armor, or whether the brigade composition maximizes unit effectiveness.  I guess this is something I may have to figure out through trial and error. It's December 1937, so I still have some time to prepare.

So, what about aviation and naval forces? How should the Air Force be organized? I'm focusing production on interceptors and close air support/tactical bombers in preparation for blitz style warfare. Like I was with the ground component before, I really have no clue how to organize these squadrons to avoid penalties and maximize effectiveness. Advice?

What about naval forces? I think it makes most sense to focus on the submarine fleet for now.m don't see Germany ever being able to be build a fleet capable of challenging the British. At least, not until I've accomplished my initial goal of pacifying Western Europe. Thoughts?

Finally, is it possible to win the game while deviating from history? In other words, as the German player with the benefit of hindsight, it would seem to be prudent to not invade the Soviet Union until after the western powers have been defeated. At this point I've played longer than ever before. I seem to now be very competent with managing the economy, production, domestic politics and R&D. I understand unit organization, at least, from the perspective of building and shifting units within the framework f the UI. All that is really left is to master the art of war.

all ive ever read, and indeed practiced as the germans re a naval force is to can everything and just build a big uboat fleet - with that alone i destroyed the royal navy

From the first second of playing I influenced the USA to be nazi sympathisers and i even think the govenrment changed to reflect that, but in the end i think the AI is scripted for the big Russian showdown - might not be '41 but theyll come

[mikeck]

I have actually purchased HOI 3 with al of jt expansions but never really played it. I'm intrigued but turned off by WW2. I am really looking forward to the Cold war version coming out in a few months "East versus West" I believe it's called

[sandman2575]

On the subject of Paradox  --  EUIV on sale on GG for $10 today -- a steal.  Plus discounts on Victoria 2 and expansions.  Vicky 2 still holds up amazingly well today, esp. with the POP Demand mod.  Great game.

[BanzaiCat]

Anyone have Pride of Nations? I bought that last year sometime, tried playing through it for an hour or so, then uninstalled it. It's the only Paradox title I have in my Steam account right now, but I think about trying again from time to time.

That seems to be a running theme with most of us - play through, get stymied for whatever reason, uninstall, pine for it, reinstall, repeat...lol.

[JudgeDredd]

On the subject of Paradox  --  EUIV on sale on GG for $10 today -- a steal.  Plus discounts on Victoria 2 and expansions.  Vicky 2 still holds up amazingly well today, esp. with the POP Demand mod.  Great game.

Thanks and bought.

EUIII was one of the few Paradox games I ever really devoted any time to. I've been waiting on an EUIV sale (I didn't pick it up on Steam)

[undercovergeek]

Anyone have Pride of Nations? I bought that last year sometime, tried playing through it for an hour or so, then uninstalled it. It's the only Paradox title I have in my Steam account right now, but I think about trying again from time to time.

That seems to be a running theme with most of us - play through, get stymied for whatever reason, uninstall, pine for it, reinstall, repeat...lol.

I shelved it until there was a decent let's play on you tube, which I consider to be today's manuals and tutorials.... there is one now I just need the time