HoI IV - Impressions?

[Basileos Leandros I]

Impressions on the HoI IV release, anyone?

I'm very interested in purchasing this game, hence I'm asking fellow TWCers in providing some info with regards to the game and how it works out. In particular, how's the historical detail in the game, and how complicated is the game? (I heard HoI 2 and HoI 3 were quite complicated)

[Sir Adrian]

I've only played it for about 5 hours on a friend's account but here are my first impressions:

performance is somewhat bad. On a system than can run EU 4, CK 2, and Stellaris perfectly on low settings this game struggles even on bare minimum after 1938-1940, and the graphics have nothing to do with it as the fps pops back up when I pause.

Interface is ugly and unintuitive and overall the game feels shallower than previous HoIs.

Not to mention the absolutely research they did for everybody outside the big 6. Armand Calinescu head of state? PNL a conservative party? Gheorghiu Dej and Petru Groza selectable liberal ministers in 1936? Antonescu as head of the Iron Guard? Tatarescu and Patrascanu leaders of Antonescu's party? Whaaaat


That being said much of the tedium of the previous games has been removed. You now feel like a general in charge of armies instead of a corporal or captain in charge of units, though you can still control the units. Most of the fighting is done via plans - you tell your units where and how to advance and they will follow up on those orders.


On the bad side the planning tools are rather simplistic (4 options + add new units and delete plan) and occasionally buggy. You 'll struggle a couple of times because the game insists on thinking that you want your advance to extend to only one province instead of the whole front even though you never let go of the right mouse button.

Combat is fun and taking over Europe is easier than ever, though it also feels a lot less rewarding.

The game is absolute at explaining things, even for P-Dox veterans. They knew why the put a link to the wiki straight in game.

The economy is also simplified quite a bit, which is good, and unit production is a lot more logical now: you make equipment and train soldiers to use that equipment. There are 6 types of resources (oil, steel, rubber, and 3 types of rare metal). You can either produce them from your provinces or trade for them.

Trade is very simple, just ask for how much you want and if you have convoys and free civilian factories you will get it.

Construction is a lot more streamlined. You no longer build factories in every single town and village, instead provinces have factory slots and you can choose to build military or civilian factories. Same goes for infrastructure and defensive utilities. What I do not understand though is why a rocket test site or nuclear plant takes up a factory slot. I mean given the size of Moldova you'd think they could squeeze a test site in there with those 6 factories, but nope.

Research is the same as in HoI 2 only you no longer choose a tech team, you choose a manufacturer for your tanks and planes and he gives you a research bonus. There's also a national focus tree which works exactly like research and gives you a certain bonus after it is done (all focii take 70 days to complete). It also allows you to take your country in various directions, and has several mutually exclusive branches (like democracy or totalitarianism, nationalism - fascism- and internationalism/political correctness - communism - o0r for democracies interventionism or swiss style neutrality.

Bugs are mercifully absent besides the army planner being a troll and one occurrence where I finished a military production focus and since I had all factory slots filled the game couldn't gift me the military factory it was supposed to so instead I somehow wound up with all my production focus tree researched. Thanks for the gift game.



Right now the game is in a hate it or love it state. My recommendation watch some lets plays before you spend 40 euros. I for one am going to wait for the DLC and a good sales period.

[Basileos Leandros I]

I'm all in for very detailed, micro-management type game. I even have Hearts of Iron III in my Steam, with a lot of DLC packs, but never really played it. Hence why HoI 4 is on my list - I'm very curious about it, because of this micro-management and ability to take on politics, economics, military (everything basically).

Cheers for the impressions! Add more updates when you can

Any others?

[Anna_Gein]

There is less micro management in Hearts of Iron IV than HoI III. Which is nice honestly

I played it a lot today. I like it a lot. I need more time to formulate an opinion. Battle Plan are a bit difficult to create. I struggled for a long long time in order to make a good one against Ethiopia during my first Italy campaign.

[Sir Adrian]

I'm all in for very detailed, micro-management type game. I even have Hearts of Iron III in my Steam, with a lot of DLC packs, but never really played it. Hence why HoI 4 is on my list - I'm very curious about it, because of this micro-management and ability to take on politics, economics, military (everything basically).

Cheers for the impressions! Add more updates when you can

Any others?

Removing most micromangement is the main focus of HoI IV, everything is done on the larger scale. When you order a factory you order it for all of Moldova isntead of just Iasi, for example. When you invade Hungary you cans do that in just 3 clicks and the army will fight by itself. Same for theaters, you jsut select all the troops you want to be a part of it and create a new division with a commander. Done. No more brigades, corps, armies, etc. There are no more production sliders, supplies, reinforcements, upgrades, consumer goods are all automated and no more political spectrum, now you just choose your doctrine from your focus tree.


Here is the Soviet Union's tree http://www.hoi4wiki.com/images/5/5b/...ocus_Tree.jpeg

[gastovski]

Anybody manage to cancel ongoing research?, i couldn't.

[Sir Adrian]

Nope.

[gastovski]

And the game gets high reviews all around while a core, simplistic feature is ed up.

[Sir Adrian]

Never trust reviews from major sites and major youtube channels. Watch let's plays and read stuff on smaller sites.

[Anna_Gein]

Anybody manage to cancel ongoing research?, i couldn't.

If you are talking about technology research you just have to select a new one. If you are talking about National Focus I have not managed to change it.

Removing most micromangement is the main focus of HoI IV, everything is done on the larger scale. When you order a factory you order it for all of Moldova isntead of just Iasi, for example. When you invade Hungary you cans do that in just 3 clicks and the army will fight by itself. Same for theaters, you jsut select all the troops you want to be a part of it and create a new division with a commander. Done. No more brigades, corps, armies, etc. There are no more production sliders, supplies, reinforcements, upgrades, consumer goods are all automated and no more political spectrum, now you just choose your doctrine from your focus tree.

Imo HoI IV does it well. I take issue with the supply (or lack of) and the lack of money. But otherwise the game work better and can offer just as much if not more micro management if you are willing to invest yourself.

The production system is so much better now. You decide how many factories are going to produce your various war equipment. It takes some times before a factory reach its full efficiency. You need to produce continually all the equipment you use in order to replace your loss. You can create variant of your equipment. For example your Panzer IV have trouble to face the huge number of T-34. You can create a new version of Panzer IV with improved armor and gun. In order to boost your Panzer Division you can research as well a modification of your Panzer III to convert the chassis into a Tank Destroyer like the Stug IV. The advantage is that your production line of Panzer IV will have a easier time to convert in Stug III production than Panzer IV production, which means more tank ready to face the red army

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Glorious France in 1942

[Ziltoid]

Played tutorial Italy campaign until 1942, where Germany ended up being friends with Soviet Union, so i ended up instead after Axis victory in Africa, going to Iraq(oil)->Iran(more oil!)->India(rubber and stuff) to eventually ending up fighting China, which was between me and Axis Japan. At that point felt i had grasped enough basics to try actual campaign, picked Finland, because im biased like that.

Went democratic until 1938, when i realised democratic small country has no manpower to use at all. So i switched to Fascism tad too late, to invade Sweden anymore in time before Winter War. Once Winter War came, Germany joined in as i had gone Fascist and i only had to last few months before Germans were already at gates of Leningrad. At that point got the upperhand, encircled massive soviet armies, and then blitzed my way to first Moscow, and then Stalingrad. Game didn't recognise Fascist Finland capturing them, i didn't get any messages for capturing em, while Germans did get one for taking Sevastopol, so im no wondering if AI ignores the impact of those completely. At that point game also turned to massive whack-a-mole and just several hundred divisions jumping back and forth around kinda too tedious to control. So i gave up that campaign too.

After these two campaigns, im both excited and disappointed, excited about all the nifty things like how smooth they have made some things compared to clumsy UI of HOI 3, and how you can even make various variants of tanks. But disappointed by how some things have been simplified too much, bugginness in game not recognizing my grand conquest of Moscow and Stalingrad as Finland, and so on.

But it has potential, year or two, looots of patches, DLCs and maybe some Expansion later, should be really entertaining and nice game. In its current state its still fun, but incomplete experience.

Also about those armies and plans. I prefered as Finland with limited divisions, control each individually, instead of plans. I get that the plans supposedly give you nice bonuses and streamline things, but i liked being in control and microing em all instead. ~20ish divisions isn't that much anyway as smaller country to control. Turning em to 2 blobs with just generic big scale commands would be boring. So that aspect on me is still quite lost.

[gastovski]

The AI is horrible. They don't use improved techs, equipments, tools. Also don't use newer tanks, support units, modern aircrafts. I crushed whole Europe in a year using only mobilized and armored units. Mountain, hill doesn't matter as long as you have high penetration values. At year 1942 i was fighting against pre-war units, it was so easy to crush them.

The game really needs serious patch, asap.

[Basileos Leandros I]

Did anyone give it a try with smaller nations?

[gastovski]

Finally, someone manage to do the most important mod aka gameplay balance.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=699735138

Also check this perfect UI mod too.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...18&searchtext=

[Anna_Gein]

Did anyone give it a try with smaller nations?

The second nation I played was Brasil. I tried to export Communism in South America through civil war. The other day I tried to play Saudi Arabia and take advantage of WW2 to recreate an Arab Empire. HoI IV is very fun with a small nations. Unlike HoI 3.

[Noif de Bodemloze]

I have played this game every day since release day and have 94+ hours... well... totally addicted to this game. I have more impressive pictures from my HOI4 campaigns, but here are some from my laptop. I am also working on mods for this game: "Helsingin sanomat" finnish newspaper for event news and Historical Finland Army - Mod that focus only Finland nation.
"Rise of People's republic of China"


and... My Neo-Ottoman Empire (Still attacking to Iran)

[Basileos Leandros I]

Italy expanded quite a bit in your game, but somehow managed to lose Sicily right under their own backyard.

[SLN445]

Game feels a little broken right now.

Played as Denmark and was expecting a hard war against Germany, when things finally came to war i was able to not only hold the border but smash my way to Berlin and hold most of northern Germany with relative ease.

[Big War Bird]

On the positive side, I love the equipment product mechanics and division designer. It just feels right. Easy to understand and use, but you have to make interesting and difficult choices.
Love the battle planner, after some getting used too it works well and and really reminiscent of watching old documentaries with their maps with arrows. In my Soviet campaign I let my generals handle the infantry while I control the armor.

On the negative side is the air combat, way too abstracted. Almost nothing for you the player to interact with. I think when designing this system they had in mind a fast placed multiplayer game requiring minimal micromanagement, but there is just nothing there. The system is much the same for naval combat, it is makes a little more sense for some reason.

[Noif de Bodemloze]

Italy expanded quite a bit in your game, but somehow managed to lose Sicily right under their own backyard.

Yeah... they hold it quite tight and thanks to their large navy with carriers around that damn Sicily.

Some my new campaign screenshots from my fascism Egypt, communist korea and India

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: