Hearts of Iron 2 [Archive]

ShadesPanther

04-29-2005, 20:49

Some of it is more micromanagement which is sad, other things have been made less MM like convoys (automated) The new provinces are nice as it allows more smaller encirclements and breakthroughs as well as making defending against the Soviets in winter quite hard. They also have a reinforcements so you have to divert some industry away for them.
The upgrades are also improved that when new technolog comes online you can upgrade your units in the field (although the infantry divisions upgrading can be a nightmare). One really big improvement is the Tech teams, enabling realistic research for countries (ie a landlocked power like tibet cannot become a naval powerhouse.) this also means no fighter jets or nukes in 1940 (I know about jet planes being possible in 1940). Brigades are also a very nice touch with more attchments available than in HOI1
The good news is that naval battles and the airforces have been fixed which means more fun with Japan than in HOI1.
Overall very good and an improvement on HOI but does need a bit of fixing in places. It is at 1.2 patch and CORE is curently being developed (The ultimate more for HOI1) ~:cheers:

Kraxis

04-30-2005, 00:00

Happy to hear the regions are now smaller... I always fought WWI style in HOI, full head on assault and basically no encirclements as I never had enough motorized or mechanized troops to attempt it (had planned to break through with tanks, plug the gaps with motorized and follow the tanks with mechanized, but the demands were immense), when I tried I ran myself into the ground with the war with the Soviets, no fuel after a few days. By the way have they made a more significant difference between tanks and mechanized infantry? I always thought the mechanized troops to be weaker versions of tanks, not really a correct version.

Brigades better? Explain... I usually just kept up with artillery and engineers (a few anti tanks).

Good to hear the naval and air battles are better, they always seemed impossible. Especially the air battles, it was nigh impossible to destroy enemy aircrafts, even with overwhelming superiority. But explain further.

How about intelligence? I never got the hang of that, just got a tech now and then, and basically ignored the tech part about army intel, unless it advanced the techtree.

But explain everything, tech teams? Reinforcements?

discovery1

04-30-2005, 04:39

Heats of Iron 2 is the best game I have played in recent memory.

Brigades better? Explain... I usually just kept up with artillery and engineers (a few anti tanks).

Well, now you have more of them. Arty, self-propelled arty, anti-tank, sp anti-tank, engineer, police, and more. They can also be moved from division to division(Huge improvement)

How about intelligence? I never got the hang of that, just got a tech now and then, and basically ignored the tech part about army intel, unless it advanced the techtree.

Why? It would give you a clearer picture of what the enemy had in the field. Intelligence didn't have much impact on getting techs, and still doesn't. Will give a clearer pic of what the enemy has on the field, and makes surprises more/less likely.

But explain everything, tech teams? Reinforcements?

Each country has tech teams that they assign to various research projects. Eacg team has areas where they specialize, and has a certain still level.

The rate of reinforcement can be controlled by assigning less than the needed amount of ICs to them. No more hitting a button and the division goes up to full strength instantly(at the cost of organization)

Kraxis

04-30-2005, 12:40

Sounds good... The game has obviously advanced. Especially great about the reinforcements, it was really anoying when enemy fighters could suddenly pop up with full strength after you have finally driven them down to single digits. GAH! But now it will also be harder fighting the Russians.

No more resources or stretegic resources (such as special metals and so on)?

I never involved myself in the intel because I never saw any advantages when I did. I captured a few techs, but never anything important, and I could see what the enemy had on their frontlines, so tactically it was never a problem. Especially since I had to do the broard front attacks.

Boohugh

04-30-2005, 17:04

No more resources or stretegic resources (such as special metals and so on)?

There are 6 resources: energy, metal, rare materials, oil, supplies and $$$'s. I don't know if this has changed from the original because I never played it. You need the first three for your factories, oil and supplies for your military units and money for diplomatic actions.

Because I never played the original I don't know how much of an improvement it is, and so the only recommendation I can give it is that it's one of only 2 games I've been playing recently (the other being Trackmania Sunrise), and I've enjoyed it immensely, so much so that it has already taken a place in my top 10 favourite games.

discovery1

04-30-2005, 22:22

Especially since I had to do the broard front attacks.

'Had to?' What country did you tent to play as? As Germany I found concentrated breakthroughs and encirclements essential.

Kraxis

05-03-2005, 02:37

'Had to?' What country did you tent to play as? As Germany I found concentrated breakthroughs and encirclements essential.
Germany... I simply couldn't starve my other provinces of the forces, so instead of feeding a growing battle I obviously couldn't win (I made that mistake too many times trying to take Paris or London early in the invasions) I would attack over a broad front forcing the enemy to either converge on a few places (where I would fall back but win in the other battles) or fight these many small battles where my airforces would rip them to shreds.
France of course is a special case as they generally tended to glog the gap in the Maginot line very well with masses of infantry and quite a few tanks (often more than I had in all) And they would never enter Belgium and get suckered into a Dunkerque.

LordHugh, in the old game you had Coal, Steel, Oil and Rubber (and Diplomatic points as well as supplies). You had your IC points (Germany had about 260 points, but that would increase a whole lot fast) which determined how much industry you had, each point used 2 Coal, 1 Steel and ½ Rubber. Oil was essential for military of course, but if you didn't have enough (as Germany and most other European powers didn't have) you could convert coalt to oil which in turn could be converted into rubber. Damn, the number of wars I started to just get a few more oil points, such as attacking Albania or 'stealing' colonies in Africa.
So I see the game as mroe or less the same. Coal is obviously Energy, Metal is Steel and rare metals are rubber (makes more sense too). But since the shift has been most dramatic in rare metals I can see some interest in Europe again, instead of the big colonial empires (who floated on oil and rubber), many small countries has rare metals, like nikkel (isn't that differently spelled in English?) in Finland or Molybdenum in east central Europe. So I guess it should be more evenly spread, and more fair.

Butcher

05-03-2005, 17:05

Well i've been playing it a bit now, and sheesh it's immense.. very enjoyable so far though..

Kraxis

05-06-2005, 14:03

I bought the game and got to it as Germany obviously.
Everything initially went my way (good old Hitler playing the big game), but something went wrong with the Czechs and war erupted when I wasn't prepared for it (I had my armies all over the place). A couple of other things also went wrong and I was essentially losing the game even before it began... I was surprised how fast it could turn on you. In HOI a war with the Czechs was no problem. So I reloaded an autosave and made preperations for war, this time it didn't happen, and I split with Hungary.
The war with Poland came and I was doing great, catching their only HQ division in a pocket with a large portion of their troops. But then it happened, the thing I dreaded the most... France attacked!

Can you believe it? They made an offensive into Freiburg, 23 divisions against my measly 3... Rats! My men fell back before the onslaught as I scrambled to fransfer troops from the north down to meet it, but it wasn't going to be enough, my armies were in Poland (where I was suddenly meeting very stiff resistance near Warsaw). Even worse I had the Altmark incident there, gearing the English to become more active.
Then I planned the downfall of France, it was going to be a very elaborate plan. I had only 3 divions in Friedrichshaven, but plenty behind it and to north. I lured the French to continue the attack, and they fell for it, attacking the weak forces in Friedrichshaven which fell back at once. Now was the time to attack Freiburg.

I sent 3 tankdivision to attack Freiburg assisted by an HQ army (HQ division, some infantry and some motorized), the few french forces fled fast and my tanks arrived early. The French now saw their predicament and tried of all their power to attack my Panzerkorps in Freiburg with all their had, no less than 32 divisions attacked me, but I intereupted the attack from Friedrichshaven by attcking that with the encircling forces. The plan was not to win that battle but to save my tanks until help arrived.

My planes that had been transferred from Poland were flying Interdiction all the time and helped the tanks greatly. Finally the last French broke off the attack and I 23 divisions (including their sole tank division as well as half their Mountaineers) in the bag. France gave up at that point planning their defence alogn the Maginot line. But sadly I couldn't jump at the advantage as my forces were still in Poland or on their way. When they arrived it was winter and I settled down to upgrade my troops and wait for spring.

Sadly Fall Weserübung happened with me having no troops ready so I had to ignore Scandinavia.

My worst setback came at sea... My mighty fleet lead by Scharnhorst and all my heavy cruisers, supported by all my light cruisers and all my modern destroyers entered a battle out by Rockall. They won it and sunk a few small French ships, but then big brother entered the game. A mighty fleet of BBs and BCs attacked my fleet and in several engagements (while I was furiously trying to retreat) annihilated it. Now I had only one destroyer squadron, Bismarck and the two old BCs in the east. Even my submarines were getting blasted out of the water, sinking a few transports and escorts.
In my fury I planned masses of new submarines, and the next time I took to the sea Dönitz gave an English ASW patrol a good licking, sinking a CL and a DD.

This is my position now. Precarious at sea and strong at land (though the French are gearing up after their disasterous defeat) and fearful of the Soviets (who have just won the Winter War after initial losses of land to the Finns). Only Hungary is my ally, but Italy is coming around and so is Rumania and Bulgaria. I need to defeat France fast...

King Edward

05-06-2005, 14:20

Sounds like yor having a great game Kraxis! I am in may 1943 in my game (As the UK) and the only action that has happened was the spanish civil war. Germany hasnt even attacked poland yet! so i stopped playing cos i got bored. Might try again though as it sounds a grat game once you get going!

UglyandHasty

05-06-2005, 15:03

In my game right now i am playing the Soviet Union. Its fall 42 and i am about to annex Sweden. I am still at peace with Germany, he dont dare attack i think. Wise move as i outnumbered him in armored division 2/1 and infantry 3/1. I have Annex Finland in 40, and immediatly release them as a puppet. Its my goal in this game to annex all Europe(Balkan included), and create puppets. Right after Sweden i'll declare war to Norway, wich is on Allies side. That will put some fire in the game. Because nothing move so far. Germany stop everything after France, Japan didnt try to invade China(first time i see that), Italy is still neutral.

*edit typo

SwordsMaster

05-06-2005, 18:36

yup, my game is also strangely quiet WWII-wise. Its year 42 now and Im playing Japan: Ive annexed Mongolia, Tannu uma (or something like that) and almost half USSR is under the boots of my soldiers (and Im only researching the airborne assault now MWAHAHAHA! ~D ) The US keep sending supplies to the russians but I have a 180+relationship with them and UK (I bought Hong Kong from them and Macao from the portuguese as well as a few pointless possessions in Britanny and Normandy from the germans, just for the fun of it mainly...)

Now my advance against the USSR is slowing down as Im crossing absolutely undeveloped areas with nothing in them except divisions I keep beating back. I'm allied with Siam and whatever the country that starts as my ally, and I let them keep my border safe.

I have 3 big aerial armies (2 bombers, 1 fighter) and a few smaller ones including transports and naval bombers in every single province with a bit of coast. I have 4 huge navies of 30+ capital ships 3-4 carriers, battleships, etc... and 3 fleets of 20+ submarines that arent as effective as the germans but do the job against crappy russian ones. As the airborn assaullt thinghy has to be developed in less than a month now, Im going to blitz the russian oil producer locations and hopefully some industries. Its kinda hard to keep going though as the distance from Japan is massibe and it takes me months to prepare for every push and move my frontline another "line" to the west.

The germans in the mantime are already further than Stalingrad and the russians will be lef with no space in no time.

My biggest rival in asia is Nationalist China now. They've annexed ommunist China and now are amassing huge armies on our border, and I doubt my troops will be able to hold it if the invasion begins. Luckily I still have the control of the skies. Noone i except Germany has as many planes as I have ATM.

TheJian

05-06-2005, 18:56

You guys ever think about modding this game to make its like MTW or RTM?.even STW????? I have HOI 1&2 cant understand 2 thatw ell need to spend more time with it looks to be deeper than HOI 1....

ShadesPanther

05-07-2005, 00:08

My biggest rival in asia is Nationalist China now. They've annexed ommunist China and now are amassing huge armies on our border, and I doubt my troops will be able to hold it if the invasion begins. Luckily I still have the control of the skies. Noone i except Germany has as many planes as I have ATM.

Very nice, Although Nationalist china will be a big threat, Even when its spring 1939 and I have most of the north and some of the south every so often they can punch a hole through my line but I gain it back and inflict huge loses on them. The main tip is to annex nationalist china as soon as possible because if the minors lose land it will becoe nationalist territory. Soon I will have to prepare for the allies and the Americans, the main plan will be to capture the important islands like Midway, Guam, wake and Hawai for a naval base. Crush the american navy and take the Panama canal as well as all the nice oil and rare material areas and maybe Australia if I have the men during a push through India.

Kaiser of Arabia

05-07-2005, 00:10

Latest (modded to make units be produced faster) game:
me AUstria.
Allience with Hungary
Chech split between me and Hungary
Me have bohemia
them have slovakia.
Im going to own Serbia soon.
Then build up a sphere of influence in China.
Then Im going to start reasearching nukes
then hit moskow.

SwordsMaster

05-07-2005, 10:50

Very nice, Although Nationalist china will be a big threat, Even when its spring 1939 and I have most of the north and some of the south every so often they can punch a hole through my line but I gain it back and inflict huge loses on them. The main tip is to annex nationalist china as soon as possible because if the minors lose land it will becoe nationalist territory. Soon I will have to prepare for the allies and the Americans, the main plan will be to capture the important islands like Midway, Guam, wake and Hawai for a naval base. Crush the american navy and take the Panama canal as well as all the nice oil and rare material areas and maybe Australia if I have the men during a push through India.

LOL ~D Yesterday bought Guam from the US. It did cost me a ton of supplies though...

Anyway, it doesnt appear like the allies are a threat to me now. I leave their possessions alone for the moment. In case of trouble, I can annex french vietnam quickly and thanks to my owning Hong Kong I can hurt badly all the Dutch and British possessions all the way to India. Dont have the ships to do it yet though. Im building another armada to stay in Hong Kong now. And also a few airborne divisions are being deployed in Macao, in case Nationalist China finally plays it rough...

ATM I have the best infantry, marines and airborne of the game (all of them are year43 models and Im barely in 42 and researching). So I have the hope I could hold them back long enough as to turn around my USSR offensive.

Kraxis

05-07-2005, 13:17

Well, I beat France in the spring offensive of 1940, started 6:00am 3. of April, France caved in at 11:00am 18. of April and we got Vichy going (weren't they supposed to be my puppet?). I have placed all my fighters and interceptors on the channel coast to beat back the damn brits (they won't stop sending in bombers to bomb my troops) and my Heinkel 111s are ripping the British navy a new one. They have already sunk 3 carriers and 3 BBs as well as numerous DDs and CLs and of course a few CAs.

But my greatest personal success was when Dönitz went out to interdict some convoys with 6 Type VII submarines. He had little luck in the Western Aproaches, sinking a few transports and escorts (that is strange for I'm sinking about 1:2 in terms of transports to escorts, even with my planes), but then the evil British strike force that crushed my surface fleet emerged out of the mist, Ark Royal leading the way for Nelson, Rodney, Royal Oak and a host of smaller ships (plenty of cruisers). I was about to retreat my subs when I noticed that the destroyers were not in range, so my subs only had to fight the CLs directly. After a long battle all but Royal Oak and Ajax had been sunk, my losses were nothing. Ahh the pleasure of giving the punch back.
But sadly before this I had suffered another great reverse at sea when my planes had attacked a British fleet of old BCs and CLs. I was sure Bismarck, the newly rebuilt Scharnhorst and the two old BCs could easily do away with this, so they went to sea. But sadly they couldn't find them (despite being in the same zone), pressing matter brought me back to the land and I forgot about them. Suddenly my planes were attackign an enemy in the zone again and I took a look.

GASP!!!!
A fleet containing carriers, battleships and battlecruisers in massive numbers, I tried to flee before they noticed my ships, but alas too late. The Brits had noticed my little fleet and in the ensuing battle only Bismarck managed to limp home, heavily damaged. Scharnhorst had been sunk twice in the span on half a year. I was furious... I effectively gave the command of Hitler to only build submarines (but I did commission another two BCs).

I have released Flanders and Wallonia, Belgium was simply too much of a drain on my garrisons.
And in Poland I'm gearing up for the war. I have luckly got two footholds on the eastern side of the original treatyline, they make for perfect jumppoints for my panzers to create three great pockets, containing together about 60 divisions (out of about 200 right now). It will be vital to get them as I'm outnumbered 2:1 in infantry and motorized infantry, luckly I'm superior in tanks (9 divs of Panzer III with the Panzer IV on the way soon) and plenty of good supporting brigades, such as StuH 42, basic artillery, engineers and Marder IIs.

But first I need to get Italy into the alliance, but they are tough diplomats and I'm running low on money. I need them to contain the Brits while I invade the rest of Europe (well, the balkans at least), and I really need the blueprints they have, for I fear I might not be able to hold my tech advantage for much longer. As soon as I have Italy on my side I will invade Yugoslavia and possibly Greece, perhaps then Bulgaria and Rumania will join too. And then the invasion of the Soviet Union will be much easier.

Kraxis

05-07-2005, 13:24

Oh yeah, Japan has wiped the floor with Nationalist China and the other smaller Chinas. I actually started my save game as them to see what was going on, and I was able to beat back the Japanese quite fast because the chinese armies were able to retreat into allied lands (they have perhaps 5 provinces left themselves), and now they threaten the Japanese flanks. So perhaps China might be able to do the same... If only they had the guts to attack along the whole line. The Japanese are severely overstreched and they should be folding as soon as that happens... But I doubt the Chinese are that brave, at least in my game.

At least the Russians are keeping a sizeable part of their armies in the east. And every day they march into the future pockets with more troops... Great potential for me.

TheJian

05-08-2005, 12:21

Ok i wouldlike to know this...I have seen you cant play someone else when you start thegame over is this for MP or just so you can see what the AI is doing?

SwordsMaster

05-08-2005, 12:42

MWAHAHAHA! ~D Just had to share it. Germany and I have annexed the USSR completely, its literally split into 2 halves (with me getting Siberia, hmpf... ) and by giving away a few strategically located provinces I managed to get China to declare war on Germany. the thing is, China owns a very long corridor along my new russian border and I have a fewarmies of 10+ divisions along that border so I can shut it down at any time.

Right now its June 43 and Im preparing a major invasion for spring 44: 2 big navies are getting ready in the Tokyo Docks, marine divisions are getting upgraded, and 15 para-divisions are getting training along with a few transports and bombers.

My industrial capacity went from 100 in 36 to 189 in 43 and there are a few more ICs getting build...

I just dont really know where to direct my attack. South west into China or west into USSR Germany. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but as I said Im going to wait till spring and see who has the upper hand between Germany and China, and make the best out of it.

I will make the world speak Japanese and watch Pokemon!!!

EDIT: Update:

The MArch 44 offensive was directed into China´s heart. The capital was taken in 7 hours via airborne. At the same time marine divisions landed in Shangai and 3 other major ports while my 18 divisions hi tech army advanced from the north supported by the bombers that wiped out the small divisions that were away from the main direction of my attack and my battlefleets sunk 5 chinese ships + 4 transports in the first day.

Long story short, the Chinese offered peace in 2 days. I got a much more consistent border with them, and a few other provinces that will allow me to form easy pockets for my eventual expansion into German USSR. I now control continuous land from Kamchatka to Afghanistan. The power of CHina in the world has been crippled for a while.

Kraxis

05-08-2005, 16:57

Ok i wouldlike to know this...I have seen you cant play someone else when you start thegame over is this for MP or just so you can see what the AI is doing?
You can start an SP savegame as any other nation. So that was what I did, mainly to see what was going on in the rest of the world, or rather in this case to see what the chinese and japanese were doing. As it happened Japan annexed China not so long afterwards, so apparently they didn't attack like I would have done.

ShadesPanther

05-08-2005, 17:25

or there is a cheat(but I don't really see it as a cheat) to see the world I use it because I had the option to see everything in HOI1 and I just don't really like the fog of war in Hoi2.

press F12 and then type nofog

Butcher

05-10-2005, 16:52

Actually, this is turning into one of the best games I have played, ever.

SwordsMaster

05-10-2005, 17:00

Ok, could someone please explain me how exactly inteligence works?

Because the manual didnt shed much light on it and I moved homes since, and only brought the cd to the new one. You know, college residences arent too spacious...

ShadesPanther

05-10-2005, 17:21

with the fog of war the reliability of the divisions facing you will be greater. Ie if it says 2? with out intellegence it might say 3 and will be more accurate

I recommend the HOI2 wikki for most of your questions click me (http://hoi2.nsen.ch/wiki/index.php/Main_Page)

SwordsMaster

05-10-2005, 17:44

Kraxis

05-10-2005, 20:44

Yeah I remember a specific instance where I looked at two armies with 1? divisions turning into two nice looking 2 and 3 division armies right as I developed the intelligence.

SwordsMaster

05-11-2005, 09:52

Small update: My 2nd chinese war is going well, save 2 small scale defeats because I miscalculated the time it would take the supporting troops to level up the front a 2 divisions got in a chinese pocket and received a small thrashing before I realized and pulled them out.... Anyway, the chinese have no navy, again, I was most impressed whe after a naval battle I was reported to have sunk 11 enemy ships! but then I realized half of them were transports...

I got the massacre of Nanjing event, but it didnt happen US intervention even though my Beligerance is above 100, an my troops keep advancing into China. I've annexed Guanxi Clique and Yunnan is giong to feel me too as soon as I manage to cross China. Luckily it takes much shorter than to cross Siberia as the infrastructure levels are usually high (60-70%) and my massed beach landings allowed me to fastly take the key provinces in Ic production. Basically I'm mopping up Nat. China and then Im going to take it to the smaller satellites that are still out there.

I'm still not confident with air combat, the way I see it, its too much micromanagement, isnt it?

Kraxis

05-11-2005, 14:04

Yes, and too little effect for it.
Naval Bombers are great though (Naval Bombing with Tacs is good too).
If you stock up on AA early you can rip enemy bombers to pieces when they attack you. I noticed that when I sent my Naval Bombers to attack a Brit port that had 6 AA. 50% Strength losses with no fighters in the area.

CAS can be useful when attacking fleing enemies, that is if they decide to attack them. I hate that I can't concentrate bombers on a single target, paving the way for my armies.

Anyway, what does the Nanjing Massacre do for Japan? I have noticed that after the massacre Nanjing has no population (where it had about 6 before).

RabidGibbon

05-11-2005, 15:53

I've been playing this game as the British Empire and finding that except where I get heavily involved things are going pretty much as they did. Its 1940 now, I've just evacuated france after they caved in (A few days warning would have been nice.) The highlight so far was during my dunkirk, which was actually in Normandy, when Bismarck, Tirptz etc etc came steaming down the channel and laid into the transports!!! Fortunatly I had about 7 carriers just returning from escorting some canadians across the seas who managed to save the day.

So far its proving a really fun game - by the way, can anyone tell me what problems the patches address, and if there compatiable with previous save games?

SwordsMaster

05-11-2005, 16:26

Anyway, what does the Nanjing Massacre do for Japan? I have noticed that after the massacre Nanjing has no population (where it had about 6 before).

Yup, it bumps up dissent by 10% (or 5 % im not too sure), -20 relation with US, -50 relation with Nat.China.

Not that it matters anyway my realtion with China is at -200 all the time....

So far its proving a really fun game - by the way, can anyone tell me what problems the patches address, and if there compatiable with previous save games?

go to the forums (http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=283) and you'll find the list with the improvements.

Yun Dog

05-12-2005, 02:54

So I bought the game after reading about it in this thread - I goto thank you guys Im loving it! ~:cheers:

Although being a bit of a strat noobie I am still comming to grips with how to play, and lose many battles.

I have been playing as Australia cause there easy and you have time to build up and learn how to play.

In a recent game I took out most of the Japanese Islands including Okinawa and launched a doomed attack on the north of the main Island of Japan. The Americans landed in the south at the same time. The japanese Imperial army wiped out my landing force and then as my transports were retreating they came out from tokoyo with their carrier fleet, in the smoke of battle as they were sinking my entire transport flotilla they did not notice Vice Admiral crutchly and the RAN 2 submaine fleet, which sank the entire Japanese carrier group!!! :charge:

from the ashes of defeat came the phoenix of victory, the americans had soon accepted the surrender of the Japanese.

Kraxis

05-12-2005, 05:00

AI does tend to not notice defeats at sea as much when it is against subs. It is really odd that a few subs can munch up a hardened battlefleet of BBs, BCs and CAs. Those ships should run scared as soon as the first torpedowake was noticed.

That Nanjing Massacre doesn't sound all that great if you are Japan... I suppose it is a forced event?

el_slapper

05-12-2005, 09:16

SwordsMaster

05-12-2005, 09:37

The Nanjing event happens as soon as Japan does enter Nanjing. Conquering Nanjing last is a gamy way to delay it - but you won't avoid it. It's there because USA would'nt begin to embargo Japan's oil otherwise, & without embargo, Japan has no reason at all to take care of those annoying Yankees.

Well, actually I got my oil cutoff a long time ago, back in 41 when I started my war on USSR, but I kinda got around it as I had good relations and trading partreships with Persia...

And for now, the only reason to attack USA is to get those nice naval bases in the PAcific to be able to organize an attack into America.

BTW, I´ve annexed NAt. China and all the smaller Chinas with no problem in about 4 months, annexed Tiber in 3 hours, and now llokking at Germany

Kraxis

05-12-2005, 15:03

RabidGibbon

05-12-2005, 16:25

Thx for the link Swordmaster, :bow: and good look with those Germans, you'll need it - in my campaign they've got nearly 200 divisions and aren't afraid to use them.

SwordsMaster

05-12-2005, 17:33

You annexed the Tiber? Impressive, you never told us about invading Italy. ~D ~;)
It sounds like you control half the world by now. But don't you think Germany is ready for you? I mean she has had time to organize herself and get good techs. If you are unlucky your armies will bounce right off hers.

If you have good contacts with Persia I take it you have no war going with the Brits? Or else it should be running in the low teens of percentage.

LOL, yeah, the Tiber is in the middle of my to-do list by now. ~D

I do control almost half of the world, but its mostly the uncivilized half... So now I´m picking my targets carefully. Which means I was planning to strike into S America (oild deposits in Peru) but my ships cant take me there as the closest islands I control are some 5-6000 km away from there. So Im negotiating with France to get military access...

I actually loaded a game as Germany to see how they were going and they are very high on IC (in the 700s) but only 2 manpower! Which means they cant reinforce or create new divisions.

My manpower is in the 1000 region, which gives me a good advantage.

The brits havent crossed my path until now. But ATM I´ve reached their indian and indonesian possessions and The thought of invading has crossed my mind. But I have to check if they have the resources I need (oil and energy) first because I dont want to stretch too thin.

Besides, my belligerance is almost 300 which means that the US well DOW me any day now, despite our good (+192) relations.

Ah, the spoils of conquering the world. ~D

Duke Malcolm

05-12-2005, 17:36

HoI 2? That's a damned fine game. Not played in a while, though.

I made up an army or two of about 20 parachute divisions, and attacked central italy, whilst my mediterranean army (desert rats, and various foreign troops of whom I had command, of about 20 divisions, and the home fleet, of about 30 ships) attacked the cut-off south of italy. Unfortunately, the sea invasion to the south came too early, so the south of italy wasn't cut off, and the 2nd army of paras was shot down enroute from malta, so only one of the armies made it, and was killed in the invasion. The sea invasion wa quite successful, nonetheless, gaining one region, which was soon lost, since it was cut off...

SwordsMaster

05-12-2005, 21:11

Here is fot you to see the greatness of Japan. Unfortunaly the greatness is such, is wouldnt fit in 1 screen so You´ll have to imagine Siberia up in the North and my Pacific posessions together with some of the western front.
The red faction is UK, blueish is France, Orange, Netherlands and Grey is Germany.

Ah, BTW, I´ve annexed Siam and Machukuo just now. They were useless allies anyway... ~D

Im allied with Persia now ~:cheers:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/SwordsMaster/ScreenSave1.bmp

Kraxis

05-13-2005, 01:31

That front with Germany looks rather precarious with a lot of exposed provinces. But I can't see any blueish provinces...

DisruptorX

05-13-2005, 04:45

Now, I'm always one to play the Underdog, and this is giving me headaches in this game. I chose Czechoslovakia... When that rat Chamberlain backstabbed me, I joined the Axis, which was great. However, I needed to conquer Hungary because my country has no resources, and unfortunately, Germany chose the exact same time to invade Poland. Here's a map, and it looks good, but check out my Oil. :embarassed: I do not think I will be able to lend Germany much aid, and looking at soviet holdings, I don't think Germany can win alone. The Czechs are pretty much screwed, I have nothing but infantry (albeit the most modern fully upgraded kind), I don't have enough manpower to build even armoured cars. :(

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/DisruptorX/Czechempire.jpg

Actually, things wouldn't be bad at all, if my empire wasn't on the verge of collapse from partisan uprisings. I have enough elite infantry to hold off the soviets...

-edit- ironically, that one unit selected in the pic is not upgraded. That's why he's on partisan watch instead of at the front.

SwordsMaster

05-13-2005, 09:33

That front with Germany looks rather precarious with a lot of exposed provinces. But I can't see any blueish provinces...

Well, technically yes, but if you look carefully you can see 2 big pockets just about to be formed with one prov needed to fully close them, which is what I´m doing now (I DOWedGermany finally) and as I have numerical superiority and good self-propelled and normal artillery I can hold them off if they decide to attack me.
Anyway, the map is the resuld ofme going for the most IC productive provs and then germany annexing the USSR before I could level my front... Im going to level it myself now ~D

Actually, things wouldn't be bad at all, if my empire wasn't on the verge of collapse from partisan uprisings. I have enough elite infantry to hold off the soviets...

-edit- ironically, that one unit selected in the pic is not upgraded. That's why he's on partisan watch instead of at the front.

one word: CONSUMMER GOODS!

DisruptorX

05-13-2005, 18:24

My problems with Partisans was from my 30%+ dissent, stemming from Germany taking the Axis into war right after I had declared my own. I have plently of points in Consumer goods, as I have no production to speak of. My dissent is finally about to dissapear, its at 5% right now.

Things are definately looking up, now. The Prague-Berlin Axis has crushed and conquered the Soviet Union's industrial base. After weathering two counter offensives, I managed to take all of the Soviet Union's holdings near Baku. I focused 30 divisions of infantry on a straight line, and the Soviets couldn't stop it. I let Germany handle north of Stalingrad, which I took without bloodshed. ~D

My supplies are now more than adequate, as is my research budget. However, I am still suffering from a shortage of manpower. Every point I get goes towards reinforcements. Hopefully, now that I am no longer engaged in battle with the Soviets, I can get some MP points to actually build something. My production has literally been nothing for the whole game.

While I'm technically at war with the entire Allied side, I don't think it really matters, they do nothing. France has had 50 divisions sitting next to Germany for the entire time we were conquering Russia...

One quick question, is there an event where Italy officially joins the Axis? I doubt they would otherwise...

Here's a revised map:
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/DisruptorX/HoIII.jpg

SwordsMaster

05-13-2005, 18:52

One quick question, is there an event where Italy officially joins the Axis? I doubt they would otherwise...

They join when Paris falls and Vichy France is created.

LOL in my game, my own border is now where the USSR border in your game, meaning that the germans also have a similar outline. Except that I am only targeting the provinces with VPs and occupying the rest only out of necessity. I´m just hoping the game doesnt end before I can annex Germany. I have only a few months left and still a fair chunk to reach the Atlantic...

ShadesPanther

05-13-2005, 20:36

Italy will join once you have conqued enough lands to convince them. This is usally just France and the low countries but sometimes Yugoslavia is needed.

As for The Czech-Slovaks, tanks are not needed as a small country they are a waste of IC, supplies and oil(I couldn't see if you had any but just incase)

DisruptorX Build lots of garrisons if you can (maybe 2 or 3 parralel but alot in series) with MP brigades. This should cut down your dissent but try to go for the bitter peace event as soon as possible to rebuild your army and manpower.

DisruptorX

05-13-2005, 21:24

DisruptorX Build lots of garrisons if you can (maybe 2 or 3 parralel but alot in series) with MP brigades. This should cut down your dissent but try to go for the bitter peace event as soon as possible to rebuild your army and manpower.

Oh, I can't build anything. I have literally no manpower because it was all going into keeping my units at fighting strength. However, I still have all of my divisions intact, about 35 of them (might have lost one or two), so I don't need to worry about re-arming. My oil is secure, after taking the Soviet oil fields, as well. One major problem I had was that my units moved like snails in Russia, because I have no way of getting supplies out there.

What is this event you speak of, and what triggers it?

discovery1

05-14-2005, 00:50

As for The Czech-Slovaks, tanks are not needed as a small country they are a waste of IC, supplies and oil(I couldn't see if you had any but just incase)

When I played as the Czechs they were the key to my champaigns against the Hungarians, Italians, and Germans. Then again you are on the axis side.

What is this event you speak of, and what triggers it?

If Germany takes Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Baku, and Sverdosk(sp? well some high high ic provence not to far past the Urals), the Bitter peace event fires, giving Germany all of European Russia. If Japan is in the Axis then Vladivostok must be held by the Axis instread.

King Edward

05-16-2005, 15:56

Ok I started a new game and this time its wars agogo!! its Aug 1941 and im the Uk. Im at war with Germany, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia (although my relations with them are +93!) Japan and now Siam. I made a big error in bringing Republican spain into the alliance during the Civil war as the germans marched all over it and then took Gibraltar from me when i was totally unprepared. and now my Med fleet is stuck there. Im planning an amphibious assault with 12 marine divisions backed up with 2 infantry divisions to reclaim what is mine!

Im a bit light on fighter planes but have 5 spitfire sqadrons in production. My navy pwns the germans, both surface and submarine Superheavy battleships and illustrious class carriers block any german fleet efforts in the north sea or english channel.

The only other real setback i had was losing 2 infantry divisions trying to invade Taiwan from Hong Kong.

Singapore is about to fall to Siamese troops but my India divisions supported by the armys of Bhutan and Nepal are on the doorstep of Bankcock so im cofident of regaining that posetion. In africa things are not so well as i cant get any reinforcements there until i retake the straights. but with all the new tech i traded with america im confident of a swift liberation of Europe then i'll repay the favour by sending my Elite fleets to help in the pacific theater.

Its a shame the Channel Islands arn't on the map as they were the only part of the Uk occupied by the germans in WW2 and living on Guernsey i'd like a chance to liberate my island home!

I love this game!

ShadesPanther

05-16-2005, 17:54

The spanish are little more than a speed bump to Germany so thats quite a big erroa mistake I have made before. This ruins our plan of taking Italy or supllying Africa quickly. A sad blow but you might be able to recover. Watch out for those fast tracked German divisions that will appear when you land in spain.

The far east is always a problem. I mostly try to conduct a defensive war there until Germany is finished and suplly the chinese with whatever help you can (ie supplies and maybe tech)

Snowhobbit

05-16-2005, 18:40

You do know that the best way to conduct a naval invasion is using groups of 3 marines, any more and you get severe penalties... :bow:

tibilicus

05-16-2005, 19:37

This game looks prity awsome. Any links to reveiws and oficial website? Looks like a game i might buy.

King Edward

05-17-2005, 09:23

Well thinks went from bad to worse last night, I lost 10 of my 12 marine divisions before they even got to spain as i made the mistake of not grouping the transports with the escorts and to the transports shot off in front and became torpedo fodder.

Next the italians took Alexandria by sea, quite how they got past my med fleet
I'm unsure, but take it they did. This forced me to abandon my front with them in africa to retake it. After wiping out 2 italian divisions there I then lost it again to a combined German/Italian force in North africa. Africa is in real trouble as i cant reinforce it due to loosing Gebraltar.

Followd up by my divisions being held by the siam army in the mountains supported by troops from japan in east leaves me in a dificult position.

Most of my Air defence force is grounded, i desperatly need my 4 spitfire sqadrons i have in production.

The only good news is that It looks like i will be able to take Etheopia from the Italinas as my troops are on the dorstep of Addis Adabba, and my home fleet has just been boosted by the Launch of the Super heavy battleship HMS Duke of York.

I dont think im gonna win this one........

RabidGibbon

05-17-2005, 20:02

Africa is in real trouble as i cant reinforce it due to loosing Gebraltar.

Your probably already doing this King Edward, but in my UK campaign I managed to save a desperate african situation by taking control of the South African and Canadian forces and shipping the in quickly (They even had their own transport fleets ~D ).

You probably couldn't get the canadians in without gibraltar, but perhaps the australians could be used?

ShadesPanther

05-17-2005, 22:41

can you not go around the whole of africa. In HOI1 it took a 1-2 months IIRC.
That would be a good way to reinfoce. Takes ages but at least the troops arrive

King Edward

05-18-2005, 12:44

Humm right i have abandoned that game, Africa was doomed and i think getting rep spain as an ally was a major error on my part so im going to try again this time focusing on reinforcing my overseas posetions with infantry brigades and not keeping them all in the uk as i id last time (i had 20 infantry divisions sat in birmingham, could have done with them in Africa/Gibraltar/Siam front. also going to bulild more fighters as i was getiing stuffed by the german/slovakian/hungarian/italian airforce. My Nave however performed more than adiquetly so i think i have that aspect of the game sorted.

ShadesPanther

05-18-2005, 16:15

As long as you can destroy their navy and airforce you can keep quite a small garrison. Put garrsin divisions on the beaches to hold them and maybe 6 divisions in london as a fast response.

lancelot

05-25-2005, 12:01

The paradox forum is so flaky!!!

Does anyone know if the 'forced disarmament' command is working. And also, what is the amount of resources that a puppet sends to you?

Kraxis

05-25-2005, 13:41

Flaky... Interesting word. But it is indeed unstable.

I think it is about half the resources. So in several cases it has a negative impact on the puppet's industry, which was the part the idea with creating the puppet. Usually I send lots of resources back to the.

tibilicus

05-25-2005, 15:50

Ok i have observed and become very interested in this game. A few Questions though.
1) It says its not out in the UK yet. ~:( If i was to buy on ebay from amerrica would the game still work in my computer.

2) Any one know i good place for reveiws and screenies?

lancelot

05-25-2005, 15:55

Not out in the UK???? I dont know where you got that idea?? Its been out for ages.

tibilicus

05-25-2005, 15:57

Really? On te site it says February. Or that could o been past febuary. Oh dear someones a bit late............

Butcher

05-31-2005, 12:14

You can get it from amazon, hmv etc in the u.k..

SpencerH

05-31-2005, 13:35

Just so you know, you can use a US version (if you can get one). You just need to make sure you use US patches since there can be a difference for some games (usually copy protection).

el_slapper

05-31-2005, 14:21

patches are multi-version, & most delivered versions are NOT protected anyways. That's why I love Paradox. Just a switch, & you can get from french to polish version, or from english to italian. You don't need that *** CD as soon as you installed the game. No excuses for pirates. Just infinite pleasure. Yeeeehah! :charge:

SpencerH

05-31-2005, 15:41

My comment was not aimed at HOI2 or paradox games per se, tibilicus did not know that US game versions would work on his (UK) PC.

In any case, paradox was not immune from this problem. (IIRC) EU2 had multi-country patches and while I dont remember the details, there was confusion about what patch to use depending on what version of the game one had (I had to install a dutch patch or something bizarre despite the game being in english!)

Ldvs

06-08-2005, 18:23

el_slapper

06-08-2005, 18:33

I downloaded the demo yesterday and only have only played a few minutes but I can already affirm that I've never been that lost in a game. In my opinion, the lack of tutorials in the demo is not helping the game. As soon as you begin the scenario, you're flooded with "Defeat" "Victory" pop ups and you hardly know what to do beside ordering your troops to attack. I'll probably give it another try but they don't help us immerse in the game...

You'll find a lot of help in french here (http://www.alliance-francophone.com/) , both at the site & at the forums. Paradox games are, huh, tough to enter in. But once you're in, it's difficult to stop the battle :duel: ~D . In english, you always have the official forums there (http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/) .

More generally, use the pause key intensively once the battle begins(which is really early in the demo, if my memory does not fail). Pause for each window that appears, & look carefully to what's happening. And, for each battle that begins, be sure to check the battle screen & hover your mouse button over each unit - so you'll get an idea of why your plans are not happening smoothly.

And the demo is a pure battle, so outside giving attack orders & special orders for your planes, there's not much else to do - in the full release(at least the campaigns), you'll spend much time adjusting your reinforcements & resupply production.

Ldvs

06-08-2005, 20:14

ShadesPanther

06-08-2005, 20:31

I was slightly dissapointed when I first got HOI. But it's so good that it doesn't matter. It is maybe better because it doesn't to tactical.

el_slapper

06-09-2005, 09:14

Thanks for supplying me with this useful information el_slapper. As a TW series player you may be able to answer me another question. Don't you feel frustrated there's absolutely no way to play the battles and that instead you have to watch boards displaying information?

You somewhat play the battles, though - you choose flanking, blitzkrieg, retreat towards fortifications..... But the scope is obviously different. There are more than 2000 provinces in the full map - it would be not possible to play those battles manually. Plus imagine the nightmare in multiplayer... HoI2 is already long in multiplayer, but with tac battles - even War in the pacific would be beaten(count 2-3 years for a MP full campaign at WiTP).

Of course, adjusting the flanking of the Maginot line tank per tank & pioniere per pioniere would be cool - but it would be a game itself. Time is limited, & there is a reason why WWII was in need of so much manpower : so much things to do!

Ldvs

06-10-2005, 19:48

After giving the demo another chance, I plan to purchase this game. I've never played any wargame of this type, it is deliciously complicated yet stimulate your brains.
However, since RTW I'm a bit paranoiac about the AI. I keep in mind that a AI will never be perfect and that it cannot equal human thoughts but I can't abide weak AI. Therefore, I'd like to know whether it reacts well to the complexity of the techtree and if it's able to carefully plan assaults and not stay idle when a potential threat is growing.

ShadesPanther

06-10-2005, 20:01

The AI is actually very good conisdering all the things it has to do. Lothos created a "Super Ai" mod for HoI1. He is maing mod but hopefully someone will make a mod to improve the Ai (not that its crap it just does some strange things sometimes)

Kaiser of Arabia

06-10-2005, 20:43

Lol, the AI is good, and you know how I know? As the germans with a bigger army the French managed to capture up to Frankfurt once while my Elite SS Panzers were in Holland kicking the crap out of the dutch. I drove them back off though (most of my men were in Poland at the time cleaning up a bit after I completly annahilated the Polish army).

and remember, if you're in real bad trouble, beg for peace and offer alot of territory.

ShadesPanther

06-10-2005, 21:44

HoI is hard because of the Ai. any real mistake and it will punnish you

for HoI1 in my first game I was the USSR and lost the Winter war. They took Moscow! ~:eek:

I think the Ai has improved with HoI2 quite alot. It might also have to do with the provinces being smaller and alot more of them. This means unless you are careful they will punch you and have a party behind your lines ~D

The Ai has caused me to panic a few times. for example as Japan against China they cut through Shanghai to the coast occupied by them (which I was encircling) cutting off about 15 divisions. I quickly scrabled my divisions to attack them. But it was close.

The most dangerous thing you can do is encircle. Agaist the USSR I was driving south down the Dnieper to cut off the divisions guarding Romania and divisions thatwent south at my breakthrough. When I was near the coast to encircle abut 50 divisions when they attacked and broke through my infantry guarding the breakthrough. This attack had about 20 panzer divisions and 15 moterised as well as a good few infantry divisons. Luckily I called the back to attack the new point and succeeded.

Be very careful especially when you can get cut off in 3 provinces or less.

Ldvs

06-11-2005, 13:22

Thanks for your detailed answers, both of you ~;) I've ordered the game today. It will be a great change to play a game where you need to think carefully before acting. ~:)

Ldvs

06-11-2005, 14:00

I only have the demo experience so it may be deceptive. With this game I fear my "Pause" key will suffer greatly because you must monitor all the actions quasi-simultaneously. I know you play and enjoy IG, thus I'm not sure you'll not find frustrating the fact that you can't control your units on the battlefield as it is featured in RTW, IG and the like.
As far as I know (not much ~;) ), the size of the map doesn't pose a problem to the AI.

Ldvs

06-11-2005, 14:49

I suggest you try the demo (that you can find here (http://www.heartsofiron2.com/) in the download section) to find out whether it's really what you seek.

Ldvs

06-11-2005, 17:26

That's not easy to grasp the situation, I'll grant you ~;) If you want some piece of advice read el_slapper's post who answered mine that happened to be the near clone of yours. Basically, only fighting is enabled in the demo. To understand the interface I simply took my time to read everything I could get my cursor on. It's tedious but it pays back ~D

Ldvs

06-11-2005, 18:39

I don't see how you can manage battles like this while still dealing with politics and economy. Is the full game this haphazard?
You hit "Pause" and take your time to choose the orientations of your country ~;) Bear in mind it's a scenario. From what I've heard you may have some time in a campaign to organize your country before waging war.

Ldvs

06-12-2005, 15:46

I've found the newbie guide, there are some tips on how to prepare your attacks: http://hoi2.nsen.ch/wiki/index.php/The_Complete_Newbie_Guide

Kaiser of Arabia

06-13-2005, 02:23

ohh its fun to mod too :)

Butcher

11-15-2005, 17:12

Just to let you all know, the 1.3 patch with VASTLY IMPROVED AI, airpower made EFFECTIVE and loads of new events etc is out, with 1.3a in the works already.

Made a great game amazing.

Puzz3D

11-15-2005, 19:00

OK thanks. Maybe I'll get this game because I had decided not to based on what was being said in the HOI2 forums about 2 months ago.

Evil_Maniac From Mars

11-15-2005, 22:14

The Soviet Union controls Asia, Europe, and my puppets control SA. I've also launched an invasion of the US (it's early in 1947), and soon they will be crushed to the technically superior Soviet forces. I know almost every infantry and air technology (and every tank tech, but not artillery), and I can build ICBMS and nuclear subs (though my Navy overall is neglected, all I need it for is transports).

Kraxis

11-15-2005, 23:43

1.3 out??? Nice... I think I should return to the game. I got fed up with my war with the SU after I was about halfway to Vladivostok (which I had gotten the Japanese to take for me) and still no Bitter Peace (yes I held all the cities I should).

Slyspy

11-16-2005, 02:15

My one and only successful game of HOI2 was as Germany. I built planes. A lot of planes. Oh, and submarines. I invaded the Czechs as normal, then attack Poland early. As soon as the Poles were defeated (and shared with the Soviets as in history) I switched my attention to France and the UK. A textbook advance through Holland and Belgium secured me victory over France with Vichy France and alliance with Italy the results. Then I got the Luftwaffe to bomb the Royal Navy out of existence and nipped over the Channel with a few divisions and started carving through Dad's Army. Half way through this my diplomacy paid off and the USA joined the Axis! Funny to watch Canada invade the US, fail to hold it and then get annexed. Then the Soviets foolishly attacked me. I finished off Britain and slowly ground down the USSR while simultaneously taking enough of the British Empire to annex the UK. Eventually I gained the Bitter Peace with USSR. To celebrate I released Belgium, Holland, Estonia, Latvia and the Ukraine as puppet states and declared the war over.

Then I tried a campaign as the Brits. I tooled up for war and things were looking good. I took control of the French forces (otherwise they would just sit there doing nothing much) and invaded Germany while they were busy in Poland. Then a bug prevented my French units from attacking. Any of them. They would march a bit then sit back in their home province, exhausted and no longer dug in. This scuppered the whole plan, so I stopped playing and haven't touched it since.

Butcher

11-16-2005, 16:16

This scuppered the whole plan, so I stopped playing and haven't touched it since.

Well I highly reccomend you restart.
The sight last night of my wings of Dorniers plastering Polish Industry across the landsacpe, as my Stukas bombed their fleeing infantry was magic.
The improvement in airpower alone is worth it. ~:cheers:

asilv

11-16-2005, 20:14

DOOMSDAY looms ahead
Paradox Interactive announce stand-alone expansion to Hearts of Iron II

Manhattan, New York Nov 16, 2005. Global publisher and developer Paradox Interactive today announced a stand-alone expansion pack for their successful grand strategy title Hearts of Iron II. The expansion will include the original game and boasts a World War III scenario, a complete scenario editor as well as an extended time line.

Hearts of Iron II received international acclaim from the North American and European gaming communities, including Editor’s Choice Awards from PC Gamer and Gamespy.

“We have received tremendous response on this title and strongly felt there was room to offer gamers an even greater Hearts of Iron II experience”, says Fredrik Lindgren, Director of Publishing at Paradox Interactive. “Hearts of Iron II – DOOMSDAY has a simpler yet more advanced gameplay and the WWIII scenario with its nuclear conflict is sure to put an interesting twist to the story”.

Hearts of Iron II – DOOMSDAY is scheduled for release in April 2006.
Features:

* World War II scenario with an alternative historical outcome.
* Extended time line until 1953 with historical scenarios like the Israel conflict.
* Complete scenario editor.
* Expanded tech trees allowing players to develop tactical nukes and other types of nuclear warfare as well as helicopter squads, escort carriers etc.
* Enhanced Brigade Attachment system increases the player’s tactical opportunities.
* Significantly improved AI.
* Tradable Weapons – equip your allies with the latest technological advances or get other nations to surrender their secrets.
* SRP is set to $19.99.
Source (http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=219905)
Interesting...

Also somewhat related to topic:
Vicky, Eu2 and Crusader Kings will all get new patches before chrismas.