Hearts of Iron 2

[Zombie]

Heck no. I haven't been playing recently to be honest. All these other great games are begging for my attention too (Silent Storm, Silent Storm Sentinals, Enemy Unknown, TFTD, UFO:After***** series, Defcon etc). I have been thinking about it and planning my long-term strategy over lunch the past few days though. Yep, it's probably a little counter-productive to some, but I'm hoping that by mapping out where I want to go that I'll actually get there.

 

I decided that spending money to overthrow governments or to make them like me a little more may not be the best use of my funds after all. The newer government is usually just as bad as the original one and in some cases may actually be a little worse since a dictatorship was previously keeping them in check. Remove that "check" from the system of checks and balances and the new regime goes haywire.

 

Not sure what else to use my funds for. I certainly could use it for purchasing materials off the world market, but I'm doing so good in that department simply by trading that I see no reason for that strategy. Maybe I should save it for a rainy day, just in case I run low on something later on if the war drags on? What would you suggest?

 

Japan doesn't seem to be doing anything right now. It's still holding on to it's captured provinces in Korea and China. Germany is quiet. Almost too quiet. Italy's government has been overthrown by yours truly but from where I'm sitting it's still a real hornet's nest. Best to leave that one alone for now (besides, I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to).

 

My whole strategy at this point of the game is to build up my primary stronghold in the Pacific (that's Guam). I'm thinking that island will be the kingpin to resolving any issues in that area of the world. It's pretty close to Japan and the Philippines which is great for submarine warfare. My only worry is keeping Guam resupplied if war should break out. I'm currently building up Wake, Midway and Johnson Islands (not to mention Hawaii) so that there will be a reliable and unbroken supply chain running across the Pacific. But the weakest link is going to be the long trip between Wake and Guam. Almost anything could happen en route and my guess is that Japan will be more than willing to try and choke me out by breaking the chain there. Not sure how I'm going to resolve this issue yet, but hopefully getting a good fleet of submarines to patrol and/or follow the supply convoy will convince Japan not to play games.

 

I'd really like to get the Philippines built up too, but I can't do anything there even if it's a puppet of the US. If I need war in order to take control of it, it may be too late because Japan is so close. If that's the case, a marine invasion of Iwo Jima sounds more promising.

 

Edit: finally figured out how to speed time forwards (right click on time button --> select speed). Slow speed was killing me. Oh, and another thing, I did a test where I tried to fund Nationalist China's war against Japan with big regular donations of basically everything. Then I watched China to see if Japan's grasp slipped. There was some dissent in Japan because some Partisans had occupied a few controlled provinces but that was quickly squashed. Other than that, there was a province or two which switched hands a couple times but there was no measurable improvement. This was over the course of a few years in game-time. Economic warfare doesn't seem to be a good way of indirectly fighting with a country.

 

- Zombie

[Knan]

Donating some military hardware and tech may be better. Say, a sub or four, etc.

 

(Diplomacy=>open negotiations)

[FullAuto]

Resources are great, but they can't replace divisions. No matter how many resources you have, if you're outnumbered (as the Nat Chins are) it's going to be a hard fight A united China versus Japan would be a fight with the odds on China's side, but China is far from united. Nat Chin at the moment has less manpower, IC, units etc than Japan. There needs to be concerted resistance from all the Chinese states to give Japan trouble (Shanxi, Guangxi Clique, Yunnan, etc).

 

I have been thinking about it and planning my long-term strategy over lunch the past few days though. Yep, it's probably a little counter-productive to some, but I'm hoping that by mapping out where I want to go that I'll actually get there.

 

I do this a lot, you don't always leave HOI2 behind when you stop playing it.

 

What to do with your loot: spend it on negotiations. Get close to countries you want to ally with in the future (if there are any). If not, just donate it to needy countries or buy resources. It's no use just sat in your vaults.

 

Almost anything could happen en route and my guess is that Japan will be more than willing to try and choke me out by breaking the chain there. Not sure how I'm going to resolve this issue yet, but hopefully getting a good fleet of submarines to patrol and/or follow the supply convoy will convince Japan not to play games.

 

Yep, some regular naval patrols should slow/stop those shenanigans.

[Zombie]

Speaking of patrols, I have the 18th Submarine division stationed in Washington DC. I want to station it in Guam though. How do I go about doing that? When I go to the "Deploy Units From the Force Pool" tab, find the 18th, click on that it says I can deploy to a unit or a province on the map, but when I click on Guam the sub remains in the same location. Tried all of my islands in the Pacific and none of them will allow me to move the sub division there. However, when I click on LA (Los Angeles), the sub is deployed perfectly. What's up? If I can't base my subs where they are needed, then it doesn't make much sense to even have them. Probably some stupid restriction imposed by the game like "oh, you need to refuel at a port before venturing into the Pacific". Well then, refuel. Don't make me perform another micromanagement step.

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

When deploying, it has to be to a part of your country. Guam, although owned by you, isn't part of the United States.

 

To get the subs to Guam ASAP, click on the mission select drop-down box for that unit and choose 'Rebase' then select a destination, and let them get on with it. If the new base out of their range (shown in the unit detail bit), do it in stages, e.g. rebase to Colon, then to LA, then Guam.

[Zombie]

Ok, here's some news and progress on my game (as recent as yesterday, more headway made today).

 

First up, Oct 1 1939 rolls around and Germany annexes Poland:

 

https://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8427/16208839.th.jpg

Apparently Poland didn't provide any resistance and just let Germany trounce all over them.

 

Now Nov 16 comes and the Soviets declare war on Finland:

 

https://img194.imageshack.us/img194/1587/87135708.th.jpg

I guess it was about time as these two nations always had disagreements over territory.

 

Then it's Jan 22 1940 and all of a sudden I get this:

 

https://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7883/13759822.th.jpg

So, the Philippines want's to give the US something for nothing? I'm happy to oblige as my research into that area of the tree didn't start yet. But the topic was ready to research before the Philippines decided to divulge it. Hmmm. I looked into this and it seems that it significantly cuts down on the amount of time the topic would normally take. Good news there.

 

Not much happened till March 6:

 

https://img195.imageshack.us/img195/4599/55928479.th.jpg

Norway and Denmark are basically dead ducks. In Norway's defense though, they are still duking it out with the Germans while Denmark fell fast. It helps that Norway is separated by a sea though.

 

May 4, Germany declares war on Belgium and another one bites the dust:

 

https://img195.imageshack.us/img195/2585/83269193.th.jpg

But as you can see, the USS Enterprise sails again! Hu-rah!

 

Four days later, more bad news:

 

https://img195.imageshack.us/img195/9606/67001948.th.jpg

No more Luxembourg or the Netherlands!

 

Not much happened for a while. Then about a year later Germany get's fed up with it's ruskie neighbors and declares war on them too:

 

https://img195.imageshack.us/img195/3544/78860182.th.jpg

Well, that takes some of the sting out of it. At least Germany is following in it's old footsteps. It's belligerence is an incredible 89 right now (compare that to Japan who is at 11 and the Soviets who are 9). Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree by focusing on the Pacific war when the Atlantic one seems much worse. In fact, December 7 1941 (the attack of Pearl Harbor by Japan which ushered the United States into the global conflict) came and went without a peep from the ol' red dot. I still see their aircraft carriers bobbing around (and buzzing their fighters) near Guam every once and a while, but it's quiet. Real quiet.

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

Barbarossa in April!? That's what, two months early? The Jerries will have an easier time of it and better weather to enjoy it in. What date are you up to now, and how are they doing, Zombie?

 

So, the Philippines want's to give the US something for nothing? I'm happy to oblige as my research into that area of the tree didn't start yet. But the topic was ready to research before the Philippines decided to divulge it. Hmmm. I looked into this and it seems that it significantly cuts down on the amount of time the topic would normally take. Good news there.

 

Yep, blueprints cut research time in half!

 

This is shaping up to be really interesting. A speedy Germany, a quiet Japan and a US building up a considerable arsenal. What are your forces like ATM? I demand pie charts!

[Zombie]

Barbarossa in April!? That's what, two months early? The Jerries will have an easier time of it and better weather to enjoy it in. What date are you up to now, and how are they doing, Zombie?

Right now it's the end of June 1943 in my game. Germany has given up declaring war on countries. Why? Well the Soviets have invaded Poland and have acquired some provinces there. I think the Germans have their work cut out for them so they decided to focus on holding off the Russians on the eastern front. Last night I fast forwarded the game and indeed, the Russians became the real threat as they took over all of Germany's controlled provinces all the way into France. The only stronghold of German resistance was Berlin which appears to be very heavily fortified. I tried to help out the Russians by sending 2 nukes into Berlin (the game calls it Brandenburg sometimes) but they were both shot down. Bah. I even tried some air superiority missions over Berlin but the anti-air fortifications are so great that my planes never stood a chance (even with jet engines). My original intent was to attack Russia to drive them back and get some territory of my own but I couldn't declare war on them so no missiles to Moscow.

 

This is shaping up to be really interesting. A speedy Germany, a quiet Japan and a US building up a considerable arsenal. What are your forces like ATM? I demand pie charts!

I have a negligible air force and my navy is tiny. But on the other hand, I have a fairly good army spaced around the perimeter of the US. I think all of them have attached anti-air brigades too (I believe advanced). And if anybody is thinking of attacking my controlled islands in the Pacific, well, forget it. They are fortified more than Berlin. Hehe. Too bad this war is shifting completely to the east. I was hoping to eventually duke it out with the Japanese. But they are nowhere to be seen. You'll have to wait on those pie charts (and or pics) until I get home from work tonight.

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

Aren't you producing new units? I would have thought your military would be considerable by now...

[Zombie]

Hehe, I have been producing some units but not a lot. Most of my IC was being eaten up by improvements to my Pacific islands. But those improvements are almost complete now so I'm dedicating more IC to ships, planes and of course V1's and V2's.

 

Crikey, I didn't realize this before but I have some new people/companies in my research pane. Now I have a guy named John von Neumann who is versed in Nuclear Physics, Mathematics and Electronics. That's perfect for mix for researching topics in the Cryptography department. Also, I now have the Skunkworks factory (Lockheed Martin) which is good for getting a head start on some of those strategic bombers and fighters. And what's this, here's my hero Niels Bohr! Too bad that he came in kinda late to the party, otherwise I'd put him to work on the nuclear area. But his mathematics and nuclear intelligence are good for researching some of the nuclear powered ships/subs. So there you go. Too bad Einstein didn't play a role in the war, otherwise I'd put him to work as well.

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

The only stronghold of German resistance was Berlin which appears to be very heavily fortified. I tried to help out the Russians by sending 2 nukes into Berlin (the game calls it Brandenburg sometimes) but they were both shot down. Bah. I even tried some air superiority missions over Berlin but the anti-air fortifications are so great that my planes never stood a chance (even with jet engines). My original intent was to attack Russia to drive them back and get some territory of my own but I couldn't declare war on them so no missiles to Moscow.

 

Wait, so did you join the Allies? Detail, man, detail! You won't bore us.

[Zombie]

Sort of. See, I had to declare war on Germany in order to test out my nukes. But I quit that game because it was only for testing.

 

In my current game Teddy Roosevelt just gave his "Arsenal of Democracy" speech and I guess I'm bamboozled by his wording because I agree that I need to declare war on Germany. Besides, the collective efforts of the entire European conglomerate wasn't doing anything to keep Germany (or Russia for that matter) at bay.

 

- Zombie

[Zombie]

Well, I decided to ask some nations for military access so I could get a foothold in Europe somewhere (besides Iceland which is too far away really). Norway (God bless her heart) was the only country willing to go out on a limb and let me set up shop. It looks like my new strategy is going to be a heavy buildup of troops on the Norwegian shores at least initially. In a perfect world, I would have preferred immediate access to Sweden as that is closer to the eastern front where the Soviets are scooping up ex-Polish, now German land. They always deny me access though. However, once I declare war on Germany the Swedes suddenly change their minds. So once I decide on that avenue, I'll move my operations to Sweden. Then it'll be a land invasion of Poland where I'll try to keep the Soviets from expanding West while I maintain my ground. That might be hard, so I'm trying to build some Battleships to bombard the shore first followed closely by some buzz bombs to soften up any entrenched troops there. Depending on time I'll certainly try to build (and slowly phase in) a bunch of ICBMs and eventually nuclear tipped ICBMs (in case I need them for Japan). This is about the only way I can think of to keep the Soviets from becoming too big and aggressive while allowing me to determine the outcome/breakdown/redistribution of German occupied land in Europe.

 

Any ideas FullAuto? What should I be thinking about right now which would help my cause? Marines obviously for the initial amphibious assault along with Battleships and buzz bombs for shore bombardment, but what else? HQ's probably for leading the assault on land...

 

- Zombie

[Knan]

Now you build battleships? A bit late, wouldn't you say, given they have build times of a year or two?

[Zombie]

A year or two? I didn't know it took that long. Well, then it looks like I'm stuck using what I have (which isn't much).

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

Aye, capital ships take a wee while. HQs are always useful, but you don't really need that many of them. Paratroopers are good, and make an excellent quick reaction force to new threats, as well as being able to offer you another avenue of attack against particularly tough provinces.

 

Tanks perhaps? They're oil hogs, but their combat power is rather spiffy.

 

Let's see some screenshots, Zombs!

[Zombie]

Screenshots? Sure.

 

First image details the situation in Europe:

 

https://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3378/71550553.th.jpg

 

As you can see, the Soviet Union has made considerable headway in Europe by capturing almost the entire country of Germany (including Berlin). It's now only a shadow of it's former self. That's kinda why I want to declare war on Germany: because I can probably scoop up most of it's controlled provinces in France with little to no losses. Germany's belligerence is a hefty 80 right now and the SU is 42 with Japan following with only 14. No real threat from Japan obviously, but the SU is. And it's been bugging me to no end why I couldn't declare war on them. Turns out, my world view diplomatic slider was pegged all the way at isolationism - meaning it takes tons of belligerence just to get me involved. I've adjusted the slider two clicks to Interventionism (for a belligerence level of 58), so it'll take till Nov 15, 1945 before I can reach the Soviets level and declare war on them too.

 

I've got tons of advanced Marines sitting around and twiddling their thumbs so I figured that I'd send them to Iceland first and then when I declare war on Germany, directly to Plymouth England. After that, it's a quick jump over the English Channel to France. (I'm thinking of a Dieppe or Dunkerque, France D-day landing since they appear to be lightly fortified provinces and they also lie in the middle of France which would allow a divide and conquer approach).

 

Of course, all of my transports are in port at San Diego while my marines are in Washington and Norfolk. Time for a rebase:

 

https://img194.imageshack.us/img194/3866/71600552.th.jpg

 

It'll take a week for it to arrive. In the meantime, why is the "12 flotillas" in red? Is that because my commanding Rear Admiral can only control a certain number of them at a time? If so, how can I bust the fleet apart into smaller ones which can be handled? Also, say I eventually rebase the transport fleet in Plymouth and then want to carry out an invasion of France. How do I get my marines on dry land to fight (in France)? I'm afraid that I'll get everyone to England, plan everything to perfection, then find out my marines are stuck onboard and unable to do anything other than, well, twiddle their thumbs again.

 

Here's a pic showing my status in the Secret Weapons category:

 

https://img190.imageshack.us/img190/6453/95097611.th.jpg

 

Some serious progress being made there obviously, with the computing, missiles and nuclear bomb tech categories finished. Made a huge mistake by not building more nuclear reactors after each topic in the nuclear bomb tech, so now I'm lagging way behind in creating enough fissile material for nuclear tipped ICBMs. 3 reactors are slated to be built by the end of 45, but I doubt I'll be able to even deploy the bomb before the game runs out in 1947. Sunny beach! So much for that strategy.

 

Here's what my Infantry research screen currently looks like:

 

https://img43.imageshack.us/img43/7697/66484617.th.jpg

 

I've got a maximum level in infantry troops and marines, cavalry is nearly done up to the basic level, and Ford is currently trying to whack out the Supply section. No Airborne troopers and Mountainous is non-existent except for the traded blueprints on early variety. No tanks either except for the rudimentary Tankette. Though, I'm maxed out in Anti-Air Brigades, up to advanced in Static Anti-Air and Field Artillery. Not sure if any of this will be enough to turn the tide in my favor.

 

Finally a shot of Europe, just to get a global perspective of my game:

 

https://img43.imageshack.us/img43/2185/38826981.th.jpg

 

There's a few ICBMs in my stockpile so far (I think it's something like 20 or so) and more are on their way. Heck, if I can't use nukes, I might as well use conventional warheads. I'm still a little iffy on deploying ICBMs though. Any help would be appreciated. I think I have a couple attached to a bombardment wing in the last pic, but I'm not sure if I set it up properly. Plus I'm sick of looking at those red numbers with bombardment wings having attached ICBMs. How many can I normally attach to a wing before those numbers switch to red?

 

Basically, I've managed to royally screw myself in this game at every turn. All of those issues start to build till eventually I can't take any action whatsoever. Seriously considering starting over right now as it seems that hope is completely lost. Unless you can convince me otherwise that is.

 

- Zombie

[Knan]

Hmm. Those northernmost bits of Norway - are they un-occupied? And didn't you have military access granted to the place? Find a port and do a massive infantry buildup already

 

Any fun unhistorical wars going on? Switzerland vs Italy?

[Zombie]

Hmm. Those northernmost bits of Norway - are they un-occupied? And didn't you have military access granted to the place? Find a port and do a massive infantry buildup already

Those parts are what's left of Norway's government. Germany controls the rest. Sure I have access granted to me, but I need to get troops over there somehow! Everything is on the mainland right now. Plus, Norway is too far north to be of any use to me ATM. I have military access through Great Britain too, so that's why I'm figuring on going through there and then to France, since that is closer and the Soviets are threatening. Once I get my world view slider down to 42 belligerence, then Norway becomes a good spot for troops as it allows me to circle around deep into Soviet territory. Pincer movement anyone?

 

Again, I don't know how to do a massive military buildup since I can't figure out how those danged transport ships work (or ICBMs for that matter). That's where I'm stuck. War would be so much easier if I hadn't been separated from the action by thousands of miles of open ocean. *sighs*

 

Any fun unhistorical wars going on? Switzerland vs Italy?

Everything is pretty quiet. No new wars and no unhistorical ones either as far as I can tell. Just your normal WWII, except for the fact that Japan never tried to attack me (the US). That's unhistorical.

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

It'll take a week for it to arrive. In the meantime, why is the "12 flotillas" in red? Is that because my commanding Rear Admiral can only control a certain number of them at a time? If so, how can I bust the fleet apart into smaller ones which can be handled? Also, say I eventually rebase the transport fleet in Plymouth and then want to carry out an invasion of France. How do I get my marines on dry land to fight (in France)? I'm afraid that I'll get everyone to England, plan everything to perfection, then find out my marines are stuck onboard and unable to do anything other than, well, twiddle their thumbs again.

 

Yep, the number of flotillas/divisions appears in red when their number exceeds the number of flotillas/divs the officer is good at commanding. Click on his pic and then scroll through your list of officers 'til you find one that can command 12. Avoid people with the Old Guard skill, as they gain XP much slower. Make sure to do this for your armies, too. Marines will work best when commanded by an officer with the Commando skill.

 

To split units, use that black mangreen man icon at the bottom of the unit box. It's not about black/Martian segregation, honest. To combine them, get them in the same province, and shift+left click on their strength/morale bars. A new button will appear at the bottom of the unit box, click on that to merge them.

 

To perform an amphibious assault with your Leathernecks, get them loaded onto the transports, then either just right click on the province you want to assault or choose that mission type from the unit's drop-down box and then choose the province. Make sure they have air and naval cover on the way there, as they're very vulnerable.

 

Looking at that map, I'd land as far east as possible (Ghent/Dunkerque), and push as deep as you can as fast as you can, all the way to Switzerland. Dam the red tide there, as they won't go past your provinces unless you're allied. If you have the troops for it, I'd also land in northern Italy, at the top of the 'boot' (Genoa>La Spezia>Bologna>Ferrara), stopping the Commie advance from taking the whole of Italy, which you can then go on to grab if you like. The main Italian forces should be north of your landing points, fighting the Reds, so if you land behind them, it'll cut them off. Weakened, they'll be destroyed by the SU before they can turn on you.

 

I've got a maximum level in infantry troops and marines, cavalry is nearly done up to the basic level, and Ford is currently trying to whack out the Supply section. No Airborne troopers and Mountainous is non-existent except for the traded blueprints on early variety. No tanks either except for the rudimentary Tankette. Though, I'm maxed out in Anti-Air Brigades, up to advanced in Static Anti-Air and Field Artillery. Not sure if any of this will be enough to turn the tide in my favor.

 

LOL, semi-modern inf in '44 is pretty bloody good, don't worry. I haven't had it that long in my Japan game and I'm in the 50s.

 

There's a few ICBMs in my stockpile so far (I think it's something like 20 or so) and more are on their way. Heck, if I can't use nukes, I might as well use conventional warheads. I'm still a little iffy on deploying ICBMs though. Any help would be appreciated. I think I have a couple attached to a bombardment wing in the last pic, but I'm not sure if I set it up properly. Plus I'm sick of looking at those red numbers with bombardment wings having attached ICBMs. How many can I normally attach to a wing before those numbers switch to red?

 

Yep, they get deployed into units just like normal planes, except they can only run one mission before they're used up. Have you set them up as a mixed unit, e.g. some planes and some ICBMs? I don't know what else could be the issue there, as all air force officers can command four squadrons. I usually use one ICBM at a time, because if you have a unit of four, and give them a strategic bombardment mission, you can only target by area, and they all target the same province in a single attack. Seeing as it only usually takes two to knock a province down to zero, and one does most of that, it's better to split the four ICBMs up into four units, and target either four areas or the same area four times over a period of a few days, as the province selection, while not under your control, will vary.

 

Basically, I've managed to royally screw myself in this game at every turn. All of those issues start to build till eventually I can't take any action whatsoever. Seriously considering starting over right now as it seems that hope is completely lost. Unless you can convince me otherwise that is.

 

Far from lost! You're not doing too badly at all. I made a great balls up of some of my early games. Inlcuding declaring war on Germany when playing as Italy.

[Zombie]

Thanks for all the help FA. I really appreciate it.

 

Well, last night I played until 2:30 am and figured out some things (like how to load troops onto a transport and how to split a group apart). Mostly I just wanted to try my hand at combat. Heavily bombarded Brest (at the tip of France) for a couple days with my battleships, then dropped a couple ICBMs and landed my troops there with little resistance. (It's nice that Brest has a great Naval Base and Airbase so that I could station my ships and planes there instead of the UK). But there are German troops stationed in almost all of France's provinces. I got as far South as Cholet/La Rochelle and as far East as Argentan. I was literally steps away from Paris when all of a sudden, Soviet paratroopers came dropping out of the skies like nuts. I guess they mopped that up all the German resistance pretty fast, because the next thing I knew, the Soviets split off all the countries they occupied back to their former selves. Then all my troops, ships and planes which were stationed there disappeared/vanished into thin air! At least, they weren't in any of the normal screens I looked at. So that put a gigantic dent in my war machine. (Not that it mattered much at this point since the "war" was basically over anyway). Still, I wanted to invade the Soviet Union to take some land back, but alas, my choice to move those sliders didn't come early enough in the game as the SU dropped into the low-30's for belligerence.

 

After the war, there were countries giving me blueprints for research topics which I hadn't got to yet which was nice. I suppose they were happy that I single-handedly pushed back German resistance in France with only about 10-15 groups of Marines. (The Allies didn't do squat for the entire war). I even got control of most of the allied countries armies. Again, it didn't matter much now that the war was over.

 

I might try to land further East next time just to see how that goes. But there's no guarantee that the Soviets will refrain from dropping paratroopers down behind my lines to capture that land. Oh well.

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

Thanks for all the help FA. I really appreciate it.

 

No problem mate! This is one of those really info-dense games that everyone struggles with at first.

 

Then all my troops, ships and planes which were stationed there disappeared/vanished into thin air! At least, they weren't in any of the normal screens I looked at. So that put a gigantic dent in my war machine. (Not that it mattered much at this point since the "war" was basically over anyway).

 

They've been strategically redeployed. If you click on the last button on the right under the 'View Map' tab, the black one featuring a plane, tank and ship, it'll bring up the lsit of units and the date they can be deployed in the continental US.

 

Still, it appears your build up in the Pacific/asisstance to China worked, as Japan never bothered you.

[Zombie]

No problem mate! This is one of those really info-dense games that everyone struggles with at first.

Well, I'm certainly glad you are here - it would take me months of testing to figure this all out.

 

They've been strategically redeployed. If you click on the last button on the right under the 'View Map' tab, the black one featuring a plane, tank and ship, it'll bring up the list of units and the date they can be deployed in the continental US.

Automagically redeployed? Too bad the game didn't actually tell me about this, I was afraid all of it was moved into the Bermuda Triangle or an alternate dimension.

 

Still, it appears your build up in the Pacific/asisstance to China worked, as Japan never bothered you.

Possibly. Would Japan even know what the fortifications were on my islands? I never saw any planes flying overhead, but did see aircraft carriers on a frequent basis (at least in Guam, never in the other islands). So maybe Japan figured it wasn't worth risking all those lives to get some tiny islands in the Pacific. I put on a good show for them, but in the end my bark was 1000 times worse than my bite. Then again, if I were Japan looking to expand in the Pacific, I sure as heck wouldn't even attempt to get anywhere near those islands. My payout to China was chump change and except for that and a one-time gift of 1000 units of supplies, oil, rares and metals, that's all they got. Hardy think this played a huge outcome in the Pacific Theater, but maybe it just nudged it in the right direction.

 

- Zombie

[FullAuto]

Automagically redeployed? Too bad the game didn't actually tell me about this, I was afraid all of it was moved into the Bermuda Triangle or an alternate dimension.

 

LOL, yes, 'automagically' is the right word. I guess they're just put on ships after being told "Thanks but no thanks." You'll notice them taking up some of your TC.

 

Possibly. Would Japan even know what the fortifications were on my islands? I never saw any planes flying overhead, but did see aircraft carriers on a frequent basis (at least in Guam, never in the other islands). So maybe Japan figured it wasn't worth risking all those lives to get some tiny islands in the Pacific. I put on a good show for them, but in the end my bark was 1000 times worse than my bite. Then again, if I were Japan looking to expand in the Pacific, I sure as heck wouldn't even attempt to get anywhere near those islands. laugh.gif My payout to China was chump change and except for that and a one-time gift of 1000 units of supplies, oil, rares and metals, that's all they got. Hardy think this played a huge outcome in the Pacific Theater, but maybe it just nudged it in the right direction.

 

Well something did! Japan doesn't always launch Peal Harbour on the historical date, but they do usually go to war, even if it's a bit late. Levels of the various province values (IC, forts, AA etc) are visible to everyone, so yes, that might have dissuaded the Japs from having a go.

 

Game concluded then Zombie, or is there more? If not, who are you going to play next? Have a play around with the options when starting a new game, you can alter things like how easy it is to declare war, IC/tech team takeover, AI behaviour, game end date, etc.

[Zombie]

Well something did! Japan doesn't always launch Peal Harbour on the historical date, but they do usually go to war, even if it's a bit late. Levels of the various province values (IC, forts, AA etc) are visible to everyone, so yes, that might have dissuaded the Japs from having a go.

So it's the "Speak softly and carry a big stick" ideology then. Nice to know Teddy Roosevelt wasn't just a pretty face, but intelligent too.

 

Game concluded then Zombie, or is there more? If not, who are you going to play next? Have a play around with the options when starting a new game, you can alter things like how easy it is to declare war, IC/tech team takeover, AI behaviour, game end date, etc.

No, my game isn't quite over. I'm going to try invading provinces further east in France to see if I can't salvage it from the Soviets. Besides, I need a little more experience with warfare before I continue on.

 

Don't really know who I'm going to pick for my next game. France sounds like an interesting prospect. I'd like to try Germany again at some point too. After that maybe the UK or Japan. And it would be interesting to play as the United States for a second time to see what changes.

 

I don't have many options in my version of the game so other than the AI aggressiveness, that's about the extent of things. Of course, I have a whole list of scenarios to try out as well.

 

- Zombie