HOI4 Dev Diary - Acclimatization and Special Forces

[Big Dead One]

The other option is to expand the special forces training programs to accept more recruits. Your special forces will be more numerous, but come with more drag and not quite as high speed.

What exactly does "more numerous" mean? Does this add more men to each SF battalion, or it increases the SF battalions limit?

 

[SlavicAmerican]

Will the acclimation just change the color of skins for majors? Or will we get an actual reskin and model, like proper German DAK troops and camos.

 

[Nevrion]

I'm a little worried. You put a lot of new research trees in the next update. It was already nearly impossible for most nations to get all important researches during the main period of the game. (Let's assume most wars happen between 1937-1945) Will there be more research options in 1.5? Will that be a balance-breaker for weaker nations with only a few research slots? Or is it intended to specialize to specific research slots and leaving other slots untouched for later/other strategies?

 

[podcat]

I love it!

A bit disappointed that there still isn't new special force types, though. Such as rangers (forest/jungle) or desert fighters.

I toyed with the idea but there wasnt room in it for Tigers. The object here was primarily balance. I can totally see us giving more options in future expansions tho when we have time to make custom art and such and make things more unique gameplay wise

Special Forces: How are the number of battalions allowed determined? Will the base be different per country or will everyone have a set % based on total troops?
Also, while I understand the need to stop the SF spam, from a design perspective, why go with a cap instead of a cost approach?

There is a fixed base limit and also a percentage. You can affect both from technologies.

Will certain nations have bonuses to allow them to have more mountaineers or marines?

Edit: Love this idea! Keep up the good work guys!

atm we dont have any country special bonuses, but we havent really finished balancing this so we may add something. Will tweet if so

I like the ideas about the special forces, it make them more... special.
BTW, how acclimatization is moddable ? Can we add acclimatization available for something else than weather. Terrains for example (jungle...) ?

its fairly moddable

 

[Shinkuro Yukinari]

Rest in Peace Marine Spam

 

[Archangel85]

I'm a little worried. You put a lot of new research trees in the next update. It was already nearly impossible for most nations to get all important researches during the main period of the game. (Let's assume most wars happen between 1937-1945) Will there be more research options in 1.5? Will that be a balance-breaker for weaker nations with only a few research slots? Or is it intended to specialize to specific research slots and leaving other slots untouched for later/other strategies?

The whole idea of the research system is to make you prioritize and make choices.

 

[Dalos]

Why there is a minimum quantity of special forces available?

 

[Gamer_1745]

This doesn't sound like dumbing down the game! What happened to that narrative?

This will work great for places like Norway & Jungles!

I do wonder what will happen to units serving in Central Asian Deserts and have becomed acclimatized and Winter comes? How long will it take to shift?

 

[King-Salomon]

Nice DD @podcat - like it mostly

atm we dont have any country special bonuses, but we havent really finished balancing this so we may add something. Will tweet if so

this would be a GREAT possibility to make the "Special Forces" Foci in the NF-trees more interesting !!!

other than that:

I like the chances - but hope you will bump up the weather panalties really hard AND give the AI a real bang to use this to it's advantage (like russia attacking mostly in winter with weather hardend troups from siberia instead of hopeless summer counter-attacks)

looking forward to the DLC

 

[napolyon94]

Africa Corps Strike Back

 

[Zwirbaum]

@podcat - are there any changes to the current MIL High Command system, where advisors provide Country% bonus to the divisions as long as they are of the certain type? And/or changes to Special Forces advisors?

 

[freejones912]

I toyed with the idea but there wasnt room in it for Tigers. The object here was primarily balance. I can totally see us giving more options in future expansions tho when we have time to make custom art and such and make things more unique gameplay wise



its fairly moddable
View attachment 319255

I hope we can see specialized Jungle Troops, Desert Troops, Arctic Troops, Rangers(Tank Hunters), Stormtroopers(Not the Imperial Kind), etc. In that same vein perhaps we can get some flavor names for certain nations, like Germany's paratroopers being renamed to Fallschirmjäger and Rangers being Panzerjäger; British special forces can be renamed commandos and Soviet to Spetznaz

 

[podcat]

Will this be the last blow to JAPs already minimalized chances vs CHI?

Also what is the estimated meta on special forces division widths ... 60? 80?

depends on how and if you need force concentration. Note that limit is on battalions not divisions so having big divisions will use up your cap fast

What exactly does "more numerous" mean? Does this add more men to each SF battalion, or it increases the SF battalions limit?

Increasing the limit.

Will the acclimation just change the color of skins for majors? Or will we get an actual reskin and model, like proper German DAK troops and camos.

Artists have tried to get as close as possible to uniforms without havign to do whole new models (except for the ones where it just didnt work). The desert is also interesting in that a lot of uniforms and equipment wasnt all that standardized due to lack and such.

Why there is a minimum quantity of special forces available?

I do wonder what will happen to units serving in Central Asian Deserts and have becomed acclimatized and Winter comes? How long will it take to shift?

We are still balancing this so right now I dunno. The target is something like 6 months (longer, so something like 8 if fully desert acclimatized) for full acclimatize. but it depends how bad weather is and if you are fighting or doing nothing. In really bad weather and fightign it will go fastest.

 

[Telenil]

The whole idea of the research system is to make you prioritize and make choices.

I understand, but still, special forces are now limited to 5-10% of the army. I don't see myself researching 6 additionnal technologies to improve a fraction of my infantry.

Is there a particular reason not to merge them with the current special forces upgrades? Balance?

 

[Deinhardt]

Neat! Loving this! Will give allot more flavour to the armies, alongside with OOB and General/Field Marshall Traits!

Though a question @podcat :

How do I gain Acclimatisation? By mere presence in a Hot or Cold Zone or by fighting in one? The former gives the Option to actually prepare your troops for a certain weather condition, by parking them in a comparable, but owned, area.

EDIT: Nevermind. Just saw the latest Reply. So fighting affects the gain. Cool!

 

[Conad1985]

you're doing a good jobs, pals!

but currently the game is -basically- focused only on production management.. almost no "tactical" perspective it's introduced:

for example:

- you know where Germany has synthetics -> you already know where to strat bomb, no intelligence and no effort requested to the player to discover


we already know the good points of this game, but the worst bad point is that we are far from a WWII simulator, since the "tactical" perspective is completely absent..


suggestions:

- improve encryption and decryption not simply reasearching a reasearch, but let it become a dynamic and competitive competition between countries ( i am thinking that as a sort of mini-game or similar..)

- allow the player to choose the tactics and allow this to be counterered by the defender player if he choose the proper one.. not simply give to the division statistics the duty of win or loose a battle without, in practical, no effort by the player


again good job, my are only constructive suggestions!

 

[Broletariat90]

I thought I'd find this DD boring but I'm really excited about the special forces mechanics! Keep it up!

 

[podcat]

How do I gain Acclimatisation? By mere presence in a Hot or Cold Zone or by fighting in one? The former gives the Option to actually prepare your troops for a certain weather condition, by parking them in a comparable, but owned, area.

oh I probably should have explained that more. Its visible in one of the screenshots with the tooltip. Being in the area with those effects will see you gain acclimatization. If you are actively fighting it however goes much faster

 

[llib]

So by my counting, you need over 480 batalions if you want to have more than 24 special forces (not sure what techs do). I would suggest raising the percentage to 10.
Typically my marine divisions had 12 mar, which would left me with two marine divisions, and nothing for airborne or mountain.
Also you are adding research costs, for very restricted force size.
I'm sure you can balance it but it won't be trivial.

EDIT: Which troops count for it, all, all subjects, something else? Can imagine interesting exploits in multiplayer..

 

[Bane5]

I understand, but still, special forces are now limited to 5-10% of the army. I don't see myself researching 6 additionnal technologies to improve a fraction of my infantry. Is there a particular reason not to merge them with the current special forces upgrades? Balance?

It could be solved if those techs and the current sf techs also affected the rest of the army to a lesser degree.

for example: 15% acclimatization for all infantry and 50% for the special forces in question