HOI4 Dev Diary - Bag of Tricks #1

[208]

Honestly stability and war prep should have been paid DLC, rather than the minimap. If you dont have the DLC, the game can function completely fine with National Unity.

Maybe the game *design* can function just fine with having both national unity and stability as mutually exclusive mechanics, but the game has to function in the real world. The dev team would have to maintain two branches of similar functionality through ongoing development, which significantly increases complexity - if they kept both, it's virtually guaranteed that somewhere down the line there would be bugs because someone forgot to take into account National Unity for those without the DLC.

The minimap is a stand-alone UI feature that will cause zero compatibility problems in the future if you don't have the DLC.

 

[208]

Isn't that what "guarantee" is supposed to cover?

The problem is not getting involved in the war, it's that if the Netherlands isn't in the Allies when it capitulates then it will become annexed outright by Germany (including all of the Dutch East Indies) instead of being occupied territory. Sometimes the auto-join doesn't join fast enough.

 

[grandad1982]

tuna and cucumber sallad

Yuck. I don't eat tuna (vegetarian) and cucumber gives me indigestion!

 

[Nikolai II]

The problem is not getting involved in the war, it's that if the Netherlands isn't in the Allies when it capitulates then it will become annexed outright by Germany (including all of the Dutch East Indies) instead of being occupied territory. Sometimes the auto-join doesn't join fast enough.

My thought was that guarantee could be a possible trigger for auto-join, especially if the target of a guarantee is allowed to deny being guaranteed.

But I'll admit to not having a lot of knowledge about the issue in question.

 

[Farquarsen]

I am concerned Naval battles will continue to be blood baths. Destroyers will continue to sink as reconnaissance even when Carriers are present with full complements of planes. ITRW, Planes search, destroyers screen close to carriers to sink submarines, CLs provide additional anti air coverage and Carrier task forces do not close with the enemy. In current HOI IV, destroyers search and get sunk along with all CLs because the Aircraft Carriers are closing with the enemy.

The air war continues to be unrealistic with CAS OP and fighters set to Air Superiority or set to intercept, do not intercept CAS.

I am glad you are fixing the land game. There are two other engines that require your attention as well, air and naval.

The fourth engine that affects all the other engines, land, sea and air is the logistics engine. It also requires attention.

 

[Dan1109]

Well, if the minimap is the only DLC content so far, I'm not interested as it seems to be useful only in MP. In fact, I can quickly see this being a requirement for MP the day it launches.

It would be useful in SP if dots would appear showing battles and naval battles, color coding of global air and naval supremacy. Make this feature useful to all play modes and everyone will want it.

And now I'm getting worried about navy, as podcat described all of the previous content as "big features", and this DD was only the first installment of 'bag of tricks' (Halloween coming up, give us a treat!). Not sure if there will be anything more impressive or complex than what has already been shown to us. Expectations low, please exceed them PDS.

 

[GUmby_Aaron]

Minimap & Pinging
You can ping the map to illustrate to allies of things you are discussing, like where you want them to defend or push, or as a quick reminder like “watch out here the russians are about to encircle you!”

 

[LordAkkrand]

Hey will control groups be saved between sessions in multiplayer games?
I loved using them in previous iterations of HOI, but I seem to recall they didn't get saved in multiplayer unless you were the host?

 

[PinkBear]

--Super happy about the “kick country from faction” option. When you’re Germany and Spain takes Portugal, or you’re Japan and Siam takes Singapore and you ask for those territories and they say NO, it is super infuriating. Now I can kick

--All future “graphics” options should be given to the community to do. They do an awesome job and we could vote on the best. Plus we’re super anal about the historical accuracy. Why waste developer’s time on these?

--When it comes to “naming” divisions, we could again give this to the community.

--Eliminate 1939 starting date. As was said before, to put time and energy into making sure anything is right on this just seems like time wasted that much more important things could be done.

--In other versions, I’ve had things I didn’t care much about but in 1.5 I think every DD has been amazing when it comes to upcoming good features.

 

[Axe99]

Well, if the minimap is the only DLC content so far, I'm not interested as it seems to be useful only in MP. In fact, I can quickly see this being a requirement for MP the day it launches.

Earlier in the thread, the good Podcat noted that if it hadn't been announced as being part of the DLC, then it was fairly likely (he was stronger than this, but can't remember the exact words, and would rather err on the side of caution) it would be in the free patch, and in the first 'feature' DD of this 'DD' cycle, Podcat said the DLC would be a larger one with 1-3 key themes, so at the very least I expect we'll see more than just the minimap in the DLC (I do think it's a good QoL feature in SP as well - but would be a tad excessive charging $10-$20 for it, noting I'm no expert on pricing or have any idea how much it'd cost to make).

As for naval things though, I'm starting to adjust myself emotionally for it maybe not falling into this DLC cycle, as we haven't heard anything naval related, and there was a mention of some cool features that tied in with the chain of command stuff (so at least part of the DLC is chain-of-command - so probably land - based). I think our most realistic hope is a few naval features, rather than a proper 'naval themed DLC'. Don't get me wrong though, I hope I'm wrong as much as I suspect you do .

 

[adam_grif]

@podcat @Archangel85 @KimchiViking please be aware that the reception to the minimap being part of the DLC is overwhelmingly negative on both r/hoi4 and r/paradoxplaza. It's also not very good here. I would strongly recommend reconsidering the decision to include that feature as part of the paid content, even if for no reason other than cynical PR management. Even if that means we get a minimap for free but pinging is paid (to my knowledge we've never had pinging before) that would be an improvement. You were all doing so damn well with the dev diaries up to this point and locking something as fundamentally basic as a minimap has lost you a fair chunk of that goodwill from the community.

I understand the pressure to include features as part of the DLC since so many big changes are coming for free (and you need to make up the $25 price point to fulfill the contract with consumers you made with the season pass) but this is Blitz all over again - actually arguably less defensible than Blitz because at least that was a feature we'd never had before.

 

[JerkyJerry]

When you’re Germany and Spain takes Portugal,

I have more than 1,500 hours into this game and I have not seen this happen once. As a matter of fact if I don't conquer Portugal (no matter who I'm playing) no other country ever has. At the start of every game I have played and at the end of every game I have played Portugal is Portugal.

 

[Van Tuber]

Its one of those things thats really for a part of the players only. When I had the betas and QA play they were basically split between "oh yes!!!" and "I like it the way it is and will keep it collapsed", so I think its a pretty good fit for DLC. I personally still like to use quick mouse zooming

I do not understand why people don't want a minimap. but it is what it is.

 

[him_15]

For the Mini Map Pinging part, could we be given more icon option such as advance arrow, fallback line, Paradrop, Naval invasion, etc. ?

 

[Dan1109]

For the Mini Map Pinging part, could we be given more icon option such as advance arrow, fallback line, Paradrop, Naval invasion, etc. ?

One would hope that is all moddable.

 

[PurpulaPhoenixum53]

Question - Is it possible for you to join a faction through a national focus if your at war if them? Because I'm playing as Greece w/ the Heirs as Byzantium mod and wanted to go down to reclaim Constantinople but, I have to do a " Join the Axis" National Focus first even though I'm at war w/ them so... is it possible that Germany gets my request and since we're at war, will decline?

 

[Had a dad]

I do not understand why people don't want a minimap. but it is what it is.

me either... little known fact, podcat does find it amusing if you show up outside his window with "mini map" on your bum, however it will cause you to end up in jail, and he won't post bail for you...

 

[astec]

@podcat @Archangel85 @KimchiViking please be aware that the reception to the minimap being part of the DLC is overwhelmingly negative on both r/hoi4 and r/paradoxplaza. It's also not very good here. I would strongly recommend reconsidering the decision to include that feature as part of the paid content, even if for no reason other than cynical PR management. Even if that means we get a minimap for free but pinging is paid (to my knowledge we've never had pinging before) that would be an improvement. You were all doing so damn well with the dev diaries up to this point and locking something as fundamentally basic as a minimap has lost you a fair chunk of that goodwill from the community.

I understand the pressure to include features as part of the DLC since so many big changes are coming for free (and you need to make up the $25 price point to fulfill the contract with consumers you made with the season pass) but this is Blitz all over again - actually arguably less defensible than Blitz because at least that was a feature we'd never had before.

I can't believe that people are disagreeing with this post, he is ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.

It is absolutely INEXCUSABLE to lock the mini-map behind a paywall. Your genre of games are referred to as "map starring" games after all, what kind of corporate cash grab would motivate you to cut off poorer players from quality of life improvements? DLC after DLC, Paradox is becoming more like EA games. Stop the anti-consumer practices while you still can and your fan-base will be eating out of your hand. Otherwise, you may have an even bigger forum riot than the whole Blitz command fiasco.

 

[KevinG]

It finally happened. Control groups, a feature that's in every other RTS game since 1995, and every paradox game grand strategy game, finally made it over to HOI4. A game where you control hundreds of divisions in real time as opposed to a few to a dozen stacks in EU4 or Victoria, and it took over a year and paid DLC to finally get this feature. Better late than never I guess.

 

[LiberiusX]

@podcat @Archangel85 @KimchiViking please be aware that the reception to the minimap being part of the DLC is overwhelmingly negative on both r/hoi4 and r/paradoxplaza. It's also not very good here. I would strongly recommend reconsidering the decision to include that feature as part of the paid content, even if for no reason other than cynical PR management. Even if that means we get a minimap for free but pinging is paid (to my knowledge we've never had pinging before) that would be an improvement. You were all doing so damn well with the dev diaries up to this point and locking something as fundamentally basic as a minimap has lost you a fair chunk of that goodwill from the community.

I understand the pressure to include features as part of the DLC since so many big changes are coming for free (and you need to make up the $25 price point to fulfill the contract with consumers you made with the season pass) but this is Blitz all over again - actually arguably less defensible than Blitz because at least that was a feature we'd never had before.

As someone who never plays MP, I have absolutely zero use for pinging.