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HOI4 Dev Diary - Formables and Releasables

Hello everyone and welcome to another dev diary for La Resistance! I should begin by introducing myself: I am Meka, I joined Paradox just a few months ago as a Content Designer. Some of you may be aware of me due to my work on Theocracies and Burgundy over on EUIV, but now I'm here to show what mischief I've been up to in my time on Hearts of Iron.

Man the Guns saw the creation of a lot of new tags, making some countries balkanisable, and almost all of the world decolonisable. Waking the Tiger saw the introduction of formable tags, a mechanic that until now has not been further utilised. However, with the Husky patch, a whole slew of new releasable tags will be added to the game along with two new formable nations; one as part of the free patch, and one for owners of La Resistance.
Polynesia 001.png

Starting with releasable tags, Man the Guns allowed most of the world to be decolonised, but Oceania was mostly left unloved with only one nation being added to the continent, leaving the rest of the disparate islands untouched and still under colonial rule. However, I have added 6 new releasable tags and one formable for the region.

The Kingdom of Hawaii was only annexed by the United States 38 years before the start of Hearts of Iron and can be released along with most of the US’s pacific holdings.
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Tahiti
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Samoa
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The Federated States of Micronesia
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The Solomon Islands
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The Mariana Federation
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These disparate islands may struggle to survive on their own, and so a nation who holds enough of the Polynesian Triangle will be able to unite all Pacific peoples into a single state known as Polynesia. This state will be formable by any nation listed above plus New Zealand. Unlike other formable tags, this nation can be created by dominions meaning New Zealand does not necessarily have to leave the Allies in order to form this tag.
Polynesia 008.png


But perhaps players wish to live out an alternate history where the Naha Prophecy was fulfilled and Kamehameha united the Pacific several years earlier. With the Polynesian Empire game rule, Hawaii will begin the game having already conquered the entirety of the Polynesian Islands and built up a fair-sized industry.
Polynesia 009.png

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The ability to form Polynesia is a free feature, as are the releasable tags.


Along with adding these releasable nations, I did also touch up the old fragmentation game options to make the world fully split into different continents. The UK now surrenders its African, Asian, and American islands to its former colonies, Portugal surrenders Timor to Indonesia, and a few other small changes like that.


Also, armies standing around in former colonial territories is now a thing of the past and nations will now only have armies stationed in territories where they have access.
Armies.png


Iberia is a focal point of La Resistance and as such, a few releasable tags have been added to the subcontinent as well.


Catalonia
Catalonia.png


The Basque Country
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Galicia
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Spain can of course be fractured from the start of the game by selecting the appropriate option in the game menu. However, I noticed Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Galicia simply weren’t enough to make Iberia look “shattered” so I took the liberty of adding an “11th of November” game rule, and I will leave it for you all to speculate what that option does.
Spanish Fragmentation.png


When it comes to the second formable, one must be opportunistic and take full advantage of the instability in Spain and Portugal. The Moorish people once reigned sovereign over all of Iberia, and owners of La Resistance will be able to restore the long-dead state of Al-Andalus.
Andalusia Conditions.png


Andalusia was once an Islamic Sultanate that ruled from the Iberian peninsula and a beacon of the Islamic world. Through struggles with the Catholic kingdoms in the medieval era, the Andalusians would slowly be pushed out of Iberia, ending with the conquest of the Emirate of Granada in 1520. However, the Moorish people continue to exist to this day in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria, many of whom are descendants from Moorish refugees fleeing the Spanish Reconquista.

Andalusia will be formable by any of the North African countries; Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Algeria, or Libya. In order to form this tag, one must occupy a large portion of both Spain and Portugal’s southern states and forming the tag grants cores on the entirety of the Iberian subcontinent.
Andalusia 1.png


But that isn’t the end of Andalusia. Similar to Byzantium’s “triumph” decisions, Andalusia will be able to sweep across the Mediterranean and beyond, restoring their old claims and titles.
Andalusia Decision 2.png


If a player can enact all decisions relating to the Andalusian conquests of North Africa and the Med, they will be able to press on for Egypt and Arabia and declare themselves the Umayyad Caliphate reborn, granting cores on the Arabian Peninsula.
Andalusia Decision 3.png


Upon doing so, Andalusia will unlock their final set of decisions, allowing them to restore the entire former claims and titles of the Umayyad Caliphate, effectively reuinifying the Islamic world.
Andalusia Decision 4.png

Andalusia 3.png


As we have expanded the scope of Hearts of Iron, some old bits of content started to become outdated and lead to some annoying bugs, which I have dedicated some time to fixing. One key thing I have improved is the way that the British Raj interacts with different game options and Britain doing strange things. From now on, the Raj will be able to freely pursue their focus tree even if Britain forces them into independence, with some focuses bypassing, and others no longer requiring the Raj to be a subject.
Raj Fix.png


Join Da9L, Bratyn and Jojo at 16:00CET on twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive as they have a closer look at Anarchist Spain!
 
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Maybe this would be a revelation for you, but fixing broken content is their JOB. Since when Paradox is a little team of enthusiastic modders who can do whatever they want because rule of cool? It's nice that devs dedicate their free time on their product, but maybe they should dedicate it on something they couldn't do during their work time instead of adding roof to the house without solid foundation?

Having applied to be content designer for Paradox and done the worktest involved as part of the application - yeah I've got a pretty good idea of what the job involves :p

My argument/thesis is that if a dev wants to add something fun (for them and hopefully us) in their off time and is enthusiastic to share it with the community and their manager agrees to implement it into the patch, why should we complain? They've clearly (as per a later post in the thread) done their job fixing issues with script.
 
Maybe this would be a revelation for you, but fixing broken content is their JOB. Since when Paradox is a little team of enthusiastic modders who can do whatever they want because rule of cool? It's nice that devs dedicate their free time on their product, but maybe they should dedicate it on something they couldn't do during their work time instead of adding roof to the house without solid foundation?

They’re doing both, but you seem content to willfully ignore that. Several fixes have been talked about by the devs in the thread. And sure, they could slave away all day doing nothing but bug fixes, but I can assure you that would only lead to a degradation of work in the long run. Allowing them to do whatever the hell they want as a way to reinvigorate themselves should be seen as a good thing, not something worthy of crucifixion because they dare to not work on the same thing day in and day out. Think of it less as an insult and more as a way to keep the devs excited about HOI.
 
The Asturias thing was a failed coup d etat, calling it a nation is waaay exaggerated
The '34 thing sure was a coup d'etat, no way it was not, but any declaration of independence that is not recognised by the previous owner of a territory is by definition a coup d'etat in its Kelsenian definition (a change in the legal system without following the legally established channels to perform that change).

I assume you are referring to the fact that the PCE's objective in '34 was not an outright independent Asturias, but essentially a Soviet Spain, and this is true, but it is also true that the PCE was essentially only a thing in a couple of regions, Asturias included, so in practice they would have formed a "Popular Republic of Spain" consisting of only Asturias, call it what you may.

The second example is still relevant though, and the fact that Navarre is included in an independent Euskadi in '36, and Galicia is a releasable is...well, disconcerting.
 
We don't critisize devs because we are meanie or something, we just want to play a stable game.

instead of adding roof to the house without solid foundation?

I've been playing strategy video games for a looooong time (not as long as some here, but mid-1980s), and I've seen many, many unstable games with poor foundations. HoI4 is anything but. It's rock-solid in its stability, and its fundamental mechanics are amongst the best in games of its ilk (big strategic wargames). It has a very elegant balance between detail and playability (from a strategy game perspective), it's got historical plausibility in droves, and it's got lots of really cool details. Yes, it's not perfect, and there are bugs (but there are always bugs - and HoI4 is a really complicated combination of systems, so this is hardly surprising), and it's likely there will be some things people like more than others, or other things people think should be included (ship's mascots! o_O), but based on what the devs have said in the past, you're far, far more likely to make an impression that's going to change something by being realistic and constructive, than making dramatic statements that people are less likely to respond well to.
 
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Allowing them to do whatever the hell they want as a way to reinvigorate themselves should be seen as a good thing, not something worthy of crucifixion because they dare to not work on the same thing day in and day out. Think of it less as an insult and more as a way to keep the devs excited about HOI.
From my own experience as a software engineering team lead, I totally agree. With a complex product like HoI with small and large issues everywhere, in my experience it is very inefficient for a manager to try to control and prioritize everything that gets fixed. I could try to run a very tight ship and bend all the efforts of the team to my will, or give team members more leeway to pursue their own projects in addition to the tasks I prioritize for them. Sure, the latter group will immediately produce lots of "less valuable" content and bug fixes, but in the long run outproduces the former even in terms of "important" content and fixes due to their increased overall engagement.

In other words, I trust that the podcat, Meka66 and dev team are ultimately doing the right thing to give us the best product they can. I am as frustrated by the bugs and AI as any of you, but trust me: negative attitude towards acts of honest personal initiative hurts our chances of seeing those fixed, instead of improving them.
 
Ok having slept on this here is my views on all the stuff mentioned.
  1. Pacific Ocean tags: All good in my view. I am a big fan of more tags being added as it allows more flexibility in dividing up the world. Odd that East Timor has not been added and the decision to just give it to Indonesia is a bit problematic, this omission is probably my biggest grippe overall.
  2. Polynesia: A neat little addition that gives New Zealand a lofty goal to achieve. The option to have it formed in the start is appreciated as well. A second game rule for it could be it starting formed by New Zealand and therefore a British Dominion.
  3. Army Placement change: Really appreciated and should have been included with MTG.
  4. Spain Tags: All good as well, Basques should have cores on the neighbouring French state as well to represent the French Basques. Talking about France, fragmented France when? I really dream of one day being able to balkanise the world.
  5. Al-Andalus: Ok its a meme tag, i like meme tags so i won't complain too much but it does feel excessive to have all the follow up decisions. It gives Morocco a goal which is nice. Overall i am not annoyed unlike with the omission of East Timor which does annoy me.
  6. India Focus Tree Fix: Hallelujah, as someone who likes playing with ahistorical set ups it is gonna be really good to see India actually be able to go down its focus tree.
Overall i am happy.
 
It's rock-solid in its stability, and its fundamental mechanics are amongst the best in games of its ilk (big strategic wargames).
Outside of MP it is indeed remarkably stable, I agree on that. But I struggle to find a single fundamental mechanic that is not deeply flawed in this game. Movement, land/air/naval combat, division design, weather, industry, battle plans, diplomacy, the list goes on. I guess it depends on which games you want to compare it to?
 
First of all, thanks, Meka66. This is the kind of content I love in a Paradox game. I'm sure you all have the data that shows what our preferences are. I'm equally sure it is comforting to be told so by an individual member of the community.

I am especially thrilled by the new Spanish tags (I'm a Catalan, so, of course). I hope Catalonia has a core in Roussillon (In France), and the Basque Country in Labourd, Lower Navarre and Soule (also in France). If the 11th November fragmentation is what I think it is, can't wait to paint all fish in the Mediterranean in red and gold stripes again.

Also, I know it's maybe too much to ask. But dedicated leader portraits for these nations would be great.
 
Maybe this would be a revelation for you, but fixing broken content is their JOB. Since when Paradox is a little team of enthusiastic modders who can do whatever they want because rule of cool? It's nice that devs dedicate their free time on their product, but maybe they should dedicate it on something they couldn't do during their work time instead of adding roof to the house without solid foundation?

It is incredibly entitled of you to presuppose the right to tell anyone what they should be doing with their free time. Game developers are not public property, no matter how many times gamers might fail to internalise it.
 
Wow, I did not expect the response that I got when I said I liked the formable nations and alternate history. Frankly, the game is always going to be alternate history from the first moment you take your first action in game. Even if you assign all the generals correctly to all of the correct fronts and do everything 100% historical, doesn't mean the AI will do the same. Not to even mention equipment counts and factory allocation, or variants and research at specific times...
You can't get around the fact that at the end of the day you're playing a WWII themed video game, and not watching a documentary. I can understand wanting to be able to reenact historical moments, and the game certainly isn't up to scratch for that right now.

Personally, however, I'm the type of player that enjoys trying out different nations and going for different personally set goals, and formable nations help with this. I like to play with historical focuses off, because to me, personally, that makes the game a lot more interesting and hopefully unpredictable than doing nothing but playing Germany on Historical ten thousand times, and I don't feel like I'm the only one. Still, I respect people that want to play the game that way, but it's personally not for me, and sounds like a very boring way to play the game. A railroaded WWII experience, I feel, would reduce the replayability of the game. Is a lot of the alt history stuff unrealistic or fantastical? Yeah. Doesn't mean it's not fun. Doesn't mean there isn't a sizable portion of people who like it and want to see more. I don't think it's too much to ask for the game to be able to accommodate both. It's not a zero sum game.

My actual grievances with the alt historical stuff is that countries like the Netherlands, or Hungary, or Mexico, or Communist China get overly ambitious alternate historical plans in the focus trees that they have absolutely no hope of achieving under the AI, especially in the current state of the game. For Europe, Germany will simply steamroll everyone whether they fight the Allies or not, and Asia will be either under Japan's thumb, or a slow show of different warlords taking over Nationalist China. The AI has no hope in hell of winning a second US civil war, and the Constitutionalists usually win, leaving the USA static as well. Mexico's tree is far too ambitious as well. Britain joins the Axis in 2 out of 3 of their different paths, regardless of what their actual focus tree plans, and that wrecks the game. I'm also nervous that the new Spanish tree will actually put the Allies at war with the Commitern, should AI Spain go in that direction, and also be extremely ambitious with the Anarchist path, leading them to be taken out by someone like Germany in a whimper, if the Spanish civil war even turns out in their favor.

There's also a great deal of people complaining that the Soviet Union isn't being worked on right now, as if it will never come. It's pretty clear to me what Paradox's DLC model is. They focus on an area, and countries related to that portion of the world, with only small deviations like the Germany modification in Waking the Tiger (which, even then was related to China, because China can reach out to Germany for help, and that is dependent on ideology). It's why Portugal is getting a tree in this DLC, because they're related to the Western Europe area and the Spanish Civil War. They had the potential to intervene in Spain. Trying to shoehorn in the USSR into a DLC about Western Europe would make things WORSE, not better. I've pretty much accepted at this point that the USSR will be the grand finale of the major power DLC release plan, the icing on the cake, and the last major to receive updates, using all the feedback and all the experience making focus trees gained from DLCs like La Resistance, likely along with multiple different nations from that area tied into their history, like Finland, and the Nordic countries. It makes sense, because people will buy these DLCs based on the country they want to play, and shoving the USSR into a DLC with France is more ridiculous than Portugal. It wouldn't get the attention it rightfully needs, and the marketing would be all over the place. You would get a bunch of DLCs, where no new player would know what they need to buy to play as specific countries. That would be more akin to the way EU4 is treated. It may seem like it's poor priorities to put Portugal before the Soviet Union, but that's not really what's happening, or how the DLC works. The next DLC probably won't be about the Soviet Union either, but instead about the Mediterranean, and Italy, and Bulgaria, and Greece and Turkey. I may be wrong, but I doubt it.

P.S. Most of this stuff, like the bug fixes, and the tags aren't even part of the DLC, and are coming in free updates alongside the DLC. It's an impression I noticed many have, even though it was actually answered in the dev diary, which is probably one of the last Dev diaries to come out before the actual release, btw, because most of the important stuff has already been covered.
 
There are hella lot of broken content desperately in need for fixing, why don't they focus on it during their free time instead of some childish fantasy?

so uh, do you plan to work in your free time on your work? you're essentially saying he should have spent his free time on work instead of free time stuff. the whole decolonization thing was something done in a devs free time, not just these tags, free time work is how you see most of the side things that come out of the game.

I said it earlier, this is like complaining a factory worker dedicated free time to improve the safety of his job and people being mad he didn't instead just work at the factory in his free time, it's absurd.
 
it's really upsetting how negatively some people take this sort of thing. geez, just looking at that one reply to podcat a few messages after my post on page 7. openly mocking workers doing their jobs is just shameful.

this got 10 disagrees but do people even know what comment i was talking about?

I went to check on it, and it thankfully has been removed. all it did was mock podcat when he came to defend his coworker. insinuating that they didn't do any work on the AI ever in possibly the most derisive tone i've ever seen on a forum.
 
Implementation of actual AI opponents so we can finally play singleplayer would be better than more releasable nations.

The current status of only having multiplayer is frustrating.
 
I said it earlier, this is like complaining a factory worker dedicated free time to improve the safety of his job and people being mad he didn't instead just work at the factory in his free time, it's absurd.

But if the factory worker spent 3/4 of their quarterly report talking about the ideas they came up with in their free time rather than the productivity and operations of their area, the factory owner, aka the person who pays the worker, would be rightfully concerned about the quality and importance of things that were done while on the clock.
 
Maybe this would be a revelation for you, but fixing broken content is their JOB. Since when Paradox is a little team of enthusiastic modders who can do whatever they want because rule of cool? It's nice that devs dedicate their free time on their product, but maybe they should dedicate it on something they couldn't do during their work time instead of adding roof to the house without solid foundation?
"Instead of doing things YOU want to do in your free time, I DEMAND that YOU spend your FREE TIME to do stuff that I want you to do!!"
Wow, there is... So much wrong with this comment that I don't know where to begin explaining it. Hopefully, though, my abridged version of the comment is enough for most people to understand without explanation.
 
But if the factory worker spent 3/4 of their quarterly report talking about the ideas they came up with in their free time rather than the productivity and operations of their area, the factory owner, aka the person who pays the worker, would be rightfully concerned about the quality and importance of things that were done while on the clock.
This isn't a quarterly report to a superior, this is simply a weekly, non-mandatory event where devs talk about things that they find interesting.
 
Formable nations are end goals for players, so you dont have to play Germany for the 100th time doing the same.

Releasable tags are quite different as those can alter how the game plays i.e. setting decolonitation of africa plays a major role on ww2 as france is out BUT it is true that getting too many tags will drop perfomance and of course most of them will be uselles in game as we had a perfect example of this since day 1 with Liberia a 1 province tag that wont do anything in the game as lacks resources, industry and manpower.

But as long as the game works well then do as you please and add the content you like.
 
A railroaded WWII experience, I feel, would reduce the replayability of the game. Is a lot of the alt history stuff unrealistic or fantastical? Yeah. Doesn't mean it's not fun. Doesn't mean there isn't a sizable portion of people who like it and want to see more. I don't think it's too much to ask for the game to be able to accommodate both. It's not a zero sum game.

What stands out to me is a lack of awareness for their own cultural biases.

The route of 'reforming' the Roman Empire as Mussolini is an historically accurate ambition of his, and there's nothing new in countries using mythical histories to prop up their ambitions through such propaganda campaigns.

Sure the modern Algerians or Libyans 'reforming' the Umayyad Caliphate is a joke, but so was Italy reforming the Roman Empire; yet that didn't stop the narrative and wouldn't have stopped Mussolini from pushing it further if he could've.

It's a kind of Chauvinism to take issue with it; it's no more ridiculous just because North African Arabs (and Berbers) are doing it. Modern Italy's right to the lineage of Rome is little better.

P.S. Most of this stuff, like the bug fixes, and the tags aren't even part of the DLC, and are coming in free updates alongside the DLC. It's an impression I noticed many have, even though it was actually answered in the dev diary, which is probably one of the last Dev diaries to come out before the actual release, btw, because most of the important stuff has already been covered.

Frankly it just comes across as petty, entitled, and self-absorbed when people can't accept free additions to a game — whose use is optional — simply because they aren't the exact additions they would rather see.
 
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Granted, he is a content designer. Doesn't keep him from adding meaningful content, does it?
Neither do his spare time projects, so I still don't see the problem. Or are you so entitled you want the devs to use their spare time, too, developing the game?