That's exactly what I meant. If HOD gets it, I guess there is a good chance HOI4 will have it...
Whenever that comes out.
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
That's exactly what I meant. If HOD gets it, I guess there is a good chance HOI4 will have it...
Whenever that comes out.
I just read the 36 pages, it was defenitly worth my time! This is an amazing AAR and i can't wait for more!
Last Man and Shilling - Semper Fi HPP AustraliAAR
by Saithis
HOI3
Australia 1936
Light History-book AAR
Semper Fi + HPP mod
"Australians will stand beside our own to help and defend Britain to our last man and our last shilling."
-Prime Minister Andrew Fisher
-Prime Minister Andrew Fisher
HOI3 AARs tend to aim for the stars, or rather, for World Conquest. The mechanism is there: Any decent player can manage to conquer the world as the United States; some can do so as Albania or Luxembourg. Although these AARs can be very entertaining to read, their stories are usually far from historically plausible. To distinguish themselves, some history-book and narrative writAARs impose certain historical limits upon themselves to make the game harder for them, and more plausible story-wise. Only few of them, however, go as far in modifying the game to their disadvantage, and imposing limits upon themselves, as Saithis.
In Last Man and Shilling, the Lady of the North Star takes on the role of guiding Australia through a war to save the British Commonwealth. The title does not overestimate the devotion of this Australia to the homeland Britain - at all. The very first expeditionary Aussie troops are sent to France to help the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) with defending against the advancing troops of the German Reich, and throughout the AAR as it is currently written, the Australian government stays loyal to the true government of Great Britain. In Europe, the Australians are considered elite troops, but they are far from numerous, and this makes Saithis awfully dependent on the infamous AI. There is no way she can beat the Germans on her own, and as we follow the struggle of the brave Aussies, desperation kicks in as it becomes more and more of a fight for survival.
Saithis’ custom events, hand-tailored for this AAR, really do improve the quality of the gameplay. Where the game’s regular events, even those of the Historical Plausibility Project mod, can sometimes be woefully inadequate at dealing with ahistorical situations, the custom events fill this gap quite nicely. And I shouldn’t forget to mention that the events are used responsibly. Hardly any of them are favourable for Australia, and even if some are, there are provisions built in, like a % chance that the events will backfire.
As I previously mentioned, the situation of the Commonwealth becomes increasingly dire as the war progresses. This has so far added to the atmosphere, but I wonder how the historically plausible nature of the AAR could be kept up as the AAR progresses. Saithis has stated her interest in liberating the European mainland from the German oppressor, but in an alternate scenario where the Germans clearly have the upper hand, such a D-Day would hardly be feasible without resorting to gamey tactics. The very lack of these tactics is at this point one of the things that make this AAR interesting, and to prevent a story-breaking invasion from taking place, I advise that at a certain point in time, one of the custom events is used to weaken the Third Reich.
“Australian forces performed adequately in the skies, but the war was rapidly taking its tolls. Nearly half of her Sunderland bombers had been shot down or damaged to the point of recall, nearly 150 planes lost in told over the initial 3 months of the war. Most of the crew were either lost in the atlantic or interned by Dutch patrols off the coast of Holland. The Netherlands was committed to neutrality and, like in the past Great War, would arrest any violating its territorial sovereignty and hope to survive this war unscathed. Australian Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires were far less touched, and had covered the bombers adequately so far. There were worries about Germany's ability to outpace the Allied forces in aircraft production as so far the number of planes shot down seemed roughly equal on each side. The British found themselves unable to safely venture into the North Sea, but the Germans were suffering the same. The Campaign was, thus far, as much of a stalemate as the silence of the Western Front.”
The above quote is quite characteristic for the style of Last Man and Shilling*. Rather than describing every battle, the situation is surveyed from a wider, strategic perspective, and this style has several significant advantages. Most importantly for me, it makes for a much more entertaining read, although that might just be personal preference. More objectively, it also makes the reader more aware of the general course of events. “Heavier” narratives have the tendency to focus too much on the details, which may distort the general picture. One, important battle may very well turn into the player’s favour, but describing it might trick the reader into thinking the war is going well, while in fact the rest of his front is collapsing. But I stress again, this AAR has no such problems.
The AAR is also well-flavoured and supported. Saithis seems to know a lot about the Australian and British weaponry at the time - Either that, or she is just very good with Wikipedia. The pictures are also very nice, and sometimes the reader is treated with even more exceptional graphics, but there are two things I should note. The pictures are nicely finished with an edge and a shadow, which really adds to the atmosphere, but it does mean that all the pictures are in the heavy .png format. So, if your internet connection is very bad, you might not be able to read this AAR properly. Also, some screenshots are cropped too much, to my taste. They show the specific situation only, and not the general surroundings. At times, a “normal” screenshot could be more satisfying.
Now, lest I start complaining about the fact that the graphics are optimized for the redundant blue colour schemes, I shall wrap up the review of this brilliant AAR. It is a testimony to its brilliance that during a recent five-month period of inactivity, it re-appeared on the first page several times. And that’s not the only testimony: Last Man and Shilling won 3 ACAs, Saithis was awarded the WritAAR of the Week award twice for her efforts, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this Trophy Cabinet would be much expanded when the story comes to an end. And when it does, finally, come to an end, do not worry. For apparently there is much more in store for us…
“I've created this AAR (…) firstly, to help increase my HOI writing practicals in preparation for a future, more grand AAR I have planned.”
* Except for the spelling mistakes. It’s “Atlantic” and “The Netherlands were“, Saithis. You can do better than that.
---
This was an excerpt from Derahan's AARlander. Read more brilliant articles from the other contributors in the new, 10th edition!
Also, if you haven't read last edition's interview with Saithis, make sure to look up Edition 9.
And it's not just a HPP thing with the US, either. In a recent TFH game I played as the UK, the entire US Navy (I checked; quite litterally all of them) happily sat in the Med and the Atlantic while Japan took half of Hawaii. And to make things better, that was AFTER I puppetted Italy and destroyed Germany.
Long live Allied objectives
I just wish we could somehow convince PI to bring back milcon.
Milcon over at least puppets' armies would be so good. Sooo gooood.
Thank you! Hopefully it won't take too long for me to kick out some more.
Well thank you for the review! I'm honoured you decided to choose me, and I apologise for the occasional spelling mistake, but as I said in the AARlander comments, I don't have the time/motivation to proofread this thoroughly.
I don't have the time/motivation to proofread this thoroughly.
I do, but it wasn't until after I read the whole thing again (when Davy made a PDF about it), that I noticed just how many mistakes escaped my notice. You're not alone. Trust me.
Well thank you for the review! I'm honoured you decided to choose me, and I apologise for the occasional spelling mistake, but as I said in the AARlander comments, I don't have the time/motivation to proofread this thoroughly.
Don't worry Saithis, it was only when picking a quote that I noticed the spelling mistakes in there. When you just read an update casually, they completely escape your notice.
Will the British and Irish Lions make an appearance in the next update?
Maybe on the losing side. GO AUSTRALIA!!
EDIT: Bummer. Australia didn't do so well.
Last edited:
Fantastic to see this AAR back in action Saithis! :happy:
I really enjoyed reading it when you kicked if off, then forgot about it during its long hiatus (and it is still just as well crafted and written as ever now that it is back)
This AAR even inspired me to have a crack at my native country.
Mine was an enjoyable romp that ended too soon.
Australia helped beat off the Italians in the Middle East (was a touch and go prospect for a while) before going on the offensive and kicking the Italians out of North Africa and then mounting an invasion of Italian held Greece, Sicily then up the boot of Italy. At which point the war ended just after we reached Rome due to Germany's spectacular failure of Barbarossa, whilst Japan remained as quiet as a church mouse.
My game was satisfying whilst this AAR manages to be much more and quite thought-provoking too.
Love how you have modded it too keep quite realistic whilst giving yourself a fighting chance.
Now show those Japanese a thing or two!
I really enjoyed reading it when you kicked if off, then forgot about it during its long hiatus (and it is still just as well crafted and written as ever now that it is back)
This AAR even inspired me to have a crack at my native country.
Mine was an enjoyable romp that ended too soon.
Australia helped beat off the Italians in the Middle East (was a touch and go prospect for a while) before going on the offensive and kicking the Italians out of North Africa and then mounting an invasion of Italian held Greece, Sicily then up the boot of Italy. At which point the war ended just after we reached Rome due to Germany's spectacular failure of Barbarossa, whilst Japan remained as quiet as a church mouse.
My game was satisfying whilst this AAR manages to be much more and quite thought-provoking too.
Love how you have modded it too keep quite realistic whilst giving yourself a fighting chance.
Now show those Japanese a thing or two!
I just finished reading through the whole thing, and I'm awed by it. It's not looking good for the allies, is it? If you defeat Japan, could Germany realistically invade you?
I don't see how they could, unless they go through the Soviets and Persia. Even then, they would have to get a large enough fleet together in South-East Asia to reach Australia.
In a sentence I'd never thought I'd write:
I'm gladly subscribing to this HoI3 AAR! It's the Australian Game I always wanted to play. Please carry on, we must know how this goes!
As a personal fetish - how is your navy?
I'm gladly subscribing to this HoI3 AAR! It's the Australian Game I always wanted to play. Please carry on, we must know how this goes!
As a personal fetish - how is your navy?
or had you not the flag of the Soviet Navy
The review by Gen. Marshall it's quite accurately
I'm loving it to read it and I'm only pity that i can not do the same.
AAR: WWII – Kriegstagebuch
The review by Gen. Marshall it's quite accurately
I'm loving it to read it and I'm only pity that i can not do the same.
AAR: WWII – Kriegstagebuch
Last edited:
It's being updated on a less than regular basis. This AAR will see an end... eventually.
You are. Our authorlady is simply terribly busy with the vagaries of life.