No that's not what I'm saying I am saying that numerous posts aren't a sample thus you don't have any evidence at all. All you have a data points with no baseline to measure them against
I'm sorry what?But why male models?
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Next dlc after this one is Asia, so both of them will probably share the spotlight in this one. We will probably also get FT for the other cliques, Mongolia, Shinjiang, the Asian Axis minors unless they are adressed in the dlc they're currently working on and maybe the Allies' puppets in South East Asia, but hopefully having some work done on a major will calm down most of the opponents to minors NF (though I'm pretty sure there will still be a few people to argue that there's already mods for China and all the focus should be on Germany).
By the way, Romania is definitely not the only country getting a new FT, and I hope several majors will also get updates (though I think it might be better if it was released with the patch rather than the dlc).
Some upgrades to the Japanese focus tree coupled with some Chinese focus trees would be wonderful. And maybe some upgrades to the Naval game at the same time (which is relatively simplistic right now).
Yeah, since the Podcat stated that the Axis dlc will update air warfare, I think it's likely that the Asia dlc will do the same for naval warfare, especially since I was told it will also cover the Pacific.
I'm assuming you're hoping to have this patch/DLC out before going on summer break. Is that a good assumption?
Sorry but I am not buying it. What demographic outside of Bucharest was considering buying this game but decided not to because of a generic national focus for Romania. A full 40 percent of games are played as Germany, so address those customers by:
--fiing naval warfare so battles do not last months
-overhaul the Battle of the Atlantic
-tweak airfare
-improve AI further so suez canal is defended. The no mans land mod fixes the batles in the Sahara issue.
Want to boost sales, tackle these issues which ARE causing many to postpone sales. I was one of them, then i bought it Sorta wish I waited.
Yeah. You're right, I don't have any evidence at all, and nor has anyone else provided any evidence that AI Germany is horribly imbalanced and weak. You got me.
I said : "I am not opposed to this Dev Diary to be honest. I am in low expectation mode, so the fact that it was about national focus trees for Romania doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the unthinking fanaticism against legitimate criticism."
You replied asking : "If the dev diary did not bother you the why have you written like a hundred replies here?"
Which equals "But why male models?" Type it on youtube. But I'm criticizing you for asking me a question that I answered in the response you are replying to.
Cheers for the DD Podcat and the extra info Archangel . Romanian focus tree looks tops, and teases of new mechanics for air war and equipment appropriately intriguing! Great (although not surprised) to hear that AI work contiinues, and looking forward to whatever you have in store for us next week . Am a big fan of more events like those for Carol that help us feel like we're managing a Government and country full of people, although appreciate you're trying to tread a line there (on flavour events, is there any thought to having an option at the start of the game, and a country flag in the trigger relating to that? That way you could add stuff, but the 'minimal events please' people could disable them easily?)
As for some of the more negative responses to the DD, it’s worth noting that at the start of the DD Podcat:
Personally, I would prefer to have a few content and ‘small mechanic’ DDs before we get to the big stuff, rather than no DDs at all, but if those complaining would prefer that the focus trees are held off until after the larger mechanics and AI DDs, then that’s a perfectly reasonable preference for them to have (although one I definitely don’t share).
On the other hand, if after Podcat explained how content for DDs is determined, people wanted all the complicated stuff straight up, then that’s just an issue of reading comprehension. Not much the HoI4 team can do about that.
That would be so much win.
I think you may have a case of recall bias here. I was there at EU4's launch and it launched well, but the AI was plenty worse than it was now. It was about the time that Art of War came out, when AI issues stopped causing me to regularly become frustrated.
I'd be very happy with this. That said, Romania's a bit of an odd place for it to crop up, they only (from a glance) operated six MTBs during the war, plus a handful of old sub-300t TBs of WW1 vintage. However, I'd be happy with MTBs or TBs (but MTBs in particular) getting in through any means possible (although, given the focus is air warfare, I suspect this won't be the case in this instance - but we can dream ).
If Podcat straight-out tells you there are two options, and one doesn't make sense without the Romanian focus tree first, there's not much more he can do. His reasoning makes perfect sense to me, and I'd bet good money the main reason for the reflections at the start is to help explain why we're not getting something meaty straight up (ie, they anticipated that people would prefer to see an air war rework, or a mega-AI DD straight up, but that's only possible for the first DD back, if that DD is happening sometime in May/June).
. Romanian focus tree looks tops, and teases of new mechanics for air war and equipment appropriately intriguing! Great (although not surprised) to hear that AI work contiinues, and looking forward to whatever you have in store for us next week . Am a big fan of more events like those for Carol that help us feel like we're managing a Government and country full of people, although appreciate you're trying to tread a line there (on flavour events, is there any thought to having an option at the start of the game, and a country flag in the trigger relating to that? That way you could add stuff, but the 'minimal events please' people could disable them easily?)As for some of the more negative responses to the DD, it’s worth noting that at the start of the DD Podcat:
- Pointed out that DDs on large changes and AI tends to be a bit later in the piece, because they're not ready for public consumption yet; and
- They’re not big on ‘filler’ DDs, because they’re not well received.
Personally, I would prefer to have a few content and ‘small mechanic’ DDs before we get to the big stuff, rather than no DDs at all, but if those complaining would prefer that the focus trees are held off until after the larger mechanics and AI DDs, then that’s a perfectly reasonable preference for them to have (although one I definitely don’t share).
On the other hand, if after Podcat explained how content for DDs is determined, people wanted all the complicated stuff straight up, then that’s just an issue of reading comprehension. Not much the HoI4 team can do about that.
That would be so much win
.I think you may have a case of recall bias here. I was there at EU4's launch and it launched well, but the AI was plenty worse than it was now. It was about the time that Art of War came out, when AI issues stopped causing me to regularly become frustrated.
I'd be very happy with this
. That said, Romania's a bit of an odd place for it to crop up, they only (from a glance) operated six MTBs during the war, plus a handful of old sub-300t TBs of WW1 vintage. However, I'd be happy with MTBs or TBs (but MTBs in particular) getting in through any means possible (although, given the focus is air warfare, I suspect this won't be the case in this instance - but we can dream ).If Podcat straight-out tells you there are two options, and one doesn't make sense without the Romanian focus tree first, there's not much more he can do. His reasoning makes perfect sense to me, and I'd bet good money the main reason for the reflections at the start is to help explain why we're not getting something meaty straight up (ie, they anticipated that people would prefer to see an air war rework, or a mega-AI DD straight up, but that's only possible for the first DD back, if that DD is happening sometime in May/June).
A seven week break by my count.
After nearly two months I think a lot of people were expecting something... more. Like a feature or news about the AI... or something like that. We got a focus tree for a minor nation that probably less than 5% of players have even considered playing, a history lesson and some vague promises about stuff that isn't even ready to announce.
Looks like TfV all over again but I hope to be proven wrong.
It's just the first week of diaries. We've already had twitter teases for the upcoming patch (QoL / interface improvements). They basically told us that there's going to be a new mechanic by revealing this tree, which is licensing equipment.
I actually dislike the new trade interface more than the old one. QoL would be automatic trading with favored nations, not showing me how many convoys it takes to ship resources. Not really impressed by that, sorry. If they've mentioned adding auto trading then I must have missed it.
Glad to see Axis getting some love, but I wanna see the AI more than anything get it's proper love.
Now I read that AI improvements will come later, so I can look forward to that. It leaves me a heavy heart when I can't just pick up the game and play anymore.
Now I read that AI improvements will come later, so I can look forward to that. It leaves me a heavy heart when I can't just pick up the game and play anymore.
No, sorry don't even go there. EU4 wasn't that long ago. It was the first, NEW title, and the first pre-order from Paradox for me. I was there, I played it, I think I know my own experience with it. It was the biggest reason I pre-ordered both Stellaris, and HOI4. Since I had no problem with EU4 on launch, I didn't think I would with Stellaris, and HOI4.
Come on guys it is only the first DD and there are certainly going to be more cool stuff released from next weeks onward, the Dev has never said they aren't going to fix the current AI issue doesn't mean they are not working on it.
Romania is one my of favourite minor nation to play so I am glad that she is the first country to get attention from the Dev. And having the ability to switch side during the war would be a very interesting mechanic for this game and I can't wait to try it out.
Romania is one my of favourite minor nation to play so I am glad that she is the first country to get attention from the Dev. And having the ability to switch side during the war would be a very interesting mechanic for this game and I can't wait to try it out.
I've kept poking my head in over time and i think this dev diary is the final nail in the coffin for the HOI series barring some kind of miracle expansions that bring it back.
Podcat even acknowledges that nobody cares about minor nations except a minority of players. You basically have to play germany right now to have a SP game. In general focus trees are really meh. I don't feel engaged by clicking on a new "i gain a bonus" button every little while in game while other nations do the same and nobody interacts.
It's one of the least engaging mechanics in the entire game. Focus trees were a mistake.
after seven weeks of silence they needed to hit it out of the park instead of making another "hey guys, focus tree for a minor nation nobody plays :^)" post. Talk about the issues people actually care about, the billion AI threads the million naval/air warfare threads. the dev diary ignores all the real issues with the game.
I get that AI is hard, fully understand. but if you can't release a game with AI that presents a shadow of a challenge after 1 year post release, maybe a 1 man AI team is not suitable for a game of this scope anymore. Paradox is not some small indie shoestring operation anymore and has plenty of funds.
Games development is one of the only places where people will ever accept "i know its not finished, but buy it and keep buying expansions because one day it'll be fixed, i promise". That doesn't fly in most industries.
i hope that paradox smartens up and releases finished products in future. or at the very least, finishes them within a year. Or at the very least make HOI like stellaris where they actually are slogging along with expansions that are actually slowly addressing peoples problems. just anything that isn't the trainwreck that has been HOI development. this game was even delayed and still ended like this.
Podcat even acknowledges that nobody cares about minor nations except a minority of players. You basically have to play germany right now to have a SP game. In general focus trees are really meh. I don't feel engaged by clicking on a new "i gain a bonus" button every little while in game while other nations do the same and nobody interacts.
It's one of the least engaging mechanics in the entire game. Focus trees were a mistake.
after seven weeks of silence they needed to hit it out of the park instead of making another "hey guys, focus tree for a minor nation nobody plays :^)" post. Talk about the issues people actually care about, the billion AI threads the million naval/air warfare threads. the dev diary ignores all the real issues with the game.
I get that AI is hard, fully understand. but if you can't release a game with AI that presents a shadow of a challenge after 1 year post release, maybe a 1 man AI team is not suitable for a game of this scope anymore. Paradox is not some small indie shoestring operation anymore and has plenty of funds.
Games development is one of the only places where people will ever accept "i know its not finished, but buy it and keep buying expansions because one day it'll be fixed, i promise". That doesn't fly in most industries.
i hope that paradox smartens up and releases finished products in future. or at the very least, finishes them within a year. Or at the very least make HOI like stellaris where they actually are slogging along with expansions that are actually slowly addressing peoples problems. just anything that isn't the trainwreck that has been HOI development. this game was even delayed and still ended like this.
Are you saying EU4's AI hasn't improved? Also, keep in mind EU4 launched in August 2013 - that's three and a half years ago. Early on, there was painful issues with ping-ponging armies, armies making very poor decisions about when to siege and not to siege, naval AI was also much choppier. I repeatedly had to not do things to give the AI a chance (something that's far less of a thing in EU4 these days). EU4 still had 'front abandonment' as well - in that it would ignore whole theatres - it's just there were so few armies no-one really noticed.
This is in the context of a game with a far less complex AI to deal with in the first place. Like I wrote, EU4 launched well (I'd argue of HoI4, Stellaris and EU4, EU4 had the best launch by some margin in terms of reception - and the stats I crunched in another thread somewhere had the 'drop off' in player numbers after launch highest for Stellaris, in the middle for HoI4 and least for EU4, backing this up), but it's AI had issues. Indeed, despite the AI being in much better shape now, if you head over to the EU forums and do a search for threads with "AI" in the title, plenty come up in the last couple of months (searching for old threads is pretty painful - I tried to do a search around the time of the launch, but it's beyond my forum-fu).
The big difference is that EU 4 AI was serviceable from day 1. it did the job.
When paradox sells their "improve over time funded by expansions" policy, EU4 is the poster boy of "when this works correctly" because the game launched correctly functioning, and only improved over time in all aspects.
HOI IV is the polar opposite, its the poster boy of "when everything with the model goes wrong"
This pretty well sums it up.
As someone who has played HOI since the beginning, who preordered HOI4 and has by now put close to 300 hours into it -- I'm frankly pretty dismayed at the direction this game has gone in, in terms of ongoing development, since launch back in June 2016. I figured any DLC would be day-one purchases for me -- but I was so underwhelmed by Together for Victory that I didn't buy it when it came out and still haven't. The national focus stuff just feels like so much window dressing. It's nice, sure, but there are still so many fundamental issues with HOI4 that remain unaddressed -- above all the AI -- that it's hard for me to get very excited about it.
And so to come back to the forums after months away, wanting to check in on the status of HOI4 in the hope that some real progress was being made -- and to see the first dev diary be about: Romania... wow. Pretty deflating.
I honestly believe HOI4 has the potential to be the best game in this series -- it does many things well and I agree with many of the design changes over HOI3 -- but like I say, man, the direction this game is going in seems completely wrong to me. Almost a year since launch, and not a single compelling DLC that has pushed the game forward in important ways.
Focusing on the finer points of Romanian foreign and domestic policy circa 1939 is not moving the ball up the field, fellas.
@Gwydion5 Thanks for the support. I knew I was going to be the skunk at the garden party but sometimes you have to stand up and yell "the emperor has no clothes".
No, speaking for the discontented rabble, I would have been much happier with a DD that started out with "this is where we stand, this is what we plan, and these are the major game play issues we acknowledge we need to address."
Vague hints about amorphous mechanics and ai changes just don't cut it any more. Many of these issues have been around since 1.0 (shuffling, suicidal naval transport, African safaris). 1.3.3 came out and nerfed ai Germany and Italy into baby seal territory with the resource and production changes and province stacking. Are these issues complained about on the forum considered by PDS to be issues to be fixed? Who knows?
I know from reading another thread @podcat and @SteelVolt mentioned that division shuffling is being worked on, so why couldn't that at least be mentioned in the Diary? "Hey, we have heard you. Division shuffling is being worked on, as are some of the other problems like problem x, y and z that our customers have brought our attention". Is it that hard to be responsive to your customers? Not everyone pours thru threads or has the time to search through developer posts and tweets looking for pearls of wisdom.
Yes, I have close to 900 hours in the game. Over half of that was tracking bugs for them (like the convoy bug we found), running tests, and modding research to try to stop gap glaring issues. I would like to love the game, because it is a niche I have always played since cardboard counter days. But a year into the game patience is running thin. I would like to hear about what is being done to fix problems that have existed since release. I was not looking for another focus tree. And especially not a minor one, when even PDS admits in the DD that minor trees gathered little interest. At least build up the major trees before you flesh out the minors.
It is their game to make and market, I am just a customer. I will wait to see if 1.4 addresses the issues I and many others have with the game. After all, I have already spent the money for it.
No, speaking for the discontented rabble, I would have been much happier with a DD that started out with "this is where we stand, this is what we plan, and these are the major game play issues we acknowledge we need to address."
Vague hints about amorphous mechanics and ai changes just don't cut it any more. Many of these issues have been around since 1.0 (shuffling, suicidal naval transport, African safaris). 1.3.3 came out and nerfed ai Germany and Italy into baby seal territory with the resource and production changes and province stacking. Are these issues complained about on the forum considered by PDS to be issues to be fixed? Who knows?
I know from reading another thread @podcat and @SteelVolt mentioned that division shuffling is being worked on, so why couldn't that at least be mentioned in the Diary? "Hey, we have heard you. Division shuffling is being worked on, as are some of the other problems like problem x, y and z that our customers have brought our attention". Is it that hard to be responsive to your customers? Not everyone pours thru threads or has the time to search through developer posts and tweets looking for pearls of wisdom.
Yes, I have close to 900 hours in the game. Over half of that was tracking bugs for them (like the convoy bug we found), running tests, and modding research to try to stop gap glaring issues. I would like to love the game, because it is a niche I have always played since cardboard counter days. But a year into the game patience is running thin. I would like to hear about what is being done to fix problems that have existed since release. I was not looking for another focus tree. And especially not a minor one, when even PDS admits in the DD that minor trees gathered little interest. At least build up the major trees before you flesh out the minors.
It is their game to make and market, I am just a customer. I will wait to see if 1.4 addresses the issues I and many others have with the game. After all, I have already spent the money for it.