Hearts of Iron IV - 34th Development Diary - 20th of November 2015

[FOARP]

The AI does not currently use the Stage Coup action.

Hmmm. I always find it worrying when a mechanic cannot be used by the AI. If its a useful mechanic then the player instantly has a massive advantage. If its not a useful mechanic then it might as well not be in the game. Paradox really have had a lot of time to work on this so it seems less likely that this is something that they just need to have time to work on to get done, and more likely that this is a permanent problem. I hope I'm wrong about this.

All the same, just think of the potential this feature has if properly implemented.

 

[podcat]

Will there always be a civil war, when you try to stage a coup? Even if the chances to win are quite small, it would be kind of easy e.g. for Germany to weaken Britain if they stage a coup every now and then. 200 Points and some equipment seem not that much of a cost for a coup, or does the cost of Points differ for each country?

Yes. bloodless coups are possible due to internal factors, but when someone external actively coups there will always be a civil war, unless:

Also: Greece seems to be divided by states, but what if the country in which the coup takes place is a one-state-country like Albania appears to be?

I am pretty sure these auto resolve to always succeed if big enough.

so it will create a dynamic country tag when civil war breaks out?

Yes.

A nice thing about civil wars and such is that this is a mechanic where you can switch your own nation to another ideology, but it doesnt just magically solve stuff: you have to fight for it, which luckily is what HOI is all about.

 

[GameGabster]

Brilliant.

 

[Mr.Bajskorv]

I hope this will add some dynamic in the espionage/secret service part of the game.

 

[podcat]

Hmmm. I always find it worrying when a mechanic cannot be used by the AI. If its a useful mechanic then the player instantly has a massive advantage. If its not a useful mechanic then it might as well not be in the game. Paradox really have had a lot of time to work on this so it seems less likely that this is something that they just need to have time to work on to get done, and more likely that this is a permanent problem. I hope I'm wrong about this.

its a design thing because this is a game. The world is a sandbox for player, but if every AI would use this mechanic there would be no WW2. I can think of a few cases where it may make sense for AI to do it, so we might add it though.

 

[Nelfe]

Yes.

A nice thing about civil wars and such is that this is a mechanic where you can switch your own nation to another ideology, but it doesnt just magically solve stuff: you have to fight for it, which luckily is what HOI is all about.

Yes, it's a great idea ! Helping one faction or the another (through lend lease or even sending troops) seems now very easy, I will reshape Eastern Europe with communism !

However, is there any chance for a country to lower the power of a party ? Otherwise it could be quite easy to stage a coup : raise the power of the party you support => coup with 100% to succeed, rince and repeat.

 

[OHgamer]

I want this in Victoria III!

Oh hell yes +1000. It would be perfect for a V3. Hopefully podcat and the other developers are keeping a record of cool new functionalites added to EU4 and HoI3 for potential use in a future Victoria3 (hint hint Podcat )

 

[podcat]

However, is there any chance for a country to lower the power of a party ? Otherwise it could be quite easy to stage a coup : raise the power of the party you support => coup with 100% to succeed, rince and repeat.

yes, you can defend yourself with party boosting ministers (there are also things from focuses and national spirits). Other players may also help out.

 

[FOARP]

its a design thing because this is a game. The world is a sandbox for player, but if every AI would use this mechanic there would be no WW2.

I figured it might be something like that.

I can think of a few cases where it may make sense for AI to do it, so we might add it though.

Yeah, if there was a WILL_COUP=yes trigger in the country AI files that you can add that would be awesome for e.g., simulating a USSR gone coup-crazy. You could make it so that only AI countries that have gone down certain paths (e.g., the "lets sponsor revolutions everywhere" decision-path) will have this trigger activated.

Similarly an attribute which makes a country un-coup-able could be useful.

 

[OHgamer]

I'd imagine the US would get a casus belli if things go wrong with the coup. That would suck if keeping them neutral was your goal, lol.

Sure that would be the downside, but the potential to have the USA neutralized with internal conflict even for a few years might just be worth the risk if you are Japan or Germany. You might even gain a potential New World ally out of one of the successor states in the process as well.

 

[Nelfe]

yes, you can defend yourself with party boosting ministers (there are also things from focuses and national spirits). Other players may also help out.

Thanks !

 

[ignaciospain1]

Why is Franco´s picture from when he was 55-60? He was 43 when war broke out!

 

[Ferrous Will]

Sure that would be the downside, but the potential to have the USA neutralized with internal conflict even for a few years might just be worth the risk if you are Japan or Germany. You might even gain a potential New World ally out of one of the successor states in the process as well.

risk/reward decisions are always good in a game!

 

[pguyton]

Sweet ! I like this , it adds a lot of variably and replayabilty to the game

 

[bertxav]

Could the civil war in Greece been stop until the election? If yes does the communists take power and remove elections completely? And finally was the rebel flag the flag for communists Greece?

Also, awesome diary

 

[Enewald]

Also wondering this:
Say Japan enters civil war, maybe typical Reds vs Whites.
How would the existing military forces split up? Who joins which faction?
Because if one faction keeps full control of all existing forces, the war is just a weak coup attempt.
And if a random percentage of existing troops joins the rebelling factions, what happens with air and naval units? Does your fleet split in half and start shooting at the other half?

 

[Denkt]

Will the ai support sides in a civil war with lend lease and volunteers?

 

[Bobby Shaftoe]

Is there any way, as Spain, to calm things down and avoid SCW? Or is it completely unavoidable?

 

[Mannstien]

Sounds great, Thanks Rufo /tips hat

Now: @podcat do you still have plans for a spy system in HOI4 (Maybe not at release)?

 

[grandad1982]

Not sure I said it befoer but the portraits are amazing. So much better than the photos of HoI3!