Long time PI player, wondering about this game

[Avindian]

Hi there!

I'm a big fan of PI games; I own EU 3, Vicky 2, HOI 3, Darkest Hour, and all of the relevant expansions. I've been hungry for a Cold War-era game, and I've got some extra holiday cash burning a hole in my pocket

However, I've heard the game isn't very accessible to a new player. Is that true? I'm willing to put some time in, of course, but if 10+ hours in I'm still clueless, I'm not sure how much I'd like it.

I also wanted to know the difference between Campaign and Sandbox mode; I know you can pick any country in the latter, but does the game still play similarly?

Lastly, are there any good AARs? That's what got me back into HOI 3 after I'd initially given up on it.

 

[Lithuanian2]

Avindian, since you already played other PI games, it should be fairly accessible to you without any tutorials. The learning curve is mostly difficult only for those who are new to more complex strategy games. AARs can be found in the battlegoats forums.

 

[Avindian]

Avindian, since you already played other PI games, it should be fairly accessible to you without any tutorials. The learning curve is mostly difficult only for those who are new to more complex strategy games. AARs can be found in the battlegoats forums.

That's a relief. Can you provide a link to their forums?

 

[Hundane]

http://www.bgforums.com/forums/

 

[Lithuanian2]

Also I recommend the "Modern World" mod. It's really great.

 

[George @ BattleGoat]

There are also some good video tutorials we've posted to Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL95F8F4073E696BE3&feature=plcp

And don't forget the manual, it's available as a PDF from the game menu, and covers the use of the game interface and the general concepts.

-- George.

 

[Avindian]

I will definitely take a look at the videos; just picked it up today, although I haven't had time to play it or read the manual yet.

 

[Avindian]

Played for a bit as South Africa; I'm focusing mostly on the economy for now, trying to increase oil production since I have some (I assume that the redder the field, the more stuff is in that particular area?). But I seem to be running some pretty high debt, and one of my highest costs is production costs. How do I decrease those?

I'm also totally lost on military units; what's good, what's bad, etc. The tooltips don't seem to be very helpful. As South Africa, I don't plan on much conquest, but I would like to know for future games.

EDIT: One more question; if Industrial Complexes are restricted to one hex, how can I build off shore oil platforms when the game won't let me build Oceanic Complexes there?

 

[Hundane]

(I assume that the redder the field, the more stuff is in that particular area?).

No, the bright redder the hex, the more facilities for that commodity you can put in it. Lt. Red=2 to Bright red= 6.

Production costs may be decreased by lowering the cost of raw materials, taxes, Techs and/or increasing spending in infrastructure.

I'm also totally lost on military units; what's good, what's bad, etc. The tooltips don't seem to be very helpful.

You double click a unit to see a Technical Readout or you can access it in the orders screen. It will give more information.

EDIT: One more question; if Industrial Complexes are restricted to one hex, how can I build off shore oil platforms when the game won't let me build Oceanic Complexes there?

Sounds like your trying to build in a sea zone with 0% supply or outside your territorial waters.

 

[Avindian]

Thanks for the answers; I didn't even think of checking the ocean supply. Looks like I built the Oceanic Complex for nothing

I like the manual, but it's a little skimpy (76 pages just seems to short for a game of this magnitude), and rather than clutter up this board with my inane questions, I wanted to get a link to that wiki some of you have mentioned, or if there's a longer/more complete manual, I'm all over that too.

EDIT: One more simple question. DAR; if it's too low (I'm at 38% right now), do I lose the game at the next election?

 

[Hundane]

There is a wiki link at the top of the Dev forums.

You can lose an election if your DAR is too low. Not sure how low is too low though, I would guess around 26%. If your MAR is high enough you can continue the game as a military dictatorship.

The manual mostly touches the basics. If you looking for more detailed information on specifics, the Dev forums will most likely have the answers. Most of the info will probally be in the SR2020 sections except for info covering the new features that came out with the release of CW.

I would suggest searching and reading the posts on that forum for any questions you have. You can also ask on that on forum and more than likely a forum member will answer or at provide a link to a thread with the answer.

 

[Avindian]

There is a wiki link at the top of the Dev forums.

You can lose an election if your DAR is too low. Not sure how low is too low though, I would guess around 26%. If your MAR is high enough you can continue the game as a military dictatorship.

The manual mostly touches the basics. If you looking for more detailed information on specifics, the Dev forums will most likely have the answers. Most of the info will probally be in the SR2020 sections except for info covering the new features that came out with the release of CW.

I would suggest searching and reading the posts on that forum for any questions you have. You can also ask on that on forum and more than likely a forum member will answer or at provide a link to a thread with the answer.

Very helpful! How similar are the two games? (2020 and CW).

 

[Hundane]

I thought there was a thread on this somewhere but I couldnt find it. So here goes.


They are similiar in areas but also different in those same areas. Hexes same size, map same (different regions/colonies are new). Supply model works the same. Same Commodities. Research works kinda the same way. Same types but instead of Tech levels theres Era Techs and more Pre-Reqs and more non tradeable Techs. Combat works the same until your dealing with Proxy Wars , Strategic Targeting Pool, Theatre and Battlezones which are all new stuffs. Also incursions are handled differently in CW than in SR2020. Diplomacy is basically the same but theres been some tweaks to the effects on relations with others (3rd parties). Some new facilities been added. New units, New Techs. New spy mission Assassinate but the rest are the same as SR2020. Minister Priorities work the same way but are grouped. GUI is totally different. Alert system instead of Emails. Finance area is all the same stuff as far as tax types and social spending areas. Same game options (iirc, shere, space race is new). Funding Insurgencies, Liberate/Annex/Colonize region are new features in Cold War. Im sure I missed alot of stuffs......

 

[Avindian]

Okay. Never heard of the series before I came here, so it's good to know that there's somewhere to go.

One last question (at least for now! Thanks everyone for being so helpful!): If a minister has two directly conflicting priorities, which will he/she choose?

 

[Hundane]

If a minister has two directly conflicting priorities, which will he/she choose?

Your minister wont have conflicting priorities.

 

[Avindian]

Your minister wont have conflicting priorities.

Let's say I choose both import and export as priorities that I set for my minister (just for the sake of argument). How would the AI handle that?

 

[Balthagor]

He will try and do both things you've asked him making him less than efficient at either task.

 

[Avindian]

He will try and do both things you've asked him making him less than efficient at either task.

That makes sense, then.