Arsenal of Democracy (Hearts of Iron 2 spin-off)

I'm sure news of this has been posted here, and I've seen others mention it, but a search reveals no threads. That gives me a free pass right?

When this game was first announced, my initial reaction was puzzlement and mild interest at best. I don't like playing the role of Allied nations in WWII, so the very title was a turn-off. I then learned that it was game developed by a group who had obtained a licence from Paradox to use the Hearts of Iron II engine.  Okay I thought, I really have liked some of the major mods, but when I saw the promoted features list, nothing immediately hit me as a killer app, except potentially the mention of a reworked and challenging AI.

However, I've really been bowled over after reading the developer diaries that have now been posted, and have gone from mild interest to very eager anticipation for this game. To share with you why, below are some taster picks of my own from the developer diaries from my perspective, along with a link to a thread from which you can access all of them (9 so far)

From Dev Diary #5 - Logistics, ESE and Carried Supplies - 8.October 2009

- Supplies are now carried together with a unit
- Each Division carries supplies & oil for about 30 days
- Carried stock is destroyable by air interdiction
- Land units caught in a pocket will not be able to sustain any more than a weeks worth of fighting



From Dev Diary #6 -Production & Buildings - 15.October 2009

- You can now lengthen and shorten serial builds
- For every new Production Line you start and open up,you now have a minimum retooling time of 90 days
- You can also now upgrade production lines, e.g. you have that Panzer.II line now running for 2 years and you already have that 30% gearing bonus but now you want to switch to Panzer III
- For Emergency Production runs we created a new feat called rapid production



From Dev Diary #8 - Naval Combat - 29.October 2009

- Added a new unit class, called heavy subs. They are buildable around 1939-40, and try to model the large Japanese submarines
- New brigades: from Heavy-Artillery Secondary Armament, Reconnaissance Planes up to Smoke Launchers and Camouflage Equipment for low Visibility
- The combat mechanics have been tweaked to eliminate and/or avoid the known exploits, like “fleet-beaming” or “transporter blocking.”
- So now even a fleet of 30DDs (Destroyers) with their machine gun will not make a big dent in the armor of a SHBB (Super Heavy Battleship)

From Dev Diary #9 - Air Combat - 5.November 2009

- Air superiority has become a much more important aspect of the game
- Radar stations dispersed among one’s own territory are now linked together in an invisible network to guide Planes on Air Superiority Missions towards enemy bomber and fighter groups
- Radar now directly improves the effectiveness of AntiAir
- You are now able to select for all missions the scale of operation, e.g. be it a single province, an area or a region.




Link to all developer diaries: http://forum.paradoxpla.../showthread.php?t=436808

For the Glory - a similar treatment of EUII, released next week, btw. I'm all for the fans putting money where their mouth is in building a "better, more bug free" Paradox release. I'm particularly happy that For the Glory, and probably Arsenal of Democracy, will support 1440x900 (and higher) resolutions. Actually, if they had done this officially for Hearts of Iron II, I wouldn't have even thought about buying HoI3, as resolution was pretty much my only beef with HoI2.

I'm predicting good things for Arsenal - I'll be supporting it!

SoM

Son_of_Montfort

Pick up some Latin, Gus, and you can get a free ride on the crazy train if you keep hanging with Son_of_Montfort.
-- LongBlade

This is good news, that Paradox allowed the community to use the engine to create something new. I'm just wondering since I own EU II and have the 1.09 patch if I should look at getting For The Glory.

"It's the Inquisition, they suspect everyone of Heresy"- Force Commander (Dawn of War)

Thanks Svend!!  I've heard about the release but have been too busy and lazy to look on the Pdox forums to see what it was all about.  I'm pretty fired up about it now!

"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing." 

-Optimus Prime

- You are now able to select for all missions the scale of operation, e.g. be it a single province, an area or a region.

This alone is worth the asking price.

Don't Care What The Governments Say
They're All Bought And Paid For Anyway

Sun Green

Reich36


This is good news, that Paradox allowed the community to use the engine to create something new. I'm just wondering since I own EU II and have the 1.09 patch if I should look at getting For The Glory.

Does the 1.09 patch upgrade the resolution choices, just curious?

I would say - probably so. They have built a whole new "mod-friendly" architecture and UI which allows for activating and deactivating mods from within the game (I believe, but at least it is a dialogue box and not "install two copies, mod one"). They also say that they have cleaned up the map and UI, added several thousand historical events, made combat more realistic and tweaked a host of other things, while cleaning up the database. Supposedly, the majority of the project is based on possible future potential - that the game databases are wide open and modders will flock to it to improve the game.

I have EUIII but always felt a soft spot for EUII - it had "something" that I missed in EUIII (although this got better with the EUIII expansions). I am also looking forward to Heir to the Throne, the EUIII <final?> expansion, so I hope that release goes well. The new Causi Belli system sounds EXCELLENT.

BTW: here is a screen of the new mod selection interface within the game:

Son_of_Montfort

Pick up some Latin, Gus, and you can get a free ride on the crazy train if you keep hanging with Son_of_Montfort.
-- LongBlade

Thanks Som. I'll put it on my wishlist.

"It's the Inquisition, they suspect everyone of Heresy"- Force Commander (Dawn of War)

Here's the latest Dev Diary.... (wipes drool from face)

Today I will talk about the changes we made in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

First of all, let me assure you that we changed a lot regarding the actual execution and calculation of the AI code. We implemented new algorithms that now allow for faster and more efficient resource usage then in previous HoI versions. Actual optimization in the code also affects the strategic level the AI is now able to handle. For larger countries as the US, it now actually tries to keep an eye on the big picture e.g. the pacific and European campaign are no more seen as independent theatres versus multiple enemies but as different fronts against a unified enemy (in this case, the Axis powers). According to this, it now tries
To distribute forces more efficient.

Also AI on an operative scale vastly improved. You are now more likely to run into encirclements or into the risk of getting massively bombed without decent matching air coverage. The AI now proves to be a real tough competition in all areas of the game. 
In Land Combat it switches and moves its troops efficiently from reserve positions back and forth to the front line to provide a stable defence line against your attacks. It lays traps in terms of small bad defended gaps in the frontline to lure you away from your original plans and into unfavourable positions – from which it strikes hard at your forces and gives you unexpected resistance.

We have improved the general AI interface of Ground and Air coordination on a massive scale. Air Forces now have a more important impact on the AI strategy at a whole and the AI themselve tends to use them more and also in a slightly smarter and efficient way. 

The Garrison AI has also been vastly remodelled. It now tries to optimise the occupation process itself. It processes an intelligent distribution of minimal troops for a maximum effect e.g. best suppression and defence of key provinces and victory points.

On the maritime side, the Naval AI tends to create more efficient fleet combinations for the different tasks it faces. It will create large fleet concentrations by itself with an emphasize on battleships for invasions, depending on resources and doctrines carrier fleets for sea dominance, and for transport, screening, convoy or ASW missions small flexible task forces. The overall coordination between the various fleets of a country has been greatly optimised.

The AI system and files itself can be edited and modified by a mix of static values and dynamic rules.

I hope I could give you a small insight into AoD’s AI system. Stay tuned for next week’s DD when I will introduce you into the aspect of modability and National Ideas. 

"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing." 

-Optimus Prime

Yep, this latest Dev Diary is by far the one that, if it speaks truth, will be the killer feature.

Of course, I am still waiting for Dev Diary X: Bucketloads of Sprites, Sprites for Everyone, Sprites for Everything.

Hopefully that is up soon.