Hearts of Iron 3 Help

[cric]

So I bought HoI 2 Doomsday and really loved it, so I decided to pick up the third after playing with doomsday for a while. I found that it has neat things here and there, but it is also a lot more frustrating. I have a couple of questions if anyone knows the answer.

Why can't I group a bunch of divisions together to make an army with say 20 divisions in it, I used to do it all the time in HoI 2?

Do units have to be the exact same unit type to group them or can they be different units, but they are all still land units?

Can the game go on for longer even if someone has already won like in R:TW?

Is their anyway to increase production speed and/or building speed?

I will probably have more questions in the future but for now it would be helpful if someone could answer these.

 

[Ebin]

Well it is a bit more complicated to do this in Rome:Total war. However I believe it is the same as the other EU games in that you goto [game]->Commons and find the file called "Defines". Set the end date to whatever suits your fancy.

 

[cric]

Well thank you that helps a lot.

 

[Jhessail]

Read the manual. Then read the starter's guide.  The game is significantly more complex than HoI2. It might not be your cup of tea, on the other hand, if you get a handle on it, it's a great "gatewaydrug" into even more "serious" strategy games 

1)

Why can't I group a bunch of divisions together to make an army with say 20 divisions in it

Following normal military procedure, you group a bunch of brigades together to form a division, then group a bunch of divisions together to form corps, then group bunch of corps together to form army, then group bunch of armies together to create army groups and finally group bunch of army groups together to form a theater.

2-5xBrigade=Division, 1-5xDivisions=Corps, 1-5xCorps=Army, 1-5xArmy=ArmyGroup and Theaters can have endless amount of units under them. To maximize various leader bonuses, you want to follow this structure as much as possible. Read the manual for the exact bonuses, plus there's a guide on Hoi3 forum at paradoxplaza.com

You CAN group a bunch of divisions together and order them to attack the same province by dragging mouse around them, you just cannot group 20 of them together permanently.

2)

Do units have to be the exact same unit type to group them or can they be different units, but they are all still land units?

As long as all are either land, sea or air, the exact unit type doesn't matter. Of course, with land units you usually want to preserve Combined Arms bonus but, that's a voluntary decision, the game doesn't force you.

3)

Can the game go on for longer even if someone has already won like in R:TW?

There is no "YOU WON, GAME ENDS" in HoI3, just as there isn't such things in any Paradox games (the big titles, at least). Even if you conquest the whole world, the game doesn't suddenly end there. When time runs out, you are presented with the Victory Points screen and that's that. The point is to make your own goals in the beginning.

4)

Is their anyway to increase production speed and/or building speed?

There are technologies to research which increase this somewhat. Also, when building something in a province, the infrastructure affects the building speed.

Hope that helps!

 

[cric]

Jhessail you are a life saver. Hopefully I can get this right.

 

[jasonxfri13th]

Semper fi makes grouping units go from an hour job for countries like Germany to an easy 15 minute job.

I still think HOI2's unit grouping is much better.

 

[Jhessail]

I still think HOI2's unit grouping is much better.

It is much more simpler and straight-forward but it doesn't emulate/simulate real chain of command at all.

 

[jasonxfri13th]

I still think HOI2's unit grouping is much better.

It is much more simpler and straight-forward but it doesn't emulate/simulate real chain of command at all.

Yeah true, but I don't think the whole chain of command structure makes the game any better. It makes the game seem more realistic, but the chain of command really doesn't affect gameplay that much other than making things a whole lot more complicated.
If I could set my HQ units to a special AI that made them auto follow my units I would be fine, but I always have to move my HQ to make sure they are in range.

 

[cric]

Yes it doen't seem to be working. I produce one division with 5 brigades in it, and that is all I can do. I can't group anything else together, I can group airrplanes and boats but no troops.

 

[jasonxfri13th]

Yes it doen't seem to be working. I produce one division with 5 brigades in it, and that is all I can do. I can't group anything else together, I can group airrplanes and boats but no troops.

You can't in HOI3 which is what we have been saying.

You have to create HQ units (theres a button when you have a division selected) and it will create a corps HQ. Then from that HQ unit you can make an army HQ, from that an army group HQ, and so on. It is extremely complicated and I suggest reading about how it works. If you play as a major nation be prepared to sit down and manage your army for a good hour before the war, which is why semper fi is a massive help.

 

[Jhessail]

All hope is lost if the HQ-system in HoI3 is "extremely complicated" 

but the chain of command really doesn't affect gameplay that much other than making things a whole lot more complicated.

What are you smoking?

1. Bonuses to combat efficiency
2. Bonuses to combat-events
3. Bonuses to supply required
4. Bonuses to reinforcement
5. Bonuses to stacking penalty

http://www.paradoxian.org/hoi3wiki/Command_structure

The game has some flaws, I'm not denying that.

 

[The Shadow]

If you want more simplicity, pick up the Semper Fidelis expansion.  It supposedly gives an option for simpler supply chains, etc. 

 

[jasonxfri13th]

If you want more simplicity, pick up the Semper Fidelis expansion.  It supposedly gives an option for simpler supply chains, etc.

It only adds an easy in game way to manage your army. Basically it shows a tree of your army on the right like the one in the top right corner, except more detailed and you can drag divisions and HQs around, but saves a ton of time.

All hope is lost if the HQ-system in HoI3 is "extremely complicated" 

but the chain of command really doesn't affect gameplay that much other than making things a whole lot more complicated.

What are you smoking?

1. Bonuses to combat efficiency
2. Bonuses to combat-events
3. Bonuses to supply required
4. Bonuses to reinforcement
5. Bonuses to stacking penalty

http://www.paradoxian.org/hoi3wiki/Command_structure

The game has some flaws, I'm not denying that.

I know about all of those bonuses, but the improvements are so minor from them and the effort needed to make sure the right commanders are in the right spot is not worth it.
If you look at the % improvements it is so minor that unless you really focus in one of the areas above it won't help much. I am not saying it doesn't help at all, but the reward you get for doing it isn't great.

Why is all hope lost? It is very complicated. How else would you have tons of people complaining about it and threads identical to this one?
Sure once you understand how it works, and I did know the bonuses you mention above, it makes sense, but is still a waste of time. I am one of the many people who would rather use the HOI2 system even though it is less realistic. People don't like to read through the manuals and read wikis to find out how the command structure works, but in HOI3 you have to which makes it complicated. I am one of those people who reads through everything, but a lot of people don't and make these threads which there are a ton of in the HOI3 forums.

Now with Semper fi and after understanding how it works I do think it is a pretty realistic and cool system, but the quick and easy way in HOI2 still is my favorite. In HOI3 I end up turning on AI control a lot because moving divisions is a lot harder because of the HQ system because I can't click and get a group of 9 divisions. I have to always make sure they are in the same corps and so on, so everything takes just a little longer.

 

[Vulkan]

If someone thinks it is too complicated if they have to actually read how to do it first, than I don't think HoI 3 is the game for them.

Many people actually like the complexity.

 

[vadermath]

Haven't played much in the way of videogames in the last 2 months, but if you think HOI3 is too complex, you could always try Arsenal of Democracy.

It's a much improved version of HOI2, and for someone who thinks HOI3 is too much of a chore to play (like myself, personally), it fits the gap between HOI2 and HOI3 perfectly.

 

[Almalexia]

Ooooooooooh goooooooood I'm being blitzed by France in 1939! What do I do!?!?

 

[Almalexia]

Okay, evidently France attacking Germany in 1939 breaks the game, as for a while there I couldn't start the game without some odd graphics error popping up. 

 

[Temuzu]

I saw a post at the Paradox forums where some guy, apparently an veteran player, almost got screwed sideways by the French, as the combined arms of France, Britain, Belgium and Canada broke trough his line.

 

[Almalexia]

I saw a post at the Paradox forums where some guy, apparently an veteran player, almost got screwed sideways by the French, as the combined arms of France, Britain, Belgium and Canada broke trough his line.

Well that's what happening here! They got armored divisions poised for a breakthrough on my thin line of divisions on the Western Border. The rest of my army was poised on the Polish border, before I began retreating to the West to fend off the French. Then I realized the Poles were already with the Allies, when they attacked one of my columns heading west.

**** I hate two theater wars.

 

[The Shadow]

I need to get this game.