Questions on Hearts of Iron 3
 

So, I was wondering who owns Hearts of Iron 3?? I am looking at picking it up on Steam should it go on sale. It to me looks like a much more in depth game of say Axis and Allies which I would like. I have Civ 5 and quite enjoyed it for a bit but it is a bit of a different beast, so before I purchase I would like some good information on it besides what I have just only read. Thanks for the help in advance!:salute:

Own it, yes. Quite enjoyed the little I played of it solo, but MP games never materialized so I can't tell you all that much about it. :(

Coming from HOI2 it's very confusing, the basics are similar but there's a lot of difference. Still waiting for an MP game so Raptor can show me the ropes since the game tutorials are a tad lacking.

It's decent. Not my cup of tea as far as Paradox titles go, but I appreciate it as a game and am sure that those more inclined on World War 2 grand strategy like it.

I never found the balance between playing a minor power and not having almost anything to do and playing a major power and having too much to do. Also I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of choices as far as politics went, but otherwise no huge complaints.

Some good mods for it and DLCs. I really had a lot of fun with it playing solo. Of the few MP games I've had, I can say that they are really fun if you can get equal sides of major countries. However the difference between playing a Major and a Minor is huge compared to what it was in HOI2.

AI is still a little bit buggy (as of TFH) but you can get some decent games with it.

You should download the demo! :03:

An excellent game with a steep learning curve, I suggest ICE mod & check out this guy's tutorials (FTM):

http://www.youtube.com/user/surray01

It is a lot to take in initially but get to grips with one aspect at a time then gradually disable AI control.

H.T.

Can you play this ok as a standalone game, ie not need previous 1 or 2.

Yes, you can play it just fine without having played the other games. That said, Hearts of Iron 3 in particular is pretty complicated so it's probably harder to start out in if you haven't played HoI2.

If you do that, just note that the demo is based on the first release version of the game, which (as usual for Paradox games) wasn't in terribly good condition. The latest version of the game with all the expansions (which you really should get if you want to play HoI3) not only has a ton of improvements over that version but also runs much, much better.

Thanks for the info Raptor.

It is a great game, especially if you are looking to waste and hour or two you can just load up your save and play away. The new expansions add a lot of really cool content to the game as well, such as the theaters and the lend-lease system. Well worth the money I think.

I got it just for being able to draw those fancy big arrows across the map. :oops:

Oh yeah the battle plan is great. Wait till you try it in multiplayer when you and your allies make plans together and you will have multi coloured arrows going in every direction! I generally don't even know what the plan it, but it looks fancy! :D

I own HoI 3 as well with some 500+ hours on it, although I must admit it was down right confusing when I first tried it probably didn't help that I decided to skip to tutorial and go straight to playing but what ever. As for mods I would recommend DiDay's ICE mod like Herr Trigger said or Black ICE which is for the newest version of HoI 3 called "Their Finest Hour".

I personally think that skipping the tutorials and jumping into the deep end so to speak is the best way to learn Hearts of Iron 3. The tutorials are just terrible and will make you more confused then you already are.

Not to mention the awkward "Heehee, you're being tutored by Hitler" -joke and the tutorials consisting of gems of infinite wisdom, saying about as much as: "this tab here is espionage. Espionage exists in Hearts of Iron 3. Okay, this tab here is the economy. Economy exists in Hearts of Iron 3. Okay, this tab here is..."

I remember when it came out first, and there was a tutorial about amphibious attacks. You played as the US and it was the island hopping setting. You start off and it tells you some of the basics, which alright, then it was like "Load your Marines onto the transport and move them to Island 'A' to continue the tutorial" But the the problem was.. It didn't tell me how to load troops onto transports, so after about two hours of looking around I finally gave up.. It was ridiculous. I almost gave up on the game until I started a single player campaign and just messed around with it until I had gotten the hang of things.

Just picked up a copy. It reminds me of a slightly more complex version of the boardgame Third Reich by Avalon Hill. Will have to settle down for some hours to lean the system, but having played some other Paradox titles the interface is pretty similar, but quite different mechanics around what options you have.