Hearts of Iron
Hearts of Iron (abbreviated HOI ) is a four-part series on World War II of resettled Global Strategy games that were previously for Windows , Linux and Mac OS X appeared. The developer Paradox Interactive also calls the genre Grand Strategy . The first part was released in North America in 2002 and in Europe in 2003, the next series parts were released in 2005 and 2009. The fourth part was released on June 6, 2016.
In the games, the player takes over one of over a hundred nations that existed at the time of the World War and leads them through the war.
Gameplay
The player takes over the whole nation and controls the economy, armaments, research, domestic and foreign policy and, very centrally, warfare. Almost all historical nations worldwide are playable, both the great powers (e.g. German Empire , USA , Soviet Union and Japan ) as well as smaller nations (e.g. Siam , New Zealand , Luxembourg and Bhutan ); Smallest states like Monaco , Andorra or the Vatican , however, do not appear in the game. For this you can also let areas that are colonies at the start of the game (from 1936) become independent (e.g. Nigeria , Iceland ).
The aim is to lead one's own power bloc (especially Comintern, Axis Powers or Allies) to victory through the Second World War by 1947 (in the expansions partly until the late 1950s). Many events occurring in the course of the game reproduce the historical course in political terms. However, the player always has unhistorical options to choose from, so that the question “What if?” Can be tried out and re-enacted (→ counterfactual story ). The complexity of the game and the differences in the starting positions make each starting position a different challenge.
control
The world map is shown in a top view . You can choose between different views, e.g. B. political, geographic and climatic map. The perspective can be zoomed, but not rotated.
The game runs almost in real time (actually in hourly steps) at a selectable speed, but can be paused at any time. All commands can also be given during the break. They are executed when the break has ended or at a predetermined later time.
It is controlled by mouse and keyboard .
Game modes
Single player
In single player mode the player takes over one nation and all other nations are taken over by the computer. Each country is calculated individually, alliances between player-controlled nation and computer-controlled nations are the rule. The computer-controlled nations are also at war with one another.
Multiplayer
In the multiplayer mode, several nations are taken over by players, but the gameplay does not change anything.
In Hearts of Iron II and IV , a cooperation mode is also possible, with which several players control a country together.
Since a multiplayer game can take a long time, regular game days are usually set up, each of which is played at certain times. Many multiplayer games last for weeks or even months. Game arrangements between the players are made in appropriate internet forums. Certain programs such as Teamspeak are often required for consultation during the game.
Parts
Hearts of Iron
| Hearts of Iron | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
 Paradox entertainment
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| Publisher |
Paradox Entertainment Koch Media
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
Windows November 24, 2002 February 13, 2003  |
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| platform | Windows , Mac | ||
| Game engine | Europe engine | ||
| genre | Real Time - Global Strategy Game | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | 1 CD | ||
| language | German English | ||
| Current version | 1.06c | ||
| Age rating |
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The game starts in either 1936, 1939, 1941 or 1944 and ends in late 1947 (unless you change this end date in the editor). The situation depends on the chosen entry point and on the chosen nation and, as far as possible, is based on the historical course of the war. This offers e.g. For example, for a player with the German Reich as a nation and starting in 1936, a completely different situation than when starting in 1944.
According to an article in the Chinese, English-language newspaper China Daily , the Chinese Ministry of Culture banned the game in May 2004 because it would distort history and damage China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Specifically, it was criticized that the game represented the disputed areas of Tibet , Manchuria and the western part of Xinjiang as independent states or provinces dependent on third parties. In addition, the game distorts historical facts when describing the fascist states of Japan, Germany and Italy during the Second World War.
On December 4, 2008, the developers announced that they were working on a mobile version of Hearts of Iron under the name Hearts of Iron Mobile . In October 2012, however, it was announced that the project had been discontinued.
Hearts of Iron II
| Hearts of Iron II | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
Paradox Interactive
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| Publisher |
Paradox Interactive Deep Silver
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
January 4, 2005 February 2, 2005 |
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| platform | Windows , Mac | ||
| Game engine | Europe engine | ||
| genre | Real Time - Global Strategy Game | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | 1 CD | ||
| language | German | ||
| Current version | 1.3b | ||
| Age rating |
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| Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Studio |
Paradox Interactive
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| Publisher |
Paradox Interactive
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
April 4, 2006 | ||
| platform | Windows , Mac | ||
| Game engine | Europe engine | ||
| genre | Real Time - Global Strategy Game | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Mouse , keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
|
||
| medium | 1 CD | ||
| language | German | ||
| Current version | 1.3b | ||
| Age rating |
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The gameplay of the sequel Hearts of Iron II (or Hearts of Iron 2 , abbreviated to HoI2 ) corresponds to the first version, but for a faster introduction, Hearts of Iron II contains many historical and fictional battle scenarios in which a small excerpt of the war (such as B. the way of Rommel's Africa Corps or the landing of the Allies in Normandy) can be re-enacted and other aspects of the game such as research and industry are hidden. You can also start the game in 1936, 1938 or during the war.
Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday
The official expansion of Paradox Interactive for HoI2 , Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday (abbreviated HoI2DD ) extends the course of the game until 1953. A new campaign that started with the end of World War II and - fictitiously - equal to a third world war between the 1945 USA and the Soviet Union starts, advanced technologies for the new years as well as many new events expand the gameplay of HoI2 known so far .
The most important innovation is the secret service menu, in which spies can be dispatched to spy out enemy research and productions and carry out risky missions such as sabotage , partisan support or even assassinations on ministers.
Another feature is the compatibility with the game " Victoria Revolutions ". "Victoria" depicts the period between 1836 and 1936. Thanks to the compatibility, endgames from "Victoria" can continue to be played with HoI.
Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday - Armageddon
At the beginning of April 2007 , Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday - Armageddon was released, initially only distributed via download portals, then sold individually and now included in Hearts of Iron: Anthology . This expansion contains two new scenarios and introduces small changes to the gameplay.
The two new scenarios each contain eight fictitious countries. One scenario represents an everyone-against-everyone mode: from the start, every country is in one of the three great alliances and at war with the other two coalitions; In the second scenario there is initially peace, but it is broken within a short time by the computer gamers.
The starting positions are similar, so each country has 12 infantry and three tank divisions, as well as a small fleet with two aircraft carriers and two battleships. Every country starts with 200 IC (industrial capacity) and the same technological starting positions. In fact, the starting position is not fully balanced, as some countries have significantly longer borders or very long coastlines. The game is also afflicted with countless bugs in the first release , which makes the version hardly playable. For example, raw material production is so low from the start that no country can maintain full industrial production after a few days.
The following things have changed in the game:
- You can now set whether, when countries are annexed , their tech teams are also taken over.
- You can now set whether or not conquered areas will maintain their full industrial production.
- Divisions can now be produced with affiliated brigades .
- There are now expansions such as improved air defense or radar for ships, which also allow older ships to be retrofitted.
The extension is only available for the English version. If you install it in the German version, the game starts, but the new functions have no description text, but this can be remedied manually by changing the language in the game to English.
Hearts of Iron: Anthology
At the end of August 2007, Hearts of Iron: Anthology was published , which contains Hearts of Iron , Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday and Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday - Armageddon entirely in German. In addition to the games, Hearts of Iron: Anthology also contains a strategy map of the world as well as a true-to-scale metal medal bearing the inscription "si vis pacem para bellum" ( If you want peace, prepare for war ).
editor
Starting with Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday , the game comes with an editor that should make it possible to create your own scenarios. In a mostly tabular view, it is theoretically possible to influence almost all aspects of the game. Research teams, commanders and the creation of your own scenarios and countries are in the foreground. Due to the inadequate technical implementation of the editor, however, it is hardly possible to work exclusively with the editor, as it can sometimes cause irreparable damage to the game files. Changes to the corresponding files can generally also be made with a text editor .
Modifications
There are various mods developed by the community for the game . The palette ranges from simple modifications that add some new content to the game to modifications that completely change the game.
The NFM mod is one of the most extensive mods for Hearts of Iron II . It contains a lot of new events and is freely available in versions for the German Empire, the USSR, Japan, Great Britain and the USA. The mod is designed for a game that stays close to historical reality.
The DAIM-Mod is also available in different versions - also together with NFM. It influences the tactics of the AI as well as the building behavior of most of the computer-controlled countries.
The Final 2 Mod is based on the Final 1 Mod for the original Hearts of Iron , the game begins as with this in 1934. In addition, balancing and the representation of raw material deposits and control are in the foreground as a reason for war or as war objectives. The mod was further developed until 2009 and to a version 1.3.
The Modern Day Scenario 2 -mod, which ported the game to the year 2003 on the eve of the attack on Iraq and shows the development of a Third World War with modern weapons, is also enjoying increased popularity .
In addition to those modifications that fundamentally change and expand the flow of the game, there are also a number of small modifications that only affect individual countries. Due to the structure and setup of the installation, it is also possible to adapt most of the graphics used in the game. There is also a large number of different extensions available for download.
Hearts of Iron III
The third part of the series, Hearts of Iron III ( HoI3 for short ), was released on August 11, 2009 in the USA and on August 28, 2009 in Germany. According to chief developer Johan Andersson, who is also responsible for the Europa Universalis series , the game should be designed to be "even more extensive, more complex and yet more accessible than its predecessor". The number of land and sea areas to be conquered has increased significantly. "Comfort functions" should be able to take over parts of the complex control; Instead of around 80, 150 states should play a role, and governments in exile should also be possible.
These goals were partially achieved, but partially undercut, for example in the only 100 playable states. Improved accessibility for beginners is also judged not to have been achieved. Game depth and complexity, however, were highly praised and the 100-page manual was found to be successful and necessary.
This was followed by the official extensions Semper Fi in June 2010, For the Motherland in June 2011 and Their Finest Hour in September 2012.
At the end of November 2011, the Hearts of Iron III: Collection was released , which contains Hearts of Iron III , all expansions and nine Sprite packs.
Hearts of Iron IV
In January 2014 Paradox Interactive announced the fourth part of the series, initially for the beginning of 2015. However, the company later stated in one of their developer diaries that it could not keep this point in time and postponed the release to the end of the second quarter of 2015. The game was finally released on June 6, 2016.
Web links
- heartsofirongame.com , Official Homepage
- Wikis to Hearts of Iron III and Hearts of Iron IV (English) on paradoxplaza.com
- Virtual Programming , Official Publisher of Hearts-of-Iron I-III for Mac OS
Individual evidence
- ↑ Announcement on the Paradox Interactive website: Paradox Interactive keeps the Grand Strategy genre in its iron grip with the much awaited announcement of Hearts of Iron 3 ( Memento of August 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). On: paradoxplaza.com , August 20, 2008.
- ↑ Hearts of Iron . On: gamestar.de , last accessed on August 29, 2009.
- ↑ Original wording : “ distorting history and damaging China's sovereignty and territorial integrity ” ( Swedish video game banned for harming China's sovereignty . In: China Daily. May 29, 2004).
- ↑ Original wording : “ Distorting historical facts in describing the Fascist regimes of Japan, Germany and Italy during World War II ” ( Swedish video game banned for harming China's sovereignty . In: China Daily. May 29, 2004).
- ↑ James Gilmour: HeroCraft confirms cancellation of Paradox's Hearts of Iron Mobile. October 5, 2012, accessed January 11, 2015 .
- ↑ a b Christian Schneider: Hearts of Iron 3 - Special # 1 . On: gamestar.de , March 4, 2009.
- ^ Christian Fritz Schneider: Hearts of Iron 3 - Special # 1 - Tactics, provinces and naval battles in detail. In: GameStar . Webedia , March 4, 2009, accessed June 6, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Martin Deppe: Hearts of Iron 3 Test (PC). In: GameStar . Webedia , August 25, 2009, accessed June 6, 2016 .
- ^ Christian Fritz Schneider: Hearts of Iron 3 - Special # 2. In: GameStar . Webedia , March 8, 2009, accessed June 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Sebastian Jäger: Hearts of Iron IV announced. In: Gamona . January 24, 2014, accessed June 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Developer Diary 12 Forum.Paradoxplaza.com, accessed March 8, 2015.
- ↑ Fabian Scherschel: Censored in Germany and with Geolock: Strategy game Hearts of Iron IV appears. In: Heise Online . Verlag Heinz Heise , June 6, 2016, accessed on June 6, 2016 .