Hearts Of Iron IV

Economy and "political power" Equipment is produced by military factories, while ships are built by dockyards. These military factories and dockyards are, in turn, constructed using civilian factories, which also construct a variety of other buildings, produce consumer goods for the civilian population, and oversee commerce with other nations. Most nations are initially forced to devote a significant number of their civilian factories to producing consumer goods, but as the nation becomes increasingly mobilized, more factories will be freed up for other purposes. Since the update coinciding with No Compromise, No Surrender, all factories need to be powered by coal, and power gain from coal can be influenced by technologies and other buildings in states such as dams or civilian nuclear power plants. With the expansion Arms Against Tyranny, the player can interact with the global arms market, as well as gain access to Military industrial organizations, which improve military equipment over time. Mobilization is represented as a "policy" that the player may adjust with the proper amount of political power, an abstract "resource" that is also used to appoint new ministers and change other facets of the nation's government. In addition to mobilization, there are other policies, including the nation's stance on conscription and commerce.[5] Military and combat A nation's military is divided between ground forces, naval forces, and aerial forces. For the ground forces, the player may train, customize, and command divisions consisting of various types of infantry, tanks, cavalry, motorized, mechanized, and militia. These divisions require equipment and manpower to fight properly. The navy and air force also require men and equipment, including the actual warships and warplanes that are used in combat. The tanks, airplanes, and boats could also be manually customized by the player. Land in Hearts of Iron IV is divided into tiny regions known as provinces (also called tiles), which are grouped to form states. Each state has a certain amount of shared and state building slots, both of which affect the whole state, while provinces have province building slots that only impact the individual province. Similarly, major seas and oceans (for warships) and the sky (for warplanes) are divided into different zones known as strategic regions. Sea regions and provinces each have a type of terrain and weather assigned to them that determines how well different types of units will perform in combat there. Air regions do not have terrain types but still have weather. Divisions are deployed in provinces and can capture enemy provinces and engage in combat. How well divisions perform in combat depends on various factors, such as the quality of their equipment, the weather, the type of terrain, the skill and traits of the general commanding the divisions, aerial combat in the region, supply lines, their organisation, how high their defense or attack - 'soft' or 'hard' - is, and supporting units. Technologies can be researched to improve equipment. Military doctrines can be upgraded by using army XP, among other things, which often means that a more technologically advanced nation will have an edge in combat. If a division (or a group of divisions) successfully overwhelms an enemy province, they may occupy it. Some provinces may have victory points, which can push a nation closer towards capitulation if occupied. Occupying key provinces within a state allows the occupying power to access the enemy's factories and natural resources in that state. Resistance to occupation within a state, which occurs when a nation does not have a 'core' on a controlled territory, can hamper the occupying power's control over it. Nations can develop nuclear bombs if they have the proper technology, which can be used to devastate enemy provinces and states.[6] Since the release of the update coinciding with Götterdämmerung, special projects have been added which require facilities to be constructed to allow for the pursuit of nuclear energy and weapons, as well as other technologies such as super heavy tanks, intercontinental bombers, or rockets. Military and combat A nation's military is divided between ground forces, naval forces, and aerial forces. For the ground forces, the player may train, customize, and command divisions consisting of various types of infantry, tanks, cavalry, motorized, mechanized, and militia. These divisions require equipment and manpower to fight properly. The navy and air force also require men and equipment, including the actual warships and warplanes that are used in combat. The tanks, airplanes, and boats could also be manually customized by the player. Land in Hearts of Iron IV is divided into tiny regions known as provinces (also called tiles), which are grouped to form states. Each state has a certain amount of shared and state building slots, both of which affect the whole state, while provinces have province building slots that only impact the individual province. Similarly, major seas and oceans (for warships) and the sky (for warplanes) are divided into different zones known as strategic regions. Sea regions and provinces each have a type of terrain and weather assigned to them that determines how well different types of units will perform in combat there. Air regions do not have terrain types but still have weather. Divisions are deployed in provinces and can capture enemy provinces and engage in combat. How well divisions perform in combat depends on various factors, such as the quality of their equipment, the weather, the type of terrain, the skill and traits of the general commanding the divisions, aerial combat in the region, supply lines, their organisation, how high their defense or attack - 'soft' or 'hard' - is, and supporting units. Technologies can be researched to improve equipment. Military doctrines can be upgraded by using army XP, among other things, which often means that a more technologically advanced nation will have an edge in combat. If a division (or a group of divisions) successfully overwhelms an enemy province, they may occupy it. Some provinces may have victory points, which can push a nation closer towards capitulation if occupied. Occupying key provinces within a state allows the occupying power to access the enemy's factories and natural resources in that state. Resistance to occupation within a state, which occurs when a nation does not have a 'core' on a controlled territory, can hamper the occupying power's control over it. Nations can develop nuclear bombs if they have the proper technology, which can be used to devastate enemy provinces and states.[6] Since the release of the update coinciding with Götterdämmerung, special projects have been added which require facilities to be constructed to allow for the pursuit of nuclear energy and weapons, as well as other technologies such as super heavy tanks, intercontinental bombers, or rockets.[7] Politics, diplomacy, and autonomy Hearts of Iron IV also attempts to recreate the complex diplomatic relationships of the day. Nations may undertake a variety of diplomatic actions; they may sign non-aggression pacts, guarantee the independence of other nations, and offer or request military access, amongst other things. Another key feature of diplomacy is the ability to create a faction or invite other nations to an existing one. Factions represent the main alliances of the era, like the Axis and Allies. For gameplay purposes, real-world factions like the Axis and Allies are split into numerous smaller factions, like the Comintern, the Chinese United Front, the American Commonwealth (who later joins the Allies), and the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. Faction members may assist each other in wars, making faction members precious assets. The expansion No Compromise, No Surrender introduced new faction mechanics in addition to the previous listed, such as faction goals, rules, research, military operations, intelligence, initiative, and influence.[8] Some more clandestine diplomatic actions are also available. For example, the player may justify war against other nations, spread their ideology abroad, or stage a coup. Countries in the game may be democratic, communist, fascist, or non-aligned. Each of the four ideologies has advantages and disadvantages; for example, fascist nations can go to war with other countries easily, but other nations are not as willing to trade with them. On the opposite end, democratic nations may find themselves difficulty in invading other countries, can guarantee the independence of any nation with greater ease. If a nation's ideology is democratic, it may hold elections which can allow for party popularity to shift or for new policies to be implemented without the use of political power. If a nation's ideology is non-aligned, then it can be several things such as monarchies, dictatorships, to anarchy. For example, if the German Reich opposes Hitler, it is possible to bring back the Kaiserreich (monarchy), which is non-aligned. Accordingly, if the anarchists stand triumphant in Spain's civil war, they are non-aligned as well. If a different ideology becomes too popular in a country, a referendum may be held that will peacefully convert the nation to the most popular ideology. Otherwise, ideologies may come to power violently through coups, civil wars, or forced subjugation by a foreign power.[9] The expansion Together for Victory introduced a new autonomy system[10] for subjects and their overlords which allow for overlords to decrease the autonomy of and annex their subjects, while subjects can increase their autonomy and become independent. This is influenced through a points system which can be affected by Lend-Lease, building in subject by overlord, national spirits, and more. Different autonomy types influence what bonuses the overlord gets from their subjects, such as factory percentage or extra trade. The autonomy system for most countries that aren't fascist include the following autonomy types: Free Dominion Colony Puppet Integrated Puppet Annexed Subsequent DLCs have added more autonomy types, such as Reichskommissariats, personal unions, EU member states, and warlord subjects. This diplomacy is further expanded through the addition of espionage in the expansion La Résistance, which extends gameplay in the management of occupied territories which is done differently according to player choices and ideology. Furthermore, the operation of spy networks allows nations to steal technology, gather information on an opponent's military, and engage in other espionage efforts.[11] Hearts of Iron IV also introduces the concept of "world tension", an abstract representation of how close the world is to global war, on a scale from 0 to 100. Aggressive actions by any nation can increase world tension, while peaceful actions can decrease it. Depending on the circumstances of a nation, like their ideology, a certain level of world tension may be necessary to perform certain actions, like justifying war against another country or sending volunteers to fight in wars.[ National focuses and spirits While Hearts of Iron IV does feature some scripted events, the game features a "national focus" system that makes fixed events less necessary than in previous installments in the series. Each country in the game has a "focus tree" with various "national focuses" that can achieve a variety of in-game effects, such as granting certain effects or triggering certain events. For example, for Germany to complete the national focus "Anschluss", Germany must first complete the previous focuses that branches down to the national focus. Meanwhile, other focuses can grant special bonuses, like faster research times for certain technologies or extra factories. While some bonuses (like extra factories) are very tangible, others (like improvements to morale) are more abstract. These abstract bonuses are represented by "national spirits" that can be temporary or permanent. Not all national spirits are granted by focuses, and not all spirits are entirely beneficial. Focuses are completed over time; only one focus may be worked on at once, and working on one consumes some political power. Initially, only a handful of key nations, like Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States, had unique focus trees; all other nations shared a generic one. Subsequent updates and DLCs have added focus trees to other nations as well. Events and decisions Country events are pop-ups that can be triggered by national focuses, decisions, and other events (visible or hidden). Each event gives the player several options to pick from, often granting either bonuses or negatives (such as selecting leaders in an election), while also sometimes being used as a notification (informing players that a civil war is about to begin, for example). News events are another feature that allow players to be notified when events of international significance occur. Decisions were a feature added in the update coinciding with Waking the Tiger[14] that allow players to select policies without using their national focus slot. They often cost political power, and can be used for actions such as propaganda, resource development, state integrations, country formations, and other national policies.