Thank you so much for doing this and sticking with it. I have been a long time HOI admirer but could rarely complete a game as I would get lost. As a parent of small kids, I don't have the time to dig deep into game mechanics as only get to play a few hours per month, but this series has really given me hours and hours of enjoyment these last few weeks. Thank you so so much, really enjoyed this. You are a great teacher and would love to grab a pint some day! This is one of my first time ever doing a Super Thanks but so so worth it, and I hope it encourages you to keep going!
Wow! You're far too kind... It means a lot to me to find out you've enjoyed the series to this extent. I hope despite being a good parent to your children, you can still find a little time to take over the world... At least sometimes! You've given really generous here, it is by far the biggest donation I've ever had, and although I don't go asking for them, it's a nice, unexpected suprise to see such a notification. Thanks again, and do leave us a question if you stumble into any issues. I've had a cold the last week or 2 that's finally on its way out, and I'm looking forward to continue, especially with the positive feedback I've received. Cheers!
@@gameswithbrains good luck with this! Super Thanks comes out to less than a coffee per episode so far! Keep it up, and I look forward to what else you do on this channel with Games with brains!
The Demand Sudetenland hits home for me. My grandpa’s family moved to that region after Germany took it back and he was born in 1941 in that region right across from Poland. After the war the Czech’s kicked them and every German out and they eventually settled in Würzburg in 1950. It’s pretty crazy and weird playing a game that had such a big impact on my family.
Hey thanks for going the distance on these tutorials! There isn't anything more comprehensive than what your channel is doing for HOI4. Hours and hours in while learning the ropes this channel is up and running on a second monitor every single time. Thank you very much!
I would imagine the special forces limit that the game imposes is designed to reflect the fact that out of all the men available to any given nation only a small amount would be capable at operating at an elite level. Think about how many people would be capable of becoming a Navy Seal or SAS operative. There are qualities required that most men don't posses, nor could they even hope to. No amount of training could ever be enough.
Note in September 2024 : I have all DLC installed, but none of them are active for this series. I've been trying to upgrade my gerbils-brigade to the Austrian version, but for some reason the Alpensbrigade is not a valid selection. It is not decommissioned (gebirtsbrigade is), but it's not coming in the listing. I would suppose a patch changed that recently. Or something is definitely wrong with my game.
you read my mind. at the end of this video i said to myself, what happened to Czechoslovakia? good to see that we aren't missing that opportunity. great series.
It says research 100% faster, not reduce the research duration by a 100%. If you do something 100% faster, that's double the speed, but it doesn't mean that it happens instantly (say you go at a speed of 50 mp/h, 100% of that is also 50 mp/h so that only makes 100 mp/h, not infinite speed). Doing something at double the speed just means it will take half the time to do it, so that's why it results in a 50% reduction. It's a matter of wording, you have to differentiate between duration and speed. Speed also modifies the duration, but at a different rate. Same logic with prices, if you get a 100% discount on something, that makes it free. But if instead you earn 100% more money, that doesn't mean that everything is free for you, it just makes it (50%) easier for you to buy stuff.
In my case Austria has already revised the mountaineer brigade twice and it now is much larger with 8 mountaineer divisions, 1 artillery division, 1 artillery support company and 1 engineer company.
Long time player coming back to the game and your guide is very well made, I am learning many new things. One area I think needs more focus is the army planning and it's importance and bonuses when your general is ready with it's plan. Also templates while explained require much more to become optimal with a larger combat width of 35 etc. I am complementing these aspects with dedicated tutorials I found but you may consider adding it to your walkthrough. Maybe you plan to and I didn't get to it yet which is obviously ok :-) Last, I join the request for dedicated additional layers coming with the DLCs, so will wait for that. Thanks again for this awesome series!
Yes you raise hugely important issues, trying to do step by step, and the next episode (18) I intend to focus more carefully on some of the combat stats, as last episode, were just basics of combat. Thanks for the tip, I might have missed it
Spanish civil war still in full swing for me. Had to weigh up the fuel cost of the tanks and the surface ship training so a little stuck but hopefully not an issue
I strayed a bit off track from the play through but am getting ready for Poland based on what you show! I got this game years ago but gave up on playing it because it was so in depth and hard to figure out on your own. Thanks so much for the step by step play through for noobs like me!
Great series, have had this game in my library for years but first after following your guides I managed to get through the hurdle of learning this game.
I can tell right now that my biggest problem in the game will be remembering the key combinations. It will definitely take some time 2 commit them to memory. So it will be going back thru and writing them down for a quick reference. Again thank you for all your help by making these tutorials. I would not have been able to enjoy this game or play it to its fullest potential with out them.
Special Forces are more specialized divisions, Mountaineers of course fight better in mountainous terrain, putting them on a plain, just like Marines strength is invasion by ship. Tanks are hindered by mountains or forest. You should always assign your units to where they can use their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Tanks better in plains and deserts for instance so be choosy in where you pick to attack with them.
This would be leaning towards (what I would call) a perfect play style. While it's the most effective way to play, I find it very micro intensive. I typically try to overcome these difficulties with some other tactics (for example encouraging enemy divisions out, to encircle them before advancing into unfavorable terrain). That said, I've noticed with all the DLC enabled, HOI4 has gradually penalised me more and more, for being lazy in this regard. At some point, I'm gonna have to follow your advice, or no longer be able to win.
Really like the tutorial, I must have done something odd in that Spain hasn't finished their civil war yet. So I'm not sure if I should pull Rommel or let it go to completion first. Hope by end of this episode I will know how behind I really am.
There's always a degree of randomness, don't worry about it, just continue with everything else as best as - you're not far away from being able to grab the updated Savegames if needed.
I have deviated a bit from how you're playing but i try to do the same events. Really looking forward to how you tackle the start of the war!Also i've taken a dabble in artillery research under the tanks. Saw its only 35 days and now im making some for the future. I hope i havent missed it, bit i would love some info on how to modify the templates with stuff like artillery and tankhunter manpower. Would you mix it with medium tanks and replace arty support with logistics? Maybe put them with some infantry for more soft attack? Would love some more info on how to shape the army!
I think you should have changed the trading to no exports before you started training the surface ships. So you would have more oil/fuel for it. Love your tutorial by the way!
Still like your breakdown and explaining method it is awesome. Another question is like on your military high command since you had Rommel fighting in Spain why didn't you make it more a priority to hire him first which gave an immediate extra bonus to his tanks that were already in battle rather than make him one of the last high command you hired behind others that bonus's would not really help until war broke out?
Yep - Rommel as advisor, for the Spanish conflict, would have increased the effectiveness of those panzer divisions - there were couple reasons I didn't play this way. 1) Rommel required the Army Innovations Focus Tree be complete, before he's available as an advisor - I went heavier on other parts of the tree. 2) While a "normal war" would definitely want this additional bonus, the Spanish conflict is also important for gaining XP, so having a less than perfect setup, that lasts longer, results in more XP overall - at least that was my plan. I've also tried improving the panzer divisions (extra truck + panzer ) and found they really shorten the conflict and by result, I opted to choose this method for the tutorial. There's no right answer though, so I encourage people to try it different, on different play throughs. Good question, cheers
@@gameswithbrains Actually what makes me keep at it trying to get better with this game is there is so many different ways to attempt to do things. I actually do the Army innovations early as I am trying to drop a research bonus down another level to get more value out of the bonus time wise and it does open up Rommel as well. I have gone back to vanilla to get better at the mechanics but I can see where things are different and need to be approached differently when the DLC'S are on.
Thank you so much for doing this and sticking with it. I have been a long time HOI admirer but could rarely complete a game as I would get lost. As a parent of small kids, I don't have the time to dig deep into game mechanics as only get to play a few hours per month, but this series has really given me hours and hours of enjoyment these last few weeks. Thank you so so much, really enjoyed this. You are a great teacher and would love to grab a pint some day! This is one of my first time ever doing a Super Thanks but so so worth it, and I hope it encourages you to keep going!
Wow! You're far too kind...
It means a lot to me to find out you've enjoyed the series to this extent.
I hope despite being a good parent to your children, you can still find a little time to take over the world... At least sometimes!
You've given really generous here, it is by far the biggest donation I've ever had, and although I don't go asking for them, it's a nice, unexpected suprise to see such a notification.
Thanks again, and do leave us a question if you stumble into any issues. I've had a cold the last week or 2 that's finally on its way out, and I'm looking forward to continue, especially with the positive feedback I've received.
Cheers!
@@gameswithbrains good luck with this! Super Thanks comes out to less than a coffee per episode so far! Keep it up, and I look forward to what else you do on this channel with Games with brains!
I have to admit that this series is the best tutorial for HoI4 ever :)
Couldn't agree more
The Demand Sudetenland hits home for me. My grandpa’s family moved to that region after Germany took it back and he was born in 1941 in that region right across from Poland. After the war the Czech’s kicked them and every German out and they eventually settled in Würzburg in 1950. It’s pretty crazy and weird playing a game that had such a big impact on my family.
Hey thanks for going the distance on these tutorials! There isn't anything more comprehensive than what your channel is doing for HOI4. Hours and hours in while learning the ropes this channel is up and running on a second monitor every single time. Thank you very much!
I would imagine the special forces limit that the game imposes is designed to reflect the fact that out of all the men available to any given nation only a small amount would be capable at operating at an elite level. Think about how many people would be capable of becoming a Navy Seal or SAS operative. There are qualities required that most men don't posses, nor could they even hope to. No amount of training could ever be enough.
Note in September 2024 : I have all DLC installed, but none of them are active for this series. I've been trying to upgrade my gerbils-brigade to the Austrian version, but for some reason the Alpensbrigade is not a valid selection. It is not decommissioned (gebirtsbrigade is), but it's not coming in the listing. I would suppose a patch changed that recently. Or something is definitely wrong with my game.
you read my mind. at the end of this video i said to myself, what happened to Czechoslovakia? good to see that we aren't missing that opportunity. great series.
Thanks a lot for this series! Have been watching for 15 episodes now, its really helpful to have someone explain everything while I'm following along.
I appreciate very much you left a comment. Means a lot getting them, knowing it's helped people like you.
It says research 100% faster, not reduce the research duration by a 100%. If you do something 100% faster, that's double the speed, but it doesn't mean that it happens instantly (say you go at a speed of 50 mp/h, 100% of that is also 50 mp/h so that only makes 100 mp/h, not infinite speed). Doing something at double the speed just means it will take half the time to do it, so that's why it results in a 50% reduction.
It's a matter of wording, you have to differentiate between duration and speed. Speed also modifies the duration, but at a different rate.
Same logic with prices, if you get a 100% discount on something, that makes it free. But if instead you earn 100% more money, that doesn't mean that everything is free for you, it just makes it (50%) easier for you to buy stuff.
Ah - thanks for clearing this up. I will give this a brief mention in the next video - cheers
In my case Austria has already revised the mountaineer brigade twice and it now is much larger with 8 mountaineer divisions, 1 artillery division, 1 artillery support company and 1 engineer company.
Forever greatly for this series la. You are an absolute legend. Can’t wait to be able to start my own journey without tutorial. 😊❤
Long time player coming back to the game and your guide is very well made, I am learning many new things. One area I think needs more focus is the army planning and it's importance and bonuses when your general is ready with it's plan. Also templates while explained require much more to become optimal with a larger combat width of 35 etc. I am complementing these aspects with dedicated tutorials I found but you may consider adding it to your walkthrough. Maybe you plan to and I didn't get to it yet which is obviously ok :-) Last, I join the request for dedicated additional layers coming with the DLCs, so will wait for that. Thanks again for this awesome series!
I just now see that you're addressing the plan bonuses on chapter 17, so sorry for jumping ahead of time. Great stuff.
Yes you raise hugely important issues, trying to do step by step, and the next episode (18) I intend to focus more carefully on some of the combat stats, as last episode, were just basics of combat. Thanks for the tip, I might have missed it
Spanish civil war still in full swing for me. Had to weigh up the fuel cost of the tanks and the surface ship training so a little stuck but hopefully not an issue
No issue at all - if need be, you can trade for a bit of oil to help get you through it. Alternatively delay the navy & aircraft training a little.
I strayed a bit off track from the play through but am getting ready for Poland based on what you show! I got this game years ago but gave up on playing it because it was so in depth and hard to figure out on your own. Thanks so much for the step by step play through for noobs like me!
I was the same, and every few months I'd try it again and just die in frustration not having a clue why. Rage quit until another ten weeks passed...
Great series, have had this game in my library for years but first after following your guides I managed to get through the hurdle of learning this game.
Just want to say that you are doing absolutely spectacular work at teaching me this game 😊 Thank you so much and greetings from Finland 🇫🇮
I can tell right now that my biggest problem in the game will be remembering the key combinations. It will definitely take some time 2 commit them to memory. So it will be going back thru and writing them down for a quick reference. Again thank you for all your help by making these tutorials. I would not have been able to enjoy this game or play it to its fullest potential with out them.
Really appreciate your videos. I haven't played the game for years and this helped me get back into it
Special Forces are more specialized divisions, Mountaineers of course fight better in mountainous terrain, putting them on a plain, just like Marines strength is invasion by ship. Tanks are hindered by mountains or forest.
You should always assign your units to where they can use their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Tanks better in plains and deserts for instance so be choosy in where you pick to attack with them.
This would be leaning towards (what I would call) a perfect play style. While it's the most effective way to play, I find it very micro intensive.
I typically try to overcome these difficulties with some other tactics (for example encouraging enemy divisions out, to encircle them before advancing into unfavorable terrain).
That said, I've noticed with all the DLC enabled, HOI4 has gradually penalised me more and more, for being lazy in this regard.
At some point, I'm gonna have to follow your advice, or no longer be able to win.
I like these videos
Thanks for the good guide.
these tutorials are next level man, this has taught me heaps
Really like the tutorial, I must have done something odd in that Spain hasn't finished their civil war yet. So I'm not sure if I should pull Rommel or let it go to completion first. Hope by end of this episode I will know how behind I really am.
There's always a degree of randomness, don't worry about it, just continue with everything else as best as - you're not far away from being able to grab the updated Savegames if needed.
I have deviated a bit from how you're playing but i try to do the same events. Really looking forward to how you tackle the start of the war!Also i've taken a dabble in artillery research under the tanks. Saw its only 35 days and now im making some for the future.
I hope i havent missed it, bit i would love some info on how to modify the templates with stuff like artillery and tankhunter manpower. Would you mix it with medium tanks and replace arty support with logistics?
Maybe put them with some infantry for more soft attack?
Would love some more info on how to shape the army!
you are the goat
Thx for this great tutorials. Please go on with the dlc's.
Thank you so much, this tutorial is Great!
I think you should have changed the trading to no exports before you started training the surface ships. So you would have more oil/fuel for it. Love your tutorial by the way!
Still like your breakdown and explaining method it is awesome.
Another question is like on your military high command since you had Rommel fighting in Spain why didn't you make it more a priority to hire him first which gave an immediate extra bonus to his tanks that were already in battle rather than make him one of the last high command you hired behind others that bonus's would not really help until war broke out?
Yep - Rommel as advisor, for the Spanish conflict, would have increased the effectiveness of those panzer divisions - there were couple reasons I didn't play this way.
1) Rommel required the Army Innovations Focus Tree be complete, before he's available as an advisor - I went heavier on other parts of the tree.
2) While a "normal war" would definitely want this additional bonus, the Spanish conflict is also important for gaining XP, so having a less than perfect setup, that lasts longer, results in more XP overall - at least that was my plan.
I've also tried improving the panzer divisions (extra truck + panzer ) and found they really shorten the conflict and by result, I opted to choose this method for the tutorial.
There's no right answer though, so I encourage people to try it different, on different play throughs. Good question, cheers
@@gameswithbrains Actually what makes me keep at it trying to get better with this game is there is so many different ways to attempt to do things.
I actually do the Army innovations early as I am trying to drop a research bonus down another level to get more value out of the bonus time wise and it does open up Rommel as well.
I have gone back to vanilla to get better at the mechanics but I can see where things are different and need to be approached differently when the DLC'S are on.
10:49 You mean the UK not Russia, right? :)
I have to admit that this series is the best tutorial for HoI4 ever :)