

Political power can be spent on completing national focus ideas, recruiting military and scientific advisors, changing trade and conscription laws, and some diplomatic actions. This is the amount of political power the nation's leadership has earned. National Unity is determined by National Spirit traits that can be assigned to certain countries (France, for example, starts with very low NU), but it can be modified through National Focus choices or recruiting government officials to modify it. A country with low national unity will surrender more quickly than one with high National Unity. The very top border of the screen will include important summary information about the state of the world.Īcross the top left to center of the main play screen, there is a row of numbers running from left to right. The left hand of the screen will be used to manage national issues, alert tabs will appear at the top of the screen as a warning of things that need attention, and the right hand side of the screen will be devoted to information about troops. The user interface of Hearts of Iron IV will be immediately familiar to veterans of Paradox games. These do not give the AI any special bonuses or penalties. General difficulty settings: The general Difficulty settings affect only the player. When finished press the play button in the lower right hand corner to start the game. There is also an icon for showing if steam achievements can be earned in the game or not, they require ironman mode and regular or higher difficulty. Here the player can toggle ironman and historical focus on or off and use the difficulty settings to make the game harder or easier for the player and also boost the relative power of one or more of the larger nations (this makes them stronger, but not smarter). In the lower right corner of the map before starting the game are the game settings. We recommend any nation you believe you know the most about, or what will be the most fun! The player may select whatever country they wish, but one should be aware that countries like Flag of Bhutan may not be best suited as first nation to play as. No matter which is selected, a map of the world is then displayed to allow for change in the choice. This scenario is more about building, supplying and leading land, sea and air forces.Įach scenario displays a menu with the seven major powers (Flag of France, the Flag of United States, the Flag of United, the Flag of German Reich, Flag of Italy, Flag of Japan, and the Flag of Soviet Union) to choose from as well as an option to pick other countries. For a game about World War II that will be more likely (but not certain) to evolve as the real war did, it is advised to start here. The Flag of German Reich has consolidated its power in central Europe and is primed to attack Flag of Poland. The 1939 scenario begins on August 14, 1939. This scenario is about laying the groundwork for the armed forces and war plans, opening with a focus on production, research and diplomacy. 1936 is the place to begin in order to play through the organization and planning of an economy before the war starts. The 1936 scenario is the one most likely to lead to alternate versions of World War II, since it starts with fewer alliances or wars to start. The 1936 scenario begins on January 1, 1936. Each presents different challenges, so the scenario chosen largely dictates the kind of gameplay the players face from the opening. Hearts of Iron IV offers two starting scenarios - 19. Once through basic setup, the player may choose a scenario and a nation to play for the duration of that play session. The first tab includes very important "game settings." This includes adjustment of monitor resolution and user preferences for graphics and sound. Options allows for the customization of sound, appearance and gameplay details of Hearts of Iron IV. The host of the game is able to start a fresh game or load a previous session that was not completed. Up to 32 players may play in one game of Hearts of Iron IV at the same time. Multiplayer enables Hearts of Iron IV players to play online with other people. The Tutorial game may be continued as if it was a standard playthrough after finishing it. Playing the Tutorial gives a quick run-down of the game and is therefore highly recommended. The Single Player menu allows for playing the Tutorial or to start a new game as well as to load a previous saved game. All other countries will be controlled by the computer. Single player offers the one-player game of Hearts of Iron IV.
