Arsenal of Democracy (video game)
Encyclopedia
Arsenal of Democracy, or AoD, is a grand strategy wargame
that is based on Hearts of Iron II - Armageddon
and its Europa engine. It is developed by BL-Logic, a development studio made up by fans of the Hearts of Iron series and active members of the modding community. It was announced on September 8, 2009 and released on February 23, 2010.
As in other games in the grand strategy Hearts of Iron series, Arsenal of Democracy allows for the player take control of and manage nearly any World War II
and early Cold War
era nation-state including its political, diplomatic, espionage, economic, military, and technological aspects.
, aircraft wings, and naval ships/fleets, and combine these into corps
and armies
. The player also has the ability to control the appointment of commanders of forces under their nation's flag or that of controlled nations as well as to control the appointment of individual government ministers and military commanders in key General Staff
positions. The player also has a broader ability to control the heads of state and government; however, this option is only available to democracies and only then through elections, in which the player chooses the winner. The player can stage coups, declare war, annex territories and make alliances. The player can also alter the social
and economic policies of their nation using sliders, such as democratic versus authoritarian, free market
versus central planning
and so on. Moving the sliders will result in different bonuses and penalties, allowing for a range of choices and strategies. Technological research is controlled by the player. All this is on a global scale, with the player simultaneously dealing and interacting with nations across the world. The game can be paused at any point.
There was an overhaul of the graphics and user interfaces. This impacted many systems including espionage, trade, and notifications. There are increased screen resolutions and a freely selectable window mode.
Numerous mechanics were adjusted. The production and economic now give user significantly more control and had the result of making the AI more competitive when compared to the original Hearts of Iron 2 - Armageddon. The combat mechanics, including attrition
algorithms, were completely reworked to better reflect realistic unit behavior and losses. The AI was modified to present more of a challenge to players and to adapt it to the new features in Arsenal of Democracy.
These new features include a completely new system, logistics
, national ideas, similar to the ones in the Europa Universalis
series, an expanded technology system, and four new battle scenarios.
There were numerous smaller changes as well, and as with other Paradox Interactive
games it is very modification
friendly.
Grand strategy wargame
A grand strategy wargame is a wargame that places focus on grand strategy: military strategy at the level of movement and use of an entire nation state or empire's resources.-Scope of games:...
that is based on Hearts of Iron II - Armageddon
Hearts of Iron II
Hearts of Iron II is a grand strategy computer war game for the PC based upon its predecessor, Hearts of Iron. It takes place in the period from 1 January 1936 through 30 December 1947 , and allows the player to assume control of any one of over 175 nations of the time and guide its development...
and its Europa engine. It is developed by BL-Logic, a development studio made up by fans of the Hearts of Iron series and active members of the modding community. It was announced on September 8, 2009 and released on February 23, 2010.
As in other games in the grand strategy Hearts of Iron series, Arsenal of Democracy allows for the player take control of and manage nearly any World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and early Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era nation-state including its political, diplomatic, espionage, economic, military, and technological aspects.
Gameplay
The player can build land divisionsDivision (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, aircraft wings, and naval ships/fleets, and combine these into corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
and armies
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
. The player also has the ability to control the appointment of commanders of forces under their nation's flag or that of controlled nations as well as to control the appointment of individual government ministers and military commanders in key General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
positions. The player also has a broader ability to control the heads of state and government; however, this option is only available to democracies and only then through elections, in which the player chooses the winner. The player can stage coups, declare war, annex territories and make alliances. The player can also alter the social
Social engineering (political science)
Social engineering is a discipline in political science that refers to efforts to influence popular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale, whether by governments or private groups. In the political arena, the counterpart of social engineering is political engineering.For various reasons,...
and economic policies of their nation using sliders, such as democratic versus authoritarian, free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
versus central planning
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
and so on. Moving the sliders will result in different bonuses and penalties, allowing for a range of choices and strategies. Technological research is controlled by the player. All this is on a global scale, with the player simultaneously dealing and interacting with nations across the world. The game can be paused at any point.
Changes from Hearts of Iron II - Armageddon
Arsenal of Democracy maintains the general look and feel of the original game, but features a number of changes and improvements over its Armageddon 1.2 starting point. The purpose and end result of these changes was to make the game less management intensive, more user friendly, and, through improving the AI, more challenging. The changes were focused around the game's Economy, Production, Combat, Historical Accuracy.There was an overhaul of the graphics and user interfaces. This impacted many systems including espionage, trade, and notifications. There are increased screen resolutions and a freely selectable window mode.
Numerous mechanics were adjusted. The production and economic now give user significantly more control and had the result of making the AI more competitive when compared to the original Hearts of Iron 2 - Armageddon. The combat mechanics, including attrition
Attrition warfare
Attrition warfare is a military strategy in which a belligerent side attempts to win a war by wearing down its enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel and matériel....
algorithms, were completely reworked to better reflect realistic unit behavior and losses. The AI was modified to present more of a challenge to players and to adapt it to the new features in Arsenal of Democracy.
These new features include a completely new system, logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
, national ideas, similar to the ones in the Europa Universalis
Europa Universalis
Europa Universalis is a grand strategy video game released on March 14, 2000 by Paradox Interactive and distributed in North America by Strategy First...
series, an expanded technology system, and four new battle scenarios.
There were numerous smaller changes as well, and as with other Paradox Interactive
Paradox Interactive
-External links:*...
games it is very modification
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
friendly.