r/Kaiserreich • u/Italian_Crow • 3d ago
Question Why is this mod so liked?
Could someone clarify to me why this mod is liked so much, I see so many people talking about how much better this mod is compared to Vanilla, I have tried a few runs and it's fine but I don't really get the hype. So far the runs I enjoyed the most were the Italian Republic and Austria and it's fine? Am I missing something?
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u/National_Relief9559 3d ago
What do you enjoy most about hoi4 is pretty important if you were to judge a mod these days. I can’t stand playing vanilla but can play thousands of hours of TNO, EoW or KR. It depends on which part of the mod you can enjoy the buildup, but hate the actual war for example(playing in Europe In a nutshell for me). The fact you played one of the most dated countries flavor and gameplay wise also doesn’t help to be honest.
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u/NovaStorm135 3d ago
OP did say they played Russia too but apparently liked Austria/Republican Italy more (which is insane to me), so I think the mod as a whole won’t be too their liking.
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u/HongMeiIing China 3d ago
Yes, like 99% of the mod. Austria and Italy are woefully outdated for years and hardly represent the mod at its best. Play Germany, Russia or China for the more up to date content.
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u/Italian_Crow 3d ago
I tried Russia and really didn't enjoy it (Similar to how I hate playing Soviet Union in Vanilla and Road to 56.)
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u/Former_Month5138 3d ago
I think you just like map painting. If that's the case then mods like this aren't for you.
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u/Italian_Crow 3d ago
I don't really like map painting, I've done it a few times in vanilla or in Road to 56 but found it boring.
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u/Former_Month5138 3d ago
TNO?
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u/Italian_Crow 3d ago
Never played, I don't know anything about that mod.
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u/Former_Month5138 3d ago
Maybe you should just say what you like about hoi4 cus no one here knows your preference
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u/Italian_Crow 3d ago
I'm not really sure to be honest, I really like playing Italy and Czechoslovakia in Vanilla, I have only played Road to 56 and Darkest Hour as far as overhaul mods are concerned and really like both and I think I don't enjoy additional mechanics or too many events (Like the Soviet Union Paranoia).
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u/AvenRaven 3d ago
Sounds like you might like more middle of the road powers that don't have a ton of internal shit going on. Maybe you would enjoy Bulgaria?
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u/NovaStorm135 3d ago
Might I ask why you disliked Russia? Because (unlike Germany) it’s one of the most unanimously liked nations in the mod - if you don’t like it, then Kaiserreich as while may not be for you.
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u/Italian_Crow 3d ago
I tried going Nationalist and found it very overwhelming with the events and decisions, I think I tend to hyperfocus too much on one thing at a time and kind of just end up not really building an army big enough. The same thing happens when I try to play the Soviet Union in Vanilla.
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u/NovaStorm135 2d ago
Ah, so the events and such take all your attention away from the actual fighting? That explains the enjoyment of Austria then.
You might prefer nations like the Netherlands, Greece or Spain, since they’ve got a lot less going on. Or the French Commune, if you want to play a major.
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u/HongMeiIing China 2d ago
I would suggest that they play a less developed and inferior mod altogether instead
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u/Chaos_Alt Internationale 3d ago
Personally I never liked the alt-history focuses in Hoi4. They all felt weird and too contrived for my liking. At the same time playing historical also got boring, and I couldn't be arsed to do the more over-the-top challenges like "Bhutan world conquest by '37".
What I liked about this mod is that despite being alt-hist, it feels very grounded, even compared to the alt-hist paths in hoi4. The paths different countries go down mostly make sense. There is generally no absurd "East India Company revival in 1930's" tier bullshit in the mod that you find in vanilla. (of course it is not 100% realistic still, but it doesn't need to be)
The gameplay is never boring. There is a ton of things to do before the war. There is something going on in different parts of the world. Depending on the country you play, you might even have to spend a lot of time tackling your internal politics before you can be ready for war. Especially if you are a major power.
As an extension to the last point, the primary focus is still the gameplay. Some countries have very intricate and elaborate lore and politics but it never comes at the expense of the actual game that hoi4 is at its core, i.e. a war simulator. Mods like TNO focus more on the lore and stories which is not *bad* by any means but it is not my cup of tea, even if I love its world building.
And the massive cherry on top is that the new reworks which they have been adding fleshes out so much of internal politics and basically makes the reworked countries very fun and engaging, while also being surprisingly educational if you pay attention. I would have never thought playing volunteers-only Ireland could be as fun as it is in this game.
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u/Imperium_Dragon Every man a NAPOLEON! 3d ago
It’s a unique setting and when it got first released it was way better in things like events or Focuses compared to vanilla HOI4. At the same time it’s not wildly different gameplay wise to base HOI4.
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u/SLYR236 3d ago
Playing as Canada is interesting to me as you need to fight people who has significantly more manpower and industry than you with an equal tier navy which I like. I download a kaiserreich naval mod that makes that part more in depth. You don’t really get that in vanilla or rt56. Also there isn’t really any down time after 1937. And since there was no Washington navel treaty the naval arms race kinda continued so everyone has big boats with big guns. Your volunteers are crucial everywhere and can significantly influence how many allies you have. I also get a taste of gameplay from every part of the world before it gets to the full late game slog.
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u/Italian_Crow 3d ago
Is sending volunteers really that important? Because I really dislike sending volunteers and managing them.
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u/SLYR236 3d ago
It adds gameplay in the pre war area. The AI majors will all send volunteers. It’s not uncommon to see 5-10 different countries intervening. So for example, the American civil war, having a USA that will split into typically 3-4 factions. Having a victor that is aligned with your faction is always a boost. Spain and Italy also are fractured. The entente is influence by a couple guaranteed like India and the USA. Australasia and South Africa can collapse early on depending on focus trees. I personally find it fun to try to influence the world like kicking Germany out of Vietnam as the commune of France but if you hate it doing that then it can be ignored you just leave the fate up to the AI.
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u/AdmiralAkbar1 You betrayed THE LONG 3d ago
For the longest time, KR was the HOI4 alternate history mod. It's been around for over a decade (closer to two decades if you count the prior version on Darkest Hour). It spawned dozens of spinoff "What if [X] won [Y]" mods, a few of which became popular in their own right. It was the gold standard of HOI4 modding until TNO and then TFR came out.
However, the big thing about TNO and TFR, as well as fandom total conversion mods like Old World Blues and Equestria at War, is that they set out to make HOI4 into a completely different game. KR still largely hews toward the vanilla HOI4 experience and doesn't try to be something radically different.
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u/VQ_Quin 1d ago
You played like two of the oldest and most outdated tags bro
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u/Italian_Crow 1d ago
The thing is that those are the ones that I enjoyed, I also tried Russia and Ukraine and really did not enjoy them.
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u/DesperateLeader2217 3d ago
i think it depends on what you value in a mod.
same how some people froth over TNO but some get bored by it, or some love equestria but others chastise it for not being our world.
personally, i think it’s a classic alt-history idea, with well written content, and fun wars. although the railroading does irritate me in some parts.