Thread 2208961

Is it just me or would anyone else really like to see Paradox release a cold war/recent history/near future game to bridge the chronological gap between HOI4 and (at least partway towards) Stellaris?

I'm thinking 1946 to 2046, focusing on postwar economic reorganization, decolonization, the Cold war, nuclear proliferation, the rise of the Asian economies, the GWOT, and potential future conflicts.

I feel like it would be extremely fertile ground for the paradox formula, taking pieces from their previous games, reworking them for the time period, and adding new systems and mechanics to handle stuff like nuclear brinkmanship and non state actors.

Not sure what the point of this thread is, just wanted to discuss and maybe theorycraft a bit.

>>2208961 (OP)
>slopposting instead of just pulling the East vs West cover
Brain Damage.

What would the gameplay be?
>nothing happens simulator

>>2209045
>Nothing happens simulator
greek civil war, chinese civil war, first indochina war, korean war, algerian war, suez crisis, cuban revolution, congo crisis, bay of pigs invasion, vietnam war, six-day war, cambodian civil war, bangladesh liberation war, yom kippur war, angolan civil war, mozambican war of independence, cambodian–vietnamese war, soviet–afghan war, iran–iraq war, falklands war, lebanese civil war, grenada invasion, panama invasion, gulf war, yugoslav wars, rwandan civil war, first chechen war, kosovo war, war in afghanistan (2001–2021), iraq war (2003–2011), russo-georgian war, libyan civil war (2011), syrian civil war, yemen civil war, donbas war, nagorno-karabakh war (2020), russo-ukrainian war (2022–present), israeli–hamas war (2023)

And that's just the wars. Plenty of gameplay to be had on the economic, diplomatic, and intrigue side of things as well.

>>2209053
Forgot the Rhodesian UDI. Rhodesia/South Africa gameplay would be kino

>>2209139
>>2209045
It would be the exact same gameplay as every other paradox game: paint the entire map your color of choice and then upload your meme image of the holy Roman empire to Reddit for sick upvotes

>>2208961 (OP)
Kissinger needs the High Ranking KGB mole trait that gives him full control of the CIA

>>2209277
No you just control every intelligence agency when playing as Israel

>>2209045
1946–2046, covering:

the cold war (superpower rivalry, nuclear brinkmanship, proxy wars)

decolonization (emergent nations, coups, post-colonial power vacuums)

globalization (economic blocs, oil crises, rise of multinational corporations)

the war on terror & hybrid warfare (asymmetric conflict, cyber ops, drones)

near-future scenarios (climate crises, resource conflicts, great power resurgence, ai militarization)


players can start at several bookmarks (e.g. 1946, 1962, 1991, 2020), or play the full century dynamically.


---

core gameplay loop

hoiv keeps the military-industrial focus of hoi4 but adds the political and economic machinery needed to simulate modern conflict:

1. build influence: shape alliances, puppet regimes, or subvert rivals through intelligence, economic aid, or media manipulation.


2. manage technology & economy: transition from industrial to digital to automated economies; choose between militarization, prosperity, or sustainability.


3. conduct proxy wars: fight in regional theaters where superpowers avoid direct confrontation. limited war mechanics emphasize logistics, politics, and media control over raw force.


4. maintain stability: domestic unrest, partisans, ideology, and globalization pressures can erode national cohesion.


5. adapt to change: the rules of war evolve—nuclear deterrence, terrorism, cyberwarfare, and private militaries require new doctrines.

>>2209478
key features

living ideology system: instead of fixed “democracy/fascism/communism,” ideologies exist on shifting spectra: authoritarian vs. liberal, capitalist vs. socialist, globalist vs. nationalist, etc. these evolve through player decisions and world events.

decolonization engine: colonial empires splinter dynamically based on stability, resistance, and global influence; newly independent states may align with, defy, or exploit superpowers.

proxy conflict simulation: players can fund, arm, or infiltrate factions in other nations; wars can occur without declaring full-scale hostilities.

nuclear diplomacy: deterrence, arms control treaties, and strategic escalation—mutually assured destruction is both a risk and a bargaining chip.

information & cyber warfare: espionage and disinformation replace some traditional combat systems; influence is as powerful as armor.

future era tech trees: space militarization, autonomous systems, climate engineering, ai policy—players can steer humanity toward utopia, tyranny, or extinction.

dynamic map evolution: shifting borders, economic zones, urbanization, climate effects, and infrastructure modernization reshape the world visually and strategically over time.
---

multiplayer focus

multiplayer diplomacy becomes a true test of realpolitik—coalitions, espionage, and betrayal matter more than raw divisions. “iron curtain” introduces asymmetric roles: small nations, insurgencies, or corporations can be playable in specific scenarios.

Any paradox cold war game MUST end in a game over if nukes are used.

>>2209483
Not programmatically but maybe mechanically. IE an unlimited nuclear exchange between US and USSR has the effect of essentially taking them and all relevant targets out of the game more or less permanently, but whatever pops are hanging out in papua new Guinea can still chill and build more banana farms if they want.

Too recent, too controversial.
Some of these Gorbachevs are still alive today.

>>2208961 (OP)
Paradox said they don't have enough alcohol or sanity to put up with the community response, so Cold War game won't be happening.

Considering the community can barely respond to Byzantine Empire nomenclature or HoI4 alt-history, one can hardly blame them.

And since there is very obvious left-wing/anarchist/communist slant among the devs, the chuds among you probably don't want them to spend time on it, either. Unless you want a communist uprising at the studio.

>>2208972
>Brain Damage.
Paradox target audience.

>>2208961 (OP)
>goi$ but le cold war
no that sounds boring as shit

>>2209678
Reminds me during the recent shilling for their HOI4 japan DLC, they accidentally named a japanese colonial policy what it was named in history, which triggered a histrionic response from the japanese community and forced them to change it into a generic, nonspecific name instead.

You can't depict history without offending some nationalist snowflake, so paradox often just settles for crafting a history-themed fantasy to appease mapchuds instead. The closer you get to modernity, the less plausible your fictionalization becomes and the more annoyed people get at it.

>>2209678
Byzaboos are the worst, so fucking delusional and annoying. They’re the epitome of the “there is no war in ba sing se” meme, constantly denying anything even remotely negative or whatever can be construed as negative about the Byzantines and aggressively insisting on certain nomenclature and historical narratives like someone personally hurt them or some shit.

I've long thought a cold war Grand Strategy game would be hard to make interesting unless you go full alt history or something. But I'm cautiously optimistic about
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1670650/Espiocracy/
It puts you in the shoes of an intelligence agency of your choice and sounds like a promising angle on the Cold War

>>2209045
Saigon.
Im still in Saigon.
The jungles man.

>>2208961 (OP)
It's just too controversial. Also, programming a game where (1) the player has control over all or most aspects of the country, (2) the player can make meaningful progress while avoiding all out war, (3) the AI stays reasonably competitive with the player without going to war, and (4) everything isn't railroaded to hell and back, would be very difficult. The world order is also ill-suited to Paradox games: either they make it impossible for small nations (i.e. anything but the US and USSR, and maybe China/India/the EU in the late game) to meaningfully compete for global dominance or they make it patently unrealistic; either they make conquest virtually impossible or they make it a sandbox where superpowers don't care about some tinpot dictator flagrantly violating the international norms they created after WW2.

>Zoomers don't remember the East vs West project
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_vs._West_%E2%80%93_A_Hearts_of_Iron_Game

It was 80-90% complete when they cancelled it. It had a peacetime/wartime gameplay with a reserve system to mobilize and demobilize your army and reduce economic strain. United Nations, international arms market, spying system, government policies, space missions, etc.
Many things that were eventually adapted and brought to HOI IV through DLCs.

Even part of the OST was brought to HOI IV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wljN0NEgVEQ

You probably know this track that was renamed "The Might of Soviet Union"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J27p-i--0pI

>>2215080
I don't see why it's not doable. I can easily see the game being a mix of Victoria politics and economics and Hearts of Iron military and research management.
If you want to blob the world and show other anons your Großgermanium you should probably avoid this kind of game, yes.
East vs West innovated on many of the existing systems to make this work, using HOI III as a base.

Paradox should try to leave their comfort zone.

>>2208961 (OP)
You really think paraslop can handle anything that complex? Seriously?

>>2208961 (OP)
>modern paradox
No not really

>>2215762
No modern game could look this good. And run

>>2209053
lot happened in the cold war yeah. LOOOOT happened. Also if they did it right, it'd be different stuff every time like in other cold war sims like balance of power and shadow president.

I want to make a Chinese civil war/WW2/Post WW2 China simulator wargame eventually before I venture into a coldwar PDOX style game, but IDK where to even start lol.

>>2211398
>You can't depict history without offending some nationalist snowfla-
Quiet.

>>2209478
ChatGPT doesn't make it sound so bad. I wonder if it would include the CIA/KGB sponsored genocides?

>>2209045
A nothing ever happens simulator that constantly teases you sounds fun
>”oh shit, it’s finally going to happen!”
>nothing happens
And we’ve had several takes on the concept over the years. The Vic 2 NWO/CWE mod and HOI4’s TNO come to mind.

https://cold-war2.com/
What else can I play besides balance of power?

>>2220036
That game got a new version on steam

>>2215762
I remember, I was very sad when it was cancelled. It looks quite dated nowadays, I remember it got leaked on /gsg/ too.

t. early 2001 zoomer