HOI IV Dev Diary | Romania: Military, National Mechanics & More Alternate History

Salut, Generals!

I’m marijn211, and today I’ll be sharing the parts of Romania’s Focus Tree I worked on: the left side, both in its in-game layout and its political leanings. First, though, let’s take a closer look at the country cooperation mechanic introduced in our first Dev Corner.

Cooperation Mechanic

Here you can see all the countries available through the mechanic. Romania’s relations with Hungary and Bulgaria were strained, so interactions with them remain locked until you complete certain focuses or join a faction with them.

You can invest political power to increase a country’s cooperation tier and unlock predetermined bonuses. Each partner works somewhat like an inexpensive industrial concern: it requires an initial political power investment, followed by a smaller ongoing cost to maintain its benefits. Cooperation tiers also influence some of the decisions associated with the mechanic.

Military Branch

I offered a brief glimpse of the military branch in a previous Dev Corner. Now let’s explore its core and the surrounding paths in more detail.

Romania’s military production was almost nonexistent in 1936, but it expanded rapidly in the years leading up to the Second World War. This growth formed part of a broader Ten-Year Modernization Program proposed in 1935 by military figures including Ion Antonescu.

One of Romania’s starting national spirits reflects this weakness. As you complete military focuses, however, the spirit improves until it provides exclusively positive modifiers.

On the left side of the tree, the naval branch reflects historical investment in the Galați shipyards, giving Romania its first dry dock for constructing larger vessels. Further expansion options draw on historical possibilities, including the development of Romania’s river fleet. Since ships of that size are not represented in the game, this focus instead grants a useful river terrain bonus.

To the right, the air branch follows the developments that led to the successful IAR 80 fighter. Alternative-history options let you continue using the affordable but outdated Polish aircraft designs Romania briefly operated, or pursue jet engine research with help from Henri Coandă.

The center of the military branch concentrates on building an armaments industry, with several focuses dedicated to starting tank production. You can purchase small numbers of tanks from other countries and study their designs for research bonuses. Finally, the right side offers choices concerning army doctrine and organization.

Communist Branch

Winning Romanian support for communism is complicated by the country’s troubled experiences with the Russian Empire and, later, the Soviet Union. In 1936, one of the USSR’s most recent provocations was the creation of a Moldovan ASSR along Romania’s border, presented not as a response to a large Moldovan population on the Soviet side, but as a means of laying claim to Romanian Moldova.

The communist transition includes the focus tree’s only civil war. It is a deliberately challenging, three-sided conflict, but it is entirely optional: you can also win the population over through democratic means.

After choosing communism, you can align with one of two principal factions within the party. Many members of the aptly named Prison Faction are incarcerated, yet they continue to operate effectively from prison. They maintain particularly close ties to the Soviet Union and have also been infiltrated by NKVD agents. Their rivals include Stalinists as well, though they are less influenced by the USSR.

Romania’s communist government historically embarked on enormous industrial projects. While some were costly failures, you can recreate more productive efforts, such as a major expansion of steel production. On the diplomatic front, you may side with the Soviets or pursue more pragmatic alliances to defend the Balkans. Both paths can gain new cores by encouraging support for Balkan unification.

While researching this path, I learned about a socialist party’s support for a people’s militia. That idea inspired a distinctive mobilization mechanic: you can spend weapons to prepare a militia without raising your conscription law to supply its manpower. Instead, you receive a penalty only while your reserves, which can reach around 40 divisions, are active.

Democratic Branch

At the start of the game, Romania’s democratic parties are locked in a power struggle with King Carol. The democratic path therefore begins with efforts to weaken his influence. Despite his corruption and disregard for election results, most Romanians, including politicians, do not initially oppose him outright.

Once Carol has been sidelined, you can establish a new constitution that limits the monarch’s powers while preserving the popular monarchy. His son Michael, who was not particularly close to his father, can then take the throne.

You can also address the corruption that flourished under Carol. One prominent example was the Škoda Affair, in which the Romanian state paid suspiciously high prices for Škoda equipment, with some of the money finding its way into the pockets of corrupt politicians.

Diplomatically, you can turn toward the Allies or concentrate on strengthening the Little Entente. Both routes offer opportunities to intervene abroad. To give this path a distinctive character, I’ve included bonuses for defeating countries while keeping casualties low, rewarding alternatives to straightforward frontal assaults.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. In the next and final dev diary, Alex will showcase some of the artwork and achievements included in the DLC.

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