GAME MANUAL - Steam

Keeping Up ToDateThe Darkest Hour Team andParadox are committed totheir customers. Thedevelopers read andfrequently participate in thediscussions on the publicforums and will oftenimplement some of the bestplayer-requested features orenhancements post-release.They also make minortweaks or alterations toexisting features and squishthe occasional bug that hadpreviously escapeddetection.● To ask questions andgetting the latest news,please visit the DH subforumat www.paradoxplaza.com/forum.The launcher automaticallychecks the version of yourgame and the latest versionavailable and will point out ifa new patch has beenreleased. Please note,however, that some digitalretailer automatically patchthe game you buy from them,so that you'll always play withthe latest version.DHCore, DHLight, DHFullDarkest Hour is, at its core, anevolution of Hearts of Iron 2Armageddon. This has beenconsidered crucial by thedevelopment team to make iteasy to port community-mademodifications from HOI2 toDarkest Hour. Moreover, themost important changes to theengine have been added asmods to the core game, withthe names "Darkest HourLight" and "Darkest HourFull":Darkest Hour (core game):This version is focused oncompatibility with Heart of Iron2 Armageddon and all modsavailable for it. The number ofchanged files has been keptas low as possible and all newoptions are disabled or set asclose as possible to theoriginal settings. This versionis used as the base to launchthe old HOI2Arma mods.Darkest Hour Light:This version is available as amod with only a few changesfrom HOI2, but nearly all newfeatures are enabled. Itcontains the old HOI2 grandcampaigns and battle scenarioswith the old HOI2 map,but with most of the new DHHEARTS OF IRON DARKEST HOURfeatures enabled (like thespeed improvement forexample).Darkest Hour Full:This version is available as amod without any compatibilitywith HOI2 and implements orreworks many new feature,the most visible differencebeing the new map. DarkestHour Full contains the new1914 and 1936 scenarios withthe new DH map, tech treeand events/decisions.Key ConceptsDarkest Hour is a game ofconsiderable complexity. It isvital to understand thatvirtually every aspect of thegame is interconnected. It canand will take time to learn howeach of the game's elementsinteracts with each other, andto gain a comfortable degreeof control over the nation youare playing. The goal of thissection is to give you a broadoverview of DH’s majorcomponents and key conceptsbefore moving on to thesubsequent sections thatdetail each feature andinterface in turn.8Fighting wars is not purely amatter of pitting man againstman on the field of battle.Simply fielding a larger armythan your enemy will notensure victory, and neglectingyour economy, the so-called“engine of war”, can imperilyour chances for survival. It isvital, then, to ensure that yournation has the necessaryeconomic infrastructure andpolitical wherewithal to standagainst your enemies ifattacked, or to support anyaggressive moves you mightwish to make.A huge army might appearinvincible at first glance, butit can easily succumb to aseemingly weaker force thatis equipped with moremodern weapons, is inbetter supply, or is superblytrained and led. Elite forcescan tip the balance in aconflict, as can employing astrategy that uses terrain orweather to your advantage.Your ability to coordinateevery element of your armedforces against your enemywill also greatly increaseyour chances of winning.Armies may be held in reserveor can be used to supportother actions; air forces maybe used to soften up anenemy’s defences, disrupt histroops’ organisation, hamperhis supply, or even gut hisindustry; and navies canactively patrol enemy watersto embargo the import ofmuch-needed resources oreven bombard and invade hisshores.Don't forget to make good useof your espionage system toweaken an enemy, steal itstechnological secrets, and toprovide information about itsforce composition, capabilitiesand strengths. If you canunderstand his strong pointsand his weakness, you'll beable to face the enemy.VictoryThe ultimate goal of DarkestHour is to guide your nationto victory. For those whoplay a conventional game,there are a number ofprovinces located aroundthe globe that have a victorypoint value. Each campaigngame has a predeterminedend date and the victor isthe faction which controls