Dev Corner & Open Beta: Energy #2
BETAHearts of Iron IV introduces a comprehensive Energy Rework featuring a new power pool system, state-level power plants, and energy costs for production lines.
Key Changes
- 1New country power pool system where supply/demand ratio affects factory efficiency
- 2Power plants now use state slots instead of shared factory slots with a 3-level limit
- 3Production lines for land, air, and naval equipment now have specific energy costs
- 4Added a new research tree for energy, including the 10% production boost from Hydrogen-Cooled Generators
- 5Oil fields now provide a +30 energy source bonus to power plants in their regions
- 6Strategic bombing now specifically targets power plants to disrupt enemy industry
- 7Military Industrial Organizations (MIOs) receive new Electrified Assembly and Power Rationing policies
- 8Spare power capacity provides a surplus bonus and increases repair speeds
All Changes
⚡Energy System(7)
- newPower Pool: Added a country power pool where the supply/demand ratio drives factory buffs and debuffs
- newProduction Lines: Production lines now have an energy cost with a tooltip breakdown for air, naval, and land categories
- buffSpare Capacity: Spare power capacity now grants a surplus bonus and increases repair speeds
- buffOil: Oil fields now provide a +30 energy source bonus to power plants in their regions
- changeCoal: Coal is now only burned when energy is needed rather than constantly
- newEnergy Modifiers: Added power generation and consumption modifiers to the game logic
- removeEnergy Building: Removed the old energy building from the game
🏗️Buildings & Infrastructure(5)
- changePower Plants: Power plants now fulfill a state slot instead of shared factory slots
- newPower Plants: Increased maximum power plant level to 3 per state
- nerfPower Plants: Power plants are now more susceptible to strategic bombing
- newFactories: Dockyards, civilian factories, and military factories now generate a small amount of power
- newDams: Dams have been reassigned types and new 'Massive Dams' have been added for power generation
🔬Research & MIOs(4)
- newResearch: Added a new research tech tree related to power generation
- newResearch: Added 'Hydrogen-Cooled Generators' tech which increases total energy production by 10%
- newMIO: Added 'Electrified Assembly' and 'Power Rationing' policies to Military Industrial Organizations
- newMIO: Introduced a production energy draw stat for MIOs
🗺️Map & Focus Trees(2)
- changeFocus Trees: Industrial focus branches in most national focus trees now reward power plants
- changeStarting Setup: Updated 1936 and 1939 starting scenarios with global power plant setups
🖥️UI & AI(3)
- newUI: Added a power bar to the topbar and a lack-of-power alert
- newUI: Technology and trade windows now support coal and oil burning mechanics
- newAI: AI has been updated to build power plants based on industrial need
Summary
Energy System Rework
This open beta update introduces a fundamental shift in how industry is managed in Hearts of Iron IV. The new Energy system creates a country-wide power pool where supply (from factories, power plants, and dams) must meet the demand of production lines. A surplus of power provides bonuses, while a deficit leads to industrial debuffs.
Infrastructure & Production
Power plants have been moved from shared factory slots to state-level slots, allowing for up to 3 levels per state. Production lines now have specific energy draws, with air and tank production typically being the most energy-intensive. Strategic bombing has also been updated to specifically target power plants, allowing players to cripple an opponent's industrial capacity by cutting their power supply.
Research & MIOs
A new research tree has been added to improve energy efficiency and production, alongside new Military Industrial Organization (MIO) policies that allow players to trade energy consumption for production bonuses.