AoH3 Feedback: Improvements and Areas for Enhancement

[McKefir]

Hello Łukasz and the AoH3 community,

I’d like to share my thoughts on this game. I have experience with other Paradox strategy games (HoI4 - ~870 hours, EU4 - ~50 hours, and Vic2 - 113 hours), so I thought I’d give some feedback based on my initial experience with Age of History 3, or AoH3.

First, Łukasz, you're doing a great job. I played AoH2, and I can see the significant improvements and hard work you’ve put into AoH3. To be honest, AoH2 was a bit too simple for me, and it felt repetitive after a while. One issue I found was that it was easy to annex other countries without going to war. By just building up a large army, I could expand almost indefinitely with minimal effort. I didn’t play AoH2 for a long time, so maybe you’ve addressed this by now.

Now, about AoH3: This game is a huge improvement. I like the addition of a more realistic army mechanic, similar to Vic2, though it's disappointing that we still don’t have naval units. The new economic system is fantastic — being able to construct various buildings with unique properties and effects really adds depth. I also appreciate the research tree and the many new features you’ve added.

However, I’d like to mention a few issues I’ve noticed so far. I’ve played around 18.9 hours, and in that time, I’ve managed to create a very powerful and somewhat imbalanced country over ~350 years of gameplay. By 1825, my country has technologies comparable to 1918. The main areas needing improvement, in my opinion, are building balance, the research tree, and AI behavior.

Here are some specific issues and possible solutions:

1. AI Building Behavior: The AI doesn't construct nearly as many buildings as the player can. By 1825, I have around 20,000 buildings, while the closest AI countries have significantly fewer. This results in an economic imbalance — my economy score is 20k, while the second-highest AI score is just 4k. This disparity allows me to maintain a large army (30 units) and amass resources exponentially. Perhaps the AI could be programmed to build more aggressively, similar to how a player would.

2. Research Tree Imbalance: The research system could also use some balancing. With the current setup, I can build schools, universities, and academies throughout my country, which boosts my research score by around 130 points. This rapid accumulation allows me to reach 1918-level technology by 1825 and possibly even futuristic tech by the 1930s. This could be rebalanced by making education buildings more expensive or adjusting the research tree. Another option might be to slow down research for future tech, as seen in HoI4.

3. War Limitations: Finally, it would be helpful to have the option to seize territories from allies of the enemy during wartime. The current setup feels restrictive.

Łukasz, I hope you see this feedback and find it helpful in refining the game further. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this!