Changes from Vanilla HOI4

### Extended Technology Tree

Equestria at War incorporates a fork of **Expanded Technology + Industry + Equipment** by *Greatexperiment* (used with permission), that has been edited and streamlined to fit our design goals better. This allows for a longer game with more technologies to research.

In addition to simply expanding the tree with higher tier units, it includes the following

* Escort Carriers, a smaller aircraft carrier
* Nuclear submarines, carriers, and battleships
* Jet fighters have carrier variants
* Signal tracking technology, which reduces the effects of partisans

### New Equipment and Resources

EaW introduces ***Magical Equipment*** and a new resource - Crystal - used to produce it. Magical Equipment provides a more resource, IC-intensive, less reliable, but more powerful alternative to regular Infantry Equipment.

*Pre-Industrial **Infantry Equipment*** and ***Artillery*** have been added, to represent the weapons used by nations that have not yet industrialized.

### Equipment Conversion

Everything can be converted to better models. Infantry Equipment I to Infantry Equipment II, Light Tank I to Light Tank II and so on.

### Upgradable Weapons

Army Experience can be used to create new variants of **Infantry Equipment / Magical Equipment**, giving a small but decisive way to improve your army.

### Racial System

Furthermore, EaW introduced the Races system. Each country has one of five races - Pony, Griffon, Deer, Changeling, Other (with more races planned). Each race has its own unique racial tech tree folder, and in some cases racial unique units. Races cannot be changed during the game (exception being an option for the Changeling-Olenian Commonwealth).

**Racial Special Forces**

* Knights are heavily equipped Griffon special forces that can shrug off even gunfire their magically augmented armour and break through lines with heavy weaponry. They combine the staying power of infantry with the combat effectiveness of a light tank.
* Jaegers are light Changeling special forces that move quickly (6km/h) and have decent breakthrough. They excel at fighting in cities, forests and jungles but cost a lot of support equipment to produce.
* Pegasi are flying Pony special forces that can move quickly (6km/h) and ignore the effects of most terrain penalties.

**Racial Support Companies**

* Magical Support Companies are Pony support units of unicorn spellcasters that provide a variety of buffs to units through their use in communication, healing, shielding, and offensive spells.
* Infiltrator Companies are recon Changeling support units that provide small bonuses to the effectiveness of troops, especially in recon.

### Development System

In order to better represent the differences in industrial/societal and research development of nations in Equestria at War, Development and Scientific Development idea categories have been implemented. Development represents the general state of industrialization and advancement of economy and society. Low levels of Development impose Industry, Research and Political maluses. Development can be improved by National Focuses or Decisions, depending on the country.

Scientific Development represents the level of education and research capabilities of the nation. Low levels of Scientific Development impose Research maluses but grant some extra daily political power. Scientific Development can be improved by National Focuses or Decisions, depending on the country. For griffon countries, owning major centres of learning in Griffonia can be used to improve Scientific Development as well.

### Nuclear Changes

The potential of nuclear warfare and the horror of unleashing such terrible weapons is not quite seen in Vanilla. In order to rectify this, EaW introduces the following changes:

* Nuclear attacks will now reduce the population of a hit state, using believable casualty numbers depending on state population and development (using multiple nuclear bombs on a state in short succession will not reduce population as drastically).

* A state hit by a nuclear attack will receive the Fallout state modifier, reducing state factories, supplies, division organization and increasing division attrition. The modifier will last for a year. Subsequent nuclear attacks will not stack the modifier, but will reset the one-year timer.

* Production of nuclear bombs requires a supply of 7 Crystals. If none are available, no new nuclear bombs will be produced. Each Nuclear Reactor consumes 12 Crystals.

### No Cavalry / No Bikes

Ironically for a game entirely about small horses, EaW has no cavalry. You'll have to slog it by slow foot, motorise your divisions, or bring in fast special forces to get the speed you need.

### Suppression Changes

Without cavalry, an alternative for suppressing resistance was needed.

* Base infantry suppression doubled to compensate
* Racial infantry has even higher suppression
* MP Companies gains +1 suppression per level in addition to their percentile bonuses.

### Aircraft IC cost

All aircraft production costs were reduced by 30% to make them more worthwhile to produce.

### Tech Capture

After a country has been defeated in a war, and a peace conference has ended, the victors will have a chance to receive one-time 15% research speed bonuses to technologies that the loser had researched, and the victor has not.

The chance to receive the bonus is random, and calculated per technology. The more of loser's Industry that has been taken over by the victor (either by puppeting or annexation), the higher the chance to receive a bonus, which means that not every victor will have an equal chance. The level of Development of the victor is also a factor - the worse the Development, the smaller the chance.

### AI Tweaks

An effort was made to improve the AI. While it is by no means perfect, and most of the real improvements can only be implemented by Paradox, the devs have done their best to tweak AI's behaviors, and improve AI's handling of Division Templates. AI will use all of the added units and technologies. AI will intelligently choose Doctrines based on the bonuses they receive in their Focus Tree. AI will use dynamic strategies to respond to events and changes on the world stage. Peace Conference AI has been improved, though it is not perfect.

### Music Switching System

Equestria at War includes a small number of new musical tracks. In order to allow the players to choose what kind of music they prefer, a new button in the music player window (accessed by clicking the note symbol below time speed controls, and then the leftmost button) allows the player to choose between both Vanilla and EaW music, only Vanilla music and only EaW music.

The optional, but recommended Equestria at War Music Mod supports this feature as well.

### Minor Changes

* Ponypower for vehicles standardised to the same as for their infantry equivalent. As a result, tanks and trucks now use less ponypower than vanilla.