Chevalier Rides Again: A City Lights exploration

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Eh, the crash is back. The hell with this.

Game over, I win!

[williams482]

Ouch.

Congratulations, I guess?

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

There wasn't much of material interest left beyond the victory screen. Ship launched on turn 292 due to my spamming workers on the project. It needs to travel 50 light years, and my 5 spaceports could average 1 project every 5 turns to speed it up by 1 light year. So, on turn 297, it would have reached 45 ly, and its speed increases to 6 ly/turn. On 302, it has reached 15 ly and its speed increases to 11 ly a turn - so the game ends on 304.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

City Lights 105



The enemy coalition destroys 3 units on the interturn - I lose a field cannon to cavalry attack at Trottingham, a privateer in the southern ocean, and my relief ironclad is sunk outside of Cloudsdale, as pictured above. Korea has formed a musket corps south of hte city, and has another near my capital, supported by a Phoenician musket and crossbow. I have two cuirassiers, an ironclad of my own, and the city defenses to resist with here. 

In what I think is in retrospect a mistake, I sink the Korean privateer, leaving only the ironclad and frigate left, but removing the city garrison. The Korean single musket is killed by a cuirassier from the city, and my second cuirassier mangles the Phoenician crossbow but doesn't manage to kill it.




Another horseman is joining the fight next turn, and I have wiped out the small enemy squadron on my south coast while savaging the northern attack, but it's still touch and go here. Two privateers will be able to pick off the enemy frigate next turn, I hope, and if the ironclad survives I can fall back into the city to regroup. The enemy doesn't quite have enough attacks here to really make gains, I pray, and I am slowly stabilizing.

In the south, an enemy knight got my field cannon unexpectedly, but counter-fire destroys it in retaliation. THe enemy naval squadron has pulled back out of sight, and I need a breathing space to gather another naval force in the straits guarding access to my central ocean:



Finishing refining upgraded many of my frigates in queue, AND I already had oil hooked so I lose the ability to build privateers, sithspit! 




on the positive side of the ledger, I have 13 turns left on the Venetian Arsenal project and no way that I can see of being stopped, and my total power has already surpassed that of my two enemies, who are losing units much faster than they are replacing them.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

City Lights 106

As expected, I lose my northern ironclad, leaving me with a weak navy near Cloudsdale at the moment. One cuirassier also falls on the northern front, but those are replaceable and expendable. Otherwise no major losses, though Phoenica pushes a broad assault on my southern front near New Equestria by both land and sea.



My defending bombards, field cannons, and city defenses extract what toll they can, but I'm unable to concentrate enough firepower to sink any individual ship - I really feel the loss of my two frigates here. A line infantry polishes off a Punic field cannon near the land bridge, leaving only a Punic musketman in sight. I hope to secure the land area to restore the mines nad industrial zones and reclaim my coal reserves, but the enemy Encampment and the difficult city of Brussels are significant obstacles. 

I shift down a few reinforcements from the north, giving me 4 damaged ironclads against 4 equally damaged enemy ironclads. My hope is that the difficult terrain, city defenses, and sizable ranged and siege contingent tip things in my favor and enable me to hold my ground here. Everything else is sent to the middle sea, where I aim to establish sea superiority and begin a counteroffensive.



I have 4 ironclads here on the Gulf of Hammamet, soon to be joined by 2 battleships and a fifth clad. That should be enough to begin operations against the enemy coast, where there are several enemy shipyard cities and one Korean harbor to pillage, which should shut down shipbuilding on this ocean and give me permanent ascendency. Overall things are going okay, but it's a long slog ahead.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

My screenshots failed for 107, but two blows:

A Korean battleship turns up outside Cloudsdale and sinks my two privateers alongside the ironclad. I had intended to destroy the final Korean frigate with it. I have only one ironclad in theater now, so I hold back out of range until I can scrape up more ships.

The heavier blow is - England completes the Venetian Arsenal! I hadn't spotted him building it outside of London. Terrible news, that was going to be my ace in the whole to decisively win the war. Now I'll ahve to do it the old fashioned way, ugh.

Stalemate prevails on the southern front in New Equestria. Enemy has same forces, probably bringing more up behind. I'm gradually strengthening my hold on the middle sea, and battleships come out next turn for me. Coal crisis. Nothing to be done about it.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Turns 108 - 109:

Northern front: The situation at Cloudsdale has largely stabilized. 3 Equestrian cuirassiers manage to eliminate all invading ground forces, and city defensive fire reduces the Korean squadron by a privateer and a frigate, leaving him with 2 ironclads and a BB in the northern theater, while I have 2 ironclads and some submarines on the way.



Very uncomfortable not having absolute naval supremacy. Not a situation I'm used to!



Situation by the end of 109. The battleship could ultimately take the town BUT he has to be covered by his clads to do so. I'm countering with a mixed force of subs and ironclads, while a second force is headed to raid Seoul.

Central sea front: Our swelling force of ironclads and battleships begins to gather here. We drive off two Punic ironclads and seemingly open the way for a raid on Seoul's harbor, which will severely restrict Korean shipbuilding on this sea. That will then enable a naval assault on Phoenicia's northern cities, to burn them and establish permanent control on this ocean.






SOuthern front: All parties withdraw, stalemate ensues. Though I do get one of the Korean 'clads.






Upgrading bombards to artillery and researching flight to enable balloons, which will enable me to break the Punic defense on the isthmus.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

City Lights I

Remember this game, the original city lights exploration?

Well, only human Germany, England, and myself remain. The Dutch, Greeks, and Romans have all been taken over by robots. 

Robo-Wilhelmina declared war on the German Empire and myself, again catching me without a military due to my expectations of a hugbox game. Severe niter shortages impaired my efforts to build a fighting navy, but I've gotten that under control and have two robust fleets of frigates, privateers, caravels, and ironclads steadily chewing through the AI empire.



Overview of the campaign thus far. My fleets defeated a handful of obsolete Dutch ships off either coast, then mostly waited while I built up niter to upgrade Frigates or build Privateers. On the west coast, Flegoland fell easily, but the Dutch city on the island to the north (shared with Equestrian cities) has Renaissance walls and is a stubborn target, though isolated and doomed. 



My land army is obsolete (lack of niter to upgrade Muskets and Bombards), so it's been defensive north of the Dutch capital, but my knights and coursers have pillaged the capital's suburbs and now Frigates are arriving to bring down the walls for the horsemen. 



My continent is long and narrow, with the only natural passage far to the south at Koldingen, so the east coast is a separate campaign. Here, I easily swept the seas and now have my fleet chewing through the weak Dutch cities on this coast. Then we'll group the entire fleet in the neighborhood of Roskerdam. 



The Ponyville Canal will provide a northern link between the two coasts, as well, to save a long sea voyage in the future.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

City Lights II

Storm waves of ironclads lash my southern coast, while the main Korean and Equestrian fleets clash in the central seas. 

First, the southern coast:



This was the situation on turn 111 after on 110 two Punic ironclads pushed up to Trottingham's coast. The city defenses and artillery battered the ironclads inside, before I used two of my own to finish them. I was a bit worried about leaving the two ships exposed, but figured they could weather a Phoenician counterattack. I was correct:



Opened 112 to find 4 more ironclads battering, but not destroying, my defensive fleets. I once again have a storm of city, field cannon, and artillery fire, and have more ironclads in the city nearby. By the end of the turn, two more enemy ironclads sunk and a third is crippled. He's lost 4 ships on this front and had a fifth badly damaged, while I have no losses so far. The southern front is holding and I will soon be deploying a balloon here to begin shelling my way over the pass. 

In the north: 


The main Korean fleet is concentrated out of sight in the Libyan sea, just north of Ziz. I had intended to begin attacking the Phoenician cities, but spotting the Korean fleet made me deploy for battle. We'll engage in furious fighting here, but a)I can better afford losses, and b)I think I have a slight numbers edge, so I accept the engagement.

Korea, also, attacks, dealing heavy damage but failing to sink anything. I counter with subs and fresh ironclads, managing to sink 2 Korean battleships and a Korean ironclad, but the last one unexpectedly survives on 1 hp, sinking two of my own:



Still, I have multiple more replacements en route and he can only resupply from Seoul with any facility, so on the whole I think the exchange is in my favor. If I win this battle, I think I win the war as I'll maintain a stranglehold on this ocean for the rest of the game.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

City Lights II - turns 113 & 114

The battle of Ziz continues, but seems to be largely settled in an Equestrian victory by the end of 114.



On 113 Korea sank my easternmost ironclad and crippled a battleship. I can't heal due to coal shortages, so I even keep the battered and barely-afloat ships at the front, where normally I'd focus on force preservation first and foremost. We'll slug it out to the end, though. I counter by pouring all my fire on the double-promoted ironclad, figuring that it's hard to replace and once it's gone the rest of the fleet will go easier:






It is sunk, leaving me with two ironclad attacks against an enemy ironclad and battleship. Notice that the Korean vessels are dramatically better than my own. Korea doesn't seem to have a resource shortage (Phoenicia does), Korea and Phoenicia have a military alliance (my military ally, Rome, isn't at war with either! Just England! Bah), and a Great Admiral is backing the fleet. I should probably spend my faith on an admiral, but I was hoping to use it to pray for a land army in a bit. 

Anyway, to attack the battleship would suicide my two surviving 'clads, so instead I form them into a fleet in what turns out to be a futile effort to ride out the next wave of Korean attacks. The fleet is sunk, alongside a crippled battleship, on turn 114. However, I have multiple submarines (4) and even frigates joining the battle, plus follow-on battleships, and the Koreans are left with 1 crippled battleship versus a hefty surviving navy:



Military power stands at 1600, over 3 times what it was at the start of the war, and dramatically above Korea and Phoenicia combined - who have both seen their power fall. 

Korea is expanding shipbuilding though and is taking measures to contest the Libyan Sea:





A canal going up at size 1 Gongju will allow a second point of entry for ships built by his mature eastern cities, and Busan definitely didn't have that harbor (with lighthouse!) at the start of the war. 

my strategic plan is still to destroy the enemy fleet first, and then dispatch subs to occupy the enemy harbors/canal, while I use my main fist to raze cities on this coast. 

Update on the southern front later. No major changes but our first observation balloon is online and we're going to shell our way through Phoenicia.