|
As a French person I feel like it's my duty to explain strikes to you. - AdrienIer |
|
This is gonna be good: von Adlercreutz and Taotao
|
(May 5th, 2016, 23:53)OT4E Wrote:(May 5th, 2016, 13:40)taotao Wrote: Just saw that OT4E has commented in Donovans thread. Given his reputation I'm almost a bit worried now about what I will find next time I log in 40,000 you say? Could I have mine as two stealth bombers please?  
Played in PB27
(May 5th, 2016, 16:16)Old Harry Wrote: I think it delays a turn, so you should get visibility next turn (unless he spends enough to push you back under the threshold). Thanks, will just have to wait for next turn I guess. (thought for a while that I had been over the threshold (barely) for a while, but as I upped my EP-allocation on DZ last turn it'd make much more sense if this is the first turn "over" recently...)
Played in PB27
(May 6th, 2016, 12:14)Ichabod Wrote: How can you get 4h per water tile in your moai city? Isn't it 1h for Moai, 1h from dike +1h from the GA? I'm confused... I didn't notice that at first, wow... I just looked at the in-game Civilopedia, as there's nothing in the changelog about it, and it seems that the Dike now gives +2h, +1c per water tile! (but doesn't give any bonus hammers on rivers) Waddya think taotao, is this good or bad for you? (May 6th, 2016, 12:14)Ichabod Wrote: How can you get 4h per water tile in your moai city? Isn't it 1h for Moai, 1h from dike +1h from the GA? I'm confused...Like GJ says, the dike has gone through an overhaul in this iteration of the mod and is now giving +2h and +1c per water tile, but nothing towards river tiles. I think I've laid down my thoughts on this earlier in this thread as well, but I'll reiterate. What's better of the alternatives might be up for debate, but personally I quite like differences between different nations and as such this is a nice change. If I were to choose, competitively, which version I'd prefer in this game, the answer would however be the old version. My feeling is that I might actually get slightly more hammers total with this new version, but, the hammers will show up much more evenly spread around the empire. This means bigger infrastructure pushes in new cities. It means bigger opportunity costs if pushing GP in my NE-city or drafts in my Globe-city. 1-turning military units (with the help of military instructors) is harder in West point or other army-building centres. And, most importantly, my Ironworks city will have a much harder time of building that last spaceship part (or getting a wonder such as SoL built in time). As I can't specialise cities to the same extent I normally might, it is also something that has shaped my strategy for a long time. I wanted lots of coastal cities -> early astro bulbs (and circumnav-attempt...) I wanted to protect island holdings (and get more safe ones) -> attack CH/Fenn before Serdoa/DZ Island settling contest with REM? -> settle off river so he won't get as good cities if turns opportunistic. (though here I'm also balancing trying to settle on hills and simply interfering with REMs expansion as much as possible)
Played in PB27
t174
Donovan actually sent me a white peace offer at the beginning of turn. I declined. He's just taken 3 cities from me that he can't hold. I can't hold them either if I take them back, but I sure ain't giving them for free just like that (unless I'm 100% sure REM will attack and I'll be able to use my troops against that other foe). Not a single fight takes place, but I do send in a stack against Mogor the Ogre in the north. Constitution comes in and I revolt to representation. Research set to Music. Interturn. My stack is hit by two cats, but no follow ups. t175 In a possibly  move I retaliated in the same way, sacrificing two cannons against DZs defenses (while also dropping down cultural defenses). Didn't really feel right doing so, but DZ had upgraded quite a few lb's to redcoats and I was afraid he'd take out my cannons (who'd often be first to defend) in simple one-on-one combats.No other fights, but next turn is promising to be interesting. Depending on how DZ reinforce and combat luck I could possibly capture as many as 6 cities next turn. 6 isn't really going to happen, as I won't have units to defend everything afterwards and city visibility (that came through this turn, but not last) shows DZ has 9 knights and 4 cats (and a few redcoats) that can strike most counter-attacks, but hopefully I can start to bring some pain at least. Music came in this turn and next turn I'll grab Military Tradition.
Played in PB27
On the teching front I could mention that DZ had Military Tradition as a place holder last time I was logged in. I'm guessing that I'll beat him to the tech by 1t, but anyway I won't have a long window of military tech superiority here. I'll try to throw my weigth around for a little bit still, but with DZ in slavery I doubt I'll get all that far before stalling. Acceptable borders from my point of view would be if I could conquer Mogor in the north (to only have 1 front city there and lessen the risk of fort-shenanigans), take back the 3 cities DZ took in the beginning of this war, and relieve DZ of his two ex-Fenn cities of Zinaar and Darnassus (possibly razing Voidcaller in the process). Not sure I'll pull it off, but anything less and borders will stay as uneasy as before this war...
I could also mention that one side effect of DZ going MT and upgrading stuff is that it delays his astro research. It also so happens that there seem to be a fairly nice island between DZ and Borsche...  Claiming that island for myself I'd say is somewhat outrageous, but then again, how long have I had astronomy? 50 turns? Surely it's not my fault if they won't colonize the islands just outside their Cap?  As for other techers, I think it's worth mentioning that REM got Steam Power last turn. He already has Corporation so that means he's one tech from cheap factories and infantry! (when most people beelining Rifling still only have muskets). Question is what I want to do? Next turn I'll finish MT and the turn afterwards I'll probably run 100% gold to get some knights->cavalry upgrades, but afterwards? The "normal" approach I guess would be following REMs footsteps to the great economic tech of Corporation, pick up Steam Power for "faux-Serfdom" and +50%h in Ironworks city and then get my own half priced factories. It's tempting. (all of it really, but especially corporation as that should be paid back reasonably quickly). However, if I want either SoL or the Physics GS, then this is probably the time to go for it. SoL I kind of already game up on for a moment, but I'm in a GA and I probably have one of the best production cities in the world (before levees start popping up) so I still might be in with a fair shot... Physics on the other hand is a bit uncertain in that I don't have any GS really to burn on bulbs. Then again I don't want REM to claim all first-to-boni and I'm one of the few that could challenge him. Also, I'm not sure that infantry are that much better than airships in my position. Sure, if REM hits my islands infantry would be nice, but even if I have the tech I doubt I'll build enough units to actually survive a surprise boating. On the mainland again infantry would be good, but a mix of airships, cannons and cavalry can probably do just as good a job when defending. Against DZ infantry would neutralize his redcoats somewhat. They'd be a nice stack defender. But soon I doubt I'll get much further without quick 2-movers anyway and non-amphibious infantry really isn't much of an upgrade to amphi-cavs when it comes to attacking off boats... Very much on the fence here on what might be best, but at least I've got two turns to make a decision still...
Played in PB27
Dang it!
Logged in during lunch to have a peek at how many units Donovan has added in Mogor and generally how many cities I should try to attack this turn. Saw a couple of redcoat upgrades in the Ogre, but some sims yesterday still made me believe I'd have a decent chance at taking the city when... ...hold on, what's that? ... ... Damn it REM!!!   So yeah, city visibility is an interesting thing. I can only assume that REM has seen that I have a good shot at taking Mogor from DZ and possibly splitting his defenses open. When you're number 1 in the world you don't particularly enjoy seeing the number two gaining prime real estate. I get that. Still, in my world there's a big difference between supplying resources to the third party (something I've been guilty at too) and taking an active part in the war... So what did I see? Well, just about 10 cossacks in DZ territory ready to hit my units if I take Mogor. Plus a conga line of rifles following behind. Anyone remember PB18? There was a moment there where Russian BGN set a stop to Krills invasion of Ruff. Krill threw a fit and basically focused the rest of his game on making sure BGN didn't win. Which he didn't. Now, I'm not Krill. I have neither his multiplayer experience nor his ability to rage. That said, if REM somehow end up not winning this thing, I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with me decreasing my own ability to win in favour of taking down REM a peg or two... So what to do now? Peace with DZ might be a good thing. I'm not willing to give it to him just like that though. I'm not giving him 3 cities because he´s caught me between two wars and he's getting bailed out by his bigger brother. The most likely scenario is that I'll retake the 3 cities he took from me this turn and then offer peace. If he accepts we're good (for 10t...), otherwise the war will rage on. As for Mogor I'm undecided. Most likely I'll fall back inside my own culture and prepare for getting attacked. If, however, I manage to convince myself that I'll be able to raze Mogor in one attempt (eye-balling it I give myself 60-70% chance of success) and still fall back in time to repel a REM invasion that might still be a go. If I had the option of taking REM islands I'd go for it, but sadly he outnumbers me there and I'll need to hope that he doesn't attack. I'm just now getting my third drydock up and starting naval production in earnest, but it'll be a while before new ships reach those remote places...
Played in PB27
 So this was basically the sight that greeted me when I logged in last turn. Besides the units shown here I had a few knights in reserve within striking distance of Mogor. Ran a few sims to see if a bold attack would be at all feasible... sadly I had accidentally slipped in an extra cannon in my sims the day before and DZ had also added a couple extra (rubbish) bodies which generally led to me being ~3 units short of burning the city. Had I not seen REM I might've well attacked anyhow as I could've added more fresh units the following turn, but now that would've been plain suicide. Therefore retreated to my own territory to hopefully be able to fend off REMs units there (moving to the hill, promoting a couple muskets to G2 and adding a G2 rifle). Since I'd prefer not to be fighting REM and Donovan at the same time I figured I wanted to send DZ a peace treaty this turn. However, current borders couldn't stand so it was time to make a move in the south. Angola cr2 cannon vs redcoat (49,3%)… LOSS (only 1 hit) cr2 cannon vs inj redcoat (78,6%)… LOSS amphi knight vs inj redcoat (97,5%)… WIN knight vs inj redcoat (98%)... WIN Expensive, but worth it to have the city back.  Machu Picchu cr2 cannon vs redcoat(5,4%)… LOSS (1hit) pinch knight vs inj redcoat (1,8%)… LOSS (4 hits!) cr2 sword vs inj redcoat (96,4%)… FLAWLESS LOSS c2 knight vs inj redcoat (88,1%)… WIN OK, even worse battles and the city can easily be 1-turned, perhaps a mistake? Anyway, I stuff most of my remaining knights here and try to hold it.  And then it's time for an axe of mine to take the undefended Ollantaytambo  After which I sent a white peace offer to Donovan. He won't accept it immediately (DZ will only know that I've taken 3 cities, if I kept Mogor or tried to take it and failed he might have great opportunities for counter-attacks), but if I'm lucky he might accept this war as a zero-sum game (unless counting all the units/production lost) and send it back. Though honestly I doubt that's going to happen. Without REM? sure, it would've been possible, but now...? Research was btw set to 30% towards corporation to keep my options open. I'll probably have to channel as much funds as possible towards upgrades, but in case I do believe I can afford waiting a couple of turns with those I should be able to finish Corp. in 1t... and now I just realise that after I upgraded a few units last turn I won't have enough money in the bank anymore to research at 100%  Ah well, I'm fairly certain I'll have to upgrade loads of stuff anyway...
Played in PB27
t177
Donovan  So, we have peace in our time. I could add a note here that this is a deal I wouldn’t have taken if it wasn’t for REMs Cossack force moving through English land. Now, I’m not sure exactly what prompted Donovans declaration in the first place, but I’ve seen some strange declarations from Donovan in the past so it might be that from his point of view we are OK. Since Donovan is prickly (read pro redcoats and cavs) and I’ve got bigger worries/targets, in theory I could also forgive his declaration and mind my own business going forward. However, look at our borders: <sorry, screenshot didn't take, will update later> He’s cutting my empire in half! At some point Zinaar (&Dalassar) simply have to go if I am to be able to defend myself going forwards. Sooner rather than later (though I really am not sure when I’ll be able to do so). REM This is REMs main harassing stack. 11 cossacks and 2 horse archers (with some follow up troops out of view).  It might not look immensely big, but don’t be fooled, this is a real pain in the a**. Why? Well, first off there’s the +50% against mounted. I might have equal amounts of same-cost-cavs that are (possibly) better promoted (thanks to longer spans in vassalage + more recent fighting experience), but still get losing odds. Secondly he’s essentially forking lots of cities meaning I need lots of stacks to have any chance of defending. - 2 stacks up north by Toivala/Svartholm (the reason why I wanted to raze/capture Mogor), - 1 stack by Mondatta (and accepting that Sevastopol might be razed unless my own stack is huge), - 1 stack by Tiwanaku/Macchu Picchu (and still accept that he first gets a raze), - 1 stack by Ollantaytambo, - and possibly even 1 stack by Vitkossa in the east. So that’s what, 6*11=66 “equal” units? + preferably 13+1 weaker units in the right spot to make sure cities aren’t razed/scratch his units enough for me to get odds. That’s impossible. So what to do? - Use rifles instead of cavs. It certainly gives me better odds, but the lack of mobility hurts a lot in my strung out empire. Making the units will also take a while (especially when not in nationhood). - Relying on luck and prioritising important cities. Will be doing this to some extent, but don’t want to go too far here. Especially not when I believe he’s got city visibility/scouts in DZ territory. - Research railroad and put down a rail network for increased mobility. Thinking about this currently. Would be a huge help, but would also take a long while (i.e.not applicable for this stack). Railroad is also EXPENSIVE (and I wouldn’t get ktb from REM). - Get open borders with DZ to be able to hit REMs stack in English lands. Sent an offer just now that I hope, but doubt, that DZ will accept. This is doubly important in places where REM actually could raze a city of mine and then fall back with his wounded stack in DZ territory where I can’t counter attack. - Go on the offensive instead. I’m actually making some semi-aggressive moves near REM to try and keep him from attacking. Don’t think many of them could lead to much as he’s covering most coastal cities fairly well, but I gotta try something… Dtay A few turns back dtay offered me corn for corn. Didn't accept, but sent it back, so probably we're going to try and stay friendly with each other. Sure, we could attack each other if the other's about to win, but for now at least he needs me to keep an eye on REM. This turn dtay completed the Sistine chapel. Good move by him (actually have thought of grabbing it myself for denial, but wars and settling races have come in the way...). His traits aren't the best for a cultural victory, but his territory is compact enough that he at least might stand a chance, and if REM and I end up fighting his position might still strengthen. Tech With science on 100% I could’ve finished corporation next turn. After some debate I, however, decided that I’d rather promote a couple of extra 3-promo knights -> cavalry this turn and have the ability to promote some more next turn than the lovely trade routes. After that I have some interesting choices to make: Democracy -> Steam Power -> Railroad. I feel like I can’t let REM grab all good things here and SoL certainly would be powerful in his hands (or dtays for that matter). If I grab democracy I probably want Steam next for the +50%prod in my Ironworks city. I, however, don’t believe I can beat REM to Pentagon if going this route so Assembly line is slightly weaker. Factories + coal plants would be great, but at over 230 base hammers they don’t come free and then most cities that can use them still would need some health buildings… (note-to-self: the environmentalism sported by REM might actually be a pretty good choice, do I need to research economics asap and drop vassalage in favour of this at the end of my GA?). Railroads are mostly for the mobility, but they do give increased production as well and machine guns are an excellent counter for redcoats or infantry Steam Power-> Assembly line. “Half-priced” factories. Making up some of the gnp gap between REM and me by utilising ktb. Infantry (that aren’t that much better against Cossacks, but stops rifles/redcoats dead in their tracks). Challenge REM for Pentagon (though I doubt I can beat him). Scientific Method -> Physics Free GS (for beakers or GA). Airships (very useful for scouting (to make up for ep-discrepancy between REM and me, but also scratching top defenders to get winning odds much quicker). Revealing strategic resources. I should be large enough that I have my own oil and coal, but for instance there’s a strange looking island in REM waters that might well hold one of very few aluminium deposits… Scientific Method -> Communism->Steam Power -> Assembly line Initially I thought I’d just forget about Communism. There’s no Great Spy. State property has generally been a great economic tech, but is outshone by mercantilism + representation in this version. My core has towns, but borderlands and islands lack them completely (so US isn’t in that much demand, “freeing up” rep). However, image this scenario: I research communism (possibly switch to SP here to start gaining food). I build Kremlin. I research AL. I build/whip factories and coal plants. Then I start to whip for real… …and whip …and whip …and whip until Nero seemed like a nice fella and I’m either the most backwards nation in the world or has incorporated Russia into my empire (or both). Probably shouldn’t tease lurkers too much as it’s unlikely to happen (I believe I’d get the production, but doubt the logistics will make it possible until REM has too many machine guns). At least it was an interesting idea in my head… Military Science. See, I've got two great generals hanging. A high risk, probably no reward play would be to send 2-3 EI's filled with amphi cavalry towards a suitable REM coastal city (probably Tiwanaku Edit: Yakutsk), hope that I can take it and unload two gg-commando cavalry in an effort to go raze Moscow. I don't believe he's got more than one older unit in the city normally, but of course he could produce something the same turn... Besides, ships-of-the-line to counter his frigates. In general I should add that I believe my medium-term goal has to be to get artillery + combustion as soon as possible. If I lose the race to destroyers I have to assume that I’m as good as dead. Preferably I’ll also get some unit capable of razing cities off boats at the same time (marines??), but defence of my territorial waters has to be priority number one. In other words, I like techs like steam power, railroad, scientific method and physics, but assembly line, democracy and communism all require an "unnecessary" beaker cost.
Played in PB27
|
