CivRulesAll
The Void Beyond
- Joined
- May 1, 2007
- Messages
- 590
You sure are having leader luck. I got 3 leaders once,and it was the max! You got what,15,20?
Always War Deity on Standard Pangaea
- Thread starter Mumpulus
- Start date
Mumpulus
King
I've had 14 leaders so far, or 15 if you count the one I just got during turn 186. 
Since I started counting, 35 elite victories gave me 5 leaders. That's 1/7 on average, where 1/12 would be "normal". So I've been pretty lucky since I started counting, that's true. But overall, I still don't think I've been exceptionally, incredibly, or overly lucky.
I don't know if you've ever played an Always War game, but you always get lots of leaders in that kind of game, because of the sheer number of battles that are fought. There are several examples of games where players got multiple leaders during a single turn. Take a look at this (turn 6) for example.
Since I started counting, 35 elite victories gave me 5 leaders. That's 1/7 on average, where 1/12 would be "normal". So I've been pretty lucky since I started counting, that's true. But overall, I still don't think I've been exceptionally, incredibly, or overly lucky.
I don't know if you've ever played an Always War game, but you always get lots of leaders in that kind of game, because of the sheer number of battles that are fought. There are several examples of games where players got multiple leaders during a single turn. Take a look at this (turn 6) for example.
Mumpulus
King
IT
Our pair of elite pikemen near Potsdam retreats 2 Egyptian cavalry. A crusader kills a French cavalry and promotes to elite. The French and the Mongols each land a longbowman next to empty Freiburg.
Turn 186 - 710AD
Koblenz is founded on the edge of the French marshlands.
Armies and an elite knight kill 4 Egyptian cavalry up north. The next target is a Mongol conscript rifleman. The second trebuchet shot hits, and an elite knight attacks:
Rommel will have to wait a while until one more town is founded.
12 units were killed this turn, 2 with elites, no losses.
IT
I've overlooked something again, and once more lose a stack of slaves. This time the Hittites land a musketman near Freiburg.
Turn 187 - 720AD
We get the slaves back, plus two more from the settler that moved again.
Killed 10 units, we still have our leader so elite victories didn't count. I attacked mostly with veterans and armies anyway.
Physics is due in 10 turns at 40% science, which is all we can afford with 63 gold in our treasury and running at +8gpt. Setting 50% science would result in -37gpt.
IT
We defeat 3 French longbows on defense in Bielefeld. The Russians and the French fight. We get another crusader.
Turn 188 - 730AD
The two knight armies in French territory have been converging over the past few turns, and finally attack. Two rifles die, and:
Kill 7 units in total, no losses. I still have a leader stored.
I've taken another look at the power graph, and the Egyptians have been on the rise. They're the ones with all the money now: 12597 gold. They're communist now, but we still have a stronger military. We're average to the Hittites and the French, and strong to everyone else.
We have 22 knights (20 in armies, 2 elites) and 22 cavalry (12 in armies, 2 elites, 8 veterans). The German kingdom is producing 1.17 cavalry per turn, and more cities will finish their infrastructure soon, so that will increase slightly to a projected output of 1.45 cavalry per turn. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to build banks, but I probably will. I'll go for the wines and incense first though, to see what our economy looks like then (still running 20% lux tax).
Our pair of elite pikemen near Potsdam retreats 2 Egyptian cavalry. A crusader kills a French cavalry and promotes to elite. The French and the Mongols each land a longbowman next to empty Freiburg.
Turn 186 - 710AD
Koblenz is founded on the edge of the French marshlands.
Armies and an elite knight kill 4 Egyptian cavalry up north. The next target is a Mongol conscript rifleman. The second trebuchet shot hits, and an elite knight attacks:
Rommel will have to wait a while until one more town is founded.
12 units were killed this turn, 2 with elites, no losses.
IT
I've overlooked something again, and once more lose a stack of slaves. This time the Hittites land a musketman near Freiburg.
Turn 187 - 720AD
We get the slaves back, plus two more from the settler that moved again.
Killed 10 units, we still have our leader so elite victories didn't count. I attacked mostly with veterans and armies anyway.
Physics is due in 10 turns at 40% science, which is all we can afford with 63 gold in our treasury and running at +8gpt. Setting 50% science would result in -37gpt.
IT
We defeat 3 French longbows on defense in Bielefeld. The Russians and the French fight. We get another crusader.
Turn 188 - 730AD
The two knight armies in French territory have been converging over the past few turns, and finally attack. Two rifles die, and:
Kill 7 units in total, no losses. I still have a leader stored.
I've taken another look at the power graph, and the Egyptians have been on the rise. They're the ones with all the money now: 12597 gold. They're communist now, but we still have a stronger military. We're average to the Hittites and the French, and strong to everyone else.
We have 22 knights (20 in armies, 2 elites) and 22 cavalry (12 in armies, 2 elites, 8 veterans). The German kingdom is producing 1.17 cavalry per turn, and more cities will finish their infrastructure soon, so that will increase slightly to a projected output of 1.45 cavalry per turn. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to build banks, but I probably will. I'll go for the wines and incense first though, to see what our economy looks like then (still running 20% lux tax).
Ansar
Détente avec l'été
Communist Egyptians? Now I've seen it all! 
(great story, keep it up)
(great story, keep it up)
Mumpulus
King
IT
The Arabs are approaching in larger numbers now, with 3 cavalry, a longbowman and a settler pair. Could it really be that some wars have ended?
Turn 189 - 740AD
The French stacks are almost gone (2 redlined longbowmen remain, completely surrounded by our troops). A knight army still loses way too many hitpoints taking down a yellowlined musketeer.
Total kill count for this turn was 21, again with no losses. The French front is pretty much empty now, which will allow the armies to heal and to move forward in a few turns. The north is also safe for now, but things will certainly heat up in the turns ahead. There are three cavalry still visible, of Arab and Egyptian nationality.
IT
Just a few enemy troops advancing. It will be good to get a new army up north, because we are a bit thin there.
Turn 190 - 750AD
Kill 8 units only, then run out of targets. There are 6 French units, mostly riflemen, approaching in a very scattered pattern. In the north, there are 4 units left.
IT
The Hittites join the incoming bogies in the north. There's also an increase in ship traffic towards the München area.
Turn 191 - 760AD
One French rifleman is all I get to kill, for a promotion to elite. I move some cavalry towards the Karakorum area because next turn I'll be able to create an army. Three cavalry armies will be fully healed next turn, and will start to really wreck havoc with the French.
I also move a worker into place to create a colony on the wines. Settler production isn't going very fast, and I don't have the money to rush them. I should really have shut down research for a few turns to remedy that, but I didn't think of it in time. During the next 10 turns I should be able to found quite a few new towns though.
I feel like a huge cavalry stack could appear any time now. I've been very lucky so far with the wars going on between all AIs, but that just couldn't last forever.
IT
Our redlined knight army in the north defends against an Egyptian cavalry. A lone Arab longbowman lands next to München. No matter how many times I've seen this before, in my own games and in others', I'm always amazed at how the AI sails an entire armada all the way around your lands and then manages to land a single unit.
The French found Bordeaux not far from the Brest ruins. They still don't have their saltpeter back.
Turn 192 - 770AD
Mannheim is founded, our wine colony established, and an army created (to celebrate).
Let's see, what's next?
...
...
...
Ok, so it's been a few turns since I posted a picture, so I'm going to put one just below. Now, y'all must promise not to throw any abuse my way, because I really can't help this. This is just one of those things that happen. It's not like I'm Sirian and I have this cheat code inside the Civ3 program that makes sure that I get lucky.
So there was this Ansar Warrior that got too close to Karakorum, I can't help that. And with all the incoming units further up north, I had most of my own strong units up there, so I can't help that either. All my trebuchets are out of range as well, so I can't take any chances here, right? I just have to use the strongest unit to my disposal, which just happens to be one of the two elite knights I have left.
An elite knight has an 88% chance to win against a veteran Ansar Warrior. So it's not at all unlikely it actually wins the fight, now is it? And the game doesn't really care that you haven't had a single elite win since you converted the last leader into an army, or even any win at all. And the game certainly doesn't know that the guy playing this game has been trying to explain on the CivFanatics forums that he hasn't been exceptionally lucky with leaders. So, it all makes sense then, that the very first elite win results in...
Cavalry armies come into action after that:
and
Our military is now strong compared to all.
Killed 12 units, no losses, ... 1 elite victory.
IT
No attacks, we do inflict some ZoC hits. And we get another crusader.
Turn 193 - 780AD
Osnabrück is founded near Karakorum.
Barbarossa rushes a courthouse in Augsburg, near Verbotene Stadt. There's a lot of jungle to clear and a lot of growing to do, but it'll become a good city eventually. And I want to fish for more leaders of course.
Our cavalry army kills 2 rifles in Besançon:
Another cavalry army starts working on size 7 Avignon, in the west, killing a rifleman.
I can even spare a knight army to explore a little, and find:
In the north I'm able to kill all units that are within range without problems. I can even kill the first rifleman in the Mongol capital city of Mandalgovi. That area also feels much more secure now.
IT
A roading crew of three workers is taken by a French rifleman. They found Rennes near the saltpeter. The Mongols must have sold something to the Egyptians, because they have most of the money again.
Turn 194 - 790AD
We found Erfurt to push the front further north.
Our cavalry army does poorly, and has to retreat after killing another rifleman in Mandalgovi. We will get our hands on that money though.
It's been a very long time since I last lost a unit, and now I do so because I stupidly mismanage the order of attacks, allowing an Egyptian cavalry to make a ZoC hit, which costs a cavalry the one extra hitpoint that could have made the difference against another cavalry.
Vengeance is exacted swiftly:
I've highlighted a Hittite stack; they're showing up in larger numbers now. I lose another cavalry on the redlined rifleman you can see in the last picture. Another cavalry barely succeeds in killing him.
To the south then, 3 riflemen in two cities die to our cavalry armies:
and
Killed 13 units this turn, 2 with elites, lost 2 cavalry.
IT
Nothing worth mentioning happens.
Turn 195 - 800AD
The French are without gems. Their cities are shrinking every turn.
Kill only 4 units this turn, 2 with elites, no losses. I couldn't damage the Hittite stack, so they may attack us and do a lot of damage. Or they could move past us and be damaged next turn. Six armies are healing this turn.
We're up to 30 cavalry, and have one more elite knight to promote.
France is in fascism, and Egypt is in anarchy, so probably going that way too. The Mongols are communist.
The Arabs are approaching in larger numbers now, with 3 cavalry, a longbowman and a settler pair. Could it really be that some wars have ended?
Turn 189 - 740AD
The French stacks are almost gone (2 redlined longbowmen remain, completely surrounded by our troops). A knight army still loses way too many hitpoints taking down a yellowlined musketeer.
Total kill count for this turn was 21, again with no losses. The French front is pretty much empty now, which will allow the armies to heal and to move forward in a few turns. The north is also safe for now, but things will certainly heat up in the turns ahead. There are three cavalry still visible, of Arab and Egyptian nationality.
IT
Just a few enemy troops advancing. It will be good to get a new army up north, because we are a bit thin there.
Turn 190 - 750AD
Kill 8 units only, then run out of targets. There are 6 French units, mostly riflemen, approaching in a very scattered pattern. In the north, there are 4 units left.
IT
The Hittites join the incoming bogies in the north. There's also an increase in ship traffic towards the München area.
Turn 191 - 760AD
One French rifleman is all I get to kill, for a promotion to elite. I move some cavalry towards the Karakorum area because next turn I'll be able to create an army. Three cavalry armies will be fully healed next turn, and will start to really wreck havoc with the French.
I also move a worker into place to create a colony on the wines. Settler production isn't going very fast, and I don't have the money to rush them. I should really have shut down research for a few turns to remedy that, but I didn't think of it in time. During the next 10 turns I should be able to found quite a few new towns though.
I feel like a huge cavalry stack could appear any time now. I've been very lucky so far with the wars going on between all AIs, but that just couldn't last forever.
IT
Our redlined knight army in the north defends against an Egyptian cavalry. A lone Arab longbowman lands next to München. No matter how many times I've seen this before, in my own games and in others', I'm always amazed at how the AI sails an entire armada all the way around your lands and then manages to land a single unit.
The French found Bordeaux not far from the Brest ruins. They still don't have their saltpeter back.
Turn 192 - 770AD
Mannheim is founded, our wine colony established, and an army created (to celebrate).
Let's see, what's next?
...
...
...
Ok, so it's been a few turns since I posted a picture, so I'm going to put one just below. Now, y'all must promise not to throw any abuse my way, because I really can't help this. This is just one of those things that happen. It's not like I'm Sirian and I have this cheat code inside the Civ3 program that makes sure that I get lucky.
So there was this Ansar Warrior that got too close to Karakorum, I can't help that. And with all the incoming units further up north, I had most of my own strong units up there, so I can't help that either. All my trebuchets are out of range as well, so I can't take any chances here, right? I just have to use the strongest unit to my disposal, which just happens to be one of the two elite knights I have left.
An elite knight has an 88% chance to win against a veteran Ansar Warrior. So it's not at all unlikely it actually wins the fight, now is it? And the game doesn't really care that you haven't had a single elite win since you converted the last leader into an army, or even any win at all. And the game certainly doesn't know that the guy playing this game has been trying to explain on the CivFanatics forums that he hasn't been exceptionally lucky with leaders. So, it all makes sense then, that the very first elite win results in...
Cavalry armies come into action after that:
and
Our military is now strong compared to all.
Killed 12 units, no losses, ... 1 elite victory.
IT
No attacks, we do inflict some ZoC hits. And we get another crusader.
Turn 193 - 780AD
Osnabrück is founded near Karakorum.
Barbarossa rushes a courthouse in Augsburg, near Verbotene Stadt. There's a lot of jungle to clear and a lot of growing to do, but it'll become a good city eventually. And I want to fish for more leaders of course.
Our cavalry army kills 2 rifles in Besançon:
Another cavalry army starts working on size 7 Avignon, in the west, killing a rifleman.
I can even spare a knight army to explore a little, and find:
In the north I'm able to kill all units that are within range without problems. I can even kill the first rifleman in the Mongol capital city of Mandalgovi. That area also feels much more secure now.
IT
A roading crew of three workers is taken by a French rifleman. They found Rennes near the saltpeter. The Mongols must have sold something to the Egyptians, because they have most of the money again.
Turn 194 - 790AD
We found Erfurt to push the front further north.
Our cavalry army does poorly, and has to retreat after killing another rifleman in Mandalgovi. We will get our hands on that money though.
It's been a very long time since I last lost a unit, and now I do so because I stupidly mismanage the order of attacks, allowing an Egyptian cavalry to make a ZoC hit, which costs a cavalry the one extra hitpoint that could have made the difference against another cavalry.
Vengeance is exacted swiftly:
I've highlighted a Hittite stack; they're showing up in larger numbers now. I lose another cavalry on the redlined rifleman you can see in the last picture. Another cavalry barely succeeds in killing him.
To the south then, 3 riflemen in two cities die to our cavalry armies:
and
Killed 13 units this turn, 2 with elites, lost 2 cavalry.
IT
Nothing worth mentioning happens.
Turn 195 - 800AD
The French are without gems. Their cities are shrinking every turn.
Kill only 4 units this turn, 2 with elites, no losses. I couldn't damage the Hittite stack, so they may attack us and do a lot of damage. Or they could move past us and be damaged next turn. Six armies are healing this turn.
We're up to 30 cavalry, and have one more elite knight to promote.
France is in fascism, and Egypt is in anarchy, so probably going that way too. The Mongols are communist.
Mumpulus
King
I've put together a little map with some additional information:
Spoiler :
TheOverseer714
Overseer
1 child and a lifespan of 26 years. Logan's Run, anyone? The rest is pretty good, considering the bonuses a Deity AI has. Doing very well, Mumpulus
CivRulesAll
The Void Beyond
- Joined
- May 1, 2007
- Messages
- 590
Good lord! You are like, invincible! Have you even lost a town yet!?
Mumpulus
King
CivRulesAl said:
Sure I have! I've even lost a few already. Don't you remember the Karakorum shuffle?
But I haven't lost any towns when I didn't want to, except Karakorum once by culture flip, but that wasn't unexpected either.Losing a town in an AW game is generally a very bad sign. You can afford to lose one now and then, when you're well established and you're able to react fast and take it back quickly. But in any other case, it usually means you're being overrun. It's mostly game over when a situation like that occurs.
That's especially true in this game, where I've been outnumbered 10 to 1 (or more) at several points in time. When you're playing defense against those numbers, you have to play very tactically. You pick battles you're almost certain to win, and block the AI where you can't win. You have to constantly keep an eye on possible movements, both by your own troops and by the AI's. Cultural influence from towns plays an important role in that, because you can use roads that lie within your territory, but the enemy cannot. If, within that scheme, a town suddenly and unexpectedly falls, the tactical plan generally falls into pieces as well, opening the gates to your entire empire.
All that just to emphasize that it's important not to lose towns, and that why I made sure I didn't.
Ansar
Détente avec l'été
Lose, not loose, Mump.
(sorry
)
(sorry
)TheOverseer714
Overseer
If saying loose instead of lose is the only thing wrong with his english, he is doing very well. Actually, I've noticed a few europeans on here that do that, so maybe it's something that comes from how english translates into french, german, or dutch. It doesn't bother me at all compared to some of the barely comprehensible threads written by some on here, though generally civ fans are quite literate.
Ansar
Détente avec l'été
Well, I just noticed he was constantly using it in his last post, so I thought he was getting it wrong.
I correct people sometimes because I like it when someone corrects me when I'm speaking in a foreign language.
(sorry
)
Northen Wolf
Young Hunter
Well, I just noticed he was constantly using it in his last post, so I thought he was getting it wrong.TheOverseer714 said:
I correct people sometimes because I like it when someone corrects me when I'm speaking in a foreign language.
(sorry
Don't fight over a small typo, still it is nice if someone corrects your mistakes/typos. I am not speaking nor writing native/good English either, but Most people understand what I try to say. Mumpulus here writes a lot of better.
And Mumpulus, How long it takes for you to complete a turn? 20 minutes, longer if calculating/MMing? What are main things you should care about in AW? I know kill-to-death ratio. Did you plan the forb. palace before? (sorry for annoying, but I'd like to know.)
BTW. AWSOME work here.
Mumpulus
King
ansar said:Lose, not loose, Mump.
(sorry
Ansar, I'm so
at you now! ![[pissed]](/images/smilies/pissed.gif "Pissed [pissed]")
I mean, why on earth do you ... wait so long to notice and/or mention that. You know, I had to go through the entire thread to fix the many "looses" that were in here? Heck, I'll have to go through all my posts just to make sure there are no more of them. (Ok, I'm not going to do that.)
No, seriously now: like you I appreciate if mistakes like this are pointed out to me. It wasn't a simple typo, I just had this one completely wrong. I don't know why, because I actually knew this, yet I made the mistake consistently. You may have noticed I try hard to get my spelling and grammar correct, and in general to present this story in the best way I can. So I really appreciate you pointing that out, thanks.
Now, if you and Overseer and NWolf could edit your posts into some general praise or something, no-one will ever know.
Northen Wolf said:
I don't know exactly, because I don't keep track of time, but I think it is even a bit longer. It depends on a lot of factors of course. I type my report and make pictures as I go along. If I have to edit a picture, that takes some time too. Making the report and the pictures actually helps me to focus on the game itself, sometimes drawing my attention to something I wouldn't otherwise have noticed. When that happens I tend to go over the entire situation again to make sure I'm not overlooking anything. If it's been a while since I last played, I actually reread my own report to regain my bearings. Sometimes it feels like I'm playing a succession game with a team of one.
I also get carried away with providing more background information. For example when I did the overview of all cities, that took an entire afternoon. The big maps also take some time to put together of course.
The actual playing time varies with the situations I'm faced with. When there are a lot of enemy units, you have to plan ahead a bit. Such turns can easily take an hour. When I get rails, turns will take even longer because I really try to squeeze everything out. I use wounded units or units that have attacked already as MP then, which results in constant shuffling, and the need to go over the entire battlefield to determine how I'm going to use my units. I find this really fun to do, so I tend to take it to extremes.
Concerning micromanagement: I go over every town every turn, because it makes such a huge difference. All available funds go towards research, so every coin and every shield counts. Settling CxxC gives a lot of flexibility in tile assignment, but as long as cities are growing, or as long as infrastructure is being built that changes production/happiness, or as long as tiles are improved, you have to keep an eye on things. There are a few core cities that are stable now, but whenever an enemy unit lands, the very precise micromanagement is thrown off, and you have to compensate by some temporary changes.
Northen Wolf said:
The main thing I think is balance. Sure, there are some specific elements that any experienced AW player will put forward (high kill ratio, CxxC settling, build roads, always expand, GLib is important or indispensable, careful not to wreck economy when switching to monarchy, etc.), but I don't think any of those is sacred at all times. Exceptional situations require exceptional measures. The thing with AW is you can't make peace, so there's no way to take a break and regroup if things start to go downhill. That's why I think balance is the key word: there's only a very narrow zone of comfort where you can move during an AW, and you have to be constantly vigilant to stay within that zone. If you stray too far, things can turn bad very fast. I think the main appeal of AW games for me is this balancing act.
Northen Wolf said:
The forbidden palace doesn't have the same effect as the first palace, and it's generally more important to get it up early, rather than wait to get it in a better location. But I still like to get a second, smaller core up around the FP. It must have been around turn 75 that I decided to put the FP where I did. It is an excellent location with both commerce and production, and equally good sites around.
I do appreciate these questions; let's me know I'm not writing this for nothing. So don't hesitate to ask. I also always welcome any constructive criticism.
Northen Wolf
Young Hunter
Thanks for replies, I'm reading and it is interesting for me, looking what you do, how you do, is good way to learn, for me. I bet many other, better players, than me, also read to learn.
Thanks for replies again.
Thanks for replies again.
Mumpulus
King
IT
The Mongols found a town not far from where Dalandzadgad used to be. The Russians land 1 and the French land 3 units at Freiburg, all defense 1. With all our cavalry in transit from the core to the front, that won't be a problem. We see the first shore bombardment, by the Hittites, at Hamburg. I'm glad the game lasted this long without. I'll pull back the trebuchets I have there now blocking landings. The occasional tile blockage from a landing isn't as bad now as a pillaged tile.
Turn 196 - 810AD
Our knight army kills the single regular rifleman in the new Mongol settlement, and we can now research Magnetism in 5 turns instead of 10:
The Mongols had 11779 gold at the start of this turn.
In the north, Regensburg is founded to further shield Karakorum and to establish a better front. Combat there doesn't go so well, because a veteran cavalry dies on a Hittite MDI (healthy veteran on a hill, but still). Our unit count there is increasing steadily, so this doesn't become a real problem.
On the French side, a cavalry army kills 2 riflemen in Marseilles, but a longbowman holds the town.
Killed 13 units this turn, 2 with elites. Lost 1 unit.
IT
A healing crusader on a hill defends against a Hittite MDI. The Hittites also land a single unit next to Freiburg. Arab and Egyptian cavalry show up in larger numbers now.
Turn 197 - 820AD
The situation is the north is a bit tricky:
As you can see, the Egyptians nor the Hittites can reach our towns, even with their vanguard. They can't reach our pikeman stack (southeast of the wines) either, provided the crusader stack (southwest of the wines) holds. I can give up those two positions for one turn, and wait to attack the cavalry until next turn. I'll have to handle the Hittite stack I've highlighted either way, to keep them from attacking our pikeman position if we hold it, or to avoid them taking that position with too strong a force.
I'd like to keep one army in place beyond the mountains. They're pinging units as they pass by, as you can see with the two Arab cavalry on the mountain (they're at 3 and 2 hitpoints, just from ZoC hits). The Hittites on the wines are a veteran musketman and an elite MDI. I can take those with the healthy knight army, and still move onto crusader hill to hold that. There's another army healing beyond the mountains that can take care of pinging next IT. That way, I can move the cavalry army forward again, and converge next turn with the then healed knight army and attack Mandalgovi.
Execution of that plan goes well, and only a longbowman remains for the Hittites, because I can't hold the mountain after I take the last unit. I upgrade a pikeman in Karakorum to help with that soon. We have an elite pikeman fortified on hills with trebuchet support to defend should the longbowman attack.
Another picture after the fighting is done:
I have 2 cavalry next to Osnabrück, and more in the wine colony area. I do lack artillery to support the Erfurt-Osnabück line. Once Mandalgovi has fallen, I can found a new town and lay down some roads to share the trebuchets with the wine area.
On to the southern front then: a cavalry army kills 2 riflemen in Bayonne, but there's another one. The army at Marseilles has to heal, and a knight army I had planned on moving in to help has to be diverted to kill a longbowman threatening one of our settlers. French troops have converged at Duisburg now, but the numbers are easily manageable, and in the end only a yellowlined rifleman remains. I could use a veteran cavalry to attack, but the rifleman is on a forest and I don't think he'll attack our elite pikeman anyway.
I killed 15 units this turn, 6 with elites, and incurred no losses.
Science can go down a notch, to 80% at -87gpt.
The Mongols found a town not far from where Dalandzadgad used to be. The Russians land 1 and the French land 3 units at Freiburg, all defense 1. With all our cavalry in transit from the core to the front, that won't be a problem. We see the first shore bombardment, by the Hittites, at Hamburg. I'm glad the game lasted this long without. I'll pull back the trebuchets I have there now blocking landings. The occasional tile blockage from a landing isn't as bad now as a pillaged tile.
Turn 196 - 810AD
Our knight army kills the single regular rifleman in the new Mongol settlement, and we can now research Magnetism in 5 turns instead of 10:
The Mongols had 11779 gold at the start of this turn.
In the north, Regensburg is founded to further shield Karakorum and to establish a better front. Combat there doesn't go so well, because a veteran cavalry dies on a Hittite MDI (healthy veteran on a hill, but still). Our unit count there is increasing steadily, so this doesn't become a real problem.
On the French side, a cavalry army kills 2 riflemen in Marseilles, but a longbowman holds the town.
Killed 13 units this turn, 2 with elites. Lost 1 unit.
IT
A healing crusader on a hill defends against a Hittite MDI. The Hittites also land a single unit next to Freiburg. Arab and Egyptian cavalry show up in larger numbers now.
Turn 197 - 820AD
The situation is the north is a bit tricky:
As you can see, the Egyptians nor the Hittites can reach our towns, even with their vanguard. They can't reach our pikeman stack (southeast of the wines) either, provided the crusader stack (southwest of the wines) holds. I can give up those two positions for one turn, and wait to attack the cavalry until next turn. I'll have to handle the Hittite stack I've highlighted either way, to keep them from attacking our pikeman position if we hold it, or to avoid them taking that position with too strong a force.
I'd like to keep one army in place beyond the mountains. They're pinging units as they pass by, as you can see with the two Arab cavalry on the mountain (they're at 3 and 2 hitpoints, just from ZoC hits). The Hittites on the wines are a veteran musketman and an elite MDI. I can take those with the healthy knight army, and still move onto crusader hill to hold that. There's another army healing beyond the mountains that can take care of pinging next IT. That way, I can move the cavalry army forward again, and converge next turn with the then healed knight army and attack Mandalgovi.
Execution of that plan goes well, and only a longbowman remains for the Hittites, because I can't hold the mountain after I take the last unit. I upgrade a pikeman in Karakorum to help with that soon. We have an elite pikeman fortified on hills with trebuchet support to defend should the longbowman attack.
Another picture after the fighting is done:
I have 2 cavalry next to Osnabrück, and more in the wine colony area. I do lack artillery to support the Erfurt-Osnabück line. Once Mandalgovi has fallen, I can found a new town and lay down some roads to share the trebuchets with the wine area.
On to the southern front then: a cavalry army kills 2 riflemen in Bayonne, but there's another one. The army at Marseilles has to heal, and a knight army I had planned on moving in to help has to be diverted to kill a longbowman threatening one of our settlers. French troops have converged at Duisburg now, but the numbers are easily manageable, and in the end only a yellowlined rifleman remains. I could use a veteran cavalry to attack, but the rifleman is on a forest and I don't think he'll attack our elite pikeman anyway.
I killed 15 units this turn, 6 with elites, and incurred no losses.
Science can go down a notch, to 80% at -87gpt.
Mumpulus
King
Northen Wolf said:
I've timed myself during these last two turns, not very precisely, but it should give an idea of exactly how slow I am.
I spent 8 minutes micromanaging before going into the first IT. I always take things a bit slower the first IT after a break, to remember what was going on, and because I've learned from experience that my own micromanagement isn't always optimal on the last turn I play, late at night.
I spent 8 minutes on the first IT, that is watching the AI move, writing a short log entry, and polishing the tech picture.
I spent 35 minutes on the moves in turn 196, which included dotmapping the north and thinking of German places I've been to name the new town.
I spent 9 minutes micromanaging before going into the second IT.
I spent 5 minutes on the second IT.
I spent 14 minutes making the first tactical picture in turn 197, then spent 9 more minutes after that drawing up and writing down the final plan for turn 197.
Execution of turn 197 then took 18 minutes. That included thinking about how to redeploy the cavalry units in the Freiburg area (who were there to clear the landing during turn 196), based on troop movements from the French and the cavalry in the north. I'm also micromanaging worker actions in the ring around Verbotene Stadt, to get that area improved as efficiently as possible. There are 22 native workers and 38 slaves in that area.
I spent 6 minutes on micromanaging before saving and calling it a night.
I spent 50 minutes finalizing the report, and making another picture (the aftermath in the north).
I spent 5 minutes writing this post.
TheOverseer714
Overseer
That's pretty fast, if you ask me. I take that long in an Emperor level SG, in the early MA.
Mumpulus
King
Just played 8 turns in 6 hours
IT
The usual landings occur near Freiburg/Mönchengladbach, including a veteran rifle on jungle this time. The Arabs found a town near our wines. Another crusader emerges in Karakorum.
Turn 198 - 830AD
I have no artillery to weaken the French rifleman that landed. An elite cavalry is the best I can do, and it retreats after taking off 2 hitpoints. A 4hp elite cavalry starts by taking off another hitpoint, but then loses 4 rounds in a row and dies. Another 4hp elite cavalry redlines before finally finishing the job.
Our settlers found two new towns: Ludwigshafen and Oberhausen.
The French rifleman at Duisburg didn't attack, but kindly moved onto flat land for us to attack with an elite cavalry:
That was the 17th elite victory since the last leader.
One of our cavalry armies kills 2 riflemen, and:
The first action in the north is our army killing three riflemen:
We lose a cavalry on one of the Egyptian cavalry, who moved to a hill, but have no problems clearing everything out. Our knight army kills a pikeman and a spearman and razes Fez. I move one army even further north and spot Hittite cavalry.
Killed 17 units this turn, 6 with elites, lost 2.
With all that money, I decide to rush a few settlers, and I also short-rush towards a few courthouses near Verbotene Stadt.
IT
A single landing this turn by an Egyptian cavalry.
Turn 199 - 840AD
Cavalry armies charge, razing two French towns:
and
Paris is disconnected from the rest of the world.
While dispatching a Hittite longbowman, I get yet another leader:
That was the 6th elite victory since the last leader. I move the new leader towards Verbotene Stadt to rush our first bank next turn, then right after that almost lose a knight army on a cavalry. Another knight army also redlines while killing a second rifleman in Batshireet.
Killed 16 units this turn, 2 with elites, no losses.
A view of the north:
IT
We win 2 battles on defense, with a promotion for our musketman defending the wine colony, but our army at Batshireet is killed by Hittite cavalry. The Hittites also land a longbowman near Kiel.
Turn 200 - 850AD
Trier is founded in old French lands.
Otherwise a very uneventful turn, with only 5 units killed, 3 with elites, no losses.
IT
The Aztecs land 2 swordsmen near Freiburg. The money has gone back to Egypt.
Turn 201 - 860AD
Found Reutlingen and Ulm.
To compensate for the earlier army loss:
We have 11 armies now, 4 with knights and 7 with cavalry.
Make that 10 armies, because I lose a cavalry army while attacking Rheims. A second army finishes the job:
Killed 17 units this turn, 4 with elites, lost 6 units.
IT
We kill a French longbowman on defense, with a promotion to elite for our pikeman. No landings this time.
My subjects honor me with a palace expansion.
Turn 202 - 870AD
Kill 2 units in Erdenet, the last Mongol town to our south, but it takes a lot out of the armies.
Found Heilbronn in the north.
Kill 7 units in total, 2 with elites, no losses.
IT
Our elite musketman on Wine Mountain redlines an elite cavalry, but ultimately dies. We get another crusader. A French rifleman lands at Kiel. The Aztecs finally learn chemistry.
Turn 203 - 880AD
Found Ingolstadt and Pforzheim. A cavalry army kills 2 riflemen in Erdenet, and we capture the city:
Kill 9 units, 4 with elites, no losses.
IT
The Egyptians do some shore bombardment ... on the French. A French rifleman retreats an elite cavalry. The Hittites don't attack our troops on the mountains with veterans.
Turn 204 - 890AD
The Egyptians are settling close to the front, which allows us to fund our deficit research again:
When I move the army further, it gathers some very useful geographical information:
The last two Mongol cities are visible.
Killed 11 units, 5 with elites, no losses.
IT
One landing only, an Aztec MDI. No combat. We build our first privateer in Bremen; let's see if I can make a whole fleet out of that one.
Turn 205 - 900AD
Our privateer sinks a Mongol galleon, but doesn't enslave. Our cavalry army kills a longbowman, and the Mongols are down to one city:
Found Kaiserslautern near the wines.
Killed 7 units, 1 with an elite, no losses.
IT
The usual landings occur near Freiburg/Mönchengladbach, including a veteran rifle on jungle this time. The Arabs found a town near our wines. Another crusader emerges in Karakorum.
Turn 198 - 830AD
I have no artillery to weaken the French rifleman that landed. An elite cavalry is the best I can do, and it retreats after taking off 2 hitpoints. A 4hp elite cavalry starts by taking off another hitpoint, but then loses 4 rounds in a row and dies. Another 4hp elite cavalry redlines before finally finishing the job.
Our settlers found two new towns: Ludwigshafen and Oberhausen.
The French rifleman at Duisburg didn't attack, but kindly moved onto flat land for us to attack with an elite cavalry:
That was the 17th elite victory since the last leader.
One of our cavalry armies kills 2 riflemen, and:
The first action in the north is our army killing three riflemen:
We lose a cavalry on one of the Egyptian cavalry, who moved to a hill, but have no problems clearing everything out. Our knight army kills a pikeman and a spearman and razes Fez. I move one army even further north and spot Hittite cavalry.
Killed 17 units this turn, 6 with elites, lost 2.
With all that money, I decide to rush a few settlers, and I also short-rush towards a few courthouses near Verbotene Stadt.
IT
A single landing this turn by an Egyptian cavalry.
Turn 199 - 840AD
Cavalry armies charge, razing two French towns:
and
Paris is disconnected from the rest of the world.
While dispatching a Hittite longbowman, I get yet another leader:
That was the 6th elite victory since the last leader. I move the new leader towards Verbotene Stadt to rush our first bank next turn, then right after that almost lose a knight army on a cavalry. Another knight army also redlines while killing a second rifleman in Batshireet.
Killed 16 units this turn, 2 with elites, no losses.
A view of the north:
IT
We win 2 battles on defense, with a promotion for our musketman defending the wine colony, but our army at Batshireet is killed by Hittite cavalry. The Hittites also land a longbowman near Kiel.
Turn 200 - 850AD
Trier is founded in old French lands.
Otherwise a very uneventful turn, with only 5 units killed, 3 with elites, no losses.
IT
The Aztecs land 2 swordsmen near Freiburg. The money has gone back to Egypt.
Turn 201 - 860AD
Found Reutlingen and Ulm.
To compensate for the earlier army loss:
We have 11 armies now, 4 with knights and 7 with cavalry.
Make that 10 armies, because I lose a cavalry army while attacking Rheims. A second army finishes the job:
Killed 17 units this turn, 4 with elites, lost 6 units.
IT
We kill a French longbowman on defense, with a promotion to elite for our pikeman. No landings this time.
My subjects honor me with a palace expansion.
Turn 202 - 870AD
Kill 2 units in Erdenet, the last Mongol town to our south, but it takes a lot out of the armies.
Found Heilbronn in the north.
Kill 7 units in total, 2 with elites, no losses.
IT
Our elite musketman on Wine Mountain redlines an elite cavalry, but ultimately dies. We get another crusader. A French rifleman lands at Kiel. The Aztecs finally learn chemistry.
Turn 203 - 880AD
Found Ingolstadt and Pforzheim. A cavalry army kills 2 riflemen in Erdenet, and we capture the city:
Kill 9 units, 4 with elites, no losses.
IT
The Egyptians do some shore bombardment ... on the French. A French rifleman retreats an elite cavalry. The Hittites don't attack our troops on the mountains with veterans.
Turn 204 - 890AD
The Egyptians are settling close to the front, which allows us to fund our deficit research again:
When I move the army further, it gathers some very useful geographical information:
The last two Mongol cities are visible.
Killed 11 units, 5 with elites, no losses.
IT
One landing only, an Aztec MDI. No combat. We build our first privateer in Bremen; let's see if I can make a whole fleet out of that one.
Turn 205 - 900AD
Our privateer sinks a Mongol galleon, but doesn't enslave. Our cavalry army kills a longbowman, and the Mongols are down to one city:
Found Kaiserslautern near the wines.
Killed 7 units, 1 with an elite, no losses.
