[Sword of Islam]: Byzantine Conquest

Just a heads up, I will be away between thursday and sunday (16 GMT), so feel free to place me as the last player should the need arise.

I'm also going to be away this weekend, but I doubt the first three players will all finish by then.

CAN WE START ALREADY!?

Fine by me. Blizzrd, would you do the honors?

After upgrading to 0.3.4.1 (using the patch from 0.3.4 found here), we're off and racing. Well not exactly racing, because the early turns are largely uneventful.

Turn 0: 750AD
Drop Science to 0% and start on Long-distance Trade. Re-arrange defensive troops such that Archers are in cities most likely to face early Barbs. Send Swordsman on a forced march towards Cappadochia, where I find the first Barb always appears, just 2SW of Samsounta. Switch all espionage to Abbasids. Start Work Boats in Konstantinopolis, Smyrna, Attaleia and Trapezounta. Start Workers in all other cities.

Turn 1: 753AD
Uneventful

Turn 2: 756AD
Uneventful

Turn 3: 759AD
Uneventful

Turn 4: 762AD
Uneventful

Turn 5: 765AD
Mercenaries become available for hire. Hire Turcopole Horse Archer, no initial XP though, for 3gpt. No need for an Axeman, which is the other available merc.

Turn 6: 768AD
Garrison Horse Archer in Adrianopolis, ready for some Bulgar action.

Turn 7: 771AD
Work boat completed in Konstantinopolis, start on Market. Right on cue, a Muslim Swordsman spawns 2SW of Samsounta, just as our Swordsman arrives to dispatch the barbarian.

Turn 8: 774AD
Work boat completed in Smyrna, start on Worker. 2x CityRaider promotions for our Swordsman and some healing. Now we should be able to take down Tarsos with our suped up Swordsman.

Turn 9: 777AD
Uneventful

Turn 10: 780AD
Swordsman heads for Tarsos.

To do:
1. Hire another Horse Archer merc if one becomes available.
2. Take Tarsos with our Swordsman. I usually order up a Work Boat initially in Tarsos.
3. After healing in Tarsos, send our Swordsman to Damascus. By around the time our Swordsman should be able to approach Damascus, the first wave of Bulgars should have been dealt with around Adrianopolis and our Horse Archer(s) can head also head for Damascus.
4. Build Markets after Workers in most cities to allow our Capital to build the Royal Mint ASAP.

lurker's comment: subbed

Don't forget to build some ships to counter the inevitable pirates who like to pillage--I would have built a workboat in Constantinople (for the fish NE) but started an offensive boat in Smyrna, and then a workboat there.

Pirates won't show up this early and our initial War Galley can patrol for now.

I would build at least another war galley and station them right on top of the fisheries (to get defense bonus). Patrolling is not effective (since you can't get to them until they've already pillaged).

What I mean is our initial War Galley can sail around (which it already has done). It should now head back to a fish resource. But I don't agree that we need another War Galley at this stage.

Attaleia and Tarsus have sea resources that need war galley protection. A second War Galley must be built before we build a third work boat.

BTW, I'd hold off on the next set until the next patch.

It's still too early for pirates. Better to get the food bonus going and increase our city sizes quickly then build War Galleys later. It will be a long time before Tarsos is (a) out of revolt (b) expands cultural borders and (c) builds a work boat. By this stage, I agree we should have a War Galley. But now is too early, especially for Tarsos. Bring the existing War Galley back to Attaleia and after Smyrna builds a Worker, Smyrna can then build a 2nd War Galley to defend it's fish resource.

Any next patch release (0.3.4.1a) will be save-compatible, so there actually is no need to wait according to the thread in the link above.

But what about the bug that apparently keeps civs from collapsing? I guess the risk is pretty remote this early in the game, but I'm still concerned.

Regarding the navy, just remember to build that war galley before building that work boat for Tarsus

Science Rules said:

But what about the bug that apparently keeps civs from collapsing? I guess the risk is pretty remote this early in the game, but I'm still concerned.

Click to expand...

Exactly, who's going to collapse by Turn 20? or Turn 30 even?

I think we can press on without worrying that we might be playing with a broken mechanic where collapses have been prohibited during these early turns. Hopefully the patch is out soon, and being savegame compliant it won't change anything if and when we switch to it.

I agree that there is no immediate need for another war galley.

I'll play today, but I probably don't have time to post until tomorrow, so it is very possible that Edead releases a fix vefore the next player after me is up.

Also I played yesterday with the patch and Fatimids collapsed with two cities left. However, I was wondering why they didn't collapse earlier, since I had taken Cairo and Alexandria from them.

I just learned that there's going to be a Venetian Crusade against us! (apparently inserted after last patch):

~20 years before the crusade, all Latins (Venetians, Genoans and Pisans) in Constantinople were killed, expelled or enslaved and sold to the Turks. This is the reason why Venetians and other Latins were hostile towards the Greeks. Not saying that the Greeks were asking for it as Italian merchants in Constantinople weren't exactly nice, fighting with each other, setting up fires etc.

The massacre I explained - the hostilies turn into a culminating point and the Greeks start killing Venetians and Genoans in your cities. You can stop it, or let the killing continue. Both options are bad, obviously - you can get some gold and happiness + *possible* crusade later, or pay gold, face multiple revolts and unhappiness, but fear no crusade. The AI will opt for the "historical" option.

The crusade spawns a small fleet & army (3-4 Foot Knights, 2-3 Trebuchets, Italian Crossbowman & Infantry) led by Boniface of Montferrat, and follows up with a historical revolt in the city (that puts the walls down).

Click to expand...

I think we need to kill the Latins and prepare for the crusade with adequate marksmen and yes, Italian Crossbows!

Yeah, that will be an issue at some point. However, I didn't have time to play today, so I'll have to postpone my update until sunday, since I'll be out of town tomorrow. If you guys feel that someone should play before me, be my guest..

OK, I'll play.

1. Uneventful (still building workers)
2. Iconoclastic Controversy. I chose the -20 culture and -5 piety (Unhappiness and 2 turns of anarchy in the capital is a little bit much). A Rebel Peasant is killed near Sinopi.

3. Uneventful
4. Swordsman reaches Tarsus.
5. Farm built near Dorylaion. I decide to let it grow (takes 8 turns) before going back to a worker (why are we building workers with size 1 cities?)
6. Ankyra builds worker, switch to granary. (the swordsman is not having a lot of luck...)
7. Tarsus is captured. Spiral Minaret started (yeah right, as if we'll get it in Tarsus. I usually spread Sunni to Ankyra and build it there, but since that's not what we want in this game i.e. nothing except Orthodoxy in Asia Minor eventually, I'll defer to the majority)

8. Uneventful. Our War Galley sits on top of the Attaleia's fish, and the workboat is finally done there.
9. Uneventful.
10. Some workers are done--I switch to granaries. A Bulgarian raider (strength 5, unpromoted) is available for hire, but I decide not to.

To do:
1. When Dorylaion grows to size 2, switch back to worker (there are 2 tiles improved there)
2. I think we need more troops.
3. Smyrna should build another war galley when the granary is done.
4. The Abbasids are willing to make peace.
5. I think the Armenians are going to appear soon. We should give Sevasteia to them (which will eventually flip to Rum), and devote all espionage against them to steal a tech.

No peace with Abbasids until we take Damascus! We should do so ASAP and then build the Spiral Minaret there.