MilarNES: Birth of A Civilization

The expedition had reached the land of Agardana.

@D'art: I suppose that the Land of Agardana is Madagascar.

@Everyone: while D'artagnan's idea is a sound (yet quite risky) one, I'd rather that you didn't write a god-like story to get what you want. For example, if talking about a battle, talk about chances if it has yet to happen and about facts if it has happened. (I know that you already know this rule, just to check it out).

Also, I am introducing 2 new war-related rules.

Rule #1: LA RESISTANCE. Even after losing all your standing army and being completely invaded, you still have a last chance. Resistance/Freedom/Guerilla Fighters might raise against the invader (if your culture and/or religion is strong enough) and start a hit-and-run war that might make the enemy re-consider whether the idea of invading you was good (remember that Napoleon himself, in all his military wisdom, wasn't even able to get rid of the Spanish Guerrilleros). If a friendly army helps you give the boot to them, so much the better.

Rule #2: I CONDOTTIERI. When someone gets Currency (an Iron Age Technology), mercenary armies will be available to everyone in the continent it has been already researched. There will be one or two per continent, and will fight for you if the pay is high enough. Of course, the possibility of a better offer coming from the enemy to turn the mercs against you is very likely, because the mercenaries work for the highest bidder. For starters, mercenaries will be NPCs, although if someone decides to make up one of them, he is welcome to it.

Also, Enlightenment is complete again. Only the last four ages are lacking techs, and Enlightenment itself lacks of both descriptions and effects. I will be grateful for anyone that wishes to help me getting this out of my system.

Nice rules.

I think you should put the Technology that triggers "I Condottieri" in the Middle Age group, as mercenaries started to appear at least a century before Renaissance.

Milarqui, mercenaries were around before the Renaissance; putting em in the classical age wouldn't be a bad thing (Macedonia was defeated in the 2nd century BC by the Romans in part because the Romans had hired mercenary elephant units, for example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pydna)

Yeah, I know that there were mercenaries back in the classical age (Persians used many Greek mercenaries in their wars against Alexander the Great), but the Condottieri were, I think, the first people that actually acted as professional warriors, only working for the business of war, and I think that they should be regarded as the first true mercenaries (that is, people that would fight for anyone just for the price). Flavius is right, though, as the Condottieri started to appear in the Middle Ages. I'll see whether I can make a change on the tech tree, since Mercs were already entrenched as being allowed in the Renaissance.

EDIT: Never mind. I have already installed them as being available from the moment someone investigates Currency.

the first people that actually acted as professional warriors, only working for the business of war, and I think that they should be regarded as the first true mercenaries

Click to expand...

So, uh, what made these Italian contractors any different from, say, Celtic mercenary captains of Classical times?

If I had to choose something, it would be the fact that the condottieri were practically the only standing force existing in Italy proper (as the small republics in the Italic Peninsula hardly ever had a proper army), which is what it made them so used. Also, sending the use of mercenaries to the Iron Age or the Classical Age would only give me a headache. Where would you suggest that I put the mercenaries in a position that is actually sound and that doesn't make changes to the tech tree?

Well, I just think it should be earlier because just when the CONDOTTIERI were being used en masse in the late 1400s (in the 1300s they were still relatively small compared to other medieval armies) the newly professional army of Spain destroyed them.

Where do you suggest I put it, then? The tech tree is already stuffed up, and I am not going to add a tech just for the mercenaries.

That's an additional problem. Perhaps implement it as a rule instead? Worse goes to worst just add it there

Well, just adding them up as a rule doesn't seem great. Do you think Currency would be a good place to add it? It's an Iron Age tech, so it would be soon enough yet it would need a limit.

I think you should limits effect to the continent it is discovered..

Gentlemen, this is the 20-hour-and-45-minutes warning. I am missing orders from:

- Kingdom of Hellenium / Dreadnought
- United Tribes of Milan / Flavius Aetius
- Holy Empire of Britannia / Warhead
- Darwinia Ultima / stalin006

Warhead, if you are reading this, remember that this would be your 2nd turn without orders. A third turn without orders from you and Britannia will turn NPC.

This would be the point where the deadline finishes. However, I am feeling generous, so you get a 30-minute delay. I want the orders by 2:30 PM GMT+1 from the following nations in that time.

- Kingdom of Hellenium / Dreadnought
- Holy Empire of Britannia / Warhead
- Darwinia Ultima / stalin006

Honestly, people, you could have sent them sooner, no?

I'm seriously considering to implement a 3-strike policy in order to make sure that people will actually send orders in time. If you don't send orders in one turn, you get a strike unless you can say BEFORE the deadline that you won't be able to send orders.

1st strike: minor loss of religion, economy and/or military (this is what happened to Warhead in the first turn).
2nd strike: major losses in the three things (religion, economy and military): Warhead will be getting this unless he sends orders.
3rd strike: kicked out of the game and NPC nation.

Of course, I wouldn't like to do this, but it irks me slightly that certain people (coughDreadnoughtandWarheadcough) have been able to post long updates for their NESes yet weren't able to send a small PM with their orders to me. Dreadnought's case irks me specially since he said several times that he would send the orders and in the end didn't.

Stick does not work with NESers.. they will simply drop out.

Carrots however, do work. Offer a bonus if people get them in on time.


ALSO. You can nearly always expect about 20% of people NOT to get orders in.. it just happens.

It is better if you NPC them.. which means actually playing as them.

Once a nation falls behind, people are even less likely to start playing.

Well, this is the deadline. No orders from now will enter the update.

I think that the fact that:
1) Being the 1st to discover a tech from Bronze Age onward gives a good bonus.
2) Sending orders sooner than others is very important.
Should be good enough to make people send orders sooner. Also, the fact that I have stated many times that if everyone sends orders sooner then an update could be posted sooner should also be considered a bonus.

I wouldn't NPC a PC nation unless it was asked by said PC, because I don't want to do something that said person would not like to happen.

Maybe stick won't work, but carrot has yet to work.

I'll post an update as soon as I can.

Remember: not sending orders can be construed as the fact that you DON'T WANT to send them.

EDIT: as it seems that Dreadnought is around, you are getting 45 extra minutes while I write the parts of the update that affect those nations that have sent orders. Be very thankful.

Orders in.

EDIT: Just saw above

EDIT2: OK nevermind.

what time are orders due? in how many hours from now?

Too late. See the post 277.