CaterpillarKing
Conqueror of Cacoons
Been there several times 
Interesting Times - The AI Side of RFC
- Thread starter CFCoasters
- Start date
CFCoasters
Riding the Lightning
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2012
- Messages
- 364
Hello one last time, civvers!
Well, it's time to end this, after over a year and a half of waiting, it's time for the final tour of Interesting Times! Since many countries are too big to show on one screenshot, the pictures are of regions rather than countries (although some are essentially the same, such as India).
Warning: The following update is very picture-heavy.
We start with who else, but the core of the Japanese Empire, Japan and Korea, all unified under the Rising Sun:
Moving on to what used to be China, we see that China collapsed from internal pressures combined with Mongol incursions. The cities of ex-China are now divided between East Asia's remaining major powers, Japan and Mongolia:
And now for Southeast Asia. At one time the sole domain of the Khmer Empire, their monopoly over the region is now gone, as the Portuguese and Dutch have taken advantage of Congresses to establish colonial footholds in Burma and Singapore, respectively. Meanwhile, the Japanese have taken control of the Philippines, though the Khmer have now colonized both Java and Sumatra:
Next on the list is India. A united nation since the beginning of recorded history, the Indians overexpanded by conquering Tibet and Burma and collapsed. The Indian subcontinent hasn't been united since, by anyone, nor have any Europeans taken advantage of the situation.
Fifth stop on the tour is Australia, which is largely uncontrolled. The northeast, however, is home to a single major city, Rockhampton, and is owned by the British. The rest of the continent is the domain of the natives there. New Zealand is (mostly) not shown because no one owns it.
Next up, we're heading north, into the Mongol heartland and Eastern Siberia. Long the home of various Mongol tribes, Temujin burst them into the world spotlight by building an empire that could match China in battle. When China collapsed, Mongolia became the second strongest state militarily in Asia, and Dominated Mongolia, Siberia, and western China, and was my greatest threat to victory for much of the game:
Next we have Persia and Central Asia. Persia, Persia, Persia... I had so much hope for you, but all you did was slam into a brick wall repeatedly against the Babylonians, then get rolled over by the Ottomans. With that performance, you don't deserve to be united at the end. After the Ottomans collapsed, most of Persia broke into several different states, with the Mongols, Arabs, and Greeks
having small pieces of the region.
Next up, we have the Arabian peninsula and the surrounding area, including the Fertile Crescent and Egypt (which I'll get into in a minute). Mesopotamia, the heart of Middle Eastern civilization, was also home to the game's biggest surprise IMO: the Babylonians managed to survive and even thrive despite going up against both the Persians and Arabs. Alas, they would eventually be overwhelmed by the Ottomans, who would take advantage of the situation to establish by far the most powerful civilization in world history, stretching from the Balkans to India, and from Central Asia to two-thirds down Africa's coast. When the Ottomans collapsed, the Arabs (whose growth had been stunted by the Babs' survival) finally managed to conquer most of the region, which they hold today:
Now we move onto Egypt and Ethiopia, which share the dubious distinction of being the first civilizations to collapse, courtesy of them collapsing on the same turn, to the same threats. Afterwards, the whole region spent a significant period of time under Ottoman rule, but continued to face problems by the Native Africans. Today, the Arabs hold Somalia, while the rest of the region is divided into 3 countries (one controlling ex-Roman Libya, one controlling the Nile Delta, and one controlling the rest of Egypt and Ethiopia).
After that we move onto northwest Africa, which has long been the domain of the Carthaginians, which emerged at a similar time as Japan. Despite inconclusive wars with Rome, constant barbarian incursions in Western Libya, chronic instability, and an ongoing dispute with Spain over the city of Ceuta, Carthage has survived the entire game, despite trending downwards in the modern era.
Up next, we move to western Africa, which has been under the control of one nation - the Malinese - ever since the Malinese arrived on the stage. The Malinese are the most fortunate of the African nations, having been blessed with great economic potential around Timbuktu and comparatively little trouble with barbarians, and were long under the protection of the Ottomans, meaning no trouble from any opportunistic Europeans. They are on their own now that the Ottomans are gone, but remain the most powerful state in Africa.
We now move onto Sub-Saharan Africa. Long home to native African tribes that have long terrorized the Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Carthaginians, southern Africa is slowly being conquered by outside parties. The Dutch control much of South Africa through the colonial city of Winburg, the Arabs control real-life Mozambique through Kilwa, and, most hilariously of all, the Congo region is under the control of the Khmer.
Finally, the Ottomans once controlled Mombasa, but due to their collapse, it is now independent (might as well call it Kenya).
Onto South America. First stop on this leg of the tour: the Andes mountain range, home to the Inca civilization. The Inca remain the only major native empire in South America, and remain one of two giants on the continent (along with Portuguese Brazil). Their success was partly caused by the fact that Japan was the first country to establish contact with them. The Inca agreed to become Japanese vassals. The Inca were never bothered by anyone else, and today remain loyal allies of Japan, and remain one of the most powerful countries in the Americas.
Next up, the other side of South America, the side that was conquered by Europeans. Far and away the most dominant presence in the European part of South America is Portuguese owned Brazil, which forms the backbone of the largest colonial empire in the world. Also present is Spain's only overseas colony, that of Montevideo in real-life Argentina, and Dutch-owned Guiana (er, Suriname
)
Next up is Central America and real-life Mexico, north of South America. Central America has long been dominated by the Mayans, and their northern counterparts, the Aztecs, had long controlled non-Yucatan Mexico. However, the two Mesoamerican empires faced very different paths following contact with the Europeans. The Mayans agreed to become vassals of the English, and have had a similar path and relationship with them as the Inca have had with the Japanese. The Aztecs, however, were less fortunate. Hit with a devastating plague right as they made contact with the Portuguese, they lost two-thirds of their land to Portugal, and were forced to become vassals. The hapless Aztecs collapsed soon after, and their remains were gobbled up by the Portuguese.
We now move onto North America, which has been quite a basketcase since the 1730s. Once dominated solely by British and French colonies, the region fell victim to a large revolt in the 1730s, resulting in the formation of the United States. The resulting war was a stalemate, and led to the British losing all non-Canadian land in the region, and led the French to lose Savannah. The French later took back Savannah after the dispute came down to a Congress, and the Americans soon looked to their former colonial masters for protection after an abysmal performance in the Indian Wars.
Lastly for North America, we move onto Canada. Canada is sharply divided into two spheres of influence - eastern Canada (Quebec) is French, while Central and Western Canada is British. After the collapse of British rule in the Thirteen Colonies, the British were left in control of only British Canada in North America. The French and British continue to have roughly equal control over Canada, though the British have slightly more land and people.
The last leg on the tour of the world is Europe! We start off with the westernmost parts of it, that of Iberia and Gaul. Iberia was never really controlled by either of the early Mediterranean powers (Rome and Carthage), and spent most of it's early settled history under the sole control of Spain. That changed when Portugal arrived, and it is clear that the two have had different priorities. Spain was more focused on continental domination, which led it to conquer parts of Italy and launch a failed invasion of Portugal. Portugal, on the other hand, has been more focused on creating a colonial empire, and has been the most successful European nation in that regard, controlling Brazil, Mexico, and Burma from Lisbon.
Gaul was originally the home of the Celtic people, only for them to enter a fight for their lives when the Romans invaded. The invasion left two-thirds of Gaul in Roman hands, only for Rome to lose it to barbarian invasions from Germania and Iberia. The ruined region was later rebuilt by the French, who have now unified Gaul, control all of Italy north of Rome, and have a colonial empire in parts of North America.
We now move on to northern Europe, specifically the British Isles and Scandinavia. The British Isles were also originally home to Celtic tribes (specifically, the Scots and later, the Irish). The English, however, would soon come to dominate the Isles from their capital of London. Scotland and Wales quickly came under English control, and the newly-rechristened British eventually took control of the Irish as well.
Scandinavia has long been under the control of one major power, the Vikings. Originally known and infamous for raids on coastal and riverside towns all over Europe, the Scandinavians would side with Germany in World War I, only to be politically hung out to dry upon Germany's collapse. However, Scandinavia remains politically united, control Finland and Iceland as well, but are now having major stability issues which could come to haunt them in the future.
We are now on the home stretch, as we move on to Central Europe. Oye... this is complicated. Central Europe, home of many of the Germanic barbarians who would come to bring Rome on the edge of collapse, would later unite under the Holy Roman Empire, which dominated the region (minus the Dutch) until World War I. In that war, the Germans found themselves surrounded with enemies, with only Scandinavia as an ally (the Ottomans were also allies, but didn't help the Germans in any way). Germany, under attack by the English, Dutch, French, and Russians, cracked, and the remains were split between the Dutch (who got Hamburg and Berlin) Russia (who got Poland and the Baltics) and the Vikings, who got Finland. However, the Dutch, who soon gained Croatia, soon came under attack by the remnant based in Vienna, and the Austrians would capture Berlin from then to keep the Germans' hope of a German empire alive.
Onto Southern Europe, which is the most complicated region of all. Consisting of two regions, Italy, long dominated by Rome, and the Balkans, long dominated by Greece. The Romans, from their base in Italy, essentially have had four periods: the first, when they united Italy and then conquered two-thirds of Gaul, the second period when barbarian hordes destroyed their empire and forced the Romans to retreat to Italy, the third period when they outlasted the barbarians and looked outward again, conquering the Balkans, founding Vindobona (the forerunner to Vienna) and even colonizing Libya. Finally, internal pressures became too much and the Romans collapsed in the 1500s. Post Roman Italy would soon come under attack, with the French taking northern Italy, while southern Italy and Rome itself would fall to the Spanish.
Greece, initially much more successful than the Romans due to the lack of a major barbarian threat, would come to colonize the Ukraine. This would bite them hard, though, when the Russians arrived and overwhelmed the Greeks. United Greece promptly collapsed, and would eventually be conquered by first the Romans, then the Ottomans. After the fall of Istanbul the Ottoman capital, to rioters, the Greeks declared independence from the Ottomans, eventually conquering Istanbul from them. Before the Ottomans could do anything about it, they collapsed, and now Greece controls both Athens and Istanbul, and also hold a slice of Persia thanks to a Congress.
And now for the final stop on our tour of Earth, Russia! Russia, thank goodness, is much simpler than the rest of Europe. Based in the city of Moscow, the Russians burst onto the scene very quickly thanks to them absorbing two Greek cities in the Ukraine (which, as already stated, had the side effect of causing the Greeks to collapse). Since then, they have united all of Eastern Europe west of the Urals, were on the winning side of World War I, and are now the most dominant state in continental Europe. They have a long-running feud with the Mongols over Siberia, but the inevitable armed conflict over it hasn't amounted to much.
And that's it for Interesting Times! I'll admit, I'm glad to finally be done with it, as not finishing this for so long was getting to me for most of this year, especially after going on a relative tear last year. I'm glad you stuck with me, despite it going on for a year and a half, and as always, stay tuned for anything new from me in the future!
Happy Holidays, and good night, everybody!
Well, it's time to end this, after over a year and a half of waiting, it's time for the final tour of Interesting Times! Since many countries are too big to show on one screenshot, the pictures are of regions rather than countries (although some are essentially the same, such as India).
Warning: The following update is very picture-heavy.
We start with who else, but the core of the Japanese Empire, Japan and Korea, all unified under the Rising Sun:
Moving on to what used to be China, we see that China collapsed from internal pressures combined with Mongol incursions. The cities of ex-China are now divided between East Asia's remaining major powers, Japan and Mongolia:
And now for Southeast Asia. At one time the sole domain of the Khmer Empire, their monopoly over the region is now gone, as the Portuguese and Dutch have taken advantage of Congresses to establish colonial footholds in Burma and Singapore, respectively. Meanwhile, the Japanese have taken control of the Philippines, though the Khmer have now colonized both Java and Sumatra:
Next on the list is India. A united nation since the beginning of recorded history, the Indians overexpanded by conquering Tibet and Burma and collapsed. The Indian subcontinent hasn't been united since, by anyone, nor have any Europeans taken advantage of the situation.
Fifth stop on the tour is Australia, which is largely uncontrolled. The northeast, however, is home to a single major city, Rockhampton, and is owned by the British. The rest of the continent is the domain of the natives there. New Zealand is (mostly) not shown because no one owns it.
Next up, we're heading north, into the Mongol heartland and Eastern Siberia. Long the home of various Mongol tribes, Temujin burst them into the world spotlight by building an empire that could match China in battle. When China collapsed, Mongolia became the second strongest state militarily in Asia, and Dominated Mongolia, Siberia, and western China, and was my greatest threat to victory for much of the game:
Next we have Persia and Central Asia. Persia, Persia, Persia... I had so much hope for you, but all you did was slam into a brick wall repeatedly against the Babylonians, then get rolled over by the Ottomans. With that performance, you don't deserve to be united at the end. After the Ottomans collapsed, most of Persia broke into several different states, with the Mongols, Arabs, and Greeks
having small pieces of the region.Next up, we have the Arabian peninsula and the surrounding area, including the Fertile Crescent and Egypt (which I'll get into in a minute). Mesopotamia, the heart of Middle Eastern civilization, was also home to the game's biggest surprise IMO: the Babylonians managed to survive and even thrive despite going up against both the Persians and Arabs. Alas, they would eventually be overwhelmed by the Ottomans, who would take advantage of the situation to establish by far the most powerful civilization in world history, stretching from the Balkans to India, and from Central Asia to two-thirds down Africa's coast. When the Ottomans collapsed, the Arabs (whose growth had been stunted by the Babs' survival) finally managed to conquer most of the region, which they hold today:
Now we move onto Egypt and Ethiopia, which share the dubious distinction of being the first civilizations to collapse, courtesy of them collapsing on the same turn, to the same threats. Afterwards, the whole region spent a significant period of time under Ottoman rule, but continued to face problems by the Native Africans. Today, the Arabs hold Somalia, while the rest of the region is divided into 3 countries (one controlling ex-Roman Libya, one controlling the Nile Delta, and one controlling the rest of Egypt and Ethiopia).
After that we move onto northwest Africa, which has long been the domain of the Carthaginians, which emerged at a similar time as Japan. Despite inconclusive wars with Rome, constant barbarian incursions in Western Libya, chronic instability, and an ongoing dispute with Spain over the city of Ceuta, Carthage has survived the entire game, despite trending downwards in the modern era.
Up next, we move to western Africa, which has been under the control of one nation - the Malinese - ever since the Malinese arrived on the stage. The Malinese are the most fortunate of the African nations, having been blessed with great economic potential around Timbuktu and comparatively little trouble with barbarians, and were long under the protection of the Ottomans, meaning no trouble from any opportunistic Europeans. They are on their own now that the Ottomans are gone, but remain the most powerful state in Africa.
We now move onto Sub-Saharan Africa. Long home to native African tribes that have long terrorized the Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Carthaginians, southern Africa is slowly being conquered by outside parties. The Dutch control much of South Africa through the colonial city of Winburg, the Arabs control real-life Mozambique through Kilwa, and, most hilariously of all, the Congo region is under the control of the Khmer.
Finally, the Ottomans once controlled Mombasa, but due to their collapse, it is now independent (might as well call it Kenya).Onto South America. First stop on this leg of the tour: the Andes mountain range, home to the Inca civilization. The Inca remain the only major native empire in South America, and remain one of two giants on the continent (along with Portuguese Brazil). Their success was partly caused by the fact that Japan was the first country to establish contact with them. The Inca agreed to become Japanese vassals. The Inca were never bothered by anyone else, and today remain loyal allies of Japan, and remain one of the most powerful countries in the Americas.
Next up, the other side of South America, the side that was conquered by Europeans. Far and away the most dominant presence in the European part of South America is Portuguese owned Brazil, which forms the backbone of the largest colonial empire in the world. Also present is Spain's only overseas colony, that of Montevideo in real-life Argentina, and Dutch-owned Guiana (er, Suriname
)Next up is Central America and real-life Mexico, north of South America. Central America has long been dominated by the Mayans, and their northern counterparts, the Aztecs, had long controlled non-Yucatan Mexico. However, the two Mesoamerican empires faced very different paths following contact with the Europeans. The Mayans agreed to become vassals of the English, and have had a similar path and relationship with them as the Inca have had with the Japanese. The Aztecs, however, were less fortunate. Hit with a devastating plague right as they made contact with the Portuguese, they lost two-thirds of their land to Portugal, and were forced to become vassals. The hapless Aztecs collapsed soon after, and their remains were gobbled up by the Portuguese.
We now move onto North America, which has been quite a basketcase since the 1730s. Once dominated solely by British and French colonies, the region fell victim to a large revolt in the 1730s, resulting in the formation of the United States. The resulting war was a stalemate, and led to the British losing all non-Canadian land in the region, and led the French to lose Savannah. The French later took back Savannah after the dispute came down to a Congress, and the Americans soon looked to their former colonial masters for protection after an abysmal performance in the Indian Wars.
Lastly for North America, we move onto Canada. Canada is sharply divided into two spheres of influence - eastern Canada (Quebec) is French, while Central and Western Canada is British. After the collapse of British rule in the Thirteen Colonies, the British were left in control of only British Canada in North America. The French and British continue to have roughly equal control over Canada, though the British have slightly more land and people.
The last leg on the tour of the world is Europe! We start off with the westernmost parts of it, that of Iberia and Gaul. Iberia was never really controlled by either of the early Mediterranean powers (Rome and Carthage), and spent most of it's early settled history under the sole control of Spain. That changed when Portugal arrived, and it is clear that the two have had different priorities. Spain was more focused on continental domination, which led it to conquer parts of Italy and launch a failed invasion of Portugal. Portugal, on the other hand, has been more focused on creating a colonial empire, and has been the most successful European nation in that regard, controlling Brazil, Mexico, and Burma from Lisbon.
Gaul was originally the home of the Celtic people, only for them to enter a fight for their lives when the Romans invaded. The invasion left two-thirds of Gaul in Roman hands, only for Rome to lose it to barbarian invasions from Germania and Iberia. The ruined region was later rebuilt by the French, who have now unified Gaul, control all of Italy north of Rome, and have a colonial empire in parts of North America.
We now move on to northern Europe, specifically the British Isles and Scandinavia. The British Isles were also originally home to Celtic tribes (specifically, the Scots and later, the Irish). The English, however, would soon come to dominate the Isles from their capital of London. Scotland and Wales quickly came under English control, and the newly-rechristened British eventually took control of the Irish as well.
Scandinavia has long been under the control of one major power, the Vikings. Originally known and infamous for raids on coastal and riverside towns all over Europe, the Scandinavians would side with Germany in World War I, only to be politically hung out to dry upon Germany's collapse. However, Scandinavia remains politically united, control Finland and Iceland as well, but are now having major stability issues which could come to haunt them in the future.
We are now on the home stretch, as we move on to Central Europe. Oye... this is complicated. Central Europe, home of many of the Germanic barbarians who would come to bring Rome on the edge of collapse, would later unite under the Holy Roman Empire, which dominated the region (minus the Dutch) until World War I. In that war, the Germans found themselves surrounded with enemies, with only Scandinavia as an ally (the Ottomans were also allies, but didn't help the Germans in any way). Germany, under attack by the English, Dutch, French, and Russians, cracked, and the remains were split between the Dutch (who got Hamburg and Berlin) Russia (who got Poland and the Baltics) and the Vikings, who got Finland. However, the Dutch, who soon gained Croatia, soon came under attack by the remnant based in Vienna, and the Austrians would capture Berlin from then to keep the Germans' hope of a German empire alive.
Onto Southern Europe, which is the most complicated region of all. Consisting of two regions, Italy, long dominated by Rome, and the Balkans, long dominated by Greece. The Romans, from their base in Italy, essentially have had four periods: the first, when they united Italy and then conquered two-thirds of Gaul, the second period when barbarian hordes destroyed their empire and forced the Romans to retreat to Italy, the third period when they outlasted the barbarians and looked outward again, conquering the Balkans, founding Vindobona (the forerunner to Vienna) and even colonizing Libya. Finally, internal pressures became too much and the Romans collapsed in the 1500s. Post Roman Italy would soon come under attack, with the French taking northern Italy, while southern Italy and Rome itself would fall to the Spanish.
Greece, initially much more successful than the Romans due to the lack of a major barbarian threat, would come to colonize the Ukraine. This would bite them hard, though, when the Russians arrived and overwhelmed the Greeks. United Greece promptly collapsed, and would eventually be conquered by first the Romans, then the Ottomans. After the fall of Istanbul the Ottoman capital, to rioters, the Greeks declared independence from the Ottomans, eventually conquering Istanbul from them. Before the Ottomans could do anything about it, they collapsed, and now Greece controls both Athens and Istanbul, and also hold a slice of Persia thanks to a Congress.
And now for the final stop on our tour of Earth, Russia! Russia, thank goodness, is much simpler than the rest of Europe. Based in the city of Moscow, the Russians burst onto the scene very quickly thanks to them absorbing two Greek cities in the Ukraine (which, as already stated, had the side effect of causing the Greeks to collapse). Since then, they have united all of Eastern Europe west of the Urals, were on the winning side of World War I, and are now the most dominant state in continental Europe. They have a long-running feud with the Mongols over Siberia, but the inevitable armed conflict over it hasn't amounted to much.
And that's it for Interesting Times! I'll admit, I'm glad to finally be done with it, as not finishing this for so long was getting to me for most of this year, especially after going on a relative tear last year. I'm glad you stuck with me, despite it going on for a year and a half, and as always, stay tuned for anything new from me in the future!
Happy Holidays, and good night, everybody!
CaterpillarKing
Conqueror of Cacoons
Great! 
Matthias I
The Just
Maravilhoso!
Tambien
Theseus, Duke of Athens
Stupendous!
Manuss
Sleeping man
Perfect!
That Carthage though.
That Carthage though.
GreekAnalyzer
Back from the Dead
- Joined
- May 9, 2013
- Messages
- 1,936
A great end to a great story!
DKVM
Joker
Great job!
VGL
Deity
mrrandomplayer
Hopeless Situation Warrior
Great game!
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