Always War Deity on Standard Pangaea

[Mumpulus]

I don't understand the reference to red dot 3.1. Can you explain that, please?

Hmm, now that I look at it, I agree that it's ... uhm ... a bit far fetched to reference implicit data in a picture I posted on page 2, in post 37. There, I put forward some steps that I've followed somewhat closely since then. Steps 1 and 3 involved founding two towns each, for which I drew red dots, that I numbered 1.1, 1.2, 3.1, and 3.2 in my head. Red dot 3.2 will be founded next turn, the others have been founded already (and I mentioned my imaginary numbering for all three of them). What I termed "some hills northeast from Hovd", was also a red dot by the way. See, I'm following a plan here.

I should adhere to a more narrative style, and not force my readers to jump back and forth in the thread just to be able to follow. Especially when the numbers I put in my pictures are blurred the way they are in that particular picture.

waiting for updates !!

btw first post

Hi, AkK47, welcome to CFC. I'm flattered to have a first time poster in my thread. I'll definitely take another look at this game right after I finish writing this. Not sure I'll be able to play much though, because I have some more evaluating and planning to do first. I think I won't take any chances, and make sure defenses are up in the north before I turn my attention to the French. That Egyptian cavalry will surely bring some friends. I'll get back to you and other lurkers and let you know how I plan to defend the German kingdom against these new aggressors.

 

[Mumpulus]

During my last session I played only two turns, and neglected to have MapStat open. A quick update on changes in techs: the Hittites and the French also have Military Tradition now. I contact the Hittites, and find out they have no horses. Now that I'm at it, I also contact the Russians: they have no horses and no iron. The Arabs have no saltpeter.

That makes all the difference in the world. Defense in the north won't have to be so strong after all, with only one other civilization able to build cavalry. We'll learn Military Tradition in 6 turns.

I'm still faced with three problems right now.

Problem 1 - Defending Karakorum and establishing the northern front line

Saltpeter will come online in three turns. I'll train a few muskets to take up guard in Karakorum. I'll also try to quell resistance as soon as possible, and then rush some culture to have more advance warning of incoming enemies. Until then, I'll shift an army forward. That army can also take back Karakorum if it should flip again.

Problem 2 - Neutralizing that Egyptian cavalry

That cavalry can reach Karakorum or Wiesbaden, or two of our worker pairs, or the new town I'm about to found, or the army that will raze Choybalsan (which will be vulnerable if it loses too much health). Action radius of the cavalry highlighted in the picture below.

Problem 3 - Neutralizing the French stacks

I have 6 trebuchets, 3 elite knights, and 1 slightly wounded veteran knight to deal with this:

If I keep the nearly healthy army in the new town I'll found, I can deal with the French over two turns. But I'll probably need that army for the resolution of problem 2. A real conundrum. I also have those workers on the silks to think of. They've been "pre-chopping", and will put 10 shields into the box of the new town immediately.

 

[Mumpulus]

Turn 171 - 560AD
Mainz is founded as planned.

The army near Choybalsan loses only a single hitpoint taking out the veteran spearman, and the next unit is the longbowman that held the city last turn. He once against fights valiantly, taking three more hitpoints off the army, but the outcome was inevitable:

Hovd becomes their new capital, I'll have to take care of that soon now.

I move the army by the saltpeter forward, and spot incoming Aztec and Arab troops. On to problem number 3 then: the army in Mainz goes down to 6 hitpoints just to take out one musketeer. This problem remains unsolved, as does number 2: the cavalry will probably attack, although there are some empty towns nearby.

Killed 3 units this turn (1 spearman, 1 longbowman and 1 musketeer), no losses, no elite victories.

IT
Ok, I'm starting to feel embarrassed here: the Aztecs and Arabs fight each other. Don't these guys know they're supposed to fight me? The Egyptian cavalry goes down to one hitpoint but still kills a crusader in Karakorum, and then moves to a safe distance. Our troops manage to quell one resisting citizen. One French longbowman kills a veteran pikeman, another retreats an elite knight. The rest of the French stack moves onto flat land.

The Hittites finish Shakespeare's Theater in Alaca Huyuk. The French finish Copernicus' Observatory in Paris. The Arabs finish Magellan's Voyage in Aden.

Turn 172 - 570AD
Potsdam is founded right on top of our saltpeter source. The last jungle in our core has been cleared, and reveals another bonus grassland.

I let most of the armies rest, using just one to kill a French longbowman threatening Aachen. I lose a veteran knight there, but manage to kill the musketeers. There are 10 French units within striking distance.

In total, I killed 5 units this turn (1 spearman, 2 longbowmen and 2 musketeers), 1 loss, 3 elite victories.

IT
I lose 2 slaves to the Egyptian cavalry. I overlooked that, but the good thing is I'll be able to kill the cavalry now. Saarbrücken is bypassed by a veteran longbowman; it has an elite pikeman inside, and is built on hills.

We get our fourth crusader, and quell another resistor (one more to go). The Mongols finish Newton's University in Erdenet.

Turn 173 - 580AD
The second elite attack this turn, the 9th since I started counting, is a crusader out of Karakorum, killing the redlined Egyptian cavalry:

Barbarossa becomes an army, that will wait three more turns to be filled with cavalry. I leave Mainz empty, which should lure the remaining French troops onto flat land. Two armies will be able to attack four times at Baruun-Urt next turn.

Killed 8 units this turn, 4 with elites, no losses.

 

[SlothBear]

Awesome, truly awesome!

 

[Mumpulus]

IT
The resistance in Karakorum had ended.

Turn 174 - 590AD
A single knight army kills 2 pikemen and a longbowman, and:

We capture two slaves and three trebuchets.

The ship marked with the yellow team disc you can see peeking out from under the dialog is an Egyptian frigate. We've got some shore bombardment coming.

The second army I had set for Baruun-Urt attacks Kazan instead, and kills 2 pikemen. Leonardo's Workshop is located there, so I'm thinking the capture of Kazan will be well timed with our learning Military Tradition.

The German military registered 12 kills this turn, 3 by elite troops. We lost 1 knight on a longbowman.

Science goes back to 40%, Military tradition still due in 2 turns.

IT
The Mongols are still fighting the French, but the French seem to mostly focus on us.

Turn 175 - 600AD
One army attacks Tabriz, but the French had a musketeer there, and that takes a lot out of the army. It can continue for one more attack to kill a spearman, but has to rest after that. A knight takes out a longbowman, but there are still healing units left. A second army will heal a bit. I also let the army by Kazan heal, because I'll probably won't hold it for more than one turn, so I'd rather take it next turn.

The French pillager army has returned and is next to Hovd now. In two turns we'll have a fresh cavalry army next to it as well.

We killed 7 units this turn, 1 with an elite.

IT
The Aztecs land a pikeman at Leipzig.

Turn 176 - 610AD
I can't take on that pikeman just yet, I'm hoping it doesn't pillage but goes for empty München instead.

Our army kills 2 pikemen and 1 spearman in Kazan, but a fourth spearman takes up defense. Seems like I wont be upgrading cheap this turn. I upgrade 5 knights for now; 30g isn't that much and I want to send out the new army as soon as possible.

We do have plenty of units to kill a spearman and 2 longbowmen in Tabriz:

The French must have gotten a lot of money when they took Tabriz from the Mongols, but it seems they have spent it all on women and wine.

The knight army at Hovd can only kill a single veteran pikeman before it has to rest. The next unit showing is a regular pikeman.

I counted 8 kills this turn, 3 by elites, no losses.

Astronomy is due in 5 turns at 80%, still at a deficit of 88gpt. Science farms are growing though, and we'll get a lot more in the near future.

IT
The Aztec pikeman moves to München mountain.

Turn 177 - 620AD
Our first cavalry win is against that pikeman.

The French are kind enough to expose a lone longbowman:

That was the 10th elite victory since the last leader. We are still a city short for our next army, so Richtofen will rush the Military Academy.

This turn saw only 3 kills in all. Targets are getting scarce.

Magdeburg is founded northeast of Karakorum, next to the ruins of Baruun-Urt. I rush the library in Karakorum.

 

[Mumpulus]

An summary of what's going on right now:

• We have three settlers in the Augsburg-Freiburg region; as soon as Hovd has fallen, I'll move the knight army northwest to take the smaller Mongol town there, and then I can settle aggressively in the direction of Amiens.
• The cavalry army will help out at Hovd first, then go straight for Cherbourg, where the French saltpeter is.
• There are two armies at Kazan; they'll take and hold that city while I upgrade units, but after that I'll probably raze it. I may allow the Mongols to retake it for some extra money.
• Berlin is building 4-turn cavalry, Hamburg will be able to run a 6-turn cycle soon. A lot of the other cities are on infrastructure builds still, but that'll end soon.
• The French have incense and gems; I hope to find and grab those soon.
• I'll keep three knight armies in the north, and the other two knight armies and the cavalry army in the south. The next army will also go after the French. I should be able to cut through them fast, hopefully before they get rifles.
• I'm running out of Mongol cities to take to fund research, but science farms are finally forming, so that should compensate.

 

[qoou]

That was the 10th elite victory since the last leader. We are still a city short for our next army, so Richtofen will rush the Military Academy.

I'm assuming this happened right before you founded Magdeburg? (I counted 28 cities total, but might've counted one twice).

 

[CivRulesAll]

Where did you put the MA?

 

[Mumpulus]

Magdeburg included, I have 30 cities. And I have 6 armies. And I still can't count. I can create another army. You guys pay attention well.

The leader had sufficient movement only to get to Aachen, but not to do anything there. I rushed the 3 remaining shields on the worker build there, and was planning on rushing the Military Academy next turn. I'm not going to build armies anyway, so it doesn't matter where I put it.

But another army is more important, so the Military Adamy will have to wait a little while longer. When the time comes, I'll still put it in any town that can be reached by the leader I'll have then and doesn't have too many shields in the box. Those will be the only criteria.

 

[CivRulesAll]

Where did you put the MA?

Oh, ok.
EDIT: Just read the post before this one more carefully.

 

[Mumpulus]

I upgrade two more knights since I'll have an additional army next turn. I have only elite knights or knights in armies now. I also spend some cash on short-rushes. I get Hamburg on the anticipated 6-turn cavalry cycle right now by shifting around some tiles.

IT
The French and Mongols exchange some units, we don't get attacked. We do get another crusader and a library in Karakorum. Karakorum starves for the last time and is size 1 now. It will now become a fully integrated part of our society.

Turn 178 - 630AD
There are 5 French longbowmen next to Hovd, so I think it is now or never if I'm to get some of the 9331 gold the Mongols have. The French are getting richer too though, with 1197 gold right now.

The cavalry army kills 2 pikemen and a spearman, at the loss of 6 hitpoints in all. The knight army kills another spearman, and:

I'm very disappointed at the amount of gold we get, and I start wondering how I'm going to keep up research if my funding dries up. Even with Leonardo's Workshop, I'm not going to be able to afford any upgrades. And anyhow, I've upgraded mostly everything that needed upgrading, so after our army kills 3 spearmen, I decide to raze:

We can see Aztec borders to the north now.

I wonder again why I'm getting so little money, so I take another look at MapStat. It turns out it's the Egyptians who have all the money now, I just misread before.

The 7 kills this turns were all inflicted by armies, so no elite victories. No losses either. Next turn should see some regular combat again.

IT
The French move just a few units towards us. If this continues, I won't be able to leader fish. Then I won't get more armies. Then I won't be able to move fast enough to kill the French before they get rifles. Then again, musketeers are already pretty strong, so it doesn't make much difference.

Turn 179 - 640AD
It had to happen some time:

Will this be a problem? Let's take another look:

I lose an elite knight on a 2hp musketeer. Another elite knight kills him. The one other battle was also an elite killing a longbowman.

We've found wines ...

... and incense ...

Science can go down a notch to 70%, Astronomy is due in 2 turns at -75gpt. We're still running 20% luxury tax.

IT
I lose an elite swordsman as expected, no worries.

Turn 180 - 650AD
Bielefeld is founded close to the ruins of Hovd.

The veteran musketeer in Marseilles completely takes the wind out of one of the knight armies, which goes down to 1 hitpoint before finally winning. The second army has less trouble killing 2 more musketeers, only to reveal ...

There are two yellowlined musketeers that I wasn't going to attack this turn, but seeing the French cavalry gave this game some more sense of urgency, so two elite knights attack anyway. The second yields another leader:

Hengest immediately rushes the Military Academy in Wiesbaden (for real this time).

We had 5 victories this turn, 2 of them elite. No losses, although we came way too close with that one army at Marseilles.

 

[CivRulesAll]

You'd better put some defense in Wiesbaden. If you don't, i don't think you can build another MA if that one is captured or razed; and it must have been a tough decision razing leo's.

 

[Mumpulus]

It won't be long before Wiesbaden is shielded by other towns, and until then I'll make sure I always have a view of the tiles just north of Wiesbaden, to avoid any enemy unit making an unexpected attack. I have two armies in the area, as well as plenty of other troops and trebuchets to deal with anything the AI can throw at me.

Razing Leo's wasn't so tough a decision: the only units I'm going to be upgrading are knights, which costs 30g per upgrade. The 15g I would have saved with Leo's isn't going to make a difference now.

 

[Mumpulus]

IT
The French drop 2 units north of Freiburg. We lose an MDI to that "cavalerie marseillaise".

Turn 181 - 660AD
Cavalry army kills 2 rifles in Ereen:

We found Mönchengladbach and Kiel in that area.

The French saltpeter is pillaged again, and this time we will stay close to it.

In the north, our knight army kills 2 rifles in Tsetserleg:

Killed 10 units this turn, 2 with elites, no losses.

Banking is due in 5 turns at 70% and -69gpt. We have 292g in the bank, even though we don't know what that is yet.

IT
We lose a crusader and a trebuchet to a combined French and Mongol attack. I had hoped the units threatening ours would have taken each other out. I hope the French and the Mongols haven't made peace.

Turn 182 - 670AD
The French have riflemen now.

They will be no match however for our cavalry armies. One of them kills 2 rifles in Amiens:

Killed 6 units this turn, 2 with elites, no losses.

IT
The Arabs and the French are at war. We get some very unfortunate landings in the Kiel area. I scroll ahead to rush a spearman in Mönchengladbach.

Turn 183 - 680AD
I'll have to retreat some workers here, and hope the regular spearman I just rushed will hold:

Cavalry army kills 2 rifles in Cherbourg:

We capture 2 trebuchets and 9 slaves.

Killed 5 units this turn, 1 with an elite, no losses.

IT
The Arabs and the Egyptians are at war with the Aztecs. We lose a crusader to the French cavalry that was threatening Kiel. Our spearman in Mönchengladbach defends flawlessly against the musketeer.

Turn 184 - 690AD
Duisburg is founded very close to Dalandzadgad. I have to turn down research, and lose a turn on banking.

A cavalry army kills one rifleman in Brest.

Kill 8 units this turn, 2 with elites, no losses.

An overview at the end of 690AD:

 

[CivRulesAll]

4 cavs in 1 army=low defence Modern Armor

 

[Ansar]

Where are you getting all the German names from?

 

[Mumpulus]

Where are you getting all the German names from?

I often go to various places in Germany (it borders Belgium, so it isn't too far). One gets to know these names by driving around a lot.

 

[Aabraxan]

Nice progress Mumpulus!

 

[Mumpulus]

I am trying to get a feel for the lay-out of the French cities. I've numbered cities in the map below according to their founding order. I can't make much of it though. It seems they've founded in a pretty random pattern, even filling up spaces later on. I've also listed the number of troops we can see right now. That particular mix should get me some more easy leaders for sure.

The story continues...

 

[Mumpulus]

IT
The Arabs soften up defenses and then the wealthy Egyptians take Ulaanbaatar, formerly Mongol and Aztec. We lose a slave stack to a French cavalry.

Turn 185 - 700AD
I think the easy stretch I had before is over, and this game has become a challenge once more. Have a look:

I want to do several things this turn, but I'll have to deal with the French in order to do it:

• I want to move the settler near Kiel; however, the cavalry that's hiding in the fog will have to die first
• The southern cavalry army is covering a stack of 9 slaves, which I want to hold on to, to start clearing all that jungle. I'm also hoping I can recuperate the slaves that were already captured by the French. Furthermore, there's a settler pair nearby. I don't want the French to settle, certainly not near that saltpeter source, and I never say no to more slaves.
• There are 4 longbowmen outside Duisburg, they'll have to die because I have no defense there, and no roads to bring in reinforcements.
• There are a lot of units trying to get past Bielefeld.

I have 4 cavalry and the three armies to deal with all that.

I also have an elite MDI and some trebuchets in Bielefeld. So the first thing I do is bombard the two longbowmen there, and kill one of them (just barely).

I then turn my attention to Duisburg. The two cavalry stationed there are at 3/4 and 2/5 hitpoints, so they won't be able to contribute much. I can't afford to lose units now. So a veteran cavalry out of Duisburg takes on the first LB, and an elite out of Kiel goes for the second, giving us:

I have one more veteran cavalry in Kiel, and then also the one visible in the screenshot above, near Karlsruhe. Horsa creates our seventh army in Bielefeld, and is joined by the Karlsruhe and Kiel cavalry units. That army then goes on to kill the third longbowman at Duisburg. The final longbowman is killed by the 3/4 cavalry out of Duisburg itself, at the expense of 1 hitpoint. After this victory, that cavalry unit also joins the 7th army.

The knight army in Kiel kills a musketeer, a spearman and a longbowman.

I think long and hard, and decide to go for Brest with the more weakened army. It kills 2 riflemen and a redlined longbowman, and razes the French town:

I finally decide to have the second cavalry army go for the rifleman and the hidden cavalry. I'm hoping the French settler pair will make another move before settling. We also recuperate the slaves that were lost during the IT.

The situation in the south at the end of this turn:

I then turn my attention to the north. A Mongol longbowman is killed by an elite knight near Mainz. The French cavalry you can see in the last leader picture is killed by the knight army.

Below is another picture. For lack of satellite technology, this is a "knight-army composite": the southern army moved to the hills to see the Egyptian cavalry, and to the plains to spot the Mongol longbowmen. There is only one army really there.

The yellowlined cavalry barely kills the nearest longbowman. The knight army kills the rifleman and the second longbowman. Due to the reconnaissance mission, it doesn't have sufficient movement to kill the last visible Mongol longbowman.

The northern army pillages the road it's on, and then moves west to avoid attacking across the river.

I killed 17 units this turn, 3 with elites, and incurred no losses. The new leader appeared on the 9th elite victory since the last leader.