Clive1 - Monarch (Training ?) game

[Sir Clive]

Thanks Sesn - I'm just about to play my final 2 turns now so I will download it when I have finished. Looks very useful.

Re ordering by columns in domestic advisor - must have been a real pain not being able to sort the most productive cities to the top

Thats the way I identified the 4 towns that were at 48 shields (mentioned in my original post)

I also use it a lot by clicking on the 'build orders' column so I can quickly see how many cities are building each unit / improvement type - very handy indeed IMHO !

 

[Bede]

One thing I still don't understand about the beakers is how you work out how many beakers a Tech costs ?

TechCalc is a big help but it also helps to work out the math in your head just to understand the principle.

Easiest way is to set the research slider to 50% with no scientists employed then multiply turns left by number of beakers produced. IIRC scientist beakers are not reported in the beaker column, though I may be wrong about that because of the multipler effect of libraries and universities and the way the truncation works.

Never knew about the sort by build, good technique, very useful

 

[Sir Clive]

Pre turn check - Take Bede's advice and put sci up to 100% . gpt is now -400 but we
can afford it and Mass Production is due in less than 2 so can be turned down next turn .

Quick check on build orders - Most of the high production cities are building airports so
they can build veteran bombers. All looks OK so here we go again !

IT - Arabs capture Buto and the Egyptians are destroyed ! Builds complete in lots of towns -
most of the outermost hopelessly corrupt towns are just building a worker every 10 turns
so that we can continue to build up the population . We still have a fair bit of land which
needs irrigation to get outr population to the max possible. Most of the other builds are
still bombers - the next player can switch these to tanks if they want to. Also switched to Flak
in a few cities since we don't have much defence against enemy air attack.

1768 - Troops move back into towns. Workers work.

IT - Science now down to 60% (MP due in 1) . Gold +325 pt. Go through each town and check
the build orders,. The priority was to make sure that towns making only 1spt were building
workers since they can't do much else.

It was at this stage I realised the full value
of civil engineers (which I have never really used before ) ! I came across Satsuma which is
at 6spt (4 corrupt ) which had CEs which had no shields below the CE faces (BTW Bede -
thank for the faces amendment - makes a hell of a difference !) since it was building
a worker. Suddenly realised that
these CEs were being wasted. Had a look at what it would normally take to build a library .
It was 37 turns. With the CEs - 8 turns !! Brilliant stuff - it means you can finally
get your corrupt towns productive !! Don't know why I didn't previously pick up on this

Go through all the towns and check I'm not wasting any more CEs

Got a bit confused here - wasn't sure whether I should have taken 1 more turn . Anyway I
am going to stop here so that we can have discussion on who to hit next.

I won't post a screenie since I did one last night.

The main thing I found interesting from these turns was the value of CE's - WOW big time !!
The 1 spt towns are no longer useless. Mind you I am normally dead before getting to
replaceable parts anyway at Monarch so I am not able to use them

The Mongols seem to have huge numbers of troops so I guess it should be the Arabs next .

Surprised we haven't decided to get Espionage yet . I always like to be able to
see where my opponents troops are and go for it fairly early. Do others think spies are
useful ?

For the next player - sorry about all the pollution - have been concentrating on rails /
irrigation so it has got a bit out of hand. Suggest we clear some up next turn.

There is a settler between Elephantine and Tobacco Town. I didn't settle last turn as I was
worried about annoying the Arabs.

Saved game Clive1

 

[Sir Clive]

Revised roster

Sir Clive - Just played
Admiral Kutzov - Up
Bede - On Deck
mtgfreak -
Viper275 -
MSTK -

 

[Admiral Kutzov]

Got it. Brain is melting down with Bede's cipherin' above 20. Will need to review and digest. We're in range of tanks?! Thanks be that weekend is here. Gots to try an apply these here permutations.

TechCalc is a big help but it also helps to work out the math in your head just to understand the principle.

you assume one has the brain cells to do this.

@ Bede - you forgot "here endeth the lesson"

 

[Admiral Kutzov]

Pre-flight: ROP runs out in 10 turn with both Abu and Scarface. No war for me. Although I toyed with the idea of getting Abu indebted to me and thus provoking him to attack. Mongols have no salt Abu has no rubber Decide we need to switch to Democracy to speed research and increase cash (sorry wrong turnlog) MM some stuff.

IT Mass Production done, drumroll please, start Motorized Transport. (90% science, due in 4)

1770 Whip Lib. at New Ankuwa. Build airfield near Krasnayoyarsk. Found Ann Arbor. Build fighter for recon duty.

1772 drop science to 80%

1774 literally sailing circles around Abu's navy

1776 could drop science and still get tanks in two, but ...

IT learn Motorized. Science to zero, computes in 50. Notice CE hardhats are color coded according to nationality.

1778 Found University Park with the only source of Arab iron inside the border!

Western Front

Arny Encampemnts (all units still have full movement)

The following cities are now producing 50spt: Riverbend, Karyhuyk, Greenland, Oasisland, Pompeii, Kanesh, Vineyard. Apologies to our leader, got somewhat lazy in MM the other magic number cities.

 

[viper275]

Wow! We're in the Modern Age!!! I rarely get to this point in the game. I suggest that we gather up some tanks and attack the Arabs. Look at their Riflemen, they'll be no problem!

Opened up the MapStat. We have 51% of the world. Since the Arabs have 15.9%, we could conquer them and get a domination victory once we continue to build and expand. We have 1503 tiles out of the world's total, 2945. We need 441 more to win, then Arabs have 467. Obviously a little culture and other cities would be needed, but this could be done. Also, we're about a half era ahead of the Mongols and Arabs and about 1 era ahead of Babylon, and we have productive cities so Space Race is possible too. Of course we could go with Conquest, too.

We're starting to get interesting city names . Cape Cod? University Park?

 

[MSTK]

Are we already in the modern age?

 

[Bede]

Okay!!

Let's see some careful planning here.

General Staff Orders:
What's the objective for the first war turn?
What units/formations are needed to achieve that objective?
What units/formations are needed for defense?
How long will it take to train the needed units and assemble the formations?

What is the contingency plan, e.g. what happens when the offensive fails or the defenses collapse?

I await the proposals....

 

[Admiral Kutzov]

Full plan to follow tonight. Here's something I was exploring at the end of my turn, but I couldn't get Abu to give gpt.

FYI - note the garrisons in the lands formerly known as Egypt are overstrength and wise ruler could probably siphon lots of infantry into the field... The forces awaiting grouping in their camps are "spares"

What is the contingency plan, e.g. what happens when the offensive fails or the defenses collapse?

You're still typing too fast for me.

 

[Bede]

Wha fo we want Fascism, Hoss?

 

[Admiral Kutzov]

Wha fo we want Fascism, Hoss?

We no want, he offerred when i did the what will you give for...?

 

[Bede]

Do we want a lux deal with sombody we are going to wipe off the face of the earth in 12-15 turns anyway?

 

[viper275]

I don't think we should give them luxuries, we're about to destroy them. If you want gold give him techs only. If you want Fascism (although I don't know why) perhaps give him some money and techs for it only. To answer Bede's war questions:

1. Capture as many cities as possible. Shiraz seems like a great initial spot, I could try to make a war plan here.
2. Tanks, tanks, and more tanks. 2 movement combined with any railroad square we have in our borders should allow us to swiftly take nearby cities and cripple them from the start. Blitz is a very important part too, allowing it to do more damage once it gets there. This is a time I wouldn't worry too much about combined arms.
3. I think we should increase science on Computers and get a bunch of Mech Infantry. 18 defense will stop them, after all if they'll attack us it's going to be with units like Riflemen/Cavalry. Our Infantry would be just fine, but having Mech Infantry would give us a defensive boost.
4. Not very long, as Bede said about 12-15 turns should be enough. We have 8 cities on 50 spt, which is a four tanks every turn. I do not want this to go how it did with Egypt where we had just enough infantry to slowly defeat with more needing to go there each turn. This should be very short and decisive.
5. If this were to somehow not work out, I would say that we should build more offense and either re-take what we lost or send a lot of re-inforcements. If we lost many cities, try re-taking them and bringing more defenses to current cities, but if all else fails we may need peace. The other thing: I think that if our cities were to fall it would happen fairly slowly (there are a lot) and our unit production would make up for it.

 

[SesnOfWthr]

lurker's comment: One could argue that some bombing runs against their horses/salt on the first turns could make everything much easier. You may need a crrier group or two to accomplish this, I can't see where those resources are. You'll still be facing rifles in the cities, but a cav(att 6) can still take out a tank (def 8) with a bit of luck, especially if said tank is wounded. A continuation of this would be hitting their luxes. They can't produce anythin if all their cities are rioting...

If it were me, I would mass troops in two places: the iron supply near Shiraz, and in former Egyptian lands. I would want to take the former Egyptian cities so only a response force is needed there, rather than permanent defenders. From the iron supply, you could bomb Shiraz down to nothing with arty. Attack with one tank at a time, and when Shiraz falls, your tanks will be able to hit Mecca on the same turn, using a similar strat. Then it will take a movement turn before you can hit anymore cities, at least from what I can see in the screenies.

Hope I didn't spoil any of your fun, Bede.

 

[Bede]

Here's a summary of our effective troops:
Cavalry 13
Tank 1
Artillery 34
Fighter 1
Bomber 20
Army 7
Infantry 114
Guerrilla 5

How should those troops be placed?
What are the tasks of each group?
Remember the first principles: Concentration and Preservation

Finally: what about the Mongols?

 

[Admiral Kutzov]

Do we want a lux deal with sombody we are going to wipe off the face of the earth in 12-15 turns anyway?

To provoke him into a war when he can't afford the lux.

Grasshoppa begs forgiveness for being slow sensei:

Operation Abu

Disposition of Forces:

Western Front
Available forces consist of 20 bombers with the range to strike all the way to Fustat from their current base. It is not felt that any additional bombers are needed. There are 7 cities producing 50gpt. In 4 turns, 14 armored units will be available for assignment. Scientific research is currently minimal. Cash rushing would augment the available armored forces. The initial target is Shiraz. Armored units from the iron hill west of University Park will advance after bombardment by the Eighth Air Force to secure the city. The in-place rail network will allow follow-on infantry to garrison Shiraz on the same turn. If all bombers have not expended their loads, they will proceed to the secondary objective, Muscat, on the east coast of the peninsula. If the armored force is not gassed, additional armored units will invest the Muscat city. Rinse and repeat for Fustat. Phase one ends.

Eastern Front
Available unassigned forces are currently training in bases in SW of the former Egyptian lands. Available forces consist of 33 75mm artillery pieces, 2 cavalry armies, 2 infantry armies, 5 independent cavalry regiments and 16 independent infantry regiments. These forces could be augmented by drawing down existing overstrength garrisons in the recently conquered Egyptian lands. The 33 artillery pieces will be formed into a grand battery. Using the available rail network, the battery will shell all defenders of a city until the defenders redline. 3-5 infantry units will garrision the expended artillery. Available cavalry armies will be used to eliminate redlined defenders. using the existing rail net, 1-2 infantry regiments will move to garrison each captured city. Unexpended artillery will use the rail net to move to the next target of opportunity. Rinse and repeat. Given the dispersal of Arabic cities, the field commander will need discretion to determine the optimal attack order as events develop. Phase two runs concurrently with Phase one.

Army Group South
Repeated demonstrations by embassy guards have failed to instill any fear of modern weapons in Attila. The Ambassador reports that Attila puts great faith in his highly mobile horsemen and his pikeman/scorched earth policies. There are 3 obsolete armies currently available in the south as well independent infantry commands to contain any delusional assault. Alternatively, several tons of beads and trinkets are available to distract Attila.

Go To H*ll Plan
By nature it is not possible to plan for all contingencies. One must therefore act as a boy scout and be prepared. Prudence requires an airfield or airport in Chitzen Itza Province should developments require fast reinforcement of local forces. Homeland provinces have no less than 7 airfields available for rapid reinforcement of any front.

Naval Element
One (1) each cruiser and destroyer are circling the Arabian Navy. It is thought that this fleet consists of several galleons and frigates. Should a state of war be declared. The Arabian navy should a brief exting life.

Conclusion: Our rail and air networks must be used with maximum flexiblity to effectively engage the engage the enemy.

 

[MSTK]

EDIT: Delete

 

[Bede]

Is there any way to achieve a burst in productivity on the home front?

 

[Admiral Kutzov]

Is there any way to achieve a burst in productivity on the home front?

change existing builds to tanks, rush with cash; draft; short rush (not clear on mechanics); mobilization (available in Monarchy? Again not clear on how it works)