Hmm. I'd thought we didn't have much scientific infrastructure, but I must've been thinking of another game (probably LK50), since we've got plenty. Based on that, I swap most of our core cities to research labs, to facilitate researching Communism, and also I think we will want to self-research at least key techs like Synthetic Fibers.
Also, somebody forgot to build Commercial Docks, an oversight that I correct. Except that Sinop which is working two water tiles and Miami which should've had a hospital long ago instead do have the docks.
I'll wait one turn to let some Research Labs complete, but then research goes to max (60%) on Communism due in three turns, and then we'll build lots of police stations. This will be a build-up turn, I don't expect to be doing any more massive invasions just yet. Attacking mechs with tanks is undesirable anyway; we're going to go to modern armors or nukes or both.
Diplo check - heh, we don't need no stinkin' diplomacy!
We have a stack of 25 artys on former France sitting idle. Sounds like a good reason to rush a transport in Kirklareli, since they can't be airlifted.
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Between turns - HOLY SHIZNIT!
Those are SEPARATE STACKS. Including at least four armies total. And each of those pictures shows about HALF the units in each stack. AND there's a JAPANESE stack of about the same size two squares away from Bunker.
During our production phase I scroll ahead to Bunker Hill and disband a bunch of units - mostly sipahi - to get a harbor (not a more expensive airport) completed this turn so we can upgrade all the infantry there. I only do this because we should've had a harbor or airport rushed last turn but the city inexplicably rioted with a governor still on.
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1665 AD: I clear out 8 artillery into the waiting transport which can reach safety in Birmingham, and do the same with the bombers. The remaining artillery bombard whatever they can, and the destroyers take out one Aztec battleship. Everyone else does the Bunker Hunker.
At least we eliminate the Mongols. I should've thought to try stealing a world map from them before doing so. But I try that now on France, and we get it. The island which had a tip visible with coal turns out to be two squares big, both mountains.
I also upgrade most of our infantry to mechs. Leonardo's is still working.
Between turns, even before the gigantic Battle of Bunker Hill, a bunch of Aztec battleships pop out of Ixtapaluca and knock off most of our navy there.
As for Bunker Hill... IT HOLDS! Mostly because the Aztecs attacked with about half their units, then retreated with the rest. It looked like they attacked with an army, then because it took damage decided to retreat it, and moved half of the rest of their units to cover that one army.
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1670 AD: Unfortunately, AI artillery use (!) took out the Walls and Barracks of Bunker Hill! So our units didn't heal all the way; none of the mechs has better than 3 HP. Fortunately, though, last turn I moved all the available infantry on English Isle to Birmingham and upgraded them. So that transport that took artillery to Birmingham last turn now ships Mech Infantry back to Bunker Hill. The transport is exposed and will die, but now we have eight fresh veteran mechs in Bunker.
Also our Leader reaches home and rushes SETI in Edrine.
Hey, that transport I built to move the Leader can get back to English Isle this turn as well. I pull six more mechs from inland core cities (leaving many undefended), send them through to Birmingham and load them on the second transport there, and now we have 14 fresh veteran mechs in Bunker.
Does anyone else realize how incredibly lucky we were to get Computers for the free tech? Without that, Bunker Hill would be dust and we'd be seeing immense stacks of tanks landing on our homeland.
Between turns is another battle at Bunker. The Aztecs again attack with half their units and retreat the rest, and when they're done a 4/4 vet mech is still showing. Then the Japanese do the same. And we get a Great Leader in the defense as well.
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1675 AD: That GL... well, any improvement he builds is going to get blown up in short order, so about the only thing to do is form an army and load mechs into it. I don't do tanks because a 4-tank army will get selected as a defender ahead of a standalone mech which I don't want.
Then in counterattacking some exposed units we get yet another GL and now we do have a tank army.
Then in counterattacking MORE exposed units we get yet ANOTHER GL and now we have a second tank army.
Between turns, the Aztecs feed another two dozen troops into the jaws of Bunker Hill, but they take out our mech army with a tank army. And they take out what was left of our meager navy in the area.
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1680 AD: One of our tank armies attacks a lone mech infantry and manages to lose.
It feels so wasteful to see GLs come and go like this...
The Aztecs build a new city southeast of Bunker Hill. And they feed some more troops to our meat grinder.
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1685 AD: Little happens. Trying to get together some semblance of a navy but it isn't working. Bombard and sink a few boats that ventured too close to our home continent.
BT, get another GL on defense who forms another mech army.
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1690 AD: Our people yearn for a change in government to Communism. Maybe they do, but we're going to force them to stay in a Republic. No, that doesn't quite make sense.
We start building Police Stations of course. What now? Uh, any modern tech would take us at least 22 turns to research. Definitely time to save up and steal. One indication of when anyone gets a new tech is to periodically check the approximate beaker costs of the available techs. Right now the beaker costs are approximately 10,500 for Ecology, 9,700 for Rocketry, and 11,500 for Fission. That's a consistent ratio with the relative costs in the editor, so I'm pretty sure nobody has any yet.
More slaughter at Bunker Hill.
BT, get yet ANOTHER GL on defense.
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1695 AD: Hey, the Police Stations don't seem to be doing anything in the happiness department. Edrine and New York have exactly the same happiness configurations after building the stations as they did before.
That Great Leader rushes an airport in Bunker Hill. It's going to get blown away by artillery, but we will get to use it for one turn first which will let me get some reinforcement tanks over there.
Between turns, the Aztecs find a fresh stack of 20+ MIs to attack us with, killing the mech army and reducing us to a single, damaged mech in the city along with about 10 tanks.
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1700 AD: But now we have an airport in Bunker Hill. Massive airlifting gets another dozen each tanks and mechs there. But our real problem is artillery, which can't be airlifted. There's about 50 artillery stacked up on old English Isle that can't make it over to Bunker Hill; if they got there this tide would finally be turned. The only possible way to get them there is to rush suicide transports out of Birmingham, which I start doing.
BT, our airport gets bombed out as expected. The Aztecs attack with another two dozen units and the Japanese contribute a dozen tanks; we do lose two or three mechs including one to that danged Aztec tank army.
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1705 AD: A suicide transport leaves Birmingham, sure to die but delivering 8 artillery to Bunker Hill first.
We get a GL counterattacking at Bunker Hill. Now what? Another temporary airport won't help yet, because we don't have the troops stockpiled at home to airlift over. I guess it's another army.
BT, more attrition at Bunker Hill but the flood finally seems to be slowing. Also, I'd been wondering when this was going to happen, but somebody makes a landing on old West French Island, but it's only a single tank and we handle it fine.
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1710 AD: Kill about 10 units and lose one at Bunker Hill. Here's a picture of the area:
There's a battleship blocking the square we need to send another suicide transport from Birmingham to deliver more artillery. The next time we get a GL, use it for another temporary airport to drop in more troops. I left our last army empty because I couldn't decide what to put in it; even a mech army is getting killed quickly here.
That Japanese artillery stack has been causing major headaches because the city can't keep any improvements (like barracks or walls) intact. But there's nothing we can do against it either. This stalemate is not going to be broken until nukes or Modern Armor.
Our spy shows the Aztecs with only 14 tanks left but still 119 mech infantry. Japan has 75 infantry (no mechs) and 13 tanks. The flow is slowing but is still far from a trickle.
The Aztecs have at least a dozen battleships in the area, and also fighters in Tepexpan which shot down one of our bombers that was hitting a battleship. Don't squander our meager navy; I doubt we'll ever achieve naval superiority here.
Take care of the few Sipahi left at Bunker; they can knock off the last unit in a stack on one of the hill squares and retreat to safety.
I have not seen any Marines yet at all - to our great relief (we are running on cardboard fumes in many areas.)
The relative tech cost for Fission went down so somebody has it. We don't need to steal it just yet, though (we won't need it until Space Flight, for nukes.) Lux pretty much has to stay at 30%, at least until we're able to secure the Bunker Hill area and hook up that incense, but that's still quite a number of turns away.
I continued to build Police Stations even though they don't seem to be working for happiness...?
Ugh. I'm exhausted, but it was a blast and I was hell-bent on finishing a full 10 turns.
Good luck to the next leader!
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads4/lotr6-1710ad.zip
They'd be well within our game theme. If the game goes as far as us getting Space Flight, those are the best way to crack capitals full of a dozen MIs...
