Rat 07 - English Role Play

Got it. Hopefully will complete tonight.

Update: Got done with 6 turns, will finish the rest at next opportunity. The BIG TURN took a while.
 
The BIG TURN took a while.
making our mouths water...sounds interesting. Looking forward to the update.
 
(0|255)1325 AD
Metallurgy cannot be researched faster than 4 turns (I can't believe we did a full 50-turn minimum research run at this point in the game), and it would be a shame to buy it. So my goal is to get Theory of Gravity from France next turn, and then once Metallurgy comes in, sign for peace with Spain, getting the most useful and expensive technologies I can. It will be a long time before we war with Spain again, until at least the Modern Era, so now is our chance to get cities from them. Also, since they won't be an opponent for so long, I have no problems giving them considerable gold in exchange for technologies, should the possibility arise.

So four turns to inflict pain on Spain, and four turns to prepare for Germany. My fellow players have already done an excellent job of this on the northeast island, as we have three Knight Armies and eleven other Knights.

Germany appears to have only one Saltpeter, and it is on a tile we can bombard. Their Iron and Horses are quite plentiful, though.
Rat07_1325AD_German_Saltpeter.jpg


We have 38 Knights, but 15 are in Armies. Upgrading the remaining 23 (at 15 gold each, I think, with Leo's) is a mere 345 gold. Upgrading our 11 Trebuchet (also at 15 gold), is a miniscule 165 gold. So this 7136 gold (+577 per turn) stockpile should be put to use! :D I'm thinking stealing technology in the Industrial Age.

I try to use the remaining 5 turns of our Golden Age to get more infrastructure, like courthouses, libraries and marketplaces in our productive cities. Don't feel like building more Muskets and Knights when Cavalry and Cannon are hopefully close.

I decide to try and strike the new Spanish capitol Vitoria before the war ends, so I send a fleet of 10 Man-O-War to bombard it.
Rat07_1325AD_Spanish_Plans.jpg


(IT) Defend against a Pirate paid by the French.

(1|256)1330 AD
Time for peace with France. We get Theory of Gravity for 1355 gold.

Bombarding Vitora reveals two Musketmen and two Spearmen. All regular except for one Musketman.

(IT) America descends into Anarchy (for Democracy, I assume).

(2|257)1335 AD
With just four red-lined units, the Spanish capitol of Vitoria falls to a Knight and an Army. We raze the city and get 3 slaves.

I begin slowly moving masses of workers back towards our distant productive capitol area, anticipating railroads before the 10 to 15 turns it will take to get there.

I deploy a vast network of the Man-O-War in anticipation for the German conflict.

(IT) America becomes a Democracy.

(3|258)1340 AD
We continue to slowly get Libraries and a few Universities built. With diligence, we'll be able to do worthwhile self-research by the middle of the Industrial Age.

Buy a slave from France for 113 gold.

After four Man-O-War bombardments of Santander, three attacks from a Knight Army fells the Musketman and two Spearmen. We raze Santander and get 4 slaves. Spain has been eliminated from their home continent, with one turn to spare.
Rat07_1340AD_Old_Spain.jpg

Spain has two size-1 cities left. :thumbsup:

Metallurgy next turn, which means Industrial Age. This is the big IT. :eek:

Here's a pre-war minimap.
Rat07_1340AD_Prewar_Minimap.jpg
 
(IT)
We self-research, at minimum science, Metallurgy and enter the Industrial Age:
Rat07_1340AD_Industrial_Age.jpg


I use Big Picture to go talk to Spain.
Rat07_1340AD_Spanish_Peace.jpg

We have peace with Spain.
I decided to throw in Theory of Gravity to put them in the Industrial Age as well. But hey, we have Cavalry now!

The Germans have Medicine and Nationalism. No railroads. We declare war on Germany.

We pursue Steam Power in 10 turns at -49 gold per turn.

Our people want to build the Military Academy.

(4|259)1345 AD
Per the spirit of the role-play, World War breaks out!
We ally Spain against Germany for 37 gold. Its better than neutrality.
We ally France against Germany for 209 gold. They'll take Paris, I swear! Bismarck craves croissant!
We ally America against Germany for Economics. The great Arsenal of Democracy.
We ally Russia against Germany for Music Theory. A war of attrition, with your, err, massive population...
We ally Arabia against Germany for Magnetism. Our great business partners.
Thankfully Japan is not in this game. ;)
Rat07_1345AD_New_World_Order.jpg

That should slow down the tech rate and minimize any landings.

France wants more than 5000 gold for Nationalism. It would cost us about that much to research it ourselves. However, a Safe Steal is only 2300 gold.

Rat07_1345AD_Steal.jpg


Rat07_1345AD_Nationalism.jpg


France also has Communism and Fascism!

First things first against Germany:
Rat07_1345AD_German_Saltpeter.jpg

No more Cavalry for Germany.

Well, I have a conundrum... do I strike Germany on the northeast island with Knights and Musketmen now, or do I upgrade them and lose the advantage of getting to move first? I decide I think I can take New Nuremburg this turn with just armies. Everyone else will upgrade.
Rat07_1345AD_Northeast_Island.jpg


Man-O-War bombardment reveals only two Riflemen at New Nuremburg. Two armies defeat them, with some heavy damage. We raze New Nuremburg and get 2 slaves.

Upgrade 5 Trebuchet for 75 gold.
Upgrade 21 Knights for 315 gold.
Upgrade 33 Musketmen for 990 gold.

Of course, with Germany as a Democracy, one of our primary goals is inflicting massive war weariness.

(IT) Germany engages our mountain-fortified Musketmen on the island with their Cavalry. Perhaps impales is the better verb. Good naval battles, with Germany's fleet emerging and generating more Man-O-War than they kill.

We get lots of cultural expansion in old Russia.

Our Golden Age ends.

(5|260)1350 AD
Trade for Silks and 2 gold per turn from Arabia for Iron.

Defended by a Cavalry and Medieval Infantry, and bombarded by Man-O-War, we auto-raze New Dortmund, a German outpost in old Spain.

A Knight Army, and 7 Cavalry defeat 3 Riflemen, 2 Cavalry and 1 Longbowman at Manchester. We raze Manchester and win 4 slaves.
Rat07_1350AD_Northeast_Island.jpg


Found Manchester in old Spain (near Vitoria).

(IT) Germany has a lot of boats. A lot.

(6|261)1355 AD
We get quite a few We love the Queen day!, probably due to the Silks.

Man-O-War bombardment of Leiceister reveals two Regular Riflemen, who now have 3 HP between them. We raze Leiceister and gain 1 slave.

Found Leiceister on the northeast island.

Rat07_1355AD_Northeast_Island.jpg


(IT) While still plenty of German boats, the large number of French boats moving about is worth nothing.
 
(7|262)1360 AD
A Knight Army and a Cavalry defeat the two Riflemen at New Hamburg. We raze New Hamburg.
Rat07_1360AD_Northeast_Island.jpg


Found New London in old Spain.

Continue mass exodus of workers back to our core.

The strait between the German mainland and the Northeast Island has been a constant war zone, and we kill 4 or 5 boats per turn (and generate 2 or 3 Man-O-War).

(IT) France now has Steam Power. At this point, it is cheaper to self-research than to safely steal.

(8|263)1365 AD
After Man-O-War bombardment, two Cavalry easily conquer the two defending Riflemen and we raze New Bonn and get 2 slaves.
Rat07_1365AD_Northeast_Island.jpg


Found New Nottingham on the Northeast Island.
Found New Hastings in old Spain.

Kill a ton more German boats. Every turn, there's usually a few stacks of 3 Frigates and 1 Galleon to kill. This turn I also found a German Caravel upon the high seas. We have 43 Man-O-War, and 21 of them are slaves.

I begin to prepare for a landing on mainland Germany.

(IT) Some interesting exchanges on a remote island:
Rat07_1365AD_Island_Dynamics.jpg


(9|264)1370 AD
After Man-O-War bombardment, a Cavalry and Knight Army eliminate the two defending regular Riflemen and we raze New Munich and get 3 slaves. Germany has been removed from the Northeast Island.
Rat07_1370AD_Northeast_Island.jpg

Just two more islands to go! :)

I do something either monumentally stupid, or incredibly courageous:
I land at Berlin with 3 Riflemen, 3 Cannon and 2 Cavalry this turn, and a Knight Army, 1 Rifleman and 7 Cavalry next turn. I cannot land on the nice mountains next to Berlin, as they have two Riflemen stationed on them. I also move the force of Man-O-War in the strait up next to Berlin, and begin bombardment.

Here goes...

(IT) Nothing. Germany acts as though they do not notice the 8 units next to their capitol. :crazyeye:

Arabia and Spain sign a peace treaty. Frankly, I didn't realize they were at war.

The Russians want to talk and trade Territory Maps. They are dismissed.

(10|265)1375 AD
Alas, the mountains next to Berlin are now vacant, which would be the preferred location. However, it appears we don't need a defensible position, as they mounted no large assault against our landing party.

I confirm through bombardment that Germany has 6 Riflemen in Berlin (2 Veteran, 4 Regular), and that I have enough Man-O-War to do some good damage to all of them.

The Germans re-road their Saltpeter near Salzburg. I bombard it and destroy it again.

Found New Cantebury in old Spain.

The Berlin Situation
Rat07_1375AD_Berlin_Situation.jpg


Old Spain: Now
Rat07_1375AD_Old_Spain_Orange.jpg


Minimap
Rat07_1375AD_Minimap.jpg


Power Histograph
Rat07_1375AD_Power_Histograph.jpg

Upgrading to Riflemen and Cavalry with Leo's has really pumped up our Power ranking.

Notes / Incoherent Ramblings:
  • Steam Power in 3 turns.
  • Workers have been moving back north to begin railroads when we get Steam Power.
  • Hurt Man-O-War are excellent as artillery to weaken opponents for stronger Man-O-War.
  • There's two settlers on the Northeast Island under a fortified Riflemen. I recommend one of them settles in place next turn, I have no recommendation for the second one.
  • Two more Galleons full of an Army, 2 Cannon, 1 Cavalry and 1 Riflemen can sail from New Nottingham next turn, and land their troops on German soil.
  • Galleons are coming from the due west (northeast of old Indian lands) with another Army and a Settler and Cavalry.
  • Galleons are coming up the south Indian shore with four more Cannon.
  • London will finish the Pentagon in 2 turns. It could be changed to the Military Academy, I leave the decision for my successor.
  • I have no attachment to the builds, and I might have gone a bit Library and University happy. But I truly believe we need to get a self-research capability soon, or France will run away with it.
  • We must raze Berlin. We'd never be able to keep any Germany city with their massive culture. So keep the Settlers coming, as its raze-and-replace for a pretty big continent (which will likely bring us victory, as we have 40% land and Germany has 23%, and there's some empty lands under our control currently.)
  • There are many Man-O-War on station (fortified) around French waters, providing intelligence on the movements of the ample French navy. If you don't see value in this vision, I suppose they could be deployed elsewhere.
  • We need to decide if after Steam Power we continue research, or if we keep it as cash and make steals from France. Simple math should make the case.
  • I left three wounded Man-O-War unmoved at the Interesting Island where Germany and France are battling it out. They provide useful intelligence.
  • While you could assault Berlin with the few Cavalry that landed last turn, I recommend waiting until next turn, where victory is assured due to the amount of bombardment available.
  • Germany is still a Democracy. Lets put an end to that.
--- The Save ---

We have been at Peace with France since turn 256. We must have War on turn 286 (1480 AD).
We must stay at war with Germany until we enter the Modern Era.
We must not declare war on Spain until we enter the Modern Era (at least).
We have 105 miltary units (MP-capable + artillery), and 62 cities. 19 more units allowed.

Roster:
zyxy
Vol - just played
pindicator - UP! Berlin burns next turn!
ThERat - on deck, but will there even be any Germany left for him?
 
Excellent progress :goodjob:

I would go for settler production in former Spain since it is completely irrigated, that way if my MM we can get out another rushed settler in 2 turns to beat the French for that spot.

Agree on research, we need to be able to do that since France will be at war with us half of the time and the other nations should be pretty dead by then.
We could also gift Russia into the IA and hope they don't get nationalism, Russia has 2 cities left and thus no threat at all.

I would go for electricity after steam so we can irrigate anywhere we like to get some growth, since we need more settlers to replace Germans towns. I fully agree on this as well, pealse do raze ALL germans towns, we do not need flips now, raze and replace is better.
 
Vol, you could write a picture book with how well you relate your turns!

And an excellent job on the turns themselves, as well. I will pick it up on Friday, I think, after work.
 
My intention was to illustrate the value and possibility of good SG turnlogs as the Civ IV era begins. Especially as we work to learn from each other with significantly new gameplay mechanics, clear and compelling communication is essential.
 
Wow, that sounds like it's straight out of a manual.

Okay, I'm up to the challenge. I'll play later tonight if I don't pass out on cold medication.

Edit: sleepy time after 4 turns
 
Okay Vol, I'm game. Here's a writeup in homage to your wonderful creations. Constructive criticism is of course always welcome!

Let me tell you, antihistimines knock me out. Then again, so does this head cold. Boy, it's a nasty one too. So I just took the drugs and we'll see how far I can go.

Inherited Turn-

- London gets switched to Military Academy. The reason is we won't be able to transport larger armies until we get transports, and on an island map that's a big stipulation. So London gets switched to Military Academy.
- Lands End switched to Library (from Temple).
- Ipswich switched to Settler (from Courthouse). This wastes 4 shields (well 6 because of the 2 that are produced every turn) but at 90% corruption and max pop I think settler's a better choice.
- Richmond switched to Temple (from Courthouse).
- Madrid switched to Courthouse (from Library).

Since you left them unmoved, Vol, I decided to bomb some German artillery at the "Interesting Island." Don't know if this breaks our stance as impartial observers at the island, but those Men-O-War were bored and threatening mutiny.

Like the idea of getting something from Russia potentially. And I'm feeling chartible.

After gifting Russia numerous techs,

Rat7_1375ad_russiatrade_(2).jpg



For some reason our gpt has shot DOWN! It was +8 gpt before gifting and the trade and now it is -66!! What from? I couldn't have broken any deals there with Russia and I couldn't have MMed that much.
Well, in any case we're a lot more broke now. Science to 60%, Electricity being researched (France doesn't know it anyway), due in 20 turns.

IBT-

Sink a German Frigate.

The Germans attack our army! A cav dies to our army, but knocks about half of its HP off. A second cav kills a rifleman. [2-1]

1) 1380AD

We have Coal!

Rat7_1380ad_wehavecoal_(3).jpg



Dehli is one tile off of being able to be an Iron Works town.
Another coal is already connected underneath the town of Hyderabad.

It takes me half the turn to realize this (blame the cold), but Coal + Iron = Railroads! Some workers already have moved, but others immediately begin laying tracks.

Some workers were set to auto-move :nono:

New Coventry founded on the Northeastern Isle. The second settler that Vol talked about moves NE-N-N to found a whaling village.

Sink a Frigate. Some of the weakened Men-O-War I am sending back to port for repairs (talking 1/4 ones here). They bombard the shoreline on their way home.


The Seige of Berlin

...begins with a naval bombardment. I count somewhere between 6-8 rifelmen defending Berlin. Most are redlined by the 20+ frigates bombarding.

The cannons begin the second wave of bombardment. The last cannon redlines the last riflemen, and the invasion is ready.

Army kills 3 riflemen losing only 1 HP.
4 cavalry attacks kill 3 more riflemen and lose one cavalry. One cav promotes.

Berlin is now defended by a 2/4 cavalry.

Rat7_1380ad_berlinfalls_(4).jpg



The fall of Berlin nets us 6 slaves. The bad news, however, is the before and after picture of Germany's borders. Take a look for yourselves:

Rat7_1380ad_germanculture(5).jpg



Another town has to fall before we can make headway on German soil. Munich might do the trick, but it is surrounded by mountains and would be a devil to make any progress after establishing a beachead. And with Leipzig not far off we wouldn't have much free area to work with. I like Cologne better. Between Cologne and Berlin falling we should have a large area to pick a beachhead from. We then can run south with our troops through easier terrain rather than fighting in the mountains.

We pic up the workers and a few injured cavalry. Moving our staging area to the area around Hyderabad. Plan to land on the hill south of Cologne.

We could use some more galleons. I switch a few of our Man-O-War towns to Galleons.

I see a trade with the Arabs and cannot pass it up (really, it's in the rules!)

Rat7_1380ad_arabfreeartistry(6).jpg



IBT-

Defeat a German frigate. A rifle and an MDI show near our army but mostly quiet.

Rostov: Courthouse -> Galeon

2) 1385AD

New Warwick founded on the Northeastern Isle.

Our troops still ashore in German soil head south to the moutains above Cologne to hold up until reinforcements arrive.

I'm ending the Interesting Island Men-O-War's cruise for repairs.

Germany will now talk. Too bad for them we can't. But we can see that they have Communism, Facism, and Medicine. So does France.


IBT-

A German settler is heading towards Berlin's ruins.

Russia and America sign a peace treaty.

Abe wants to renew our peace treaty and I concur.

Rat7_1385ad_militaryacademy(7).jpg



London starts on a university. Next player please feel free to change this to an army if they think it will be better.

Her Majesty's Desert: Temple -> Library


3) 1390AD

Science to 50%. We are losing too much money to keep it higher.

We land many troops at Cologne:

Rat7_1390ad_colognelanding(8).jpg



Knight army kills German rifle and settler netting two slaves. I find a galley that can reach it, but the slaves are on their own and are disbanded.

The towns are connected!!

Rat7_1390ad_railroading(9).jpg



Stupid me, I sent the galley off without the settler. So I send the settler to settle on the Northeastern Isle and have another galley with settler coming up from Old Russia.


IBT-

Germans attack our riflemen again: kill an MDI and retreat a cav.

Arabs land troops near Brandenburg

Plymouth Rock: Settler -> Market
Coldplay: Courthouse -> Market (Haha, anybody see 40 yr old Virgin? You know how I know you're gay? ...)


4) 1395AD

Railnet continues to develop. Non-stop trips now scheduleable from London to Dover.

I see two more city locations on the Northeastern Isle. 2E of New Warwick and 3E of Coventry. They are marked below:

Rat7_1395ad_NEIsle(10).jpg
 
4) 1395AD - Continued


The Seige of Cologne

Similar to Berlin, Cologne starts with a sea bombardment. And similar to Berlin, the cannons finish the redlining of all troops inside (in this case, 3 riflemen).

One army does the trick, killing all 3 riflemen.

Rat7_1395ad_CologneFalls(11).jpg



We net 3 slaves and more importantly, land has opened up for settling! The slaves are promptly sent to Old India.

Capture 3 more slaves, kill a cav, a rifle, and an MDI. The flatlands south of Berlin's ruins will make a nice killing zone.

Pillage all mountain roads except for the one our riflemen are fortified on.

I feel a little sorry for the Germans. As soon as they connect their Saltpeter, I bombard it on the first shot.

Rat7_1395ad_SaltpeterWoes(12).jpg



IBT-

York: Cavalry -> Cavalry
Hastings: University -> Cavalry. Once again, I notice Hastings is not being allowed to grow. Please tell me why so I don't stop changing it back.


5) 1400AD

Our beachhead settler arrives upon the ruins of Cologne.

The Germans do the evil Red-Line Trick on our cavalry. My brother coined the term: its when your mounted unit redlines the opposing force with 3 consecutive hits and then loses 4 in a row to die. Of course the RNG does this intentionally, knowing the unit won't retreat in that situation.

Kill a rifle and a musket, lose the before-mentioned cav.

About a dozen Men-O-War are trying to isolate German coastal towns from their road networks. Most are in the north, but a few are hitting smaller towns to the south.

Rat7_1400ad_Isolation(13).jpg



The Russians, in all their two towns, can make railroads!

Rat7_1400ad_RussianRR(14).jpg



Attached file for the situation at the halfway point. Germany, however, seems like it will crumble easily. I will play the remaining 5 turns later today.
 

Attachments

  • Rat7_1400ad_AttackForces(15).jpg
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Vol and Pindicator: beautiful write-ups! And great play too! :goodjob:

Amazing how easily the Germans are going down. It always surprises me how these games seem unwinnable at first until the AI suddenly just collapses... Anyway, I guess this means that the game is in the bag. France is smaller than Germany and is unlikely to stand up to our armies next time we get round to them.

Any chance of building an Ironworks city somewhere useful?

Does the variant require us to get some research capacity and discover oil (and uses for it)?
 
5) 1400AD
IBT-


France asks us to leave Orleans out of this. Just wait til 1480AD France!

The trade embargo against us between France and Russia ends.

Warwick: Cathedral -> Library
Brighton: Market -> Library


6) 1405AD

Found New Warwick on the Northeast Isle.

Found The Anti-Sauerkraut on the ruins of Cologne.

Rat7_1405ad_Beachhead(16).jpg



We cut off Konigsburg from the German road network.

Land two armies near Bonn, and also within striking distance of Frankfurt.
I bombard Bonn for the fun of it; 3 riflemen are defending.


IBT-

Germany and Russia sign a peace treaty.

Germany moves a rifle out of Bonn!

Coventry: University -> Cavalry
West Indies: Courthouse -> Market


7) 1410AD

New Hannover and New Bremen are isolated in the south

Rat7_1410ad_IsolationX2(17).jpg



Our forces arrive to the doorstep of Frankfurt.

Bombard the two rifles in Bonn to redline status. It only takes one of the two armies.

Rat7_1410ad_BonnRazed(18).jpg



The Men-O-War move on to Bremen. Land a settler and two cavalry, but Frankfurt needs to fall before a town can be put down.

Sending a Galley south to Old Spain to shuttle the eventual settlers that we'll need for Germany.


IBT-

German cavalry kills an Arab musket.


8) 1415AD

Cannonfire erupts outside of Frankfurt. Two Rifles and a LB are defending and all fall to cavalry.

Rat7_1415ad_FrankfurtRazed(19).jpg



We also capture a cannon and net a slave.

Kill 2 rifles outside of Sauerkraut and a rifle/MDI team outside of Bremen.

Move armies to assault Bremen next turn.

Settler moves to target town location north of Bonn's ruins.

Redline both Rifles in Bremen for the fun of it.

France now knows Industrialization.


IBT-

A French (and I know it was French because it came right out of a French port!) privateer sinks one of our Men-O-War.

Germany finally shows troops, sending about half a dozen rifles north of Bremen.

York: Cavalry -> Cavalry


9) 1420AD

Found the colony (well, really a city) of Jamestown on the barbarous German shores.

Munich is now isolated from the German road network.

A naval encounter outside of Konigsberg sinks a German Frigate.

I'm unably to take Bremen this turn, so I bombard the troops instead.
Kill 4 rifles and an MDI.

France and Arabia have both revolted and are in anarchy.

Germany knows Steam.


IBT-

Germany is now bringing in cavalry.

France and Russia sign an MPP.
France and America end their embargo against us.

Russia declared war on Germany.


10) 1425AD

Rat7_1425ad_BremenRazed(20).jpg



We gain 2 slaves from the burning and pillaging.

Here is the battlefront:

Rat7_1425ad_TheSituation(23).jpg



Now, Germany is sending more troups every turn and this is starting to make me think. I am going to leave a lot of troops unmoved on the German mainland because there are two options for us to choose from now.

Option #1

Rat7_1425ad_Option1(21).jpg



In Option #1 we press on. I've circled all of Germany's resources in yellow. Germany has Coal, Horses, and Saltpeter all within 5 tiles of the ruins of Bremen. By razing the four towns I have X-ed out (Salzburg, New Berlin, Hannover, and Dortmund) we would take out most of their core towns and their resources.

Why not to do it: It goes right into the teeth of Germany's troops. The hills and mountains will slow our advance and make taking German troops difficult. Salzburg, New Berlin, and Hannover are all on the coast; however to take Dortmund we would rely only on our cannons. Also, New Berlin and Hannover would require our fleet to sail around to the far side of Germany to bombard those towns. Our troops would have to hold serve until then.


Option #2

Rat7_1425ad_Option2(22).jpg



Change of direction. Resources are still in yellow and we can keep them pillaged with one army. The Saltpeter can be bombarded, like we have been doing; the coal and horses are both within range of an army sitting on a mountain south of Dortmund, marked with an X.
Keep some troops in the area of Jamestown to set up a killing zone in those plains.

Meanwhile, our three other armies (we will have time to move the one on the NE Isle in; there have been no German landings as of yet) and troops double back and cross the Mountains east of Berlin's ruins and start taking towns from the north. Like option one, our navy will bombard the coastal towns with one or two armies taking over 1 Munich, 2 Konigsberg, 3 Nuremberg, & 4 Hannover. The land route goes accross the mountains taking A Leipzig, B Hamburg, & C the new German capital of Stuttgart.

Munich and Konigsberg are both isolated from the German road network. Once across the mountains it is nothing but flat land until we hit Dortmund; there our forces combine. Many Men-O-War are already in position to bombard these towns.

Why not to do it: Requires splitting our forces more than the previous idea. No gaurentees the pillaging army would not be attacked (cavalry attacked a fortified army on grassland during my first IBT). The slower ground troops will take 3 turns just to get to the mountains.


There are our choices. Personally, I have no idea. Both have their merits. Option#1 is resource denail while Option#2 is a land grab.

I'll leave troops with movement to help whichever we decide. The large stack of Men-O-War are fortified by Bremen's ruins.


Notes

- Electricity in 9 turns.
- London is currently building a university. If we want an army instead, by all means switch it.
- On a similar note, switch any build you want.
- Our RR network extends from Northshire in the north to Ipswich in the south, on the canal north of Old Russia, and includes all towns between. Old India is almost completely railroaded except for a mountainous stretch between Dehli and Portsmouth. We even have railroaders in the south, at Old Russia: they have gone from the grasslands north of Vladivostok and are in the mountains north of Rostov.
- I've hired specialists in corrupt towns with excess food.
- Most outlying towns are building Temples to extend our borders.
- Maintenance costs are hitting our treasury hard (over 200gpt right now). I didn't, but if someone wants to do the dirty work they can go through every town and sell any unnecessary infrastructure.
- Need more settlers.
- Need LOTS more workers, but they are low on the priority list right now. We have lots of RRing to do and with Electricity we will have lots of Irrigating to do.
- Germany I think is throwing us their last major counter-offensive. The war against France has sucked up most of their troops until recently.
- Men-O-War are bombarding all shoreline tiles as I have found very few naval units to attack.
- Domination limit is 1527 tiles. We own 890 tiles that count toward domination, leaving 637 tiles to go for the win. We currently have 338 Citizens, 49.1% of the world's population.


(Copying from Vol here)

We have been at Peace with France since turn 256. We must have War on turn 286 (1480 AD). That is in 11 turns.
We must stay at war with Germany until we enter the Modern Era.
We must not declare war on Spain until we enter the Modern Era (at least).
We have 100 miltary units (MP-capable + artillery), and 68 cities. 36 more units allowed.
*Do we count captured artillery? If so then we actually have 105 units.
 
beautiful write-up, will have a look at the situation then decide. I think pillaging the resources first, then set up a killing zone to decimate their units before finally going for the towns.

But, we need to be prepared for the next Anglo-French war. By the way, we surely want to get ToE, so we need to prepare properly for that.

Will open the save and then post some thoughts before continuing.
 
Pre-Turn
adjust some minor MM things, nothing much actually, we need to improve our research capability and unis/libraries are
welcome.
defeat 3 more units in Germany, but play it safe

IT Germans lose 1 Cav attacking Jamestown and on that small Island we see a funny set-up
rat071430.jpg


1.1430AD
send one knight army towards Salzburg while the slow movers will proceed inland with cannon support
to Dortmund first, capture 1 more cannon on the way (by the way, we should not count enemy units in the military count)
(Hamburg should be our target due to Smiths to lower maintenance cost)
nothing much else to do but to prepare for those assaults

IT well, guess who was more successful :lol:
rat071435.jpg

hmm, our friends, the Arabs try and seize the oppurtunity and land a settler pair in ex-Germany, no good.
We need to prevent them from stealing 'our' land.
the unis and libraries we finish, shave off a turn on research :), 6 more turns to go

2. 1435AD
rat071435b.jpg

this yields 5 much needed slaves

detroy a 3-unit convoy, losing 1 MoW, but gaining 2 through spamming

2nd stack continues journey towards Dortmund
London is now set on army as a ToE prebuild

IT German rifles take out the Arab settler pair, that's good, but then Spain and Germans sign peace, that is no good

3. 1440AD
well, thinking about it, Spain has 2 towns, is it really worth signing them in?
I rather use them against France later on

bombard some german units with our MoW and the second elite win yields us
rat071440.jpg

army filled immediately with 3 Cavs, cannons reach doorstep of Dortmund now
until we get transports, we should not bother about the Pentagon

get York to 27spt for 3 turns rifles or Cavs

IT this time round nothing much happens

4. 1445AD
cannons bombard pop 7 Dortmund, doing some damage only
Cav army kills 2 rifles, 3 cavs kill 3 rifles without losses
rat071445.jpg

we gain 4 slaves in the process

found Everton, we need to fill the land faster

IT now the French try their luck with a settler 4-pack to settle close to Anti-Sauerkraut

5. 1450AD
MoW bombard New-Berlin, it has only 3 defenders, raze it and gain 2 slaves
advance towards Stuttgart and the south, send over another settler
 
ThERat said:
IT well, guess who was more successful :lol:

Wow! :eek: It looked like France was gonna push Germany back during my turns. That was quite a turnabout, but one I think we want. France with less towns can be nothing but good for us.

Great turns, ThERat! Looks like Option#1 is a winner. We should be able to sweep north with no problem now.
 
IT Germans only defeat 2/3 French units defending the settler
our silk deal with the Araba is up, give them steam for silks + 39gpt, we can really use that extra cash
Zamora is now French and they settle in German land, not for too long I guess :lol:

6. 1455AD
New Koenigsberg is razed in the south
rush a harbor in Jamestown to be able to RR there as well

IT well, that French town didn't survive long, the Germans raze it, they also attack a rifle guarding a settler with 2 cavs, but both retreat

7. 1460AD
found New Liverpool in Germany
tropps in front of Stuttgart now, this goes all very slow, but this way we prevent excessive losses

IT we lose another MoW to a privateer, hate those guys
finally we get electricity

8. 1465AD
we need medicine for the ToE, so trade that and 450gold from France for electricty
increase science to 70% and sci methods is due in 9 turns
rearrange tiles in London to slow down the army production to match the research

bombard and raze Suttgart for 2 slaves
bombard and defeat a few rifles that stepped up to our cities (MoW can do that easily from within a town)
bombardment of Brandenburg reveals 2 rifles, defeat them + LB and raze town for 2 slaves

IT defeat knight on defense, Iros finally get it right and advance to Niagara Falls
the Germans are pretty beat at the moment, the French are the problem, many knights and pikes

9. 1470AD
found New Dover
march towards Nuernberg and New Leipzig
defeat a few units here and there

IT Germans still do have some Cavs, but against our rifles, all they do is retreat
the pact against Germany is up with France, of course we do NOT renew it, since we have to strike France soon

10.1475AD
found New Brigthon in ex-Spain to fill the void
found New Norwich in ex German-land
bombard and capture New Leipzig, decide to keep it to be able to keep land filled, else other nations will take over land too fast
flip risk relatively low, also it gives us ivory

Germany has 14 towns left and we should be able to take it our during the IA
I would keep the remaining 2 towns in the south as well.
In the north, we should raze Nuernberg and then keep Hamburg for a very beneficial Smiths

sci methods will take another 6 turns, London is on a prebuild and would complete ToA in 14 turns
We should take RP and AT instead of going for AT and electronics, since we can't build Hoover in any useful town

war is due with France on turn 286, next turn. We have a knight army and some cavs in place to take out the town on Spanish soil
there are 4 cavs next to London for support, but I suggest to bring knight army to France to protect the units
we have 74 towns and 119 units, we do not need to worry about unit limit anymore
I also started to irrigate the corrupt towns for faster growth and specialst farming

rat071475a.jpg


rat071475b.jpg



save
 
Roster:
zyxy - up, taking out Germany and fighting France again
Vol - on deck
pindicator
ThERat

some more info
the world
rat071475c.jpg


and an impressive chart
rat071475d.jpg
 
Wow. Fantastic stuff guys! Lets definitely focus on getting cities + border expansions to bring the win that much quicker.
 
Start: 74 cities, 109 units and 22 MoW, plus uncounted slaves.

Turn 285, 1475AD: Spend some time to look at the map in admiration. The empire is in great state. Poor France has no horses, so she shouldn't have a lot of cavs.

IT: America wants an MPP and we decline. I get a message that we want the ironworks.

Turn 286, 1480AD: Turns out we can build Ironworks near new Liverpool. No thanks.
France has no horses or coal, has Communism, Fascism, Industrialization, 13+1 cities, little gold. Tell Joan we got tired of her new look. The bad guys:
Rat7_DoWFrance1480AD.jpg


Sell Nationalism to America for Spices, Gems, 17 gpt, and alliance vs France:
Rat7_AllyAmerica1480AD.jpg


Sell Nationalism to Arabia for alliance vs France - cheap, but hey, these guys are our friends after all:
Rat7_AllyArabia1480AD.jpg


Knock out some French floats and Russia declares on us. (They had an MPP with France!) Meanwhile, in Germany:
Rat7_MGL1480AD.jpg

A new cav army is ordered up. Stupidity strikes when I overestimate the power of a knight army and lose one at Nuremberg. cav army nearly goes down as well :(. Should really learn to wait for the artillery...

IT: kill longbow, lose cav in Germany. WLTQD everywhere. The people are so happy I got rid of those knights that I get to add two pieces to our palace. Russia DoW's America.
Rat7_Palace1480AD.jpg


Turn 287, 1485AD: More misery at Jaen: 1 cav lost, 1 redlined, army half dead, 1 rifle killed. We need some more troops there, this won't work. We take New Hannover and 6 slaves. Offensive at Nuremberg stalls for the moment as arty does little, but we do gain another leader.

Turn 288, 1490AD: cannons and fleet bomb Nuremberg and 2 cav armies burn it to the ground. Fleet shells New Bremen and we take it, generating Yet Another Leader! Saltpeter Hill founded.
Rat7_MGL1490AD.jpg


IT: Germany and Arabia sign peace. Betrayed by our friends :(.

Turn 289, 1495AD: Sign the Arabs back in. We give Iron and Horses, they pay 34 gpt and give alliance vs Germany. I also sell him Furs for 8 gpt, and Wines for 10 gpt. Another Vulcano Town founded. Knight army kills all but the last defender at Munich. Bombard Jaen, kill 3 rifle and a cav, capture 2 settlers and raze the town. Americans have landed 2 settlers in emptied Germany. We disperse a barb camp.

IT: Americans found Buffalo on German soil.

Turn 290, 1500AD: Germania and Landgrab founded. After naval bombardment, a cav army kills 3 rifles at Hannover and razes it. After more bombardment, our army manages to burn Munich to the ground.
Rat7_Munich1500AD.jpg


Germany is mainly playing with longbows now. Kill a few. Bombard Konigsberg, just because I can. Our Jane founded. sci down to 40%.

IT: a barb warrior "ambushes" our knight army. Fortunately it survives :D. Sci Meth -> Industr. The resistance in New Bremen finally ends.


Second half will follow later today, or tomorrow.
 
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