Regent Succession Game

[MinutiaRules]

A can't think of a good use for our money now we haven't got archers to upgrade anymore. I can only say 'told you so', because I said several times we would have more berserks if we slowed down on Invention to allow for more archers first.

I'm willing to give you that "I told you so" here. The slow rate at which the AI is researching did as it turns out provide for ample time to prebuild. At higher levels though there would be more of a tradeoff between delay and allowing the AI to get too advanced. And if you try to keep up with the AI you may not have any gold left to upgrade. Not saying that it couldn't be timed just that its a fine line.

What we could do is cut/reconnect the roads on the Roman island to stop the iron supply, so they'll make archers and then upgrade them.

So is this cool? Exploitive? It would probably work pretty good if the team are for it. I'll go with the consensus but I believe its an exploit. If the AI were to disconnect the iron in confict then I wouldn't mind.

 

[EvilConqueror]

So is this cool? Exploitive? It would probably work pretty good if the team are for it. I'll go with the consensus but I believe its an exploit. If the AI were to disconnect the iron in confict then I wouldn't mind.

I don't believe that berserks require iron to be built.

 

[Optional]

I agree completely with MinutiaRules' post. And EvilConqueror is right. Daeron, with disconnect/connect iron you must be talking about warrior > MI upgrades.
I never use disconnect/connect and have also never seen it being used in a succession game, although I'm sure it will have been used in some SG. The technique seems to get more objections than some other tricks you can use, like shipchaining or the war happiness tricks.

 

[Daeron]

I agree completely with MinutiaRules' post. And EvilConqueror is right. Daeron, with disconnect/connect iron you must be talking about warrior > MI upgrades.
I never use disconnect/connect and have also never seen it being used in a succession game, although I'm sure it will have been used in some SG. The technique seems to get more objections than some other tricks you can use, like shipchaining or the war happiness tricks.

I've never used it at all, so I was interested in seeing it work. That being said, I mistakingly took the required iron of the gallic swordsmen for the berzerker's when I looked it up on in the unit guide on this forum.

I don't mind our money issues though. This game is more fun with Berzerk's, so why wait 40 more turns for them.

Let's just put it in research towards Astronomy and Navigation, since Magentism won't really come into play in this game.

 

[EvilConqueror]

We have plenty of berserks. 23 at the moment and at least 6 more coming in the next 6 turns. And they should fair very well against the pikes and spearman that the Aztecs will have in their cities.

Initial counterattacks are going to be the biggest issue. It's just a matter of landing enough units to weather and then deal with them. The faster the cities fall, the fewer whipped units we'll have to deal with and the harder it will be for the Aztecs to mass troops in one area.

 

[MinutiaRules]

Well I'll sum up and cut to the chase in case anyone can't wait for the end of the read. I just spent endless hours ship chaining land units and new boats. I gathered all the forces and at last landed in Aztec land. And there was ZERO counter attack! Just imagine I was half worried that I was starting a bit too soon!. The only Aztec military so far has been 2 warriers that landed in norhtern Celts land and were immediately dispatched. No GL's though. So we have the GLH in our new city. BTW we have a ton of units, most are ready for the continuance of the invasion.

So the turnset:

Spoiler :

1) 450 AD -

Switch 019 to galley
Switch 005, 008, 014, 023, Seoul, Entremont to rax
Switch 006 to galley
Swicth 020 to temple.

Discover there are no fast units on formmer Rome so prepare to move a
couple of AC over.

IBT -

Aztecs lands (mighty) warrier near Seoul. Elite AC redlines and retreats.
No more elites so MI finishes.

Rome Settler -> rax.
010, 011 galleys - > galleys.
014 rax -> Bserk
028 serk -> Bserk.
(Switch TV to Mexican league soccer)

2) 460 AD -

Upgrade all cats to trebs. We have 20 trebs!
Spend much time managing the ship chain.
Spend much more time with the ship chain.
Various worker actions.

IBT -

ALesia wrk -> temple
002, 014 riot -> adjust slider.
Lugdunum wrk -> harbor
005, 008 rax -> Bserks
018 galley -> galley
Svolvaer harbor -> galley. Rename to 031 Svolvaer.

3) 470 AD -

Upgrade last arch to Bserk. Up sci, Mono in 5.
032 fndd -> rax.
(Start to realize that my ENTIRE turn set could be just the prep for invasion. Yippee!!!)

IBT -

026 harbor -> galley
Portugal building GLib

4) 480 AD -

Continue to prep for invasion.
various wrkr actions

IBT -

Richborough wrkr -> rax
011, 013, 019 galley -> galley.
027 wrkr -> temple

5) 490 AD -

033 Sarpsborg fnded -> rax.
Various wrkr actions
Ship chain AC. Ship chain gtalley.

IBT -

Aztecs land another warrier near Seoul, elite AC wins.
002, 004 Bserk -> Bserk
030 wrkr -> Bserk
010, 012 galley -> galley

6) 500 AD -

SC 2 Bserks, 2 galleys.

IBT -

007, 009, 028 Bserk -> Bserk.

7) 510 AD -

Mon in 1, adjust slider.
SC 2 Bserks, 2 galleys.

IBT -

Mono -> Theo in 5.
025 Pike -> pike
011 galley -> galley
023 rax -> Bserk

8) 520 AD -

Start loading for the Aztec invasion (elites first).
SC 2 Bserks, 1 galley.

IBT -

001, 003 Bserk -> Bserk.
022 rax -> Bserk
Alesia riots -> scientist
018, 006, 019, 013 galleys -> galleys
006 pike -> pike.

9) 530 AD -

SC pike, 2 galley.

Make landing -



IBT -

Zero counterattack from Aztecs.

002 Bserk -> Bserk
010, 012, 015 galley -> galley
Portugal building ToA

10) 540 AD -

Trebs weaken 4 spears and 1 sword in Teno. 4 elite victories,
no GLs. Reg MI takes city. We're happy, adjust slider to 0 lux.




Put Alesia's scientist to work.
SC AC and Bserk, galley

I believe that the Aztecs are a formality. Our focus should probably be on who is next. With the tedium of ship chaining a good plan for the future could help in that respect. Thinking out loud I offer the following: Possibly we divide our forces and stack up at home for one invasion while the current group heads for somewhere else? We are producing forces at a relatively prodigious rate now. I believe india is the most advanced. Although as a challenge as just mentioned we might try to go after Germany at the same time. They are very backwards.

And the save:

View attachment RegentSG_MR_540 AD.SAV

 

[EvilConqueror]

No counterattack at all? Very weird. My only explanation would be that they spend so much time on wonders that they didn't have a chance to build much military.

 

[MinutiaRules]

No counterattack at all? Very weird. My only explanation would be that they spend so much time on wonders that they didn't have a chance to build much military.

I guess it could also be the limited unit support at regent level. They had only 3 spears and one sword in their capital. If experience holds then their remaining cities will be even less well guarded. In hindsight I could have used the berserks sooner. I should have invaded up north at about the same time as the southern invasion. My lack of experience with the ship chaining caused me to neglect the strategic planning a bit. The thing is its nice to be able to move 2 units from one point on the map to another in one turn no matter how far away. But it involves endless loading and unloading. And also its possible to "push" the chain and get new boats to the front in the same turn as the troop movement. But that has to be coordinated to work. And BTW don't make a mistake or it takes a whole turn to reset the chain.

 

[Optional]

No counterattack at all? Very weird.

It's just the level. Also Rome never managed to attack us. And the units Rome did send to us were quickly whipped. Whipping will happen less now, as the AI is moving towards proper governments.
The amount of units that were sent to Aztecs are overkill; half that much would easily do.
Next should be Portugal in my opinion; they're nearest to us and can be reached in 4 turns. They have entered Middle Ages, but haven't got Feudalism yet. We would like to take them out before they have the chance to build a fair amount of pikes and MI. Germany will stay in the AA a little longer. What I would do is to not sell a single tech to any AI anymore, because we want them to stay away from Feudalism as long as possible.
I'll see if I can set up the shipchains a little different. We've got move-5 galleys, so I prefer ships with distance 5 apart, that should free up some galleys and be less laborious to manage. Then they need a turn to be moved back after transport, but we have a distance 5 water to cross to get to Portugal anyway.

I've got the save, will probably play today.

 

[Daeron]

Looking at the Roman Island, it seems we have a slight cause of exponential rank corruption. A good lesson for when this game is ever played on a higher difficulty.

EDIT: Looking at this again, it doesn't match with what I read about how rank corruption works in a few threads.

EDIT2: After reading Alexman's article it does make sense now.

 

[EvilConqueror]

Yeah, Portugal looks like the best next target. And I agree on not doing anymore tech trading. We don't need the gold and there's no reason to give better units to the AI.

 

[MinutiaRules]

... The amount of units that were sent to Aztecs are overkill; half that much would easily do. ...
...Next should be Portugal in my opinion; they're nearest to us and can be reached in 4 turns.

Agreed on both counts. The buildup seemed to happen very quickly though. We are producing quite a few units. I would say start for Portugal even before the Aztecs are done. Then target somebody else when the Aztecs fall even as Portugal is being attacked. Otherwise there will be an ocean of units without any purpose.

I'll see if I can set up the shipchains a little different. We've got move-5 galleys, so I prefer ships with distance 5 apart, that should free up some galleys and be less laborious to manage. Then they need a turn to be moved back after transport, but we have a distance 5 water to cross to get to Portugal anyway.

What was nice about the 2 space ship chain was that it allowed for pushing more than one new galley to the front in any given turn. But even that "just" kept pace with our production. However setting up distance 5 would free up boats for assault units. And we would be able to construct more than one chain for a multiple fronts campaign. This would then allow us to keep the distribution on pace with our ever increasing production rate. Yes Germany will be backwards for some time. But the Aztecs should disappear quickly so for a second front its them or India.

 

[Optional]

I played, but I'm very short of time, now and tomorrow. It'll be 2 days before I could make a turnlog. I think I'll just upload the save now, and give a short summary: Aztecs and Portugal have been destroyed, and we're busy with the Indians now.

I never managed to get any sort of system in our transport lines, so it's a bit of a mess. The game is becoming boring: it's all about moving our units as quickly as possible, and the front is moving quickly. There's not much strategy involved anymore; it's just about mopping up the last civs, without coming across any resistance. Even flip chances seem to have evaporated.

Perhaps I can manage to put a few screenshots up tomorrow, but here's the save, perhaps Calis can indicate whether he's still available for a set - it's been a while since he's posted - probably holiday preparation?

 

[Calis]

Yeah, I am sorry about my lack of attendance. Preparing holidays. Please skip me. I won't find the tim this week. And next week I am away.

 

[Daeron]

This game will be over in 10-20 turns then. EvilConqueror, I guess this means you're up.

 

[EvilConqueror]

I played my set this afternoon. Went a bit faster than I had expected.

Turn log:

Spoiler :

Pre-flight

Looks good. Plenty of troops and boats.

Hit enter.


650 AD - Turn 180

Attack on Delhi
-Treb misses.
-3 Berserks beat 3 reg spears.
-Delhi falls and the Great Wall is ours.

Attack on Calcutta
-Berserk beats reg spear.
-Berserk loses to reg spear.
-Berserk beats reg spear.
Calcutta falls.

Attack on Kolhapun
-Berserk beats reg spear.
-Kolhapun falls and is autorazed.


660 AD - Turn 181

Attack on Bangalore
-2 Berserks defeat 2 reg spears.
-Bangalore falls.

Attack on Karachi
-2 Berserks defeat 2 reg spears.
Karachi falls.

Attack on Jaipur
-Berseck defeats reg spear.
Jaipur falls.
Indians are destroyed.


670 AD - Turn 182

Move forces toward German island.


680 AD - Turn 183

Continue to move forces toward German island.


690 AD - Turn 184

Declare war on Germany.

Attack on Konigsberg
-Berserk loses to vet spear and spear promotes.
-Berserk beats elite spear.
-Berserk loses to vet spear.
-Berserk beats vet spear.
Konigsberg falls.

Attack on Frankfurt
-2 Berserks defeat 2 vet spears.
Frankfurt falls.

IBT - a lone archer approaches Konigsburg.
Astronomy completes.


700 AD - Turn 185

Attack on Leipzig
-3 Berserks defeat 3 vet spears.
-Berserk defeats vet archer and promotes.
Leipzig falls.

Attack on Munich
- 2 Berserks defeat 2 vet spears.
-Munich falls.

-2 Treb hit the archer outside Konigsberg and an AC finishes it off. Move large stack of ground forces next to Berlin. Move ground forces next to Hamburg. Move naval forces so they will also be in range of Hamburg.




710 AD - Turn 186

Attack on Berlin
-2 Treb hit vet spears in Berlin
-3 Berserks defeat 3 vet spears.
-2 Berserks defeat 2 vet archer.
The German capital falls.

Attack on Hamburg
-Berserks defeats vet spear.
-Berserk defeats reg spear.
Hamburg falls.
Weak Germans eliminated.

 

[Daeron]

Here's to the world worshipping barely dressed raving maniacs with big axes!

Good game guys, bullying reg. spearmen can be fun. Not a bad score either.

 

[Optional]

Excellent finish, EvilConquerer! Yeah, just wielding the axe, that was basically all that this game was about.

You see that a Regent game can be really easy; we were well in the Middle Ages when all of the AI were still halfway the AA, and we were using berserks or AC's against an AI that just had a couple of spears and archers to boast about. It's not a real game like that, is it?
You can slow it down by building lots of buildings and wonders, but why do that if just building a bunch of good units can win you the game?

The game is probably best at levels like Monarch and Emperor, where you have a better AI, but still a variety of strategies available that will work. At levels like Diety and Sid the game becomes a bit skewed as the road to success becomes very narrow and you almost have to use certain tricks or exploits.
But I hope most of us will give Monarch or Emperor a try, because that really gives a nice game.

 

[MinutiaRules]

Nice game! And to my surprise it ended so quickly. I had this vision of endless ship chaining as each foe was attacked. But we obviously had plenty of units and I guess having the GLH really speeded it up. I'd like to thank the team for a wonderful game and learning experience. And special thanks to Daeron for setting this up. I hope our paths cross again. Until then keep on civing.

 

[Calis]

Yepp, good job everybody.

As Optional said, at Regent plus archipelago it was rather easy. We could have won this as well, by just researching Map Making and Iron Working. But nonetheless it was an interesting game.

At Emperor it would be really exciting.