SCENARIO: Age of Imperialism; 1895-1924, Deluxe Version

[El Justo]

you can switch off that wonder initiation pop up. go into your in-game settings

 

[ChaosArbiter]

Regarding artillery pieces, I personally think it makes a bit more sense to up the cost and the power, just so you don't have to move around a stack of 50 cheap artilleries if you could boost the power and the price to make 20 strong artilleries do the same job.

The main issue I have with this is that generally it's weight of fire that does the job - you'd have to double the RoF to get something similar to the way it is now. I mean, the siege guns have 25 or so Bombard? They're not nearly as good as the 15-Bombard Howitzers and Field Guns, because the Siege weapons only have 1 RoF, while the others have 3 RoF. Personally, I prefer the flexibility of multiple smaller artillery - sure that one 7 RoF, 25 Bombard howitzer piece can flatten that defending Infantry unit, but if it's already at 2-3 HP and I just want to redline it, using that piece means I need to have another one anyway, to deal with the unit(s) under it.

Maybe the spawn time for naval infantry could be reduced to 10 or even 5, to encourage the AI to use them more.

Actually, the AI does use Naval Infantry quite a bit - they just don't use them for Amphibious actions. In my current A-H game, I've seen the Germans use (and lose :/) at least 2 of their Kaiserliche Marines against the Italians.

 

[Bengal Tiger]

I suppose the artillery thing is just unfeasible to work out flawlessly in the confines of a computer game. Ahh well...

I know the AI uses the naval infantry, I have seen the British actually take a city from the Boers with them. However, their use is still extremely limited, and if you have a 2-square island colony, all you need to do is put a home guard unit in the adjacent tile and there is close to zero chance of there being an amphibious assault. It's also inhibiting when you see the AI has landed troops on a target island, and is simply fortified there, and when you only have 2-3 naval infantry, it is almost impossible to capture.

Another random thought is to make forests choppable, but only by industrial workers, to keep colonies fairly tame. Sure, the human player might take advantage of this by shipping a few homeland workers out, but it could be a "house rule" not to. Just to allow full development in Europe, and to maximize food/production.

And thanks for reminding me on the wonder ini. pop-up.

 

[creamcheese]

The main issue I have with this is that generally it's weight of fire that does the job - you'd have to double the RoF to get something similar to the way it is now. I mean, the siege guns have 25 or so Bombard? They're not nearly as good as the 15-Bombard Howitzers and Field Guns, because the Siege weapons only have 1 RoF, while the others have 3 RoF. Personally, I prefer the flexibility of multiple smaller artillery - sure that one 7 RoF, 25 Bombard howitzer piece can flatten that defending Infantry unit, but if it's already at 2-3 HP and I just want to redline it, using that piece means I need to have another one anyway, to deal with the unit(s) under it.


Actually, the AI does use Naval Infantry quite a bit - they just don't use them for Amphibious actions. In my current A-H game, I've seen the Germans use (and lose :/) at least 2 of their Kaiserliche Marines against the Italians.

I too have seen disappointing wastes of marines by the AI, but you cant really fix that very well (stupid AI ). That's why I suggested a build anywhere one, so you can build more if they get wasted, but I do see El Justo's point about marine landings not being that common (you could always just play self limiting yourself to x marines, or to only build them when they are required to take a 2 tile island that is blocked). Bengal Tiger's suggestion of a slightly reduced build time for marines could be worth doing, I would suggest more like once per 15 turns, 5 or 10 might actually be too many. Or you could remove the need for an Elite naval unit, sometimes it takes quite a while to get lucky (or to go to war at all, building up your industry can take some time) and you get even fewer than normal marines and they arrive later.

I agree you would waste more of your ROF on 2 or 3 HP units, but as a human player you get such a huge advantage with arty anyway, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. You could also reduce stacks by just upping the bombard strength, so more of your shots succeed, no need for excessive ROFs.

I actually modified my v4.1 last night with some changes to see how they play out, (I doubled arty cost and did a 50% increase in bombard strength and ROF; I gave cav 1 more hp; gave a little more defense and slightly cheaper cost on armoured cars. Oh and Carriers all have 6 move (this probably won't make it in the game I realize, but it makes my life easier when everything has the same move) and I upped the Stats of Naval fighters to be on par with land based (still have far fewer HP). I'll let you know how it turns out, but it might take me a week or two to finish a game. (Playing as USA, they are good, but have pretty average arty and should give me a reasonable taste of what it is like).

Edit: Remembered two things, the Civilopedia doesn't mention on many (maybe all?) of the "International x trade" (rum, rubber, coffee, etc.) wonders that they need to be coastal, The first time I played the mod I was very confused on not being able to build some of them even though I had cities with the requisite resources. I figured it out after looking in the editor, and it makes perfect sense from a historical perspective (need a big port to trade stuff), but wasn't in the civilopedia.

Second, the Paris Gun for the Germans has range 3? I know it had a really long range (~120 km!), but 2 squares seems like the right amount looking at the map, and 3 squares is quite far in a game where I think nothing else has more than range 1.

Sorry for the long post again .

 

[ChaosArbiter]

Hilarious development in my current game - Great Britain is at War with:
Russia
France
United States
(and myself, A-H, and my allies, Germany - unfortunately).

Russia is also at war with France and the US, and France and the US are at war. If I can find a way to get Russia and the US fighting, it'll be awesome.

I've also set the Ottomans on the British, more to bleed them both than because I really want the Ottomans to take Palermo :/ The Ottomans have more Ottoman Infantry than the Russians have Russian Infantry! The Balkans are also fighting the French, and not being destroyed; the French have gotten kicked around, though - the British took all of coastal North Africa except Tunis, which the Dutch took.

I've only taken one city from the AI (Milan - Italy is down to two Industrial cities and two Colonial cities); decided to let the Balkans survive for a while, not sure whether I want to take them out before or after hitting the Ottomans, but I'll need to build up some more before I make a decision. I think I'd prefer to go after the Ottomans first, but that'll have to wait until the Alliance runs out (or one of us backs out ... probably Germany, although they still have all their original colonies and one of Italy's). Although if the alliance gets broken from my end, it'll be annoying, because I've been hoping to get Russia against the Ottomans as well.

Edit:

Second, the Paris Gun for the Germans has range 3? I know it had a really long range (~120 km!), but 2 squares seems like the right amount looking at the map, and 3 squares is quite far in a game where I think nothing else has more than range 1.

Actually, I'd have expected there to be an issue with the power, since the shells used were supposed to be pretty weak. Range, though ... the Paris gun had a range of 120-130 km. Compare that to the 7.7cm FK16 (German Field Gun, 1916 model) with a maximum range of 10.7 km, the Big Bertha's effective range of 12.5 km, the British BL 7.5" Mk II-V naval guns (13 km), the American 12"/45 caliber Mark 5 gun (another naval gun, 27 km), the British BL 18 inch Mk I naval gun (37 km).

 

[Sasebo]

Oh and Carriers all have 6 move (this probably won't make it in the game I realize, but it makes my life easier when everything has the same move)

When I have a situation like that with weaker and slower ships I want to bring along with the faster ones, I just use the extra movement point to fortify. I am maybe a bit more conservative then most though.

@Chaosaribter: Yes, I was thinkiing along the same lines. My internal roleplay for this China game is to "kick all the foreign devils out of Asia". Then maybe extend out power base a little once we've done that. japan isn't really in the same category as the Europeans, though I do intend to get the islands back at least. So....hit Russia while they are busy with everyone else, or start whacking at Japan while they are preoccupied a bit with Russia? The new class of Japanese BB running around is pretty daunting. I'm leaning towrads Russia first though. You have have to fight short wars with China though, as the WW is really quite bad once it starts.

I'm in the second era, but without universities or the other science boosts I am taking more then 4 turns on research again.

 

[ChaosArbiter]

@Chaosaribter: Yes, I was thinkiing along the same lines. My internal roleplay for this China game is to "kick all the foreign devils out of Asia". Then maybe extend out power base a little once we've done that. japan isn't really in the same category as the Europeans, though I do intend to get the islands back at least. So....hit Russia while they are busy with everyone else, or start whacking at Japan while they are preoccupied a bit with Russia? The new class of Japanese BB running around is pretty daunting. I'm leaning towrads Russia first though. You have have to fight short wars with China though, as the WW is really quite bad once it starts.

The problem with Russia is that - if they have a half-decent railway, which they may not - they can probably swarm you under before you managet to take any cities, and they do tend to keep a fleet or two in the Pacific. If you can take Port Arthur, you should probably make peace right afterward, unless you've got a spy and *know* what units they've got.

I'm in the second era, but without universities or the other science boosts I am taking more then 4 turns on research again.

Heh, I'm Austria-Hungary, it's 1905, and I've 5-turning - if I'm lucky. The Germans have beaten me to Behavioral Science and Genetics, the British have all the International Export wonders except Wines (thank you, Triest!), the Germans have the Great Gold Rush, and the ... Americans, I believe, have Olympic Host II. Of course, usually I've taken the Balkans long before this, so I have much more resources, but ....

In any case, I went to war with Spain - they declared after I told them to GTFO my territory, so I took Huesca (and gifted it to the Germans ...), then finally got Barcelona a couple turns ago (and gifted it to the Germans ...), then got around to clearing out the Spanish units down near Thessaloniki who were annoying Wien by stepping on one of the tiles ... and it turns out that if you're bombarding a stack of units, and none of the units actually have any HP left, when you get the warning about the actions causing war, you have to follow through. Oops. Oh well, the Ottomans only have ~140 combat units total, and I did get the Russians to declare as well. Oh, the Russians? Have taken all of Scandinavia except Denmark, and have taken Amsterdam (from the French). So hopefully I'll get Thessaloniki, Istanbul, and 1-2 other Ottoman cities, then probably invade the Balkans for the cities. The longer I can keep Germany out of the war, the better.

Edit: Oh, and some interesting territorial gains:
Mexico took Winnipeg, Hawaii, and Ottawa
Siam took Vientiane
China took Rangoon, Hanoi, and Haiphong (all three from the French), as well as Hong Kong and Shanghai from the British
Persia took Tlacoban
And the Central Americans took the Caroline Islands

 

[creamcheese]

Edit: Oh, and some interesting territorial gains:
Mexico took Winnipeg, Hawaii, and Ottawa
Siam took Vientiane
China took Rangoon, Hanoi, and Haiphong (all three from the French), as well as Hong Kong and Shanghai from the British
Persia took Tlacoban
And the Central Americans took the Caroline Islands

Those are some odd captures, especially persia and central america!

The coolest I have seen, although not really all that odd, was Britain invading and successfully occupying all of Madagascar.

As for Paris gun ranges, yes it is way farther than anything else, but look at the map and then look up where it was actually fired from and then two squares seems a lot more reasonable. Its the one square range for normal arty that is too long (of course you can't turn it down to 0 without nerfing it so...). All this shows you that sticking strictly to proportions that are historical does not really give you a necessarily historically accurate gameplay. A two square range still makes the unit feel like it far out ranges everything, without making it unbalanced.

 

[TsarNikolai]

When I have a situation like that with weaker and slower ships I want to bring along with the faster ones, I just use the extra movement point to fortify.

I've always wondered: if you fortify ships in waters, do you get a defensive bonus

 

[ChaosArbiter]

Those are some odd captures, especially persia and central america!
The coolest I have seen, although not really all that odd, was Britain invading and successfully occupying all of Madagascar.

Really? They seem to do that all the time in my games ....

As for Paris gun ranges, yes it is way farther than anything else, but look at the map and then look up where it was actually fired from and then two squares seems a lot more reasonable.

It also takes far too much effort


Anyway, more news from the front. Week 29, 1906. Took Thessaloniki. Took Constantinople. Took Angora. Sieging Antalya. Current status: :suicide:

I have an exhausted, divided civ. Milan has blown up once (literally - a cordite explosion. Thanks, El Justo, I needed a useful city to become a handicap ) because the Italians decided to agree to a MA against the Germans, triggering my MPP. America has bought just about everyone in the world in against someone at some point in time. I am at war with the Balkans, curtesy of them, at least half a year earlier than I'd planned. Just about the only civs in Europe I am *not* at war with are Scandinavia (Denmark, rather ), France, and Germany. Yes, I am now at war with Russia. My only prayer is that they're exhausted as well, but I'm hardly relying on it. I am currently maneuvering to take Bukharest (I'd prefer Belgrade, and eventually Kerkira ...), mainly because that will reconnect Constantinople with the rest of my cities. And because it's only got 5 units in it, instead of the 14 or so that are in Belgrade.

At least the Americans don't have a fleet anymore ....

 

[Maimonides]

I've always wondered: if you fortify ships in waters, do you get a defensive bonus

No. There's a thread somewhere where someone figured it out. It just makes your ships sit without waking up like the Sentry action does. Think of it as dropping anchor.

 

[TsarNikolai]

Thanks. I expected this, but wanted to make sure I'm not missing something.

 

[RHKINC]

Played through for the first time today. I'm addicted.

 

[El Justo]

welcome to our world i gotta say, for as long as i've been modding and playing civ3, this scenario does have a great appeal when playing it i experienced it the other night while playtesting. i think it's the aesthetics like the interface and the music that put that sparkle in my eye

 

[Vuldacon]

Thanks El Justo... After all the Graphics Work on AOI, it is Great to get an occasional compliment The Game Play is synergistic with the Graphics to create the Addiction.

 

[El Justo]

it's really beyond comparison, buddy. well, maybe able to be compared to EFZI hope you're safe down there in your little corner of the state. was thinking of you as i saw weather reports

 

[Vuldacon]

OH Yes... "Floodville" around here...feel as though I need to build an ark
The Lightning and Tornadoes and Hail are what seriously vexes me. Blew out my TV, Phone Jacks, Computer Surge Protector and DSL Filters. Costly to say the least

 

[Bengal Tiger]

A few questions on city names/placement:
1)Why is Trieste A-H's coastal city, wouldn't Split be a bit more suitable, as it won't crowd the Italian territory as much?(if the connection is too thin between Split and Wien, another city might be added, such as Salzburg. Germany has 9 cities, so what if A-H gets 8?).

2)On Sumatra, why Palembang should be moved either east or northeast to be on the East side of the island, while Medan should be moved up a space. I think Banda Aceh should be deleted, it is a tiny city compared to others. Padang could instead be added in between Palembang and Medan as the third city.

3)In Spain, perhaps Huesca should be named Zaragoza, as that is a much more important city. Cartagena should be renamed as Cadiz(also a much bigger city) and maybe moved over a tile to the right. This may cut in on Lisbon's city radius, but that land is technically Spain's anyways. You might want to add the city of Valencia, another major Spanish city.

4) I'm surprised Sebastopol is not on the map. Another land tile could be put on the Crimean peninsula and Sebastopol would fit nicely on it.

5)As far as I can tell, Shanghai was an international port. Did the British really hold more sway there than the official owner(China), and especially on all the surrounding territory?

6)Why is Port-au-Prince the capital of Hispaniola? I always thought the Dominican Republic was the more powerful of the two?

Finally, did anything ever come from the Spanish Battleship/cruisers I posted a while back? Here is the link to relevant info:http://www.gwpda.org/naval/spnbb001.htm

I may be mistaken on some points, as maybe the cities used in the scenario were more important then than they are now, but some(like Zaragoza, which is even used in the Napoleonic Scenario in the original Conquest) I am fairly sure of.

 

[El Justo]

thanks for the remarks. all of your map comments save for spain maybe just aren't feasible. i would have to do a lot of revamping to make all that work with the main theme being that cities would be too close for my liking (i try real hard to keep the 2 tile distance, not 100% though). spain i could look at (by moving madrid around some). can't add to them b/c of the aforementioned space issue. plus, spain should be on the downward trend. so this decay is represented some in AoI. those ships listed in that link except for the last 2 are basically gunboats or coastal BBs which they can build. yeah, they had specific classes but for all intents are purposes, they're the same (slight variances w/ gun sizes). spain has her capital BB, the españa class. she also has a host of cruisers too. so she's well represented. would have to look at indonesia. i could add a tile onto the map to make cities accessible to only one side of the island (i did this with the PI and Luzon). DR could get the capital, i guess. shanghai was dominated by the brits since the opium wars iirc. so this is why they get it.

 

[Virote_Considon]

One small thing, might have been brought up before: the Russians have a city called "Chita Oblast", where it should just be "Chita". The "Oblast" is (or rather, was) the greater region.