Sirian's Infantry Variant - Succession Game Challenge

[Zed-F]

Sorry if I've not been clear or otherwise been a bit confusing in my turn sequences.

My circumstances are, on weeknights I can usually get in about 1.5 hrs or so of gaming. I don't know if I'm on the slow end of turn-taking or not but that typically is not enough time for me to finish a turn. So, I typically have not been taking a turn in any but a very small game on a non-weekend. I made an exception for RBD4 last night because I thought it would end soon -- it didn't, and I caught heck for staying up late. (especially while I'm sick! ) I probably ought to have let it go to the next player but for all our wars I hadn't seen much of the action, and I wanted a piece of it before the game ended.

You're right that a more organized approach is perhaps desirable. Let's try it out your way & see what happens. If it doesn't seem to be working out we can modify or change it for the next game.

 

[Sirian]

Biggest problem I see with designated time slots is the variable length of turns, due to a number of factors. Early game turns, even when taking extra, go by rather quickly. Late game turns can be slower with lots of worker action (though the new stack command helps that IMMENSELY, I can just move a whole rail-ready stack from here to there instantly) and especially combat can bloat a turn big time. What happens when a turn like Charis's in RBD5 comes along where it takes two whole evenings playing all evening just to finish? We could play less... and we could try the designated time slots in one game and see how it goes... but my hopes for it would not be high, unless the time slots are readjusted continally as the game goes along, and that kind of doesn't mesh with the underlying concept.

- Sirian

 

[Charis]

A fairly good turn in which Paris fell (but man, did that take a while, turn-wise)

Horses and Iron in India are giving us problems? Well... we're supplying
them and the deal has run out. Parliament Leader Charis revokes that deal.
India is likely next, let's let them run out of key supplies!

1840 AD (0) - Mao wants to expire the RoP when his turn comes around. Fine,
give us no reason NOT to attack you, have it your way!
The Chinese storm Marseilles with... uh... Swordsmen?

1842 AD (1) - Where are our huge stacks of infantry, he wonders...
Marseilles??? No, no, monseuir, I've set my sights much bigger. Paris!
Bombing run on the city of cheap wine takes out the barracks and citizens.
The non-so-glorious artillery here are far less accurate than in rbd5,
and miss many shots. Still, the police station is destroyed, along with
the temple and cathedral and *5* citizens.

1844 AD (2) - China seeks admission to 'the list', wanting to cancel our
agreement for Horses and lux. You don't want horses?? Fine, then we won't
have to face cav when we come after you! Go home Mao...
France runs a transport up near Ivory Coast. A chinese ironclad almost sinks
it, but no.

We enter a new (and perhaps final) form of Goverment, Monarchy.

King Charis??? Oh my, surely this goes to his head!

The shelling of Paris continues, Marketplace and Library are liberated.
Then go the Courthouse, Bank and University. Now size 14, not 25.
Er wait, Colloseum goes poof, then down to size 12.
Up at Ivory Coast we have a 'mini' neighborhood watch. If the xport takes
one extra turn to find a landing spot our battleship can engage.

1846 AD (3) - Mao cancels yet one more deal - he no want our spices. Ok, fine!
Paris counterattacks and kills an infantry in the process of retreating.
Gandhi barks at us having put a worker across the border. Then I see...
A FREAKIN' Indian Cav unit romping on the streets of Rheim??! (Uh, oops,
for a second I thought that was Reading - I was quite spooked!)

The French City of Lyons has completed the Hoover Dam! Super, now we have
a 'city' list and it goes on top!

The USS Charisavethequeen trashes the ironclad and sets sights on transport.

Paris is reduced to size five. It has probably a dozen defenders, but now
none more than 1 hp We land a transport of seven units on French soil.

1848 AD (4) - More French inf and rifles come out after US! We're just plain
way short on manpower (not firepower) down there.

The USS Charisavethequeen becomes elite vs a 'snack' of French ironclad.

Paris, home of the Great Lib and the Theatre of Shakespeare, is now size 1.

1850 AD (5) - Gandhi again demonstrates his *profound* lack of sense and
political acumen. He says "How about we give you our world map which you
already have and you share with us not only your map but the secrets
of producing tanks with which to attack you??!" We don't deign to counter,
as we let the swinging door bang his rump on the way out...

Marseilles Cathedral is burned down in anti-war protest.

1852 AD (6) - London produces Mil Academy *AND* Hastings produces the
Heroic Epic on the very same turn!

Guess what? It works! A great leader as we defend Orleans, Boudicea!
He's gonna head home via Avigon for now. Last action for turn is decent,
the Battleship destroys Barracks at Marseilles.

1854 AD (7) - MBOP. (More Bombardment of Paris)

1856 AD (8) - Rome and France sign a Peace treaty. Rome no longer wants MPP
with us. We get the "known liar and cheat message." Bad news for him!!
Hmmm... if I go to propose deal, it immediately says acceptable without
putting more on the table? So I ask him to pay 50 to swing it. He takes it.

A little strafing of Marseilles reveals only one real defender. We finally
press an advantage. Our GL makes it back to Dry Gulch, our 'interior'
mainland city. Finally Paris is shellacked so bad all defenders are walking
wounded, and we press. We now kill, rather than just wound, defenders.

1858 AD (9) - Rome declares war once again on the French. Chinese Riders
land at the India-France zone near us, and France and India sign a peace
treaty. 8-\ We unlock the secrets of amphibious war, and start on advanced
flight. Be using the 'pop up' order dialog and arrow-shifting cities,
we actually get a marine THIS turn, and expect several more next turn!
Slight warming of the globe in Ireland.

Defenders are falling like flies at Paris, maybe next turn... oops, uh...

Paris is ours!!! If not for the Bard and his theatre we would
raze it. As it stands, we look to garrison. Lyons, maker of the Hoover
Dam, is not only the new capitol, but our next target, along with puny Chartres.

1860 AD (10) - Rome seems to be going after Amiens.

Barracks at Chartres is destroyed by Bombers off our carrier. So is the
Temple, and the city is reduced to size 3

Eep! A turn with no pollution on the homeland?!

To our next leader...
- The Army is healing up a round at the barracks in Orleans. The other forces
are getting into position in the mountains outside Lyon, with a huge artillery
stack due there in 3-4 rounds.
- Eight more units just landed on the big island, and 3 more marines due there
next turn. I never got a marine into position, but that'll help your
offense quite a bit.
- Gold slipped a little low... a few rounds of low science should get it back
up to 1000.
- Chartres has Copernicus. We can likely take the very next round, as long
as we shell it with artillery and bomber support.
(If we don't, chances are good Chinese will take it right away)
- Check diplo, I didn't do much there

Good luck,
Charis

 

[Zed-F]

Got it.

Charis
Zed <<<<< up
Sirian << on deck
Jaffa
Carbon

 

[Zed-F]

I thought I would have time to take a turn here this weekend, but have since learned otherwise. Oops.

Please skip me this time around.

 

[Sirian]

Inherited Turn: First order of business, find that leader and have him form an army.

Next order of business: Get myself another leader.

 

[Sirian]

Inherited Turn: LOTS O CHANGES. Every city with any meaningful infrastructure left to complete is put on infrastructure. For Ninevah and Ur, this means factories. For some cities, coal plants or hospitals, market, cathedral, courthouse.

I dial up Siezure and Mao and sell them all they will buy, getting paid IN CASH, a total of about 2k in proceeds. China is back in MPP with us, and these two will be happily contributing to the fall of the Indian empire at some not-too-distant point. The one thing I would not sell to Mao was Rubber. He can make do on cavs.

We mobilize for war!

Our leader is turned into an army, giving us two. We are SADLY lacking for units, however, so the army sits around on the English mainland, awaiting the next transport back to France. Another army due in London soon, that will give us three, and I will build the Pentagon somewhere on this turn.

We have need of more airports, so I set to build them. Everyone else is building troops now, mostly marines.

I draft a unit from Norwich and TWO from the one above Nottingham, these are put on local garrison, as we are lacking for units to impose effective martial law! (I plan to build some swords and longbows -- no snickering please -- to help with this duty, and free up stronger units for the front).

1862AD: I bombard Chartres and complete the assault set up by the previous King of England. A great leader (our third) emerges from the attack and I use him to rushbuild an airport at Orleans.

1864AD: The airlift operation of troops into France begins with three marine units. ALL arriving troops, by air and sea, are used to strengthen our woefully thin garrisons, to reduce chances of revolt.

1866AD: The bombardment of Lyons begins. Airlift continues.

1868AD: More bombardment, now 30+ units of artillery in position, poor Lyons is blasted back to the stone age. I move some marines into attack position. More airlift. I start our carrier group heading counterclockwise around the northern tip, they should arrive in position to attack French islands by the end of my turn.

1870AD: Airlift again. Lyons captured. Gems secured. Some WLTKD celebrations. I plant a spy in Rome. Tried India, too, but got caught. Ghandi dares not complain too loudly.

1872AD: Airlift into Orleans continues unrelentingly. We are STARTING to move out of "desperate" range on garrison strength and now heading up toward "way too thin". I hope to hand off a relatively stable occupation to the next leader, and can only hope that garrison strength in Paris remains over ten units (preferably much over), while garrisons in other core French cities keep in the 8 range. Those Froggies have much cultural memory.

1874AD: Pentagon completed in Babylon. Airlift to France set to include a unit from Babylon each turn hereafter. Oh yeah, airlift! I also build a settler and send him to France, in case next leader gets an itch to raze any Indian cities.

Our first transport arrives at Tientsen port. I note that Tientsen is now wholly English, it has been assimilated.

1876AD: Our first transport is in position, and I load one of our two empty armies just sitting around in Orleans with FOUR marines, and land them next to Rouen on the same turn, along with three artillery pieces. Another transport arrived at Tientsin, so I can now relay troops to the island on one turn, every turn. Carrier group rounds the north tip.

1878AD: Two battleships and three artillery bombard Rouen. The city is JUST out of range of land-based bombers. Our army of marines attacks, fighting an elite rifleman, losing 7 of 16 hps and winning the battle. I land four vet marines, one vet inf, and two more artillery in the same location. Our carrier-based bombers harass the city north of Rouen, knocking out its harbor.

1880AD: Rome capture Dijon! Poor Joanie.

Five artillery, two battleships, and four carrier-based bombers attack Rouen, softening up SIX units down to 1hp left, and there are still more defenders!!! Like... WOWZERS! The AI has an ACTUAL DEFENSE in a city!!!

(After I took some anti-hallucinogenic medications, to ensure I was not just seeing things, I set to attack). Our army took on a vet inf with 2 hp left, lost 5 of remaining 9 hps and won. Now has 4 of 16hps left, should not fight again until it has fully healed!

I then attacked with all five of our marines, two won, three died, one promoted. Our vet attacked and was promoted. Six dead French units on two turns and they still have defenders!!!

Rouen shall not fall on my watch. I land a third transport full of troops, that ought to be enough. Any more would pull away too many garrison units. We need to maintain heavy garrisons until Joanie is eliminated. (Should come on next player's watch).


There is a settler in Orleans and an empty army. Don't fill the army until you need to use it, as armies count as a single unit, and we need bodies en masse for the moment to hold down so many occupied culture-rich cities.

Norwich is set to draft again soon. I drafted twice out of there on my turn. At this point, the Build Same Unit order should be more useful than annoying even for those of you who hate it, since I have every city set to crank the unit types it can build the most efficiently, and we're mobilized and doing not much besides building lots of units.

I did get a spy into Delhi, also. Ghandi is stockpiling bombers, so I started stockpiling fighters, all located on our new border with India. London is cranking one marine per turn -- we have greater need at the moment for more units than another army. Babylon is cranking one infantry per turn, and there is only one airport on that island for the moment. An Irish city will also soon have its airport. Our troop count is climbing, so our budget is slowly straining. NO NEW TECHS discovered on my watch, such is the life of a Monarchy in the modern era.

Feel free to cancel our deals with India and mix it up with them any time after Joanie is history.

:soldier: :scout:


- Sirian


Charis
Zed
Sirian
Jaffa <<<<<<< up
Carbon <<on deck

 

[Jaffa Tamarin]

Played six turns, finished off France Leaving it to the next leader to take the war to India.

Mao signed a peace treaty with France in 1884. And he left his "army" (cavalry+longbow) parked on the only land square adjacent to Grenoble. I had to storm the city with marines off a transport. First time I've ever done that

Airlifting swordsmen and longbows just seems wrong.

India started on Manhattan Project in 1886.

An army of marines loses the ability for amphibious assaults. Bah.

Mao will get his later, but for now it's time to go after India. I cancelled our trade deals, so we can go to war next turn

Carbon next, Charis on deck.

 

[Carbon_Copy]

Expect the next installment tomorrow night.

 

[Carbon_Copy]

Eh, my turn started out okay, but I really just hit a brick wall for a while. I was doing fine, except for the fact that I had my forces spread JUST too thinly to do anything with them that I wanted to. Nonetheless, the war machine marches on, this time to India.

1892-
I declare war on India. I then move our troops into good spots to be counter-attacked, and leave a worker stranded outside an Indian town. China and Rome are going to be going along with us for this ride.

1894-
MPP triggered, China/Rome declare war on India

1896-
New Delhi captured.

1898-
:soldier: just some fighting, almost take Bengal

1900-
-Rockety Discovered. Fission next, 8 turns @ whatever slow bleed science rate we're at.
-An army who took an ill-advised attack at a mecha dies on India's turn :aargh3:
-Kolhapur captured
-Bengal captured
-Birmingham oil patch dries up, to reappear under New Delhi

1902-
-India begins doing aerial bombardment of our outlying colonies, this, if nothing else, should put them into anarchy and another form of government soon.

-London starts up a new army to replace the one I killed off
-Ganges is THIS close to falling to marine assault. Unfortunately, I'll be unable to take it due to a lack of local marine life (bad, BAD, pun )

1904-
-China offers Fission for Advanced Flight...looks tempting, but I give Mao a world map instead.

1906-
-Fighting prematurely sets back any city-taking plans a few MORE turns. Our spy says that India is almost out of tanks, but has TONS of mechas (43 by the end of this 8 turn span).

1908-
-More fighting before we had an overwhelming force. If we can just take that Chinese city on the eastern coast, we can swing the gate shut on India for the mainland. Unfortunately, it has drafted a metric ton of conscript mechas, at least four and probably more. Soon enough, though, that stack of artillery will blow away all the population so it shouldn't be too hard to take. I suggest just razing that one and plopping down our settler in the same or a similar spot, they've got about 5 draftings during my turn and a shrinking list of city infrastructure.

I moved most of our transport fleet to the west side of France/India so we can field more Marine assaults. India currently has six or seven island cities, as well as nine or ten mainland cities left, and they just went communist on this turn.

On the south side of babylon, India sent a BB/carrier pair that I just blew away with our babylonian artillery stack. There's a destroyer in the vicinity that can probably score a victory somewhere in there.

Some paratroopers would be nice, just to have them.

 

[Charis]

Got it -- post to replace this one later...

Feast time, but infantry is "oldest"... Infantry, Vikings,
Essex then Enviro...

Charis

 

[Charis]

Grind, grind, grind.... this is becoming a manly man kind of game It's got that trench warfare infantry feel going

Well... thought the two-star, General Charis... at least we're now seeing
the toughest defenders we're going to see. Can't get much worse than this
Hey! Where did France go?!? (Further reading... Army of Marine's can't
assault?! WEED!)

1908 AD (0) - No paratroopers or helicopters? Have to make at least one of
each to play with Rouen near a small Indian island seems a great spot.
Well, except no oil and rubber there and war time, let's build harbor next.
We can top of Fission for 500, and do so. General Charis starts on...
Ecology (?!) "That's so we can silence them darn Wackos!!! I hear they're
really starting to make a stink, talking to foes like Egypt, Rome and France!"

1910 AD (1) - Lots of bombarding, shrinking cities and destroying barracks.
Destroyer sinks that battleship mentioned, carrier will glug glug next turn.

1912 AD (2) - Rome is kind enough to soften up a few Indian cities
India sues for peace but won't offer a single city! HA!!
We do see that fighting Mechas while being attacked by tanks kinda HURTS!

Five defenders in the ever-shrinking city of Hangchow. Their fighters
are eating our lunch. (Seems like one downside of handing game back and
forth, each time it's a surprise, no idea which cities have fighters, and
now many)

We retaliate against the tank that killed our partner, success!
We pillage Indian rubber. Our destroyer finishes off the pairs, sinking
their carrier. Marine takes out a mecha, then reverse in next battle.

1914 AD (3) - Uranium source near York peters out We have
2-3 other sources Essentially, no headway this turn 8-\
We could literally use double the artillery. If no progress on upcoming
turns, might have to "concentrate" and really narrow focus and ALL available
firepower one city at a time. Let's see...

1916 AD (4) - Midturn, another Indian rubber is pillaged. They have one
rubber source smack in middle of their heartland, and another near Dacca.
Mid turn our inf holds off and kills one tank, but is slain by another.
Another inf rebels a tank to 1hp.

Hangchow now size 1 (any city we're "at" is now under 7), and Jaipur
seems to have only two hurt defenders. Hangchow is defeated, but with
India in the area and only one defender that get there, we raze it!
Thus ends the Indian city presence on the Eastern seaboard!

1918 AD (5) - Mixed intraturn, we hold off a few more tanks, and lose a few
more inf in the field. We're virtually been repulsed from our siege at Tours.

We pillage an Indian Uranium.

1920 AD (6) - AGAIN, three turns now, 3 Roman cavs come up on shore and
get slaughtered, distracting India from us!

Finally WE shoot down an enemy interceptor Jaipur harbor is whacked.
The difference of sufficient artillery... a big stack pounded a mecha
on a hill to 1hp, and a marine killed it, becoming elite

That'll do for now, getting us to a nice even year
I believe Sirian is up next.

Ganges should fall soon (?), with a Marine army and naval bombardment vs
one inf and one rifle. Calcutta is probably next to fall unless India
can shift a lot of troops there, our army approaches.

Good luck!
Charis

 

[Sirian]

Zed's up next, he's got up to 72 to play or pass.

 

[Zed-F]

Well, I know Friday's out, and RBD9 is coming up right away as well, so I guess it's pass.

 

[Mavfin]

I've been reading these succession game threads for three or four days now, eagerly awaiting my own brand new copy of Civ3, but I bet it'll be Friday before I get it (UPS Ground, shipped on Monday)

Oh, well. Now I know where to get some savefiles to play with ;-)

 

[Sirian]

Mav! Hey, glad to see you in these parts. Any chance we can assimilate you into some upcoming games??

- Sirian

(Got it).

 

[Mavfin]

Chances are extremely good, once I've got the game and gotten a feel for it. All I've managed to play with before is the Civ2 demo and lots of SMAC/X. So I may be a little behind the curve for a while, so I guess it depends on how much you guys want some screwups on my ten-turn sets :crazyeyes

 

[Carbon_Copy]

If not messing up were a prerequisite to playing in a succession game...well, Sirian would be awfully lonely here by himself.

Just be aware of the and . That's your cue to know that you've messed up. If you want to avoid these the easy way, play the turn directly after Sirian's. If you want to learn how to avoid them the hard (but quick and thorough) way, play directly BEFORE Sirian and take the battery out of your smoke alarm (j/k Sirian...mostly ).

 

[Mavfin]

Well, after reading through at least 5 complete RBD SG's and following a few more, I think I can see the basic differences between this and SMAC/X, and playing the Civ II Demo at least gives me a little preview of how the actual game works, so I should be good to go. Figure 2 or 3 SP games right out of the gate to get used to it, then I may dive in for some fun!
:tank:

 

[Sirian]

If not messing up were a prerequisite to playing in a succession game...well, Sirian would be awfully lonely here by himself.

I'd have to quit, too. Remember my "Egypt won't attack us on Carbon's turn" prediction at the start of RBD2? Then there was not bringing enough to the first battle with Babylon in Infantry... Let's see, there was Cod Piece! And Louis the Mad... although both of those were caricature. My Oracle gambit in 10 failed. Just to name a few.

Ya know, I can't believe how far the old RBD1 "what kind of pungent weed was he smoking, irrigating the desert while our cattle herds go dry" remark has carried. It's become standard jargon for anything from failed gambit to absentminded error to strategic blunder. People have it in their signatures, on T-shirts and bumper stickers, and I fear it's going to show up as a restaurant chain soon! I suppose it fills a role for quick-and-light-hearted means of criticizing, though, and people seem to be having fun with it, so what the hey.


- Sirian