SpacemasterDK
Chieftain
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2001
- Messages
- 11
I know what you mean, I'm in to the late 1800 AD having taken almost all of southern america on the huge earth map with 2 elite calvery units doing the offensive fighting ... no leader!
The greatest swordsman in Germany!
- Thread starter joespaniel
- Start date
Joe, Figure odds on GLs. You'll get it eventually.
I'm using a pile of about 30-35 knights and just finished mopping up the Zulu. Sun-Tzu started them all as veterans so now about half are elites. After killing around 100 Zulus over the course of the war I've produced 3 GLs (Washington, Lee, & that dog Sherman). I try to use my elites to fight where I know they'll win (archers, Jag warriors who were stupid enough to escort Aztec settlers onto a battlefield, etc.), but if there's only one enemy to fight, the elite gets it. So maybe half of the fighting has been done by elite units since I started. That jibes with the official 1-in-16 ratio.
Two of them were within two turns of each other. Maybe the 'random' numbers you need to get them are bunched down at the bottom of the list so you'll get a couple or three in quick succession.
I'm using a pile of about 30-35 knights and just finished mopping up the Zulu. Sun-Tzu started them all as veterans so now about half are elites. After killing around 100 Zulus over the course of the war I've produced 3 GLs (Washington, Lee, & that dog Sherman). I try to use my elites to fight where I know they'll win (archers, Jag warriors who were stupid enough to escort Aztec settlers onto a battlefield, etc.), but if there's only one enemy to fight, the elite gets it. So maybe half of the fighting has been done by elite units since I started. That jibes with the official 1-in-16 ratio.
Two of them were within two turns of each other. Maybe the 'random' numbers you need to get them are bunched down at the bottom of the list so you'll get a couple or three in quick succession.
joespaniel
Unescorted Settler
The Great Swordsman is becoming obsolete.
Sadly, with the advance of technology, his days are now numbered.
Kills -
18 Goth Horsemen
4 Goth Warriors
9 Chinese Horsemen and Riders
2 Chinese Spearmen
1 Chinese Swordsman
4 French Horsemen
3 French Spearmen
1 French Galley (in port)
3 Egyptian Spearmen
1 Egyptian Chariot (special unit)
Now that pikemen and knights are appearing in numbers, he will be upgraded to a Rifleman, but I hope to get him back up to elite and use him to attack Egyptian cities ASAP.
Germany's Greatest Swordsman will become the Prussian Guard!
Sadly, with the advance of technology, his days are now numbered.
Kills -
18 Goth Horsemen
4 Goth Warriors
9 Chinese Horsemen and Riders
2 Chinese Spearmen
1 Chinese Swordsman
4 French Horsemen
3 French Spearmen
1 French Galley (in port)
3 Egyptian Spearmen
1 Egyptian Chariot (special unit)
Now that pikemen and knights are appearing in numbers, he will be upgraded to a Rifleman, but I hope to get him back up to elite and use him to attack Egyptian cities ASAP.
Germany's Greatest Swordsman will become the Prussian Guard!
Attachments
donsig
Low level intermediary
I don't think swordsmen can be upgraded. You can give guns to spearmen or pikemen but not swordsmen or bow guys.
Return your swordsman to Berlin. Let him do ceremonial duties, like changing of the guard, honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Teuton, and Veteran's Day parades. Sounds like he has earned it.
(I am keeping a similar elite samurai unit in my Japanese capital for sentimental reasons, even though we are well into the modern age. Make no mistake, though, that they would unquestioningly charge the enemy in a final Kamikaze attack if the palace were to ever come under attack.)
(I am keeping a similar elite samurai unit in my Japanese capital for sentimental reasons, even though we are well into the modern age. Make no mistake, though, that they would unquestioningly charge the enemy in a final Kamikaze attack if the palace were to ever come under attack.)
Great story, joe! Makes me really wish we can name individual units with special names like the Prussian Guard. 
Or can we? Can we name Armies, BTW?
Anyway, tough luck on the GL. I got mine way early in the game when my two (!) Chinese swordsmen conquered Tokyo. But that was after taking Kyoto, Osaka .....
Or can we? Can we name Armies, BTW? Anyway, tough luck on the GL. I got mine way early in the game when my two (!) Chinese swordsmen conquered Tokyo. But that was after taking Kyoto, Osaka .....
joespaniel
Unescorted Settler
I started a new game. I want to create an army, and go the military route to victory, so I need a great leader.
Donsig was right, you cant upgrade swordsmen.
Thus ends the saga of Germany's Great Swordman...
For now.
Have caravels and sent out an elite horseman, found the Iroqois and started some scism. Won one city, no GL. Won a second city, no GL. *sigh* The curse of joespaniel's Germans, never to get a great leader.
Maybe if I let my empire slip domesticly one would appear, to lift the peoples spirits or something.
I will keep at it with Teutonic intensity. I am wondering if the German civ has a lower % chance to get GLs, or if I am just one unlucky sonofabeach.
Donsig was right, you cant upgrade swordsmen.
Thus ends the saga of Germany's Great Swordman...
For now.
Have caravels and sent out an elite horseman, found the Iroqois and started some scism. Won one city, no GL. Won a second city, no GL. *sigh* The curse of joespaniel's Germans, never to get a great leader.
Maybe if I let my empire slip domesticly one would appear, to lift the peoples spirits or something.
I will keep at it with Teutonic intensity. I am wondering if the German civ has a lower % chance to get GLs, or if I am just one unlucky sonofabeach.
stravaig
Stand Up Philosopher
Awesome story, Joe.
I love the way the Civ titles can really draw you in.
- Stravaig
I love the way the Civ titles can really draw you in.
- Stravaig
Well, I am playing my 4th game as non-militaristic Persia (my 2nd 'serious' game ) and I have gotten my GL too. You guys must be having really tough luck.
I got my GL when the Babylonians crossed Zululand using a right-of-passage treaty (who laid betw us) to attk me en masse (with like 50 units - longbowmen and the like). Hard to handle cos I ain't war-ready. Now have built a Maginot line across my entire long continental northern border with Zululand and pumping out def units. Bought the Babs off with money and 2 workers for peace.
One thing I have to say - even vet knights suck when attking longbowmen (!). Or am I missing something here? Luckily got saved by my newly formed army of knights and the trigger of my Golden Age also helps. Hew!
One thing bout Armies - form them only when you really gonna use them (to invade, not much point for def). Cos when you have loaded units onto Armies, can't unload them. They are effectively combined for the rest of the game. Also can't upgrade the units inside them.
Anybody got a different outcome fr trying to unload/upgrade units in an Army?
) and I have gotten my GL too. You guys must be having really tough luck. I got my GL when the Babylonians crossed Zululand using a right-of-passage treaty (who laid betw us) to attk me en masse (with like 50 units - longbowmen and the like). Hard to handle cos I ain't war-ready. Now have built a Maginot line across my entire long continental northern border with Zululand and pumping out def units. Bought the Babs off with money and 2 workers for peace.
One thing I have to say - even vet knights suck when attking longbowmen (!). Or am I missing something here? Luckily got saved by my newly formed army of knights and the trigger of my Golden Age also helps. Hew!
One thing bout Armies - form them only when you really gonna use them (to invade, not much point for def). Cos when you have loaded units onto Armies, can't unload them. They are effectively combined for the rest of the game. Also can't upgrade the units inside them.
Anybody got a different outcome fr trying to unload/upgrade units in an Army?
joespaniel
Unescorted Settler
SKM - I didnt know that was you! Hey pal!
Once you form an army, thats it, its permanent. Be careful what you put in it too. Dont mix pikemen and knights, it slows its movement rate down. Just use knights! Armys are supposed to be offensive units, but I will experiment a little and see if a pikeman army does anything usefull.
I got a great leader attacking an Iroquois city with an elite knight, rushed him home by caravel and formed an army of three knights.
Imagine my surprise when the army wouldnt fit in a caravel! It was stuck on my home continent! So, I reasearched up and got Magnetism, and it would fit in a galleon, so off I went.
Once you have an army, enemy cities are like shooting fish in a barrel. Bam! One after another. After my first victory, I started building the military academy and heroic epic immeadiately.
So I finaly got to do it. I am celebrating by starting a new game... I began to realize I need to play on higher difficulty levels or there wont be anyone worthy to fight. I am graduating to "King", my favorite civ2 setting.
Actualy, I started 6 or 7 times til I got a good starting location. And its a killer one this time, a huge continent with lots of resources and rivers, and only the Russians as neighbors, and they are not expanding quickly for some reason, nor exploring.
Go figure. So I got to pop alot of goody-huts with my wandering warriors, and acquired ALOT of tech fast.
I plan to wait and eventualy get my great leader from fighting the Russians, when the time is right. (Fuedalism!) Too bad for them, I have no plans to conquer Russia, I dont need to. I just need fodder, and they were unlucky enough to be my only neighbor!
One interesting tidbit: I built a few swordsmen and sent them out on patrol for barbarian camps. One swordsman found one right away, like he could sniff out barbarians, and smashed it, becoming elite. ( I love when they roar!)
Could be a re-incarnation of the last guy.
Maybe this story isnt over yet...
Once you form an army, thats it, its permanent. Be careful what you put in it too. Dont mix pikemen and knights, it slows its movement rate down. Just use knights! Armys are supposed to be offensive units, but I will experiment a little and see if a pikeman army does anything usefull.
I got a great leader attacking an Iroquois city with an elite knight, rushed him home by caravel and formed an army of three knights.
Imagine my surprise when the army wouldnt fit in a caravel! It was stuck on my home continent! So, I reasearched up and got Magnetism, and it would fit in a galleon, so off I went.
Once you have an army, enemy cities are like shooting fish in a barrel. Bam! One after another. After my first victory, I started building the military academy and heroic epic immeadiately.
So I finaly got to do it. I am celebrating by starting a new game...
I began to realize I need to play on higher difficulty levels or there wont be anyone worthy to fight. I am graduating to "King", my favorite civ2 setting.Actualy, I started 6 or 7 times til I got a good starting location. And its a killer one this time, a huge continent with lots of resources and rivers, and only the Russians as neighbors, and they are not expanding quickly for some reason, nor exploring.
Go figure. So I got to pop alot of goody-huts with my wandering warriors, and acquired ALOT of tech fast.I plan to wait and eventualy get my great leader from fighting the Russians, when the time is right. (Fuedalism!)
Too bad for them, I have no plans to conquer Russia, I dont need to. I just need fodder, and they were unlucky enough to be my only neighbor! One interesting tidbit: I built a few swordsmen and sent them out on patrol for barbarian camps. One swordsman found one right away, like he could sniff out barbarians, and smashed it, becoming elite. ( I love when they roar!)
Could be a re-incarnation of the last guy.
Maybe this story isnt over yet...
joespaniel
Unescorted Settler
The Swordsman Lives!
After moving the Barbarian slayer (Great Swordsman?) to the Russian frontier and waiting patiently, Russian expansion began in earnest with the movement of 2 settlers both escorted by warriors into the area between Leipzig and Essen.
I immeadiately contacted Catherine the great, demanding an explanation! No plausible excuse was given, a settlement was established on German built road and war was on!
A veteran horseman (now elite!) fired the first shot of the war, destroying Russian troops and capturing "POWs" who will work the area of Essen and Cologne as penitance for Russian arrogance.
The Great Swordsman force-marched to the new Russian town and proceeded to attack into enemy fortifications across a river and captured it! A Great Leader was created!!! Barbarossa!!!
Finally! The recognition he deserved so much has come to pass, and a new army of 3 swordsmen (including him) will be created in short order, to return to Russia for a "Heroic Epic".
*lights a cigarette* aaaaaahhhhh....
I love a happy story!
After moving the Barbarian slayer (Great Swordsman?) to the Russian frontier and waiting patiently, Russian expansion began in earnest with the movement of 2 settlers both escorted by warriors into the area between Leipzig and Essen.
I immeadiately contacted Catherine the great, demanding an explanation! No plausible excuse was given, a settlement was established on German built road and war was on!
A veteran horseman (now elite!) fired the first shot of the war, destroying Russian troops and capturing "POWs" who will work the area of Essen and Cologne as penitance for Russian arrogance.
The Great Swordsman force-marched to the new Russian town and proceeded to attack into enemy fortifications across a river and captured it! A Great Leader was created!!! Barbarossa!!!
Finally! The recognition he deserved so much has come to pass, and a new army of 3 swordsmen (including him) will be created in short order, to return to Russia for a "Heroic Epic".
*lights a cigarette* aaaaaahhhhh....
I love a happy story!
joespaniel
Unescorted Settler
The victorious German Swordsmen and their Great Leader Barbarossa arrived at Liepzig to meet 2 more "legions" of swordsmen, and a great army was formed.
To the beat of drums and fanfare of crowds and buglers, Barbarossa's army began its long march to the Russian capitol.
German warriors and horsemen had pillaged the Russian countryside, sowing chaos and breaking the Russian will to resist untill Barbarossa's return. Russia had little desire to continue, and I feared continuing the war would only lessen the esteem of the German people in the eyes of the world, so a peace was granted for 30 gold, just as Barbarossa arrived to attack Moscow.
Discouraged at the loss of opportunity for glory, the Great German Army began its march home without a "heroic epic" beneath its belt.
Out of the blue, a lone barbarian warrior appears from the woods in the path of the army. Blam! An encampment lies to the South. Smash!
A new monument stands in Berlin!
A tribute to the Greatest Swordsmen in Germany and their Great Leader!
*Too bad, it took three games to get it right, but there it is.*
To the beat of drums and fanfare of crowds and buglers, Barbarossa's army began its long march to the Russian capitol.
German warriors and horsemen had pillaged the Russian countryside, sowing chaos and breaking the Russian will to resist untill Barbarossa's return. Russia had little desire to continue, and I feared continuing the war would only lessen the esteem of the German people in the eyes of the world, so a peace was granted for 30 gold, just as Barbarossa arrived to attack Moscow.
Discouraged at the loss of opportunity for glory, the Great German Army began its march home without a "heroic epic" beneath its belt.
Out of the blue, a lone barbarian warrior appears from the woods in the path of the army. Blam! An encampment lies to the South. Smash!
A new monument stands in Berlin!
A tribute to the Greatest Swordsmen in Germany and their Great Leader!
*Too bad, it took three games to get it right, but there it is.*
"SKM - I didnt know that was you! Hey pal!"
How can you not know it's me? I thought I made it very clear in my sig. Oh, my heart hurts .......
Maybe my liver.
"Once you form an army, thats it, its permanent. Be careful what you put in it too. Dont mix pikemen and knights, it slows its movement rate down. Just use knights! Armys are supposed to be offensive units, but I will experiment a little and see if a pikeman army does anything usefull."
I always put in the fastest units I have and also only when I go for war. Right now, I got 3 Armies sitting at my Military Academy, unloaded. So when war comes, will just form up tanks and attk. Now in modern age, so possibly can get out modern armor in time. I love the noise they make when moving.
"Imagine my surprise when the army wouldnt fit in a caravel! It was stuck on my home continent! So, I reasearched up and got Magnetism, and it would fit in a galleon, so off I went."
Yeah and the GL counts as one unit too, so a normal Army would be 4 units all together. 5 when you got the Pentagon.
"Once you have an army, enemy cities are like shooting fish in a barrel. Bam! One after another. After my first victory, I started building the military academy and heroic epic immeadiately."
Not really, I lost an entire Army of cavalry attking a size 7 city defended by a bloody conscript (!) rifleman. The correct way to attk (hmmph hmmph) is to send in a huge army of defenders and a huge no of artillery, bombard the city to weaken the defenders and then use something to take out the weakened defenders. Armies can better be used as the finishing blow and to pillage, deep inside enemy territory.
"So I finaly got to do it. I am celebrating by starting a new game... I began to realize I need to play on higher difficulty levels or there wont be anyone worthy to fight. I am graduating to "King", my favorite civ2 setting."
I am on regent now. Game sucks cos sharing a huge continent with 4 civs with the Babs stretching across like a Red Curtain across the far north and racing ahead in culture. I have built a 16 fortresses long def belt (and 2 layers deep in case of a breakthrough anywhere) fr coast to coast and leaving a small gap 3 spaces deep to bombard invading armies. Have 3 inf guarding each frontal fortress and one artillery piece. I find artillery very useful to break up invaders. And lots of reserve inf, tanks, artillery .....
How can you not know it's me? I thought I made it very clear in my sig. Oh, my heart hurts .......
Maybe my liver. "Once you form an army, thats it, its permanent. Be careful what you put in it too. Dont mix pikemen and knights, it slows its movement rate down. Just use knights! Armys are supposed to be offensive units, but I will experiment a little and see if a pikeman army does anything usefull."
I always put in the fastest units I have and also only when I go for war. Right now, I got 3 Armies sitting at my Military Academy, unloaded. So when war comes, will just form up tanks and attk. Now in modern age, so possibly can get out modern armor in time. I love the noise they make when moving.
"Imagine my surprise when the army wouldnt fit in a caravel! It was stuck on my home continent! So, I reasearched up and got Magnetism, and it would fit in a galleon, so off I went."
Yeah and the GL counts as one unit too, so a normal Army would be 4 units all together. 5 when you got the Pentagon.
"Once you have an army, enemy cities are like shooting fish in a barrel. Bam! One after another. After my first victory, I started building the military academy and heroic epic immeadiately."
Not really, I lost an entire Army of cavalry attking a size 7 city defended by a bloody conscript (!) rifleman. The correct way to attk (hmmph hmmph) is to send in a huge army of defenders and a huge no of artillery, bombard the city to weaken the defenders and then use something to take out the weakened defenders. Armies can better be used as the finishing blow and to pillage, deep inside enemy territory.
"So I finaly got to do it. I am celebrating by starting a new game...
I began to realize I need to play on higher difficulty levels or there wont be anyone worthy to fight. I am graduating to "King", my favorite civ2 setting." I am on regent now. Game sucks cos sharing a huge continent with 4 civs with the Babs stretching across like a Red Curtain across the far north and racing ahead in culture. I have built a 16 fortresses long def belt (and 2 layers deep in case of a breakthrough anywhere) fr coast to coast and leaving a small gap 3 spaces deep to bombard invading armies. Have 3 inf guarding each frontal fortress and one artillery piece. I find artillery very useful to break up invaders. And lots of reserve inf, tanks, artillery .....
joespaniel
Unescorted Settler
"I have built a 16 fortresses long def belt (and 2 layers deep in case of a breakthrough anywhere) fr coast to coast and leaving a small gap 3 spaces deep to bombard invading armies. Have 3 inf guarding each frontal fortress and one artillery piece. I find artillery very useful to break up invaders. And lots of reserve inf, tanks, artillery ....."
Good Lord!
That makes the Maginot line look like a sheet of paper...
I posted a whole thread about bombarding cities before attacking them directly. I didnt have catapults initialy, but I do now! I got lucky early on, I wouldnt try it again.
My army of knights from my last game was going up against regular spearmen, and sliced them up pretty good. In retrospect, each attack cost roughly 3 or 4 hit points from the army, so a lone knight may not have been able to do the job and survive.
My game has slowed down alot, with no threat from the Russians anymore, I have focused on science and infrastructure, to great effect. Germany is building the Observatory in Berlin. Teutonic knights patrol the plains, and my lone army sits on a hill between Dusseldorf and Sverdlovsk, as a reminder to the Russians to behave themselves.
Built 4 galleys with a horseman on each, and started exploring. Ran into the Chinese first, they were a little icy, but bought contact with Persia. Then found France (that little Joan is so cute and polite) and bought contact with England, India and Japan.
After some wheeling and dealing, Germany has a fairly good world map. Scientists are now working on improved sea-transport. I would like to trade with the English as they have some spice and gems that Germany needs.
Good Lord!
That makes the Maginot line look like a sheet of paper...
I posted a whole thread about bombarding cities before attacking them directly. I didnt have catapults initialy, but I do now! I got lucky early on, I wouldnt try it again.
My army of knights from my last game was going up against regular spearmen, and sliced them up pretty good. In retrospect, each attack cost roughly 3 or 4 hit points from the army, so a lone knight may not have been able to do the job and survive.
My game has slowed down alot, with no threat from the Russians anymore, I have focused on science and infrastructure, to great effect. Germany is building the Observatory in Berlin. Teutonic knights patrol the plains, and my lone army sits on a hill between Dusseldorf and Sverdlovsk, as a reminder to the Russians to behave themselves.
Built 4 galleys with a horseman on each, and started exploring. Ran into the Chinese first, they were a little icy, but bought contact with Persia. Then found France (that little Joan is so cute and polite) and bought contact with England, India and Japan.
After some wheeling and dealing, Germany has a fairly good world map. Scientists are now working on improved sea-transport. I would like to trade with the English as they have some spice and gems that Germany needs.
Daaraa
King
Great story Joe. Keep it coming. 
joespaniel
Unescorted Settler
Monty Hall would be proud.
The German people now have many luxuries to keep them happy, and the new city of Bonn has been founded on the Russian frontier, to prevent their expansion into Germany. Barbarossa's army is stationed there, and the Forbidden Palace is under construction.
Many foriegn leaders have approached Germany about contact with the Russians, but Germany declined to cooperate. Some have a less benevolent attitude now, but keeping the untrustworthy Russians down is in Germany's best interest.
A small continent was discovered to the south, and another off Germany's eastern coast. The city of Kiel was founded in a narrow strip of land between two mountain ranges, allowing ships to make better time to China and Persia.
The Prussian Art of War was completed in Berlin, making German knights and pikemen the finest in the world. A new industry, Banking, is beginning to spread in earnest.
Germany is a robustly growing empire. Further tales of conquest will probably be of a "cultural" nature, for now, as the sturdy Russian peasantry wishes to attend our universities and libraries, or visit the Sistine Chapel in Cologne.
Due to Germany's uncharacteristic maritime activity, a man named Magellan has offered to begin a great voyage of discovery from the city of Bremen. We await his return, and hope that he does not decide to double-cross Germany and land in England.
The German people now have many luxuries to keep them happy, and the new city of Bonn has been founded on the Russian frontier, to prevent their expansion into Germany. Barbarossa's army is stationed there, and the Forbidden Palace is under construction.
Many foriegn leaders have approached Germany about contact with the Russians, but Germany declined to cooperate. Some have a less benevolent attitude now, but keeping the untrustworthy Russians down is in Germany's best interest.
A small continent was discovered to the south, and another off Germany's eastern coast. The city of Kiel was founded in a narrow strip of land between two mountain ranges, allowing ships to make better time to China and Persia.
The Prussian Art of War was completed in Berlin, making German knights and pikemen the finest in the world. A new industry, Banking, is beginning to spread in earnest.
Germany is a robustly growing empire. Further tales of conquest will probably be of a "cultural" nature, for now, as the sturdy Russian peasantry wishes to attend our universities and libraries, or visit the Sistine Chapel in Cologne.
Due to Germany's uncharacteristic maritime activity, a man named Magellan has offered to begin a great voyage of discovery from the city of Bremen. We await his return, and hope that he does not decide to double-cross Germany and land in England.
Well, the Babs together with their Zulu allies did attk (3rd time in history), with bout 100-200 units, mostly cavalry. They walked right into my trap, inside my territory. Funny thing is the Bab advance cavalry (bout 20-30 units) got trapped cos the Zulu cavalry was directly behind them and they couldn't retreat. Picked them off using artillery and tanks.Originally posted by joespaniel
"I have built a 16 fortresses long def belt (and 2 layers deep in case of a breakthrough anywhere) fr coast to coast and leaving a small gap 3 spaces deep to bombard invading armies. Have 3 inf guarding each frontal fortress and one artillery piece. I find artillery very useful to break up invaders. And lots of reserve inf, tanks, artillery ....."
Good Lord!
That makes the Maginot line look like a sheet of paper...
They broke thru in 2 places but lost many units. I managed to get back my fortresses and reinforced them. And chased now weakened cavalry units before they galloped back to safety. All in all, I killed really a lot. And I got a new GL! Second in the game.
But starting a new game. Hard lesson #1 - never never never ever share a long continental border with other civs.
Here's my game. Sucks, doesn't it.
thealien_83
King
What can a man possibly say except... 
Long live the Great Swordsman..!
Long live the Great Swordsman..!
joespaniel
Unescorted Settler
Similar threads
