 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Sir Ralph
|
 |
Long live teh Schwampel!
Dec 2001
time: 06:31
|
|
Dearest Charlotte,
greetings from the Russian front. I write this letter in a military camp near Yakutsk, which our brave cavalrymen captured this year, after it was many years under siege. I'm so proud, that I was allowed to participate in this victorious operation, breathing gun smoke, loading and firing my cannon without any break. After so many years of war, disrupted only by very short periods of peace, it's good to see, that the backbone of the Russian bear seems to be broken. And finally, in our high command showed up talented leaders. Five years ago, the Cavalry regiment "G. L. von Blücher" brought us the leader Horsa, who helped us with his skills instantly to install the Womens suffrage. Yes, my dear, it's true, you will be allowed to participate in the next elections in our glorious Republic. And in this year, the Cavalry regiment "N. von Gneisenau" gave us the leader Barbarossa. In ancient times we already saw him, he helped to form our first army of Knights, which is, by the way, still in service as guard for our artillery. This time, he will help us to complete a big research project called Theory of Evolution.
I hope so, that peace will come and I can return to you. I miss you, my love, but still the Russian Czarina Catherine refuses to talk with our leaders. I heard, in our homeland is going on a big industrialization process, and factories and power plants are constructed everywhere. Our leaders say, that with the installation of the Womens suffrage our nation entered a Golden age. I am sure, that this will speed the construction of the factories. I wish you heartly, that you soon will benefit from all the modern goods the new age provides. As I heard, England and France are also in this age of industrialization. In the southern jungle was a big uprising of barbarians. We heard that our jungle police, consisting of morning star swingers, already suffered the first losses. I hope, the barbarian horsemen can be stopped before they reach our cities.
I hear thunder of cannons at the horizon, and have to end this letter. Probably the Russians are raiding again, although their attacks get more and more pathetic. I hope, that I can soon return home to you, my love. This tour will take very little time, as the new railroad, which connects our new russian provinces with our homeland, will soon be ready.
Kisses,
Leberecht von Hartenfels
Captain in the 4th artillery battalion
 Attachment: 1335.jpg
This has been downloaded 142 time(s).
|
|
| |
|
|
|
vmxa1
|
 |
Oviedo, Fl
Nov 2001
time: 21:31
|
|
Give or regards to the fine captain, soon to be major, I presume.
Last edited by vmxa1 on 17-10-2003 at 03:41
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Sir Ralph
|
|
Long live teh Schwampel!
Dec 2001
time: 06:31
|
|
I didn't have a lot of time this weekend, I have some family problems, but in the breaks I played the game till the modern age. Some impressions:
Spain sneak attacked me with a small expeditionary force. The stupidest war ever, because I was their only supplier with saltpeter. The war was short and not a threat for my cities at all.
Right after I discovered Replaceable Parts, one of my outposts detected a steady stream of Scandinavian units heading in my direction. They were led by cavalries and knights, the bulk consisted of muskets, pikes, longbows and medinfs. I looked up who they go for, decided it was me, and set up a "concave mirror defense" at the spot I expected them. So I call a typical mousetrap for the AI. All we know, that AI units don't leave their precalculated path if it's not blocked. Since they all started roughly at one point (Skandinavia is not very big) and are streamlined by the pathfinding algorithm, they should arrive all roughly at the same tile. I set up a concave arc of infantries (2-4 at each tile depending on terrain), some of them in quickly built fortresses, and placed 40 artilleries and 24 cavalries among them, so that all they focus at THE spot. It came as expected. Each turn a number (~5-6) AI units showed up at that spot, were pounded by 40 artillery rounds and their measly 1hp remainders were mopped up by cavalries. The cavalries got right back in file, since at my side all was railroaded. I didn't exactly count how many units my hollow mirror "burnt" this way, a rough estimation says about 40 or 50. It was more a boring slaughter than a real war. My losses were low, all in all I lost 4 units, mostly infantries, because I attacked with them when my cavalries had to heal and I didn't want to let 1hp units escape. The war gave me my 6th leader, who became an army, because there was nothing to build.
Russia (who had declared war on England) was eventually taken over by a multinational alliance. They asked me to participate, but no thanks. I had taken the juicy russian grasslands and plains, the English and Greeks got 4 hill crappy cities. Russia survived at their one tile island, but remained at war fairly long, because they were stuck in an alliance and MPP hell.
After I had my first 20 Panzers, Carthage (5 cities and backwards) declared war on England (20+ cities) without any need. Within the first 2 turns the English took 2 cities and razed one. I had a settler reserve and settled in the razed gap before the English could. To prevent England to get the remaining 2 cities of Carthage, my Panzers took them in a one turn war.
I entered the modern age shortly after 1700. The most advanced AI civ (France) was at the line Combustion/Scientific Method. They didn't have researched much in the past turns. France had Communism, England was a Monarchy, and both of them were involved in a gigantic world war. The Ottomans (tech leader at the other continent) too. I had a huge tech lead, a lead in score (1. Germany ~3000, 2. Ottomans ~2000, ...), power as much as the next two civs together and was world leader in culture. Given turn times of already 5 minutes and growing, I decided to end the game here. Cultural, scientific and diplomatic victory was off anyway, I had not the slightest desire to try domination or conquest, although it would be very easy given my standing army and about 30 cities able to build two turn Panzers. But a slug- and MM-fest like this, with 5 minute turns, brrrr, no thanks. 1750 AD I declared the game officially over.
Was that the farewell to PtW for me?
Not yet. I made some mistakes in the mod (like forgetting to make Ansars and Riders wheeled), and I want to playtest the 2-step cavalry currently discussed in the AU mod thread. So I set up a ByeByePtW mod 2.0, with these changes:
- Cities can be built again on forests, planting forest on tundra is disabled.
- Ansars and Riders are wheeled (silly me!  ), Samurai are not (hey, they are foot units!)
- 3 new units, Light Cavalry (5.3.3/8), Light Sipahi (7.3.3/10), Light Cossack (5.4.3/8), all horses+saltpeter and wheeled, available at Military tradition
- Their originals were moved to Nationalism and are a free upgrade.
- 3 new units, Heavy Infantry (9.14.1/10) comes with Computers and Heavy Paratrooper (12.12.2/15,+1hp) and Heavy Marine (14.10.1/15,+1hp) are available with Synthetic Fibers. The latter two require additionally Aluminium. Infantry, Paratrooper and Marine upgrade to their "Heavy" equivalent. That is necessary, because after Computers there was no suitable foot unit for mountain warfare, since Mech Infs are wheeled. I know, that "Heavy Paratrooper" and "Heavy Marine" are stupid names, but hey... come with alternatives if you don't like them.
House rule: Clearing jungle is allowed only inside the 21 tile city radius AND the own cultural borders. I had played the other game without this rule, since I didn't yet know the AI problem when I started.
I started a new game, this time on a standard map (120x120, 12 civs), again as Germany and with England, France, Spain, Russia, America, Japan, China, India, Arabia, Zululand and one more civ (I forgot, heck, I'll see   ). I played till 5:30am this morning. My wife called me crazy and said I was ripe for the mental home. But hey, that's civ. I just entered the medieval age, am in the middle of the powergraph and already was at war with all 4 civs at my continent (France, Spain, England, Russia). This is fun!
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Sir Ralph
|
|
Long live teh Schwampel!
Dec 2001
time: 06:31
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by alva
Pretty impresive though  , what level are you playing? |
That was emperor. Should I have made it more difficult? Apparently yes, but I just can't stand the MM hell at deity.  I play for fun, not for competition, so there!
quote:
..., this is exactly why i don't use any arty (up to deity), makes it much more fun as from time to time something unexpected happens (heavy losses for example) and you need to scramble/improvise to counter the AI. |
That's what I just can't be talked into... The game already is streamlined enough and compared to other games the number of units and even unit types is low. ZoC (the real one) got canned because the AI can't use it. No limit for the # of units at one tile (like in CtP1/2 and other games), because the AI wants to lump its whole army at one tile. I just hate to be restricted only because the AI can't use legal game features. I'm not talking about clear exploits like RCP and the Distant capital, but about basic things like building scouts if expansionist (never seen the AI to build a scout, they use their initial one and that's it), dense building if the map is crowded, using bombard units, fortify on high ground and thus force a stream of attackers into open ground, adding workers to quickly increase city size, building the forbidden palace in a decent spot and not next to the capital. Oh... [/RANT], btw
Besides: The AI is predictable, just take a look at the terrain. Or yet better, play a few tiny games in debug mode (whole map uncovered) and watch the AIs attack each other. You get the touch of their pathfinding very quick.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
alva
|
 |
Republic of Flanders
Sep 2001
time: 06:31
|
|
quote:
Alva (if you're still paying attention): |
Always am
The thing with is, that at some point I don't really want to know anymore about AI behaviour. 
It's fun to disect it , don't get me wrong, but if Civ4 would be released I know I won't be cheking in to it's strat forum for a decent amount of time.
Enough time to allow me to find out certain things for myself.
I haven't played an SP game for months now,(I started up Nathan's but the moment I saw that I probably was going to win, not a certainty mind you, I did quit)
the reason, well, it's too easy, I feel as if I almost know too much about this game.
Hmm, how can I put this without bragging (which I'm not, 'cause compared to most of you, my name is chieftain.)
Well, I can beat deity, sure it takes me a while 'afterall I'm not Aeson ( where is he BTW) or Nathan (where is he BTW), but I can do it.
Am I having fun during, hm, not really, is it fun in the end, surely !!!what's the alternative..emperor,but then gain, that's too easy. Perhaps I should say, not satisfying enough..
So I start limiting myself to give the AI a 'chance', but by doing so I limit my own fun.
TO give an example; I wish I had never known about the the AI going for undefended cities.. I try to pretentend I dont, but, well, that's basically impossible, isn't it.
AH well, it'still is the greatest game ever made so why am going on about it. ( could the beer )
|
|
| |
|
| |
All times are GMT. The time now is 05:31.
Apolyton Time is 00:31. |
top of page
|
| archivepost |
|
Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is ON
vB code is ON
Smilies are ON
[IMG] code is ON
|
|
|
|
|
|
16-10-2003 04:04
. No cities on forest only, because forest could be planted on tundra and then settled.
, this is exactly why i don't use any arty (up to deity), makes it much more fun as from time to time something unexpected happens (heavy losses for example) and you need to scramble/improvise to counter the AI.
))
|
