Alemanni PBM

[TinCow]

I am starting a new thread as per the discussion in the old thread (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=55834&page=4). I have no problems organizing this, but I just tried the Alemanni in SP and got my ass handed to me twice in a row within a few turns on VH/VH. The first time I was just plain erased and the second I managed to take a couple towns but ended up bankrupt and besieged with no prospects for relief. This means two things: 1) I think the Alemanni will be very interesting to do a PBM for and 2) I shouldn't take the first turn. :surrender:

We will be playing with the following rules:
Must use patch 1.6
10 years (20 turns) per person
Large Unit Size
Battle Timer On
Difficulty: VH/M

Since we start with only 1 settlement, the first couple players may have relatively short games. However, due to the 20 province victory requirement, it will probably take a decent number of players to finish. I have no problems recycling the first couple people later in the rotation if they feel they want a go at a more developed empire as well.

Due to my cowardice, I shall start the order off with Simon, as he volunteered in the other thread. I don't want to presume too much so I will limit the starting order until more people post. First come first served after this.

Play Order: (* = current turn)
Simon Appleton *
TinCow
Dutch_guy
Zomby_Woof

[Zomby_Woof]

I'm in.

How about a hard campaign with battles on the very hard setting and with battle timer off. What unit size are we using? My computer can handle up to large with no problem but with huge settings and massive armies + reinforcements I find things can get bogged down.

[econ21]

Well, I don't presume to be a better player than TinCow, so I propose we play on VH campaigns/M battles. I like M battles anyway, as the unit match-ups are more intuitive and it sounds like the poor Alemanni might need a break.

I'd go for large unit size and the battle timer on (sometimes I am just begging for a battle to end and it was quite interesting to lose a siege recently because I was too slow).

I'll get to work on it tomorrow night.

[Dutch_guy]

we should indeed do Vh ( campaign ) and medium battles , otherwise we just give the AI all those rediculus bonusses, which just is just as fun as it is fair.

battle timer... don't know , don't mind either way.

Also the players should be required to make the necessary free time to play, or else the other players will suffer from that person's lack of discipline on the matter - not meaning you should get it done in a mere day or so.
PBM's should be played as fast as possible and should uploaded right when the player is finished.

:balloon2:

[TinCow]

Ok, large unit size, battle timer on, and VH/M. After all, we're looking for an interesting write-up, not to get our butts whooped in the challenge to end all challenges. The original post has been updated to reflect this and Zomby_Woof has been added to the list. Unless there are other issues to resolve, I think Simon can start whenever he wants.

[econ21]

OK, I've finished my ten years. The save game has been uploaded as Alemmani_273S.zip. The situation is fairly self-explanatory - we have taken 3 more provinces, but are still very much a fledgling kingdom, locked in a struggle with the WRE. The Vandals are quite nearby, but we have concluded an alliance with them.

TinCow, I've left you with a lot of freedom where to expand next but be careful - even on VH/M, the WRE has teeth and our economy is weak.

Write up to follow over the weekend.

[Zomby_Woof]

I have a question about the write-ups. I understand that it's supposed to be an overview of the ten years that we're commanding the Alemanni, but do we post them in the forums or somewhere else?

[econ21]

I'll start a dedicated thread in this forum to post write-ups. Here's the last one we did:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=55882

The only tricky thing may be posting screenshots. I only got black screens using the RTW screenshot function, so I use FRAPS instead. You should edit the pictures down to around 80% size and convert them to jpeg format, then find someway of hosting them (I believe the Org has such a facility, but I have not used it).

[Dutch_guy]

Also, last time we used the Bug-fixer patch

Will we be using that again this round ?

:balloon2:

[econ21]

Also, last time we used the Bug-fixer patch

Will we be using that again this round ?

:balloon2:

Um, good point - sorry, I forgot about that. I patched to 1.6 over a bug-fixed BI installation, so my game may be something of a hybrid. I suspect whether people use bug-fixer or not will not cause problems for savegames etc - it is a very minor mod that introduces no new content. Just make sure you are fully patched and then play with or without bug-fixer according to personal preference.

[Ludens]

You should edit the pictures down to around 80% size and convert them to jpeg format, then find someway of hosting them (I believe the Org has such a facility, but I have not used it).
The Org does indeed have its own image space (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=26606), but after uploading you have to wait until Monk or myself check the upload manager before the pictures are available. Imageshack (http://www.imageshack.us/) uploads immediatly and automatically provides image-tags.

[Just A Girl]

if you want Free web space.
Unlimited bandwidth and 500mb of space...
theres usualy a 50MB file size limit.
(more than most will ever need)

So here you go.
Try this.
http://www.filelodge.com/refer.php?referrer=ShambleS

[econ21]

Thanks for the information, Ludens and ShambleS. I've had a hitch with my normal way of hosting images, so I've tried out imageshack - it is very easy to use, but I am not sure I like the thumbnails rather than the full images I normally get in my write-ups. Still, I would recommend it to others as it is so easy to use.

[Ludens]

I've had a hitch with my normal way of hosting images, so I've tried out imageshack - it is very easy to use, but I am not sure I like the thumbnails rather than the full images I normally get in my write-ups.
You don't need to use thumbnails. Scroll below and copy the line in the Hotlinks(1) bar and paste it into your post. This will make the pictures show directly.

[econ21]

Cheers, Ludens! Following your instructions, I've got it to work now!

[Dutch_guy]

Tincow, would you be so kind as to warn me at least a day in advance as to when your going to start your reign ?

Would appreciate it, it would give me time to install a fresh copy of BI.

Also, good job on your write up Simon you really do know how to write :yes:

:balloon2:

[Zomby_Woof]

Do we know if TinCow has started? He hasn't updated the topic post yet.

[TinCow]

Sorry, I've had the worst case of Civ "one more turn syndrome" in my life over the last 48 hours. I plan on playing my full turn tomorrow with write-up done a day or two after that.

[TinCow]

Ok, I have played my turn. I got confused and accidentally played 11 years instead of 10. I would have gone back two turns, but didn't have a save from then. Mea culpa; nothing interesting happened in the last two turns anyway.

Save is uploaded and can be download directly from here:
http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/Alemanni_384S.zip

Since I may not have my write-up posted before Dutch_guy starts playing, I want to warn you that there are several hordes somewhere to the east. They are all currently in the fog of war, but the Franks were last seen north of Campus Quadi and the Goths are somewhere southeast of Carnuntum. That large army is there for a reason!

[econ21]

Wow - I really enjoyed your write-up, TinCow. When I read what happened at the beginning - virtually all your towns besieged, I thought "what a mess have I left you?" (I certainly did not see the Franks and especially the ERE coming). But you turned the tables brilliantly - those berserkers are battle-winning troops. I don't know where you found the money for all those chosen axemen and big armies, but the kingdom looks immensely stronger than it did 11 years ago.

Your story telling was great, the way you maintained the continuity. Hortar's death was shocking[1] - I wondered if letting that Carus get away would come back to bite us. Still, vengeance was ours eventually.

[1]I wonder if only the lead general gets extra HPs in a battle - in TW games, I've noticed second general's die quite often.

[TinCow]

The money largely came from massacring Augusta Treverorum and Mediolanum. I netted 11,500 from the former and just under 20,000 from the latter and it didn't ALL go towards buildings, despite what I wrote. I heavily prioritized Chosen Axemen in Vicus as well, since it's still the only place we have that can produce them. Those guys are great. With the AP, they even chew through general's bodyguard units quickly. Having a place to train/retrain berserkers in the western provinces was a great help as well.

Having all 5 settlements besieged at once did scare me. I wasn't too concerned about the large armies, but I wasn't sure whether Treverorum and Campus Quadi would hold. In the former, the AI's inability to deal with archers saved the day and the lack of an AI morale bonus on Medium difficulty doomed them against the berserkers. All in all a very entertaining game. I was tempted to keep playing on my own after I uploaded, but Civ 4 was calling to me as well.

Incidentally, the Lily-livered guy was the worst commander I have ever seen. I refrained from mentioning it in the write-up since it would have been OOC, but his traits gave him a cumulative -12 to troop morale. Those guys broke pretty much on contact with my men.

[Dutch_guy]

Ok, I've downloaden the save file.

Going to start playing tonight, and finsh my reign tomorrow.

After which I'll try to finish the write up as fast as I can.

PS: good write up TinCow, hope my reign is as interesting as yours abviously was.

:balloon2:

[Ludens]

Your story telling was great, the way you maintained the continuity. Hortar's death was shocking[1] - I wondered if letting that Carus get away would come back to bite us. Still, vengeance was ours eventually.
I concur. That was an excellent write-up, TinCow.

[Dutch_guy]

Finished my first 6 turns today, will be finishing the others soon after.

Maybe even get to upload my save game tonight - so that Zomby_Woof can start playing

Can't promise to finish the write up tonight, or even tomorrow , school and Civ4 also need their share of attention.

:balloon2:

[TinCow]

Do you think it will go beyond Zomby_Woof? If so, we either need more people or we'll wrap it back around to Simon.

[Dutch_guy]

well..that's a good question one that is hard to answer.

At the moment I've been concentrating expansion south, through Italy.

Though it is not going as fast as I would have hoped, always one more enemy army in your way.

And we do need to go south-west to get our final settlement ( arquinium, sp ? ) we need in order to complete this campaign ( along with a score of provinces though )

And since I dare not to leave our city's unprotected - damn those Frankish hordes ! - expansion is not going very fast, to say the least.

So in short, can't give you more information other than this vague assesment of how the current situation is in our empire.

I'll know more when I finish my reign, though one thing is certain, Zomby_Woof will definatly get his turn to play.

:balloon2:

[Dutch_guy]

Ok, my reign is over.

Zomby_Woof can upload my save file from :

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/

enjoy !

PS : my write up is not finished yet. I have lot's and lot's of notes.
So I still have to edit them, and then post it here.

Will probably, if all goes well, have it ready tomorrow night ( GMT + 1 timezone ).

:balloon2:

[The_Emperor]

ooh a PBM, man i haven't seen one of those in a long time.

So what version is this one in?

[econ21]

Hi Emperor ~:wave: - it's the latest BI (1.6 patch).

[The_Emperor]

Hi Emperor ~:wave: - it's the latest BI (1.6 patch).

Very Tempting. Let me install the patch and play a little then I'll decide.

Been ages since I last did a good write up.

[Zomby_Woof]

I'm about half way done with my ten years. I plan on finishing up tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll be finishing the entire campaign by tomorrow though then again that might give The_Emperor a chance to join in.

Right now the Burgundii and East Roman Empire are giving me some troubles and have made it almost impossible to take the last required province. But I am nearing the 20 province mark and have united the wealthy Samarobriva--Londinium tradeline.

[Dutch_guy]

Ok, I've finished my write up.

Although I did run into a problem with my pictures.

They all seem to be displayed as thumbnails, would rather have the full pictures.

Can I somehow edit my pictures ( taken with Fraps ) or better said convert them to .jpg files, and resize them.

thanks

:balloon2:

[Zomby_Woof]

Ugh, I'm going to be out of town Friday and Saturday. I'll probably try and wrap the game up late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and have the write-up done late on Sunday.

[econ21]

Can I somehow edit my pictures ( taken with Fraps ) or better said convert them to .jpg files, and resize them.

Yes, I take my screenshots with Fraps too. I edit them with a free program IrfanView that you can get from the web. I resize them to 80% size and save them as jpg. Seems to work fine.

Good write-up, BTW: sounds like a fulfilling reign.

Zombie-Woof - no problem waiting till Sunday, especially if it comes with a write-up. I wonder if you will end the campaign? Good luck!

[Mount Suribachi]

Ooh, ooh, a PBEM game!!!

Man, its a loooong time since I did one of these ~:)

Any chance of adding my name to the list? Would be my first BI game.

Just like old times, me, Simon Appleton and The Emperor ~:grouphug:

[econ21]

Hi, Mount Suribachi, I think this PBM is coming to an end - that's one problem with doing PBM with BI campaigns, they are rather quick affairs.

However, you might want to volunteer for the new WRE PBM I have just started. I want this one to last a bit longer and have set out some house rules to try to ensure that.

[Zomby_Woof]

Ugh, I'm sorry I posted my write-up so late but I was having computer difficulties of Monday and Tuesday. I did manage to finish the campaign (and with a couple years to spare!) so there's no need to add anyone else to the list or to have Simon play a couple more turns. Should I post up my save game as well or is that not needed because no one else will be playing after me?

Anywho, after you guys read my write-up tell me what you think. I deleted about half my pictures because I took way too many for way too many things. I also tried using a different writing style than the rest of you because I felt that I had a lot more to cover during my reign...

[Tricky Lady]

Just finished reading your write-up, and I must tell that it's certainly of the same quality as the other posts. A very nice read!
These PBMs are getting better everytime (it's nice when a PBM is completed without too many people stepping out).:2thumbsup:

[econ21]

Great work, Zomby_Woof - it's hard for me to imagine the Alemanni grewing so powerful, having had to husband them at the beginning when they were little more than a few spears, archers and a general. But it is a very satisfying end to the PBM and you presented it very well, so we felt we were right there with you.

You may have noticed the thread I've opened asking for volunteers for a WRE PBM. If you are up for it, you can take my place in the ordering (about 5th or 6th). I can't guarantee the campaign won't finish early but I've designed some houserules to try to slow things down a little, so I'm hopeful.

[TinCow]

Very good finish Zomby_Woof. I was pleased to see that it finished with Suomar's grandson / Hortar's son as faction leader; that kept the story more familiar and made it almost the epic tale of a single family rather than an entire faction. Good work to everyone, I'm very pleased with how this turned out.

As an aside, why do we bold peoples' names in these threads? I've been doing it because others do, but I don't know why!

[econ21]

I bold names because everyone else does, as well. But with this kind of thread, it is also functional as you often want to communicate with the named person in particular and the bold font acts as a kind of wake-up call.

Anyway, well done everyone - this was a campaign conducted with Germanic efficiency.