Dogfish
03-13-2009, 17:18
I've been pretty vocal about some of the flaws that Empire has. Until last night I hadn't played since Saturday (but had logged up 40+ hours of gameplay between release and then). I did enjoy the RtI campaign, until the 4th Chapter. But I finished that, and started a new Grand Campaign as Britain... in short, I think some of the naval problems, naval transport in particular, left a very large sour taste in my mouth about the game in general because of how much those features affected the factions I had used through that point (US, GB).
Last night I decided to start a Prussian campaign, even on N/N instead of my usual VH/VH. I'm really enjoying it. Having such a land-centric faction as Prussia with so many other factions in the immediate vicinity lends itself to a vastly different game experience. 2 years into the game I was at war with Austria, Poland-Lithuania, Sweden, Courland, Bavaria, and a few other minor factions. Austria and Poland are now half the size they were previously, and none of the minor factions exist (except Hannover, which is my sole ally, and unfortunately also my next victim in my near-term quest to unify all the Germanic states).
My gentlemen are dueling every turn. My rakes are spying, killing, or dying every turn. Much territory has changed hands. I led a heroic defense of East Prussia against a twice as large group of Polish soldiers while my main Eastern force was occupied with the assault of Warsaw. Constant skirmishing on their flanks by my two units of line infantry, and lots of feints by my 4 groups of armed citizenry plus one unit of miltia eventually wore down the (numerically, at least) superior Polish to the point that my two line infantry were able to crash their flanks with bayonets affixed, sending them routing to the east.
After 10 years of expansion on multiple fronts I made peace with everyone so that I can solidify my winnings and leverage that newfound capacity for a bigger push in the near future.
It's the winter of 1711 now, I was planning on a few more years of building up my war machine, but Spain just declared war on Austria, causing a schism amongst the Catholic nations. I may have to exploit this divide and let loose the warriors of Prussia for another campaign earlier than I had originally anticipated, pushing south to the shores of the Mediterrean and beyond.
I can't wait to get home from work and play this thing all damn night.
Last night I decided to start a Prussian campaign, even on N/N instead of my usual VH/VH. I'm really enjoying it. Having such a land-centric faction as Prussia with so many other factions in the immediate vicinity lends itself to a vastly different game experience. 2 years into the game I was at war with Austria, Poland-Lithuania, Sweden, Courland, Bavaria, and a few other minor factions. Austria and Poland are now half the size they were previously, and none of the minor factions exist (except Hannover, which is my sole ally, and unfortunately also my next victim in my near-term quest to unify all the Germanic states).
My gentlemen are dueling every turn. My rakes are spying, killing, or dying every turn. Much territory has changed hands. I led a heroic defense of East Prussia against a twice as large group of Polish soldiers while my main Eastern force was occupied with the assault of Warsaw. Constant skirmishing on their flanks by my two units of line infantry, and lots of feints by my 4 groups of armed citizenry plus one unit of miltia eventually wore down the (numerically, at least) superior Polish to the point that my two line infantry were able to crash their flanks with bayonets affixed, sending them routing to the east.
After 10 years of expansion on multiple fronts I made peace with everyone so that I can solidify my winnings and leverage that newfound capacity for a bigger push in the near future.
It's the winter of 1711 now, I was planning on a few more years of building up my war machine, but Spain just declared war on Austria, causing a schism amongst the Catholic nations. I may have to exploit this divide and let loose the warriors of Prussia for another campaign earlier than I had originally anticipated, pushing south to the shores of the Mediterrean and beyond.
I can't wait to get home from work and play this thing all damn night.