Prussian to the Iron
06-25-2011, 14:45
While playing my mid-late stage Sweden campaign, I noticed that the list of minor nations had shrunken ALOT from what it was at the beginning. Some nations were new, such as Georgia, Punjab, Afghanistan, and the Mamelukes, but there were barely more minor nations than there were major ones.
So I decided to take action, and take up a few of them to put under my protection. For example, Dagestan and Georgia rebelled near-simultaneously from Russia. For a while I was simply sending monetary and technological aid to the two nations, since I certainly had no great love for Russia. However when I received the message that Dagestan had been destroyed, well I had to step in. So I deployed a defensive army to Georgia, and successfully fought off a revolution, 2 invasions, and have been keeping both the Russians and Ottomans at bay since. Without me, Georgia would most assuredly be long gone.
A similar situation is developing with the Mamelukes, as the Maratha began invading them only a few turns after they were formed. However this one has developed into a full-scale war, and the Maratha continue to send armies to Baghdad, with my defensive line the only thing keeping the Mamelukes in the game.
I would encourage people who still play Empire (whether because they prefer it to Shogun, like the time period better, or, in my case, don't have the computer to run Shogun 2) to use this strategy to increase not only fun, but randomness and immersion into the game. So go on, adopt a minor country and try to keep it alive through the whole game. It makes for great fun and more spontaneity in the game.
So I decided to take action, and take up a few of them to put under my protection. For example, Dagestan and Georgia rebelled near-simultaneously from Russia. For a while I was simply sending monetary and technological aid to the two nations, since I certainly had no great love for Russia. However when I received the message that Dagestan had been destroyed, well I had to step in. So I deployed a defensive army to Georgia, and successfully fought off a revolution, 2 invasions, and have been keeping both the Russians and Ottomans at bay since. Without me, Georgia would most assuredly be long gone.
A similar situation is developing with the Mamelukes, as the Maratha began invading them only a few turns after they were formed. However this one has developed into a full-scale war, and the Maratha continue to send armies to Baghdad, with my defensive line the only thing keeping the Mamelukes in the game.
I would encourage people who still play Empire (whether because they prefer it to Shogun, like the time period better, or, in my case, don't have the computer to run Shogun 2) to use this strategy to increase not only fun, but randomness and immersion into the game. So go on, adopt a minor country and try to keep it alive through the whole game. It makes for great fun and more spontaneity in the game.