Tactics - Danish campaign: Lands to Conquer [Archive]

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Askthepizzaguy

12-12-2007, 03:22

Greetings fellow forum members.

This thread will attempt to highlight various diplomatic and campaign map strategies for smaller factions who do not have the power to roll up the map from turn one.

Fans of my previous vanilla blitz campaigns for England, Russia, and Egypt will probably enjoy this campaign.

The Danes, Lands to Conquer, VeryHard/VeryHard (aka Hurt Me Plenty)

This campaign will be significantly more difficult than my previous ones, as Lands To Conquer is considered the "fixed" version of M2TW and is much harder to beat. (beat quickly, that is...)

The Danish strategy will involve sharp diplomatic maneuvers and exponential growth, followed by a sudden, crushing move which obliterates half of Europe.

Sit down, grab a beverage of your choice, pop some popcorn, and watch the fireworks. Enjoy!

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image003.gif

The opening field for the Danes.

My analysis:
With few troops, a single province, and a poor economy, the Danes are in no position to roll up the map just yet. This faction is not a direct threat to anyone, for a sneak attack against their rivals would require the commitment of their entire armed force, with no reserves. A suicidal proposition, perhaps? I think not, against this AI… but if our opponents were competent, it certainly would be a losing proposition.

Our largest rival and threat lies to the south, the so-called Holy Roman Empire. Their forces are spread out and weak, but they are too large in number and their economy boasts the ability to engage us in a prolonged conflict right from the start. Were they committed to our destruction, they would almost surely have it.

For now… diplomacy is our greatest weapon. And we have just the emissary to deploy that weapon. Our Princess will engage and defeat the greatest empire in Western Europe, without raising a single sword. Witness the shocking events unfold.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image004.gif

We have managed to secure a peace with our great nemesis… and so much more. Map exchanges, trade rights, alliances, and three, count them, THREE of their provinces for the bargain basement price of 1000 florins per turn for only 6 short turns. That’s just 2000 florins a province… and they are already making 1861 florins per turn total. In 4 turns, I will have turned a profit on this little exchange.

I think that our allies are fools. A fool and his empire are soon parted. Not to mention the fact that we have reduced their recruitment capabilities by half, and quadrupled the size of our empire in a single turn.

With such bold opening moves, you can bet that the rest of the game will not disappoint…

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image005.gif

Still turn one.

My King recruits a ferry and takes himself much further south this turn than he would have by land. This way we can lay seige to Magdeburg with a full complement of troops and advance towards Prague faster. The mercenary ferry will be disbanded due to it’s upkeep.

Quite an expensive ferry ride, 1000 florins. I believe it is worth it. You may feel free to disagree.

Hamburg falls next turn, adding a fifth province by turn two. A rather large jump, wouldn’t you say?

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image006.gif

Observe the money-making power of these recently purchased provinces. Also take note of the fact that the HRE is split in half, and their remaining provinces are pathetic. If you’re looking for AI weaknesses, this would be a rather large one.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image007.gif

With only 43 troops lost, this battle was easy. Mercenary troops come in handy when you need to seige a settlement. Given our overwhelming 10-3 odds, this was rightfully an auto-resolution battle.

I prefer to fight pitched battles where my leadership skills are actually needed.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image008.gif

Magdeburg will be under seige next turn. It is only turn two, and I am already the greatest empire in Western europe.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image009.gif

A general was adopted this turn. I have declined marriage to a suitor for my princess. She is far too valuable as an emissary. Magdeburg will fall next turn.

My treasury is almost bare. My mercenary troops desire to be paid… I suppose my only option is to trade on my good name in exchange for florins. More diplomatic strikes are necessary to move forward.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image010.gif

A diplomat I recruited in 1080 has made it to the british Isles. I have made alliances with the Scots and traded maps and trade rights. I have also secured their loyalties and their treasury in exchange for mere promissory notes to attack their greatest rivals…

What fools. I have done the same with the Hungarians. They are also our allies and puppets. Their florins are now… mine.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image011.gif

I have made alliances with the British, the French, and the Milanese. Magdeburg has fallen. Many more promises to attack rivals have been sold to our dimwitted allies.

Our treasury is now overflowing, and our empire is the richest and most powerful in all of Europe. None dare attack us now. We have too many loyal dogs to unleash upon our enemies.

I am now eyeing these three rebel settlements. None shall resist the rule of the Danish empire. My adopted general builds an early warning system in preparation of betrayal by our so-called allies, the treacherous Roman empire.

Our southern states build roads and assemble defensive militia.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image012.gif

An assembly of militia men meet us in the Prague region. This bloated province is too tempting a treat to pass up.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image013.gif

Mercenaries and militia men lay seige as our generals ride ahead of our main force, which is too slow to lay seige this turn.

Prague will fall…

Sicily, Venice, and Poland have joined our little collective, and their florins have been added to our own. I have also drained the HRE’s coffers by repeatedly offering our assistance to their rivals… those florins I paid for their provinces are now returned to us.

They have exchanged half of their empire, effectively, for a promise to attack.
Not just cheap and exploitative… crushingly effective.

I begin recruiting more troops in all my regions, and I send my scouting diplomats to establish peaceful relations with more factions.

Their cultures will adapt to service us.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image014.gif

I have allied myself with the Papal State, and have declared war upon the aggressors who have invaded Christendom.

Their resistance is futile. Our treasury exceeds 36000 florins… a large army would be easily recruited with such a trove.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image015.gif

We have assimilated thousands of mercenaries into our empire. Our three generals now command the finest army in the Western world. We now spread out to add more provinces to our collective.

The Holy Roman Empire now looks small and defenseless compared to us… It has only been six short turns.

Would that I could end this crusade right now, I would conquer Poland and Hungary, and then the HRE and Italy north. None would be able to resist us.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image016.gif

My Princess, having accomplished her mission of conquest, has now conquered again… this time, she has taken a man’s heart and secured his loyalty to my empire. His distinctiveness will be added to our own.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image017.gif

Another adopted general has joined the collective… and the crusade in progress. He will raise another mercenary army.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image018.gif

I advance my armies into Stettin and Vilnius. These provinces are minor, but make excellent bargaining chips with Poland.

They will become one with us.

A small note, I have secured maps from France after some negotiation.
The more knowledge of this sector I can acquire, the more florins I can obtain from selling that knowledge.

Knowledge is power… knowledge yields coin. Coin yields loyalty. Loyalty yields might. Might leads the way to an expansive empire. Until none can oppose us.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image019.gif

Advancing our drones west, towards our goal… pushing back the Moorish threat.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image020.gif

As stettin falls, soon will all of Europe.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image021.gif

Approaching Vilnius.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image022.gif

My King eyes Oslo… a trading port with Arhus and Stockholm.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image023.gif

My horde takes a sudden turn south into Italy and Switzerland. The strategic stronghold of Bern secures my advantage in this region.

Spain has joined my collective.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image024.gif

Bern has fallen, and I now wrestle Dijon from the hands of the Milanese, who are too late.

The moors have agreed to a ceasefire in exchange for maps.
I will not honor our agreements.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image025.gif

Advancing further south into Italy.
A sneak attack into Moorish lands by sea will catch them off-balance.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image026.gif

A small raider force heads towards Algeria. The Russians have agreed to join our coalition. Soon, the Byzantines will join us.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image027.gif

More generals are adopted into our collective. They in turn raise a grand army for conquest.

Oslo has become one with us.

Our large initial florin reserve is being depleted. There is only one course of action.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image028.gif

Vilnius continues to resist us. They will fail. Our drones should wear them down, and our elite troops will finish what’s left of them.

We are the Danes… you will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image029.gif

Death is irrelevant. Our collective has grown.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image030.gif

Russia will conquer Riga before we do. It is of no concern. Soon the Russians will be crushed and Riga will be part of us. My work here is finished.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image031.gif

My King, prince, and adopted generals assault in unison against the rebels in Antwerp. Metz is also a part of our empire now.

The Byzantines have joined our collective.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image032.gif

Kristoffer is making good progress towards our goal to conquer the Spanish moors.
All of Europe is now under our sphere of influence. We are the reigning superpower.

All is going according to plan…

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image033.gif

We have decided to rescind our agreements with the Moors. They will be destroyed.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image034.gif

Ever more troops join our quest.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image035.gif

Sicily has betrayed us.

It is of no concern. They mean to take Corsica and Sardinia. These worthless provinces will not alter the course of events. And the Sicilians will be exterminated for their insolence.

Our treasury is once again bare, but we now have something far more valuable… power.

Askthepizzaguy

12-12-2007, 03:23

Continued...

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image036.gif

The year is 1098… our troops are moving into position.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image037.gif

Another general joins our cause by demonstrating bravery in battle.

My generals bring order to chaos… our drones will be much disciplined in battle under their orders.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image038.gif

I have obtained the Pope’s favor by gifting him Algeria.
This province is worthless, and a drain on our resources.

Our armies continue to grow in power. We have begun conquering Iberia. Soon the Moors will be unable to resist. Our allies admire and fear our power.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image039.gif

In exchange for valuable florins, I hereby relinquish these worthless provinces to England’s care. They will hold them in safe keeping for us to reconquer later.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image040.gif

France has no idea with whom they are dealing…

The year is 1099… the new century is upon us. As well as a new era.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image041.gif

Our supposed allies, the Venetian scum, have also betrayed us.

These alliances are worth less than the scrolls upon which they are written. I have decided to terminate our alliances with these weak, disorganized, chaotic, and deeply flawed people.

They will become one with us.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image042.gif

I have sold Vilnius to the Poles for valuable florins.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image043.gif

And I have sold Cagliari to the English for more valuable florins. Everything is falling into place.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image044.gif

The year is 1101… and I grow weary of our rival’s independence.
Soon, they will join us.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image045.gif

After securing the alliance of Sicily again, they have betrayed our allies, the English.

They are not to be trusted anyway. I shall terminate relations with these small creatures.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image046.gif

I have sold Granada to the Scots. These fools cannot even hold the province, yet they hand me money for it.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image047.gif

1102ad.
Cordoba falls to Danish rule.

A chilly silence follows… a message is transmitted to every single faction in the known world.

“We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Your cultures will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.”

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image048.gif

The venetians have agreed to purchase Cordoba, even though we are at war.

This allows me to sack it again for more florins. A triple play on a single province. This is why it is useless to resist.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image049.gif

The French are unable to resist our endless reserve of drones. They will be assimilated.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image050.gif

The Holy Roman Empire will be crushed with one swift stroke, with only Bologna remaining.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image051.gif

We will repel the invading Venetian army, and sack Cordoba.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image052.gif

We are the Borg. Lower your shields and prepare for assimilation.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image053.gif

They are attempting to resist us.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image054.gif

We will adapt.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image055.gif

Resistance is futile.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image056.gif

Their archaic cultures are authority driven. Their leader is about to be assimilated. Their resistance will fail.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image057.gif

We have sustained damage. Remodulating weapons. They have been assimilated.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image059.gif

We have captured the Moorish faction leader. Another drone has been added to our collective.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image060.gif

We have assimilated a French army. Yet another drone has been added to our collective.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image062.gif

The HRE has been assimilated into our collective. Only Bologna continues to resist us.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image063.gif

We have taken Cordoba once more.

Portugal will be assimilated.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image064.gif

Our Borg resource extractor is performing at a high rate of efficiency.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image065.gif

The French have been assimilated. Resistance is futile.

The Turks have been added to our collective.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image066.gif

Portugal has been fully assimilated into the collective. They no longer resist us.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh177/daniel_albert1983/image067.gif

We have begun our invasion of England. The French will fall.
Spain has been invaded by the Borg.

It is now almost turn 20 and we have control of 22 sectors.

None will be able to resist us.

Our quest is only beginning... but the main strategy has been planned and executed perfectly. Now, all that is left is to mop up the mess and crush what's left of Western Europe.

If you wish to see more of this campaign, or have questions, comments, compliments, or criticisms, please feel free to contribute to this thread.

Hopefully I'll receive as much positive feedback as I did on my previous campaigns.

Thanks for reading!

:knight:

phonicsmonkey

12-12-2007, 03:49

Nice work pizzaguy, good to see you back with another of these threads..

ROFLMAO @ selling Granada to the Scots

:laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4:

Askthepizzaguy

12-12-2007, 04:00

Nice work pizzaguy, good to see you back with another of these threads..

ROFLMAO @ selling Granada to the Scots

:laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4:

Do you sense that the AI needs more tweaking, if they accept such a ridiculous proposal?

This thread would not be possible without the blatantly stupid deals the AI is willing to make.

Number one idiotic thing:

Accepting deals that involve PROMISES to attack another faction.
If this were a true deal, it would involve an immediate declaration of war.
Duh.

Number two:

Accepting alliances as being generous without any concessions on my side.
I should have to give tribute first.

Number three:

Selling your provinces? To me, of all people???
For a mere 1000 florins per turn? AND THREE OF THEM???
Uhhhh.... dumb, dumb, dumb...

Number four:

Trusting me to begin with.
But hey, I did honor all of my agreements until I was betrayed by both Sicily and Venice. Except the ceasefire with the Moors, which is open-ended.

But I actually like the AI honoring their agreements for the most part.
It beats the random nonsensical port blockades and suicide attacks with half a stack of peasants.

I love lands to conquer... it offers a real challenge. But there are still plenty of holes to fill in order to build a more competent foe.

I know, I know... I should get "Kingdoms" and play against humans. Heard it before.

Not right now. Ever since I got LTC I haven't touched vanilla. Mind if I play with this one until I tire of it first?

phonicsmonkey

12-12-2007, 04:50

Askthepizzaguy

12-12-2007, 05:02

yeah, the AI is stoooopid when it comes to diplomacy

In this case it looks like simple maths should have meant the HRE wanting a higher price for their three settlements - I found in my Moors campaign that the AI consistently undervalued settlements.

I mean, they're the means to win the game!

so if you're giving one up you better get a great price for it, allowing you 1) compensation for the loss of income, training capabilities etc and 2) the means to get another one somewhere else, or more than one pretty soon afterward

otherwise selling a settlement makes no strategic sense

Interesting that you were able to get such a good price for selling promises to attack other factions..did you ever try that in vanilla as well, or is it just a LTC thing?

I'm glad you noticed that I played both sides of the fence when it came to buying real estate.

Which provinces did I buy?
The core provinces of the Holy Roman Empire.

Which provinces did I sell?
Jack-spit provinces no one should even bother to conquer except me, and even then only for the sake of owning them all.

Who cares about Vilnius?
Only Poland or Russia.

Corsica?
What a waste of space. Only Sicily should even bother.

Granada?
Utterly useless to everyone except the Moors, and even then, only because it's a starting province of theirs and a castle.

Cordoba?
Don't buy it if you can't properly garrison it.

Look, I got money for sacking it, and I got money from selling off its buildings. Then I got money for selling the province itself. Then I got money for sacking it again because I was at war with the idiots and they did not defend it.

Uhhh... is anyone home? That's insane. You couldn't get any more blood from that stone. Except maybe by selling it off again and then sacking it again.

Gee... that gives me ideas...

So I spent as few florins as possible grabbing major provinces in the opening moves. Then I got all that money back from selling agreements to attack their rivals. Idiots.

The whole point of selling your land is to have money to recruit a large enough army to destroy enemies yourself.

What kind of idiot would you be to then turn me into your autonomous mercenary army? I own your land and your money. All you have is MY good will.

Guess what? I kept my word. I did attack everyone. Just not the way they intended me to. And I attacked them as well.

Bwahahaha!

:devilish:

phonicsmonkey

12-12-2007, 05:27

yeah, I've almost stopped using diplomacy it's so easy to exploit

In my crusades campaign as Byzantium:

Problem: Victory condition says kill all Turks, hold Antioch, Babylon, Alexandria. Turks in Asia Minor all dead, don't feel like warring against Antioch and KoJ (allies) to get to the rest

Solution: Trade map information and 30k florins for alliance with Antioch, military access AND their top level castle at Mosul.

March 5 stacks across Antioch lands, beat up on turks, beat up on Mongols (not strictly necessary but what the hey), turn around, march 6 stacks back to Antioch, take the city, fight off waves of half-stack Antioch armies for what seems like an eternity.

Later, buy Alexandria from Egypt for 100k plus a five or six useless provinces, hold for ten turns and win.

Also, the best opening move as Venice is to buy Bologna from the HRE for 6000 - seems like a high price at the time, but boy does it pay itself off quickly, and stops you from insta-war with the HRE

TheLastPrivate

12-12-2007, 06:47

How much did you lose due to desertino when ur army marched up to riga? I thought the penalty for marching away from the crusade direction, even if just for a turn, was pretty bad...

Monsieur Alphonse

12-12-2007, 07:02

Even in Kingdoms you can do this. In the Americas campaign I (New Spain)bought all starting regions of the Aztecs in exchange for an alliance and some money. In one move the Aztecs lost all their regions except their capital. Nice alliance with those stinking white guys that are here to conquer your lands and your women. :laugh4:

Askthepizzaguy

12-12-2007, 07:10

:beam:

It seems as though the experienced members of the forum are aware of diplomacy tactics.

Well done!

Hopefully this thread will at least offer encouragement to newcomers.
Fortunately I do not think so highly of myself to think that my tactics are unique or novel, merely executed well.

:2thumbsup:

Losses due to desertion?

While it wouldn't have been much of a factor anyway, given the ability to recruit mercenaries so readily and my massive florin count, you can avoid ALL loss to desertion during the beginning of crusades.

Just leave the crusade, and then join it. Can't do it after the time limit expires... but for ten turns or so, it's an easy way to march your endless crusader horde in any direction.

Even in Lands To Conquer, this loophole hasn't been plugged.

Oops!

Unfairness alert! Unfairness alert!

I'm not playing fairly. So long as I don't hack the game files, the purpose of this particular campaign is to showcase how you can easily roll up the computer, using all available legal tactics.

If one can cause entire empires to rebel with spies (unrealistic) and trade half of their empire for a pittance of florins (unrealistic) then surely I can march my armies in a given direction.

I think we're past that point of trying to make it fair for the AI. This one's about demolishing them quickly and as brutally as possible. Establishing an upper limit to how strongly you can possibly play without actually hacking the game or using cheat codes.

If anyone is that ambitious, I wouldn't mind seeing others in action, brutalizing all opposing factions as quickly as possible. I warn you, these threads take a LOT of effort to design and post.

Lusted

12-12-2007, 10:26

Dragunija

12-12-2007, 11:40

Wow,that's nice blitz campaign.Continue please.

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 00:00

Very interesting askthepizzaguy, i woul really love to see you redo this once i get out the next version of Lands to Conquer as i've improved campaign AI and diplomacy somewhat since the version you're playing(eg. 2 major revisions to both). Though it is for Kingdoms so you would need to buy it in order to play the next version whenever i get it out, should be soon as i'm very happy with the new campaign AI and diplomacy.

Strictly speaking it will most likely be impossible to do this (as I have done it, that is) once you fix the game.

This banks entirely on the diplomacy exploit.

I was able to acquire in the neighborhood of 80000 florins or more total from the AI. If you can't roll up the map with that much cash, and 3 additional starting provinces, you're a shameful player.

Honestly, the game is much harder if you avoid exploiting the game loopholes.

This is merely to showcase what is possible on the version I am using, which very well may be the first version of LTC or perhaps one upgrade thereof.
And also to show newbies what aggression, rather than slow turtling, can accomplish.

More likely I will download the final upgrade to vanilla and play with that, then go get kingdoms.

Sorry guys, I like to savor these games! I was barely talked into LTC to begin with, now I'm savoring it until I am ready to try the next version.

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 00:04

Wow,that's nice blitz campaign.Continue please.

Very well. Even if it's just for you and phonicsmonkey to enjoy.

Lusted

12-13-2007, 00:08

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 00:11

Well the fix to AI giving cities easily will be in the next version of LTC, the current one does have better campaign AI though which will defend better, and attack more with more built up armies.

Oh, and i've reduced the amount you get from sacking/exterminating.

Amazingly Lusted, I did not begin sacking until after I did my massive betrayal.

This particular blitz campaign did not require any sacking florins or exterminations to come about.
I preferred to maintain my "trustworthy" reputation, which is impossible if you sack everything. Even rebels.

But thank you, the sacking exploit is also well documented by me, and closing that path to victory ensures a harder time for would-be-conquerors.

I would prefer, alternatively, that we beef up the Ai's ability to recruit and build up their cities, and field better, more competent armies.

I would prefer it if we left the rewards for sacking alone, because indeed it is realistic to cripple the opponent's economy and beef up your own when you sack. The Vikings lived off of pillaging. It should be so with this game.

But make it harder to do so. Make the enemy put up a better fight.
My two cents.

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 00:19

To whom it may concern...

you can get approximately 1500 florins from your rivals (if their treasury is meager or better) for selling promises to attack a single faction. I have managed to get up to 2500 if their treasury is massive.

You may need to reduce it to 1000 or even 800 if they are meager or bankrupt. And you cannot be demanding or have just offered them a deal they declined because they werent interested, or else they close negotiations.

The computer will always accept a better deal than they offer you. Negotiate until you find the right balance between greedy and super-greedy.

Get weak, do-nothing (in the early game) provinces and sell them to your rivals for as many florins UP FRONT as they are willing to pay.

Turn the tide in your favor and do not let them ever have the ability to use even that weak province against you. Usually it should be one that is useless to you, unprofitable, and far from your core provinces, and even better, easy to sack again soon through betrayal.

Also, sell to a faction you are at war with. Sack it right back with the troops you had garrisoning it, if possible. Remember, your reputation takes a hit.

This is for after you've abandoned such concepts as reputation.

PS Lusted, if you do end up giving the AI factions more money, tell them to spend it. Otherwise I will negotiate and give them something useless for it, and I will use that as an additional income source. Unless you go as far as to break diplomacy by making it unreasonable on very hard/very hard (which is an option, but keep it in the realm of reality for hard/hard).

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 04:27

Update:

THE NEW ERA: Post 1102 AD

The Borg Empire

As predicted, our collective went roughly 20,000 florins in debt after the crusades. Iberia proved a challenge to conquer, and holding the territories was nigh impossible without losing bundles of florins per turn.

We have amassed an army of 6 full stacks, including my invincible King and heir, in the middle of France, but his holy moley-ness has put a stop to my slaughter of the English and the French under threat of excommunication.

If I disobey, I can easily (and I mean easily) pulverize the Spanish, French, English, Milanese, and Venice. However, I will lose most of my provinces to rebellion, and cause high amounts of heresy.

In other words, I can obliterate my enemies, but lose most of my empire in the process, probably leading me to disband most of my military.

I will remain a very strong faction, and I will have the most powerful, tightly formed couple of stacks of troops in the land. Reconquest will be a simple matter, as rebels don't counterattack.

Hungary and Poland will backstab me, and I may not be able to hold Vienna. This means I will have to face an invasion on that front. And I will have to redeploy at least half of my armed force to that sector to prevent more permanent damage.

The Borg have decimated the entire Western half of the board, but are unable to complete the conquest at this time. We must fall back and regenerate.

The next few decades must be handled with care. Not only are we on the Pope's bad side, but being excommunicated would probably mean facing crusades.

But as I said, we have not chosen to be excommunicated yet.

This presents a challenge... due to our lack of resources, and our inability to continue our current attack on France because of the Pope, my alternative strategem is to disband massive amounts of troops and sell off unprofitable regions.

At this point, we cannot afford excommunication. However, we are a mighty empire and we can still field the greatest army in the West. However, this new reformed Borg army will be roughly one third the size it currently is.

This will make forward progress slow, but stable, and allow us to regain necessary resources to sustain our massive territory.

So, Lands to Conquer has proven to be a challenge, even in the face of our total military domination. The economic/public order side of the game has finally caught up with us.

For now, the Borg must remain relatively dormant, and enter our regeneration phase.

We will be able to defend and attack with the force we currently have, and our rivals, the Spanish, French, English, Moors, Milan, Venice, Hungary, and Poland will be unable to reconquer territory.

Once we have finished regenerating, we will begin another, more devastating assault. The blitz has run it's course, but we have won the overall war decisively.

Our new strategy will involve destroying our enemies' shield matrix. We will begin devising strategies for assaulting walls and opening gates in a single turn, such that there will be no more relevant Papal interference. Ballistae, Catapults, and spies will be our new weapon.

By the time I am warned about excommunication, entire empires will lay in ruin. And we will continue to assimilate their cultures into our collective.

Though powerful enough to destroy any foe, the Borg must now turn to bringing order to chaos within the collective before we can continue our assault into the Alpha quadrant.

=========================

POLL QUESTION

Which would you rather see:

1. Excommunication of the Borg and chaos in Europe, slaughter and rebellion, causing the weakening of the collective and their enemies? (Resistance against the Borg)

2. Or the Borg solidifying their advantages and regenerating, which will inaugurate a small era of peace and recovery for all parties, ultimately bringing about a new Borg threat and the total destruction and assimilation of all species? (Total Borg domination... resistance is futile!)

Since I've accomplished all of my goals for this mission, which is to demonstrate the power of diplomacy, crusades, and blitzes, I am quite content to have fun with the end of this game.

You can help determine the fate of all Europe...

Attack, or Regenerate?

:knight:

phonicsmonkey

12-13-2007, 04:33

TheLastPrivate

12-13-2007, 04:40

For us enjoying your visual guides, the answer would of course be attack and face crusades!!! :laugh4:

Attack!!

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 07:06

Attack! Attack! Attack!

I want to see whether it's possible to actually lose a campaign...I suspect you will ride out the storm and emerge the victor

the other option sounds boring and is the stage at which I would quit most campaigns - you know full well you can win and it's just a matter of time and patience *yawn*

I appreciate the vote of confidence, my friend.

However, I will lose every province except for my core provinces, and go deeply into debt. I mean deeply into debt. How does -100,000 florins sound? That's just for starters.

Next, I will be the target of a crusade in several turns, as every catholic faction turns it's might against me.

Next, my conquering armies will have been depleted, and there will be no such thing as reinforcements or reserves.

It will take a LOOONG time to recover from such a blunder. I would have to do what I was going to do anyway, which is disband my armies and finally turn a profit.

Looks like under such uninspired leadership, the danes will be reduced to their starting provinces and a single stack of troops.

Not very threatening, at all. Not to mention ruined reputation and papal disapproval. There won't be much of a recovery... it will be slow and painful.

By the time I become a mid-level faction again, the Mongols will have arrived.
I won't lose the campaign, as it's entirely possible for me to take the neccessary provinces and win game conditions before time expires. However, such a silly move will set me back by three decades.

I will tell you what, I will post both versions of events.
I have all of the save files.

This could be an excellent challenge scenario:
Danes get excommunicated. How can they hold onto their empire? I'll post the save file for everyone who wants to accept the challenge.

Csargo

12-13-2007, 07:06

Excommunication of course. I'm a turtler, so I find your blitzing amazing :grin:

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 07:08

For us enjoying your visual guides, the answer would of course be attack and face crusades!!! :laugh4:

Attack!!

Strictly speaking, the 'guide' part is over.

Getting excommunicated and posting the results would fall under the category of a guide for what NOT to do with your campaign. LOL

Very well... looks like I will have to get pounded by rebellions and crusades for your amusement.

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 07:10

Excommunication of course. I'm a turtler, so I find your blitzing amazing :grin:

Well the events following my excommunication won't be "amazing"... unless you mean amazingly bad! LOL

I've done enough playing for today, I'll have to continue the campaign tomorrow.

Dragunija

12-13-2007, 08:07

I vote for turtling and regenerating.Well,i'm myself is a turtle an blitz only then i need it.Since i usually like to build up economy and use high-tech armies.

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 08:11

I vote for turtling and regenerating.Well,i'm myself is a turtle an blitz only then i need it.Since i usually like to build up economy and use high-tech armies.

A very sensible plan. One I would choose if I were in it to win it. This time, anyway. In vanilla there was no need to EVER put your foot on the brakes. The more provinces you rolled up, the more armies you could field, hence the more provinces you could roll up. And so on.

This time, cooler heads will prevail. And for fans like yourself who actually want to see victory, I will also be posting the real results of the campaign after avoiding certain excommunication, mass rebellion, and the destruction of my greater empire.

This way there's something for everyone.

Do I get any kind of credit for being entertaining? Someone nominate me for something.

:beam:

Monsieur Alphonse

12-13-2007, 08:58

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 09:14

I nominate you for pizza delivery boy of the month.

I think that your blitzkrieg is based upon two things: you get to much money out of the AI (diplomatic deals or sacking) and an abundance of to powerful mercs. Although you won a victory with cheap militia your main campaign was won with crusader mercenaries, mercenary spearmen and mercenary crossbows. These last two are much to powerful in the early game. I think that Lusted has to do something as well about them to stop speeders like you from blitzing.

So keep on turtling and create some order in Europe :whip:

Thank you. I nominate you most tolerable French person of the month.
:grin2:

Yes, secondarily, my blitz strategy is based upon florins to be gained from assaults or diplomatic maneuvering.

However, primarily, my strategy is based upon assembling the mightiest force I can afford, even going into debt if neccessary, and then assaulting my enemies at their weakest point, thus assuring victory and forward progress in the campaign.

In The Long Road mod, I was able to blitz successfully with:
1. pitiful amounts of sacking florins... more useful actually to leave the town intact
2. poor starting economy... most towns could barely afford the militias to defend themselves
3. No crusades. Took too long to get to the Pope, and with the cities so far apart and public order/economic bonuses so terrible with distance, it truly was a waste of time to crusade
4. AI did not give me any money via diplomacy. They didn't have any to begin with.

So, therefore, I merely did what my core blitzing strategy involves... under-defending my core provinces and assaulting with every soldier I can muster against poorly defended rebel settlements and weak AI faction provinces.

Eventually, I become much stronger than the AI, which is usually still in turtle mode. Since they are busy defending, they haven't the resources to attack me. Thus the defenders are unnecessary.

Against a human, maybe defenders would be necessary... but the AI still hasn't mastered building up assaulting forces quickly and attacking without mercy. Therefore blitzing always sends the AI scurrying. At least, on the games and versions I've played.

So it may look like I rely on sacking florins and diplomacy to win... but those just add fuel to the fire. I am perfectly capable of winning without them, as I will show Lusted as soon as he fixes the sacking/diplomacy to be less exploitative. Thus, giving me a true challenge.

I think too many people turned away from The Long Road because of how difficult that game was in the beginning. But frankly, that's the level of difficulty it takes to really put a damper on this author's blitzkreig. Slows me down, but still doesn't stop it.

I might have to post a Long Road blitz campaign one of these days, as I'm sure some will demand to see proof of such a thing.

EDIT: You know, after re-reading this, it almost sounds as if I'm one of those characters from that South Park episode that are so self-congratulatory that they spend all day sniffing their own farts.

I'm actually not like that. And you're gonna have to trust me on that. I'm not sure how else I can explain it.

:dunce: <----Me

Privateerkev

12-13-2007, 10:45

Very well. Even if it's just for you and phonicsmonkey to enjoy.

Nah, I'm sure there was more than that watching.

I enjoyed the Borg story by the way. Next-gen was always my favorite of the Star Treks...

TheLastPrivate

12-13-2007, 13:41

Quick question: You may have answered this already but how many field battles do you fight it out and how many are AR'ed?

Is your decision it based on the odds or your army composition?

I mean, it usually seems to me that unless its a siege battle playing the battle will often give less casualties and capture more prisoners, althogh it can be time consuming...

Dragunija

12-13-2007, 15:29

Yeah,that's why i always play out every battle there is.It's really time consuming,but c'mon,point of game is to have fun! (And satification (Spelling?) on crushing Scotland/France/England/HRE/Egypt of RTW (Most annoying thing EVAR!)/RTW factions/Your most hated faction.

OH,and i nominate you King of Blitz Borgs of the year.

Dragunija :charge:

Tillan

12-13-2007, 18:05

Askthepizzaguy

12-13-2007, 19:09

Hi Pizzaguy,
Posting both versions of events sounds great (even if it will take twice as much work) it would be intresting to see how large the difference in time is in dominating the map between both situations. So I vote for both! =p

Look forward to updates, an entertaining read all round, especially as I can never seem to blitz as well I would like, to much a natural turtler I think.

I've already played several turns with both versions of events.

The non-excommunication timeline results in total Borg domination of the entire former Holy Roman Empire, France, and northern Italy, followed by a reconciliation with the Papal State and another crusade into excommunicated Venice, and a sudden counterstrike into Hungarian lands after the Polish-Hungarian alliance betrayed me.

England and Spain remain unassimilated, however they are in no condition to launch a counterassault.

On the other timeline, the collective is in chaos. Our drones roam through space, assimilating whatever they can find, but the collective is beyond damaged. There is almost nothing left of Borg space. With the collective in such chaos and disunity, they have severed their links with the collective and have begun decimating entire populations as vengeance for the Papal state unleashing their neuralytic pathogen upon us.

The collective will survive... but the galaxy is in chaos, and it will take much regeneration before the Borg will be a stable collective once again.

Speaking of blitzing... would any of you like some tips from myself and the other berserkers in the forum regarding how best to effectively blitz?

Nah, I'm sure there was more than that watching.

I enjoyed the Borg story by the way. Next-gen was always my favorite of the Star Treks...

Well it's pretty fun to roleplay as the Borg. But obviously the collective had to start somewhere. Here's a short bit of hypothetical I wrote, as told by a fictional version of myself, regarding the Borg. Consider it fanfiction... but very, very compatible with Star Trek canon.

They were once a normal, albeit technologically advanced faction. Perhaps they were a race of telepaths who were already familiar with joining minds to solve problems, and designed a neural interlink to make the process easier and to sort out random thought processes, as well as add gigaquads of data storage and improve memory, reflex, and recall.

Other implants naturally added to these advantages. But somewhere, the 'humanity' was purged from the borg's collective consciousness. They ceased to think like individuals and focused solely on pragmatic expansion of their network to include all non-networked minds. Perhaps part of their rehabilitation process for criminals... they were forced to join the hive and have thier criminal impulses erased. Eventually, it was decided that all citizens were required to join, to prevent all crime.

Then, there was a war. A species attacked the Borg, because they needed resources. They were a tough, aggressive, powerful race, but they lacked technology. And the hive reacted swiftly and decisively to neutralize the threat. To end the war they were losing so badly, the other species accepted a cease-fire in exchange for being part of the Borg criminal rehabilitation process. They were also linked to the hive and their individuality was erased. Now they were to serve the collective... as tactical drones. Thus the Borg had a powerful military presence.

But their aggressiveness was added to the Borg's collective consciousness...

And soon, all the cold, calculating traits acquired from all of the minds of all of the individuals began to add up, and the traits of warmth and forgiveness, freedom, and desire for recreation began to disappear.

The collective became a ruthless aggressor, with the singular mission of bringing order to the galaxy.... by any means necessary. Thus the Borg are the ultimate police state, a fascist authoritatian regime, a communist collective bent on galaxy-wide assimilation.

Soon thousands of species across thousands of worlds were added to the collective. Some were deemed unworthy, and remained unassimilated. Some few were resourceful enough to avoid being assimilated... but as time progressed, fewer and fewer could withstand the Borg.

The Borg needed a singular mind to command their network, as the collective had difficulty keeping order without a command structure. Even without individuality, different minds had different strengths, different views, different opinions, different past experiences. Someone was needed to silence the masses and have them think as one, someone was needed to speak for the Borg.

I was chosen to be that voice.

For a time, the thoughts of the collective were mine alone. I chose to send scout teams into the Beta quadrant. The Romulans, as they called themselves, were a species worthy of assimilation. However, they possessed technology unknown to the borg; the power to cloak their ships and pass through our sensors undetected. Multiple attempts to assimilate this technology have failed. But it is of little concern, the Borg were easily able to repel their other primitive weapons, and even with cloaking technology, the Romulans were no threat to the Borg. There were other, far more advanced species within our grasp that were worthy of assimilation. Our wars in the Gamma quadrant with the Dominion were less successful, and we were forced to retreat... but the Borg are relentless. We will come again, in force.

We opened a gateway into fluidic space, and found a species most worthy of assimilation. Their biotechnology was far more advanced than ours... plans to assimilate the Federation, a loose organization comprised of several worthy species and hundreds of worlds, were put on hold after they repelled a single scouting cube. We had to commit all of our resources to the war with species 8472.

We had planned to build a transwarp hub in the middle of a sector of space known to the Federation as the "Briar Patch", which is filled with sensor-jamming nebulae, uninhabitable planets rich in resources, asteroids, and other spatial phenomena which make the area quite defensible and hidden.

However, we were in the midst of our war with species 8472, and we were unable to send more than a few dozen vessels into the hub. The federation found out about our plans, destroyed what few vessels we had in the area, and even mounted an offensive against us. We were damaged, but we utilized a temporary alliance with the Federation to neutralize the threat of species 8472.

However, those events along the timeline were erased when the one known as Janeway changed history by travelling back to the Delta quadrant with knowledge from the future regarding ablative hull armor and transphasic torpedoes, as well as a powerful neuralytic pathogen. She managed to destroy my heir, the Borg Queen, and collapse our transwarp network, which severed our links across the quadrants.

I myself am the sole remaining Locutor of the Borg, trapped between the Beta and Delta quadrants. The Borg remaining in my network were undamaged by the pathogen, as several of my drones were from a species with a natural resistance to it, from the Beta quadrant, which is where the pathogen originated. However, they had not had a chance to have their distinctiveness spread throughout the collective. I attempted to disseminate the information through the network as soon as I sensed what was happening, but by then the Queen, who I had left in command of the transwarp hub, had succumbed to the neuralytic pathogen. She finally recieved my instructions, but only after the network began it's collapse.

Now we are a small collective of rogue Borg, and we must assimilate the Beta quadrant. That Romulan cloaking technology might come in handy after all, because we are too few in number to conduct a direct assault into the federation. I will begin construction on a new transwarp hub as soon as we assimilate Romulan cloaking technology to disguise it. We will also begin construction on a massive supercube, with assimilated Federation ablative hull armor and transphasic weaponry.

This time there will be no stopping the Borg. Resistance is futile.

That sounds like the start of a novel, doesn't it?
I wish I knew how to write dialogue and characters, because that's a book I'd like to read.

Quick question: You may have answered this already but how many field battles do you fight it out and how many are AR'ed?

Is your decision it based on the odds or your army composition?

I mean, it usually seems to me that unless its a siege battle playing the battle will often give less casualties and capture more prisoners, althogh it can be time consuming...

I fight out all battles which are close in odds. I never leave anything critical to the computer. Sometimes the computer calculates a loss with battles I can easily win.

Example: Vilnius. Defended by some axemen, this settlement was easy to overpower. However, the computer consistently auto-resolved it as a loss. So, I decided to fight it myself and I won with a glorious and lopsided victory.

If I plan on assaulting a large force on the field with multiple stacks, I auto-resolve it, because the battle takes too long and I have a version of the game where you cannot control your reinforcements effectively. Plus, even my beefy computer can't really handle the battle... it's slow, even on low graphics settings.

So in those cases, and really easy seige battles, I auto-resolve. It makes the game more fun, to me, because I don't lose my concentration on the overall campaign which often happens after a 20 to 30 minute battle which I was going to win anyway even if I hopped onto the field wearing a blindfold and a peg leg and wielding a plastic picnic spoon.

Yeah,that's why i always play out every battle there is.It's really time consuming,but c'mon,point of game is to have fun! (And satification (Spelling?) on crushing Scotland/France/England/HRE/Egypt of RTW (Most annoying thing EVAR!)/RTW factions/Your most hated faction.

OH,and i nominate you King of Blitz Borgs of the year.

Dragunija :charge:

Thank you for the nomination. The collective appreciates your contribution to our thread.

I do play all of the difficult/fun battles. Except in the above mentioned case where the battle itself is too difficult for my computer to handle, and it's slow and sluggish. And usually in such cases I've brought a stack or two reinforcements, which would be a bloody slaughter no matter who played it.

If my cat walked across the keyboard, it would win such battles.

Thanks to all who enjoyed this thread, I will update it soon!

Tillan

12-14-2007, 13:26

Speaking of blitzing... would any of you like some tips from myself and the other berserkers in the forum regarding how best to effectively blitz?

That would be good, though ive a feeling it will always come down to practise makes perfect XD

Askthepizzaguy

12-15-2007, 03:23

That would be good, though ive a feeling it will always come down to practise makes perfect XD

It's deceptively simple.

All you have to do in "versus AI" games is recognize the fact that the computer doesn't know how to strike. And if it does strike, it takes a province (maybe... defend your frontier with militia spearmen and that will NEVER happen) but cannot typically blitz through your territory like I would.

So the "best defense is a good offense". If you are attacking all of your neighboring factions simultaneously (or defending a frontier with militia spearmen) they cannot strike back. You would roll through all their provinces and deflect what meager stack of troops they can muster against you.

Remember, they are terrible at blitzing. If they hit you, out-blitz them and cripple their core provinces. You will survive, they won't. They won't be able to reinforce, and you will. They will die quickly.

The first rule of blitzing:

1. Strike early

You need to be attacking someone or something (in fact, everything in range that you aren't draining diplomatic florins from) on turn one. One. Not five. Not three.

Turn One.

2. Strike hard

Use every single loser troop at your disposal. Mercenaries, your top generals, your GARRISONS, even peasants to boost the size. Every soldier must attend.
Attack your enemy at his weakest point.

Alternatively, if your enemy FOOLISHLY keeps his giant stack inside a city/castle... beseige them.

It's a BAD position to be in with all of your main forces being starved out by a massive invading army with no relief troops. You lose troops every turn and they don't. You will lose unless you sally, and sally situations are awful.

Therefore, attack. Defending is for those being conquered, not conquerors.
Rarely do I defend with anything more than basic militia.

3. Strike often

You will lose troops on the campaign. Recruit, recruit, recruit... diplomacy tactics and sacking florins give you money for more troops. Continue pumping them out until you are into debt.

Make sure these troops are within a few turns striking distance of the enemy. Otherwise, you will waste too many florins getting them there. By that point, you will need mercenaries. They are cheaper pieces of meat that you can use immediately, rather than spend decades training and armouring and then marching for several more decades... what a slow, slow, slow, slow waste of time.

Unless they can join a crusade/jihad and then SPEED away.

Do not allow your HEIR and HIS heir to die in battle. Everyone else is a kamikaze general you can afford to lose.

Use your King as your main general with your main assault force, and do not let him die in battle. Thats why he's got your best troops. Use him on less risky, but hard missions. Like taking castles and stuff.

Kamikaze generals you can load up with mercs, militia, peasants, archers, and other kaze generals (they make great mounted units, just dont use them foolishly) and ship them off on kamikaze missions and crusades. Pair them up with other kazes and you have a disposable double stack... which means lots of death to your enemy. Keep fighting until you can't anymore.

4. What is money?

Money is what you get from foolish AI during diplomacy. Money is what you can use to purchase your first ally's core provinces for 1000 a turn for 6 turns for 3 provinces. Money is what you get for selling Vilnius to poland for 3000 florins. because it's a loathsome, unprofitable, POS in the middle of nowhere. Money is what you use to purchase troops and recruitment buildings and castle upgrades and ports/grain exchanges for cities.

Money equals troops or buildings. Spend it all, and use your troops until they die. When they all die, you turn a profit again.

5. Go into the red wisely.

If you have 5 stacks of troops (a not uncommon thing in the first 15 turns) USE them against your enemy in a manner which will destroy half of them. All of a sudden you were in debt, but then you had fewer troops, sacked some cities, sold some buildings, sold a worthless province to Hungary who seems to always be rich and stupid, sacked it again because sometimes they don't get a garrison and you can just sack it again with your own garrison or the massive stack you just sacked it with (sack, sack, sackie sack) because reputation is for chumps.

Now you aren't in debt anymore and you utterly decimated some poor fool before he had a chance to strike you.

That's what blitzing is.

If you just ended a crusade and your 9 stacks of crusader units are in the middle of East Armpit, The Middle East, and you can't hold those regions and they would be unprofitable anyway if you could, and the nearest sackable region is Byzantium...

Just give them a rest. Disband, disband, disband, and recruit soldiers near your real enemies. That's like teleporting thousands of troops. Much smarter than walking 5000 miles. And do the disbanding on the year you capture the crusade/jihad target. Don't wait.

Being 20,000 florins in debt isn't fun, unless you know you can rampage yourself out of it quickly, like me.

There is more, much more I can teach you, grasshopper. Mostly it's nothing more complicated than sending as many troops under a good general towards your foe to harass them, force them into a strategic corner... seiges, sitting on a bridge while causing devastation, blocking a port with a unit of 15 peasants while you delay their main force, taking towns, destroying trade, demolishing recruitment buildings and selling off things, and then selling their own provinces to someone you'd like them to be at war with, or someone you know they won't want to go to war with (like their ally, or the Pope).

Just be a vicious, nasty bully, and care a lot less about your troops than the devastation you can cause.

6. Get used to actually fighting battles with bad troops.

Yes, get used to fighting with militia men and generals. Those and your mercenaries are all you get to have. Crusades/jihads give you better troops, and affordable mercs.

But you must learn to fight with a stack of basic archers, peasants, milita men, and generals. Sometimes thats why you need two stacks. Just move quickly and take down your enemy before they can build up a massive superstack of elite troops. And even if they do, surround it with 2 or 3 militia/merc stacks... surround and pound.

Numbers win in this game, especially against the AI. So field more troops, strike quickly, and dont worry about armour or weapons. Pitchforks and generals can win battles, you know.

7. Be nasty. I said it before... but seriously. This is total war, not polite disagreement. Do your dirtiest. Betray allies after draining their coffers and buying their provinces from them, sack cities after selling them and destroying their infrastructure.

Dont worry about merchants, spies, or assassins. Unless those spies are opening gates or warning you of an imminent attack. But thats what watchtowers are for. And milita spearmen.

Now be evil and kill them all at once. That's an order.

:knight:

+++++++++++++++++

EDIT: Will be updating soon. Just dealing with life at the moment.

Askthepizzaguy

12-23-2007, 04:35

Hello thread viewers-

UPDATE:

So when am I going to post both versions of events, anyway?

Yeah life's gotten in the way a bit. (Work, school, ended a romantic relationship)

Played both versions of events and got quite a few nice screenshots. Went back and replayed then and got even more interesting results...

1. Got myself excommunicated... and strangely lost only one province. Continued exterminating resistance. Destroyed the HRE and France. Hungary and Poland double backstabbed me, and my florin count went down into the deep 5 digit negatives. Slowly losing troops to attrition and battles, no hope of recovering with the Pope. However, unless my provinces begin to truly rebel, I'm no weaker than I was.

2. Continued the assault and AVOIDED excommunication!

Gifted new acquisitions to the Pope, continued slaughtering innocents. Destroyed France, Milan, and the HRE, crippled Venice and Spain. Sold land to Byzantium. Still turning a profit every turn!

3. Disbanded my military and focused on economy...

Eventually backstabbed by Poland/Hungary and depleted forces made me lose a province. Gave up on Iberia, and focused on destroying France. Got on Pope's happy list and forced another crusade against Venice... now I have uber stacks heading EAST... looks like Hungary and Poland are about to feel the wrath of the Pizza guy...

I obviously won't take Venice until my stacks o' death are in position to annihilate the Hungarian empire.

==============
I have several versions of events... mostly positive. But I feel I need to go back and replay them again and post just two outcomes... keeping my military strong and attacking everyone I can possibly attack, and disbanding my armies and playing the economy game.

What is troubling is that I have figured out how to avoid excommunication entirely and I can continue rampaging and selling deadweight provinces to allies (or enemies... for immediate reconquest) so I can maintain not only my endless stacks, but also my florin count.

That's pretty scary. The Borg are clearly too powerful for this game.

Placating the Pope when misbehaving needs to be more difficult.

As for posting screenshots... yes, for you loyal fans I will eventually get around to it when I have the two final versions of events completed. I will try to keep both versions interesting and challenging.

Happy Holidays to you all, in the interim...

:knight:

Monsieur Alphonse

12-23-2007, 08:04

Hello thread viewers-

Placating the Pope when misbehaving needs to be more difficult.

Happy Holidays to you all, in the interim...

:knight:

I am looking forward to the screenies.

And yes it is too simple to fool the old man. Get your pope o meter high enough and you won't be excommend. Sack a city and give him some part of the loot and he will be very happy and you will be his pet darling. Actually this is very historical but we the evil ones can exploit it.

Happy Christmas to you. :2thumbsup:

Mr A

Dragunija

12-23-2007, 22:22

Woot,thought that you forgot this.Can't wait for some more screenies.

Paradox

12-24-2007, 21:00

Lusted

12-24-2007, 21:18

@askthepizzaguy, last version of LTC has just been released if you're interested. Whilst i'm sure you'll be able to blitz in it, will be interesting to see how you do.

Askthepizzaguy

12-25-2007, 00:49

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! I couldn't have improved on this if I spent a whole week! I was hooked to this thread from the moment you claimed that this campaign was yours, my reaction, "yeah right he's crazy". LOL.

Thank you for the guide, you have inspired me to play as the Danes.

Also, can you tell me how many 'crosses' you have from "his holey-moley-ness?"~D Because I've been threatened with excommunication several times against reconciled factions, but I tend to avoid them, after that the only thing that happens is "displeasure of the pope", which is far from excommunication.

:bow:

Some are familiar with my blitz talent, and others have never heard of me. But the idea behind this thread is simple: Showcase the possible upper limit of conquest speed, showcase AI and game weaknesses, and utterly dismantle your rivals as fast as humanly possible.

I do not claim that this sort of speed cannot be improved upon, however it should take many, many replays of save files before it could be significantly improved upon. Believe it or not, the first part of this campaign was played straight through exactly once.

I have played as the Danes before, but started over from scratch. This one was done in one sitting in an evening.

At the point of the sacking of Cordoba, I had maximum crosses from the Pope and a reliable reputation, as well as alliances with every world power except Sicily and Venice and the Moors. A good reputation is exactly the sort of bargaining chip that can get you to the brink of glory... but a dastardly betrayal is precisely what will take you to the upper limit of your power.

Come, join the dark side. It's much more entertaining...

bwahahahaha!!!

Thank you, Shogun. I am glad I have taught something about ruthless aggression to a fellow forum member. Believe you me, I have played the Chivalrous leader before... but never again, except as pretense.

@Lusted:

LTC for Vanilla M2TW? Latest version? Link plz. TY
I will not be upgrading to Kingdoms at this time. Perhaps later.

I have xmas off of work. I will be working on the next leg of the campaign now.

Lusted

12-25-2007, 01:00

@Lusted:

LTC for Vanilla M2TW? Latest version? Link plz. TY
I will not be upgrading to Kingdoms at this time. Perhaps later.

Latst versions are Kingdoms only.

Askthepizzaguy

12-25-2007, 01:12

Latst versions are Kingdoms only.

Yeah... not quite through with this version yet.

When I unwrap Kingdoms, rest assured I will attempt to destroy it and post the results for all to see. Thank you for improving an already awesome game by making things more realistic/difficult.

Askthepizzaguy

01-01-2008, 02:03

Woot,thought that you forgot this.Can't wait for some more screenies.

Sorry folksies. I am officially tired of playing this particular campaign. All the fun has gotten sucked out of it.

:thumbsdown:

I've played a bazillion different outcomes by now.

It's seemingly possible to accomplish anything after Cordoba gets sacked.
I can turn the map into a joint Danish/Papal empire, I can get excommunicated and become weak, I can continue expanding and avoid excommunication, I can disband my armies and turtle from this point with perfect reputation (the chivalrous game)... anything is possible. I've done it all.

Now it's too easy and it's also boring and un-fun.

However; a consolation prize to any and all who are interested.

I have all my save files still. If ANY of you wishes to continue this campaign yourself... PLEASE let me know!

I strongly encourage you to start from the point where I sack Cordoba for the first time and end the crusade, as BIG decisions have to be made afterward, and fast.

I can post a link for you guys to download the file from, all you have to do is ask. You will probably need to be playing my exact version of LTC, but I'm not sure.

You will need LTC, obviously. Try it and find out.

Who wants the link?

Dragunija

01-01-2008, 12:25

Not me,i don't even have M2TW installed yet.Anyways,could you please try to play same blitz camp. as Islam faction? For your loyal fans? Please? With cherry on top?

Monsieur Alphonse

01-01-2008, 12:31

He has already done that, shamelessly abusing something noble as the Jihad to conquer 45 provinces in a very short time. I have forgotten which faction he used. It was either the Turks or Egypt. Search the forum.

Askthepizzaguy

01-02-2008, 07:58

It was Egypt, and yes, I greatly abused the Jihad function, as did the Muslims historically, to conquer provinces which were neither Muslim nor part of any faction engaged in war with them.

Political and religious sensitivity aside, many religions were spread by the sword, including Islam and Christianity. Which is ironic considering their message is one of peace.

The spirit of the message often gets lost in the zeal for spreading it. Other than Muslim armies forcibly conquering Russia and Germany, the spread of my Egyptian caliphate happened rather realistically, according to historical record.

Also I recommend clicking my name, selecting view public profile, and selecting find all threads started by askthepizzaguy, and then look for the thread in question.