Russia: Visual strategy guide

[sirnoob]

errrrr pizzaguy the pictures won't work again this time its not the bandwidth it just shows little crosses.

[Askthepizzaguy]

errrrr pizzaguy the pictures won't work again this time its not the bandwidth it just shows little crosses.

That is odd, Sirnoob. I just checked and they are working perfectly.

Anyone else have any problems with viewing?

[Odin]

Anyone else have any problems with viewing?

they worked for me. Yet another entertaining thread mate.

[sirnoob]

Now it does work yay now i don't have to read the captions

[Rebellious Waffle]

Here's an idea for a challenge: the Polybius Rush.

For the very element of unexpectedness in the events I have chosen as my theme will be sufficient to challenge and incite everyone, young and old alike, to peruse my systematic history. For who is so worthless or indolent as not to wish to know by what means and under what system of polity the Romans in less than fifty-three years have succeeded in subjecting nearly the whole inhabited world to their sole government — a thing unique in history? Or who again is there so passionately devoted to other spectacles or studies as to regard anything as of greater moment than the acquisition of this knowledge?

The conditions for the Polybius Rush would be as follows:

1) Use an Italian faction (Venice, Milan, Sicily).
2) Conquer the Italian peninsula, fighting only defensive wars against non-Italians until the peninsula has been conquered. Do not conquer any non-Italian provinces before conquering Italy. Taking Rome is optional.
3) Conquer and hold the following territories: the two rebel settlements on the Iberian peninsula, Toulouse, Marseilles, Corsica, Sardinia, Tunisia, Crete, Rhodes, Durazzo, Zagreb, Ragusa, Corinth, Thessalonica, Constantinople, Nicaea, Smyrna, Nicosia, Antioch, Acre, Jerusalem. The rest of the Iberian peninsula, North Africa, Caesarea and Trezibond are desirable but not required.
4) Ally with Egypt. Conquering the Egyptians' starting provinces is an acceptable alternative but not required.
5) Accomplish (3) and (4) in no more than 26 turns after accomplishing (2). (i.e. 52 years' game time.)
6) Bonus points: avoid conquering France before (3) has been accomplished. Once (3) has been accomplished, immediately conquer France. After conquering France, proceed to conquer Caernavon, Caen, London, and York. Refrain from conquering Inverness, Edinburgh, and Dublin.
7) Bonus points: complete the long campaign victory conditions without destroying the following factions: Russia, Poland, Denmark, Germany, Scotland. Avoid conquering any European provinces east of the Rhine until the rest of Europe, North Africa, Egypt, the Levant, and Asia Minor are under your control.

The idea is to replicate the Classical history of Roman expansion in a Medieval setting, taking over more-or-less the same places in approximately the same order over the same span of time.

I'm not sure if it's technically possible, but you said you were up for a challenge...

[Askthepizzaguy]

An interesting if complicated challenge.

As soon as I am done with the HRE challenge, which I am confident I will win

(already managed 50 provinces by turn 16, forgot to take Rome)

I will consider another challenge

[Rebellious Waffle]

The challenge might be more straightforward in a summarized form:



FIGHT:

The Samnite wars.
The Macedonian wars.
The Punic wars.
The Selucid war.

ACQUIRE:


Italy
Sicily (Sicily became a Roman satellite state during the Punic Wars)
Messana (Marseilles)
Toulouse (Coastal settlements between Italy and Nearer Spain)
The two rebel settlements on the Iberian peninsula (Nearer Spain)
Corsica
Sardinia
Carthage (Outcome of the third Punic War)
Greece (Outcome of the Macedonian War)
The Levant (As long as you've got legions fighting the Seleucids...)
Eastern Asia Minor. (Attalus III of Pergamon willed it to the Roman Republic in 133 BC)

ALLY:

Egypt. Egypt became a fides of the Roman Republic after the Punic Wars, but was conquered later by Augustus -- hence the acceptability of conquering Egypt. Also, conquering Egypt is acceptable in case the AI decides to be a bastidge and refuse all offers of alliance.


BONUS:

Gaul and Britannia were conquered after the Mediterranean states.
Rome never quite got around to taking and holding Germany. (Arminius saw to that during the Battle of Teutoberg Forest)
Hungary is about where Dacia used to be, but Trajan is a long way off from the Roman Republic.
The Romans never got farther north than Hadrian's wall.

[Askthepizzaguy]

I know that this is a M2TW forum, but since you're posting a roman challenge, I thought I might add to this.

If you happen to own a copy of vanilla RTW, try this challenge:

Start as either the Julii, the Bruti, or the Scipiones. (Correct latin names for three factions that did not exist)

Use your diplomats and armies to take over the area of conquest typical for the other two factions. In other words, as the Bruti, quickly sake Sicily and box in the Scipiones, while sending soldiers and a diplomat north to bribe a Julian army and take the Gaulish lands typically conquered by the Julii. Then prepare an invasion into Carthage to ensure your domination of the Scipiones, and take the island that the Julii takes. Now that you have the other two great families boxed in, play defensively on those two fronts and invade Greece.

At this point, you should have enough territory to begin an all-out assault playing as basically the entire Roman empire by yourself. This is both challenging in terms of logistics, and in having to face the entire world at once without AI assistance as a roman faction.

The bonus is, the civil war will be a piece of cake, obviously. Just crush what's left of the traitors.

Bonus x2: Right before the civil war starts, bribe their armies and leave them even more defenseless. You should be able to take control of Italy without much bloodshed. As a good Roman, you prefer it that way.

Good luck