Egypt: Visual strategy guide

[Askthepizzaguy]

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This thread is the Egypt visual strategy guide, as voted upon by forum members. The general strategy for Egypt is quick expansion. The difficulty level on a scale of 1-10 is about a 3. You need only basic skills to succeed here, but a decent strategy is called for.

Overview:
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Egypt begins with 3 provinces and some basic garrison forces. Nothing particularly threatening, except perhaps to Jerusalem. In order to turn Egypt into a mighty Sultanate, we must expand quickly. I understand that many players prefer the slow and steady approach, however this will backfire. Turkey will expand and take the rebel provinces nearby if you do not, and your Sultanate will not have enough forces to repel the Mongol and Timurid invasion if you halt your expansion there. In the long view, a slow expansion is suicidal. Therefore we must move quickly; the Jedi are relentless.
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Turn 1- Egypt begins with the lucky ability to declare a jihad through your Imam, Mahfouz. You should take advantage of this ability immediately. Because we will want to expand quickly, a short jihad would prove almost useless. I chose the most distant target for my assault; Novgorod, Russia. You could also choose Lisbon or Baghdad, but I prefer the long road. Let's begin the crusade by joining all of our existing forces together. Use all of your generals. We will use the spare florins from the lack of troop upkeep to recruit more generals. Since our faction leader is 60, don't even count him among the living. He will be dead shortly.

While we are on jihad, do not forget to expand your borders at home. Recruit and expand. Rebels are easy to conquer, therefore send your weakest generals after them. Do not forget to promote captains by engaging in battle with wandering troop stacks. Generals are the lifeblood of your Sultanate.

Turn 2- by now you should have laid seige to Jerusalem and to Acre, and amassed a total of two nearly full stacks of troops. Recruit maximum troops and mercenaries. I used a mercenary ship to travel from Alexandria to Acre. You are on your way to greatness.

Turn 3- Now you must prove your worth. You must take Jerusalem! It is easier to auto-resolve this battle, but you must learn how to fight, so I am asking you to fight it. My tactic was to feint towards the walls with my ladders and seige tower, while battering down the gate. Once the ladders were up and the seige tower was in place, I ordered my troops to stop and reform. By now the gate was almost down, and I moved my cavalry into position. The gate opened up, and I charged straight towards the city center, leaving the guards on the towers the option of either letting me take the town, or having to crawl down and fight like men. I soon overpowered the garrison at the city center, and the morale bonus from having a general and being atop a wall was nullified. I was fighting on two fronts, in the middle of a narrow road between the gate and the center of town, but my advantage was clear. Their general fell, and soon the troops at my rear were
routing. Then it was simply a march forward to hack the stragglers to pieces.

Victory, my Sultan! Losses: 300 brave Muslim fighters. May Allah smile upon their noble sacrifice. You may lose fewer troops if you auto-resolve this fight.
By the end of the turn I was beseiging Antioch and Damascus, moving towards my target, Novgorod.

Turn 4- Antioch should fall quite easily, as you are more than a match for them. However, Damascus is well prepared for you. The losses from your previous battle have made you too weak to take this city without devastating casualties. So your king rides to the rescue from Antioch, and the two armies overpower Damascus. I recommend auto-resolving these two battles, as they are too simple to learn much from.

Now you have Antioch and Damascus, so continue north before you lose too many troops to desertion. Meanwhile, build up your cities with military buildings and masjids, and recruit like crazy. Your pillaging florins should more than match your expenses, and you should be floating 20,000+ florins by now.

Turn 5- Consolidate what's left of your forces and take Aleppo. By now you should have only one useful stack. Have your prince command this stack and head east. Have your other general return south for some fresh troops, alone.

Your castles should be producing cavalry by now and there should be some fresh infantry as well. Now, you own Aleppo, Antioch, Damascus, Acre, Jerusalem, Gaza, Alexandria, and Cairo, tripling the
size of your Sultanate in just five short turns. You are well on your way to controlling the middle east.

Your status: By now you should have recruited as many troops as you can muster, and possibly an Imam or two. Move your spy north as quickly as possible so he can assist with opening gates, if possible. Your garrisons from Alexandria and Cairo could be used to march south into Dongola, securing that small province and moving you one step closer to world domination. However, we still have an active Jihad, and a general moving south to pick up some more recruits, so leave them where they are for now. They will join the Jihad when the general is in range, and then catch up with your prince via boat. You will want to expand quickly but maintain peace with your neighbors. This is a critical time for you, so you should avoid unnecessary conflict. Do not attack the Turks or Byzantium just yet. Wait until your forces are more powerful.

The jihad strategy allows you to expand quickly while not going into debt. Remember, the Mongols are coming and you will need to have a very strong defensive army to repel them; something you are not likely to have if this is the extent of your expansion. Troops are expensive and they need provincial taxes in order to pay for them, therefore we need provinces.

Don't worry too much about domestic concerns just yet; all your provinces are experiencing high public order and are content to be left alone for now. I do recommend troop producing buildings and level one masjids, for both public order, religious conversion, and recruitment concerns, which are your priority.
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Visuals: Click to view

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Egypt's starting territory. I highly recommend that you move east and take as many provinces as possible. If you choose to do this without utilizing the Jihad strategy, I recommend you get a single, massive stack and systematically take one city after another, and don't neglect sending fresh troops as reinforcements.



Calling a jihad greatly enhances your ability to fight. I chose Novgorod because it has many ripe provinces in between it and my standing armies. This will allow you to pick up several provinces on the way. Remember, you don't have to use Jihads or Crusades as easy methods of expansion, but I would if I were you.

This strategy guide will not use exploits. It is possible to not lose troops to desertion for 10 turns by leaving/joining the jihad every turn, offering you total freedom of movement. However, this exploit is not fair unless you are doing a speed run, which adds to the challenge. Therefore, we will be losing troops to desertion in this guide. However, using jihads is fair game, as every Catholic faction could crusade their way into my territory at any time.



All western beginning troops join the Jihad.



The eastern troops join as well.



Your progress by the end of turn 2 should be similar to this. You are ready to take two settlements. Be sure to sack them; you need the florins.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Note the composition of these armies; quite pitiful indeed. Luckily, at this point in the game you do not need skill or powerful weapons, just massive numbers of troops following any brave general.



This is a great battle to cut your teeth on. It is quite winnable, but you cannot blunder too badly or you will pay for it. The garrison forces are rather large. Fight boldly, but fight intelligently.



Your troops are ready for deployment. But this formation is terrible; you are wide open to be shot to death by their archers. Minimize your losses! Every man you lose is another man who cannot fight for you! They may be peasants but they are the only warriors you have for the moment.



This formation allows a quick run for your ladders directly to the walls, positions the seige tower strategically such that archers will fire upon it, possibly allowing your battering ram to survive. You must batter down the gate for this seige to be successful, so avoid getting your ram burned at all costs.



The ladders were a ruse! I abandon them completely and march directly to the gate! Had the computer anticipated this tactic, and deployed all their men in front of the gate, I would have reversed this strategy and went ahead with scaling the walls. There is no downside to using this ruse. Once the gate is down, the rebels are doomed.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The gate is down! Commence the attack on the Death Star's main reactor!

Seriously, charge toward the center of town and ignore the archers and militia on the walls. The city center must be held for 3 minutes if you wish to win the battle, or all the enemy forces must die. Either way, your best place to fight is in the middle of town. So get there already!



Quickly overwhelm the central garrison, and then turn around and fight whatever might be left behind you.

In my case, I was lucky enough to slay their general, which causes all the defenders behind you to start routing, instantly killing them as they attempt to 'flee' through your mass of troops towards the city center.

See? There's a method to my madness.



Sacking Acre and Jerusalem allows you to have a serious starting treasury. Somehow, 8000 florins just doesn't cut it for me.



Leave one scrawnly little unit behind as a garrison and march forward. You don't have to worry about, nor can you afford, defending your cities properly at this point. You just have to risk it and keep conquering. Sitting and defending your cities makes you a sitting and defending duck. That means it is only a matter of time before the Turks put you out of your misery.



Antioch should fall easily, but Damascus will not, unless you send reinforcements to your seige army.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Damascus is a relatively simple battle when you have two strong stacks. March north and take Aleppo.



Auto-resolving this battle might be a good idea, but Aleppo is a good practice target. Focus on winning the battle quickly with minimal losses. That means killing archers quickly with your cavalry and melee troops, and then charging their horse archers with your generals. Try to avoid losing a general, but at this point your faction leader is disposable. He will die soon anyway. Use his unit as your shock troops and dont worry if he dies.

Were this not Egypt, Turkey, or Russia I could honestly recommend an alternative strategy, however you must expand to survive with these three factions. There is no slow, economic building game with these factions. You must prepare for the coming Mongol invasion.

Turns 1-5 are now complete. The next post will include turns 6-10.

[Yun Dog]

Pizza guy

Im enjoying your picture book guide. Good work.

I have to say personally I find the Jihad 'strategy' a bit cheezy, a bit like stuffed cheezy crust pizzas

Jihads only used to be able to be called to reclain a muslim city

and its not like the difficulty (evne on VH) makes it a necessary strat - u could still take the required lands without the Jihad and role play it a bit.

The games easy enough without using cheesey moves.... as if it needed to be made any easier or quicker

nice work on the guide anyway

[Askthepizzaguy]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Pizza guy

Im enjoying your picture book guide. Good work.

I have to say personally I find the Jihad 'strategy' a bit cheezy, a bit like stuffed cheezy crust pizzas

Jihads only used to be able to be called to reclain a muslim city

and its not like the difficulty (evne on VH) makes it a necessary strat - u could still take the required lands without the Jihad and role play it a bit.

The games easy enough without using cheesey moves.... as if it needed to be made any easier or quicker

nice work on the guide anyway

Interesting...

So far, all the cities I have taken were Muslim or had Muslim populations.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Jihads were not used only for reclaiming Muslim cities. Jihads have been called on the enemies of Islam throughout history. Arab Muslims sacked Caesarea and Constantinople whilst on Jihad. Jihads, like Crusades, were sometimes misused to capture cities that were never part of the nations undertaking the 'holy' war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offensive_jihad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad#Jihad_as_warfare
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad#S...bian_peninsula
The Quran is quoted and used as the basis for these offensive types of Jihad.

Indeed, Jihad was used historically to claim territory and establish supremacy in the Arab world. The methods used are well-founded in the reality of Jihad as an instrument of warfare.

As for necessary, no, I do not feel it is necessary to go after Novgorod. However, if the goal is expansion, Novgorod makes a logical target. After all, a strategy guide would be silly if it chose to take the least active route to victory. This leaves margin for error for novice players.

Logically speaking, the strongest tactical move is the one that results in the greatest reward for the least amount of effort. This guide will be taking the strongest tactical route to victory.

I assure you, if the expansion continues at this rate, I will indeed be encountering resistance, and the difficulty level will be rising. Stay tuned, because it is about to get interesting.

Thank you for the feedback! I look forward to seeing more posts on here.

[Privateerkev]

I would balk at calling jihads "cheesy" since your simply using a provided game mechanic. Its just not my style. For those of us who would prefer to sit and build, do you think a viable strategy would be to sit back and let someone else take the middle east? Let the giants get tired battering each other and swoop in to pick up the pieces? When I get around to playing Egypt, I think that is what I would try.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I would balk at calling jihads "cheesy" since your simply using a provided game mechanic. Its just not my style. For those of us who would prefer to sit and build, do you think a viable strategy would be to sit back and let someone else take the middle east? Let the giants get tired battering each other and swoop in to pick up the pieces? When I get around to playing Egypt, I think that is what I would try.

I would avoid this strategy, as it leaves you quite vulnerable. As mentioned previously, any faction that potentially shares a border with the Mongol hordes cannot afford to be lax. Russia, Turkey, and Egypt will all be wiped out if the do not expand either into each other's territory or to the west, as their starting position is too close to the eastern edge of the map and their starting positions are not large enough to provide enough troops to repel the hordes.

I am willing to listen to anyone who has made such a strategy work and defeated the Mongol and Timurid hordes.

My reasoning for using the expansionist strategy:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Think of it this way: has the AI ever defeated the hordes? Unless for some freak reason one AI faction takes half the map and by luck happens to have several large stacks just hanging around the eastern steppes, they are going to be toast when the first few waves of Mongols arrive and begin thier slaughter and conquest. Perhaps the western states can afford to sit and wait, using Russia, Asia Minor, and the Middle East as a buffer zone, and perhaps utilizing crusades to repel the invaders, but the factions sitting on the border cannot; especially if they refuse to expand.

If anyone has proof of a "wait and see" build strategy working for Egypt or Turkey, please post it on this board. I'm open to the possibility that I am wrong on this... it just seems like bad strategy to me.

One more thing; if we were facing human opponents, a slow expansion or "perfectionist" strategy would prove fatal. You would have to use large standing armies purely for defense, and an expansionist would gain enough AI territories to wipe you out.

Simply put, staying small and vulnerable never seems like a good idea, unless the goal of the game is to roleplay and have fun. If the object is victory, and you border the Mongols, you need to be more expansionist.

That's the theory I am operating on, anyway.

I invite all those who subscribe to perfectionist theory (for Turkey, Russia, or Egypt) to post proof of their accomplishments on this thread. The turn number must be around turn 80 or later, and the Mongols and the Timurids must both have been vanquished from the map. According to perfectionist theory, you cannot have expanded too far into anyone else's territory, merely taken rebel settlements.

It is interesting to note; the expansionist strategy I am using is providing me enough pillaging florins to build up not only my original cities, but also the new conquests. Essentially, I am a perfectionist with more cities at this point. I do believe it is a superior strategy.

This forum is open for debate, so make your voice heard! I've never tried bribing the Mongols and suing for peace with them, because you are putting the safety of your own nation in jeopardy. You are banking your future on the bet that the AI is stupid. If they had any sense they would crush you. It is a war game, after all. If such a strategy succeeded it would be merely because the AI for the hordes is sub-par. If a human were in control of the hordes, you would be surely defeated.

And of course, any fellow expansionists feel free to back me up on this.

[BattleN00b]

Expansionism is both fun and useful! Too bad that the Orthodox factions don't have Crusades/Jihads. Wonder what you'd do with them...

Excellent guide, askthepizzaguy, I'm gonna try to apply it what's the difficulty setting here, btw?

[Askthepizzaguy]

Difficulty is on VH/VH. I play to win.

[andrewt]

I would balk at calling jihads "cheesy" since your simply using a provided game mechanic. Its just not my style. For those of us who would prefer to sit and build, do you think a viable strategy would be to sit back and let someone else take the middle east? Let the giants get tired battering each other and swoop in to pick up the pieces? When I get around to playing Egypt, I think that is what I would try.

That's not going to work simply because half the units or so of the Mongols and Timurids have 0 upkeep. Even though the AI is stupid and still builds the other units, it builds enough of the 0 upkeep units that its armies just get larger and larger. Once either the Mongols and Timurids settle, they will start cranking out more and more of these 0 upkeep units and get really large armies.

When I played the Moors, I decided to go to the Americas. I ignored the Mongols and Timurids because I'm so far away from them. The Mongols conquered most of Russia, Nicaea and everything east of it. The Timurids have Egypt's lands up to Acre. At the end of the game, the Mongols have around 18 stacks near Nicaea.

[Privateerkev]

I would avoid this strategy, as it leaves you quite vulnerable. As mentioned previously, any faction that potentially shares a border with the Mongol hordes cannot afford to be lax. Russia, Turkey, and Egypt will all be wiped out if the do not expand either into each other's territory or to the west, as their starting position is too close to the eastern edge of the map and their starting positions are not large enough to provide enough troops to repel the hordes.

I am willing to listen to anyone who has made such a strategy work and defeated the Mongol and Timurid hordes.

My reasoning for using the expansionist strategy:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Think of it this way: has the AI ever defeated the hordes? Unless for some freak reason one AI faction takes half the map and by luck happens to have several large stacks just hanging around the eastern steppes, they are going to be toast when the first few waves of Mongols arrive and begin thier slaughter and conquest. Perhaps the western states can afford to sit and wait, using Russia, Asia Minor, and the Middle East as a buffer zone, and perhaps utilizing crusades to repel the invaders, but the factions sitting on the border cannot; especially if they refuse to expand.

If anyone has proof of a "wait and see" build strategy working for Egypt or Turkey, please post it on this board. I'm open to the possibility that I am wrong on this... it just seems like bad strategy to me.

One more thing; if we were facing human opponents, a slow expansion or "perfectionist" strategy would prove fatal. You would have to use large standing armies purely for defense, and an expansionist would gain enough AI territories to wipe you out.

Simply put, staying small and vulnerable never seems like a good idea, unless the goal of the game is to roleplay and have fun. If the object is victory, and you border the Mongols, you need to be more expansionist.

That's the theory I am operating on, anyway.

I invite all those who subscribe to perfectionist theory (for Turkey, Russia, or Egypt) to post proof of their accomplishments on this thread. The turn number must be around turn 80 or later, and the Mongols and the Timurids must both have been vanquished from the map. According to perfectionist theory, you cannot have expanded too far into anyone else's territory, merely taken rebel settlements.

It is interesting to note; the expansionist strategy I am using is providing me enough pillaging florins to build up not only my original cities, but also the new conquests. Essentially, I am a perfectionist with more cities at this point. I do believe it is a superior strategy.

This forum is open for debate, so make your voice heard! I've never tried bribing the Mongols and suing for peace with them, because you are putting the safety of your own nation in jeopardy. You are banking your future on the bet that the AI is stupid. If they had any sense they would crush you. It is a war game, after all. If such a strategy succeeded it would be merely because the AI for the hordes is sub-par. If a human were in control of the hordes, you would be surely defeated.

And of course, any fellow expansionists feel free to back me up on this.

Anytime I have played as England, I crusade to the holy lands early on and I am always able to hold off both hordes. Of course I play on E/E and I have the United Kingdom providing me enough funds to maintain two good stacks that simply hold whatever river crossings are near the invaders. And of course alot of strategies would fail against human players. Humans can and do exploit the mechanics of the game to the fullest while the AI is bound by the parameters written into it.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Anytime I have played as England, I crusade to the holy lands early on and I am always able to hold off both hordes. Of course I play on E/E and I have the United Kingdom providing me enough funds to maintain two good stacks that simply hold whatever river crossings are near the invaders. And of course alot of strategies would fail against human players. Humans can and do exploit the mechanics of the game to the fullest while the AI is bound by the parameters written into it.

This is the best strategy I've seen so far, besides uber-expansionism.

However, like you said, it wouldn't work against humans. Humans wouldnt charge directly across a river, they would utilize the Mongol archers to slay you from afar, thus negating the effectiveness of a bridge blockade.

The strategy also doesn't work too well if you are Egypt or Turkey, and havent expanded very far. You wouldnt be able to field enough units to block all the bridges.

Next segment of the guide coming soon!

[Askthepizzaguy]

Posted below are turns 6-10
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Overview
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Turn 6-
I adopted a general this turn, which spawned in my capital. I immediately sent him and a garrison south to take Dongola.

I also sent my other general south; he picked up a bunch of cavalry and infantry and rejoined the jihad.

My king and prince lay siege to Adana and I send my diplomat north by sea using my mercenary ship.

I intend to make alliances with the Turks, securing my northern border for the moment. Hopefully, they will make an excellent buffer between the Byzantines and myself. I intend to deal a crippling blow to the Byzantines using my Sultan and prince, and then mop up what’s left of them with my other jihadists. I may or may not be able to hold their provinces, but I can demolish them and prevent them from striking me, pillage their lands, destroy their infrastructure and sell it off, and continue on my merry way.

Turn 7-
My Sultan died this turn, but I adopted another general. My completion of a mission, conquering Adana, nets me 4 horse archers as well, all spawning at my capital.
I continue recruiting to the maximum in all my regions, as well as joining all troops that I can to jihads.

My first adopted general heads south and reaches Dongola. I lose some troops to desertion this turn in my Adana stack. I expect to lose more troops to desertion in my Dongola stack, but this is of no concern. I do not recruit the mercenary in this region, as I will need to recruit it next turn after I lose troops to desertion. Remember to play the game according to the rules; there is no sense recruiting a unit that will just desert this turn.

Turn 8-
Surprisingly, I lose no troops to desertion in Dongola. I take the province and head north, leaving watchtowers in my wake. I move my general from Gaza to the Byzantine island castle, laying siege and declaring war. I move my diplomat and make peace with the Turks, but cannot secure an alliance without giving up provinces, so I choose to remain at peace instead. The Moors join the Jihad against Novgorod. My new Sultan makes his way towards Constantinople. I build a castle in Aleppo, and build infantry producing buildings in many of my provinces, and my first ballista unit.

My new adopted general, Al-Sadat joins the jihad, but doesn’t move yet. I intend to have more units spawn and join the jihad.

Turn 9-
My spy infiltrates Nicaea, and opens the gates for my Sultan. I take Nicaea with auto-resolve, as my forces are vastly superior. I hire a mercenary boat and lay siege to Constantinople this same turn. My general in Cairo heads to Gaza and prepares to join the jihad. My general from Dongola continues north and more units join his jihad from Cairo. I build masjids in Nicaea and my freshly conquered Byzantine castle of Nicosia. I finally run out of florins!

I use my diplomat to make nice with the Turks again, hoping to improve relations. I improve them to ‘amiable’.

Turn 10-
I spawn another general. (Quick expansion does that) There are now two generals and a bunch of militia units near Cairo, so I merge them all together and join the jihad. This is the last turn I can join the jihad, so I join up all units that I can. The general from Gaza musters all the troops in that region and joins the jihad. Now I move him by mercenary boat to Nicosia. I move my general from Rhodes to Constantinople region to assist my Sultan in taking the city down. My Sultan continues the siege.

On second thought, let’s show off our battle abilities. We can take Constantinople this turn if our forces are strong enough.

The battle was close, and I chose to claim victory by the 3 minute rule rather than waste my men’s lives by slaying all the infidels. They surrendered after their Prince died by my Sultan’s hand. I sacked the city (I have no intention of holding it just yet, due to the size of the city and the lack of Muslim control of the region) and I allow Constantinople to gain independence and become a rebel city.

I move my Sultan north towards Hungary. My reputation by this point is Untrustworthy, so I plan on blitzing them and moving north, rather than make peace. The Catholics are not to be trusted anyway, because they call crusades upon me. The more Catholic scum that die, the fewer enemies I will have at my gate.
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Visuals: Click to view

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

al-Mustamsik joins the Jihad, but heads south to quickly take Dongola. My diplomat heads north to make peace with the Turks, and my general in Gaza prepares to head north.


On second thought, perhaps Mubarak should conquer Nicosia... he recruits some mercenaries and prepares to head out.


My Sultan and his spy head west. I do not intend to conquer the Turks just yet, and I could not do so on Jihad anyway.


My spy does some recon. Try not to blunder forward if you do not know what lies ahead. You wouldn't want your faction leader and heir to die in an ambush, would you?


My sultan takes Adana. He is about to kick the bucket, but he got me off to a nice start.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I believe this is my faction heir's son, the next heir of my government, and a reward of 4 horse archers for capturing Adana.


My general reaches Dongola and lays seige. Here is his predicted movement path for the next couple turns.


Mubarak musters more troops to his cause, and prepares for his voyage.


My Sultan's forces are depleted, but his boldness pays off. As he marches forward, he encounters a giant army of mercenaries ready to follow him... for the right price!


After movement and recruitment.


Mubarak reaches Nicosia, and declares war on the infidel. My diplomat makes nice with the Turks, and my spy moves northwest


Mubarak will rendezvous with my sultan by sea after taking Nicosia. My Sultan prepares a sneak attack on Nicaea.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

My general heads out after taking Dongola.


Nicosia falls easily. Next stop: Rhodes.


Mustamsik gains some fresh recruits from Cairo. Note the strategy of constantly replenishing your troops as you conquer. This is easy to do when near your territory, with careful planning.


My spy infiltrates and opens the gate! Nicosia will fall.


An easy auto-resolve victory. Next: Constantinople.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I lay seige to Constantinople the same turn by recruiting a mercenary boat. Who needs ports?


My other general arrives from Rhodes


al-Sadat arrives from Gaza


Yet more generals join my cause via adoption.


The moment of truth: I decide to go it alone at Constantinople without waiting for reinforcements. This battle is going to be rough, but it is more than winnable. I don't auto-resolve this one... this time, a true general is needed on the battlefield.

Always fight the battles that require your personal attention.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I set up my standard seige tactic: A feint to the walls, followed by a brutal charge to the city center once the gates are down.


The enemy have a serious wall garrison, so I trick them into thinking I wish to fight them on the walls. They dare not give ground or I will take them without a fight.


The gate is open! FULL ATTACK!


The cowards are running already. Victory will be mine.


The fool has left his prince all alone to die by my hand.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

You can see there is now no hope of escape, your excellency...


With his general dead, all hope is lost.


I run the clock and win this day. No sense in wasting good arab lives on these greeks.


I don't intend to cower inside these walls. I have things to destroy and people to butcher.


I spot the enemy as I advance north. I intend to spend my pillaging florins on new recruits and castles. My Sultan personally recruits some Sofia-region mercenaries.

This ends turn 10. More will be posted, possibly tomorrow.

Status of the realm: we have several full stacks of Muslim fighters and mercenaries. The Turks are our friends, and do not appear to be threatening us at this time. The Byzantines have been dealt a very damaging blow, and we have obliterated half of their Empire. The Sultan is most pleased with this progress.

Several regions have upgraded and built castles, all my main provinces are able to produce good troops every turn. We are ready for Total War.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Any comments on the progress so far? Questions, compliments, criticisms?

I will be checking back periodically, so rest assured I will respond.

If you readers would like to follow along with this game and investigate for yourself the state of my realm, I could upload the saved turns.

I make it a habit of saving every turn and numbering the turn. If you would like, I can post the individual turns as I did with England: Turn by Turn and you can follow along, or pick up where I left off at ANY point in the game.

If you are interested, here is the link to the sendspace page:
You can unzip the files and play any of the turns from 1-10.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/09yhyo

You will have to open your M2TW folder and open the saves folder, then drag and drop. They will become playable at this point.

Note: as always, these files may be unplayable on a modded or upgraded version of the game.
All my save files are for the original release version.

If you have an upgraded version, you can install from your CD another fresh original version and put it under file SEGA 2, and keep your current version playable as well.

[Privateerkev]

Well, I think I have commented enough for now on strategy so I will focus on the guides. I like them alot. I think you are very clear with what you strategy and battle tactics are. I like how you lay out what your going to do. And I look forward to more of these. Even though I do not plan on using your overall strategy, your starting game moves will help me conquer the "homelands" of my faction quicker and easier and allow my "perfectionist" strategy to go smoother. So, maybe my strategy is moving more towards a "hybrid" but is still weighted more the one way than the other.

PS Am I the only one with the "imperial march" playing in the background as I view these? ^_^

[Askthepizzaguy]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Well, I think I have commented enough for now on strategy so I will focus on the guides. I like them alot. I think you are very clear with what you strategy and battle tactics are. I like how you lay out what your going to do. And I look forward to more of these. Even though I do not plan on using your overall strategy, your starting game moves will help me conquer the "homelands" of my faction quicker and easier and allow my "perfectionist" strategy to go smoother. So, maybe my strategy is moving more towards a "hybrid" but is still weighted more the one way than the other.

PS Am I the only one with the "imperial march" playing in the background as I view these? ^_^

Thanks, Privateer.

Good for you; the guide is intended as such. You don't necessarily have to copy move for move the strategy depicted in the guide. It merely helps players adjust their own personal strategies for the better, to suit their own playing style.

Much of what is being done here could be done slower, and at your own pace, however keep in mind the enemies you face will be ready for you later.

On the plus side, you have more time to build your troop levels up. Here, I have to scramble to gather whatever forces I can find and replenish them as quickly as possible after the battles.

If you like the "imperial march" and "O fortuna" (posted on my England turn by turn thread) I will repost them here, with other favorites of mine.

Here's a few starter tunes, including the two mentioned above. The others are from other games, but I use them and many others as alternate game music. Warning: the file could take a few minutes to download, depending on how slow or fast your connection is. Worth it, in my opinion. My taste in music is 'eclectic', so you have been warned.

Tracks:
Culex SMRPG
Tetris Remix
Imperial March
Metropolis Zone
O Fortuna
SM64 Finale
T o T remix
http://www.sendspace.com/file/oz678d

My new post will arrive shortly. I don't think I will be able to create a detailed guide for the next section tonight. But I will upload the photos. When I have a chance I will write the guide section.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Turns 11-21

With Constantinople taken, the Byzantine Empire is on its last legs. I intend to finish them off, and invade Hungary. These are all stepping stones on the way to glory.

I also declare war on Venice, taking their outermost province of Iraklion.

I have many stacks of troops at this point, and so I cluster them together in groups of two, three, or more. The AI is not smart enough to do so. If you encounter two stacks of AI troops, wait a turn or two and the AI will have broken them up. Then they will become your prey.

I adopt, promote, and spawn many generals during this section, as my territory is expanding rapidly. I am the only superpower in the game at this point, and I crush the loose confederation of Catholic states like the worms they are.

Now they declare a crusade upon me... so you will witness the ability to turn away a crusade at Istanbul (not Constantinople). They end up sending 3 or 4 stacks in my direction. Only one ever makes it to Istanbul, and they experience a quick death for their bravery.

With each new general, I move them towards clusters of towns and castles, and recruit a bunch of new troops, and if a Jihad is available, I join the jihad.

If not, I usually march directly towards the nearest enemy province.

Strategy: I ignore the states of Tripoli and Jedda, as they are still rebel and not worth taking. Turkey poses a threat which must be challenged (they betray me), so I move my new generals into their territory and conquer them the old fashioned way.

The goal for this mission is 45 regions captured, and I have already taken my two target provinces. The remainder of the mission is fairly easy.

Once you begin your campaign on a level of greatness, it is easy to ride that greatness all the way to victory. The hardest part is being a breakout faction, the underdog in every possible way, barely able to defend your territory. You must move boldly on the campaign map as if you were invincible, yet recruit smartly and wage battles carefully. Losing more than a battle or two is unacceptable. Don't lose your generals, either.

I move into the Polish territory during this segment, and take their major cities. I execute a rare four-pronged attack on the Poles... possibly the most textbook example of utilizing blitzkrieg.

Overwhelm your enemy in two or three short turns... how could they possibly defend 4 cities at once against 4 full stacks? Unless they have about 20,000 troops stationed at home, it is impossible.

The beauty of the blitzkreig strategy is that is becomes more powerful, not less powerful, with each successive victory. It is hard to get started, but easy to maintain your explosive rise in power.

The multiple, rapid victories set off a powder keg of pillaging florins, which in turn allows more recruitment, which in turn allows more victories, which in turn allows better building construction, which leads to more troops, better troops, and better provinces... an exponential growth curve.

I also utilize the strategy of "tactical retreat".

Venice manages to threaten one of my castles enough that I withdraw my troops from Sofia. They predictably capture the castle, only to find themselves under seige! They are trapped and beaten!

Use the terrain to your advantage. Sometimes the terrain is the wall of your own province. You can trap idiots inside. Don't be an idiot and trap yourself!
Think of it... a lone assault army, isolated inside enemy territory, with no back-up, under seige inside the very province they just took. They are at an extreme disadvantage, as are you if you are occupying a province and have no relief forces, and are under seige. Remember this!
=======================

Visual guide section:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

My General heads out for a cruise on the high seas. Since we are expanding quickly, blitzkreig style, we must avoid the calamity that befalls all mega-expansionists; being unable to defend the newly conquered territory. I must fill the gap between my old territory and my new front line.


I take Rhodes and head west to capture Iraklion.


Taking Sofia, moving into position to take Bucharest.


I take Corinth. Those ballistas come in handy, you know.


Sofia falls before the might of the Sultan's armies.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I leave a fort next to the bridge to slow the possibility of a counter-attack. I don't yet have enough defenders to hold the region.
Then I continue on towards Oatmeal.

Bran.

Whatever.
Bucharest will fall next turn.


My troops coordinate their attacks against Iraklion


Iraklion is toast. (See? Smoke.)

Those mercenary ships will take me to Corinth and on to Thessalonica.


My coordinated advance of three stacks frightens the bejeezus out of the great emperor of Constantinople.
He retreats to his city like a fool instead of hiding on the top of a mountain like a man.
This will be his final mistake. NEVER leave all your troops inside your city, they become trapped inside their own walls.


Bran will fall without a fight. These Hungarians are pathetic.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

We have you completely surrounded. Surrender, and your lives will be spared.
What? You don't trust us? Why not?
Oh yeah... all the butchering of prisoners and exterminations... our bad.

I think you might find this battle particularly fun.

Lots of dead bodies and a heck of a defense... but inevitable destruction no matter how poorly you command your troops. Good, clean, safe fun.

So ends the Eastern Roman Empire.
(They did not call themselves Byzantines. They considered themselves the heirs of the Roman empire.)


Bow down before your new Sultan.
No?
I guess you want to die today.


Not even worth fighting. Just give up already!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Reinforcements arrive near Istanbul.


After a wholesome Bran-filled breakfast, we head west to Budapest.
It's true because it rhymes.


My triple threat heads north to fill the gap.


Kiss the Hungarians good-bye


Right behind you, boss!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Meet Mousa, our newest family member. He will be repelling the Turkish threat. Move him northeast, and grab as many troops as you can find.


Meet Yousef, our... uh... newest family member. He will be filling the gap that was left when my gap fillers filled a different gap.
This stuff doesn't have to make sense. What are the odds anyone is reading this right now anyway?


Istanbul prepares to move out a captain-led army.


My name is Fylep Pirrip. But you can call me Pip.
He's a dead Pip, he is.


The armies continue the forward march.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Can you guess who is going to win this one?


If you said "Egypt", you guessed right.


Looks like Hungary starved to death.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha. Ha. Oh, my, yes.


The trouble with Poland is that it's full of Poles.


Aha! Venice thinks it can sneak attack me. I spotted you with my watchtower.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Slightly reminiscent of the Mongol hordes?

I AM the Mongol Hordes!

Moussa, I like to call him Moose, has amassed a grand army.


Moose gets some backup.


I crush the Polish King.


Predictable?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This seige is being simulcast in Thorn, Breslau, and Telemundo.


Halych is relatively undefended.


The fingers of death.

Remember to exterminate these Catholics. You can't afford to sit and wait for the cities to like you. Make them fear you by crushing all dissent.


Moose gathers his forces and heads north.
A third stack of defenders moves to aid Adana.


This is called a tactical retreat. Let them have the castle.

Fools.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Breslau go bye-bye.


Thorn is removed from my foot. In a princely manner. It's pun-tastic.


I get to steppin on towards Stettin.
Everyone else heads towards Russia.


Halych is about to get licked.


What is Egypt doing in Riga?

Answer: kicking serious booty.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Venice earns themselves a castle, and an untimely death.


If you haven't noticed, I like it when fools lay seige to me.


It is a fine way to get captains promoted.


A fourth stack emerges.

Never, ever stop recruiting. You are fighting the entire world, you know.


This battle requires my personal attention...

[Askthepizzaguy]

Continued Turns 11-21

In this segment, the Polish King foolishly charges headfirst into a trap! Bad move. This ends all hope of pushing back my forces.
Also, Turkey gets crippled and Poland is utterly destroyed. Another notch in my belt, next to Hungary and Byzantium.
Russia gets cut into pieces, and has to retreat to Moscow... where they cower in fear of the Sultan's might.

Don't forget, near the end of a crusade or jihad, you can ignore the target and move anywhere you like. Once the target falls, you are no longer bound by crusading rules.

Venice actually threatens me with serious attempts at aggression... It is of no concern. Soon the Venetians will be crushed and all their provinces will belong to us. Your work here is finished my friend. Go out to the command ship and await my orders.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The goal of this battle is to take the hill quickly, crush the small enemy force, and then slay their King.


The uphill charge.


Time to get Medieval 2: Total War on their candy asses.


Clean-up on aisle four.


I charge into the lone patch of Polish Nobles.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Their King leads the charge... into a trap!


Never charge with your general in the lead. That's just dumb, dumb, dumb.


I finish mopping up what's left of them.

They technically should have beaten me... they had far better troops than I did. I was playing with milita archers and some weakened cavalry, and they had Polish nobles and good infantry. Not to mention 2 generals.


The last Polish stronghold. Stettin can wait.


Riga will be nabbed next turn.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This is what happens when you leave your forces 'safe' inside a castle.


Here comes double trouble.


My spy infiltrates their castle, and it falls this turn.


Ghandour, or Gandy for short, slays the son of the Turkish Sultan.


Iconium wants to die. Call me Kevorkian.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Filling the gap.


A nice new castle for my Prince.


As you can see, I am down to mostly mercenaries here.


Another one bites the dust.


I burn Riga to the ground.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

At long last, I reach the target of my Jihad... Novgorod. This is the last epic battle of this particular holy war.


Asia Minor quickly falls before the might of the Sultan's armies.
The Turks will pay for their treachery. They attacked me first by the way.

And to think I was going to ally with them...

Might as well grab Vilnius.


Venice actually threatens my cities. It's about time someone did.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/z0cgor
Saved Turns 11-21 are here for your downloading pleasure. As always, open your M2TW/saves folder and drop them here. Also remember these saves are for the original, non-updated version of the game. See previous postings.

[TheRealSlimBrady]

I'm liking it a lot so far - great work!

[Askthepizzaguy]

Has anyone downloaded either the music or the saved games?

Thanks for the compliment, TheRealSlimBrady.

I am a little busy today, but I will try to post the turn-by-turn strategy portion on those last couple entries today if I can.

By the way, I am posting these as I go along. I have no idea what is going to happen next. For all I know, I could suddenly have some crusades thrown at me or run into financial trouble. I am playing awfully risky here. But I feel confident that I will prevail.

When I take Novgorod, my finances will be in shambles. Don't say I didn't warn you.

[rookie7]

THIS POST IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The photos will be annotated soon.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The goal of this battle is to take the hill quickly, crush the small enemy force, and then slay their King.


The uphill charge.


Time to get Medieval 2: Total War on their candy asses.


Clean-up on aisle four.


I charge into the lone patch of Polish Nobles.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Their King leads the charge... into a trap!


Never charge with your general in the lead. That's just dumb, dumb, dumb.


I finish mopping up what's left of them.

They technically should have beaten me... they had far better troops than I did. I was playing with milita archers and some weakened cavalry, and they had Polish nobles and good infantry. Not to mention 2 generals.


The last Polish stronghold. Stettin can wait.


Riga will be nabbed next turn.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This is what happens when you leave your forces 'safe' inside a castle.


Here comes double trouble.


My spy infiltrates their castle, and it falls this turn.


Ghandour, or Gandy for short, slays the son of the Turkish Sultan.


Iconium wants to die. Call me Kevorkian.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Filling the gap.


A nice new castle for my Prince.


As you can see, I am down to mostly mercenaries here.


Another one bites the dust.


I burn Riga to the ground.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

At long last, I reach the target of my Jihad... Novgorod. This is the last epic battle of this particular holy war.


Asia Minor quickly falls before the might of the Sultan's armies.
The Turks will pay for their treachery. They attacked me first by the way.

And to think I was going to ally with them...

Might as well grab Vilnius.


Venice actually threatens my cities. It's about time someone did.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/z0cgor
Saved Turns 11-21 are here for your downloading pleasure. As always, open your M2TW/saves folder and drop them here. Also remember these saves are for the original, non-updated version of the game. See previous postings.

Wow...I must say...I really admire your aggressiveness in waging a war against the world and in your quest of expansion.

Can you go a little bit more into depth on how you won this battle? I'd like to learn our battle tactics.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Wow...I must say...I really admire your aggressiveness in waging a war against the world and in your quest of expansion.

Can you go a little bit more into depth on how you won this battle? I'd like to learn our battle tactics.

Thank you, Rookie 7.

My playing style is a blending of speed and aggression, an attempt to master the art of blitzkreig. It is my personal theory that this style most closely reaches the maximum possible playing strength; in other words, more regions are captured, more troops are recruited, more buildings are constructed, and more foes vanquished in the least amount of time, thus maximizing to the upper limit the ability of your small band of troops to wage war.

There is a limit to how much you can accomplish in a turn. You are limited by troop levels, movement, funding, and territory. If you can accomplish more, quicker, with less, then you are approaching maximum effectiveness.

According to this theory, the least effective factions are Byzantium and Russia, as they do not have crusading ability or jihad. This makes them the hardest factions in the game. I rate Russia as the hardest faction, due to poor economy, starting position, and starting troop effectiveness, as well as lack of crusading.

I would rate France as being the most effective faction, due to their starting position, abundance of starting generals, number of nearby rebel provinces, weak catholic neighbors, economic potential, and number of provinces. This makes France an easy faction to play.

Responding to your question; to which battle are you referring?

[Lupiscanis]

I rate Russia as the hardest faction, due to poor economy, starting position, and starting troop effectiveness, as well as lack of crusading.

I for one, would be very interested to see you post a Russian campaign after this one then =)

[Askthepizzaguy]

Turn 22-24 UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Will be posting the strategy section soon.
Check back soon for updates!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Pope wisely asks all the Catholic leaders to repel my assault. They will fail.



How to promote captains: Find weak rebels in the field and attack.



My Sultan prefers a Meritocracy. Welcome to the royal family, al Muazzam.



We must push the Turks out of Asia Minor. This is a good place to start.



My standard seige setup. Column formation, ram, seige tower, ladders.



Approaching the walls. I intend to distract the guards on the walls while my cavalry rush to the town center.



The seige tower serves to attract fire away from the ram.



Storming the walls... a tactic I don't actually use very often. These troops are gong to be toast.

This demonstrates that it is not wise to use ladders to actually take a wall.



These troops scale the wall unharmed. They are the lucky ones.



These troops aren't so lucky.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

We must destroy the gate, or the seige will fail.



Knock, knock...



CHAAAAAARGE!!!



Thier general dies in battle. Had he fought more valiantly, he might have been praised for such a noble sacrifice. But there is no honor in dying like a fool.



My troops battle to the town center.



Cavalry often can push through infantry by bunching together and charging somewhere beyond the enemy.



The town square belongs to me. I will now focus on defense.



You shall not pass!



So ends the battle for Iconium. Note the heavy losses. Let this be a lesson: Do not use ladders to storm guarded walls. It is just stupid.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

My forces are victorious, but reduced to a third of their original numbers. Caesarea was undefended, so I auto-resolved that battle.



Captain Mubarak wants to join the royal family.



Why wait for princesses to give birth to generals? There are plenty of deserving fighters among the warrior class. Those who prove their skill and loyalty deserve to be treated as royalty.
My Sultan cares not for hereditary rule. I intend to build a powerful nation, not just a powerful clan.



A general sitting in Budapest was vulnerable. He escapes to Krakow. Don't let your generals die, under any circumstances.



The new Sultan stands at the peak of westward expansion, and eyes the Holy Roman Empire...



I conquer Russia's finest city without even using my reinforcements.



European mercenary infantry is better than mine. It works wonders on seiging distant territories.



The long Jihad is over. Now watch as my budget goes into the red for a bit.



Cleaning up the leftover mess.



Now, with no Russians at our back, we can advance.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

After a successful crusade or jihad, you often go deep into debt. This is to be expected.



This general eyes the territory to the east... on to Baghdad!



Trebizond is the destination for my lead general... Tiblisi the other.



We must capture the remaining province to the west.



An attempt to get some more troops heading east to Asia Minor is delayed by naval attacks.



The last remnants of the old Empire are being swept away.



I send a unit to scout the area for ambushes. Always a good tactic. Spring any traps before you advance into uncharted territory.



This guy doesn't seem to take a hint.



The Turkish province is surrounded on all sides by Egyptian territory, and troops are on their way.
I don't necessarily stop to pick up every province on the first pass.



The Livonian rebels are about to meet their fate.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Drop all seige equipment and charge!



Crunch!



Their leader falls by my hand.



Victory, mighty Sultan!



Yes, I have a general. But I want another. So I send my captain to take these idiots down.



Paying attention? This is how you get dozens of generals out of nowhere.



I like big stacks and I cannot lie
Those infidels won't deny
When Sultan walks in with an itty bitty grin
And tears you limb from limb
you get pwned

Dial 1-900-Jihad-a-lot and kill those Christian rats
Sultan got stacks

Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week. Try the veal. Very fresh.



The HRE pesters my cities. I am unconcerned. I want to dismantle their empire, not babysit Breslau.



You guessed it... I promote another captain. You can't touch this.

[IMG]https://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x168/im_alumberjack_andimok/0200.jpg

Stop... hammer time!

I hereby nickname Mahmoud "The Arabian hammer".
[/IMG]

[Askthepizzaguy]

Turns 24-28 UNDER CONSTRUCTION

photos uploaded, but have not been given captions.
Check back soon for updates!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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[Askthepizzaguy]

Turns 28+:
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Photos uploaded.
check back for updates.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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[andrewt]

Curious, why abandon and siege Sofia? Couldn't you have just attacked the sieging army and destroyed them? Or don't you have enough cavalry to chase the routers?

[Askthepizzaguy]

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

VICTORY EGYPT Turn 35

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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That's all for today. Check back for updates. I intend to put captions and strategy sections... but hey, I did a lot of work already. Gotta take a break.
Anyone else post almost 300 photos? I didn't think so.

lol

[Askthepizzaguy]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Curious, why abandon and siege Sofia? Couldn't you have just attacked the sieging army and destroyed them? Or don't you have enough cavalry to chase the routers?

At the time, I didn't have good quality troops. I attempted to do just that, in fact, but I got killed. Sometimes you just don't have the better troops on the field. Seeing as how this was a minor battle in the scheme of things, I decided to use a tactic and trap them instead of waiting for reinforcements.

EDIT:
I may decide to extend the campaign and continue demolishing the other factions, but only if there is enough interest in the thread.

If you would like me to post more of the campaign, make your voice heard.
If you would like me to start another guide, cast your vote.
Which faction would you like a guide made for?
(Cannot be England or Egypt, as I have already posted for those.)

You can vote to continue this thread, and suggest a new thread. I am considering my options.

EDIT:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/09yhyo Save files, turns 1-10
http://www.sendspace.com/file/z0cgor Save files, turns 11-21
http://www.sendspace.com/file/5hp7sm Save files, turns 22-35
http://www.sendspace.com/file/oz678d Theme music for your listening enjoyment

[BattleN00b]

I'd say go for another guide. Will you put up another poll?

[Privateerkev]

While it would be fun to watch you stomp all over the world again, it would probably be more useful to post another guide. I agree with what someone else on here said and would like to see Russia since it seems like the biggest challenge for you. Either way it will be fun to watch.

If you keep posting, I'll keep reading.

^_^

[The_Notorious_P]

Winning a campaign isn't all that difficult, but to do it in such style as you is very impressive. The speed at which you won; the efficiency of your armies movement & replenishment; and the brutality of pwning the AI. Well done.

Is this your only style of play? If it isn't, then I'd love for you to show turn by turns where you play the way you have most fun. Otherwise more of the same would be just as good.