The Antigonids : A Makedonian AAR

[Chirurgeon]

Excellent job MAA! I particulary like how you mentioned the Ptolemai had reformed their military with the main battle line being made of Theorkikai. That has a familiar sound to it...

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Do you have an overall strategy? Recreate the Roman empire with Makedones in their place? Head East and reconquer Alexanders Empire?

My original plan was to recreate Alexander's Empire, but war with the Romani and peace with the Seleukids delayed that. With the fall of Armenia to AS, I fear war in the east is all but inevitable. I might invade Afrika if nothing happens on the eastern front, though. I don't really have any plans for any northern expansion.

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Have you added a faction for the story or is it just masterful photoshopping?
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Yeah, you're pretty good with recoloring those Eleutheroi provinces! But how did you get the Ptolemaioi banner on the "Kingdom of Meroe's" armies? I thought you destroyed them...

I actually went into the files and changed the colors and names for Pahlav and Ptolemaioi. Callicles actually gave me the idea, so thanks to him.
I don't know if you can change the symbols, but I didn't even try, that's why they still have their old faction's symbols. (Yes, technically the Ptolemaioi are still alive. I killed them, took a picture of their defeat screen, then reloaded and made them into the Kingdom of Meroe.)

Excellent job MAA! I particulary like how you mentioned the Ptolemai had reformed their military with the main battle line being made of Theorkikai. That has a familiar sound to it...

Thanks. It was actually when I read your AAR that I decided to try and mod in Thorakitai for the Makedonians. Due to a fortunate oversight in EB, it was quite easy to get them into the game.

[Hooahguy]

whoa. so the Ghandaharans are actually the phalavans, and the meroeans are the ptoleis?

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Yep. It is quite fun for role-playing too.
Though, I consider the death of all the Ptolemaios family to be the end of the Ptolemaioi. All they have left is two generals with some random names.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Good update, as always... Would you mind to tell me how to mod in Thorakitai? I'd love to see them for the Makedones. I feel it's absolutely natural for them to adopt the Thorakitai type if they had evolved into an empire like yours.

[CaesarAugustus]

An amazing AAR you have going here MAA, it took me the better part of an hour to get up-to-date! You've already exceeded the size of the Eastern Roman Empire, and are well on your way to recreating the whole thing (you traitorous conqueror of Italia! ) One small thing, why do you call the (formerly Phalava) faction the Satrapy of Ghandahara, wouldn't they just have formed an Indo-Parthian kingdom? Something similar is happening in my current campaign, with the Pahlava forming a crescent-shaped kingdom from India to the steppes.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Pahlav territory in India was completely cut off from their steppe territories and they were training armies of Indian units. Since they were Indian in all areas except their family members and bodyguards, and since I wanted to roleplay an Indian faction in, I decided to make them Gandhara.

Good update, as always... Would you mind to tell me how to mod in Thorakitai? I'd love to see them for the Makedones. I feel it's absolutely natural for them to adopt the Thorakitai type if they had evolved into an empire like yours.

Yeah, I figured that after facing so many Thorakitai, Galatians, and Romani, that the Makedones would finally adopt the unit type.

Usually, adding a unit to a faction that doesn't normally is not savegame compatible. I knew that, but I was going to try it anyways. When I went into the DMB, I found that 'macedon' already had a skin assigned to the Thorakitai model. I don't know why, but they had the KH Thorakitai skins/sprite in their slot. So, I first went into the EDU and added 'macedon' to the ownership line of the Throkitai. Then I copied the UI pictures from the 'greek_cities' folders to the 'macedon' folders. After that I had to add recruitment. Since Baktria (who has Thorakitai) shares the MIC with Makedonia, all I had to do is add 'macedon' to all of the Thorakitai entries for 'romans_brutii'. Besides the recruitment part, it was pretty easy to do since I knew what I was doing.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Thank you. I have a Carthaginian campaign in the moment but will remember this for my Makedonian campaign which will follow.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Do not forget to delete map.rwm afterwards, though.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 33 : The Era of Peace

From the death of Demetrios in 202BC until Aristotelis' mobilization in 198BC, Arche Makedonia sees an era of peace. Roma is all but defeated, Hayasdan is being crushed by Arche Seleukeia, the Ptolemaioi are gone, and the northern and southern (Nubian) borders are so well defended that nobody dares cross them. Other than the isolated actions of Pyrrhos in Italia, only one front remains active. In Kyrenaia, the forces of Kart-Hadast attack once more, though Kart-Hadast has been so weakened by their economic losses it hardly worth considering a war:


To the west, they had violently subjugated the Numidian tribes years earlier and assembled several large armies, but they don't dare march their armies through the deserts to Kyrenaia, lest the Sikilians take advantage of their weakness and attack the great city of Kart-Hadast itself:


On the far side of Hellenistic influence, the Seleukid Dynasty continues to loose battles to the Mauryan armies marching in from India:


Dispite their losses, Makedonike spies indicate that the Arche Seleukeia military and economic systems rival that of Arche Makedonia. Only through corruption and poor leadership do the Seleukids continue to fail on all fronts. As their kingdom crumbles all around them, their corruption increases:


After a siege that lasts a year, the forces of Kart-Hadast attempt to take the garrison at Kyrene by force:


With every battle, the garrison of Kyrene gains more experience and learns exactly how to repel a siege. As soon as the Qarthadastism ram comes into range, the archers on the wall light it on fire:


And to the south, their second ram catches on fire, halting the advance of one of their towers:


To the north, the city cavalry pelt the Africans pushing the other tower:


Soon, both towers are worthless, but the enemy ladders are at the walls. With the walls defended by veterans or sons of veterans, who had been granted land in the region, the Qarthadastism soldiers now face a tougher apponent then they are used to:


The Makedones kill all who come over the wall, but the enemies just keep coming:


To the south, the Makedonia's Hellene levies break and the Qarthadastism soldiers gain a foothold on the wall. Though it is too late. The rest of the Qarthadastism forces have already been slain and the entire garrison can now focus on this one part of the wall. Circling reinforcements around their rear, the Makedones push the enemy to the corner of the wall:


With the city safe, Antisthenes turns his cavlary against the Numidian cavalry and the Qarthadastism commander:


Chasing them into the forests, the Hellenic cavalry cut the enemy to pieces, killing the enemy commander:


Once again, Antisthenes defends the city of Kyrene, gateway to Aigyptos:


Ever since the Antigonids had saved the Seleukids from being destroyed in the Syrian Wars, Arche Seleukeia had grown stagnant. Years ago, they had attempted to invade India, but failed to hold any territory there. A few years ago they had invaded the Kingdom of Hayasdan. At first they suffered defeat, but then recovered and conquered nearly all of Armenia. Though, with secret Antigonid funding, Hayasdan has rebelled and begun to defeat all Seleukid armies in the region. To the east, the Mauryans now invade Iran and push the Seleukid armies into ever smaller territory. Even in the south, the Kingdom of Sab'yn has won victories against the Seleukids, pushing them back into Babylonia. Even in the center of their kingdom, the Seleukids suffer defeats. Rebel armies, originally funded by the Kingdom of Hayasdan, push through the Hyrkanian mountians and defeat several Seleukid armies on their was south and west.

With Arche Seleukeia crumbling, Aristotelis begins to mobilize his military in the east. Though he isn't ready to betray his long time ally, Aristotelis is ready to 'rescue' the Hellenistic peoples of Babylonia. Whether it be from foreign invaders or the corruption of their own government, the Makedone settlers and Hellenistic Babylonians to the east are in trouble. In the spring of 198BC, Aristotelis moves his armies to the border. In Babylonia, Aristotelis lead the veteran army, while his second son Bykoli lead the newly assembled Syrian army, equiped in the new fashion. In southern Armenia, the aging Captain Aristokles once again leads his Thrakian army, preparing to march back into the Lake Van basin:


In northern Armenia, Lysippos, son-in-law of Euboulides, leads Euboulides' old army. And in western Armenia, an army of Kappadokians and an army of Pontic Hellenes prepare to invade from the west:


As this happens, on the far side of Arche Makedonia, an Iberian army from Lacetania attempts to liberate the city of Seguntum. Though they have Makedonike money, they lack any official military backing from the Arche:


Also, in Italia, the Romani attempt a counter attack. Rather than leaving Capua exposed, Pyrrhos does not counter the attack. Instead, Pyrrhos orders the Sikilian army to march north and rescue the city:


During this time of peace and prosperity, great building projects are commenced. In Athenai, the largest theater ever build in Arche Makedonia is completed:


As Arche Seleukeia crumbles, Arche Makedonia's prosperity once again makes them the sole super-power in the known world:


During this time, Aristokritos, Hellenized king of the Galatians dies:


With the death of their king, the Galatian fear that they will meet the same fate as the Hellenes and loose their autonomy. The Galatians begin to riot, but their fear is soon relieved. Rather than integrate the region into Arche Makedonia, the Galatians retain their freedom and are permitted to elect a new king:


To complicate things in the area, Theodoros, son of Kalos and leader of the Anatolia provinces, dies in Sardis:


This time of peace finally comes to an end when Aristotelis orders Lysippos, the Thrakians, the Kappadokians, and the Pontic Hellenes to invade Armenia:


Aristotelis tells the Seleukids that he is assisting in their war effort to defeat the Hai. He tells the people of Armenia that he is invading to save them from being slaughtered by Seleukids. And he tells the people of Arche Makedonia that he is going to take the region to avenge those the Hai killed in the previous war and to add the rich territory to their great kingdom. His advisors, however, know that his is only the first step in the war that Aristotelis had been planning since he was a child:


As the era of peace draws to a close, the allied Iberian army besieges the city of Seguntum:


Four towers are pushed to the walls. Those that flank the gates manage to make it to the walls with only a few losses...


...but those to the west were both destroyed an those manning them take heavy losses:


After the lengthy task of securring the walls, the Iberians march into the city and make their way to the town center, where the Qarthadastism general hides. Reaching the city temple, the Iberians stop to rest:


Completely refreshed, the Iberians storm the city square. As they approach the Qarthadastism soldiers, the are peppered with javelin:


Before the Iberians could get off a volley of their own javelin, though, they are charged by the enemy:


As the bulk of the Iberian forces hold down the enemy, a few units of Iberians circle around the rear to surround the enemy:


Surrounded by spearmen, the enemy general, Adonibal Ilerda, falls quickly. Before too long, only a small group of axemen remain, who fight to the death:


With the enemy defeated, the allied Iberian army seccures the town. The region soon applies to become part of Arche Makedonia, and the people are overjoyed to be free from the city of Kart-Hadast and joining the most powerful Hellenic nation ever known:


As the era draws to a close and Aristotelis begins his own war, several things occure around Arche Makedonia. In Bosphoria, Euboulides consolidates the entire pennisula under Makedonike power and startes to garrison it against steppe raider incursion. The Illyrian Argeades family starts to establish forts along the Istros River and through the Italian mountain passes to prevent barbarian invasion. And in Iberia, with the successful invasion into Qarthadastism territory, the allied Hellenes and Iberians in the region petition for a fleet so that they might invade the Baleric Islands.

The known world in 198BC:


Next: Chapter 34 : Eastern Expansion

[Hax]

Woohooo!

Another update, awesomeness. I have very little to remark on the AAR itself, only that I crave for another update :D

[Tellos Athenaios]

I'd like to add thouhg, that next chapter will be no 34.

[The General]

Another nice update. *Thumbsup*, an'stuff.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks for the comments.
I change the next chapter number, thanks.

I just received the parts to build my new computer ("3 day delivery" that took 11 days), so I've been working on that. Since I haven't played since just after this next update, I'll hopefully be running the next chapter off of my next system. Although, I'm basically on top graphic settings already so there probably won't be any noticable difference in the pictures. (I just hope my plan to transfer everything over, for the version I'm playing from, works without a problem.)

[Gaivs]

Good luck with that! I look forward to the next installment! :D

[Basileus Seleukeia]

Well, then go on and reunite Alexander's realm! If the Seleucid King has failed his honourable father Seleukos Nikator, than they deserve nothing else!
Don't keep me waiting for the next chapter for long

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Seeing Roma still alive leaves me a bit puzzled. Otherwise...

[CaesarAugustus]

MAA knows that to sack Rome is to bring on the wrath of the gods and his own eventual destruction.

Good luck with the new PC Marcus, waiting for the next addition!

[Hax]

Bring it on, Roman freak! =P

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

I haven't taken Roma yet for two reasons. First, I wanted the fall of Rome to be epic. Right after I took Capua, they had two generals and two Pedites Extraordinarii (a battle hardly worth mentioning). And secondly, Capua is quite rebellious and I need a large army to garrison it.

I doubt it will work this way, but my plan in the east is this: The 'eastern Hai' are trying to take Media. So, my plan is to take Armenia, ally with the 'eastern Hai' and when they take Media and close the AS northern route, I'll strike Babylonia. It looks like I'm going to have to be t he betrayer this time...



I've finished assembling my computer. It was the first time I've ever build a computer, and it was surprisingly easy. I got RTW and EB on and got my AAR version of EB (v0.97 as I call it) to run. It crashed when I tried to load a battle, though. I haven't given up, but I'm tired and will work on it tommorrow.

The cool thing is that the initial loading which used to take about 5+ minutes takes about 30 seconds, and the framerate on the strat map never changes from 30fps.

[Maksimus]

Ha! Very nice Marcus! And you are using NEW DMS units! I WE WNAT's IT

That means that new Macedonian generals are in EB 11!

I cant wait for EB 11 anymore! (or are those DMS your own? )

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

The strat map models?
Those are actually v0.80 strat models. The version I'm playing this AAR on was made about a week before the release, and I believe the strat models were the last change made before the release.

[Maksimus]

Really...? :(
OK, anyways I am a bit -over my head- because I cant mod-up the DMB generals for DMS. . . That is why I am starting a new WinVistax86 so I can use 3Dmax.

[Thrond]

Any chance you could post a picture of your family tree to show the make up of the royal line in the post Demetrias era?

I've been wondering what it might look like after such an extended game.

[Moosemanmoo]

Chapter 33!!!
Thanks for showing everyone that Makedonia is full of win


And what Thrond said

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

I managed to get the game working on my new computer. It didn't want to work along side EBv1.0, but I renamed folders and finally got it to work. I've played about a chapter's worth and will try to make another update soon...



I was thinking of taking a picture of the family tree every now and again, back when I started this AAR. The problem is remembering and labelling everyone's names. I'll take some pictures of the family tree next time I play the game and see what I can make.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Just a preview:

When I first got RTW to work on my new rig, I turned grass all the way up (since it was the only graphic detail I could think of that wasn't already maxed out). It's max range (500) wasn't very good (I couldn't see much if I zoomed the camera all the way out) and it caused a little lag. In the end I turned it down to 100 (default=75). But here is an example of what EB looks like with the highest detail levels I could get out of the engine:

P.S. I took pictures of my family tree and am working on editing them.
P.P.S. I'm spamming a bit, so that when I finish my next chapter it will be on the next page of this thread. (Though, there is no rush, I'll finish it late tommorrow at the soonest.)

[Hax]

Marcus...where do you live...

I am going to steal your computer...

So...pretty...

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

It's so dark I can hardly see anything.:(

[Tellos Athenaios]

Adjust your monitor settings Centurio! (I take it you have a CRT monitor? My LCD one shows the picture just fine: nice metallic reflections and glints, grass etc. Looks like I might have taken that shot. )