Also posted on "Current Status of your campaign" thread.
Copied and pasted here, as it pertains to the Blitz All Challenge.
===========================
Current Faction: Holy Roman Empire
Current Campaign: Blitz All Challenge (fastest 106 province win)
Current Difficulty: Very Hard/Very Hard
Version info: 1.02 Vanilla
Current Status:
Provinces held: 45
Battles won: 59
Battles lost: 9
Generals: 19
Under seige this turn: 10 provinces
Turn number: 12
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Arnold the Crusader takes the Holy City of Antioch! 190 units of crusading troops suddenly halt their advance towards the target... and like chessmen, they have been ordered into position. We are now ready to strike!
10 provinces are now under seige, and if we can somehow placate the Pope (relations are now perfect) then perhaps we can TAKE 10 provinces next turn, giving us 55 provinces in a mere 13 turns, over halfway to the end of our Challenge.
Realistically, that is not possible. At least one of our seige armies will be attacked and cannot maintain the seige, and another has a nearly insurmountable battle to fight and win. Yet another seige is a waiting game, as neither side can force a victory. Soon they will surrender.
I have armies in all 4 corners of the globe. Russia is gone, and the rebels in that region are being smashed. The Moors are confined to Algeria, their armies destroyed, and Timbuktu is under fire. The Holy land has just been raided, and 5 armies are in position to wipe out France in a single turn and also one is harassing the English. Venice is on the verge of defeat, the Byzantines are on the ropes, Milan is destroyed, Sicily is about to be crushed, Denmark is ready to die in two turns, armies are in position to attack Poland and Hungary next turn, and overall, the situation is bleak for those who would resist us. The Turks and the Egyptians are the only factions remaining with any sizeable force that could resist us for several turns.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
If I took Rome this turn I would have won a Long Campaign victory in TWELVE TURNS. (and if I had planned to do so, I could have. I am taking Naples this turn with ballistae.)
That smashes my previous record of 16, and puts me far ahead of the reigning champion's 30 provinces by turn 20.
This campaign is a legend in the making. My only, ONLY challenge is making sure the Pope does not stand in my way. The pointy-hat is the only thing standing between me and a 35 turn victory.
Current mood: Bloodthirsty
This campaign will be soon made into my ultimate AAR.
I look forward to seeing the inward crush from the 4 corners!
On the backstabbing of your catholic friends, I found it best to start on perfect each turn with the pope (as you mention you are), and let it drop 3 ranks before topping it up with a diplomat to perfect. This should allow you around 8-10 offensives/turn without actual excom using 3 diplomats on rome.
I would like to know more about your initial build up and how much you 'wrangled' through diplomacy. Did you buy much land initially? Also, rough estimate of florins gained through diplomacy? I found getting enough stacks launched on first crusade awkward, simply could not recruit enough troops/mercs fast enough in the initial few turns. Although as I stated earlier on the thread, I basically ignored diplomacy and concentrated on military expansion.
Do you think you'll need a second crusade to finish? 45/12 at drop off is very impressive, but still a fair bit of marching to do at non crusade speed for the next 10 turns, esp if turks have yet to build roads.
Taking antioch turn 12 I guess would be well within your first crusade timeframe, I am assuming postioning was at a point to make the second crusade sooner rather than ending the first one late?
Anyway, good blitzing, I shall enjoy the AAR
On a seperate note, I'm having quite a lot of fun with my turkish campaign:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Turkey 1.3 VH.VH
Objective: 106 province Jihad, military conquest.
Houserules:
-No allies
-No active diplomacy (map info/traderights allowed from AI diplomats)
-No debt
-No assassins
-Passive spies
-Sack/Ransom everywhere
-Massive multiple Jihad armies
I look forward to seeing the inward crush from the 4 corners!
On the backstabbing of your catholic friends, I found it best to start on perfect each turn with the pope (as you mention you are), and let it drop 3 ranks before topping it up with a diplomat to perfect. This should allow you around 8-10 offensives/turn without actual excom using 3 diplomats on rome.
I would like to know more about your initial build up and how much you 'wrangled' through diplomacy. Did you buy much land initially? Also, rough estimate of florins gained through diplomacy? I found getting enough stacks launched on first crusade awkward, simply could not recruit enough troops/mercs fast enough in the initial few turns. Although as I stated earlier on the thread, I basically ignored diplomacy and concentrated on military expansion.
Do you think you'll need a second crusade to finish? 45/12 at drop off is very impressive, but still a fair bit of marching to do at non crusade speed for the next 10 turns, esp if turks have yet to build roads.
Taking antioch turn 12 I guess would be well within your first crusade timeframe, I am assuming postioning was at a point to make the second crusade sooner rather than ending the first one late?
Anyway, good blitzing, I shall enjoy the AAR
On a seperate note, I'm having quite a lot of fun with my turkish campaign:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Turkey 1.3 VH.VH
Objective: 106 province Jihad, military conquest.
Houserules:
-No allies
-No active diplomacy (map info/traderights allowed from AI diplomats)
-No debt
-No assassins
-Passive spies
-Sack/Ransom everywhere
-Massive multiple Jihad armies
The power of the turn 1 jihad is not to be underestimated. If there were Muslims in Scotland I suspect Egypt would be the blitz faction of choice.
Did you pick Vilnius for your first jihad? I'm not a big blitzer, but I wiped out the eastern part of the map in 30 turns with Egypt's first jihad to Vilnius. Sack Jerusalem, Iconium, and Constantinople, and that's just turn 3.
ALL HAIL BLITZ MASTER ASKTHEPIZZAGUY, RECENTLY CROWNED HIGH COMMANDER AND BLITZKRIEG WARFARE CHAMPION!
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
49 Generals by turn 28
44 Cities
62 Castles
218 Battles Won
34 Battles Lost
Regions Controlled: 106
Year: 1134
Turn number 28
My championship title has been restored. It reads as follows, as it always has.
"Master tactician, holder of walls, sacker of cities, great crusader, superb diplomat, pious and pure, intelligent, witty, faithful and charming, Praetor of Rome, Emperor of Byzantium, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire, lord of Spain, France, Milan, Venice, Russia, Poland, Hungary, and Timbuktu, King of the Britons, Defeater of the Saxons, sovereign of all England, Patron Saint of War, Beloved Ruler of all Europe, Greatest Generalissimo of all time, and a damn fine lover to boot." -Me, regarding myself.
I will update my signature line. Thanks go to Master Grog, for giving me the much needed challenge to my claim to the throne. Respect and admiration goes out to you. Detailed AAR will follow.
To any challengers to my throne: Turn 27 victory is possible. Just VERY difficult.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I can't wait to start writing the AAR... that campaign will be smashing. I have all the save files and all the images captured.
There are roughly 500 images so far. It will take forever to build this particular AAR thread. But hopefully enough people will be interested in viewing it that they will give me feedback.
Last edited by Askthepizzaguy; 02-06-2008 at 02:23.
Indeed. This particular campaign was absolutely unbelievable, especially to myself. I am strongly convinced that this record will stand for a while. I don't think I can improve upon it.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Originally Posted by cassu
yeah, thats some really good playing keep us informed on your epic campagins
The in-depth campaign reports are coming soon... over 500 images to load... thank you so much for your interest!
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Originally Posted by Grog
Fairly brutal blitzkrieging
I look forward to seeing the inward crush from the 4 corners!
On the backstabbing of your catholic friends, I found it best to start on perfect each turn with the pope (as you mention you are), and let it drop 3 ranks before topping it up with a diplomat to perfect. This should allow you around 8-10 offensives/turn without actual excom using 3 diplomats on rome.
I would like to know more about your initial build up and how much you 'wrangled' through diplomacy. Did you buy much land initially? Also, rough estimate of florins gained through diplomacy? I found getting enough stacks launched on first crusade awkward, simply could not recruit enough troops/mercs fast enough in the initial few turns. Although as I stated earlier on the thread, I basically ignored diplomacy and concentrated on military expansion.
Do you think you'll need a second crusade to finish? 45/12 at drop off is very impressive, but still a fair bit of marching to do at non crusade speed for the next 10 turns, esp if turks have yet to build roads.
Taking antioch turn 12 I guess would be well within your first crusade timeframe, I am assuming postioning was at a point to make the second crusade sooner rather than ending the first one late?
Anyway, good blitzing, I shall enjoy the AAR
On a seperate note, I'm having quite a lot of fun with my turkish campaign:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Turkey 1.3 VH.VH
Objective: 106 province Jihad, military conquest.
Houserules:
-No allies
-No active diplomacy (map info/traderights allowed from AI diplomats)
-No debt
-No assassins
-Passive spies
-Sack/Ransom everywhere
-Massive multiple Jihad armies
Impressive Turkish run. That looks quite competitive! I look forward to any reports you might post! I will answer your questions more in depth later on, with my AAR. Or just private message me.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Originally Posted by Ramses II CP
The power of the turn 1 jihad is not to be underestimated. If there were Muslims in Scotland I suspect Egypt would be the blitz faction of choice.
Did you pick Vilnius for your first jihad? I'm not a big blitzer, but I wiped out the eastern part of the map in 30 turns with Egypt's first jihad to Vilnius. Sack Jerusalem, Iconium, and Constantinople, and that's just turn 3.
I know you were referring to Grog, but in my campaign, I chose Antioch as my crusade target. I needed to point the crusade eastward, and Antioch was one of the few the Pope would let me pick. On version 1.02, it's extra hard to get perfect papal relations. It takes a LOT more money to bribe him. Especially on Very Hard/Very Hard.
This was close enough for a quick crusade, which allowed me to build up massive troop levels and position my chessmen all over the board for a quick French checkmate. The biggest stumbling block to success is France, being the next most massive Catholic nation and your irritating neighbor. I knew I needed a ONE TURN K-O of France.
I still got excommunicated.
I had to slay all the popes and build my own Pope just to get reinstated. Then I needed massive bribing florins. THEN I GOT EXCOMMUNICATED BY MY OWN POPE.
Needless to say, I replaced him rather quickly with yet another sword through the head.
I fought THROUGH my excommunication by racking up massive territory and slaying several factions. That gave me the glory and fear bonuses I needed to counter the excommunication. Keeping Jerusalem was difficult, but I did it. Excommunicated and everything... with only a bare minimum garrison, as I needed to slay Egypt NOW, not later.
I didn't think it was possible, but the excommunication gave me the boost I needed. I wasd able to attack EVERYONE with impunity, and I scored a massive coup against Venice by having them ambush a crusading stack. They were destroyed the very next turn, thanks to Pope's excommunication of Venice.
Venice was the only excommunicated Catholic faction in the entire campaign. That's what I call bad luck...
Not that it held me back.
Oops, better save some for the AAR. I have LOTS more to tell you. Surprising stuff.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Originally Posted by Ichigo
I've been wanting to try doing this, but I'm not quite sure what faction to use. Any suggestions?
HRE is the only faction you can do it with and make a new record.
I also recommend France due to their large standing army. But you can't beat the HRE.
Danes, Milan, England, Venice, all will give you a run for your money. Yes, I said Danes. A quick coup with your princess on turn one gives you 3 extra provinces.
PS- Did not buy one single province. Did not use spies to open gates. Used ballista VERY sparingly.
Last edited by Askthepizzaguy; 02-06-2008 at 02:39.
The AI never even knew what hit 'em. Imagine if the old HRE had conquered all that territory in sixty years. Technically possible within the lifespan of a single King!
I love that in your final shot you caught the Pope staring at the rubble of Rome. Wonder when he'll grab his placard and start marching around St. Peter's square.
The AI never even knew what hit 'em. Imagine if the old HRE had conquered all that territory in sixty years. Technically possible within the lifespan of a single King!
I love that in your final shot you caught the Pope staring at the rubble of Rome. Wonder when he'll grab his placard and start marching around St. Peter's square.
Impressive stuff, I'm looking forward to the AAR.
(Excessive smiley drive engaged )
Thanks Ramses! I look forward to continuing my Sicilian war for independence campaign on LTC VH/VH. This was more of a diversion. That campaign is HARD!
Currently: Resizing images to fit your screen. Beginning preliminary photobucket upload.
Top quality Blitzkrieg ATPG, the crown is yours once more
I shall look forward to the AAR, but we may as well keep this thread going for generalist blitzkrieg discussion
I think HRE with antioch first crusade is probably the most optimal blitz faction. Antioch is a strong city, is the easiest in holy lands to defend ie: less pressure from egypt, and Byz/turks usually too busy knocking lumps out of one another to bother with it early.
HRE as a faction, while a bit clunky have a great central position, can build a fast economic heartland from rebels etc. They also start with decent standing armies and plenty of Florins. Also as ATPG notes, any other faction other than france/HRE is going to struggle initially due to having to cut down AI France/HRE for euro heartland early, whilst getting pope to perfect for fast crusade, not easy.
On my Turkish game, yeah it's going fairly good. First time playing the turks in M2TW, plus they have more logistics problems early on and weaker economy/position than HRE. I've made quite a few mistakes/misjudgements already ie: knowing what I know now, I could be faster earlier etc. Should be a <40 victory, maybe 37ish if englands crusade fails vs Toulouse. I will post a lighthearted AAR but I seriously reckon low-mid 30's is possible with one of the Islamic factions using my houserules.. Btw Siphai's/turkomans make this a lot of fun. I called first Jihad constantinople, second Jihad rome. I'm also having a few more issues controlling the larger catholic cities for the first few turns, such is life
Anyway, top work ATPG, I shall look forward to the AAR
"Master tactician, holder of walls, sacker of cities, great crusader, superb diplomat, pious and pure, intelligent, witty, faithful and charming, Praetor of Rome, Emperor of Byzantium, Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire, lord of Spain, France, Milan, Venice, Russia, Poland, Hungary, and Timbuktu, King of the Britons, Defeater of the Saxons, sovereign of all England, Patron Saint of War, Beloved Ruler of all Europe, Greatest Generalissimo of all time, and a damn fine lover to boot." -Me, regarding myself.
Ok, not a new record by any means, but I had a bit of a blast in my Turkish attempt and set a new personal best, so thought I would share the experience.
Turkey 1.3 VH.VH
Objective: 106 province Jihad, military conquest.
Houserules:
-No allies
-No active diplomacy (map info/traderights allowed from AI diplomats)
-No debt
-No assassins
-Passive spies
-Sack/Ransom everywhere
-Massive multiple Jihad armies
Long campaign victory: Turn 24
106 provinces: Turn 40
Turkish empire report, Turn 5:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
9 provinces captured: Sieges on Thessalonica, Edessa. Jihad called turn3 vs Constantinople, 3 armies join turn4. Turks can call Jihad from turn1, but forces are spread a little too thin for any benefit, so I opted for a few turns training/logistics etc.
Turkish empire report, Turn 10:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
19 provinces captured, Sofia,Sarkel and Jersusalem under siege, plus I have a few more Jihad armies now. Plan is to get over to Bulgar, break most of byzantine and get on down to Egypt way for Jihad drop off.
Turkish empire report, Turn 15:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
31 provinces captured, first jihad ends. Idea now is to use sacking income to build for next Jihad turn24. Florins a bit tight, but no debt so far. Had a full Venice stack drop out of Fog of War at my Ragusa siege and thump me silly heh, but the fools left it ungarrisoned so my beaten stack ran in next turn..still had a few turns of aggrovation here.
Turkish empire report, Turn 20:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
37 captured, fairly slow going but building well for second jihad. Retaking Bran yet again Catholics getting a bit sensitive over my 'grab all catholic castles' strategem it seems..
Turkish empire report, Turn 25:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
46 captured. Jihad 2 launched turn24 vs Rome. long game victory turn24. Zagreb, vienna, Helsinki, Tripoli under assault. Stack enroute Timbuktu-Arguin at Jihad speed. Things going pretty well now, bit of grief from Russia, so I skipped round them for now. Starting to rip into euro heartlands.
Turkish empire report, Turn 30:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
69 provinces captured, Bologna/Bern/Metz/Dijon/Bordeaux/Hamburg under assault. Jihad 2 going well so far, still having trouble getting enough generals/troops along the 'burning line', even though recruiting heavily everywhere west of constantinople, florins np now, can't spend it quick enough troopwise..
Turkish empire report, Turn 35:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
94 provinces captured, rennes/edinburgh/dublin under siege. jihad 2 ends around 36, tied in by logistical errors from ~10-15 turns ago now. With my florins from turn 25 on could have won this by 35 with better planning, but hey-ho such is life
Turkish empire report, Turn 40:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Marrakesh falls turn40 for the 106th province. I had 105/38 which is a bit annoying, but can't be bothered to replay through the last 10 turns or so to change this, so turn 40 win it is
General Overview on Blitzing as Turks.
-Iman can call early Jihad (turn1), but I called it turn3 while I assembled some armies
-Turkey has a fairly tough start for this, 4 spread out provinces, mostly poor and fairly weak land armies, so not too much to work with initailly. Also, don't get many decent infantrys early, so autoresolves fairly weak. (I did over 50% autoresolve this campaign, mainly overwhelmings)
-I was fairly happy with first 20 turns, didnt really get enough generals and the few I got were mostly in the wrong areas. In retrospect I would plan my primary/secondary/tertiary wave fronts better and move generals back more to gather/reinforce. At one point I had 4 chaps near Riga when I needed them Italy/UK mainly due to Rus/Poles putting up more resistance than anticipated, plus poor merc recruitment.
-I used a high castle/city ratio again, mainly for control in the back of beyond, plus it helps for Sipahis/turkomans everywhere
-I should have gone heavier on my logistics/pulled more generals back 20-25. could take 5 turns or so off the total time doing this.
-I would plan secondary wave reinforcement of captured catholic cities better next time. Plus the problem of my expansion path (capture 3/4 of world then push into last NW europe 1/4 to finish) means that everything you build is behind you The HRE 4 corner crush works better.
-I think the general blitzing logistics rule of 'start everything yesterday' is the one I have most trouble with, I'm too much of a penny pinching micromanager still
So there you go, miles from ATPG's 28 turn/106 province win, but beats my previous HRE attempt
Ok, not a new record by any means, but I had a bit of a blast in my Turkish attempt and set a new personal best, so thought I would share the experience.
Turkey 1.3 VH.VH
Objective: 106 province Jihad, military conquest.
Houserules:
-No allies
-No active diplomacy (map info/traderights allowed from AI diplomats)
-No debt
-No assassins
-Passive spies
-Sack/Ransom everywhere
-Massive multiple Jihad armies
Long campaign victory: Turn 24
106 provinces: Turn 40
Turkish empire report, Turn 5:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
9 provinces captured: Sieges on Thessalonica, Edessa. Jihad called turn3 vs Constantinople, 3 armies join turn4. Turks can call Jihad from turn1, but forces are spread a little too thin for any benefit, so I opted for a few turns training/logistics etc.
Turkish empire report, Turn 10:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
19 provinces captured, Sofia,Sarkel and Jersusalem under siege, plus I have a few more Jihad armies now. Plan is to get over to Bulgar, break most of byzantine and get on down to Egypt way for Jihad drop off.
Turkish empire report, Turn 15:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
31 provinces captured, first jihad ends. Idea now is to use sacking income to build for next Jihad turn24. Florins a bit tight, but no debt so far. Had a full Venice stack drop out of Fog of War at my Ragusa siege and thump me silly heh, but the fools left it ungarrisoned so my beaten stack ran in next turn..still had a few turns of aggrovation here.
Turkish empire report, Turn 20:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
37 captured, fairly slow going but building well for second jihad. Retaking Bran yet again Catholics getting a bit sensitive over my 'grab all catholic castles' strategem it seems..
Turkish empire report, Turn 25:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
46 captured. Jihad 2 launched turn24 vs Rome. long game victory turn24. Zagreb, vienna, Helsinki, Tripoli under assault. Stack enroute Timbuktu-Arguin at Jihad speed. Things going pretty well now, bit of grief from Russia, so I skipped round them for now. Starting to rip into euro heartlands.
Turkish empire report, Turn 30:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
69 provinces captured, Bologna/Bern/Metz/Dijon/Bordeaux/Hamburg under assault. Jihad 2 going well so far, still having trouble getting enough generals/troops along the 'burning line', even though recruiting heavily everywhere west of constantinople, florins np now, can't spend it quick enough troopwise..
Turkish empire report, Turn 35:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
94 provinces captured, rennes/edinburgh/dublin under siege. jihad 2 ends around 36, tied in by logistical errors from ~10-15 turns ago now. With my florins from turn 25 on could have won this by 35 with better planning, but hey-ho such is life
Turkish empire report, Turn 40:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Marrakesh falls turn40 for the 106th province. I had 105/38 which is a bit annoying, but can't be bothered to replay through the last 10 turns or so to change this, so turn 40 win it is
General Overview on Blitzing as Turks.
-Iman can call early Jihad (turn1), but I called it turn3 while I assembled some armies
-Turkey has a fairly tough start for this, 4 spread out provinces, mostly poor and fairly weak land armies, so not too much to work with initailly. Also, don't get many decent infantrys early, so autoresolves fairly weak. (I did over 50% autoresolve this campaign, mainly overwhelmings)
-I was fairly happy with first 20 turns, didnt really get enough generals and the few I got were mostly in the wrong areas. In retrospect I would plan my primary/secondary/tertiary wave fronts better and move generals back more to gather/reinforce. At one point I had 4 chaps near Riga when I needed them Italy/UK mainly due to Rus/Poles putting up more resistance than anticipated, plus poor merc recruitment.
-I used a high castle/city ratio again, mainly for control in the back of beyond, plus it helps for Sipahis/turkomans everywhere
-I should have gone heavier on my logistics/pulled more generals back 20-25. could take 5 turns or so off the total time doing this.
-I would plan secondary wave reinforcement of captured catholic cities better next time. Plus the problem of my expansion path (capture 3/4 of world then push into last NW europe 1/4 to finish) means that everything you build is behind you The HRE 4 corner crush works better.
-I think the general blitzing logistics rule of 'start everything yesterday' is the one I have most trouble with, I'm too much of a penny pinching micromanager still
So there you go, miles from ATPG's 28 turn/106 province win, but beats my previous HRE attempt
THAT is the spirit, folks.
I invite all to try the unlikely, to beat the HRE challenge, but hey... ALL THE OTHER FACTIONS ARE WIDE OPEN. Beating my England and France records should be simple.
(58 England, 57 France) Go ahead and crush those records. Use the strategies myself and Grog laid out.
And if you're that crazy, the HRE will always be there.
Part of what I do for proof is I take screen shots, and lots of them.
It's absolutely ridiculous to post over 600 screenshots if you're cheating, because the only person you're impressing is yourself.
Also, I do the challenge myself. And for those that beat me, I ask them vaguely what they might be doing differently. After all, I've shared my secrets.
If they cannot explain their victories, then I know something is up.
Yeah, and trust I guess. But there's no reason to trust, because there is nothing official really about being Blitzmaster. No one has given me any award. It's basically an award I gave myself.
As ATPG pointed out, what would be gained by cheating? Most of us have a pretty good idea what's possible in the game and if it seemed like someone's claim was outlandish you could always go test it yourself. The Challenge is less of a 'who is better' kind of thing, and more of a 'check out this cool thing you can do' kind of thing. A way of pushing the limits of the game's design. Hence why ATPG and some of us others do AARs (Digging yours BTW ATPG, even though my creaky old browsing machine can't even load it ) and stories based on our campaigns.
As ATPG pointed out, what would be gained by cheating? Most of us have a pretty good idea what's possible in the game and if it seemed like someone's claim was outlandish you could always go test it yourself. The Challenge is less of a 'who is better' kind of thing, and more of a 'check out this cool thing you can do' kind of thing. A way of pushing the limits of the game's design. Hence why ATPG and some of us others do AARs (Digging yours BTW ATPG, even though my creaky old browsing machine can't even load it ) and stories based on our campaigns.
My advice on loading it...
ummmm pretty much I can't load it either. But once it stops loading photos, hit the refresh button and the old photos might remain and the newer photos might begin loading properly. Even with my massively impressive connection it takes me two loads to get them all properly.
I think there is officially one broken photo link. I'm too lazy to go fix it, as it's nothing special to look at.
Well I had a lot of fun with my Turks game, so gave it a go with the Moors
Moors 1.3 VH.VH
Objective: 106 province Jihad, military conquest.
Houserules:
-No allies
-No active diplomacy (map info/traderights allowed from AI diplomats)
-No debt
-No assassins
-Passive spies
-Sack/Ransom everywhere
-Massive multiple Jihad armies
Moors empire report, turn4:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Well a fairly sparse start for the Moors. 3 weak provinces, flimsy treasury, 3 generals, of which the sultan is not long for this world... obvious answer is to call a jihad on constantinople
So end of turn 4, 6 provinces captured, slowly building...
Moors empire report, turn8:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Turn 8, 12 provinces captured, Spain gone, Portugal about to fall. The heavy castle at palermo secured to underpin expansion plans. Pushing on towards byzantine lands and into western europe and British isles next few turns:
Moors empire report, turn12:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
22 provinces captured. Progressing well towards arguin. Stack near constantinople. War on British isles, crushing france soon, sizing up HRE.
Moors empire report, turn16:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Constantinople falls turn 14:
39 provinces held. It's time to push eastward now and grab the euro heartlands while building for next jihad on turn 24. Cash is a bit tight, but lots of troops on the burning line.
Moors empire report, turn20:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
53 provinces held. Central Europe mostly locked down. Pushing into Turkey. Planning for holylands/Egypt. Gathering/logistics building up for Jihad launch on turn 24.
Moors empire report, turn24:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The second Jihad is lauched against Novgorod. Plan is to arc across Eastern europe and Russia, then snap up to finish at novgorod/bulgar/holylands..
63 provinces captured. Things are going fairly well at start of Jihad 2, not much cash but plenty of troops on the go..
Moors empire report, turn28:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Pope gregory not impressed with me, so calls a crusade on Rome. Not many catholics left to answer...1000 mile eastern front saw to that
89 provinces held. Stack headed for jedda. fast horse stacks rushing through Russia, with inf following, conquest of the Holy lands begins (4 heavy armies land at Acre next turn) Tick tock...
Moors empire report, turn32:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Long victory at turn 29, this may be possible turn 17-18 if set as main objective. This was fairly academic for me having 90+ provinces when Jerusalem fell..
The biggest problem with the Moors IMHO is that you have to wait for gunpowder to get their best units. For anything else I'd rather be Egypt or Turkey.
That's an impressive blitz with 'em though. They're one of the 'harder' factions to play VH/VH.
The biggest problem with the Moors IMHO is that you have to wait for gunpowder to get their best units. For anything else I'd rather be Egypt or Turkey.
That's an impressive blitz with 'em though. They're one of the 'harder' factions to play VH/VH.
Yep, the Moors unit roster was just starting to look interesting as the game finished, and yes the turks are better by miles early game. Sipahi/Turkoman vs desert cav, whose your money on? I have not played as egypt yet so cannot comment
Still the desert cav are very fast, so great for when you want to make sure you kill/capture every single man of a city/castle garrison AI reinforcement when hitting an army by a settlement to allow same turn rush in.
Also, a few units of desert cav can cause some reasonable damage to marching mailed knights/generals etc, although in conflict all other horse faction units send them packing in fairly short order. I just used 2+ generals in most serious stacks as my heavy cav with desert cav support, by the time I had the moors next level cav available it was virtually all done. My general units were regularly cut down to the slim end of single figures, although I only lost 10 or so generals overall.
I again relied on mercs wherever I could grab them. I rolled western europe fairly early so only spears/xbows available. The Jihad recruitable troops are only consistant in the south and east, although a wall of Ghazis rolling down the hill into the enemy as my generals smash into the flanks/rear usually worked wonders .
My main strategy for the Moors was to fight as few battles as possible (179 wins total for 106 province), I did this by basically rushing past and attacking weakspots wherever possible, relying on secondary waves to snuff out hotspots that develop. In the screenshots above you can see at various points I had 'hotspots' at bruges, nottingham, zagreb etc ie: AI had strong enough army that it was easier to rush past and draw them after me, then hit them with a secondary wave army
An example of my 'light' miltary style with moors. My first Jihad is to Constantinople. I only send 1 general+ 7 mixed units. His objective was to capture most of north african coast+ palermo etc, grabbing troops wherever then take constantinople singlehanded around 12/13.
Ok but Byzantine has a fair bit of land to raise cash from, and decent-ish armies early on, but they are usually fighting turkey/venice/hungary by turn 10 on VH, so I am gambling on 3-5 garrison + small floating army on Corinth as they have moved armies north/east. I get 4 units.
Sieging/sacking Corinth makes AI byzantine head its free armies down towards corinth by land/sea. However, I have now hopped back on my merc cog and sped across to rebel smryna? (castle below nicea). siege/sack creates another hostile border with Byzantine. They divert armies again, and also land a small HA army and siege corinth. I ignore it.
I then step my general out of the jihad stack and grab more non jihad mercs, these are set off to cause mischief/reinforce corinth. I then rejoin stack and sail on constantinople (I always coast hop with jihad/crusade armies ie: end of each turn on dry land). As I siege constantinople with a full stack, a captained HA unit 'false' sieges Nicea to draw any Byzantine loose armies - most of their forces are 2 turns out from constantinople that I can see...
Finally, constantinople falls on turn 14 as the Jihad ends, Byzantines turn and rush back to retake constantinople, but by now I am sieging Nicea properly after a quick hop on my speedy little cog! Byzantine Ai is really dithering now so I snap back and take Thesslonica with a weak garrison before they can defend in strength. Disheartened, the Byzantines trudge back down through Turkey to their last remaining Island..
On a final note, never underestimate the power of an enraged faction leader
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
So after leaving my newly promoted general to oversee the siege of london, my Sultan heads north with a loyal family member engage in a spot of falconry and see the lie of the land (ie: check notts garrison and see if any mercs in reigon, spys too slow to keep up)
Suddenly I am ambushed by a gang of merry men! I actually clicked a bit nearer to nottingham than intended, and could have withdrawn, but the 'odds' made me go for it:
Still after a tough fight, my faction leader emerges bloody but victorious:
General Grog approaches the weapon rack. He ponders his choices, whilst scratching his recently healed decaptitaion scar.
Taking up the HRE rapier, he makes a few idle swishes in the air, smiles, then replaces the weapon back in the rack. Then his eyes alight on a curved eastern scimitar. Grinning, he takes it from the rack, turns on his heel and shouts "Horse Archers, the more the merrier" as he strides out to meet his captains...
Turks 1.3 Vanilla VH/VH
Objective: 106 province Jihad, military conquest.
Jihad called Turn 2 against Baghdad. Turn 1 was used to form up armies for this.
9 provinces taken by turn 5, starting war on the Byzantines while Jihad stacks head to Russia and the Holy Lands/Egypt.
Turks always slow for the first few turns as they need to overcome economic/logistical problems of the east...
Turkish Empire Report, turn 10:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Jihad vs Baghdad is successful turn 9. I needed a fast first Jihad to carve out a base economy, and to get me north/west far enough to overcome logistics. Now we have 10 turns to build for Jihad 2...
31 provinces captured by turn 10. Sultan Jalal begins the long dusty trek to Timbuktu, leaving the empire in the safe hands of his dreaded son, Mustafa. Starting to tie up the NE/SE map corners. War on moscow. Southern Italy is taken, rome captured, armies head north and west into europe/med.
Turkish Empire Report, turn 15:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Long campaign Victory turn 14 as Sofia falls, after a two front curve and switch attack on byzantines.
45 provinces captured by turn 15. My armies spreading into Europe. Sultan Jalal nears timbuktu.
SE locked. NE getting close. Skirting round Russia for now and ravaging westwards. HRE being rushed. Florins a bit scarce, all buillding work dried up a few turns back, its all going on troops atm for Jihad 2 turn 19...
Turkish Empire Report, turn 20:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The second Jihad is called on novogrod on turn 19. I just wanted somewhere the AI would not get to before me, plus I always get held up in Russia
63 provinces captured by turn 20, but the Jihad is in full flow now. stacks pushing ahead to danes/brits, creating a nice patchwork blitz effect. My plan is to zerg in, grab all NW europe castles then explode everywhere! Bloody big fight vs Hungary soon, poles on the ropes, russia surrounded.
Turkish Empire Report, turn 25:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The world falls to the Turkish Horde, turn 25, 106 provinces
Note: 106 provinces taken in 155 battles won and <40 generals
Re: Blitz All Challenge
keep us informed on your epic campagins
Originally Posted by Grog
lol
placard and start marching around St. Peter's square.
)
Catholics getting a bit sensitive over my 'grab all catholic castles' strategem it seems..
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