Blitz All Challenge

[Askthepizzaguy]

While it is true that the AI crusades don't desert (your explanation for using crusader exploit), the AI only uses one crusade. So you have several times their advantage by having several non deserting crusades, especially against the already lackluster AI of unpatched M2tw, as the English...

Not trying to be negative, but I think it seriously devalues the accomplishment of world conquest if you have 9 strong, free armies steamrolling across Europe. Without the crusader glitch you would be -50000 in debt...

Again sorry for being negative, but this is a discussion forum after all, and conquering the world with massive armies with zero upkeep just seems more like a race to get to every settlement by turn 58...

Indeed, that is precisely what is being attempted and accomplished by those actions.

I currently play a much more fair and difficult game, LTC on VH/VH, with multiple restrictions and house rules. See Medieval 2 Total War for Independence for more details.

The purpose of the campaign on the blitz all challenge is to roll up the map as quickly as the program allows, without modifying the game. Yes, it is exceedingly unfair for the AI factions. However, your enemy is not the AI, but time.

Time is the demon you must slay, and it is a far more worthy adversary than any computer opponent. If you doubt it, I will refer you to anyone currently accepting this challenge.

It is indeed a challenge, even if the AI is not. The difficulty comes from your own mistakes and bad planning, not from the incompetent AI.

To give the AI a fair game I encourage you to join me in my quest for Total independence!

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=97557

It's much harder on the player and retains the spirit of trying to conquer the map quickly to meet conditions, but you are at a severe disadvantage as your conquests will turn rebel and not assist your empire's expansion. And all loopholes and dirty tactics are erased.

That may be more to your liking. This particular thread is about pure and simple slash and burn as quickly as conceivably possible. The achievement is not world conquest, but world conquest by turn number X.

That is the challenge, not the conquest of territory, but of time.

[Barbarian]

Nice, I am eager to try this. But in the very end I will have to be excomunicated, to beat papal states.

[Philbert]

What happens to the papacy afterwards? Obviously a new pope will be selected out of your cardinals (again) but won't he whine for you to give him a new shelter?

What would happen if you kill off all your priests (send them on boat and disband? Does that work?) Then there are no more pope candidates.

[Paradox]

That brings up an interesting point, but I don't think it's possible to disband priests.

The auto-resolve option is my only choice, as the battles are too good for my computer, so I'm just going to have to rely on numbers and weapons, no outsmarting the AI in the battles this time.

[ReiseReise]

He meant disband the boat, not the priest. I believe you get the "You cannot disband a naval unit unless the passengers can disembark!" message. But I could be wrong.

[Paradox]

I'm pretty sure you do get that message, as I've been getting at times when trying to get rid of my useless units who were remnants of a past crusade. The Papacy will never die, they cannot, there has to be a college of cardinals.

[Grog]

Hmm, couple of queries for ATPG:

1/ I see you recommend a catholic faction to accomplish the goal. I assume this is due to tighter logistics in western europe (territory density) to give an early boost to conquest coupled with easy availability of heavy infantry to push up autoresolve? I was thinking of trying this with the turks, but could see this putting me at an initial disadvantage over a catholic faction.

2/ Spies and sieging. Do spys travel at crusade stack speed when contained within a crusade stack? or is the stack limited to spy speed? Also, do you settle for taking 2 turns to take each settlement (building siege on site vs logistics/time constraint of training siege engines and lugging them about etc), or do you run spies ahead of your expansion paths to allow spyrushing of settlements?

I'm thinking of giving this a go, and am tempted to use poland or hungary for a bit of variety. (played england/france/HRE in the last few long games, so fancy a change)