[Epeiros/Pergamon AAR] Philetairos' Gift

[General Appo]

But... why? Just use Irfanview or something instead, saves you all the trouble of Alt+Tabing.

[QuintusSertorius]

But... why? Just use Irfanview or something instead, saves you all the trouble of Alt+Tabing.

Does it automatically convert the BMPs to JPEGs and clear my cache? Or am I going to have huge files taking up valuable memory while I'm playing?

[General Appo]

Well... at first it becomes huge files, but you can then easily convert them into JPEGs and delete the huge files.

[QuintusSertorius]

Well... at first it becomes huge files, but you can then easily convert them into JPEGs and delete the huge files.

Hmm, if I have to manually convert the BMPs after the fact (and they hang around in the meantime) then it's not really saving me any time or hassle.

Each screenshot is twenty seconds of time out; about two to switch out of the game, three or four to paste the image, convert it to an appropriately named JPEG and clear the cache (each image is about 2.5MB in BMP which isn't trivial), then about ten seconds to switch back to the game.

Then the only work I have to do after the fact is upload them into photobucket.

[QuintusSertorius]

The Relief of Nikaia, 222BC

Atintan and Sybotios arrived before the Pontic commander had any time to build siege engines. They couldn't have arrived too soon for Lykomedes Kastideus, the governor of Nikaia.



At first Atintan lined up ready to form into columns and cross the bridge. He put Sybotios as far out of the way as he could, with all the cavalry at a ford downstream from the bridge. Hopefully he'd stay out of the way.



To Atintan's surprise, the Pontic commander came to him, and charged across the bridge to force the crossing.



The Thrakian elites charged in, prepared to hold the entire Pontic army at bay if need be.



For a time, that's exactly what they did, causing grievous harm to the Pontic commander's bodyguard.



Sybotios began the crossing. He was going to contribute to this battle no matter what.



Atintan was never far from the fighting, but chose to stay behind he fighting line. This was not a fight his cavalry could influence a great deal. It was a day for the infantryman.



One of the Pontic officers was separated from his bodyguard.



The cavalry made good progress across the river.



Another Pontic officer was stranded alone.



Now across the river, Sybotios and the cavalry made for the bridge, harrassing Pontic stragglers as they went. Now the subordinate could see the fate of Kastideus' garrison, who were suffering badly at the hands of the remainder of the Pontic army.



One of the Pontic officers was slain in the melee.



Then their general was caught by the Thrakian skirmishers.



He was bisected at the waist by their wicked blades. At the same time, Sybotios charged across the bridge into their rear.



The Pontic army collapsed.



The scene at the bridgehead was one of total carnage.



Nikaia had been saved. Now Atintan could take the war to Pontos and regain the initiative.



But first there was a grave matter to attend to, the funeral of Kastideus. He had fought bravely and died trying to hold the line when his levy troops broke and ran.



Editorial Note



I was expecting a battle to cross the bridge here, but instead got a more regular AI trying and failing to cross. As the stats show, the AI-controlled reinforcements did a piss-poor job of achieving anything, besides getting their general killed. It was actually an accident on my part, I thought I'd unchecked the box to let the AI control them.

The only positive there was that I didn't get them suddenly appearing and potentially messing with my formation if I tried to move everyone. The battle was actually pretty chaotic, moreso than might appear from the screenshots.

[QuintusSertorius]

Second Seleukid War, 220BC

Amantieus continued to patrol the pass through the Tauros mountains, and was attacked by another Seleukid attempt to invade Phrygia.



They came on in the usual manner.



They were clearly the smaller force.



Byllideus broke through the Seleukid right.



The left collapsed just as quickly.



The final charge that broke the centre was delivered by Amantieus in person.



Thus they'd been beaten in the usual manner as well.



Editorial Note



I'm getting a little bored with fighting Seleukid phalanxes which always try to do the same things. Especially these half-baked stacks with no balance and loads of mostly-destroyed units in them. I may have to take a Seleukid FM, then build him an army from scratch, rather than waiting for the AI to fail to combine their stacks effectively before attacking me.

[QuintusSertorius]

Capture of Pantikapaion

Messaneos was now in the process of completing the very last phase of his grand plan, establishing an independent state in the Crimea. He had received the envoys from the new Basilieu, but gave cool replies to the reconciliatory overtures from Amantieus. He wasn't about to give up his newfound autonomy so easily.

He had started the siege of Pantikapaion back in 221, and kept to a methodical timetable of starving out the defenders and exposing all their traps and tricks. In 220 he ordered the final assault.



It was taken with few casualties, the defenders weakened by months of privation.



And now Messaneos set about the business of pacifying the outlying regions.

Editorial Note

I really wasn't in the mood to play out a siege, so I autocalced it. I didn't however, use any cheats.

[QuintusSertorius]

Pontic War, 220BC

Marching through the season to reach the Pontic coast, Atintan happened upon the Pontic king.



Seeing an opportunity to end this war quickly, but cutting off the head of the Pontic snake, he sent his cavalry to find and kill the enemy general.



That done, mopping up his retainers was a straightforward matter.



Shocked at the loss of their leader, Pontos signed a peace treaty and agreed to indemnify Pergamon for the cost of the war.



Editorial Note

Had to use Force Diplomacy to secure that ceasefire, even though Pontos had little it could respond with, and I had a port blockaded and Sinope at my mercy, they wouldn't agree to it.

[QuintusSertorius]

Second Seleukid War, 220BC

Amantieus was attacked in the Tauros mountains again, this time by a much smaller Seleukid force. They must have been getting desparate not to prepare a proper army to attack, knowing that Amantieus and his army were up here.



The enemy general was slain by Byllideus during the fighting.



His death caused the shattering of morale and flight of his army.



A war-weary Seleukid empire agreed to peace.



Editorial Note

Once again some FD, I was getting sick of fighting them.

[QuintusSertorius]

214BC:



I managed to go quite a while before the Seleukids attacked me again - they've besieged a fort I used to block the pass and once that happened I figured it was time to call it a night. Maybe I need to take Mazaka off them and give it to Hayasdan. They're an Eastern faction after all, and more importantly not Pontos. I'd like them to be stronger, but not having two provinces on my border.

What I've been entertaining myself with during the years of peace is fomenting the Second Punic War. Rome lost Cisalpine Gaul and Liguria to their allies the Arverni, and I gave Capua to Qarthadast and moved a super-stack there. They then took Arpi all on their own, though the general got his stupid self killed in the siege.

Qarthadast have also been doing well in the war in Spain, and after a false start where Emporion and Syrakousai rebelled to KH, now Rome are making inroads in Spain too. They also finally completed the conquest of the Illyria coast.

Pahlava look to be trying to join up that province that rebelled to them with their other stuff.

[Swordmaster]

I was expecting a battle to cross the bridge here, but instead got a more regular AI trying and failing to cross. As the stats show, the AI-controlled reinforcements did a piss-poor job of achieving anything, besides getting their general killed. It was actually an accident on my part, I thought I'd unchecked the box to let the AI control them.

I always re-check and uncheck to make sure the box is definitely unchecked. Sometimes it's unchecked but the engine still thinks it's checked (e.g. if you clicked away to view enemy troops and return).

[General Appo]

Nice going. Just a thought, if you really are to recreate Lysimachos empire then you´ll have to eventually take Pontos starting regions, right? Maybe you can move them somewhere else.

[QuintusSertorius]

I always re-check and uncheck to make sure the box is definitely unchecked. Sometimes it's unchecked but the engine still thinks it's checked (e.g. if you clicked away to view enemy troops and return).

Ah, that's what I did before that battle, I unchecked it, then had a look at the enemy army, then started without making sure it was still unchecked.

Nice going. Just a thought, if you really are to recreate Lysimachos empire then you´ll have to eventually take Pontos starting regions, right? Maybe you can move them somewhere else.

I'm very torn here, when I'm straddling this line between historicity and alternate history. I don't want to nerf Pontos, because I want them to be able to grow into a power to content with in the future. But I also don't want to be constantly harrassed by them, nor have them be too powerful too soon.

[Tyrfingr]

Leave my precious Pontos alone! :D

[QuintusSertorius]

Leave my precious Pontos alone! :D

Well I was never going to destroy them, just a question of where they are and how big they're allowed to be.