[SPOILERS] A new Thread [SPOILERS]

[flugauto]

Destroyers are very good, but if we research the Flight spell and make Destroyers fly, they become even better.

[Mardoc]

So maybe the turn wasn't quite as boring as predicted:



He'd evacuated Setia and left a spear + cannon. Got to believe the cannon was new-built, otherwise it doesn't make any sense. A little help from airships, and no casualties.

Also, he sent three cavs to pillage roads between Rome and Oidu. Killed two of those, as well. The third was just a little too far away to reach.

We've got 2 destroyers now - could afford one with the pillage gold and the second seemed a good use of a GG. Good chance we can kill both peninsula cities next turn - might even keep them now that destroyers are near. I'm pretty sure he'll evacuate the rest of his forces next turn; he's got a big pile of galleons 3W of Arpinium. Can't quite kill them yet, need a couple turns to get more destroyers upgraded and advanced.

This has definitely been a successful campaign. Clearing him out of his nearest cities, inflicting odds and ends of casualties, and not suffering much casualties of our own. Just got to hope he's not got a cunning plan that he just needed to buy five turns to enact - wasn't able to kill off this half of his army, so he's still got options. Just...not as many as he did .

Next...I see two options. Option 1: load up the army on transports (which I don't quite actually have yet) and start taking everything that's where his army isn't. Islands, head to his back lines, so on and so forth. Option 2: give myself five turns of just destroyer focus, to clear him from the seas - and walk my entire stack to Rome. Either we get a massive battle, or we get his size 22 capital. Will take 5-7 turns at Infantry pace, depending on how long it takes to clear him out of the southlands.

Leaning toward option 2; still need a few turns to transform "owns Combustion" to "owns the seas". 350 gold per destroyer upgrade, 150 per transport, then they've got to advance and start killing. It won't be super long, but there's no point in letting my army sit and grow rust. And besides, the path to Rome is coastal .

[flugauto]

Is it a 2000 horsearcher stack of 2metraninja to help us?

[Mardoc]

Is it a 2000 horsearcher stack of 2metraninja to help us?

No, he's got Military Tradition and just now added Rifling. He'll have the cavalry swarm to beat all cavalry swarms whenever he finds the cash.

(more seriously, he's kinda busy trying to survive against Zanth)

[Mardoc]

Played the turn this morning. Took both Arpinium and Ostia, and this time I didn't burn them. He left only obsolete units - a bunch of axes and praets and such out burning the countryside. Killed all of those, of course. I think that was a mistake on his part; the tile improvements aren't valuable enough to throw away even obsolete units. But maybe he didn't have room on his ships.

Furungy could probably take Arpinium back next turn, if he's willing to send grenadiers amphibiously against machine guns. I only managed to scrape up 5ish units to garrison. I figure five machine guns and the city's infrastructure would be an ok trade for the 15ish units it would cost him Only five units, because the rest of my stack is busy elsewhere. About ten units are scattered around the countryside to clean up the units Furungy left behind. The main stack is marching on Rome. 90+ units four tiles from his capital. Be interesting to see if he's willing to preemptively burn down his capital like he did his periphery - or if he's willing to finally try a counterattack in force. Not really sure what the next half-dozen turns are going to look like; he's surprised me in the past.

And, we took our first destroyer vs frigate battle. Makes me feel kinda dirty, actually - 99.9% odds after airship. Took a smidge of damage that I think I'm going to actually heal before using the destroyer again - no point in taking chances. I know it means he'll know what's coming, before we can actually wipe his fleet. But, well, I don't so much need to destroy his navy as keep him from using it. Can destroy it quite well by capturing whichever port he hides in, if it comes to that. What's important is that we be able to use the sea and he not be able to. We're up to four destroyers and two transports, now, so pretty soon I'll be advancing and looking for opportunities.

Furungy is about to get Physics, which...I don't think will matter much anymore. Airships made a huge difference in Frigate v Frigate, but they won't change Frigate v Destroyer. And I've managed to pretty much cover my vulnerable bits.

Domestically, we got a Great Merchant from Edirn, and I went ahead and fired the golden age. Not nearly as useful as the last one, now that we're down a bunch of cities and have whipped the others a lot, but still handy. I didn't see waiting as a productive thing to do, though. If we can't stay well ahead of Rome, the war will get difficult - and worse, un-fun.

And in more worrying news, I've spotted a stack of 5 destroyers/6 transports in the big sea between me and Zanth. Not sure if he intends to try to raze a bunch of my stuff, or if that's just where he's parking his navy in case I try to hit him. I might be able to give him a fight for it nowish, where I couldn't have five turns ago - or maybe he's just being careful of me. Need to speed up against Rome, though, if I can, so I have options against Zanth. Mixed feelings here - I'd think that 2metra's huge Cuir stack would worry him and he wouldn't want to pick another fight - but at the same time me and maybe Gawdzak are the only ones who have a prayer of hope at this point. Maybe Zanth really is far enough ahead to consider two fronts as a reasonable idea.

Anyway, that puts the score at 6 cities for Furungy, 5 for me - and I got to actually keep two of them (probably). So if this were eye-for-eye, I'd have to stop here. Fortunately, it's not. Disproportionate revenge is totally appropriate

We resettled the other mainland city this turn, too - although I don't remember its original name so I called it New Whatever . Still have a settler in queue, not sure if it belongs in a razed island spot, or if it would be better in a razed Roman area.

[flugauto]

2 cities taken, 1 resettled sounds like a good turn. Physics and airships give Furungy only information, if he is ready to spend hammers; attacking with airships, he loses them to machineguns and destroyers.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Sounds like fun times! Since no one else really reports this game, it seems that you have a unique opportunity to write history, much less rewrite it. Go ahead and describe how you are winning the game. Talk down what your opponents may be achieving out there in the fog, they have no proof and no one is likely to contradict you.

Disproportionate revenge is totally appropriate

I love it!

[Mardoc]

Hey, it looks like Gawdzak at least is updating! I'm not alone here.

Played last night. Zanth's stack moved due west. Either he wants to hit me somewhere other than directly and quickly, or he's not interested in me at all. I *can* think of a reasonable alternative - maybe he wants to hit 2metra from behind. It would fit his previous pattern of overcaution, but also be something that might work. It would also fit the fact that I still have the EP lead over Babylon - every single other war he's fought, he's started off by running the EP slider for a turn. And it would fit the fact he's got a minimal and unchanging garrison on our land frontier.

It seems I'm paranoid. But worse, also not paranoid enough, as evidenced by Furungy surprising me. . Need to get better at threat recognition.

Furungy didn't do anything I could find. My stack is now three tiles from Rome. I'm slightly worried by counting a total of 17 cannons between Rome and his southern stack - but then my stack has grown up to 92 units instead of the ~80 we had last time, and most of the new units are machine guns. He won't hit me this turn, most of his evacuees can't reach, and I'm on a hill. Maybe next turn we'll see fireworks. Or else maybe next turn he'll start wrecking his own capital . He did have a small stack of cavalry in the open that got a good airship pasting. Take every advantage you can, no matter how small.

His fleet is hiding in port. I'm starting to push forward destroyers to make sure it stays hiding. I think I might stick some infantry on transports as well and start looking for opportunities. Still debating what tech makes sense next - I could go for Electricity and Industrialism for tanks and to take a shot at Three Gorges, maybe. Or stick with Flight to make the Roman war go more smoothly. Or Fascism in acknowledgment that it might not go smoothly no matter what I do. For now, it's easy, just stack up cash and spend it on naval upgrades, but in a couple turns I'll have to pick a direction.

[flugauto]

How is the power? N1 yet? Do you think trying for peace with Furungy for, say, his island cities and attacking Zanth is an option? yikes:

[Mardoc]

How is the power? N1 yet?

No, but we're second and not too far off from Zanth.

Do you think trying for peace with Furungy for, say, his island cities and attacking Zanth is an option? yikes:

Not really. Partly - he does have that big naval stack hanging out. Didn't move it last turn, which explodes the 2metra theory, but also gives me time to accumulate a destroyer stack, so...I dunno.

But also - Furungy finally did something that makes me understand what he's going for. Didn't research Physics for airships, although he'll probably build some - he researched it because it's a prereq for Artillery. And that explains a lot. Especially, it explains why he's being so careful to preserve his cavalry and do everything he can to slow me down. Artillery would most likely shred my stack, at least if we continue the 'big hammer' approach. I don't know that we'd want to give him 10 turns to prepare to fight again. Remember that he did start the war, so we can't expect any long term peace.

That said...I'm convinced *enough* cannons would do the same, and he could have arranged that by now. Still a mistake on his part to be quite as timid as he has been.

This turn was a little boring-ish. Advanced the main stack a tile, to 2 away from Rome. Furungy *is* in fact pillaging away his capital's towns, so I don't think he'll stand and fight here, either. He left all his evacuees in the city to the south of Rome, so he can't really fight my stack even if he wanted to. Got one frigate kill with a destroyer, and otherwise the only fighting was some airship raids on Rome.

We also, however, advanced a pair of destroyer/transport stacks, with some infantry on board. It's time to pick up the pace a bit. Probably going to go on a razing spree, actually, rather than a capturing one - but I want to destroy as much GNP and production power as I can before he makes it all the way to Artillery. It'd be nice to make him spread out his army, too. The big guns will only be a threat if he can manufacture a critical mass.

Probably next turn we can start on that process - or two turns at the outside. Can reach a city next turn, but it's close enough to the front that he may just reinforce. Add in Rome itself, and wherever I send the stack next, and I expect him to start crumbling.

It's sad to destroy all of Rome rather than capture it, but honestly he's close enough to our power level that we can't both hold what we take and continue advancing. It would be worse to not actually win the war. We'll just have to keep settlers advancing behind the army, I guess.