Getting your ass kicked is no excuse for no DAR

[Blake]

This scenario is a BRUTAL and grueling warfest, no two ways about it. You aren't a poor player if you get defeated! This game will push both your building and warring skills to the limit, outside your comfort zone!

I have some suggestions:

1) Stick it out in the game, even if things LOOK hopeless. It's important to note here, that if an AI has someone else declare war on them, they almost always immediately withdraw their offense (unless they believe they are in a position of complete military supremacy). If you can hold out until a bribe becomes available you can usually turn a very bleak military situation around. The AI may do something dumb just because it's the AI, or you might get some roll-luck at a critical battle. Or another AI might just randomly decide to declare war on one of your aggressors instead of you.

2) Fight to the bitter end and report anyway. A defeat can be a good learning experience, adversity is often educational.

3) Dues Ex Machina. If all else fails, and you were enjoying the game, you could always reload to a time before things went totally pear shaped and try and do things differently. I'd suggest mentioning that you are doing this (otherwise it's covert reloading) and also posting the save ("hey guys how can I win this), if you please.

4) Bend the Rules. While you should always respect the spirit of the rules, you don't have to obey the letter of them. Bending the rules is especially encouraged when it's for role playing which is actually less than optimal strategy - because that's fun, and fun is what the game is about. In short if a rule is seriously getting in the way of your enjoyment of the game, feel free to bend it, a bit.
An example? Say Tokugawa is really pissing you off, because he's an asshat. It would be against the spirit of the rules to conquer his civ, but you could bend the rules and raze some of his core cities as a punitive measure and frustration outlet (but it'd be against the spirit of the rules to resettle those cities with your own).

[ZargonX]

Well, I apologize if I made the course a little too hard, but I did want it to be a learning experience!

But, everything Blake says is correct; this is about improving one's own game, not trying to get everything perfect on the first try. Learn, adapt, and improvise (and occasionally bend the rules if it's for a good cause ). Above all else: enjoy!

[joncnunn]

I've actually noticed some odd AI behavior in this which appears to be hurting the AI: (unoffical Aug 29th patch installed aprox 2500 BC)

1. AIs Attacking Barbarban Cities: The Japanese AI is for whatever reason reapeatly attacking the two barb towns that formed next to them with ONE less offensive unit than is actually needed to take the town. I know this because of my scouts that have repeately shown both of the towns down to one heavilly damaged archer but the Japs ran out of units to take it.

2. Fog busting terriority near other players: The AIs are wasting a bunch of units fog busting territory south of my empire [too far south to see into my territory], not only are those units they use there not advaible for them for more useful purposes [fog busting near their own boarders] but this has caused the two aforementioned barb towns to form near the Japs; one to form near the Zulus while making it extremely easy for me to keep any such towns from forming south of me.

3. Placement of cities near ocean resources: It looks to me like the nice city AI placement in Blakes' mod for Warlords was rolled back in Beyond the Sword; for instance, it sugested a city site that would leave the southwestern fish permenantly unworked by any city unless galley is built and an overseas city built on that island. That fish was actually so critical to a good placement in the area that I actually built the Work Boat in advance in a much earlier city so I could work the fish the moment the borders expanded.

[joncnunn]

I'm also not seeing the warfest; none of the AIs have appeared to declared war on anyone yet (960 AD). I have however built more defensive military units than normal; upgraded them as fast as possible and kept no state religion so I won't get into any religious wars.

[Thrak]

Hehe is lazyness an excuse :P

I've got a good game going to 0 AD but I got distracted by Birth of the Federaton and some DoW-DC action :X

I'll look into it

Edit: I should also add I am planning on doing some sneaky tricks to maintain my position, such as throwing 0xp warriors at barb cities to help get the troops promoted, so that they hold out against the ai until I am ready to settle that particular spot.

[Swiss Pauli]

Shaka's just about to open one of his large cans of whuppass on me, but I've not been able to find the time to play it out owing to some RL hassles.

Might get a chance tomorrow. Will be a very short DAR if I get dogpiled!

[joncnunn]

As a side note the wars started in my game in early Ren era started; fortunately after I had already built a few UUs to go along with the War Elephants & Crossbows I had earlier built.

Here's one that shows exactly how useless the diplomatic points can be in the AI war consideration department.

1650 AD Famine strikes the Zulu city of Ondini; we decide to "spare no expense to help our Zulu neighbors." -100% food in our capital (which didn't need to grow due to being at the health limit anyway) -15 gold, -1 pop, +3 diplomatic relations. Vikings declare war on Germany.

1655 AD The ungrateful Zulus declare war!!!

Oh and the diplomatic screen says I (barely) have the largest size army before the combat that turn that killed 2/3rds of the first Zulu invading stack. The previous turn said the Zulus liked me best of all (+4 points compared to +1 of there second most liked player.)