AU 601 - ZargonX's DAR (Greece)

[Modo44]

Getting them to peace won't help. You have to make them go to war with Rome to gain some time. With their broken reputation they will not hasitate before breaking treaties. All you can get now is the few turns when they don't talk to their new enemy.

[ZargonX]

You have to make them go to war with Rome to gain some time.

And therein lay the problem. I've had absolutely no capacity to get them to turn on Rome. I've offered everything to them, and they just won't do it.

[Modo44]

If not Rome, perhaps you can make the AIs fight each other. Who knows, it might be cheaper (read: affordable). Even if they go back to war with you, some troops would probably be redirected, making your defence easier.

[ZargonX]

Well, it's been a while since the last update, but I'll try and sum things up: things were looking grim for a good long while there, but I had one thing on my side: I got Mil. Trad. first. With the amazing power of technology, I made peace with the Babs and Egypt, and convinced the Celts to attack the Romans. The Celts had the strongest army in the world, so having them on my side would be a big a help. I also got the Babs to sign on against Rome, but I don't expect them to contribute much. Egypt re-allied with Rome next turn, which was not unexpected, but unfortunately they have Cavalry also. Rome caught up tech-wise 3 turns later, and I'm pretty sure he did a mass upgrade, because he had his saltpeter detached for a few turns.

A few turns after that, the value of the Celts was truly seen: in the span of 4 turns, they took 5 Roman cities (that I can see) including Rome!. I don't know how long he will hold them for, but any time he spends bashing Roman units and cities is fine by me. I still have to deal with the annoying Egyptians in the north, but at least now I have some options in dealing with Rome. We shall see how it goes...

[Modo44]

Are you in the Industrial age yet? If not, you can still pray to the RNG gods. Maybe they'll make your Scientific trait shine and give you a second lever to move the AI around...

[ZargonX]

Ok, the game has official ended with PB's forfiture. His cities were all in disorder, his armies in dissary, and the Celts coming from the North and me starting my sweep in the south all proved pretty decisive. First, let me post a pic of the Eastern front. The red circle is my 3-knight army, and I've got some cavs in the area as well, with more coming from the homeland.

[ZargonX]

Here is a shot of the minimap, as well. I am behind PB by about 15 points in score, but that would quickly change were we to continue playing. The Celts are still the big baddies in the world, but I have no plans to continue on with the game. Now, I will go merrily read the other DARs to see how my Greek bretheren fared

[ZargonX]

Oh, wow... I see my Greek bretheren didn't fare so well

Overall, I'd say several things ultimately paid off for me:
-The early SGL and the Pyramids. This allowed me to grow very fast very early, and that's the long-term investment that probably saved my bacon.
-Buildering it up a bit early on. While this cost my some early military losses when I wasn't prepared, it allowed me to keep the all-important tech and production edge which let me...
-Get Chivalry and Mil. Trad. first. The Chivalry edge let me whup up on the Persians, my ancient arch-nemesis, as well as hold of the Babs and Egyptians. Plus, two of those knights led to two MGLs which led to two 3-knight armies (one of which PB nailed ). Mil. Trad., even with the weaker AU-mod cavs, gave me a speed advantage, and allowed me to...
-Get the Celts against Rome. The Celts were the big boys, and they'd just been sitting around getting stronger. 4 turns after allying with them, they took 6 of PB's cities, including his capital. He had to divert all of his forces, which allowed me to start coming in from the south (albeit slowly) 8 or 9 turns after that, and the game was finished.

So, that's my thoughts on the subjects. It was a great game, and I enjoyed playing with PB. Any comments are much appreciated!

[Krill]

Actually, Dom forfeited to me. While it was no where as convincing as your victory (which looks pretty well fought, and a lot more convincing than my game, I must admit), it was still a moral victory.


Can I have the save game to look at the surrounding land? I never got a good look at it myself, since the game was dropped.