The Case For The Ottomans

[Jon Shafer]

Okay, now that we have our own forum, we got biznas to take care of.

There are a few things that must be kept in mind while playing the Ottomans I've found.

First, the Siphai is a beast. We get some of those, one civ is going down, probably more.

But, they're expensive. Sooo...
That's where industrious workers come in. They allow us to expand our infrastructre to insane levels, allowing us to build up massive amounts of cash and production capability in our cities, which will be necassary to build and afford them.

However, even with that advantage, they're still more expensive than what is practical, so having a large force of mounted troops to upgrade to Sihpais will be our best bet at gaining dominance.

Therefore, our priorities should be:
Finding horses (getting the wheel)
Building Infrastructure
Building some horsemen/knights
Expanding up to the time when we get Siphais, making our mounted troops more experienced and powerful (but avoiding losses, for they are expensive)

[CiverDan]

I agree that finding, and protecting, our horses are very important. I have found in MP games that resource denial is very powerful and can turn the tide of a war if you don't protect them (See my resource denial thread).

I agree with building infrastructure, but balance it with the ability to defend ourselves at all times. Even with industrious workers, lets not develop terrain we can't adequately defend. There's nothing worse, other than losing a city) than getting your terrain pillaged and workers captured, especially early in the game.

A stock of horsemen/knights is important, I agree. though we may need swords/archers early on if we dont get good luck in the resource draw.

I agree with everything else.

[punkbass2000]

I agree, except I think we should research iron working first.

[Jon Shafer]

I disagree.

Mounted troops will be the staple of our military, they must be our priority.

[punkbass2000]

Yes, both are important, but I think that given that we start with BW, we need to take advantage of that. I say research IW then the wheel and grab the resources. If our neighbours have no iron, they will not be too likely to try attack our spearmen. Catapults and a mobile defense force will also be good ideas, in addition to an Expeditiary Force.

[Jon Shafer]

Normally I would agree with you, but horses will be so important to our county that if we find ourselves without them then ANOTHER civ and not us will hold the key to our fate, which is a situation we do NOT want to be in.

In other words, resource denial will be important, but possessing horses will be vital to our survival. Holding our own fate is more important than holding someone else's.

Iron Working costs six, while the Wheel is only four. That extra 1/3 may end up being crucial.

Besides, our industrious workers will allow us the benefit of extra early commerce, allowing us to get the Wheel out of the way even faster.

[Admiral PJ]

Veni Vidi Vici - Horses are your best friend

I agree horses are important for the Ottos (ottoman sounds like they should be run by Otto von Bismarck the german leader, is that why you like them so much trip? )

But in my mod game, I had discovered horseriding, but couldn't reach any horse resources for many decades afterwards.. so we shouldn't rely on the 'horsey' strategy if we have none of the buggers around.

It will be a long time before we can build Sipahis though,
(attack 8,3,3) and if we can upgrade tothem, we must remember elite units upgrade to veterans only .. maybe Leonardos workshop will be useful, but upgrading is nice.

I think we should get Iron working after The wheel, it looks like Iron is even more important in PTW, the mediaval infantry need it (attack 4, def 2)
and upgradeable swordsmen sound even better.

Iron also helps our cavalry army, as we can build lovely Knights with horses and iron.

I think the other teams will try to stop us getting Horses..

I do like cavalry, and maybe we shuld go straight for horseback riding.. Horsemen may be our best defence against Celtic Swords and other UU's, Warrior code is very useful too - it gets us closer to Monarchy which Is vital to get as soon as we can.

We start with Masonry as well as Bronze working, which is good to get us Closer to construction (good for aquaducts and fortresses, great walls good for Industrious GA's too) and currency(money is vital, and it helps happiness).

Libaries are important to us too, we need Literacy as soon as we can.. We get 50% librarie cost as Ottoman
so we get lots of culture as well as science increase.
GREAT LIBRARY is a powerful Wonder, with lots of culture and would let us not worry about science for a while- need it for a Scientific GA too.

[WarriorPoet]

Hmmm....I agree and yet disagree....

First, in the early days, we will need many units besides horsemen. I always end up building loads of archers to do my initial dirty work. Later, it's horsemen and swordsmen. By the time I get to the Sepahi, my nearest neighbors should already be on the ropes, and the Sepahi are just what I need to put them out of their misery.

Horses are important, but they should only be a priority early on as far as securing that resource.

Finally, Sepahi will finish many of our wars, and do require a huge infrastructure to build and support.

[Admiral PJ]

Spain? culture?

We need to be realistic about what we need in the first 2 millenium BC's, so maybe we shouldn't go for Libraries just yet, but we Should think about going for Ceremonial burial soon, Temples are great , allowing a big population (needed to build armies and make settler expansion) We need the Culture to control land and Road links.
It could be an option to Go for construction early and Use Colliseums to create culture.. but this will take centuries.

We must look at what resources appear on what land squares before we can use the resource.. If we want iron we should control mountains/hills , If we want horses (yes) we should settle plains and grasslands early. - You may not get the resources, but you will have good bases to fight for. them.
This is more important for predicting where our needed saltpetre is to be found though its too rare really(deserts, hills, mountains)

Spain needs horses for its Conquistadors too, (3.2.2 all terrain as road, horses) Another civ I think would be good, this would be a good unit to scout the map, as humans won't share their maps lightly I fear.
I do like the pillaging tactic which explorers are good at.
Conq's bad side is they're expensive.

[Admiral PJ]

Spain? culture?

(double post)

I had a message: could not sendmessage, cannot send messages less than 30 seconds (minutes?) apart.
- thats a new thing

[Admiral PJ]

What civ?:

Carthagians look great.. Numidean mercenaries-(2.3.1 with bronze working!)
Industrious and Commercial !

Ottomans do look nice, although science isn't that powerful a ability i think, better than expansion at least.

The mongols look nice, if they do have All terrain as road on their 4.2.2 knights.(no iron needed)

[punkbass2000]

Originally posted by Trip Iron Working costs six, while the Wheel is only four. That extra 1/3 may end up being crucial.

I believe this to be irrelevant. I imagine we'll take forty turns either way.

[jordie]

We must try to secure the resources needed for the Sephai. These guys would be a huge help and a huge boost to our military might. Ottomans look great from what I've heard (haven't had a chance to play as PTW only comes out here on the 22nd) as these UU's will be fighting largely against normal units and not other UU's, it's a good place for them to be in.

[WarriorPoet]

Ancient era: Iron and Horses//Will need lots of horses and swordsmen to stave off invaders and acquire resources. Go for high pop areas and potential future resource sites.

Medieval era: Saltpeter//Get Sepahi late, again we will need many knights, pikemen, and Medieval Infantry to fend off invaders and protect resources. We will need a strong navy to protect coastal cities and resources.

Industrial era: Coal and Oil//Our Sepahi are still good until infantry come out to play...then it gets rough for the Sepahi, on average you'll loose two for each infantry unit. We will need to think heavily about phasing these out in favor of the tank to come late in the Industrial era. We will need to reinforce our strategy with cannons, artillery, musketmen, riflemen, infantry. We will need a strong navy to protect coastal cities and resources.

Modern era: Aluminum and Uranium//The age of the Sepahi is over...now, we'll need to devote our time to defenses, air superiority, bombers, etc...This era isn't about aggression, but defense.

[BigFurryMonster]

I think in multiplayer, fast units are a must! So build lots of horsemen, and do not build archers and stuff.