You know the war is lost....

[cpbeller]

when the enemy army shows up in Armored Cars, and shooting machine guns....and all you have is musket loaders and horses....
I wasn't doing "too" bad....2vs2 game....i was Germans, allied with Egyptians....our economies were necktie close...then, they started doing a combined assault on my ally...a city fell....i took a British city....then lost it....built up again, and took it back, this time assimilating it. I tried to hold out, but the British just overwhelmed me...."The Battle of Whitby"....bloody, bloody battle....

I had to pull away...retreat....after a few moments, the Brits show up again, this time with much better tech than I....needless to say, I lost....they were about an age level higher than I....I would go up an age, then they would go up an age....

Awesome game though....it really is epic....great and fun game....

Oh, I noticed right before I resigned (really, it would only have dragged out, they had armored cars and tanks....I had horses...)...anyways, the Bantu's took an Egyptian city all the way on the west corner, which had started out firmly in Egyptian hands....

Like I said, fun game....

[windupmerchant]

what level were you playing on?

[cpbeller]

moderate I believe....

[Madine]

I am embarrased to admit, I have been getting owned 1v1 against a moderate comp.

[TheMaestro]

I tihnk the unit population is killer so far...I was playing against one comp, and I couldn't defend both flanks and my center with enough units...whereas the computer can always know exactly where and how to attack...just with 200 pop limit it is hard to gather enough forces to defend.

[Inverse Icarus]

Originally posted by TheMaestro
I tihnk the unit population is killer so far...I was playing against one comp, and I couldn't defend both flanks and my center with enough units...whereas the computer can always know exactly where and how to attack...just with 200 pop limit it is hard to gather enough forces to defend.

defensive structures actually work to a degree moreso that previous RTS. i concur that it's often hard to spread your forces effectively, but if you monopolize on the terrain (ie, mountain passes, ridges, lakes, rivers) you can set up defensive structures to buy yourselves some time to reinforce your troops.

in all seriousness though, it's better to plan your city spots by their defensive worth, ie, put them behind mountains, mountain passes, on ridges, on opposing sides of a large lake, whatever you can see.

i played one game where i extended like a giant arm across the middle of the map. big mistake.

[One_Dead_Villy]

its always a little hard to beat the computer initially...i have no problem with moderate now...but initially it was a bit of a challenge...it would beat me as much as i was able to beat it

[Madine]

I just crushed the comp in moderate now

I agree that it is important to plan your cities with defense in mind.

One thing I discovered was that units seemed more effective holding formation than chasing after villies.

[Bridger]

Defencive structers work well in this game, and they actually perform the role they were designed to perform, and that is to DELAY. Defences can never stop an enemy outright, not in real life, not in games, it always should take military power to stop an attack. Defences simply delay it, or increase the causalties of the attacker.

If you build 1 fort + 2 towers in each choke point (should be 2 or 3 at most usually, then build towers next to the vulnerable cities) you will get about 2-3 minutes of "delay" as the enemy seiges your castle/towers. This should be plenty of time to relocate your army to the right area (or better yet flank him!).

[One_Dead_Villy]

tower and fortresses in a town also count as army in resolving who takes control of a city after it has been reduced

[Inverse Icarus]

Originally posted by Madine
I just crushed the comp in moderate now

good for you

I agree that it is important to plan your cities with defense in mind.

One thing I discovered was that units seemed more effective holding formation than chasing after villies.

yes, oh my god yes. formations in RoN is nothign short of essential.

ESPECIALLY with reguards to artillery units early on. if you can get behind an enemy line (flanking, whatever) you can tear their artillery to shreds before they even have a chance of reducign your city.

i just played a game where the Russians actually started retreating because i took out most of their heavy firepower / supply trucks.

RoN in simply awesome.

[Inverse Icarus]

Originally posted by Bridger
Defencive structers work well in this game, and they actually perform the role they were designed to perform, and that is to DELAY. Defences can never stop an enemy outright, not in real life, not in games, it always should take military power to stop an attack. Defences simply delay it, or increase the causalties of the attacker.

exactly. you're not going to kill many of them. in fact, if your enemy is smart and prepared, you won't kill any with your defenses. the objective is to slow them down.

If you build 1 fort + 2 towers in each choke point (should be 2 or 3 at most usually, then build towers next to the vulnerable cities) you will get about 2-3 minutes of "delay" as the enemy seiges your castle/towers. This should be plenty of time to relocate your army to the right area (or better yet flank him!).

nail on the head. you build your cities based on the availible geography, and set up defensive choke points BEFORE the city, so the enemy has to stop and engage the defenses before marching on the city.

this is especially effective early game where the artillery units take longer to (un)pack. you can buy yourself literally MINUTES to reloact and army, build some new units, or throw up extra defenses.

If the opponent is a little stupider than usual, you might actually be able to fire back with your defenses. look for artillery units or supply trucks you can hit. remember, attrition is the best defensive capability you have.

as the game presses on though, your fortifications beome less and less effective. the AI isn't as slick as a human is, and your defenses will get utterly trampled by a human who knows what to expect late game.

basically the defensive buildings will buy you time in the short run, for guarding your lands, and save you money / time in the long run.

i often find myself building forts and towers in recently assimilated lands, not only to aid in holding / defending it, but to roll back the borders a bit more. fear the attrition.