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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Jan 28, 2009 2:44:32 GMT
This is the army I put out to take on Braduk. Which would be why I had no trouble taking it so quickly.
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Post by Sonic on Jan 28, 2009 3:20:57 GMT
That looks like a few units to throw at them. I especially like the bit where it says:
1-2 first strikes; and, Immune to first strikes
:thumb:
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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Jan 28, 2009 3:25:29 GMT
Yeah, I can't even remember who that was. The unit list was so long I couldn't see their name.
The number of first strikes is the chance that you'll get a hit in first, even if you're attacked. Being immune means that the other lot can't land a first strike on you if you attack them.
I think.
All of the little square icons are special abilities that that unit has. So Valin Phanuel has 17 additional skills on top of his bases.
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Post by Moo on Jan 28, 2009 8:59:44 GMT
Ooooh, you big tease. Stop teasing.
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Post by coffers on Jan 28, 2009 11:42:39 GMT
They should have just ran and kept going until they hit water. Then they should have just swam and swam........
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Post by hornet on Jan 28, 2009 11:51:05 GMT
The top unit looks like archers of some description to my uneducated eye.
Nicely done, sir. Warriorising is the bit of the game a) I've got the least experience in and b) I'm worst at (I know. Given how rubbish I am at everything else, imagine how crap I must be at combat) so your maneuverings are as educational as they are impressive.
Couple of nice juicy cities left to take there once you've settled down in the capital, too.
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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Jan 28, 2009 14:41:20 GMT
There'll be no surprise that once the Clan capital fell, cleaning up the rest of the island was relatively easy. I say relatively because our army of maneuver continued to be thinned out by the need to leave at least some cursory defence in each of the captured cities. Once Braduk was secure we struck northeast to take Jesmond or Hezielk, to give it the Orcish name, which fell quickly, but then we had a bit of a fight to capture Renegade Hill as every remaining undefeated Orc unit had fallen back onto it, including a couple of their strongest. At this stage I didn't want to risk losing a strong unit, so I made sure that I brought up overwhelming force and sent in my Frigates to weaken the walls. Amusingly, the Orcs sent out a navy I didn't know they had and sank half of my Frigates in what turned into a nasty naval spat, but that was just the last throes of a dying empire and a turn later the Clan leader rode out again to offer us a peace deal, but by this point I had all of his stuff, so he had nothing to bargain with. We sent him back into Renegade Hill and then assaulted the town, wiping the stupid bloody Orcs from the map. That was for killing me in that alternate universe. So this would bring about a time of relative peace for the Elven empire. Right? Ok then, maybe not. That would be what appears to be a Kuriotate Empire border line on my Barbarian Island. Tune in next week when the two biggest Empires in the game get into a bit of a girl fight.
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Post by Moo on Jan 28, 2009 15:13:21 GMT
Lipsticks ahoy!
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Post by elth on Jan 28, 2009 17:35:14 GMT
I've always thought it's a good idea to colonise an entire island after taking it over.
No doubt Stu just let them have a bit of it so he could make this more interesting for his adoring public :thumb:
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Post by Sonic on Jan 28, 2009 17:36:07 GMT
Damn Moo, you've said anything anyone else could want to say. Well done :thumb: Unlike Stu, who we have to wait for. At least it isn't as long as Boo :humb:
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Post by coffers on Jan 28, 2009 17:39:23 GMT
Oweerrrrrr Misssus.
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Post by Sonic on Jan 28, 2009 18:00:24 GMT
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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Jan 30, 2009 14:09:25 GMT
The next few hundred turns are a mess as the free land in this world is now almost entirely filled and civilisations jostle and bump up against each other.
The early game was easy to describe as I fought the Elohim, then the Barbarians and then the Clan one at a time, but now I start messing with diplomacy in an attempt to slow down the opposition.
In a tactic similar to FM's nugget of calling your opposition's opposition to tell them how great they are, I start trading tech and maps and stuff to the Malakim, Hippus and Calabim, while having my Privateers run up and down the Kuriotate borders, sinking fishing boats and whaling ships and blockading trade routes.
With the war on Clan island over I move almost all of my navy there back to the Island of Awesome, bringing it with it the vast majority of the forces that were on Clan island to centralise my military ground power.
Some of them don't get to stay home for long as I push them southwest onto Barbarian Island and find now that while I've been happy in the north and south of the island, the Kuriotates snuck into the west and have now built a settlement in the east too.
Clearly that's not going to stand, so I start by ripping up the west-east road connecting the towns to break communications between the two and then park Valin Phanuel at that spot, ready to deal with anyone else who thinks building roads on my island is fun.
If there was any doubt about a decision to attack the second strongest civ in the game and my closest ally, (for some reason the Kuriotates are happy we're in the UN together, even though it essentially means he does whatever I say), that's removed when I find that he's also settled my Star Trek island way in the north and then the news breaks that he's built the Mercurian Gate wonder.
The Mercurian Gate is the way to call the "good" Gods into the game on your side and although it's a very powerful tool (and there can only be one of them in the game world), I wouldn't normally be too bothered about it, except that I was halfway to building it myself.
With all of that research wasted I get a teensy bit annoyed and immediately announce war on the Kuriotates.
This is going to be a small action and much, much less even than the Clan war, because the Kuriotates cities on both Barbar and Star Trek island are tiny and defenceless. Within two turns I've razed both towns on Barbar (they're too small to capture) and one of the two towns on Star Trek island.
The next turn I capture the second Kuriotate city on Star Trek island and call up the Kuriotates to ask if we can end this senseless war, (now that I've achieved everything I wanted to).
He tells me to go away and the reason for that becomes clear on the next turn. They've been at war with the Khazad forever and that conflict has been steadily tipping toward the Kuriotates, but in this turn they make a dramatic series of gains and the Khazad capitulate, becoming a Vassal State and, therefore, immediately declaring war on me.
Then the Gods come through the Mercurian Gate and ally with the Kuriotates because it was they who called the Gods through.
So then the Gods declare war on me.
So this should be fun.
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Post by coffers on Jan 30, 2009 14:30:40 GMT
Very Interesting, Stupid but interesting.
Now that is what I call a very dirty trick.
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Post by Moo on Jan 30, 2009 14:33:40 GMT
"My dad's bigger than your dad...." KUTGW!
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Post by Sonic on Jan 30, 2009 14:55:24 GMT
I think this is the part where we find a cumffy chair, a foot rest, some popcorn and beer and enjoy the pretty fireworks. And that's just the half time entertainment, no?
:thumb:
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Post by Moo on Jan 30, 2009 15:02:10 GMT
As long as s1ut doesn't have a wardrobe malfunction, I'll be fine.
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Post by Sonic on Jan 30, 2009 15:21:27 GMT
Good point there Moo. I will be fine with the said lack of one as well.
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Post by hornet on Jan 30, 2009 16:04:11 GMT
Find his city that's got the gate, and nick it.
Job's a good 'un. :thumb:
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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Jan 30, 2009 16:16:26 GMT
We were now embroiled in a war with an alliance of three nations which is somewhere I very definitely didn't want to be, especially as one of those three was a collection of Gods. Even though the war was, for now at least, essentially a phony one because of the large tracts of water separating the two factions, it was clear I either had to get out of this war in a hurry, or get someone else into it. Then the UN reconvened. There was a bit more distance between us at the table this time as befits two people trying to kill each other, but the resolution on the table offered a chance for more hilarity. I'd proposed that the UN should declare war on the Khazad as they were at war with one of the UN's members. Namely me. As a member, I voted yay on this resolution, while the Kuriotates voted nay, unsurprisingly, as the resolution would require them to declare war on one of their own allies. So, as per, we then went to the leader of the UN for the deciding vote and after much deep thought and consideration I passed the motion, continuing my long unbroken run of voting in support of me. This didn't work as well as I'd hoped, because the Kuriotates declared war on the Khazad, shouted rude words at them for a turn, then declared peace and the Khazad went back to war with me. Obviously, I needed a broader plan. For a pretty large number of turns now I'd been sending gold to the Amurites, trading tech with the Malakim and trading maps with the Calabim in an attempt to buff relationships with them and get some people on my side to oppose the Kuriotate Alliance. I continue to build these alliances while reinforcing the points of my empire to deter anyone/gods who think it'd be a good idea to invade me and then the fates conspire in my favour, as the Malakim sign defensive pacts with the Amurites and the Hippus. Decius, leader of the Malakim, is my best friend in the whole wide world, I suspect because he has a sense of humour and has been laughing behind his hand for several hundred turns as a I ruin the Kuriotates' day by making them vote for slapping themselves in the face. I get on the blower to Decius and ask him to attack "our joint enemy", the Kuriotates. He says he'd love to, but he's a bit short of cash at the moment which is clearly a leading statement but it's also a leading statement I can't afford to refuse, so I cough up 2000 pieces of gold (roughly half my total savings) and Decius, his Malakim, the Amurites and the Hippus all declare war on the Kuriotates and the Khazad. And God. So this is what the relations chart looks like at this point, followed by what it looks like one turn later. Hey look! My red lines went away! Yes, a turn after engulfing virtually everyone on the planet into a hell of war, I try to back my way out of it. The Kuriotates won't speak to me, so I winged it and called up God. After a bit of a wait listening to a recorded voice telling me that my call was important and that I'll be put through to a God as soon as one comes available I finally got through and asked for a peace treaty. At first they weren't interested, but I pointed out that as god they were supposed to forgive me or something, then gave them 100 gold as a tribute and they went for it. With the Gods back on the bench the "Good" Kuriotates and Khazad have no choice really but to sign a peace accord with me (they don't want to upset God, after all) and I walk away whistling. Let me know how that war works out, follks.
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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Jan 30, 2009 16:17:23 GMT
Find his city that's got the gate, and nick it. Job's a good 'un. The Gods take over the city the gate is in, so all I'd have to do is get past most of the Kuriotate empire, then assault the city and kill God and it's mine!
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Post by coffers on Jan 30, 2009 16:38:05 GMT
Top notch. I like it I do.
Obviously peace is borong, but I'm sure you will remdy that sooner rather than later. Eitehr that or Horn will say something funny. :thumb:
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Post by Boony on Jan 30, 2009 16:52:22 GMT
You bribed God? Sweet... I love how you weasel your way out of trouble
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Post by Sonic on Jan 31, 2009 13:53:37 GMT
God seems to be cheap to bribe at that too, considering how much you gave Decius. KUTWW Whistling :thumb:
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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Feb 1, 2009 15:08:42 GMT
This is just getting messy now. With all available land gone the only way to expand a border is through a war with someone or other, or by profiting from a war someone else is engaged in. After pulling out of the big war between everyone and everyone else I set to work with some diplomacy to try to fortify my position with half of the world and that turned out to be surprisingly worthwhile as another four people joined the UN. Those four were Basium, (the Gods who'll do whatever the Kuriotates say), the Calabim, (the Vampires from the south who border against the west of my Barbarian island), the Malakim, (my old friend Decius) and the Amurites. Just after all of these hangers on appeared we had another vote for a new leader and my infant diplomacy efforts came through for me as the Malakim and Calabim voted for me, while the Basium, Kuriotates and the bloody Amurites voted for the Kuriotate leader. :moop: I cast my vote for me to split the decision at 3-3 and tip the leadership in my direction as my vote carries any ties (President for Life!), but with six people on the board I'm going to have actually keep people happy now. Which is annoying. Even more so when the Hippus join the UN in the next turn, meaning the next leadership vote, whenever that comes about, will have seven ballots - no ties that time. First order of business is to make people annoyed again, so I vote for everyone to attack Kandros Fir (the Khazad) and that passes 3-2 with the Kuriotates abstaining from voting on going to war with their ally and the Basium doing whatever the Kuriotates say. With the vote passing the two abstentions are meaningless and everyone declares war on the Khazad. This virtually signals the end for the Dwarves as no one will be calling this war off after one turn this time. The main point of forcing this war is so that I can get ashore somewhere on the main, (and only), continent. With most of the Khazad forces swinging south to deal with the Kuriotates on their border, I marshal my forces on Star Trek island and then push them across the narrow strait onto the mainland and capture the Khazad city of Niminsnal. Our army don’t hesitate though, pushing down the coast to Halewell and then swinging south west to take the former Khazad capital of Khazak. I then rush produce a settler and form the city of Egerlar inbetween the three cities to stop the Kuriotate cultural borders from pushing into my new territory as they push north, deep into Khazad territory to my west. This is what the north eastern tip of the main continent looks like now : That part of the world used to be all yellow, for the Khazad. The white borders in the top right of the screen are the borders of my Star Trek island. Off to the east off screen is the Island of Awesome. For the next hundred turns or so I'll be emptying the Kuriotates' bank accounts and military force pool by sending my assassins south and west into the Kuriotates' newly captured territory. And hoping that this doesn't annoy God.
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