Hi everyone!
Here is an AAR for a recent game I finished under 1.04 beta 8. I did not plan to do the AAR until after the game finished, so this will be more a recap from save games and what I thought was interesting or noteworthy.
Apologies in advance for the slight spoiler in the title.
Round 1 – Barren Biome, Perfect Perks
Settings:
Unclassified Planet
No Planet Histories ticked
Drop me in a game now!
Extreme difficulty
No Story Modules
All other options default
Round Report:
Looks like we ended up on a rocky, barren planet.
Lots of scavenging deposits in range, and two awesome hex perks, a 40 AP AF [&o] and a Mercenary Camp!
A quick note on scout choices. Sent regiment towards the Hex Perks in case they are contested. Trucks down the road to uncover a few extra hexes. City left empty only because our northern border is close. Usually I leave one unit inside just in case of emergencies.
Scouts reveal we are bordered by 3 regimes, Flint Empire to the W, Inlandfact Nation to the S, and Osnabruck Hansa (Major, Militarist) to the SE. NE there is a small sliver of unaligned territory.
Leaders are OK but nothing special. At least our best leaders are in some key roles, Governor and SHQ.
Factions are Humanist School (Heart +++, Demo +) and Reformist League (Auto +++)
Democracy/Enforcement/Fist are our preferences as chosen by the game. Speech went to enhancing Democracy.
Models are above average. Infantry is strong, but MG's are weak. At least the structure is OK. Buggies are good.
Zeitgeist is for Private Industry investment, which helps a lot in the early game.
Key Decisions:
Played some fate cards, Paranoia (16 fear), 1000 Credits, Labour Day. Chose this over Gladiators as I would like to keep a fate point just in case.
Keeping Credits on hand as we do not need Truck Station nationalised yet – logistic requirements still small enough.
Establish Military Research Council. We are bordered by Minors and a Major, so probably won't need more units out from turn 1. This will give us time to research first tier of military techs. We can then add Model Design Council to create units which can defend our territory.
Build Bureaucrat Office I. The only territory I care about right now is the 2 hex perks, and the hexes around the capital to prevent danger buildup. We have better than usual IP generation, so we should be able to catch up in metal generation. The early boost to BP will allow us to get through those early techs and model creations a lot earlier, powering a future war against one of the minors to get our 2nd city.
Call up Governor and reduce recruitment numbers and recruitment bonus to zero. Turn on emergency food. I am planning to mostly use Militia plus either Buggies or Light Tank battalions, so the 300 manpower per turn should be enough. Save some money with these 2 measures to keep our initial credits intact for longer.
Plan for next turnset:
Unlock and discover all tier 1 military techs;
Establish model council and design tier 2 Infantry and Buggies, then try to discover Light Tanks;
Discover the type of minors next door;
Hold onto the 2 Hex Perks;
(Note to myself to remember to link images later on)
AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict (Completed)
Moderator: Vic
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
As the first post was only one round, I'll post the next turnset. I'll add a round every day or so thereafter, to avoid spamming the forum [:)]
Rounds 2-5 – Silver Tongue, Scientific Talent
Round Report:
We learned the true identities of our minor neighbours, both Farmers! Both neighbours came cap in hand offering peace, with a whopping +60 relation added after the peace ceremony we performed with the people of Inlandfact Nation. I also managed to snatch a lot of territory near them before making the decision, although I annoyingly missed one of the road tiles, leaving a hole in the middle of my empire!
With an 87 relation for Inlandfact Nation, I am considering an early Foreign Affairs Council to peacefully annex them. I can then do the same to Flint, which will give us a strong empire and allow us to focus our early game efforts on economy.
Our Military Research Council leader was a crappy Cap I leader with no relevant skills, but that did not matter, we discovered the 3 techs required with a healthy allocation of budget and the help of a nearby Military Liner. Hopefully this can help show the power of an early Bureaucrat Office!
We had some Free Folk incursions from the NE. I received some GR infantry from a village, and those proved useful in pushing back the Free Folk Marauders.
It looks like Osnabruck also got some hi-tech unit, they have a unit directly below the Military Liner, which has not claimed this tile yet. Interestingly, I think it has been there 2 turns without moving (?)
The Model Design Council was added on round 5, and Military Research turned to Discover.
We kept with Democracy/Enforcement/Fist, but did not trigger any Regime Feats.
BP production grew rapidly, to 167 next turn, which is more than triple our output in Round 1. Why is there so much excitement over the 30% research bonus from Mind-40 again?
Key Decisions:
Built Recycling Centre in the capital. I think the capital builds are super important to the early game. The Industry I is too expensive in Metal to get early on, so I would like to start growing our Metal and Fuel income in preparation for our first military units. We are researching fast enough such that Bureaucrat Office or High Command are a lower priority now.
Research – As with before, fielding more military is not an urgent priority. Therefore we can take our time a bit and try to discover all 3 techs before switching to Research. I was a bit lucky in this game as I have had other games where I had to put 600+ BP into a tier 1 Military tech before discovering it!
Spies – I got 3 spies in this turnset, and used these on the peaceful Farmer minors, in preparation of a future Unification. Our advisor is attached to the Supreme Council Director for a slight extra chance of success.
Our population growth and Morale are higher than average due to our decisions in Round 1, so I played Radiation Leak for some FP. I also played +50 PP to begin stockpiling these in preparation of future diplomatic efforts, or if I need a leader or council urgently. I now have 5 FP in hand for any emergencies. I do not feel the need for Gladiators or Labour day just now with worker Morale at 78, and our SHQ leader is only average and in his 50's, so I am not prepared to commit our Tacticus Genius to him.
Diplomacy with Minors will allow us to worry only about our Major neighbour, Osnabruck Hansa, who are Militarist and low relation. If they go to war with us, I want 100% of our forces available to fight them off.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Unlock all tier 1 military techs; (Done)
Discover the type of minors next door; (Done)
Hold onto the 2 Hex Perks; (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Discover all tier 1 military techs;
Establish model council and design tier 2 Infantry and Buggies, then try to discover Light Tanks;
Build Recycling II, possibly a second one;
Found Foreign Affairs Council;
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status;
Rounds 2-5 – Silver Tongue, Scientific Talent
Round Report:
We learned the true identities of our minor neighbours, both Farmers! Both neighbours came cap in hand offering peace, with a whopping +60 relation added after the peace ceremony we performed with the people of Inlandfact Nation. I also managed to snatch a lot of territory near them before making the decision, although I annoyingly missed one of the road tiles, leaving a hole in the middle of my empire!
With an 87 relation for Inlandfact Nation, I am considering an early Foreign Affairs Council to peacefully annex them. I can then do the same to Flint, which will give us a strong empire and allow us to focus our early game efforts on economy.
Our Military Research Council leader was a crappy Cap I leader with no relevant skills, but that did not matter, we discovered the 3 techs required with a healthy allocation of budget and the help of a nearby Military Liner. Hopefully this can help show the power of an early Bureaucrat Office!
We had some Free Folk incursions from the NE. I received some GR infantry from a village, and those proved useful in pushing back the Free Folk Marauders.
It looks like Osnabruck also got some hi-tech unit, they have a unit directly below the Military Liner, which has not claimed this tile yet. Interestingly, I think it has been there 2 turns without moving (?)
The Model Design Council was added on round 5, and Military Research turned to Discover.
We kept with Democracy/Enforcement/Fist, but did not trigger any Regime Feats.
BP production grew rapidly, to 167 next turn, which is more than triple our output in Round 1. Why is there so much excitement over the 30% research bonus from Mind-40 again?
Key Decisions:
Built Recycling Centre in the capital. I think the capital builds are super important to the early game. The Industry I is too expensive in Metal to get early on, so I would like to start growing our Metal and Fuel income in preparation for our first military units. We are researching fast enough such that Bureaucrat Office or High Command are a lower priority now.
Research – As with before, fielding more military is not an urgent priority. Therefore we can take our time a bit and try to discover all 3 techs before switching to Research. I was a bit lucky in this game as I have had other games where I had to put 600+ BP into a tier 1 Military tech before discovering it!
Spies – I got 3 spies in this turnset, and used these on the peaceful Farmer minors, in preparation of a future Unification. Our advisor is attached to the Supreme Council Director for a slight extra chance of success.
Our population growth and Morale are higher than average due to our decisions in Round 1, so I played Radiation Leak for some FP. I also played +50 PP to begin stockpiling these in preparation of future diplomatic efforts, or if I need a leader or council urgently. I now have 5 FP in hand for any emergencies. I do not feel the need for Gladiators or Labour day just now with worker Morale at 78, and our SHQ leader is only average and in his 50's, so I am not prepared to commit our Tacticus Genius to him.
Diplomacy with Minors will allow us to worry only about our Major neighbour, Osnabruck Hansa, who are Militarist and low relation. If they go to war with us, I want 100% of our forces available to fight them off.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Unlock all tier 1 military techs; (Done)
Discover the type of minors next door; (Done)
Hold onto the 2 Hex Perks; (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Discover all tier 1 military techs;
Establish model council and design tier 2 Infantry and Buggies, then try to discover Light Tanks;
Build Recycling II, possibly a second one;
Found Foreign Affairs Council;
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status;
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Rounds 6-10 – Old Borders, New Toys
Round Report:
On the outside it may seem like nothing happened in this round. We cleaned up our borders to the NE, and have our forces positioned to defend our territory. All our other borders are secure for now so the rest of our forces are in the capital in case of unrest.
Research came along strong this turn, with all 3 techs researched, and efforts turned back to discovery of tier 2 techs.
The Model Design Council was also busy, with a new Cooper II and Infantry II coming into being. The Cooper II has 50mm plating and Advanced Machineguns, which is more than enough to deal with minors and Free Folk, and the Infantry II are almost twice as strong as our original model.
Humanist School moved to Democracy ++, and sent us some political aid trucks. A lot more spies were generated, but I had to burn 3 to gain recon on the small Raider nation of Belhors Pax, to the W of Flint. I also learned of the existence of Omicron Federation to the SW, and Topelion Territory to the S. (I noticed in this game, everything called '…. Territory' was a faction which doesn't do diplo, eg mutants/nomads/arachnids)
We did not generate many stratagems outside of spies, and the Political Aid trucks sent by our Humanist School faction. Still sitting on 5 FP and 96 PP for later on. I tried to establish contact with Osnabruck at low odds, mostly for the extra experience points.
BP next turn is 177, only 10 more than the last turnset.
Key Decisions:
Capital building. I finished the Recycling II as planned, but then decided to switch gears and go for the High Command II. I have plenty of spare Fuel and Metal for Buggies, as Industry I is not needed right away, due to the presence of the AF. I would like the extra PP per round, and the extra BP are needed for the next tier of military techs.
Note I still have not nationalised the truck station. The extra LP just isn't needed yet, so no need to pay all those workers.
Councils – I have no need for any extra councils yet, although I could have burned our PP to setup the Foreign Affairs Council. Perhaps a mistake not to have done so, but I wanted to ensure I have our military tech and models online in case the Osnabruck Hansa decide to attack.
From what I have seen, most players get the Economic Council fairly early, but to me this is a near-useless set of techs right now. The only tech I like to have in the pocket is Solar Panels for once I start getting Industry set up, everything else is a bonus. This game, the tech can be delayed as Industry is delayed due to the presence of the AF.
Metal Soil Filtration is usually a high priority for me, but not in this game, because of all the scavenge sites. Sealed Roads are nice, but not needed with such a small border to defend. University would be nice, but not essential. I consider Barracks marginal, and Heavy Industry a mid game tech. The rest of the early EC techs I don't normally bother with.
Manpower – I will next turn have enough for a full Battalion of Infantry if I needed it, so I have left our Round 1 decisions in place. Sticking with the plan to supplement Militia units with Buggies and Light Tanks for offensive firepower for now.
Military – As discussed before, there is no need for a military expansion right NOW, so every sliver of metal is going into expanding our economy. We have the capacity to turn on military production when needed, so we are safe for now.
Budget – I have turned Model Design Council down to 5%, and left on Discovery. A new MG is not critical, I have strong Buggies, so Light Tank is not needed right now. Better to divert our BP back to Military research and generation of PP and stratagems which advance our other primary goal faster, namely, diplomatic annexation of the 2 minors, and setting up a strong capital city for wartime production.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Discover all tier 1 military techs; (Done)
Establish model council and design tier 2 Infantry and Buggies (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Try to discover Light Tanks (WIP)
Build Recycling II, possibly a second Recycling II; (WIP, low priority)
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Not Done)
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Not Done)
Produce 1 or 2 buggy battalions for defence;
Build Industry I once High Command II is done.
Round Report:
On the outside it may seem like nothing happened in this round. We cleaned up our borders to the NE, and have our forces positioned to defend our territory. All our other borders are secure for now so the rest of our forces are in the capital in case of unrest.
Research came along strong this turn, with all 3 techs researched, and efforts turned back to discovery of tier 2 techs.
The Model Design Council was also busy, with a new Cooper II and Infantry II coming into being. The Cooper II has 50mm plating and Advanced Machineguns, which is more than enough to deal with minors and Free Folk, and the Infantry II are almost twice as strong as our original model.
Humanist School moved to Democracy ++, and sent us some political aid trucks. A lot more spies were generated, but I had to burn 3 to gain recon on the small Raider nation of Belhors Pax, to the W of Flint. I also learned of the existence of Omicron Federation to the SW, and Topelion Territory to the S. (I noticed in this game, everything called '…. Territory' was a faction which doesn't do diplo, eg mutants/nomads/arachnids)
We did not generate many stratagems outside of spies, and the Political Aid trucks sent by our Humanist School faction. Still sitting on 5 FP and 96 PP for later on. I tried to establish contact with Osnabruck at low odds, mostly for the extra experience points.
BP next turn is 177, only 10 more than the last turnset.
Key Decisions:
Capital building. I finished the Recycling II as planned, but then decided to switch gears and go for the High Command II. I have plenty of spare Fuel and Metal for Buggies, as Industry I is not needed right away, due to the presence of the AF. I would like the extra PP per round, and the extra BP are needed for the next tier of military techs.
Note I still have not nationalised the truck station. The extra LP just isn't needed yet, so no need to pay all those workers.
Councils – I have no need for any extra councils yet, although I could have burned our PP to setup the Foreign Affairs Council. Perhaps a mistake not to have done so, but I wanted to ensure I have our military tech and models online in case the Osnabruck Hansa decide to attack.
From what I have seen, most players get the Economic Council fairly early, but to me this is a near-useless set of techs right now. The only tech I like to have in the pocket is Solar Panels for once I start getting Industry set up, everything else is a bonus. This game, the tech can be delayed as Industry is delayed due to the presence of the AF.
Metal Soil Filtration is usually a high priority for me, but not in this game, because of all the scavenge sites. Sealed Roads are nice, but not needed with such a small border to defend. University would be nice, but not essential. I consider Barracks marginal, and Heavy Industry a mid game tech. The rest of the early EC techs I don't normally bother with.
Manpower – I will next turn have enough for a full Battalion of Infantry if I needed it, so I have left our Round 1 decisions in place. Sticking with the plan to supplement Militia units with Buggies and Light Tanks for offensive firepower for now.
Military – As discussed before, there is no need for a military expansion right NOW, so every sliver of metal is going into expanding our economy. We have the capacity to turn on military production when needed, so we are safe for now.
Budget – I have turned Model Design Council down to 5%, and left on Discovery. A new MG is not critical, I have strong Buggies, so Light Tank is not needed right now. Better to divert our BP back to Military research and generation of PP and stratagems which advance our other primary goal faster, namely, diplomatic annexation of the 2 minors, and setting up a strong capital city for wartime production.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Discover all tier 1 military techs; (Done)
Establish model council and design tier 2 Infantry and Buggies (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Try to discover Light Tanks (WIP)
Build Recycling II, possibly a second Recycling II; (WIP, low priority)
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Not Done)
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Not Done)
Produce 1 or 2 buggy battalions for defence;
Build Industry I once High Command II is done.
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Rounds 11-15 – Cold Land, Hot Lead
Round Report:
Our first Cooper II's rolled off the production line, with 2 independent battalions being produced. The first battalion was sent to help drive off the Free Folk Marauders who slipped through before the Osnabruck Hansa largely closed off the northern borders.
WAR! But not involving us, at least, not directly. Our plans to peacefully annex Inlandfact Nation were ruined, as Osnabruck Hansa declared war on them, and moved troops next to their city. I have started positioning our units in anticipation of striking the weakened Osnabruck forces right as they capture the city. Hopefully I have time to re-manoeuvre our forces to the NE before we declare war.
Osnabruck already has a full OHQ on the field, so it could be a long war if I attack them.
I generated several more spies. I learned Omicron are Farmers too! We have peace with them. Topelion are slavers. We found Hogan Empire to the W of Omicron, they are also Farmers. Still plenty of chances for Diplomatic relations in this game! I also spied on a few non-aligned zones to see if there are any peaceful expansion opportunities. Lastly, we learned of a few more minors, Whitefort (Raiders), Efarion Territory (Nomads) and Hirschburg Domain (??)
Economic Council was founded instead of the Foreign Affairs Council. Diplomatic efforts are now secondary, as Flint has relations at 48 and Omicron at 37, and no way for us to raise these just yet. Our priorities are Sealed Roads, Solar Panels, University and Barracks.
We discovered Side Skirts and Combat Armor. I should have started research on Combat Armor, but instead I kept on Discovery, hoping for High Speed Machineguns. Not happy about this choice in retrospect.
We gave Militia some money. We also failed an open contact to piss off the Hansa a little bit and gain a fraction more experience.
Humanist School picked up Enforcement + on their profile. Should be easier to keep them happy.
Regime Profile is still Democracy/Enforcement/Fist. We picked up 3 Regime Feats at some point in the last 10 rounds – Engaged Politicians, Conflict Resolution (Democracy) and Discipline (Enforcement). Not terribly important in my opinion, although Recruit Civilian could come in handy later on.
Banking FP now, up to 7 in total. I have Travelling Teachers, Docile AI and Fat Merchant now, but none of those are critical right now. I also have Life Support failure for a relatively cheap 4 FP. I may activate the Docile AI if we enter a state of war.
We still have enough money to nationalise the truck station, and a stock of rare metals and machinery we can sell if needed.
We discovered Motorbike Infantry. Can't expect too much given the man's lack of talent and budget. Still working on a hopeful Light Tank discovery.
The High Command II is paying off, with 213 BP next turn, and 18 PP a turn being produced. 147 PP in the bank should give us flexibility later on.
Key Decisions:
Capital build – I added an Industry I late in the round once I had enough Metal. I want the extra IP to start expanding the logistics network, and to build Light Tanks in future. A second Recycling II is needed once the fuel guzzlers come online as well. If we have a longer peace, we could add a future Bureaucrat Offices II and possibly a University too.
Diplomacy – Pivoting away from this and into a more standard game is an interesting choice. I feel our highest priority right now is preparing to capture 2 cities from Osnabruck, as there will always be time to grab the minors, and I can use force if needed. There are still cards to get them to protectorate status with Shadow Diplomat usage, so I can ensure our remaining borders are safe.
War - I could have used our Buggies to grab Flint, but I did not want to risk a backstab, and attacking Osnabruck sooner will be much easier than later. Our economy should be better developed than theirs right now, so I can win a war in the longer term.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Produce 1 or 2 buggy battalions for defence; (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Try to discover Light Tanks (WIP, low priority)
Build a second Recycling II; (Delayed)
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Delayed)
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Delayed)
Build Industry I once High Command II is done. (WIP)
Nationalise Truck Station and possibly upgrade in preparation for war;
Position forces to capture Inlandfact from Osnabruck ASAP;
Produce additional buggies and/or infantry for a longer war with Osnabruck;
Round Report:
Our first Cooper II's rolled off the production line, with 2 independent battalions being produced. The first battalion was sent to help drive off the Free Folk Marauders who slipped through before the Osnabruck Hansa largely closed off the northern borders.
WAR! But not involving us, at least, not directly. Our plans to peacefully annex Inlandfact Nation were ruined, as Osnabruck Hansa declared war on them, and moved troops next to their city. I have started positioning our units in anticipation of striking the weakened Osnabruck forces right as they capture the city. Hopefully I have time to re-manoeuvre our forces to the NE before we declare war.
Osnabruck already has a full OHQ on the field, so it could be a long war if I attack them.
I generated several more spies. I learned Omicron are Farmers too! We have peace with them. Topelion are slavers. We found Hogan Empire to the W of Omicron, they are also Farmers. Still plenty of chances for Diplomatic relations in this game! I also spied on a few non-aligned zones to see if there are any peaceful expansion opportunities. Lastly, we learned of a few more minors, Whitefort (Raiders), Efarion Territory (Nomads) and Hirschburg Domain (??)
Economic Council was founded instead of the Foreign Affairs Council. Diplomatic efforts are now secondary, as Flint has relations at 48 and Omicron at 37, and no way for us to raise these just yet. Our priorities are Sealed Roads, Solar Panels, University and Barracks.
We discovered Side Skirts and Combat Armor. I should have started research on Combat Armor, but instead I kept on Discovery, hoping for High Speed Machineguns. Not happy about this choice in retrospect.
We gave Militia some money. We also failed an open contact to piss off the Hansa a little bit and gain a fraction more experience.
Humanist School picked up Enforcement + on their profile. Should be easier to keep them happy.
Regime Profile is still Democracy/Enforcement/Fist. We picked up 3 Regime Feats at some point in the last 10 rounds – Engaged Politicians, Conflict Resolution (Democracy) and Discipline (Enforcement). Not terribly important in my opinion, although Recruit Civilian could come in handy later on.
Banking FP now, up to 7 in total. I have Travelling Teachers, Docile AI and Fat Merchant now, but none of those are critical right now. I also have Life Support failure for a relatively cheap 4 FP. I may activate the Docile AI if we enter a state of war.
We still have enough money to nationalise the truck station, and a stock of rare metals and machinery we can sell if needed.
We discovered Motorbike Infantry. Can't expect too much given the man's lack of talent and budget. Still working on a hopeful Light Tank discovery.
The High Command II is paying off, with 213 BP next turn, and 18 PP a turn being produced. 147 PP in the bank should give us flexibility later on.
Key Decisions:
Capital build – I added an Industry I late in the round once I had enough Metal. I want the extra IP to start expanding the logistics network, and to build Light Tanks in future. A second Recycling II is needed once the fuel guzzlers come online as well. If we have a longer peace, we could add a future Bureaucrat Offices II and possibly a University too.
Diplomacy – Pivoting away from this and into a more standard game is an interesting choice. I feel our highest priority right now is preparing to capture 2 cities from Osnabruck, as there will always be time to grab the minors, and I can use force if needed. There are still cards to get them to protectorate status with Shadow Diplomat usage, so I can ensure our remaining borders are safe.
War - I could have used our Buggies to grab Flint, but I did not want to risk a backstab, and attacking Osnabruck sooner will be much easier than later. Our economy should be better developed than theirs right now, so I can win a war in the longer term.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Produce 1 or 2 buggy battalions for defence; (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Try to discover Light Tanks (WIP, low priority)
Build a second Recycling II; (Delayed)
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Delayed)
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Delayed)
Build Industry I once High Command II is done. (WIP)
Nationalise Truck Station and possibly upgrade in preparation for war;
Position forces to capture Inlandfact from Osnabruck ASAP;
Produce additional buggies and/or infantry for a longer war with Osnabruck;
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Interesting to read. How big is the planet size, how many zones were in colonization?
The logistics hell this game is IS the fun part! - Maerchen, 2020
The good thing is, we have all the information in the reports. The bad thing is, we have all the information. Maerchen, 2020
Came for SE. Will stay for SE.
The good thing is, we have all the information in the reports. The bad thing is, we have all the information. Maerchen, 2020
Came for SE. Will stay for SE.
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Hi Maerchen,
The planet is a normal size. I don't have the generation file anymore, so I'm not sure how to check how many zones were in colonization. After looking at the final save, I would guess 15-17 zones?
I'll have to remember to include the initial planet information if I post another one of these, sorry about that.
The planet is a normal size. I don't have the generation file anymore, so I'm not sure how to check how many zones were in colonization. After looking at the final save, I would guess 15-17 zones?
I'll have to remember to include the initial planet information if I post another one of these, sorry about that.
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Rounds 16-20 – Inlandfact Important, Metallic Monsters
Round Report:
War. Before turn 20. With a Major. On Extreme.
Did I just throw the game away? At this point, nothing is certain. Inlandfact fell for the first time on turn 16, with Osnabruck's regulars proving too much for the poorly equipped Farmers to withstand.
On Turn 17, we activated our secret weapon, the deadly AI Walker. The political aid trucks sent by the Humanist School were attached to our elite units. We seized the Truck Station in Keats after declaring a national emergency (and paid the owners and workers off in secret to prevent any bloody noses afterwards) Our tiny nation's first true test had arrived.
Our forces began streaming southward, and with 2 of our now 3 buggy battalions, our GR laser infantry, and the AI Walker, we struck first blood, capturing Inlandfact for our own use on the final turn of the set.
The city is largely useless right now, but does have a Light Industry I. We were able to damage and/or destroy many enemy militia and infantry formations and open up the possibility of dividing the southern portion of the enemy forces in two.
The initial operation could be considered a great success, however, two new dangers have presented themselves.
The enemy unit below the Military Liner is an automated turret! Although they cannot move it, they can use it as a bastion to threaten our main supply line into Osnabruck. We will have to be diligent to prevent a fatal cut of our supply line from units which may advance or retreat into that hex. I have encircled the unit to hopefully starve them out and/or divert units from the current front, which is SW/S/SE of Inlandfact.
The enemy has Light Tanks!! One of our buggies attacked into an unknown unit, which revealed the bad news. Thankfully, we were able to escape unharmed, but far more firepower will be needed.
The first MG infantry brigade was raised, however, we are still outnumbered 2 brigades to 1.
A Mercenary commander was found and brought into the fold. As the commander was a bit of a dud, we ate into our PP stockpile and tried a few more times for a strong war leader. Sadly, we will have to choose the 'best of the worst' next round. On the bright side, we may have found a reasonable leader to head up our future Foreign Affairs Council.
Mercifully, we discovered Light Tanks ourselves, and are slowly developing our first model. This could have been accelerated, but the IP we do have was spent on forces to create a defensive line, so there is no point in rushing the development, as we have no means to build them just yet.
Diplomatically, we made great advances. Hogan Empire and Belhours Pax agreed to peace, and we started spying on Ragalion Territory in the SW. We discovered Nagelloh Domain to the W, behind Hogan Empire. We also have a shadow Diplomat waiting for when we try to make Flint a protectorate.
On the home front, we added a Recycling I, but our remaining production will now be for military only. I considered increasing the number of recruits, but our logistical system cannot handle the advance of another infantry brigade. I'll explain our war plan in more details below.
EC came up short, discovering Physical Storage and Vidcom Broadcasting. MC was a lot better, discovering High Speed Machineguns and Radiation Filters. We are in the process of researching High Speed MG's so we can update our MG and possibly our Buggy models.
No new councils have been added yet. BP priority is to getting new military techs and models online, with secondary priority for adding as many protectorates as possible, and coming up with solutions for our future logistical and power needs.
Our profile changed slightly, with Mind replacing Fist. We are still 1 round from the possibility of Technological Fascination, with no other Regime feats added or lost.
With our attention diverted to matters of war, our BP production and PP production remain stagnant, at 213 and 18 respectively.
Key Decisions:
War – Declaring war on Osnabruck seems crazy, but fighting them now with lower troop numbers and a smaller border, while having the advantage of a first strike, is the best possible chance at winning, especially winning fast enough to prevent the other unknown major from running away with the rest of the territory on the planet.
Technology – I have not worried much about economic techs, because these will not help us right now. All efforts are going to that which will help us in the next 10 turns – securing our borders, and winning the war against the main threat in this game.
Infrastructure – Our investments into the capital are now showing dividends, as we are set up for war, and BP generation is enough to keep us going. Our logistics are shaky but can be improved by the time we are ready for an offensive push.
Logistics – I have diverted as much TP as possible down to our forces in the south. Again, every TP is needed down there, especially if we start losing units.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Discover Light Tanks (Done)
Build Industry I once High Command II is done. (Done)
Produce additional buggies and/or infantry for a longer war with Osnabruck; (Done)
Capture Inlandfact from Osnabruck; (Done)
Nationalise Truck Station (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Build a second Recycling II; (Cancelled, built Recycling I only)
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Delayed)
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Delayed)
and possibly upgrade in preparation for war; (WIP)
Nationalise Truck Station in Inlandfact;
Finish Light Tank Model;
Produce Light Tank battalions;
Warplan:
Use the 1st MG Infantry Brigade to hold the SE border with Osnabruck and secure the main supply line from Keats to Osnabruck, with the secondary objective of starving out the automated turret S of the Military Liner;
Push enemy forces away from Inlandfact with militia and independent units;
Use buggies to separate the western portion of enemy forces from their supply lines, which currently stretch around Inlandfact.
Round Report:
War. Before turn 20. With a Major. On Extreme.
Did I just throw the game away? At this point, nothing is certain. Inlandfact fell for the first time on turn 16, with Osnabruck's regulars proving too much for the poorly equipped Farmers to withstand.
On Turn 17, we activated our secret weapon, the deadly AI Walker. The political aid trucks sent by the Humanist School were attached to our elite units. We seized the Truck Station in Keats after declaring a national emergency (and paid the owners and workers off in secret to prevent any bloody noses afterwards) Our tiny nation's first true test had arrived.
Our forces began streaming southward, and with 2 of our now 3 buggy battalions, our GR laser infantry, and the AI Walker, we struck first blood, capturing Inlandfact for our own use on the final turn of the set.
The city is largely useless right now, but does have a Light Industry I. We were able to damage and/or destroy many enemy militia and infantry formations and open up the possibility of dividing the southern portion of the enemy forces in two.
The initial operation could be considered a great success, however, two new dangers have presented themselves.
The enemy unit below the Military Liner is an automated turret! Although they cannot move it, they can use it as a bastion to threaten our main supply line into Osnabruck. We will have to be diligent to prevent a fatal cut of our supply line from units which may advance or retreat into that hex. I have encircled the unit to hopefully starve them out and/or divert units from the current front, which is SW/S/SE of Inlandfact.
The enemy has Light Tanks!! One of our buggies attacked into an unknown unit, which revealed the bad news. Thankfully, we were able to escape unharmed, but far more firepower will be needed.
The first MG infantry brigade was raised, however, we are still outnumbered 2 brigades to 1.
A Mercenary commander was found and brought into the fold. As the commander was a bit of a dud, we ate into our PP stockpile and tried a few more times for a strong war leader. Sadly, we will have to choose the 'best of the worst' next round. On the bright side, we may have found a reasonable leader to head up our future Foreign Affairs Council.
Mercifully, we discovered Light Tanks ourselves, and are slowly developing our first model. This could have been accelerated, but the IP we do have was spent on forces to create a defensive line, so there is no point in rushing the development, as we have no means to build them just yet.
Diplomatically, we made great advances. Hogan Empire and Belhours Pax agreed to peace, and we started spying on Ragalion Territory in the SW. We discovered Nagelloh Domain to the W, behind Hogan Empire. We also have a shadow Diplomat waiting for when we try to make Flint a protectorate.
On the home front, we added a Recycling I, but our remaining production will now be for military only. I considered increasing the number of recruits, but our logistical system cannot handle the advance of another infantry brigade. I'll explain our war plan in more details below.
EC came up short, discovering Physical Storage and Vidcom Broadcasting. MC was a lot better, discovering High Speed Machineguns and Radiation Filters. We are in the process of researching High Speed MG's so we can update our MG and possibly our Buggy models.
No new councils have been added yet. BP priority is to getting new military techs and models online, with secondary priority for adding as many protectorates as possible, and coming up with solutions for our future logistical and power needs.
Our profile changed slightly, with Mind replacing Fist. We are still 1 round from the possibility of Technological Fascination, with no other Regime feats added or lost.
With our attention diverted to matters of war, our BP production and PP production remain stagnant, at 213 and 18 respectively.
Key Decisions:
War – Declaring war on Osnabruck seems crazy, but fighting them now with lower troop numbers and a smaller border, while having the advantage of a first strike, is the best possible chance at winning, especially winning fast enough to prevent the other unknown major from running away with the rest of the territory on the planet.
Technology – I have not worried much about economic techs, because these will not help us right now. All efforts are going to that which will help us in the next 10 turns – securing our borders, and winning the war against the main threat in this game.
Infrastructure – Our investments into the capital are now showing dividends, as we are set up for war, and BP generation is enough to keep us going. Our logistics are shaky but can be improved by the time we are ready for an offensive push.
Logistics – I have diverted as much TP as possible down to our forces in the south. Again, every TP is needed down there, especially if we start losing units.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Discover Light Tanks (Done)
Build Industry I once High Command II is done. (Done)
Produce additional buggies and/or infantry for a longer war with Osnabruck; (Done)
Capture Inlandfact from Osnabruck; (Done)
Nationalise Truck Station (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Build a second Recycling II; (Cancelled, built Recycling I only)
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Delayed)
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Delayed)
and possibly upgrade in preparation for war; (WIP)
Nationalise Truck Station in Inlandfact;
Finish Light Tank Model;
Produce Light Tank battalions;
Warplan:
Use the 1st MG Infantry Brigade to hold the SE border with Osnabruck and secure the main supply line from Keats to Osnabruck, with the secondary objective of starving out the automated turret S of the Military Liner;
Push enemy forces away from Inlandfact with militia and independent units;
Use buggies to separate the western portion of enemy forces from their supply lines, which currently stretch around Inlandfact.
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Rounds 21-25 – Eastern Evacuation, Southern Success
Round Report:
An eventful turnset. We failed to stop protests in the twice-conquered Inlandfeat, losing 400 soldiers and 2,000 population. Some more FP were committed to give us a Light Industry in Keats, as we do not have the time to build Industry ourselves. Also added a Fat Merchant to get some private investment and build up QOL in anticipation of future unhappiness.
Spies were used on some neutral zones, to try and discover more far off regimes. We also played the Ancient Archive and learned the secrets of Radiation Filters.
Peace with Hirschburg Domain and Nagelloh Domain was achieved, although both remain unknown regimes.
We made contact with the last Major, Tarus (Friendly, Republican), who were friendly to us, but with poor relations. We are hoping to open contact and begin trading with them as soon as possible, although they appear to have lots of free space to expand into, which could be a danger later on.
Victor Deneb, our SHQ commander, was paid a bonus to try and increase performance, but to minimal effect (+2 relation)
Our profile continued to shift from round to round, and our leaders seemed keen on statues, but we rejected the idea twice.
After some soul searching by our leaders, and some tough decisions, we were now more firmly entrenched with the ethos of Democracy/Enforcement/Mind than before. Only Open Politics (Democracy) has been added to our list of Regime Feats.
Our Truck Station was expanded in Keats, and the Truck Station in Inlandfact was also nationalised. We also started to expand our future fuel capacity through another Recycling II.
We designed the Crusader Light Tank, which was a fearsome weapon, with a 60mm Howitzer gun, 50mm Steel Plating, and a Heavy Diesel engine, which, while not enough to fully power the machine, would at least get it to the front line where it could begin its deadly work. (The quality of the model was fairly average)
Our first Crusaders rolled off the production line and entered the battle. Our forces are still heavily outnumbered, with a third enemy brigade entering the fray, along with additional enemy Militia units from the NE pressing against our line, which was originally extended to the edge of our 'green' hexes. Outnumbered approximately 3:1, and with the risk of encirclement from the north, we made the tough decision to give ground, surrendering control of the Military Liner. Our forces remained intact, and our supply lines held strong, as the enemy was reluctant to attack into our re-formed MG infantry line.
The Southern front fared better, as our buggies and Walker proved almost indestructible. We were able to push the enemy away from Inlandfact and crushed several Militia formations, and defeated or destroyed most of the enemy's 1st Light Infantry Brigade. Perhaps foolishly, they had taken the posture of 'All Out Attack', which meant our offensive strikes inflicted high casualties, and our Militia units could be used on the many weakened and disorganised enemy units, to push the front back much faster.
We only managed to cut off one unit, and this turned out to be a drawback, as we now need to divert two infantry units to keep it from cutting us off behind Inlandfact. We cannot divert the forces to wipe them out for good due to the appearance of the 3rd RPG Infantry Brigade to the SE. These forces appear newer and are equally matched with the quality of our own infantry.
The enemy's 2nd MG infantry brigade, lined up against our own 1st MG infantry brigade, is using older equipment, but we are unable to break it yet, as they have adopted the 'No Retreat' posture, giving a 75% defensive bonus. With our first armour unit reaching the front line this turn, we will begin planning our victory push soon.
Our own postures are disappointing, with only Field Testing and Blitzkreig available. Blitzkreig would give our 2 new tank battalions awesome firepower, but it would weaken our defensive line too much, with potential for severe losses at home. Our manpower is still low at this time, and our logistics are holding, but would not cope with the demands of shipping replacement units to the front.
At home, we learned how to make High Speed Machineguns, and work is ¼ the way through Combat Armor. We discovered Sealed Roads, but started on Physical Storage instead, as we dont have the IP to build Sealed Roads currently. Still a minor mistake to choose this tech though.
Another MG was designed using the brand new tech on the final turn, which is more than twice as powerful as the original design.
BP's have improved slightly, to 231, and PP's have improved by 50%, to 27 per turn. Still no new councils have been added.
Key Decisions:
Retreat – I feel a lot of players would refuse to give ground, especially to an AI, but I felt extending my lines closer to Osnabruck would result in disaster. There was a risk of the 1st MG infantry brigade being cut off, but, even if this did not happen, the forces down south would face a halving of their supplies if I opened the supply route between Keats and Osnabruck too early.
Losing the Military Liner is not a big concern, we have all of the key techs we need to win this war (although Combat Armour will be nice to have)
Logistics – I managed to roughly double my total TP this round, which will be crucial to setting up an advance. I could have instead added more BP, Recycling or Industry, but those would give me more production – production which could not be turned into units mobilized on the front line.
I cannot realistically field any more mechanized units, as my fuel is starting to deplete, but I need to look at adding rails so I can support the final push into Osnabruck. I still have to guard my supply lines from the hex with the automated turret as mentioned earlier also.
Stratagems - I have been saving PP's and FP's for emergencies. I could have pushed harder with playing cards, but I have tried to only play necessary cards. The only area I have pushed hard is covert Ops and diplomacy with Minors, as I feel these will still have a good long term payoff. My leaders and population in Keats are very happy, although I could improve Inlandfact substantially. I should have paid more attention to this during the turnset, but I was too focused on moving my troops and keeping supply lines working.
Further to this, I should have founded the Foreign Affairs council by now, to start generating better cards, and giving our Director some exp.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Upgrade Truck Station in Keats; (Done)
Nationalise Truck Station in Inlandfact; (Done)
Finish Light Tank Model; (Done)
Produce Light Tank battalions; (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Delayed)
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Delayed)
Fix happiness issues in Inlandfact, and build Bureaucrat Office;
Monitor Food and Fuel levels, buy more off the market if necessary;
Start Rail Station I in Keats, and begin reinforcing logistical lines to Inlandfact;
Weigh up whether to raise a second infantry brigade, or add in additional battalions;
Warplan:
Hold the north-eastern line with half of the 1st MG Infantry Brigade and a Militia Unit;
Use Light Tanks and the rest of the 1st MG Infantry Brigade to secure the road leading to Osnabruck, while setting up a defence against the auto-turret, and any units that may use that hex to attack from;
Contain the remaining unit to the SW, and set up a line along the S-SW to defend against a possible invasion by Minors;
Continue to push eastward with Buggies, Walker and Militia units to try and finish off the rest of the 1st and 3rd Brigades and set up a future two-prong assault against Osnabruck itself.
Round Report:
An eventful turnset. We failed to stop protests in the twice-conquered Inlandfeat, losing 400 soldiers and 2,000 population. Some more FP were committed to give us a Light Industry in Keats, as we do not have the time to build Industry ourselves. Also added a Fat Merchant to get some private investment and build up QOL in anticipation of future unhappiness.
Spies were used on some neutral zones, to try and discover more far off regimes. We also played the Ancient Archive and learned the secrets of Radiation Filters.
Peace with Hirschburg Domain and Nagelloh Domain was achieved, although both remain unknown regimes.
We made contact with the last Major, Tarus (Friendly, Republican), who were friendly to us, but with poor relations. We are hoping to open contact and begin trading with them as soon as possible, although they appear to have lots of free space to expand into, which could be a danger later on.
Victor Deneb, our SHQ commander, was paid a bonus to try and increase performance, but to minimal effect (+2 relation)
Our profile continued to shift from round to round, and our leaders seemed keen on statues, but we rejected the idea twice.
After some soul searching by our leaders, and some tough decisions, we were now more firmly entrenched with the ethos of Democracy/Enforcement/Mind than before. Only Open Politics (Democracy) has been added to our list of Regime Feats.
Our Truck Station was expanded in Keats, and the Truck Station in Inlandfact was also nationalised. We also started to expand our future fuel capacity through another Recycling II.
We designed the Crusader Light Tank, which was a fearsome weapon, with a 60mm Howitzer gun, 50mm Steel Plating, and a Heavy Diesel engine, which, while not enough to fully power the machine, would at least get it to the front line where it could begin its deadly work. (The quality of the model was fairly average)
Our first Crusaders rolled off the production line and entered the battle. Our forces are still heavily outnumbered, with a third enemy brigade entering the fray, along with additional enemy Militia units from the NE pressing against our line, which was originally extended to the edge of our 'green' hexes. Outnumbered approximately 3:1, and with the risk of encirclement from the north, we made the tough decision to give ground, surrendering control of the Military Liner. Our forces remained intact, and our supply lines held strong, as the enemy was reluctant to attack into our re-formed MG infantry line.
The Southern front fared better, as our buggies and Walker proved almost indestructible. We were able to push the enemy away from Inlandfact and crushed several Militia formations, and defeated or destroyed most of the enemy's 1st Light Infantry Brigade. Perhaps foolishly, they had taken the posture of 'All Out Attack', which meant our offensive strikes inflicted high casualties, and our Militia units could be used on the many weakened and disorganised enemy units, to push the front back much faster.
We only managed to cut off one unit, and this turned out to be a drawback, as we now need to divert two infantry units to keep it from cutting us off behind Inlandfact. We cannot divert the forces to wipe them out for good due to the appearance of the 3rd RPG Infantry Brigade to the SE. These forces appear newer and are equally matched with the quality of our own infantry.
The enemy's 2nd MG infantry brigade, lined up against our own 1st MG infantry brigade, is using older equipment, but we are unable to break it yet, as they have adopted the 'No Retreat' posture, giving a 75% defensive bonus. With our first armour unit reaching the front line this turn, we will begin planning our victory push soon.
Our own postures are disappointing, with only Field Testing and Blitzkreig available. Blitzkreig would give our 2 new tank battalions awesome firepower, but it would weaken our defensive line too much, with potential for severe losses at home. Our manpower is still low at this time, and our logistics are holding, but would not cope with the demands of shipping replacement units to the front.
At home, we learned how to make High Speed Machineguns, and work is ¼ the way through Combat Armor. We discovered Sealed Roads, but started on Physical Storage instead, as we dont have the IP to build Sealed Roads currently. Still a minor mistake to choose this tech though.
Another MG was designed using the brand new tech on the final turn, which is more than twice as powerful as the original design.
BP's have improved slightly, to 231, and PP's have improved by 50%, to 27 per turn. Still no new councils have been added.
Key Decisions:
Retreat – I feel a lot of players would refuse to give ground, especially to an AI, but I felt extending my lines closer to Osnabruck would result in disaster. There was a risk of the 1st MG infantry brigade being cut off, but, even if this did not happen, the forces down south would face a halving of their supplies if I opened the supply route between Keats and Osnabruck too early.
Losing the Military Liner is not a big concern, we have all of the key techs we need to win this war (although Combat Armour will be nice to have)
Logistics – I managed to roughly double my total TP this round, which will be crucial to setting up an advance. I could have instead added more BP, Recycling or Industry, but those would give me more production – production which could not be turned into units mobilized on the front line.
I cannot realistically field any more mechanized units, as my fuel is starting to deplete, but I need to look at adding rails so I can support the final push into Osnabruck. I still have to guard my supply lines from the hex with the automated turret as mentioned earlier also.
Stratagems - I have been saving PP's and FP's for emergencies. I could have pushed harder with playing cards, but I have tried to only play necessary cards. The only area I have pushed hard is covert Ops and diplomacy with Minors, as I feel these will still have a good long term payoff. My leaders and population in Keats are very happy, although I could improve Inlandfact substantially. I should have paid more attention to this during the turnset, but I was too focused on moving my troops and keeping supply lines working.
Further to this, I should have founded the Foreign Affairs council by now, to start generating better cards, and giving our Director some exp.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Upgrade Truck Station in Keats; (Done)
Nationalise Truck Station in Inlandfact; (Done)
Finish Light Tank Model; (Done)
Produce Light Tank battalions; (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Delayed)
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Delayed)
Fix happiness issues in Inlandfact, and build Bureaucrat Office;
Monitor Food and Fuel levels, buy more off the market if necessary;
Start Rail Station I in Keats, and begin reinforcing logistical lines to Inlandfact;
Weigh up whether to raise a second infantry brigade, or add in additional battalions;
Warplan:
Hold the north-eastern line with half of the 1st MG Infantry Brigade and a Militia Unit;
Use Light Tanks and the rest of the 1st MG Infantry Brigade to secure the road leading to Osnabruck, while setting up a defence against the auto-turret, and any units that may use that hex to attack from;
Contain the remaining unit to the SW, and set up a line along the S-SW to defend against a possible invasion by Minors;
Continue to push eastward with Buggies, Walker and Militia units to try and finish off the rest of the 1st and 3rd Brigades and set up a future two-prong assault against Osnabruck itself.
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Rounds 26-30 – Rapid Destruction, Resource Drought
Round Report:
On the surface, this appears to be a great turnset. We accomplished practically all of our war aims, with the enemy losing much of his manpower, and being pushed back close to Osnabruck proper. Our supply line is almost complete, with a railhead due to be completed at Riludelta, 3NW of Osnabruck, and rail lines to Inlandfact completed.
We carefully defended our supply lines, which proved to be wise, as one unit retreated on top of the auto-turret as predicted.
There are still dangers though. Our 'Friend' Tarus, is rapidly expanding, and may start gobbling up minors using guns, before we can, using words. Our oil supply is critically low, with only a few turns of reserve remaining. We will soon run into problems with Food and Energy, as we still have not discovered an energy technology.
Inlandfact continued to riot, so we deployed the Gladiators there to boost happiness. We failed to boost sagging relations with our 1st MG Brigade commander, Betty Neitherway. This was compounded by an incident at the library, which cost us another 16 relationship points with her.
Flint continued to recruit mercenaries, I am not sure if they can attack, but we are not yet their protector, as we have not been able to increase relations. This problem will be solved soon, as we finally established the Foreign Affairs Council, and installed Grey Clifford as the director. Although he is not outstanding, he should prove capable enough.
We now have envoys with Tarus, so we can monitor their build up across the other side of the planet.
Careful management of resources is now needed to get us through the conclusion of this war safely.
We finally generated a Defence stratagem, and played this on our Brigade as an additional precaution. We have started spying on Tarus as well.
Through careful management of our decisions, our profile remained firmly in Democracy/Enforcement/Mind. (Note, if you have options you don't like, you can dump points into Autocracy/Commerce/Heart, in our case, to keep your primary profile intact). We were also benefitted hugely by the fact our dominant Humanist School endorsed Democracy and Enforcement, with the increase in Heart through decisions being burned off by Mind.
Buggy losses were high enough that we decided to design the Cooper III, although no new battalions will likely be created. It is important that these are twice as fuel and ammo efficient as our tanks, although they have less than ½ the offensive power (152 soft attack vs 360). Defensive stats are surprisingly close.
Technological progress has stagnated, with only Combat Armour being added this turnset, and Water Soil Recomposition being discovered. We are working on Physical Storage and Side Skirts as current research projects.
BP and PP are almost identical to the last set, at 232 and 25 respectively.
Key Decisions:
Logistics – Our decision to reinforce the line proved very useful, as units were able to receive reinforcements in between turns, allowing us to use infantry attacks to speed up the rate at which we broke down the enemy lines. We are close to forcing a final stand at the gates of Osnabruck.
Economy – Our economy has proven stronger, but we are now at the point where we need to decide if we need more army. I feel a good job was done with not overextending or overproducing military, but I tend to 'over-produce' logistics, to ensure I can advance safely and the conquered cities are established as quickly as possible.
At this stage, I think the focus should be on growing our Fuel, IP, BP and Metal incomes (in order of priority)
Model design – It may seem strange that we have practically stopped designing models, but I feel the models we have are sufficient to win the war. Once we win the war, we will likely be fighting minors, so there is no need to spend many BP in this area.
Diplomacy – We were way too slow to set this up, as we have over 200 PP in the bank. We could probably have our two protectorates by now, although I would have hesitated to unify with a minor while at war, due to the impact on our supply lines, food and fuel stocks (supplying additional militia) I think this will cost us 1-3 minors during the game, and may extend the time we need to win by a lot.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Done)
Start Rail Station I in Keats, and begin reinforcing logistical lines to Inlandfact; (Done, exceeded by building line towards Osnabruck)
Weigh up whether to raise a second infantry brigade, or add in additional battalions;(Not Required)
Plan for next turnset:
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Delayed)
Fix happiness issues in Inlandfact, and build Bureaucrat Office; (Not Done)
Monitor Food and Fuel levels, buy more off the market if necessary; (Not yet required)
Warplan:
No complex plans, just converge on Osnabruck along the rail line through Riludelta and the road network east of Inlandfact, surround and destroy the remaining defenders.
Conquer the city, then wipe Osnabruck off the map totally.
Round Report:
On the surface, this appears to be a great turnset. We accomplished practically all of our war aims, with the enemy losing much of his manpower, and being pushed back close to Osnabruck proper. Our supply line is almost complete, with a railhead due to be completed at Riludelta, 3NW of Osnabruck, and rail lines to Inlandfact completed.
We carefully defended our supply lines, which proved to be wise, as one unit retreated on top of the auto-turret as predicted.
There are still dangers though. Our 'Friend' Tarus, is rapidly expanding, and may start gobbling up minors using guns, before we can, using words. Our oil supply is critically low, with only a few turns of reserve remaining. We will soon run into problems with Food and Energy, as we still have not discovered an energy technology.
Inlandfact continued to riot, so we deployed the Gladiators there to boost happiness. We failed to boost sagging relations with our 1st MG Brigade commander, Betty Neitherway. This was compounded by an incident at the library, which cost us another 16 relationship points with her.
Flint continued to recruit mercenaries, I am not sure if they can attack, but we are not yet their protector, as we have not been able to increase relations. This problem will be solved soon, as we finally established the Foreign Affairs Council, and installed Grey Clifford as the director. Although he is not outstanding, he should prove capable enough.
We now have envoys with Tarus, so we can monitor their build up across the other side of the planet.
Careful management of resources is now needed to get us through the conclusion of this war safely.
We finally generated a Defence stratagem, and played this on our Brigade as an additional precaution. We have started spying on Tarus as well.
Through careful management of our decisions, our profile remained firmly in Democracy/Enforcement/Mind. (Note, if you have options you don't like, you can dump points into Autocracy/Commerce/Heart, in our case, to keep your primary profile intact). We were also benefitted hugely by the fact our dominant Humanist School endorsed Democracy and Enforcement, with the increase in Heart through decisions being burned off by Mind.
Buggy losses were high enough that we decided to design the Cooper III, although no new battalions will likely be created. It is important that these are twice as fuel and ammo efficient as our tanks, although they have less than ½ the offensive power (152 soft attack vs 360). Defensive stats are surprisingly close.
Technological progress has stagnated, with only Combat Armour being added this turnset, and Water Soil Recomposition being discovered. We are working on Physical Storage and Side Skirts as current research projects.
BP and PP are almost identical to the last set, at 232 and 25 respectively.
Key Decisions:
Logistics – Our decision to reinforce the line proved very useful, as units were able to receive reinforcements in between turns, allowing us to use infantry attacks to speed up the rate at which we broke down the enemy lines. We are close to forcing a final stand at the gates of Osnabruck.
Economy – Our economy has proven stronger, but we are now at the point where we need to decide if we need more army. I feel a good job was done with not overextending or overproducing military, but I tend to 'over-produce' logistics, to ensure I can advance safely and the conquered cities are established as quickly as possible.
At this stage, I think the focus should be on growing our Fuel, IP, BP and Metal incomes (in order of priority)
Model design – It may seem strange that we have practically stopped designing models, but I feel the models we have are sufficient to win the war. Once we win the war, we will likely be fighting minors, so there is no need to spend many BP in this area.
Diplomacy – We were way too slow to set this up, as we have over 200 PP in the bank. We could probably have our two protectorates by now, although I would have hesitated to unify with a minor while at war, due to the impact on our supply lines, food and fuel stocks (supplying additional militia) I think this will cost us 1-3 minors during the game, and may extend the time we need to win by a lot.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Found Foreign Affairs Council; (Done)
Start Rail Station I in Keats, and begin reinforcing logistical lines to Inlandfact; (Done, exceeded by building line towards Osnabruck)
Weigh up whether to raise a second infantry brigade, or add in additional battalions;(Not Required)
Plan for next turnset:
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (Delayed)
Fix happiness issues in Inlandfact, and build Bureaucrat Office; (Not Done)
Monitor Food and Fuel levels, buy more off the market if necessary; (Not yet required)
Warplan:
No complex plans, just converge on Osnabruck along the rail line through Riludelta and the road network east of Inlandfact, surround and destroy the remaining defenders.
Conquer the city, then wipe Osnabruck off the map totally.
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Rounds 31-35 – Osnabruck Ours, Flint Faceoff
Round Report:
Victory at last. On turn 35, we finally succeeded in capturing Osnabruck! The once-proud remains of the Osnabruck armed forces are huddled to the SE of the city, with our dominant forces to one side, and the pissed off Farmers of the Holomark Union on the other. It turns out they had been at war with the Osnabruck Hansa for many turns, and our intervention had helped them turn their own war back in their favour.
We actually cannot protectorate Holomark Union, as they are 'still at war with a major', and the remaining Osnabruck Hansa territory is surrounded by their own, to the NE of Keats. So we cannot help them finish the war either.
The Mercenary buildup in Flint finally resolved itself, with War being declared by Flint on the same turn. Luckily, we were able to secure an immediate peace. We are now at peace with 7 minor regimes, although none of them are currently our protectorates. We did try one protectorate offer, but we rolled extremely low.
Relations with Tarus turned cold due to an event, but we still have very high relations. We have also opened an embassy and communications, with future scientific co-operation looking likely. We spent a FP on an artifact for Tarus, but this did not fix the problem, so the FP was considered wasted.
Our Democratically leaning population lost their voting rights due to a hissy fit by our leaders, and Clarke attempted to institute slavery, although we agreed that was taking things too far.
Elite Circle (Commerce +++) was formed by our war hero, Betty Neitherway. Humanist School added another Heart and another Democracy to their profile.
Inlandfact had more protests, which lead to our Leader himself making an impassioned speech, which seemed to calm the worst of the dissenters down.
We gave our Militia some funding, although we recognised their time was nearing an end, with a loss of faith strategem played in Keats.
We played a Treasure Hoard to shore up the last of our fuel reserves, and fund our construction projects in Keats and Inlandfact.
AI taught us the mysteries of Atmospheric Membranes, which would allow outdoor farming again. But this technological breakthrough is not the one we need right now.
Lifesupport failure was played to grab some more FP, and we were lucky to only take +4 danger!
Our profile is more heavily towards Democracy/Enforcement/Mind than ever.
Research continues to be sluggish, with only Side Skirts being finished this set, and no non-AI discoveries. Although we did make good progress in models, with our new Crusader II tanks, along with Motorbike infantry and Infantry III.
Our new tanks and infantry are large improvements over their predecessors, and will easily crush any minor forces. It should be noted, our Crusader II's do not have the Side Skirts technology we discovered this set.
BP grew slightly to 255, and PP remained steady at 25.
Key Decisions:
We added another Bureaucrat Office I in Inlandfact, and we are expanding Industry and Recycling in Keats. We found a metal deposit in Osnabruck which will solve our future metal problems. Fuel was stretched to the limit, although hopefully we can reduce our consumption now the main thrust of the war is over.
An Agri-Dome I was built in Keats. This was a clear mistake, as the AI had built 2 Agri-Domes outside Osnabruck.
Diplomacy – We have laid preparations to rapidly unify minors, although this is still progressing slower than we would like. Grey Clifford is now at +13 Diplomacy, and we will look to enhance his abilities with FP and artifacts in future, as well as using our shadow diplomat cards liberally.
Army – Our army was maintained just large enough for conquest, with everything else being invested into economy. Our economy and logistics are very strong as a result, and we should have enough production to quickly stand up new cities, or add to our army in case of outside threat.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Conquer Osnabruck; (Done)
Fix happiness issues in Inlandfact, and build Bureaucrat Office; (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (WIP)
Expand rail network to cover Osnabruck, build Rail Station in Inlandfact;
Secure southern border against Nomads and Slavers;
Round Report:
Victory at last. On turn 35, we finally succeeded in capturing Osnabruck! The once-proud remains of the Osnabruck armed forces are huddled to the SE of the city, with our dominant forces to one side, and the pissed off Farmers of the Holomark Union on the other. It turns out they had been at war with the Osnabruck Hansa for many turns, and our intervention had helped them turn their own war back in their favour.
We actually cannot protectorate Holomark Union, as they are 'still at war with a major', and the remaining Osnabruck Hansa territory is surrounded by their own, to the NE of Keats. So we cannot help them finish the war either.
The Mercenary buildup in Flint finally resolved itself, with War being declared by Flint on the same turn. Luckily, we were able to secure an immediate peace. We are now at peace with 7 minor regimes, although none of them are currently our protectorates. We did try one protectorate offer, but we rolled extremely low.
Relations with Tarus turned cold due to an event, but we still have very high relations. We have also opened an embassy and communications, with future scientific co-operation looking likely. We spent a FP on an artifact for Tarus, but this did not fix the problem, so the FP was considered wasted.
Our Democratically leaning population lost their voting rights due to a hissy fit by our leaders, and Clarke attempted to institute slavery, although we agreed that was taking things too far.
Elite Circle (Commerce +++) was formed by our war hero, Betty Neitherway. Humanist School added another Heart and another Democracy to their profile.
Inlandfact had more protests, which lead to our Leader himself making an impassioned speech, which seemed to calm the worst of the dissenters down.
We gave our Militia some funding, although we recognised their time was nearing an end, with a loss of faith strategem played in Keats.
We played a Treasure Hoard to shore up the last of our fuel reserves, and fund our construction projects in Keats and Inlandfact.
AI taught us the mysteries of Atmospheric Membranes, which would allow outdoor farming again. But this technological breakthrough is not the one we need right now.
Lifesupport failure was played to grab some more FP, and we were lucky to only take +4 danger!
Our profile is more heavily towards Democracy/Enforcement/Mind than ever.
Research continues to be sluggish, with only Side Skirts being finished this set, and no non-AI discoveries. Although we did make good progress in models, with our new Crusader II tanks, along with Motorbike infantry and Infantry III.
Our new tanks and infantry are large improvements over their predecessors, and will easily crush any minor forces. It should be noted, our Crusader II's do not have the Side Skirts technology we discovered this set.
BP grew slightly to 255, and PP remained steady at 25.
Key Decisions:
We added another Bureaucrat Office I in Inlandfact, and we are expanding Industry and Recycling in Keats. We found a metal deposit in Osnabruck which will solve our future metal problems. Fuel was stretched to the limit, although hopefully we can reduce our consumption now the main thrust of the war is over.
An Agri-Dome I was built in Keats. This was a clear mistake, as the AI had built 2 Agri-Domes outside Osnabruck.
Diplomacy – We have laid preparations to rapidly unify minors, although this is still progressing slower than we would like. Grey Clifford is now at +13 Diplomacy, and we will look to enhance his abilities with FP and artifacts in future, as well as using our shadow diplomat cards liberally.
Army – Our army was maintained just large enough for conquest, with everything else being invested into economy. Our economy and logistics are very strong as a result, and we should have enough production to quickly stand up new cities, or add to our army in case of outside threat.
Objectives from last turnset completed:
Conquer Osnabruck; (Done)
Fix happiness issues in Inlandfact, and build Bureaucrat Office; (Done)
Plan for next turnset:
Get 2 minor nations to Protectorate status; (WIP)
Expand rail network to cover Osnabruck, build Rail Station in Inlandfact;
Secure southern border against Nomads and Slavers;
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Rounds 36-40 – Making Friends, Making Enemies
Round Report:
A relatively peaceful set. Nomads attacked from the south, but were quickly routed. Amusingly, our supply lines were more threatened in this conflict than the war with Osnabruck, as we were much more liberal with our use of buggies and tanks over open ground.
Slavers began their build up on our SW border. We will divert our tanks and buggies to crush them and take their territory, and look to found a city there to move one step closer to victory.
With the Osnabruck Hansa only existing as an island among non-aligned territory, we are now in a race against Tarus to claim the remaining land and population required for victory.
We tried twice and failed to make Flint our first protectorate. We used a Shadow Diplomat on the first attempt and rolled a 6 on a D100!! Luckily, we were finally able to accept the Raider culture of Whitefort as our first protectorates on turn 37. (and later, our first Client State)
The people of Osnabruck tried a walkout, but we were able to defuse this by giving into some of their demands. They then tried rebellion, but this was easily crushed.
Flint refused a third time to become a protectorate! We responded to this by boosting our diplomat, Grey Clifford, with a Propaganda Assistant, Pheromone Device and Cortical Stimulant, the last two of which were recovered from our 'Ancient Depot' card.
Now, Grey Clifford has an extra +30 to Charisma rolls, and gains experience 50% faster. The march of our diplomacy would now be swift indeed. He is only 21 years old and has a natural relation of 100, so he will remain with us for the entire game.
Betty Neitherway was given the first of our Sacred Oaths, to ensure her loyalty, as the leader of a potentially divisive faction (Elite Circle)
Flint refused to become a client state as well, which is the fourth failure. This is severely holding up our attempts to dominate diplomatically.
Holomark Union are our second protectorate now.
Our profile remains locked on Democracy/Enforcement/Mind, although we are finding it hard to push beyond 70. We have unlocked several Regime feats along the way, with Efficiency Goals (enforcement) and the Efficiency Drive cards being key in keeping our credit balance healthy, and giving us funds to buy fuel and nationalise Truck Stations in future.
Our mining operations are expanded, and our industry as well. We want to minimize the time needed to build logistics, with the plan to strategically move militia from the integrated minors to suppress unrest and expand borders.
Our victory score is 15 vs the 13.4 of Tarus.
Key Decisions:
Diplomacy – It may have been faster to conquer Flint via force, although I wanted to save the oil and expand naturally to the south through the hostile minors while trying to expand westwards and eastwards via Diplomacy.
Whitefort are ready to become unified, but we need a connecting border, which would require us to unify with Holomark first.
Plan for next turnset:
Integrate Holomark first, then Whitefort, then Flint. Try to get additional regimes as protectorates.
Build logistical network across integrated territory.
Push southwards into Nomad/Slaver/Unoccupied territories and set up new cities.
Round Report:
A relatively peaceful set. Nomads attacked from the south, but were quickly routed. Amusingly, our supply lines were more threatened in this conflict than the war with Osnabruck, as we were much more liberal with our use of buggies and tanks over open ground.
Slavers began their build up on our SW border. We will divert our tanks and buggies to crush them and take their territory, and look to found a city there to move one step closer to victory.
With the Osnabruck Hansa only existing as an island among non-aligned territory, we are now in a race against Tarus to claim the remaining land and population required for victory.
We tried twice and failed to make Flint our first protectorate. We used a Shadow Diplomat on the first attempt and rolled a 6 on a D100!! Luckily, we were finally able to accept the Raider culture of Whitefort as our first protectorates on turn 37. (and later, our first Client State)
The people of Osnabruck tried a walkout, but we were able to defuse this by giving into some of their demands. They then tried rebellion, but this was easily crushed.
Flint refused a third time to become a protectorate! We responded to this by boosting our diplomat, Grey Clifford, with a Propaganda Assistant, Pheromone Device and Cortical Stimulant, the last two of which were recovered from our 'Ancient Depot' card.
Now, Grey Clifford has an extra +30 to Charisma rolls, and gains experience 50% faster. The march of our diplomacy would now be swift indeed. He is only 21 years old and has a natural relation of 100, so he will remain with us for the entire game.
Betty Neitherway was given the first of our Sacred Oaths, to ensure her loyalty, as the leader of a potentially divisive faction (Elite Circle)
Flint refused to become a client state as well, which is the fourth failure. This is severely holding up our attempts to dominate diplomatically.
Holomark Union are our second protectorate now.
Our profile remains locked on Democracy/Enforcement/Mind, although we are finding it hard to push beyond 70. We have unlocked several Regime feats along the way, with Efficiency Goals (enforcement) and the Efficiency Drive cards being key in keeping our credit balance healthy, and giving us funds to buy fuel and nationalise Truck Stations in future.
Our mining operations are expanded, and our industry as well. We want to minimize the time needed to build logistics, with the plan to strategically move militia from the integrated minors to suppress unrest and expand borders.
Our victory score is 15 vs the 13.4 of Tarus.
Key Decisions:
Diplomacy – It may have been faster to conquer Flint via force, although I wanted to save the oil and expand naturally to the south through the hostile minors while trying to expand westwards and eastwards via Diplomacy.
Whitefort are ready to become unified, but we need a connecting border, which would require us to unify with Holomark first.
Plan for next turnset:
Integrate Holomark first, then Whitefort, then Flint. Try to get additional regimes as protectorates.
Build logistical network across integrated territory.
Push southwards into Nomad/Slaver/Unoccupied territories and set up new cities.
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Rounds 41-55 – New Friends, Abrupt End
Round Report:
The game lost a lot of its' spark in this phase, so I have condensed the last few reports, but I am happy to report it reached a fast conclusion.
Turn 41 – Holomark Union agreed to Unification. We had a huge food surplus due to the decisions of Osnabruck to make an excess of Agri-Domes, which would be their final blessing to us.
Turn 42 – Whitefort agreed to Unification. We now had a large number of militia to supply and feed, and we positioned them conservatively, until our rail networks could be expanded.
Turn 43 – Flint FINALLY agreed to Unification. Our city count had doubled in just 3 turns.
Turn 44 – Omicron Federation refused our protection. We will try again ASAP. We also started spying on Sacshen and continued to spy on Tarus. It looks like Tarus was busy conquering its neighbours, but slower than we were.
Turn 45 – Belhors Pax accepted protection. Similar attempts with Sacshen and Omicron failed narrowly, by 10 and 5 respectively.
Our victory score was now at 28, up from 15 just 5 turns ago. Tarus remained mired at 13.9, up from 13.4.
Turn 47 – Belhors Pax accepted client state. (I use these cards to reduce the resistance on unification from a 3d100 to a 2d100, as I have plenty of PP spare)
Omicron Federation accepted protection, although Sacshen failed narrowly again (6 points)
Turn 48 – Belhors Pax accepted Unification. Sacshen accepted Protection.
Turn 49 – Belhors Pax has a Raider culture. We were offered a slavers event, and critically failed. Danger in the zone went up 80%!!
Omicron Federation accepted Unification. We got spies into Hogan Empire again.
Turn 50 – Hogan Empire accepted protection. I noticed we lost the chance to integrate Nagelloh Domain, as Tarus was at war with them now.
Turn 51 – Hogan Empire accepted Unification. Spied on Newland and Sacshen.
Turn 52 – Peace with Newland
Turn 53 – Peace with Sacshen (The difficulty roll was -460, lol)
Turn 54 – Both Newland and Sacshen were not connected to my territory. I had 2 unification cards, decided to play both of them. Grey Clifford now had a +93 to Diplomacy. Both rolls succeeded, with about a 30% chance of failure on each one (so roughly a 50% chance at least one roll would fail).
Just to be sure of the win, I pushed all my borders as far as I could, putting almost all of my militia and army units in poor supply, to max the planet % score.
Turn 55 – Victory. Ended with 56.2 vs 14.9.
Perhaps a lame end, but I was excited to see how fast I could win, once my strategy got up and running. I felt I earned the easy win through a tough early war
End Game Thoughts and Feedback:
Overall, this was a super easy start. I have won 5 games on extreme since this one, and abandoned another 3 test games in winning positions (with a couple of games lost also)
None of my other wins were this fast, my second fastest win was on turn 99, and this involved a 20 turn buildup to tech radiation protection, as the only way to the last enemy was through high mountains or 500+ RAD tiles, and then another 25 turns to take the remaining major's second city.
I also had some experience with this type of strategy – I won my only Hard game on Round 48, WITHOUT A SINGLE OHQ, and just 3 independent battalions, after using a similar diplomatic strategy, without any majors nearby, as they were busy fighting a war against each other. My militia were able to just hold borders on this one, with motorized artillery battalions giving enough extra firepower where needed.
The AF on Round 1 was game winning, and the Mercenary Camp was also a huge help. Without those, I would have had to make an Industry I and lose a huge chunk of my early metal income.
Diplomatic annexation may seem broken, and the temptation may be to nerf it. However, this strategy requires some forward planning and investment to pull off, along with some luck on the rolls. Not all maps are suitable for this, as sometimes there are no peaceful minors, or they are attacked by majors first. It also created its own problems in rapidly extending the supply lines, food production and logistical requirements for all those militia units, creating additional borders to defend, and triggering many more negative events. It may not be obvious, but this strategy will not work without a solid economic and logistical investment in the core cities beforehand.
Thanks for reading my AAR.
If there is interest, I would be willing to do a playthrough on Extreme with frequent pauses for readers to contribute ideas and ask questions. My preference would be to do a start where I am attacked by slavers on turn 2 or 3, so I can show how to fight them off on Extreme (I have done 3 short test games to refine my strategy for this)
The next game would have pictures too, as I should have my forum restrictions lifted
Round Report:
The game lost a lot of its' spark in this phase, so I have condensed the last few reports, but I am happy to report it reached a fast conclusion.
Turn 41 – Holomark Union agreed to Unification. We had a huge food surplus due to the decisions of Osnabruck to make an excess of Agri-Domes, which would be their final blessing to us.
Turn 42 – Whitefort agreed to Unification. We now had a large number of militia to supply and feed, and we positioned them conservatively, until our rail networks could be expanded.
Turn 43 – Flint FINALLY agreed to Unification. Our city count had doubled in just 3 turns.
Turn 44 – Omicron Federation refused our protection. We will try again ASAP. We also started spying on Sacshen and continued to spy on Tarus. It looks like Tarus was busy conquering its neighbours, but slower than we were.
Turn 45 – Belhors Pax accepted protection. Similar attempts with Sacshen and Omicron failed narrowly, by 10 and 5 respectively.
Our victory score was now at 28, up from 15 just 5 turns ago. Tarus remained mired at 13.9, up from 13.4.
Turn 47 – Belhors Pax accepted client state. (I use these cards to reduce the resistance on unification from a 3d100 to a 2d100, as I have plenty of PP spare)
Omicron Federation accepted protection, although Sacshen failed narrowly again (6 points)
Turn 48 – Belhors Pax accepted Unification. Sacshen accepted Protection.
Turn 49 – Belhors Pax has a Raider culture. We were offered a slavers event, and critically failed. Danger in the zone went up 80%!!
Omicron Federation accepted Unification. We got spies into Hogan Empire again.
Turn 50 – Hogan Empire accepted protection. I noticed we lost the chance to integrate Nagelloh Domain, as Tarus was at war with them now.
Turn 51 – Hogan Empire accepted Unification. Spied on Newland and Sacshen.
Turn 52 – Peace with Newland
Turn 53 – Peace with Sacshen (The difficulty roll was -460, lol)
Turn 54 – Both Newland and Sacshen were not connected to my territory. I had 2 unification cards, decided to play both of them. Grey Clifford now had a +93 to Diplomacy. Both rolls succeeded, with about a 30% chance of failure on each one (so roughly a 50% chance at least one roll would fail).
Just to be sure of the win, I pushed all my borders as far as I could, putting almost all of my militia and army units in poor supply, to max the planet % score.
Turn 55 – Victory. Ended with 56.2 vs 14.9.
Perhaps a lame end, but I was excited to see how fast I could win, once my strategy got up and running. I felt I earned the easy win through a tough early war
End Game Thoughts and Feedback:
Overall, this was a super easy start. I have won 5 games on extreme since this one, and abandoned another 3 test games in winning positions (with a couple of games lost also)
None of my other wins were this fast, my second fastest win was on turn 99, and this involved a 20 turn buildup to tech radiation protection, as the only way to the last enemy was through high mountains or 500+ RAD tiles, and then another 25 turns to take the remaining major's second city.
I also had some experience with this type of strategy – I won my only Hard game on Round 48, WITHOUT A SINGLE OHQ, and just 3 independent battalions, after using a similar diplomatic strategy, without any majors nearby, as they were busy fighting a war against each other. My militia were able to just hold borders on this one, with motorized artillery battalions giving enough extra firepower where needed.
The AF on Round 1 was game winning, and the Mercenary Camp was also a huge help. Without those, I would have had to make an Industry I and lose a huge chunk of my early metal income.
Diplomatic annexation may seem broken, and the temptation may be to nerf it. However, this strategy requires some forward planning and investment to pull off, along with some luck on the rolls. Not all maps are suitable for this, as sometimes there are no peaceful minors, or they are attacked by majors first. It also created its own problems in rapidly extending the supply lines, food production and logistical requirements for all those militia units, creating additional borders to defend, and triggering many more negative events. It may not be obvious, but this strategy will not work without a solid economic and logistical investment in the core cities beforehand.
Thanks for reading my AAR.
If there is interest, I would be willing to do a playthrough on Extreme with frequent pauses for readers to contribute ideas and ask questions. My preference would be to do a start where I am attacked by slavers on turn 2 or 3, so I can show how to fight them off on Extreme (I have done 3 short test games to refine my strategy for this)
The next game would have pictures too, as I should have my forum restrictions lifted
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CaptBeefheart
- Posts: 2521
- Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2003 2:42 am
- Location: Seoul, Korea
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Berks: Many thanks for this very helpful AAR. It's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for to up my game. Would be great to see another one with some pix.
Cheers,
CB
Cheers,
CB
Beer, because barley makes lousy bread.
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
Hi CB,
Sorry, I know it is quite dry with just text, but I do have quite a few pictures for each round!
I have to wait until forum restrictions are lifted to add images or post links. Can't escape quarantine, even online! [:D]
Planning a new game soon using a super tough start, to test the ability of a new strategy I have been working on.
Please keep in mind, I think a round 55 victory is a fluke, and not due to my skill, just a lucky map generation. I think a 'normal' start is won between 100 and 120 turns, based on the several finished games I have now.
Sorry, I know it is quite dry with just text, but I do have quite a few pictures for each round!
I have to wait until forum restrictions are lifted to add images or post links. Can't escape quarantine, even online! [:D]
Planning a new game soon using a super tough start, to test the ability of a new strategy I have been working on.
Please keep in mind, I think a round 55 victory is a fluke, and not due to my skill, just a lucky map generation. I think a 'normal' start is won between 100 and 120 turns, based on the several finished games I have now.
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
ORIGINAL: Berks
using a super tough start
So... No annexation / unification? [:D]
As they're currently so easily make a whole game, especially on hard+ with all those units to guard border & scout.
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CaptBeefheart
- Posts: 2521
- Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2003 2:42 am
- Location: Seoul, Korea
RE: AAR – The Osnabruck Conflict
I'm just about to win one on "hard." I don't think the AI is as aggressive as it should be. If the majors see me about to win, they should attack. Maybe on "extreme." I also don't see the majors creating new zones from the territories they conquer.
Cheers,
CB
Cheers,
CB
Beer, because barley makes lousy bread.