Subcontinental Subtleties: An experimental comic AAR

**Commandante** · 29-11-2011 23:44

Naw, young Dalip is growing to become quite the little cosmopolitan! So how are you doing economy-wise?

**ThunderHawk3** · 30-11-2011 01:53

Argh! Panjab's dream to have GB go into revolution and lose control over India - I've never had it happen in any of my games. Now if only you were a Great Power...

**Mr. Santiago** · 30-11-2011 02:03

Send young Dalip to France! That'll heal those traumas he has, you don't want the heir having the wrong type of mental disbalance.....
Is the Moulin Rouge built yet?

**Dewirix** · 30-11-2011 10:00

Wait, Dalip doesn't like the idea of going to study in Paris? What kind of a Romantic is he?

I'll be interested to see how you handle modernisation.

**Juan_de_Marco** · 30-11-2011 10:34

You can civilize within another ten years, for sure. I did likewise with regard to milking China for Prestige, and the westernization techs and Command principle are obvious first choices. Make sure to go first for Darwinism after civilizing otherwise you can forget about ever fighting on par techwise with Great Britain. After civilizing, it probably won't take long to get into a GP slot, since you already have some 80-90 points from prestige and military alone. In my Panjab game, I didn't research the last 2 of the culture/education, culture/philosophy and the culture/government trees, in order to spend more time on industrializing and military. By now it is somewhere in the 1910's and still I haven't fought the UK yet, I'm trying to get a armytech advantage; they field a monstrous 1600 brigades, of which at least half are in India - of course. I'd be interested to know if you have any long term strategy, if you pick a different research route and how it works out. There are also a lot of things I did differently from your game I think, least of which was DoWing Afghanistan as one of first things to do: the advantage after civilizing is that it is then already a full state, not a colonial state, meaning you can use the relatively large pops for factories as well, quickly getting up into GP status. I noticed that the UK is inclined to keep troops near the border precisely because you become a GP. Hmm not to rival your story but I could make an AAR about it someday. Maybe. If I end up victorious against the Brits.

**Selzro** · 30-11-2011 16:52

I believe the trick with the UK is engaging them in war as soon as you can, rather than waiting for your military to catch up. They'll always have a lead in research rate, and as their Indian colonies mature into states their armed forces in the area will become bloated; plus, those hugely populated states, when industrialized, should cost an arm and a leg to get in peace negotiations. After researching medicine and an extra land tech or two, an artillery-heavy army can prevail against the British forces when using defensive terrain and good generals. It's much riskier than fighting the Chinese (who mostly field irregulars and have to go through a desert to reach you), but it can still work - particularly now that the collapse of the British protectorate system makes the prospective battlefield only a couple of provinces in width. The downside is that I'll have to neglect some culture techs in the short run to get those military techs as soon as possible, but I don't expect it will cost too much in the long run.

I'd love to see an AAR based on your alternative strategy, Juan_de_Marco (what a change in fortunes! From no Panjab AARs to two, and now maybe three, in the space of a month)!

It's not that Dalip doesn't look forward to the prospect of Paris, it's the prospect of school in another foreign country that troubles him. But he'll get over it - and find yet more reason to dislike the British, through French culture!

The Chinese dragon has gone from looking like a puppy that has lost its ball in the first poster to a wormy pest in the second one. Heaven protect them from a third.

As for Great Britain uniting India, they will more likely try to rebuild their SOI in that region (although they have conquered Nepal, so they may get more sinister motives into their heads), but Panjab will soon challenge them for supremacy in the subcontinent, and by virtue of being in Asia the Punjabi diplomats will have an advantage in influencing the Indian minor states. The economy is good. This was the first time I played as an unciv and didn't go for freedom of trade as my first tech, since I was actually making decent money as it was. Now that I've got freedom of trade, things are even better.

**Omen** · 30-11-2011 17:11

Great updates! Hopefully, while uniting India, China doesn't decide to attack again.

**Arilou** · 30-11-2011 21:48

Originally Posted by Dewirix

Wait, Dalip doesn't like the idea of going to study in Paris? What kind of a Romantic is he?

I'll be interested to see how you handle modernisation.

A real romantic would go to Germany *nods*.

**morningSIDEr** · 02-12-2011 21:40

It certainly seems as though puberty has hit poor Dalip like a truck, moody and acne clad already. Still I'm sure that witnessing monumentous events such as the humbling of China for a second time and living through such an enlightening age will turn him into a fine young man. Either that or a very disgruntled poet.

**Mr. Santiago** · 02-12-2011 22:40

Originally Posted by morningSIDEr

It certainly seems as though puberty has hit poor Dalip like a truck, moody and acne clad already. Still I'm sure that witnessing monumentous events such as the humbling of China for a second time and living through such an enlightening age will turn him into a fine young man. Either that or a very disgruntled poet.

A disgruntled poet with a taste for absinth

**thekinguter** · 11-12-2011 01:04

Update?

**Retrograde** · 11-12-2011 02:16

I just finished reading this, and it is really awesome! Your comics are hilarious and your game is going very well.
You mentioned MSPA in your opening, are you a fellow Homestuck fan?

**Celdur** · 16-12-2011 16:26

Update please! this AAR is awesome! Quit work!, quit school!, quit family! just keep posting updates!

**oddman** · 17-12-2011 18:39

Very nicely done, Selzro! Will be following

**Selzro** · 20-12-2011 14:57

Hello, everyone! I've been incredibly busy for the past couple of weeks, rarely at home and even then too tired to draw (and with little time to spare for the forums, to boot). But this is now changing, so I expect to resume updates shortly - if not by tonight, then certainly within the next couple of days.

And yes, I'm a Homestuck fan!