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I quite like the idea of using the Chinese hordes to stop a communist rebellion, but then, what kind of tzar would resort to that? ;)

Warning: B3 has discovered a JRPG he actually likes. The 2012 prophesy is true. Everyone! To the mountain!

Which game is it?
 
Give It To Me Strait - Tim McGraw
A New Coat Of Paint - Bob Seger
Keep On - Eric Church
That Ain’t Enough - Slaughter
Back For More - RATT
Smokestack Lightning - Howlin’ Wolf


***​

thekinguter: I think you think I actually plan this stuff out :p Unlike some other AAR guys out there I just plug in and play. I don’t play practice games or anything… but onto your topic it would be a thing I would consider however many of my rebels pop up in the west. The few that come in the east I can take care of whether it be with my Korean Defense, Siberian Defense, Central Asian Army or Alaskan Defense units all of which contain between 9000 - 27,000 men a piece. So I can handle myself out there on the range… no need to call Tom Horn or anything

aldriq: Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll… It isn’t my favorite game right now but it is a decent JRPG in that there isn’t any grinding that I’ve come across. Although some of the dialogue is pretty goofy but that generally comes with the genre. Not sure why it receives negative reviews. Maybe because it’s a playable JRPG and that upsets JRPG fans.

To all: Updates with Tsar may become sparse since time is taking forever while Russia is at war… so I’ve decided to finally launch my Iraq History AAR within the next few days. The original post of that can be found on page 2 of the Vik II AAR forum. Unless I can be convinced to turn it into a B3 AAR… Either way, I’m wanting to get it started this weekend.

As for this AAR, now that I’m getting rebels on a regular basis, rather than wrap up an entire rebellion - because the rebellions are beginning to overlap - I’m going to keep count of rebels and soldier casualties on wherever I finish the update. Think of it as an addition to the literacy, population & cash at the end of each update.


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This Update’s Observation:​
The best VP of all time? Al Gore. He invented the Internet AND global warming. One more and I think he becomes a saint.

***

It didn’t take long but the USA finally wrested Mexico from my control on 18 December 1907. As I mentioned previously I expected it to happen but I couldn’t keep both China and my other spheres and Mexico.

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Ten days later Jacobins rose throughout the country.

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As I battled the rebels I had moved my Alaskan unit over to south Africa where I declared war on Zimbabwe for annexation. They’re going to open up the south African territories for me which has some precious metals.

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Also it was quite striking how quickly I found out about the meteor… And I can guarantee you, I would never say, ‘Eeep!’ Must be a Swedish thing.

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About a month later the Netherlands signed a white peace with Brazil. The Netherlands also canceled our Military Access deal. They’re going to have to pay for that later… but first I have to protect Mexico.

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Regiments Ships
526.......... 260 US (after mobilization)
138.......... 326 Mexico (after mobilization)
174.......... 120 Russia

I immediately sent war subsidies to Mexico since it was going to take me a while to put any troops into Mexico’s defense. Over the next month Japan declined to aid me in my war and the Ottomans declared war on Serbia. I helped again. The same day the Ottomans declared war on Serbia - 15 June - the UK declared a War for Containment.

UK and satellites plus a few minor friends v. Russia, Bosnia, Greece, Moldavia, Wallachia, Siam and the Philippines.

I’m not going to give into the UK. They’re going to have to come into Russia if they want some of this. Also I’m not diverting any troops along the Austrian border to handle the Ottomans. My troops along the Ottoman border in addition to those I’ll mobilize should be more than enough to overwhelm the Ottomans. And if the war goes well, I’m going to take some Ottoman land.

That ought to be fun. The next update I’ll cover the first six months of these wars.

Casualties:
Russian soldiers: 27,003

Rebels: 454,542
 
Fighting those wars is not me idea of fun. More like, suicide.
 
zagoroth: Suicide can be fun too. Apparently you hang out with the wrong cult.

Omen: It’s a great excuse to drink.

aldriq: Rebels, UK and US I think I can handle since the two U’s will have to land in Russia while if needed, my militia can take out the rebels. My biggest concern is a declaration of war coming out of Austria. They’re the only country, I feel, that if they declare war, then I’m in real trouble.

***

This Update’s Observation:​
What’s up with all the underwear bombers? You really have to wonder about the Middle East and why they have so much room in their pants…

***

I easily defeated the Ottomans in the Strait and while neither side lost any ships, I was able to maintain my blockade over Instanbul. At the same time in July I laid a siege in Bitlis while the UK made moves in Alaska, beginning to sit on Sitka. A few weeks passed without incident, aside from putting down rebels, and I defeated the Ottmans in Poti, Bitlis and Starya Zagora. They were mostly minor battles.

At the same time in July, more interesting battles took place against the UK. I managed to lose about 1500 men to the UK in Johor which let them siege Johor Bahru. And I created a victory in Jugu, in Dahomey. Given there are fewer mountains and I’ll be able to retaliate wherever I like, I imagine I’ll have more success in Africa than Asia in spite of Siam’s aid.

Beginning in August I lost 3 Commerce Raiders and 6 Transports off the coast on India against the British. It had been a few months since I played this game so a few forgotten units wandering around are likely to happen. Meanwhile my victories against the rebels and the Ottomans continued smoothly and without much incident.

After the British were again defeated in Africa in mid August, I received more good news. My two major rivals were soon at war. Austria had declared war upon Italy for Romagna. Austria v. Italy, Sweden and Egypt.

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Four days later and I managed to keep my blockade of the Strait against the British which was an incredible surprise to me. It cost me a few ships but the Ottomans were going to remain split for now.

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18 August and another Kokand province fell, enough for them to agree to peace. They would cede the rest of their Qaraganda Region - Coal, 18k pop - and would enter my SOI. This war would free up one minor military unit numbering around 15,000.

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Entering late August I spotted Colombia - a UK ally - laying siege to Kenai - Alaska. I’ve essentially given up on Alaska for now. Those foreign troops can sit on it as long as they like but I won’t cede it to them. Meanwhile, where things actually matter, on 21 August I destroyed a 10,500 Ottoman army on the European side. And the fewer troops I have to deal with on the European side, the more I can devote to occupying, sending to the Caucasus or down in to help defend Greece.

5 September 1908

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It doesn’t even look like a war is going on between Mexico and the US… but Mexico is losing the war due to battles.

On my front, two more battles were won in the next three days in Nikki - Africa/Britain - and the Ottomans - Trebizon. 8 September I won another amazing naval battle in the Strait. Something tells me I’m beginning to press my luck, especially since I lost another three ships. Although I managed to cause some casualties this time.

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As the sieges set in I had nothing to occupy my time but battling rebels the rest of the month. A bunch of Communists rising made it even more interesting.

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And through October I won a few more battles against the Ottoman, minor battles with little consequence. Still, I had managed to give Austria Military Access and the US expanded their war goals to contain me… like that’s going to happen.

Casualties:
Russian soldiers: 7349

Rebels: 84,583
 
The constant uprisings seem very nasty. Hope you can deal with them while at war!
 
Yes, they are getting more numerous. Though of course they lose out on tech bonuses, so it gets easier to defeat them. They ought to change some of that in VRRP.
 
That Lenin guy surely is stirring up a lot of trouble! Long live the tzar! Good update by the way
 
To all: Its been a little while… apparently I woke up on the wrong side of hell. Anyway, I’m back now with a minor - maybe - question. A few weeks ago when Steam had their paradox sale I picked up AHD and in spite of my marks to keep downloads from affecting Victoria II, Steam downloaded it right over the whole game. I’ve played a few weeks beyond the end point of this update and things seemed to be fine but I wanted to see if anyone knew if there would be major game mechanic changes if a game is already started. If there isn’t or no one really knows then I’ll just continue as is with the AHD version taking over on 1 April 1909.

With all that said, I also picked up CK II during the sale so there may be an AAR over there sometime when this is through. I’m also going to replay my Iraq Victoria II game now that AHD is here so that update won’t come until a few months have passed - maybe less if my new computer can speed up the play.


Vrael_1492: A Tsar can’t call himself a Tsar unless he can put down a few rebellions. As long as they stay out of Petrograd I’ll be fine.

Juan_de_Marco: You are no friend of the Tsar. The Tsar is gone! :p

aldriq: I think a lot of their boats were wooden but still, that’s a lot of ships.

thekinguter: Yet he keeps fleeing at the last moment :D

Omen: Or girl… this is a unisex AAR - as I guess it is technically based in Sweden.


***

This Update’s Observation:

Whenever I find out about one of the rock stars I used to see on my MTV, it makes me want to go to Cali to buy a cell phone from them.

***

The first week of November I sacked two Ottoman armies, causing four minor defeats on their end. And on the 8th I finally lost in the Sea of Mamara against the UK. I lost 1 transport and they lost 9 but chance of me regaining a hold in the strait isn’t likely. At least the Ottomans are mostly subdued and its strategic importance isn’t as great as it once was.

On the 11th I added a war goal for the Ottomans to hand over Cyprus. And timing continued to be on my side because one day later they lost another army, this one numbering 70,000. An added note: They don’t have anymore troops east of this mark.

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Victories continued against the Ottomans about as easily as they did against the rebels. And two weeks into December I finished off the Zulu, receiving their annexation.

Zulu War Casualties:

Russia:
544

Zimbabwe: 4379

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Toward the end of the month I brought Ecuador into my SOI and I lost a minor battle against the UK in Johor Bahru.

1 January 1909

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Ecuador offered to join my alliance a little after the New Year. Obviously they’re feeling a little suicidal and haven’t spoken to their psychiatrists but to be fair it is 1909.

The Ottomans lost another large battle on the 9th and, to join the suicide party Montenegro joined our war.

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The United States continued offering peace to “Contain” me so I had to routinely reject them. This left Mexico alone until they finally accepted the United States’ terms on 2 February.

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I eventually lost to the Spanish in Africa toward the end of the month and the Dutch landed in my Baltic region. Luckily for me I still have those troops along the Austrian border and can deal with those Netherlanderers quite easily.

Early March I discovered Bolt Actions Rifles and began work on Deep Defense System. I’m completely ignoring every other tech out there and I’ll likely be left with a trainload of cultural techs at the end of this game.

On the 14th I destroyed another Ottoman army numbering 51,000 while losing against the British a day later just outside of my Zululands. This puts an end to all my units in Africa. One less thing to worry about. And I managed to push the Netherlands off of my land in Balticania.

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1 April 1909

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Casualties:
Russian Soldiers:
12,150

Rebels: 118,315
 
Just a brief statement saying that I'll continue this AAR soon however I've recently changed computers. It appears the steam cloud and Paradox are not friends and a transfer of a save on an external drive has failed me for some reason... so, to continue this AAR, does anyone know of a trusted place where I can upload my save and download it to the new computer?

If that doesn't work the AAR could always be restarted in AHD. Either way, updates ought to come much quicker as this new machine vastly outperforms the machine I have been using meaning, more game time = more write time.
 
Just a brief statement saying that I'll continue this AAR soon however I've recently changed computers. It appears the steam cloud and Paradox are not friends and a transfer of a save on an external drive has failed me for some reason... so, to continue this AAR, does anyone know of a trusted place where I can upload my save and download it to the new computer?

If that doesn't work the AAR could always be restarted in AHD. Either way, updates ought to come much quicker as this new machine vastly outperforms the machine I have been using meaning, more game time = more write time.

I like Mediafire; I've never had any problems with it.
 
Weirdest thing, Steam actually put my Paradox saves in documents rather than under the save folder in Steam. So that’s why my save wasn’t initially working. However, I have finally transferred the save and its working. With that said, the new machine runs the late game very fast which means I’ll be able to push out more consistent updates. I’ll probably have one out in a few days. So the thing that delayed updates, my old slow machine, shouldn’t get in the way anymore.

Omen: My allies right now are: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, Wallachia, Siam and the Philippines.
At War with: Portugal, UK and her satellites. Still at war with the US. And I’m working on polishing off the OE. I’ll probably remain at war with the US until they ask for a white peace because right now there is no way I’m willing to cross back over into Alaska to take on the UK and the US at the same time.


Avindian: Thanks for the site. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind when I have use of it again.
 
This Update’s Observation:
I just saw a review for Empire: Total War from Total PC Gaming that said, "The greatest strategy game of all time.” Funny. While I haven’t played that total war game I have played Rome, Medieval II Total War and recently Shogun II. Even as late as Shogun II Fall of the Samurai the AI tossed about 2000 weak rifle guys without a leader against my fort while I held 3000 various troops and a General. Since I was within my ship’s bombardment range casualties were minimal on my side… and should I add that it was also the middle of winter so the enemy army meandering around was taking serious attrition? Sure the battles are definitely great if you don’t game the system but the campaign AI is so incredibly weak and always has been. I would be hard pressed to call any of those games strategic.

Oh, and…

There’s a new AAR of mine over in the CKII forum. A history book style which is updated weekly – about – detailing the House of Oghuz. The link is in my sig.

Oh, and…

rick.gif


***


Somewhere along the transfer I accidentally transferred the auto save from January instead of April. But it isn’t a big problem. Basically everything was the same from January 1909 to 1 April 1909 except the US didn’t force Mexico to peace. That’s part of the reason why it took me so long to write up this update. I hate replaying sh--, er, stuff.

It had been a while since I played so I was coming back to a whole new world. I was reminded that my fleet in southeast Asia was stationed there after it was expelled from a Siamese occupied province. Luckily the ships were able to escape up to Vladivostock where they joined up with my Siberian Fleet.

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Meanwhile I continued to mow down on the Ottomans. With my free units you’ll notice that I’ve begun setting up a barricade along my beaches. This is because I really have no hope of launching an offensive against Britain or the US and the best I can hope for is to wear them down until they begin to have troubles at home and request a white peace.

1 July 1909

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Through July I provided Egypt with Military Access and the powerhouse of Montenegro signed a white peace with the UK. Funny since they haven’t even touched the UK. Considering its size and the fact that they keep backing me in all these wars, you’d think they wouldn’t want to piss me off. I’m over the BB limit anyway… I could always invade them.

Toward the end of July the UK finally accepted one of my peace offers. Rather than Contain me, I gave them a province from the Philippines. This leaves me only at war with the Ottoman Empire and the US. It also means I don’t have to work so hard to keep up my Baltic/Black Sea/Greek defenses.

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Around this time I began constructing a ton of ships because I’m obviously going to need them in the future. The UK will probably declare war on me again in the future and when they do I want to offer a defense while I raid some innocent country somewhere. Anyway, all the troops I had in Europe were relocated back to the Austrian border while I considered declaring war on them.

However two months later, 13 September, Italy and Austria signed peace with Austria retaking Romagna. Thankfully Austria demobilized less than two weeks later. One less thing to worry about.

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One day later the capital of the Ottoman Empire fell and they finally agreed to peace. I knocked them down to size and took Cyprus.

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Cyprus is
10 Lux clothes
1 Lux furniture
1 Fabric

I also demobilized and reduced National Stockpile to 75% to save money because that was beginning to become a real problem. Costs went from -7153 a day to -4668 a day.

Toward the end of December and to round out the year the US tried landing in Kuantan. I showed them. ;) I think I’m safe for now.

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You've betrayed your ally, sir. You must avenge that by forcing the British to cede the Celts to you.