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I was seeing the fact that he was compelled to sign a 10 prestige-worth white peace to avoid to get his african expedition slaughtered... Had he lost those troops, he'd also have had trouble to contain the troops afterwards. I was thinking of keeping his troops less spread out, first using his 150 ships to eliminated as much as possible of the 59 french fleet seeing he is less at a disadvantage on sea). And then, after that go forward, having restricted french movements.

But i see your point. Thanks :)
 
Sometimes you just have to lose the prestige. I'm assuming that 660brigades is their fully mobilized force. You got what you really wanted off the Dutch -Java. That's what you went after and succeeded.

The British have more brigades than the French, but usually have most in India. Their navy usually annhilates any opposing navy. Catching up on seas is a requirement. if you can sink the French navy, they can't land troops on Siam. Taking the rest of the Dutch East Indies might take you quite a while -it's a decent aim or you could make China a protectorate. A war with China would be an interesting war.
 
Wow, Java was certainly worth a lot of trouble. It must be nice to have your private coffee empire. ;)

Getting out of the war with the French is a good idea: continuing the slaughter just wasn't worth it. The costs of obtaining a victory were much higher than the costs of forgoing the humiliate wargoal.
 
Henry!!! Is it you, Old Boy? I haven't seen you... in an AGE! Reminds me of old times with Lord Greven and Josh. Welcome back, Sir, and Welcome to I Am Siam! An honour to have you!

Yes, tis I. I've been away for far too long, mostly due to the hectic nature of real life. :p But I am back, and it's good to be back. I purchased Vicky 2 last night partially because of AAR's I had started reading like these :D This still is and always will be my favorite part of the forum.

Also, good job humbling the French. Siam is becoming what Japan would become in the early 20th century.
 
Newly captured Batavia was now Siam’s MOST productive province! Plus, I had her pre-existing industry. I’m not sure – I should know this, but I don’t – what allows the province of Java to immediately become a state despite not having enough Siamese bureaucrats. I’ve seen this elsewhere, later in the game – states that are seemingly the same when captured, but some end up as true states while others remain as colonial states. If someone knows I would appreciate your sharing.

The Dutch must have turned it into a state at some point, so it's just the transfer of a state from one civilised nation to another. Full states held by uncivs become colonies when acquired by civilised states, so if you'd taken Yunnan from China it would become a colonial state.

Shame about having to concede to a White Peace with France. The fact that they're bigger, stronger and more technologically-advanced made it a tricky prospect from the outset, but you did at least get what you wanted from the Dutch.
 
The Dutch must have turned it into a state at some point, so it's just the transfer of a state from one civilised nation to another. Full states held by uncivs become colonies when acquired by civilised states, so if you'd taken Yunnan from China it would become a colonial state.

Well, that's what I was thinking -- and expecting -- but in other cases it hasn't happened. Surely that's not too much of a spoiler to predict that I will eventually take other civilized states. But when I do so, about half the time the factories that exist there get destroyed and I have to build new ones -- other times, like this, I inherit the factories. Why the difference, I cannot explain. This is still v1.1 -- maybe it's a bug?

Rensslaer
 
about half the time the factories that exist there get destroyed and I have to build new ones -- other times, like this, I inherit the factories.
Rensslaer
The Javans like the Siamese and don't let the Dutch capitalists burn down the factories. The French on the other hand have owners who burn the factories down with the workers still inside.

On the other hand, it might just be random chance.
 
Just read through this whole AAR in about two hours. What a ride! You plan more for a single war, than I do for a single game.

That's about true for me too... then again, that's probably why he's way more successfull than i am :rofl:
 
Beware and bewarned! This is kind of a long update, but it fast-forwards us about 8 years in history, from 1905 to 1913.

The war with France just concluded, I was not content to let them have the final word…

FinalWord.jpg


As part of my Great Power game against France, I removed the Netherlands from their Sphere. Most of the next 8 years (this was NOT the most efficient use of my resources, as I frittered away my Influence unwisely at times), there were a series of Expel Advisors and Ban Embassy actions (using more Ban Embassy actions would have been smarter) against France, the UK, and Russia, with regard to Influence points in the Netherlands. It’s really hard to fight off three rivals for the same country, so all in all 8 years is not an unexpected amount of time to be struggling.

Just to prick the French a little more, I intervened financially in their war against Prussia, supporting the Prussians in hopes of allowing them to build more troops to hold off the hordes.

Europe1905.jpg


France is just massive. Forget Germany – France is the continental hegemon in my timeline. This is not just a passing advantage – they’ve got a lock on Europe for the rest of the game.

A complicated research screenshot…

Much of my discoveries over the next few years benefited my naval ability – serious increases in firepower and organization of my navy. This was the delayed advantage given by several previous research items undertaken during the war, when my naval power was deeply stressed (though, ultimately, successful).

Tech1905.jpg


Showing my options in 1905, I considered High & Low Pressure Steam Engines (an economic boost), Interchangeable Parts (another economic boost) and Ideological Thought. I eventually chose Ideological thought after considering how badly I’d managed the process of improving my Research Points over time. Several expert players, I’m sure, will fault me for not making this my priority from the very beginning – that’s the smart, gamewinning thing to do. I’ll just offer that I had other priorities which seemed more immediate at the time, and secondly (this is partly an RPG effect) I didn’t sense that the Siamese would necessarily choose to pursue education first and foremost. It may be the “obvious” way to win the game, but countries throughout history have strenuously avoided the most obvious of paths to certain victory because they lack foresight. This is one reason I don’t believe in “conspiracy theories” – if any country were really controlled by an all-knowing cabal, it wouldn’t really be that hard to overwhelm all the other countries whose governments frankly haven’t the first clue how to really run their country in a competent manner. :D

Essentially, due to my tendency not to use “gamey” tactics, even in a strategy-focused AAR, maxing out my RPs was only a secondary priority.

MiddleEast1905.jpg


Above, I’m showing you how much of the Middle East ended up looking in the first decade of the 20th Century (I’ll show you another screenshot below to show you the other major changes). Probably no place on Earth changed more than the Middle East during my game. Well…. except for Asia. :D

Basically, Two Sicilies fought Egypt and gained Syria, and the Ottomans were dominating in a war against Persia. It’s hard to see in the screenshot, but 3/4 of Persia is occupied by the Turks in that screenshot!

Brits.jpg


One of my chief concerns throughout the game – not less during the 1910s – was the very close proximity of tens of thousands of British troops near my capital city! Because of this, you’ll notice I’ve built (and continued to improve, over time) a two-layered ring of forts around Bangkok, and positioned several garrisons of approximately 15,000 troops each nearby. That might not be enough to keep the British from taking me, but I was always hopeful it would delay them long enough to bring troops from Japan or wherever and rescue the situation. Queasymaking is the word. :)

Because of my worry about the UK, I researched Deep Defense Systems next (I also tended to keep my relations with the UK above 100 so they wouldn’t decide I was their enemy). But, naturally, it wasn’t just the British I was worried about. Deep Defense Systems is also the gateway to getting the Gas Attack and Gas Defense discoveries that would even my odds against France.

FortsFrance.jpg


One of the elements in the above screenshot emphasizes just how badly I’ve NOT maxed out my Research Points! I’m terribly low on Clerks, which would have helped me. Fortunately, my recent delving into Culture Techs has given me – and will continue to give me, over the course of the decade – quite a few discoveries which raise my Plurality rapidly.

France won the war against Prussia, gaining yet another state, stretching its arm further into Germany. Then, they added insult to injury by making Prussia join her Sphere of Influence!

OttoPersia.jpg


As you might have predicted, the Ottomans took advantage of Persia’s uncivilized status and extended a Protectorate (i.e. annexation) over Persia. This is a big deal, of course – Persia draws the Ottoman Empire deeper into the Indian Ocean, as well as adding territory, population (soldiers!) and economic power to her.

Back to the Great Power game…

As I mentioned, I spent a lot of time pushing three rival powers – Russia, UK and France – off the hill so I might have an opportunity of getting the Netherlands into my Sphere. Here you’ll see I target France first (with 95 Influence Points), and then UK (with 35 in that screenshot), spending all 100 of my IP doing the two actions (Expel Advisors).

NethProcess.jpg


Remember that I’d earlier (the first screenshot) used an earlier 100 IP to remove Netherlands from France’s SoI. Why did I hit UK before Russia, even though Russia had more IP? Because the British were gaining points WAY faster than the Russians – they had a higher priority set, and so the French and British were actively competing for the prize, while Russia was merely sauntering. I did, in time, hit Russia too. Spain was ignoring the Dutch, despite having gained a few IP earlier in the game.

Why didn’t I just Sphere the Netherlands when I had the 100 points? Because it would only have been a few days before France had 100 IP and they would have immediately taken it away from me. It was necessary that I deal with that threat first, before Sphering them, or it would have been all for naught.

I’ll admit that a smarter use of resources there would have been to hit France, first, with a Ban Embassy action (preventing their involvement in the Netherlands for 1 full year), and then gain another 30 IP and do the same thing against UK. It may be that I felt I wouldn’t have time to get those 30 IP before UK hit 100, or it may be that I was overconfident and thought I could get back up to 100 before anyone else got up to 100.

Tech1909.jpg


At times, rather than researching the most “obvious” techs – the things I really needed to get advanced most quickly – I’d instead research something that was easy, and which I could achieve relatively quickly. That’s why I researched Alphabetic Flag Signaling – I needed that increased Supply Range for my ships (to avoid Attrition at long ranges), and it was cheap to get. I eventually got around to Researching High & Low Pressure Steam Engines, which basically improved my economy by 10% across the board. Next I researched Steel Steamers, in pursuit of more advanced warships.

Notice that Gas Attack and Gas Defense are now on my list of Possible Inventions, after I’d earlier finished Deep Defense Systems. Their probability is 0%, though – there are other prerequisites for achieving those discoveries. Among them is Organic Chemistry. I could have gone flat out for Inorganic, then Organic, but that would have taken years in which I decided I’d rather research other priorities. Gas Defense is important, but it’s not THE most important priority for me, right now. Everything is competing for attention.

Commies.jpg


I don’t show the minor rebellions, but I generally show you the major rebellions. This one (above) was a big deal because it meant I had militant communists just about everywhere. The rebellion was annoying, but never was a serious threat to me.

The screenshot (above) also shows my relations with the USA. I made it a practice to ALWAYS keep my relations with both the UK and USA in the region of +100, because I didn’t want them to come knocking. This often required some effort, because I was constantly angering both of them with my Expel Advisor actions.

Cruisers.jpg


In about 1912 I achieved Steel Steamers, and so Pre-Dreadnoughts and Protected Cruisers soon followed. As soon as I could build Cruisers, I put a whole bunch on the line. Siam, by the way, was one of the world’s top producers of Steamships during this period of time (I think UK may have produced more, but not overwhelmingly so), so the expense and spike in prices caused by these massive building projects tended to go back into my own pockets.

Naval Plans was my second big improvement to Naval Supply Range. I wanted to be able to operate in the Mediterranean and in West Africa without having to worry about my ships suffering Attrition. This was a measure of world power status. I might be ranked 5th among the Great Powers, but that status wasn’t real until I could operate where I needed to operate in order to run with the big dogs.

Railroads came next. Again, many expert players would fault me for not researching this earlier. As with Research Point gain, pure “maxed out economics” was not among those things I felt I wanted to do in this game. That RPG tendency of mine kept me from taking advantage of my knowledge of the game to “game” the system. A strategy whiz in pursuit of a quick, easy World Conquest might max out RPs, Railroads and Industrial Techs in full knowledge that they would soon be insurpassible, but that’s just not how I play.

Wake.jpg


My increasing Supply Range finally started opening up colonization options. Wake Island might not seem like an obvious place to colonize, but my reasons were twofold. One, it was one of the only places I could colonize with my Liferating values and with my limited Supply Range. Secondly, Naval Supply Range begets Naval Supply Range if you use your range to capture new distant locations for Naval Bases, as your Naval Supply Range extends outward from each Naval Base. With a Naval Base on Wake Island, I could colonize 2/3 or 3/4 of the Pacific!

My next target for my Sphere of Influence was Atjeh. It wasn’t worth the Badboy to conquer it, so adding it to my Sphere made sense. Not that it’s going to do much for me. But (the RPG thing again!) it made sense for me to expand my SoI to nearby countries before taking on other countries which might actually benefit my economy more.

All right… The screenshot below is the “money screenshot” for this update – the biggest deal of all!

Oman.jpg


I finally, in September of 1912, bring the Netherlands into my Sphere of Influence!

But first, in May 1912, I declared war upon Oman. It’s an uncivilized country – an easy target – and it would give me a place from which to operate against the French and Ottomans, either one.

I fully expected to also end up at war with Kutch and Sindh, and had troops sitting offshore in their transports to immediately occupy them. But Siam is apparently powerful enough to have made them rethink how much they liked the Omanis. :D

OmanParts.jpg


In January 1913, Oman becomes part of the Siamese Empire (southern Oman, in Africa, was previously conquered by Portugal). Note my environment, there – the Ottomans have taken Persia, the French are still in Hedjaz, and Yemen and a portion of northern Nejd (it’s hard to see, but there’s a gray spot up there) is under control of Austria, which also has a little part of the Pakistani coastline just south of Kalat.

Oman is intended as a staging base against either France or the Ottomans – I can station troops there and ferry them to my targets quickly. Because I don’t have a land border with either, it’s safe from attack except by sea. I immediately begin building a Naval Base in Muscat (Oman), which will make it my western extension of Naval Supply Range, just as Wake Island will be my eastern extension.

Lastly, you’ll notice I’ve just gotten into the Machine Parts market with the research of Interchangeable Parts. This also lifts my industry by 10%.
 
Strangely enough my role playing is pretty much the opposite of yours. I tend to focus heavily on raising RP and economic efficiency, but only go for wars if they're historically plausible or I've got a valid CB.

Playing as Prussia -> Germany I got annoyed how quickly France turned its overseas colonies into states because it seems more fitting to take them in peace deals than to annex chunks of Metropolitan France. Paying full warscore for them is a little grating.

I have a feeling that as long as you don't get too much Infamy the British will leave you alone, but then again I don't have them sitting on my doorstep.
 
Quite funny to see a European nation be set in the SoI of an Asian one... the the early XXth century :D

Nice doing... i really enjoying watching your RPG unfold. Gives a feel of plausibility to your world. Awaiting the next update with great anticipation :cool:
 
Mein Gott, Ottomans in Persia? The age old animus decided in favour of Istanbul! This just proves their diabolical plans over Asia, and I'm glad to see you are taking action against this by taking Oman. Ten to one the Ottomans were behind that massive Communist revolt.
 
Good job with Java and Oman. And the French, well, I expect you'll serve them a nice cold dish in the late 20s/early 30s :D Poor Prussians, though, they seem to get the wrong end of the stick in most games.

Your role-playing makes the game more interesting, although I disagree with you in just one tech: while I can imagine the Siamese disregarding Ideological Though and other cultural fripperies, I doubt any westernised nation at the time would have snubbed railroads, the all-shiny, all-showy, non-ideological tech of the 19th century by definition.
 
Wooh, just read through the whole AAR (where'd the daylight go?) and I like it. Kind of makes me want to play again for once in a while.