French AAR - my first

[Morlac]

Originally posted by Dale
Morlac:

Yeah I noticed that with the images. Totally wierd. Sometimes they show, sometimes they don't. *shrug* Must be something to do with crosswinds.

It's obvious there's a lot of different styles of play. I don't mind an ally starting a BB war. I usually have a larger army than I'd normally need, and that seems to be enough for those surprise DOWs.

It's possible that the reason you are seeing the images sometimes is that you've looked at them on your site or on your hard drive, and the browser can access the cached image instead of requesting it through crosswinds.

I noticed that after visiting your site and looking at the pics, I could "see" them inline here at the forum. And I remember folks talking about that kind of issue over in the EU2 AAR forum...

 

[Carolus Rex]

Welcome to the community dale, sorry for not replying earlier.

Looks like u've got a good game running, keep it up.

 

[unmerged(9191)]

On Galleys.

I find them semi-useful. There cheap, and you can put 8 of them with a few W.S. and Transports and have a nice invasion. Also early game vs weak naval powers (P.L., Hans, moslems, T.O, Russia) they can be very useful as they can win battles AND not cut down warships with attrition.

Of Course I dont use them too much except for transporting purpose's (when there 8D and a transport cost me 20, they make sense).

 

[Morlac]

Originally posted by Imperial Army
On Galleys.

I find them semi-useful. There cheap, and you can put 8 of them with a few W.S. and Transports and have a nice invasion. Also early game vs weak naval powers (P.L., Hans, moslems, T.O, Russia) they can be very useful as they can win battles AND not cut down warships with attrition.

Of Course I dont use them too much except for transporting purpose's (when there 8D and a transport cost me 20, they make sense).

Not sure what you meant by "not cut down warships with attrition" -- please clarify?

I agree with what you said for the most part. One problem is that if you still have galleys after they've become obsolete, you either disband them (and lose your investment) or try to tuck them into a larger fleet and hope they don't cause too many problems in battle.

If you know that you are only going to be operating in a limited sphere of influence that coincides with the shallow seas galleys do well in, then great -- use 'em. But as a major colonial/exploring power I'd usually skip them, because I don't want a whole chunk of my navy to be limited to 25% of the places I might need to use it.

 

[unmerged(9191)]

What I meant by not cutting down warships with attrition is you can leave a whole mess of galleys on your coast, let them suffer attrition while you leave warships in port and just attack when you get a chance instead of having them sit.

 

[Morlac]

Originally posted by Imperial Army
What I meant by not cutting down warships with attrition is you can leave a whole mess of galleys on your coast, let them suffer attrition while you leave warships in port and just attack when you get a chance instead of having them sit.

I feel like I'm being dense.

Why do you need a whole mess of galleys sitting on your coast? Are you trying to suppress pirates or something?

(Or is it like a medieval waterpark for the kids? )

 

[unmerged(9191)]

I like seeing off my coasts.....does help pirates too but thats not a big deal. I use them for recon all the time too....If I wanna attack say Genoa just send some galleys over there see there troop count and go back.

 

[Dale]

1522 - 1529: Europe's Bayboy Emerges!

- 1522: The buildup to war is completed. We are ready for the next attack against Spain.

- Feb 1523: France declares war against Spain. France/Savoy/Scotland versus Spain/Poland/Austria/Milan.

- Our forces on the Iberian Pen move into covering positions on all of Spain's provinces. Our main army moves from Andulasia to Gibralter. We hold our eastern army as Spain and Milan move on Savoie. We send half our northern army against Alsace hoping for a quick peace with Austria.

- Jun 1523: Savoy defeats Spain and Milan in Savoie. We move our eastern army towards Milan.

- Dec 1523: Gibralter falls to France. Moving towards Leon. Alsace sieged. Milan sieged.

- Feb 1524: Austria attacks Alsace, but is beaten back.

- May 1524: Milan falls and is annexed. Alsace falls to France, but no white peace. Army retreated to Ill de France as Spain has a large army invading from the Lowlands.

- Jul 1524: Spain beaten back in Ill de France thanks to timely arrival of troops from Alsace. Austria sieges Alsace.

- Aug 1524: Leon falls to us. Spain offers Gibralter, but we shrug it off.

- Oct 1524: Disaster! Our northern army trying to break the siege of Alsace are decimated by Austria! 22K French versus 7K Austrian casulties!

- Nov 1524: Alsace reclaimed by Austria.

- Jan 1525: Poland is beaten back in Milan.

- Apr 1525: Reinforcements sent to siege of Castille. Austria sieges Aragorn on Iberian Pen.

- Sep 1525: Aragorn falls to Austria by assault.

- Jan 1526: Austria destroyed in Cattalonia.

- Mar 1526: We siege Aragorn.

- Jun 1526: Portugal declares war on us! France/Savoy/Scotland versus Portugal/England/Venice/Swedan/Navarra.

- Jul 1526: Portugal sieges Andulasia. Venice & Spain beaten back in Milan. We only have 5/2/56 left.

- Aug 1526: Troops built in Milan. We invade Mantua. Castille falls to us! Spain agrees to peace giving us Gibralter and Leon.

- Sep 1526: We capture Calais.

- Dec 1526: Coverers in Oporto and Algarve. We are beaten back by Portugal in Andulasia.

- Mar 1527: Capture Mantua.

- May 1527: Ragusa annexed by Turkey.

- Jun 1527: Scotland gets Yorkshire and 250 gold from England. I'd forgotten about them during my fun.

- Aug 1527: We capture Venice. England/France white peace settlement. We get Mantua from Venice.

- Dec 1527: Navarra falls. We annex them.

- Feb 1528: Palatinat declares war on us by itself.

- Jun 1528: Army to level 8.

- Jul 1528: Western Pomm to Hessen. We capture Pfalz. White peace negotiated with Palatinat.

- Aug 1528: We finally capture Tago. Oporto and Algarve to us.

There are some current screenshots here........

 

[Dale]

Some current game stats at 1529:

Badboy = 25

Techs:

FRA: 8/5/4/4
SPA: 6/5/4/4
POR: 6/6/4/4
ENG: 6/5/4/4
AUS: 6/2/4/3
POL: 5/2/2/2
RUS: 5/3/3/2
TUR: 6/4/3/3

 

[unmerged(9191)]

How are you techs so high???

 

[Morlac]

Originally posted by Imperial Army
How are you techs so high???

Dale's french techs seem to be on par or even a bit higher than mine were around that period as Spain (7/6/4/5 in 1533). I'm even more impressed because France starts out much lower tech than Spain. (In the IGC France is 1/1/0/1 while Spain is 3/3/2/2 in 1492.)

Good job!

 

[unmerged(9191)]

I only really wonder about Trade and Land Tech. He's been at war for a nice chunk of time yet still has these huge techs, and has little upgraded officials too earn additional money. Land 8 wow.

 

[Morlac]

Originally posted by Imperial Army
I only really wonder about Trade and Land Tech. He's been at war for a nice chunk of time yet still has these huge techs, and has little upgraded officials too earn additional money. Land 8 wow.

Sorry to keep cluttering the AAR with side conversations!

Yeah, Dale can you tell us what you've been keeping the income/inflation slider at?

If I count right, he's had 4 wars lasting a total of about 12 years out of the 36-37 the game has run so far. Seems about right. I took a quick glance back at my notes from the beginning of my current IGC game but so many of the wars were only 2-3 months long that I didn't feel like adding it all up. I'd bet that I was at war more of those years than he was overall.

In the short run, upgrading officials won't pay off in research. A tax collector pays 2 of its 3 ducats/year to your monthly income, which can then go to research. Meanwhile, if you were to just lower your inflation rate sufficiently that you never took the 50 ducats it takes to buy the tax collector, then the 50 goes straight to research here and now. (Also, inflation increases research costs, so keeping inflation low helps that way too.)

In the long run, of course, the tax collectors will more than pay for themselves and contribute to your R&D budget...

What will really hurt is taking lots of poor provinces. Each additional province increases the cost of research (and stability). So I think you can run into situations where dirt-poor unimproved provinces actually wind up costing you more in increased research and stability than they pay you in tax and production.

 

[Dale]

EU economics..... Dale's way.

Okay I'll tell you my little secret. It isn't too hard, but can be a little daunting once you hit badboy wars.

1. Tax collectors in core provinces.
2. Forget about legal whatsits. Useless.
3. Get to trade 3 ASAP. Usually I try to hit trade 3 with only one other tech advance (land if it's cheap enough).
4. Put ALL research into one tech. I know some people play with the sliders a bit. I just dump all research into one tech.
5. Keep stab at +3 (only dropping that 1 point for DOW's).
6. If you noticed, I've had bugger all army the whole game so far. This is where it can be daunting when you hit BB wars. But if you position your allies correctly, they can shore up a front. As France this is easy as you start with Savoy (a pretty good military ally).
7. I keep my monthly income between -1 and 0. This keeps inflation down. When I hit infra 5 at about 1550 (which is posted below), I had 7% inflation.
8. NO LOANS MEANS NO BANKRUPTCY!
9. Only take rich provinces, ie: Iberian Pen.
10. Don't waste men in attrition wars. I find 35/0/100 is the best sieger army for me.

That's it. Dale's 10 points to EU economics.

My current financial screen is here....

 

[Dale]

1529 - 1555: The Badboy Wars!

1529 - 1539: Peace and stability in Europe

Between the years 1529 - 1539, peace and stability reigned throughout Europe. None of the major powers in Europe were involved in any wars. Only a couple of minor skirmishes between the Germanic states, and Turkey butting heads with her muslim neighbors.

France took this opportunity to invest heavily in research, trade and upgrading of our colonies to cities, often running up to -5 ducats per month deficit. We also made use of the explorers we have, and recreating our armies after the first badboy war. On the diplomacy front, things were pretty fruitless, as everyone except for Savoy and Scotland have negative relations with us. But in that time we were able to rejuvinate our flagging relations with our two allies back to the +180 mark.

Trade was the biggest gainer. We were able to monopolise a number of COT's in Europe, and also the massive one in Bali. Of the 20 slots, we held 19. We just couldn't get rid of that last Portugese trader. Of the 800 odd ducats per year, we had our hands on nearly all of it (less the amount due to trade percentage).

But all of this was about to end. 1539 dawned, and Europe was about to explode in an inferno like it had never seen before!


1539 - 1546: The Badboy Wars!

- Mar 1539: Scotland DOWs England. France/Scotland/Savoy versus England.

- Jul 1539: France captures Calais.

- Aug 1539: Venice DOWs France. France/Scotland/Savoy versus Venice/Hansetic.

- Aug 1539: Portugal DOWs France. France/Scotland/Savoy versus Portugal/Spain/Poland.

- Sep 1539: France makes white peace with England.

- Oct 1539: Castille sieged by France.

- Nov 1539: Venice captures Mantua. France's army in Milan was continually hit by puny 4K armies from Emilia (Spain) and thus couldn't move to Mantua. I hate that!

- Mar 1540: Save Milan from siege.

- Apr 1540: France captures Castille, and Spain's maps.

- May 1540: France captures Tago and Portugal's maps.

- Jul 1540: France captures Euskadia.

- Sep 1540: France captures Mantua back.

- Oct 1540: France sieges Venice.

- Nov 1540: France captures Asturias.

- Dec 1540: France captures Venice. White peace made with Venice.

- Jan 1541: France captures Galicia.

- Mar 1541: Scotland makes peace with England giving Yorkshire back.

- Jul 1541: Palatinat DOWs France. France/Scotland/Savoy versus Palatinat/Hessen.

- Aug 1541: Spain offers Euskadia, Asturias & Galicia. We accept.

- Jan 1542: France captures Cologne.

- Aug 1542: France captures Pfalz.

- Oct 1542: White peace with Palatinat. France in no more wars.

- Jun 1543: In a massive shift of weight, Turkey finally concluded her YEARS old war with Hungary by annexing them.


- Jan 1544: Between Jun 1543 and Jan 1544, the Turkey/Walchia/Crimea/Hafsid alliance was DOWed by:

- Bavaria

- Venice/Hansetic League

- Persia/Oman/Sibir/Hedjaz

- Austria/Spain/Poland/Portugal/Baden

- Jan 1546: In Jan 1546, the Turk alliance was finally able to make it's final peace to conclude their badboy wars.

Once again, Europe was at peace.


1546 - 1555: Western Europe's recovery and Scandinavia's upheaval

Between 1546 and 1555, France saw another era of extended peace. We concentrated on moving our exploration to the Indian Ocean, and thus setup two port colonies in Africa. With army tech 11 being researched in this time, we were able to start exploring North America with our armies stationed there. Consequently, we were able to start expanding there. In the early 1550's, Dutch nationalism began, and Spain was having an easy time putting down the riots. We gained infrastructure level 5 which meant we could begin bringing our inflation down, which had hit a high of 7%. We had spent years worth of money on this investment, as it was one of our goals. Also, trade reached level 5 enabling us to keep 50% of our merchants earnings from COTs. This caused an increase in money, and thus more research. I decided to enable France to fight on many fronts, and thus have extended our army to include a lot more 35/0/100 stacks stationed around the northern and eastern fronts. With Castille and Tago on the Iberian Pen in enemy hands, and revolt risks down there, we have stationed 3 stacks in easy access of these provinces. Due to my use of white peaces, and Turkey's annexing of Hungary, world attention was taken from me.

This time also saw some upheaval in Scandanavia, Russia. Swedan gained a couple of provinces from Russia, and in two wars between Russia and Poland, Russia gained some territory, then Poland gained some.

By Jan 1555, France is prepared for the final assault on Spain. All it'll take is for the Dutch to appear. So we wait, and prepare........

 

[Dale]

Screenshots updated on my website.

Here's a stats update for Jan 1555:

FRA 11/7/5/5 BB=19
SPA 10/7/4/4 BB=1
POR 8/8/4/4 BB=0
ENG 10/7/4/4 BB=0
AUS 10/4/4/4 BB=2
POL 7/3/4/3 BB=0
RUS 7/4/4/3 BB=2
TUR 9/4/4/4 BB=14

 

[unmerged(9191)]

If I were you I would've annexed Venice. You get a very nice CoT, a huge naval boost and 1 less enemy. Other than that you did good. Id be careful of England they may be sneaking up on you pretty soon.....

 

[Dale]

Imperial Army:

I tell you what, I seriously considered going after Venice. But then I saw who they were next to: Austria and Turkey. I'm not big enough to take those two on as well as Spain, Portugal and other minors. Also, helps my BB a little bit.

 

[Morlac]

Originally posted by Imperial Army
If I were you I would've annexed Venice. You get a very nice CoT, a huge naval boost and 1 less enemy. Other than that you did good. Id be careful of England they may be sneaking up on you pretty soon.....

No way!

Sure Dale had conquered Venice itself, but she still had three islands (unless she'd lost them elsewhere) -- Corfu, Crete, and Cyprus. Major pain to take your navy and go islandhopping to get all three--especially when there's so much else going on...

And then there's the little matter of religion. Why take on a whole 'nother religion (the three islands are all orthodox) at this time? France probably already has Catholic, Protestant and Reform provinces to worry about. And if Dale takes Granada from Spain he'll have Muslim to worry about as well. (And that's about all you can handle -- spreading the sliders roughly even gives you about 2 years before war exhaustion hits at max stability).

(And of course, as Dale pointed out -- sometimes 1 less enemy means 2 more enemies, since this would open a border to Austria and Turkey )


By the way Dale -- nicely handled war

 

[unmerged(9191)]

YEa the Island hopping could be a pain.... I figured they are probabally down to just 3 or 4 provinces by that point but who knows.

Just make friends with the Austrians (if its possible) and ally with them too take the turks... just a thought.