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Well, reading this AAR has been a nice excuse not to learn for my linear algebra exam.

Looking forward to the continuation of this great AAR ;).
 

No wonder the Mughals didn't understand. The Yemen explained things to its neighbours. Not quite on a par with either Morocco or the Ottos and westernisation doesn't bring the benefits of better units. Within the historical time period only Russia westernised. Yes, 1.6 nerfs units. Oman always manages to tech well, in most games. Western cavalry lags behind other tech groups for a long time. A western army would lose the battle on the flanks and its infantry would not have the morale or discipline to hold long enough to win the main central battle. It is historical for 10000 westerners to defeat 80000 Chinese. From 1500 - 1700 ottoman units own Europe (western) and that makes Ottoman world conquest easier and Byzantine if it overruns the Ottos quickly enough and keeps access to its troops.

You've a great aar, deserve the acolades and there's a great game in Europa universalis, but version IV 1.6 is not it.

Hope you stay long enough in Yemen to see westernization and expansion.
 
tnick0225: Yeah, westernization did slow up this turn...though I wasn't sure who I was going to go after if we did go to war. Fortunately Persia keeps volunteering!

LordEnglish: I didn't know the # of points changed by tech group. That makes A LOT of sense.

Stuyvesant: Yes, perhaps I shouldn't have westernized - or done it at the end of a turn when I didn't expect to advance - but for the most part I'm trying to play as if I meant to stay with the country for the long haul. This is something I think Yemen needs to stay competitive.

svick: Perhaps?

Athalcor: Alt history is definitely more important than algebra. Be sure to tell your professor!

Andre Massena: And peasants, and provinces, and artists. Don't they know I know what's best for them?

Chief Ragusa: I get more chances to explain things to the Mughals, don't worry
 
CHAPTER XIX: YEMEN
Part 3: Dances with Event Generators
(1710-1715)


Okay folks, this turn is so quiet even our loving citizens start complaining. Go ahead and get comfortable. A nice drink, maybe a sandwich. Oooh, are those cookies? Don't mind if I do. Are you ready? Let's go.


Zzzzzz

So, it's January 1710 and the Mughals ask if we'd like to give them 20% of our trade power. They obviously don't speak Arabic, so let's try Russian. Nyet. Oh, they read from right to left over there? Fine. Teyn.

Noble families request aid in March. Really? Apparently raising armies to try and overthrow my westernization process is expensive.

171003NobleWhiner_zpsaf0ec5b5.jpg


Sorry, guys. Westernizing is expensive. So I'll be over here, you know, westernizing while you drown in debt. Maybe if you traditionalists would stop messing around and embrace western concepts like Pyramid and Ponzi schemes you could be rich too!

Apparently this encourages unbelievers who flood across our borders. I'm about to tell them to go away, when I happen to check the religion screen and notice a lack of piety results in a technological bonus. So..uhm...yeah, welcome guys. (-25 piety, now at -23) Get to work on that sciency stuff. Hey, maybe you guys can get that Ponzi scheme going for our westernized investors!

In June it's time for our provinces to register their dismay that we're trying to westernize.

171006ProvincesResist_zps4ad0946f.jpg


And here we see an obvious bug in the event because there's no option to tell the provinces to just deal. I'd much rather execute a few rabblerousers than give them more autonomy. It's temporary (10 years),but still annoying ... and I'm still paying off loans.

I want to kill something. I want to take my army and kill somebody. But I can't: No diplomacy points to finish the war, and my Admin and Military pools are both looking pretty desperate. Any volunteers?

171009ReligiousWar_zps03ebc843.jpg


Wait...YOU'RE mad because I won't kill things? Let's be mad together! In fact, how about I practice on you?

We defeat the volunteers in September 1710, but it's surprisingly bloody. They had a God as their general (see what I did there?) Our 28K met their 15K, and while we did win we lost 12.6K to their 3.7. Ugh. Let's not do that again.

Our general resigns in disgust. (Actually he dies) Perhaps he's just not up for this westernization lark. His replacement is al-Husayn Saab (F2 S4 M3 Sg0). Perhaps he gets his maneuverability bonus from a car?


Persia Volunteers to be Next

Meanwhile, the Persians are just asking for it. They send another agent in March 1711 to sow discontent. We emasculate him as well.

I spend a long time looking at their border - but without the ability to impose peace...ugh. I know how this will go. The Mughals and we attack. They take what they want, which I have zero problem with... then we're locked in a 5 or 10 year war with war exhaustion rising every time I fight off one of these westernization rebellions. No.. Their time will come. But not until this is over.

Our nobles offer to take my mind off Persia by raising 18K in response to my refusal to hold off westernizing. I guess they found the money after all! Our army marches over, and since the noble rebellion happens to be on the Omani border our new vassals join us! 34K vs. 18K equals 9.1K killed on their side.

In March 1712 they thank us for not killing the other 8.9K with a gift to the state (87.63d). All is not rosy however, as in June the provinces demand more autonomy.

Their time will come also.

Still, apparently autonomy has its uses as my desert people undergo an agricultural revolution in January 1713. I'm so grateful I only extract 50 gold and +2 tax out of them.

More events: In July, we're told that scientific research is heretical. Fortunately it's Arabs telling me this, so 'LOL' is a perfectly good response. (-25 piety) This irritates some reactionaries who chime in on westernization with 16 regiments. We kill them all.

Meanwhile, the Ottos have a new leader, which breaks our royal marriage. The new ruler condemns our killing reactionaries and isn't interested in a new marriage. I have two open diplomatic slots now, so proceed to offer RMs to Oman, Kilwa and Funj to bring the family that much closer together.

The Mughals respond by offering us a wedding present! Oh wait, actually they're expecting us to give them a present - namely 20% of our trade income. 'Tyen!'

By March 1714 we've repaid all our loans, and our economy is actually pretty healthy. General Saab drives by and we cruise along the coast for chicks. As he drives we talk about the merits of muskets versus bows.

171404Bows_zpse63523d6.jpg


There's no place in an 18th century army for bows. Except maybe with hunters. Or perhaps the Assassin's Creed series.

This irritates our peasants, who prefer bows because musket powder upsets the delicate balance of nature. Qawasim, a province in the middle of what was Oman, is now +2RR, -50% taxes). Great.

At least we have hardy semen, which I'm not sure should be in the game, but should at least give us a bonus on heirs...

....Oh, sorry! Seamen. That makes much more sense. (+2% Navy Trad)

It is now December 1714. Our westernization is at 71.46%. We're out of military points, so it's slowed slightly, but we should still finish in October 1718. Will we be here to see it?


Johan's Dice

Reign: 15 years
Needed: 4+
Roll: 5
Continue?: Yes


Oh Persia, you are SO dead.
 
Johann is being nice and letting you stay to potentially see the end of Westernization! Should be fun going after Persia as well...also pretty nice seeing you and the Mughals from way way back when working together to tag-team the Persians.

I'm guessing the next turn will be the last sadly, so should be quite fun seeing where the next adventure will be.
 
"The seed is strong." Heheh, oh wait... the sea is strong?

Hopefully you can westernise just in time to effectively neuter Persia for the next 1,000,000,000,000 years!
 
At least we have hardy semen, which I'm not sure should be in the game, but should at least give us a bonus on heirs...

....Oh, sorry! Seamen. That makes much more sense. (+2% Navy Trad)

That must be one of the most puerile things you've ever written, and I for one am glad that there are some authors out there who will stoop to my level of sophistication every now and then. ;)

You've got at least one aspect of Westernization/modernization down pat: usually, when countries modernize, the birthrate tends to drop, leading to slower population growth and all the benefits that brings to developing countries. Given your nigh-on indiscriminate killing of able-bodied men of the demographic most likely to have children, I can't help but think you've contributed to a far more sustainable population growth rate in Yemen. Hooray for Westernization and an improved life for all! Well, the surviving 'all', at least. :)
 
Is it just me who consciously makes event decisions that are worse than the alternatives due to the nature of the event, e.g. Musket or Bow (I always support the archers, even if I'm just about to get a military tech...)
 
Is it just me who consciously makes event decisions that are worse than the alternatives due to the nature of the event, e.g. Musket or Bow (I always support the archers, even if I'm just about to get a military tech...)

The moment you stop seeing the story behind the game and slip into minimaxing, you will get bored pretty quickly. Or at least I perceive that this way.

So no, you are not the only one ;).
 
That must be one of the most puerile things you've ever written, and I for one am glad that there are some authors out there who will stoop to my level of sophistication every now and then. ;)

You've got at least one aspect of Westernization/modernization down pat: usually, when countries modernize, the birthrate tends to drop, leading to slower population growth and all the benefits that brings to developing countries. Given your nigh-on indiscriminate killing of able-bodied men of the demographic most likely to have children, I can't help but think you've contributed to a far more sustainable population growth rate in Yemen. Hooray for Westernization and an improved life for all! Well, the surviving 'all', at least. :)

Aperture Science
We do what we must
because we can.
For the good of all of us.
Except the ones who are dead...
But there's no sense crying over every mistake.
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done.
And you make a neat gun.
For the people who are still alive...

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. And about the Hardy Seamen, I'm pretty sure that event is in the game solely for that joke. I remember the "I am the King of Naples" AAR that was on these forums a few months back, and that player got that event so often it became a bit of a running gag.
 
Is it just me who consciously makes event decisions that are worse than the alternatives due to the nature of the event, e.g. Musket or Bow (I always support the archers, even if I'm just about to get a military tech...)

Yeah you're definitely not the only one...I sometimes will pick the option that makes me laugh the most when I get an event, always makes things fun when you intentionally pick something not advantageous
 
Go for western ways! Go for muskets! Go for Persia! Or at least for persian blood.....

The American revolutionary army did have that debate, as I am sure you know from that splendid aar of yours.

Love how you got rebels mad at you for not declaring war on anyone , when you are already at war and can't make peace because all your diplo points are being used for westernisation. That'll lead to a white peace with nothing to show for your war, not even a single province defection. So which will happen first, the white peace or westernization?
 
Persia needs a good beating.;)
 
Athalcor: Well, at least the event generator kept it from being a snooze fest.

tnick0225: Yes, just the Mughals and me! Buddies until the end. Something like that.

LatinKaiser: Unfortunately I think neutering them is a little difficult. Well, this time anyway. We can make sure they stay down though.

Stuyvesant: I'm glad you approve!

Homusubi: I don't necessarily see Musket/Bows as an obvious choice, RPing or no. Gearing up for a war, or in the midst of one, I would have chosen bows to keep the military tradition.

Athalcor: Definitely

DennisRoos:
I'm not really angry (at Persia),
I'm being so (in)sincere right now,
Even though you keep sending agents to annoy me.

tnick0225: Oh definitely, if I'm not driving for something (like westernizing here), or not role playing a character, I'll go with what looks amusing - or what I've never tried before.

Hiryuu: I think we can do that.

Chief Ragusa: Well, I'm not at war with Persia.

Nikolai: Yet.
 
CHAPTER XIX: YEMEN
Part 4: World Cup!
(1715-1720)


Under terms of an agreement between the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), I am obligated to allow FIFA to use this post for its own promotional purposes without recompense or any gratuity of any sorts. Therefore, we will use this post to discuss FIFA's role in the international football community as well as give a brief overview of the World Cup format. :ahem: Here goes.

FIFA is probably the scariest organization I've ever heard of. They're like the Horsehead Nebula on steroids, while suffering from a severe megalomanic episode. Their unofficial motto is 'Do as we say, or we will do things to your beloved sport that will make grown men weep for the next thousand years.'

Okay, now that that's out of the way....


Qualifying Period

It is January 1715, and FIFA, working through agents in the Mughal Empire, asks for 15% of our trade. We tell them we gave at the office. This causes them to sadly withdraw their support for our qualifying (westernization) effort, which annoys our advisors to the tune of -1 stability. We no longer have the Admin points to deal with this, so we're not at -1 stab.

Indeed, we run out of Admin points entirely in September, which pushes back our qualifying bid until March 1719. Fortunately we have plenty of merchants willing to go adventuring to market Yemeni football to the world (+25% Trade Range, -20% Envoy Time).

Unfortunately, such 'adventuring' takes money. Money to travel of course, and make connections, and buy the connections nice things, and perhaps help them deal with a 'personal difficulty'. Who knew qualifying could be so expensive? By improving our trade tech we do get +50 diplomacy points and +0.5 inflation. More importantly, our donations to the president of FIFA's cat's favorite charity (and spending said Dip points) moves our bid up to August 1718. Excellent.

Still, we only have so much money for cat charities, and just like that the challenges to our bid creep back up.

171607Decisions_zps55499d48.jpg


Unfortunately, the Persians do not want to see us in the World Cup and send an agent to sabotage our reputation. Like most of the world outside of the United States, we take our football very seriously. We tell our fans that the agent is actually a Yemeni football player who scored on his own net. Destiny takes care of itself at that point.

In May 1717 we run out of bribes er... diplomacy points, which once more resets the qualifying clock to November 1718. FIFA does offer a carrot though: Come through with the money, and perhaps we too can host the World Cup!

171707QatariWorldCup_zps4279c6d3.jpg


We politely decline, which not only creates problems in Qatar, but a backlash from camel racing reactionaries in Suhar who think we shouldn't be giving FIFA the time of day. They're probably right, but what can you do?

Oh, hold on! It's time for our match!


Round Robin

In December 1717 we challenge Persia to a not-so-friendly to prove Yemeni football is superior.

171711PersianWar_zpsde858974.jpg


Of course, we fill our team with Mughal players, just in case. Is that cheating? Well, it's only cheating is the referee notices. And he hasn't been properly bribed. Which we have. Bribed I mean.

We score two goals in the first few minutes by chasing them from the Persian Gulf and Mascate Coast. The Persians launch a right wing attack itno Astrabad, but the ref calls them offsides. Our Mughal players then chase them right across the center line and in a show of superior skill and numbers crush their front and make it three-aught.

Up to this point the rest of our squad fought not-so-friendlies against the Qatari World Cup enthusiasts and camel racers, forcing their teams from the field. We then crossed in strength to the Mughal sideline and used that as a beachhead to begin entering the game.

By May 1718 the entire Persian front line was on the bench, broken or exhausted. Ultimately this impressed FIFA enough to let us into the tournament after all.

171811Westernization_zpsbe50dddd.jpg


Which has no immediate effect: No units to upgrade under the FIFA 1.6 rules, and no points to spend on improving our tech. This is a long term investment.

In December 1718 the Mughals mowed down the Persian secondary line and scored again. A Persian player tried to convince us that letting the Mughals do all the work for us was cowardly. We pointed at the 4-aught scoreboard and laughed.

The final goal came in January 1719 when the Persians tried to break into their namesake gulf - and lost the rest of their players. After that we simply played smart defense, covering all the important parts of the pitch and waiting for the clock to run out.

At the 90 minute mark the Persians offered to admit we were the better team...
171909ConcedeDefeat_zps68f4cc96.jpg

...but there was still the extra 'referee added' time to contend with.

Meanwhile, I increased our reserve squad to the tune of two frigates and a flyte (injured during the early goals) as well as 5 carracks.

Unfortunately, that's when our head coach decided to retire. In his place is Abdallah II (A2 D4 M3) - a good choice for the post Persian era, but it did temporarily lower our Stability to -2.

We received a new directive from FIFA. It was time for the elimination round, and our opponent would be...


Elimination Round

171910NegevWar_zps5a7a6479.jpg


I did what any sensible coach would do in this situation and tried to give them Negev, but they want to feel they earned something. Fine.

With the Mughals we have 145 qualifying players (most not on roster of course) to the Ottomans' 230.

Ugly. An ugly match grown uglier in December 1719 when the Ottos, having clearly bribed officials in true FIFA style, kicked 6 of my players out of the game (literally!) and scored to show why they were one of the top three squads in the world.

Fortunately our match with Persia ended.
171912PersiaLoses_zps62dc83c2.jpg


But now we had a real problem on our hands.

171912Status_zpseee39170.jpg


Plan A is to get the black flagged players out of their way and basically try to avoid a skirmish, though if we do get an opportunity to sting them here and there, all the better.

Unfortunately, with the Persian match over we can't expect much help from the Mughals. We're badly outnumbered, badly outteched, and it's time to let the coach take over.


Johan's Dice

Reign: 20 years
Needed: 5+
Roll: 5
Continue?: Yes


Correction. It's time to see what we can do against the cream of the tournament.