• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Subscribed, and caught up with the AAR. Congrats on establishing a Merchant Russian Republic...er...Most Serene Republic of Russia?

Anyway, I vote for Russia to go East now (to China) and then move West and challenge the European Great Powers.
 
Or, the His Magesty Lord Russia the Great? :p (Explained below. But I didn't want to ruin it yet..)

About overextension, actually, the cores you get on GH should stop you from getting it even after you annex the whole thing. I was full centralization by the time I finally struck the horde in my Novgorod game, and I took every single province without overextension.

Now.. for what I said.. Veliky-Novgorod is actually 'His Majesty Lord Novgorod (or New-City) the Great'. They aren't very humble, eh?
 
Russia vs Ming would be epic. Trade space for time, scorch the ground, keep them besieging your Siberian wastes, and then hit them hard. Use the March building and let General Winter do his work!

Great stuff!
 
I also agree with everyone. Let Europe brood in its own wars for a while. Head East and take land. Reach the Pacific Ocean without doing colonies. ;)
 
Feedback​

Boris -- The trick is to catch Japan before they Westernize :D

Razgriz 2K9 -- Welcome aboard! It's technically not a merchant republic anymore, but you don't know that yet.

gela1212 -- You're correct that it is Veliky-Novgorod, but it's also not entirely arrogance -- it also distinguishes it from Nizhni-Novgorod, or "Lower New-town." I also believe, depending on translation, it's Veliky as in Veliky Knyaz, or Grand Prince (sometimes translated as Grand Duke), but unlike Muscovy, the leaders of Novgorod were elected. My medieval Russian history isn't great, but if I remember correctly it wasn't entirely a free election -- they had to choose between members of the ruling dynasty. Good bit about the cores, and I think you're right -- I've eaten most of the Hordes at this point with no problems yet.

Ashantai -- I've already used the March building in Western Europe, and I can't move it unless my borders change, but the rest of it is absolutely what I plan to do :)

Eber -- I'm going to colonize too, but only Siberia -- if I don't take it, Ming usually does in my past Russia games. If I can pull it off, I'd also love to colonize Alaska, for the historical value if nothing else. But apart from that and some of the historical Russian islands (Sakhalin and the Kuriles), no colonizing. Leave the New World to the Europeans, I'll settle for the Old! :cool:

Ming for my long term opponent it is. I've got some border cleaning to do yet, and I'd love to get Thrace before then (if Castille doesn't get it first), but I will take down mighty Ming! Next update should be Thursday-ish -- it's a short day for me, just the early morning class I TA for -- followed by at least one this weekend.

One mea culpa in advance -- I kind of lost track of techs in the next update or two :D I tried to note the really significant ones, but I also forgot an awful lot of them.

As a general rule, how much detail do you want on what I'm building? I'm pretty much doing just forts, production buildings, and manufactories at this point. I haven't been noting this in the updates yet, and I'm too far ahead (I think 1570 is where I stopped Sunday night) to go back for the near future updates, but I can certainly start doing so after that. I've built two of the unique buildings -- the Embassy and the March. I forget where I built the embassy -- +magistrates and -influence -- but it's not terribly important. I built the March in Podolia (+200% fort defensiveness, possibly something else I'm forgetting about) because it's the convenient corridor for Austria, Burgundy, Bohemia, and the whole gang.
 
I think you should go for the 20th century russian empire(head east first). Then start building up a bunch of buffer states and vassals.
 
Don't bother reporting every new building, just the unique ones and the manufactories.
 
Well, if you think in terms of free election, Novgorod's republic was about as free as many other ancient ones. In general, though, the Knyaz was only an influential official who, in the later years of the republic, relied mostly on the permission of Novgorod's Posadnik (or mayor, essentially) for the power to do anything. Only incredibly powerful Knyaz could actually rule like an autocrat.
 
Feedback​

BootOnFace -- I'd have to pick up the modern day Baltics, currently held by Prussia, but apart from that, eastward it would be.

Ashantai -- Will do!

gela1212 -- No question re: the free elections. Even the Greeks didn't have universal manhood suffrage -- unless I'm full of it, I think you had to own property. Interesting information on the relationship between Knyaz and Posadnik -- my expertise [such as it is] is on late Russian Empire - early Soviet Union, since my dissertation will be on technology in the Russian navy from 1905 to 1940.

Update is still on track for tomorrow -- I haven't played too much, since we picked up Marvel vs Capcom 3 and there's the Vicky 2 beta. One thing I'll try to add going forward are screenshots on my economy. I was looking at Maluren's AAR on a WC with GB, and found them very helpful, so future States of the Republic will have them.
 
Chapter 6: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em... then beat 'em

Remember, we're still at war with the Golden Horde.

October 1500: We run out of cash and take out a loan. This may be the most exciting thing that happens in 1500.

December 1500: The usual DoW by Nogai. I think the loan is still more exciting.

January 1501: Cherkassk defects.

June 1501: I repay an earlier loan.

July 1501: I'm not paying tribute, I'm buying peace!

chapter6july1501.jpg


Well, peace with the Nogai anyway.

chapter6july15012.jpg


October 1501: Okay, I'm committed to peace now. Except with the Horde.

chapter6october1501.jpg


My final slider move to Westernization -- Centralization -- also gives me a stab hit, so I have to wait a little longer.

February 1502: The Reformation begins in the Palatinate. I briefly consider changing to Protestant when I can to get rid of Orthodoxy's stability cost (+20 per province instead of +15), but decide that Russia just wouldn't be Russia without Orthodoxy. Plus, it's easy to be DotF (the only non-minor I'm competing with is Georgia), which gives me Holy Wars, and that makes me happy.

April 1502 -- Pommerania becomes Holy Roman Emperor...

September 1502 -- Which apparently scares Brandenburg, so they DoW (Reconquest).

December 1502 -- I recover the stability to Westernize, but I'm not quite ready yet. I want to wait until I can get Noble Republic (of course, skilled players will recognize a mistake here) at Government 10. First I claim Defender of the Faith.

March 1503: Sweden becomes a vassal of Prussia (not Brandenburg --> Prussia, but Prussia that declares independence from TO).

April 1503: Pommerania is defeated by Mazovia. Seems like becoming HRE is more trouble than it's worth.

October 1503: Brandenburg makes Pommerania end a bunch of treaties.

November 1503: Yeah right, I'm going to join this mess. Better luck next time, Denmark.

chapter6november1503.jpg


May 1504: Agricultural Revolution. Why yes, I'd love two more base tax in Kiev!

June 1504: The Mamluks collapse. I'm not sure why I cared, but I wrote it down, so there was probably a reason at the time.

September 1504: Core on Zaporozhie from a Boundary Dispute. Yes!

September 1505: Denmark wants to ally again. I honestly have no idea why. I say sure, why not?

October 1505: Benign Neglect fires again. As always, I'll take the 100 ducats. I repay the loan from the beginning of the update.

August 1506: Poor Denmark, I get a core on Finnmark through a Boundary Dispute. It turns out the province is nigh worthless, so I don't DoW.

September 1506: I hire a 1* Philosopher. I've had some prestige issues thanks to my long peace and dishonoring the alliance with Denmark.

December 1506: Bohemia warns us. New election time, I go administrative: Sergei Vorotinski, 6/3/5, is the new Knyaz. Yuck.

April 1507: My first protestant province is Kharkov.

October 1507: Government 10 and Noble Republic -- or it would be Noble Republic if you could go from a Merchant Republic to a Noble Republic. D'oh! Oh well, I guess I'll Westernize now:

chapter6october1507.jpg


May 1508: I think this event is new (or at least I never noticed it before). It's called Provinces resist Westernization. You usually have two choices: one of them is usually bad (stab hit, big revolt, etc.) and the other is -2 Revolt Risk but a loss of 2 prestige. I'll happily take the latter every time. It does prevent military modernization, but it'll be a long time before I can do that anyway, and I'd rather prevent rebellions.

August 1509: I gain one stability. This will be long and painful.

October 1509: Denmark tries to convince me to come to war with them; I tell them no. I'm still at negative stability and I want no part of WE.

October 1510: The Ukrainian provinces core (Kiev, Carpathia, Ruthenia). Really excited about Kiev, since it's one of my top five provinces tax wise (St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Moskva are the only more valuable).

December 1510: Artamon Dolgorukov becomes the new Knyaz. Thinking I could do better, I went admin again -- I get reward with a 5/3/5 ruler. I can't replace him fast enough.

February 1511: Corruption hits. The last thing I need is a stab hit, so I'll take the 3.00 inflation. This tells me how hopeless restoring the currency will be, so I cancel the mission.

March 1511: New mission: Wipe Zaporozhie off the map in exchange for a core on Azow. Sounds good to me!

June 1511: Oh Burgundy, what is your fascination with my forbidden cabinet of mystery? [Simpsons reference FTW!]

Chapter6_June1511.jpg


July 1511: Up to stab 0. We're slowly but surely making progress!

August 1511: All they got out of Finland was a concede defeat. Good! Stay out of Scandinavia, Burgundy! :mad:

February 1512: Expulsion of merchants. 50 ducats convinces them to look the other way.

November 1512: Uh-oh, Bohemia is HRE.

February 1513: Ulm starts the second wave of the reformation.

I also get Land Tech 10, which means the March and new cavalry (Stradioti). I can't afford the March yet.

March 1513: Moldavia gets Border Friction CB on me. This fires four times in the next five years. Shockingly, Moldavia sits there quietly.

October 1513: Since stab is so vulnerable, I believe my thinkers when they say my naval research is wrong.

November 1513: I get excited when I see that Burgundy got religious disorder -- then I saw it chose "tolerant society." Drat.

July 1514: Trade 11. I love the huge neighbor bonuses from Westernization.

November 1514: Bohemia DoWs for the 3rd time with no CB. What have I done to deserve your hatred, Bohemia?

chapter6november1514.jpg


We're almost dead even -- I've got more infantry, but they're still ahead in tech, for now.

chapter6november15142.jpg


Moldavia chickens out and dishonors, but at least loyal Pskov stands by my side.

Apparently, Sibir has a death wish and DoWs (Holy War). Do they not see the giant army I have in the East?

chapter6november15143.jpg


December 1514: A bright spot as a new leader is elected: Semyon Skopin, 7/5/6. Not great, but I'll take it.

June 1515: With Carpathia, Podolia, Kiev, and Ruthenia occupied, Bohemia asks if I want to release Ukraine, Polotsk, and Nizhny-Novgorod, and pay them off besides. I say no, because I'm busy scorching provinces and planning counterattacks.

August 1515: They're siegeing three more provinces (Polesia, Poltava, and Chernigov), and decide to slightly lower their offer -- now they only want Ukraine, Polotsk, and Murom freed and no money. I think you can do better, Bohemia.

September 1515: Since Bohemia just likes causing trouble, Brandenburg is now HRE. I've begun my counterattack on Bohemian armies in Polesia and Chernigov -- I outnumber them in both provinces, but I'm taking massive casualties.

October 1515: Now at +2 stability. Saxony is called in by Bohemia. Probably to help cart out the dead Bohemians! :D Despite the huge chunks of new fertilizer in Ukraine, Bohemia reverts to her old demands. I'm now outnumbered and lose in Chernigov, thanks to plenty of dead Russians, but I win in Polesia.

chapter6october1515.jpg


December 1515: White peace from Sibir. I haven't talked much about this war because I pretty much killed their entire army on the first day. I don't have enough troops in theater to take territory, so I accept.

The more important peace happens later on that month.

chapter6december1515.jpg


June 1516: Agricultural revolution in Rzhev, another +2 base tax (and 50 ducats).

April 1517: Zaporozhia defects to us -- for once, a free province! With my core and a tribal succession crisis for the Golden Horde, Russian patriots arose and gave me more sweet, sweet land. I wish I'd thought of using spies to do this sooner. :rolleyes:

June 1517: Couldn't happen to a nicer country. Also, back to full stability! :cool:

chapter6june1517.jpg


October 1517: Land tech 11 and a new infantry unit, Eastern Militia.

April 1518: Polesia cores.

December 1518: New elections! Pavel Gagarin is an awesome administrator and diplomat, but probably doesn't know which end of the sword to hold (8/3/8). I'll take that for now. I throw my new Knyaz a party in the form of Mongolian barbecue ::evil grin::

chapter6december1518.jpg


I use my CB for conquering Zaporozhie to draw in their overlord, Golden Horde. The GH's army is so tiny it's adorable.

January 1519: Upon a commenter's advice (I think Eber -- if it was somebody else let me know and I'll give you the proper credit), my next NI is Land of Opportunity. I'm hoping that will help now with annexing GH lands.

November 1521: I reclaim Defender of the Faith.

March 1522: Tambow joins the Russian Republic.

December 1522: We like Gagarin, so we re-elect him.

March 1523: The Clergy is unhappy with me. I decide to go Narrowminded for now. Saratow defects.

May 1524: Quality Wool gets me 25 ducats.

July 1524: Bolgar defects to the winning (i.e. Russian) side. I peace out now, because I've got all my cores.

October 1525: I move to max land, which costs me naval tradition. At this point in the game, I've fought precisely zero naval battles (except the odd pirate here and there), so I'm not too heartbroken.

March 1526 -- Bohemia declares war again!!! :mad: You're making it really hard to ignore Europe and go East.

chapter6march1526.jpg


October 1526: That'll learn you. Not so weak, eh, Bohemia?

chapter6october1526.jpg


Still really high casualty rates. It must be the militia act and the better units (for now), since we're about even in tech.

They agree to white peace, but I seriously thought about invading them and punishing their insolence.

chapter6october15262.jpg


That's only two relatively small armies left -- I could probably put 80,000+ troops into the field. I think it shows remarkable restraint on my part.

September 1527: I pass the Act of Uniformity, one of the few entirely positive religious decisions (+.40 missionaries per year and + 8.0% missionary chance). I can start converting again, if I'm so inclined.

June 1528: I have to elect a new leader, go military, and get Mikhail Kurbski (6/7/4). That's reasonably acceptable.

August 1529: I DoW Zaporozhie again (this time it's alone) and the nomads of the Golden Horde get restless again. The war with Zaporozhie lasts all of two weeks.

chapter6august1529.jpg


God now wants a proper fleet. I've got money lying around, why not?

November 1531: Samara defects. Also, the March is finished (in Podolia) around this time.

October 1532: Brandenburg is HRE again.

November 1532: Kouban defects.

May 1533: My first Reformed province is in Carpathia.

September 1533: I declare the Statute of Monopolies (shift towards free trade, +3% trade and production efficiency, +5% stability cost modifier).

October 1533: Kalmykia defects. I'm really impressed with how much Land of Opportunity has sped things up.

November 1533: Another permanent +50% defensiveness, this time in Ingermanland from event.

February 1535: Another Agricultural Revolution in Kiev! :eek: Honestly, if I moved my capital there, I think it would be the best province in the entire Empire.

September 1535: Sarai defects. Only two provinces left for the Golden Horde!

chapter6september1535.jpg


I also wanted to use this picture to show you my defensive strategy. The red line is my first line of Western defense. I've got level two forts there (or I will, can't remember at the moment), but I usually can't scorch in time. The blue line is the last line of defense; I scorch here, and with the March in Podolia and level two fort, it can take years for them to siege the province, so I can sit right next to it and strike them when attrition has eaten most of the army. It's a perfect choke point, and it's my unofficial line in the sand where I won't expand further west.

That's Moldavia in Cherson and the Ottomans in Crimea. I'm playing the waiting game now, counting on the fact neither one has the time or resources to settle their new provinces.

June 1536: Bogdan Tottleben becomes the new Knyaz -- I wanted administration, and that's all I got (7/3/3).

July 1536: I take Grand Army for the land forcelimits boost.

September 1537: I finish the fleet, and God now wants a University in Nizhni-Novgorod. I've got the cash, so I build one.

February 1538: Denmark collapses. Without my help, it appears she was doomed. What a tragedy. You dishonoring jerk.

May 1538: Anti-Piracy Act (-.05 infamy a month, -3.00 infamy to the infamy limit). Another interesting about horde provinces -- they're infamy free!

June 1539: Crimea defects and Cherson is occupied. It's just a matter of time.

September 1539: And time, for the Golden Horde, has run out.

chapter6september1539.jpg


That's it for today's update! I've got a shorter one planned for either tonight or tomorrow, then a State of the Republic for 1550. I've played up to 1580, and will probably play more this weekend.
 
Last edited:
Great work!

Oddly in my Russia game in IN Bohemia was always my strongest enemy. I fought no less than 4 bloody wars with them before I went "Screw you too!" and annexed them.

I was using random lucky nations in that game and Bohemia was lucky and had Ghenghis Alexander Timur Napoleon II a damn 5/6/6/1 general roaming around eating my armies.

Nice work seeing them off though. I hope you get to break them up at some stage!
 
February 1513: Ulm starts the second wave of the reformation.

Chapter6_February1513.jpg

BEWARE OF ULM!!! XD

I just wonder what Svip would say if he would saw that Ulm become reformed as it is in his game...

EDIT: Nice conquests, still your empire is vast and it can be problem to get it realy good in tech...

Also just wonder why do you took the worthless province of ruthenia... but whatever.
 
Feedback​

Iwanow: Thanks for the compliments! I thought about saying the Reformation had broken out in Ferrara for a minute, but didn't know how many would get the joke :rofl:

I took Ruthenia because I needed it for defense, but mostly to get Kiev, since Ukraine stubbornly refused to switch capitals. I had to annex the whole thing.

Boris ze Spider: That's not a bad idea. Wars with Europeans have been pretty rare where I'm at in the game, but that's something to keep in mind.

A new update and State of the Republic (featuring all-new screenshots!) are on the way! :cool:
 
Chapter 7: The Rise of the New Republic of Russia!

This one will be kind of short and light on screen shots -- sometimes, with Russia, not a whole lot happens in 15 years, what with the long travel times and such. After this will be a State of the Republic for 1550. The next proper update will probably be Sunday, maybe tomorrow if I've got time. On to this update!

October 1539: More benign neglect = 100 ducats. A thought occurs to me: I'm awfully centralized at this point (-4 I want to say), so am I really neglecting my provinces? I might be benign, but neglect seems like a stretch. Hey, free money, though.

June 1540: The discerning reader will note I have a rare screenshot of a leader here. Some might say it's because he'll be leader for a long time. Others might say it's to pad the update. I'll let you decide :)

chapter7june1540.jpg


In reality though, he will be re-elected quite frequently -- he's got the admin I need for eventual Military Modernization, a nice military score, and I don't do a whole lot with diplomacy, to be honest.

September 1540: Grand Army triggers an event -- -10% cost for new infantry and cavalry. Why can't this happen when I actually have room in my forcelimits for new troops? :wacko:

July 1543: Mamluks get beat and give Alexandria to the Ottomans -- if I can build enough ships, sounds like a short Mediterranean expedition could be worth it. I'd also like to get Judea, at some point. The Nogai also decide it's time for their five-year beating.

September 1543: Mordvar turns to the Light Side (or perhaps the Dark Side, from Nogai's perspective). Hey, I've got New Republic in the title. I need to make some kind of Star Wars reference!

June 1544: Alexei Spiridoff is re-elected.

July 1544: A province I've had my eye on for a long time, Astrakhan, finally defects. It's got a nice CoT and, if I'm not mistaken, a quality base tax rate. That's enough for now from Nogai, so I peace out.

Chapter7_July1544.jpg


This may be a bug in the game, I don't know what your experiences have been, but I've noticed that AI players (even non-hordes) can vassalize hordes and I can't. I'd probably get more out of them with vassalization than tribute, but I'll take the tribute for now.

October 1544: I remember that Spheres of Influence are more than just a free CB in DW and get to work (hey, those diplomats have to earn their pay somehow). I add Georgia to my SoI.

November 1544: Poor Mamluks. They're like an accordion that collapses every ten years. A really slick event fires too, Military Development. You can either go +1 Quality and lose 2% prestige -- or you can do what I did. +2 quality, +2 prestige, 50 ducats, and +2 to RR for a year. I really hadn't planned on going full quality until this event fires, but it makes a lot of sense, and I have tons of manpower anyway. If for some odd reason I'm having problems, I can always take the NI for the additional manpower.

February 1546: The event fires again, so I'm at full quality now. I like the bonus to discipline, maybe it'll keep casualties against Europeans more reasonable in the future.

June 1546: Holy War against Sibir!!!!! They've got one of my cores.

March 1547: Government 19 and Administrative Republic. I proclaim Alexei Spiridoff our first Posadnik. Huzzahs all around!

chapter7march1547.jpg


There are three huge benefits to going Admin at this point. 1) The trade efficiency bonus, 2) More magistrates, and 3) More rapid policy changes. Also, it removes restrictions on everything but Centralization. I'll miss the trade stations, but frankly, I'm just not willing to spend the time to manipulate my trade leagues to the point where I'll make a big enough profit.

September 1547: Vyazma gets a permanent boost to fortification. I wonder if that event could fire for Podolia? +250% to fort defense sounds pretty awesome :D

March 1548: Prussia collapses. I'm reasonably concerned because they're holding some Baltic Provinces I want. I'll keep my on them.

June 1548: One mighty Pommerania gives up cash and treaties to still mighty Switzerland. You know, I'd like a partner in the HRE for when Burgundy or Bohemia inevitably DOWs me again. Hmmm....

October 1549:
chapter7october1549.jpg


November 1549:
chapter7november1549.jpg


Quick peaces with the two hordes -- I'd like to take some more territory from Sibir, as they're blocking my access to new colonies in Siberia, and since it'll be a lot of max speed simming due to the horrendous travel times, I don't want to fiddle with another couple of wars at the same time.

And that takes us to 1550. State of the Republic is next!

EDIT: Also, my 100th post! :D
 
Last edited:
Your update before the last (post #71) contained 24 images, more than the permitted 20 images a post. Please make sure that you do not exceed this limit in the future.
 
State of the Republic: 1550

At this point, I've accomplished all of my short and medium term goals! :D I've formed Russia, Westernized, eliminated Muscowy and the Golden Horde, and eliminated the Russian minors. Well, technically, Pskov is still around. I do eventually absorb them, but for a good portion of the game, I totally forget about them. :rolleyes:

Here is Russia and her neighors --

sotr1550russia.jpg


You can't see them in this map, but Ming is just on the other side of the Kazakh horde. To truly reach the greatest extent of the Russian Empire, I still have some work to do. I have a little bit of border cleanup in the west -- the Baltics, most of Lithuania, Krakow, and part of Transylvania (they absorbed Moldavia) will have to go. I plan on waiting as long as possible.

In the east, I've got to reach the Pacific. That will take a while.

I've also got some moving south to do. I'll butt heads with a whole bunch of minors and majors to clean that up, including Ming, Bihar, Persia, and the Ottomans. Georgia too.

The court --

sotr1550court.jpg


Not usually a whole lot of good choices -- AI is spamming bankers and navigators like crazy, neither of which I care about.

The economy --

sotr1550economy.jpg


I've never quite gotten inflation down enough -- it fluctuates between 6 and 10%.

More detail on my income in the last year --

sotr1550income.jpg


Can anybody tell me where tolls come from? It's a huge source of revenue for me. I'm also surprised monthly taxation is so low.

Costs --

sotr1550costs.jpg


No huge shockers here. I think they divide the manufactory cost between the years it's built, which would make sense. I'm seriously thinking of getting the NI to cut land maintenance costs once I have the tech for it -- it would make a big difference to the bottom line, I think. It's a new NI for DW -- it replaces Regimental System and cuts maintenance by 20%. Don't remember the name, though.

My economy compared to everyone else --

sotr1550nationaleconomi.jpg


We're #1! :cool:

One interesting country there is Parma. Parma's splitting Italy with the Papal States and Naples right now. Take a look at #3 -- I've never seen Switzerland this powerful in EU 3 before :eek:

CoTs --

sotr1550cot.jpg


I have two now, Novgorod and Astrakhan. One thing I don't like about the AI is I can't get it to automatically pursue monopolies, even by dropping all the CoTs but mine to yellow. Very frustrating, as you'll see I have a monopoly in Astrakhan but not in Novgorod. I don't like manually sending merchants, if I can avoid it. The Hansa and Venice are both embargoing me, I think.

My army --

sotr1550army.jpg


I know there are tons of threads on this topic, but I was wondering if DW had changed anything: you'll note I have no artillery. In the past, I used to make a huge part of my army, but I noticed how much slower it made my armies. Starting in HttT, I noticed that the bonus I got from beating European powers to the punch and setting up defensively was much higher than having the artillery. What are your thoughts, dear readers? Should I start mixing in some artillery? How much?

I also don't have gunpowder infantry yet -- that should also eventually reduce casualties, or at least inflict a lot more on my enemies.

The armies of the world --

sotr1550nationalarmies.jpg


Russia is #1 again! :cool:

Switzerland here at 7. Kind of weird to see Kanem Bornu on this list -- I don't think the Europeans have found her yet, or if they have, somebody is in their way.

Techs, sorted by government (so I'll show up) --

sotr1550techs.jpg


Usual suspects here -- the three biggest countries are Switzerland, me, and Castille, with Hansa as #4. First time I'm on this chart -- I'd like to stay there :D

Sliders --

sotr1550sliders.jpg


Those events giving me max quality were a huge bonus, I think. I need to centralize more for military modernization. After that, I'm not sure where I'll go -- I'm thinking plutocracy, for the extra spies, and a bit more narrowminded for The Russian Patriarchate, which is a permanent bonus to war exhaustion (increases max by 5!) with no negative effects. Apart from moving around on the narrowminded-innovative slider, do you have any suggestions?

Pies --

sotr1550pies.jpg


We're still mostly Russian, Orthodox, and cored, although Tatar is an awfully big part of the republic too (if I'm not mistaken though, Tatar starts out as accepted for all Russian culture countries). We've got plenty of wool, grain, and fur. I like the iron and copper too -- that means weapons manufactories, which I'll need to keep pace with Europe. Another reason to go narrowminded is to slowly convert the Sunni provinces.

And finally, the world! --

sotr1550worldmap.jpg


You can clearly see here that Kazakh (the bright green) is a useful buffer against Ming, until I'm ready to do something about Ming (likely post-modernization). GB and Portugal have essentially divided Central America between them; that's also GB on coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Portugal's been busy in West and East Africa, but if you look closely at Western Africa, that's Parma right next to Portugal in the brighter green. Castille dominates the Mediterranean -- that's them in Sicily -- and Japan is still divided.

My most immediate threats, in order, are 1) Ming, 2) Castille, and tied for 3) Ottomans and Persia. I'd love to get the Pentarchy at some point, but Castille has the Ottoman lands I need to do that, but as they eat the Ottomans, they become more of a pressing concern. I still want Thrace really badly, too.

So that's the Republic in 1550. To reiterate, I'd like reader opinion on two questions:

1) Artillery? Yay or nay? I'll step in and say definitely nay for the east, it would slow me down too much, but I still want thoughts on artillery in the west.

2) Future slider moves? Again, I have two moves in Centralization here for military modernization, I'd like to go Pluto for some extra spies, I need to go a little Narrow for missionaries and some missions. The two sliders I'm not sure on are Mercantilism <-> Free Trade (I know there are pages and pages of threads on that) and Serfdom <-> Free Subjects.

Again, new update should be this weekend, a nice long one.
 
Last edited:
Your update before the last (post #71) contained 24 images, more than the permitted 20 images a post. Please make sure that you do not exceed this limit in the future.

Oops! I didn't realize there was a limit! I'll be careful in the future.