Republic of Russia: A Novogorod DW AAR

[Ashantai]

I am going to throw out my guess;

Austria takes over Transylvania, and you get a core on them. You then take the provinces of Bessarabia and Transylvania. I'm guessing you get the core on Bessarabia.

 

[unmerged(80402)]

Feedback​

Iwanow -- I guess you're right -- I just checked on the bonuses for defensive and they're a lot better than I thought. I agree with you on the rest, except Quality and Innovative. Quality because I've already got such a massive army, that the marginal utility is in better troops, rather than even more troops. I need quite a few missionaries, so max innovative isn't practical at this point.

Take the religious decision for +40% of missionaries (don't remember the name) and the national idea of +50% - you will be able to convert the heretics and heathens. And don't overextend . After gaining so much territiory the best thing you can do is to wait and build up and consolidate your country. Still it is nice you read what i write . Some people do not, so they get things wrong.

 

[Avindian]

Feedback​

Ashantai -- A good guess, but you're wrong.

Iwanow -- That's a fair point -- eventually I do plan on going back Innovative, if I have time.

As the astute reader will no doubt see, I have exceeded my bandwidth for March with Photobucket. Can anybody recommend a quality photo storage site that would help me avoid this problem? I'm not exactly flush with cash at the moment. The other unfortunate thing is I'd have to do all the links over again to properly update the AAR, or I could very well hit this problem next month. A solution to this problem too would be much appreciated.

Until I get this resolved, one way or the other, it's kind of silly to update. I'll still reply to feedback and what have you, and if there isn't a great suggestion, I'll post two or three updates on or around the 20th to make up for it.

 

[Ashantai]

Hmm, it is a problem. In the end I ponied up the cash to buy Photobucket membership, but I appreciate not everyone has money laying around for that.

I'd suggest going to the other site, imageshack, and use them when possible.

Alternatively put text links to the pics and let people click them. I think that works even if you are over bandwidth.

 

[loki100]

I started to use imageshack, not really understanding the difference between the two, must admit having seen a few people run into this problem with photobucket I'm now rather glad I rely on imageshack. The only problem I have with it is that every now and then a particular image seems to get corrupted and not display, but that is fairly rare. The little 'uploader' software you can download is a great bonus for when setting up a post.

 

[Avindian]

Feedback​

Thanks Ashantai and loki100 for recommending ImageShack -- it looks like it will handle all of my needs for future updates

It would probably be insanely time-consuming to go back and fix all of the older images, and time is one thing I'm a bit short on at the moment. Fortunately, the week after next is Spring Break, and in between grading exams I'll have extra time, so if I'm feeling particularly adventurous, I might correct all the other images.

In the meantime, this means that the AAR is back on track -- it's too late to do an update tonight, but I should have one done in the next two or three days. I'm getting close to finished with the game; about 100-odd years to go. I'd love to do at least two updates a week from here on out -- I'm getting familiar enough with the code that I could write the posts in Word and update them in one shot, which would possibly save time in the future. Until the next update, keep commenting (and guessing ) and I'll be back soon!

 

[Avindian]

Chapter 14: The end of the Ottoman Empire​

April 1660: It is war with Persia to defend the honor of Iraq, my loyal vassal.

July 1660: Qarqan of the Oirat Horde defects to Russia. If there was a quick way to check, I'd love to know how many times the Oirat Horde has appeared and then been eaten.

August 1660: Peace with Persia. Unfortunately, I only indirectly accomplish my main goal -- protecting Iraq -- since this is my own war without Iraq. I wonder why Iraq didn't call me in? Maybe I should have just waited? Iraq ends up losing one province, so it's not the end of the world, but it is a little irritating.

September 1660: Thrace cores! Yes!

April 1661: Boundary Dispute on Trebizon, which is currently held by Bohemia.

May 1661: Switzerland eats Sweden. Go Swiss go!

July 1661: Time to move the Embassy again. Now I'm building it in Ferghana.

September 1661: Those crazy farmers, coming out of cornfields and building constables. This time, in Ust Yurt.

March 1662: The Mamluks take Judea from Syria, making them a future target. Even better, I've got a CB on Mamluks when the time is right, Tribal Conquest.

April 1662: Ming must have been reborn -- now there's war between Ming and Manchu.

June 1662: Turkestan cores.

July 1662: Estland converts.

August 1662: Seems Bohemia is having rebel problems -- Trebizon defects to Byzantium. In related news, the actuary tables for Byzantine life insurance get a major adjustment, almost if they expect some kind of major catastrophe. :rofl:

December 1662: With Wusuli as a Russian core (I'm fairly certain I already mentioned this boundary dispute -- I get so many of them they're hard to keep track of), it is war with Korea to retake what is rightfully mine!

Bihar honors their alliance with Korea.

February 1663: Tibet warns me. Unless they have large armies of abominable snowmen, I am unconcerned.

May 1663: Zheteru cores.

July 1663: Ming scores a victory over Manchu, inadvertently benefitting me by releasing Oirat Horde yet again.

August 1663: The Battle of Mandla sees the complete destruction of a Bihar (Bihari?) army with almost zero Russian casualties.

September 1663: Verkohzehkoye cores.

My university in Armenia is finished, so God gives us a new mission: naval race vs. Great Britain. I laugh hysterically and cancel it as soon as I can. God changes his mind and asks us to colonize Rio de Oro. Sure, I've got colonists to spare.

October 1663: Peace with Korea. I took my core and a couple of Bihar provinces I need to build my road to India.

With my shiny new core, I can colonize more places in the Pacific, and I begin colonizing the island north of Japan (the one with three provinces). This is a potential base to attack Japan later, as I have land access, via a strait, into Japan proper.

Reader feedback requested : I attempted to DOW the Northern Japanese faction in a later update, but was unable to do so. There are literally no diplomatic options unless I attack Kyoto, currently OPM Japan, and it won't let me use my Reconquest CB for that. Is this working as designed or is this a bug I ought to report?

November 1663: Kerey converts.

December 1663: Malwa, feeling suicidal, DOWs Russia.

March 1664: Kara Kum converts.

May 1664: The AI is apparently hungry for me to fight Bohemia, since it gives me a core on Ersekujvar. Honestly, I'm not interested. Also, apparently, there is peace with Malwa -- I didn't annex them, but I didn't take a screen shot, so I have no idea what I got, if anything.

I do get a Tribal Conquest CB against Candar, and given that I would like to control all of Asia Minor, this one I will take, down the road. I also get Border Friction against Maharasthra -- that one I'll leave.

July 1664: Since they've been culture shifting, I no longer accept Tatar as a culture. I will keep their delicious sauce, however.

August 1664: Pyotr Skopin is re-elected on the platform "Hey, you'll probably do worse if you don't re-elect me." He gets 100% of the most important voting bloc, me.

December 1664: GB eats Iroquois. Somewhere, PrawnStar sheds a single tear.

January 1665: Colonial Conquest CB on Castille for the bordering provinces on Rio de Oro. Eh.

Morocco warns me. Don't worry, I don't (currently) have designs on North Africa.

February 1665: Candar, on the other hand...

March 1665: How weak is Byzantium now? Albania can beat them, take a province, and some cash.

October 1665: Candar joins the Russian Republic, after a little persuading and a little looting, burning down villages, what have you.

January 1666: God now wants us to beef up defenses in Murgan (I might have missed a mission here -- if I did, it's not important). I start building a new fort.

August 1666: With the religious liberation CB, Khorasan DOWs me.

October 1666: Shiribeshi, the first province on the Japanese island, will produce fish.

December 1666: Nerchinsky cores. One of Khorasan's allies, Orissa, gets sassy and invades Dadra. The army is rapidly and utterly destroyed.

February 1667: Assam peaces out.

I let Khorasan off easy -- I don't have any spare infamy.

March 1667: Shockingly, Tokachi also produces fish.

April 1667: God wants me to eliminate the Ottoman Empire. You're the boss! I need to burn off a little more infamy first.

May 1667: In news that surprises absolutely no one, the third Japanese province also produces fish.

We get Iron in the Kurils, however.

I also replace my 2* diplomat with a 4* diplomat.

June 1667: Apparently mad I haven't attacked Bohemia yet, the AI gives me yet another core, Trakai, and the subsequent Reconquest CB.

July 1667: Dornod defects to Russia, Oirat Horde is eliminated yet again.

We also discover Kodiak Island. Now, it's actually totally useless wasteland, but Russia is the first to discover Alaska. That counts for something.

October 1667: I let some Aleutians live in peace, give them some cash, and take a base tax +1. A good time is had by all.

Oh yeah, I'm also ready for war.

December 1667: The Ottomans call in big bad Yemen.

Hungary warns me.

March 1668: The Ottoman Empire... is... OUTTA HERE!

God now decides I've been a warmongering bastard and I should take it easy. But I did all of this in your name! [Mission is to reduce infamy.]

July 1668: Kutch cores. I love it when previously foreign COTs core.
Dadra converts.

August 1668: Yemen white peaces with Russia.

Skopin dies -- the new leader, Mefodiy Baranov, is the very definition of blah, 5/6/5.

November 1668: Construction begins on the University of Constantinople.

December 1668: Sivas converts.

July 1669: I totally forgot about my core on Byzantium until now. Not any more

August 1669: Siena honors the alliance with the Byzantines, and the war is over.

September 1669: Mangyshlak converts.

December 1669: We close out this update with a warning to Bihar. I want the rest of my Road to India, dammit! One thing I've noticed is that warnings rarely do any good -- the warnee simply doesn't DOW anybody and I never get to use it. It's a great deterrent, but that's about it.

Another update should be coming in the next couple of days.

 

[loki100]

looking good, from my experience with CK there is something utterly satisfying in humping the Byzantines when playing as Russia ... or is that just me?

 

[Boris ze Spider]

I think the Japan thing is WAD.

 

[Ashantai]

Unfortunately the Japanese thing is annoying because it means that outsiders can't do a damn thing.

Nice work, though that last war was just a TINY bit unbalanced, don't you think?

 

[Avindian]

Feedback​

loki100: Probably just you I've not played CK, but CK II might be on my list of future games. I've read some of the dev diaries and I must admit I'm intrigued. Anything that doesn't have the disgusting amount of micromanagement that HOI 3 had is a winner in my book.

Boris -- Drat.

Ashantai -- I could theoretically unite Japan, under Russian rule, but without some kind of CB it's not realistic in the time left. The best part of the last war is that the 2000 troops were in Greece, so I never even saw them

To spur more interest in my little mini-contest, I'm also including SE Australian provinces, since I seem to have quite a presence there (all God's doing, I assure you ).

I'm planning for the next update on Wednesday, at this point. I've got a surprising bit of homework to get through for the course I'm auditing on 19th century Prussia/Germany, so I'll be booked solid most of tomorrow.

 

[Boris ze Spider]

What mini-contest?

 

[Avindian]

Time for a brief contest -- winner gets to name an Alaskan province.
In the 1680s, I DOW a major European power and take two provinces.
1) Which European power is it?
2) Name one of the two provinces.
To make it a little easier, the CB I use is Reconquest. I may or may not be currently bordering this power, but I am at the time of the war (I get a core via Boundary Dispute).
To sweeten the pot, you could name two provinces if you get both parts right.

It's on an earlier page, but here it is.

 

[Boris ze Spider]

1. Bohemia
2. Eresjukvar and Cherask

 

[Avindian]

1. Bohemia
2. Eresjukvar and Cherask

Another good guess, but not quite. So, for those keeping score, it's neither Austria nor Bohemia. The last image of the next update will make it painfully obvious, so you have until tomorrow to guess (and you may guess as many times as you like, without spamming, and waiting for responses to each guess, of course ) and earn up to two provinces. If nobody gets it before the next update, it will probably come down to whoever happens to be on the forum when I post.

Request for feedback (non-contest related)

Another NI question. I'm going to swap out National Bank for Scientific Revolution once I hit trade 30 (I haven't been diligent with trade techs ) My next NI will be Government 50, then Government 61, then Government 67. I'm at Gov't 49 now. I'll have only three more before I finish.

One of them will almost certainly be Esprit de Corps, probably at Gov't 50. What should I choose for my second and third slot?

a) Smithian Economics
b) Revolution/Counter-Revolution
c) Liberte, egalite, fraternite
d) Humanist Tolerance
e) Improved Foraging (note, this requires Trade 53, and I'm pretty far behind on trade, so it's probably not going to happen until Gov't 67).
f) Regimental System (-20% land maintenance instead of the reinforce speed bonus)
g) Another one I'm not thinking of (for reference, I have Military Drill, Grand Army, QftNW, Bureaucracy, Cabinet, Bill of Rights*, Land of Opportunity, Patron of the Arts*, and National Bank [which will soon be scientific revolution).

Send me your thoughts and guesses for the contests -- update is scheduled for tomorrow.

* Taken farther ahead in gameplay than this AAR is currently at

 

[unmerged(80402)]

Improved Foraging, and after that Espirit de Corps. Espirit the Corps cause it give you additional discipline, and improved Foraging cause it give you easier maitnance for troops in enemy provinces. If you wouldn't go quality, then you should take espirit de corps first but you will need good reinforcing of your army at the enemy land. Espirit de corps gives you +25% to discipline that is good, but you already have quality armies (that is bad for russia). Anyway Revolution/Counter is useless, as the cb you can get from other things, liberte, bla, bla bla, is worthless to, as you want to convert the heretics, not to live with them, for the same reason is humanist tolerance. Smithian economics is nice, but you need to lead the army, yes? And if you will be able to take it additionaly it is good though. Improved foarging decrease the atrition by 50% that is VERY good. Whatever it is your choice.

 

[Avindian]

Improved Foraging, and after that Espirit de Corps. Espirit the Corps cause it give you additional discipline, and improved Foraging cause it give you easier maitnance for troops in enemy provinces. If you wouldn't go quality, then you should take espirit de corps first but you will need good reinforcing of your army at the enemy land. Espirit de corps gives you +25% to discipline that is good, but you already have quality armies (that is bad for russia).

Thanks for the input, as always! He brings up an important point, one that I ought to clarify -- we'll add improved foraging to the list (I thought it was out as of DW). The one I was thinking of is the one that replaced the reinforce speed bonus (I think?) -- the one that decreases land maintenance. Sorry for any confusion in terms I'm on my netbook at school, so I can't check the exact names at the moment.

 

[Boris ze Spider]

Smithian economics, for it is one of the bet NIs

 

[unmerged(80402)]

Smithian economics, for it is one of the bet NIs

best not bet if any... whatever it is usefull for someone with good production base. Not one of the best though, but still nice one. The best are the military ones - everyone need them, even naval country. Smithian economics is not always. Sometime if you have higher tax than production, buearocracy can be better... also the trade can be more profitable sometimes. If you don't have any land/military ideas it does not mean you don't need them, it just mean you need others, and have no place for them.

EDIT: Also it is late time idea, so it makes it worse one.

 

[Avindian]

Smithian economics, for it is one of the bet NIs

Thanks for the input!

If you read the post earlier, I've made quite a few edits to simplify things and make them easier to understand. In other good news, through some diligent work at school, I'm caught up enough that I'll be able to update tonight Even after you're ABD, the homework never ends

Therefore, get those guesses in, and I'll probably post late this evening.