Thanks ssfsx17,
you do not seem "not even an intermediate player". To my experience, 90% of the players do not cope well with a Normal level of difficulty. Players at Tougher are already scarce.
I have a special aim in this forum, as someone who helped to rejuvenate its sister Pharaoh HG when everything was said "over studied". Indeed, most valuable info was discovered 2 years and after the launch of the site. I do not pretend I will do anything similar here, for the very reason that I do not know if there is anything more to know, but already veteran players do not know the answer to some of my questions I consider critical (thread Discoveries on my own).
I appreciate better your valuable comments than redundant links, though I go through them. So no to bother the forumers I try to be pertinent, if not overinformed.
Would you waste such a time anawering to me about, as you state, what is overknown, if you did not have a pleaure in that?
I will paste your text and study it. I rely on cybercafes for connections and do not answer like that, my posts are kind of 1 day delayed, like a call to the moon (or Central Africa more accurately).
This is what I wrote at home:
Master Silver and ssfsx17,
In your answers I found interesting points.
An add-on: this strategy is good when building up a strong nation but especially when supporting a border push. You can pearce right in the middle of the foe territory with one of these pools city/towers you build in seconds (you affect maybe 20 citizens at a go), he MUST take it out his map fast, or he is dead (you get his caravans, for a starter). No assimilation time, no repatriation or healing required. But take care of a good mapping, either you use this city as a rear base for a final assault to reduce the attrition and repatriate the wounded; or you must have enough space, as he would hit you from all sides with siege units from within his territory. This city is wasted for business, it exists only for warfare.
This is History. Why do you think the central part of France shows a castle every two kilometres, near every village: two centuries of war, English holding South, French holding North (Medieval). None could move more than some kilometres in a year. This also explains the Yugoslav segregation mapping of the Slovens/Croats/Bosniacs/Serbs (Gunpowder).
- The notion of “overcompensation”, in other words why 3 towers and not 25. When Empiremaster submitted this strategy I simply adapted, I thought of this. I was wondering the umpteenth tower may end up costing badly, especially if I am ready to lose some. “The towers are expensive”. No. Except on specific maps with rare possible mines. Less than the soldiers you lose under my walls and the ones I do not lose in combat.
In the first place, I realized reading you all pals, that you are much more ready to lose things than I am anyhow. I consider a disgrace at Tougher to lose more than 1 for 50 I kill over a whole game (it is the actual ratio for the French Foreign Legion). One exception: against the British, their archers aim too far, there I am more bullish (against a good British everydody here seems to neglect, I may lose up to 1 for 5). Quoting Irishfast: “ don’t be afraid to lose”. I do not. I mean, I do not lose.
- “Use your Light Cavalry on suicide runs”. Suicide is indeed the word, the basis that generated this strategy. Light Cavalry may reveal a liability to rely upon. They die too fast under enemy fire (look at what I just wrote about me facing Iroquois archers), except the delighting Cossacks who ride so fast that the range shooters miss them most of the time (the Spanish hit cavalry better, but who dared write the Russians are bad?). I needed a maybe more heavy/boring strategy, but less of a gamble.
I will not use 1-2 Light Cavalry from my city, of course I tried, for one reason: their way to the catapult is blocked by pedestrians. Most of these horsemen would have to go left and right, they will not reach fast enough coming from the front (this is why people flank). Five LC would do it, but do not forget my defence is already packed. Heavy Cavalry would go straight? As you state, does not work, and the resources are first for the towers (and no HC at Classical). Javeliners are the “everything well, nothing great” compromise.
- “Bribe the unit next to the siege unit rather than the siege”. Indeed, it is much better, but sometimes I am too short on time at Gunpowder, when canons destroy buildings too fast, I need these seconds I save; when the computer has started bombing the city, he will not redeploy his siege unit for a treator. A nuance, nonetheless: the spy has to stick to the siege unit in order to bribe, this also takes time. Conclusion: I have time: unit next, I do not not: siege.
I often bribe a cluster. Then I rush out of the city while I flank, or at least look like, in order to save some of the bribed (against the Turks: I want their siege units).
- “Raid, raid, raid”. Raid these cities, boy. I am raided, indeed, I do not even bother, I park my citizens at risk and work on other cities (I promise you, I do not care). The city building is always set to cover the miners or the woodcutters against raiders (if it protects the woodcutters, the next protects the miners, one reason why I like Nomad). Two cities heavily raided at a go, I am still operational.
- “Getting a habit of having your cities attacked”. Man, I love it. RoN would not have population limits, it would be damning, but there when I am attacked with a big load, I know that this load is not somewhere else. Most times, the foe would have one active army and one starting to exist (except the Bantu, a great nation for this). Foe just lost a big army under my walls? Time for a good push through his borders.
If an enemy attacks my city, the field favours me with this strategy, for free I get lots of plunder, I can make shopping bribing AND save many of the spies/bribed (BTW it makes me think, at multiplayer I would have 3 scouts in an attacking group, not one), I can give him the impression that he can still save his attack and his army insisting and reinforcing: a waste, since I unleash my flanking attack, the hidden forces in my strategic city, and always a surprise I have for him.
To compensate for this strategic defense I submit, the attacker has to be ready to lose a lot ANYHOW. And do not forget that the computer does not care about wasting resources. You do.
- Sir, who would rather give out one city rather than defending it, you have to take my cities. Eventually. Because I am on my way to take all yours (you guys are always hyper-nervous, me I have a plan). You have a tower behind the city to get time for reinforcements to come in case the city is taken; did you add a scout to your reinforcement? I like your men.
There is something excellent in this idea to get a tower behind to hide some citizens and gain time, but some points:
1.maybe a bit costly considering my strategy, I have already paid for my city’s frontal/besides towers. I insist Towers cost little, but this little I have to have it.
2.This strategy is made for not losing a city. If the enemy pays the price and gets the city, he is good, with a damm army that probably can hold it (in the first place he killed or seriously wounded many of my men to achieve that).
3.Accordingly, I do not attack with 3-4 siege units, 6 is a very minimum. Your tower behind will last 9 seconds, the fort 20 (I checked that). Not enough, sorry. Indeed, it is the most probable cause of failure in this strategic defence: the foe comes with lots of siege units (the very first thing I assess: how many amongst his siege units are decoys, so that I have an exact timetable).
4.I do not take a city, I take the compound. Fort an issue, I may start with the fort. The fort is behind, I protect my infantry, I finish the fort first. What is the point in seizing a city under fire that your sappers cannot repair (exception: the Koreans; these would have better military units, they would be Nation Number One).
I put the forts, now, touching the cities. But besides, not behind. They help fight, save time and can garrison (and what they garrison, that the foe does not know).
- “the best city defence is Good scouting”. I do scouting in defense, but with spies, not scouts. Because you often do not see his scout (he walks behind, stays hidden or whatever). But when your spy starts getting yellow, damm he has a scout. I had nasty surprises being sure he had no scout, now I prefer it that way. If he has no scout, I know he is there, but he does not know I know. And spies are cheap for their benefits (and do not talk about it if I am Russian).
Indeed the best city “attack” is scouting. Where is my cavalry? (of course I must have one somewhere; no, always two, but that you did not think of checking). You want to plant my towers, I have scouts everywhere. You have to assume that I may have the resources according to my strategy inside the city. In this case, you lose a lot, this damm strategic defence works. They are not there, in this case you lose, because this city is a trap, I am now targetting something much more valuable to me. I always set one city as a “fool’s trap”. Against the computer, it is easy, you would say. No, the computer may be stubbornly sticking to a strategy, like he wants to get the wonder or the capital anyhow, and at Tougher does nor care for resources (his work on timber or whatever is fancy display). For a human it is easier: I did not play yet RoN on multiplayer, but I started multiplayer as early as 1993 with nulmodem cables (no internet at this time), I know who the players are. I play the computer as if it were a human, and if it is too stupid on a game, I abort it.
Being even more precise, quoting Irishfast: “raid, attack the Capital city, or a city with a wonder”. My capital is always the easiest city to defend or retake, if the foe takes it, he will not hold it (spider web). A wonder? Do I play so bad that I cannot survive without the wonder (i.e. I give up every time the foe got the wonder before me?). Human players are often intestines over brains.
There I stop. I can carry on because more was interesting in your posts. Next post may be as long. But enough for now.