Old World from Soren Johnson

[Gusington]

You put this game together yourself in the sandbox or was it premade? How are you feeling about the AI? I get the vibe it's going to school me.

[devoncop]

I went a  medium completely  random map on "The Good"  difficulty with the AI custom restricted to just the one city at the start rather than the couple that the default setting gives them but everything else was left on default. I rolled a pretty flat map,  largely landmass.

Playing on the mediterranean historic map looks interesting as well though. The Egyptians are apparently well advised to try and take the Lebanon and the current Israel on that map as otherwise they struggle for lack of wood.

The AI even on this setting looks pretty decent and plays logically. There have been some wars between them and the Romans and Persians in particular seem to have a beef with each other.

[Gusington]

^Ooh I like the sound of a historical Med map. Are there many smaller kingdoms scattered about? I've read that each game has a lot of lesser powers, I think.

[devoncop]

^Ooh I like the sound of a historical Med map. Are there many smaller kingdoms scattered about? I've read that each game has a lot of lesser powers, I think.

I dont think the tribes vary . You are likely to come across the Danes in some unlikely places :). On the other hand I think the factions themselves start off in pretty historic positions but not sure until I give it a roll.

[Gusington]

Cool, very much looking forward to my first regular game.

[Gusington]

Ok so I started fighting the Romans tonight and they have MANY units. And three cities, from what I can tell. To finally win I have to take all three. And the Romans are smacking me around proper!!  :timeout: I knew this was going to be more difficult than it initially seemed :/

Any advice for knocking out the Romans and finally winning?

[devoncop]

Righto...

Firstly before you attack you should make sure as many of your guys as possible are promoted as many ranks as possible....Focus and Flanking promotions I find particularly useful but situationally all call be pretty powerful. Secondly add generals to all the units you can...especially  the Cavalry you are given who are great  at getting around the flanks and rear of the Roman line. Note flanking only works if the target unit is actually engaged by another unit already from the front.

Have your Onagers be close behind to bombard any Roman troops in the cities to reduce their protection.


It is always better to eliminate one unit with multiple attacks on a turn than damage 3 or 4 with different attacks as the Romans are on their own territory so can choose to heal up in their turn, something that Greek units cannot do on Roman territory.

When you are about to launch the initial attack have your leader use the " launch offensive" action, this gives the units around him and his own units 2 attacks on that turn and is very powerful.
Other than the above all the usual advice in this era applies....use spears v any cavalry he has, or against his slingers. Use axemen v his foot ...axemen hit the unit in front of them with 100% damage and the 2 either side of them with 25% damage with the " cleave" ability.

All the above should do it. :)

BTW....after you take the second city you get the option to finish the tutorial then rather than press on to the third one..

(I am now at turn 110 in my game and the Romans have been attacked by the Greeks and the Persians in an almighty scrap after both Greece and Persia agreed 40 year non aggression treaties with me to secure their rear as they moved south. Nice AI logic and good to see. I am now 2nd on 25 points behind the Persians on 28.... :bd:)

[Gusington]

Thanks! I was slowly grinding them down after doing most of what you listed above. The AI actually counter-attacked, took back one of their cities and started bombarding one of mine, opening up another front! Bastards. I am now churning out hoplites to send to the front but this has turned into a war of attrition, which I wasn't expecting. When I move into a Roman urban area, I also burn everything down.

Definitely the most in depth tutorial I have played in a long time - much more like a mini-campaign.

[devoncop]

You got that right !

Its a much better approach you learn a lot more.

I have decided to attack Greece in my first proper game who are in 4th place in an attempt to catch up on the Persians and the Romans and I have taken Pella but the Greeks also launched a desperate counter attack and I lost quite a few units. The AI is very competent ! This is not a Civ game :)

I have now sent my ambassador asking for peace and a tribute from Greece....lets hope it works....I now see the Persians  loitering around my eastern border with my battered armies mostly in the south west in Greece.....

[Gusington]

Yeah I really did not expect the AI to be that advanced!

I've seen reviews and players say that the campaigns here are not nearly as long and sprawling as Civ campaigns, obviously because the focus is much tighter. Like 200-300 turns per game.

[W8taminute]

Wow!  I haven't advanced my progress in the 5th tutorial beyond discovering the location of the Roman army but it sounds like this one is going to be a challenge. 

Very good to hear the ai can actually wage a good war and hitting where it hurts. 

[devoncop]

I would seriously advise new players not to ramp up the difficulty levels in your first proper playthrough.

"The Good" is no walkover as a starting level and though I am no genius at these games I beat Civ on Noble more often than not.

Re the length of the game, because of all of the events that show up and decisions you have to make when your first proper game is underway my 118 turns so far feel like 4 or 5 times as long in Civ terms. A lot has happened both to my leaders, families, religion and with the other AI's so the standard 200 turn game  certainly wont feel short.

[Gusington]

^Yes each turn is full of great, interesting stories and plot twists.

I am chomping at the bit to get the first real game set up but don't want to start until I have beat the damned tutorial!

[devoncop]

I keep checking in to see if Gus and W8 have stomped the Romans yet :)

Greeks accepted the peace so I gain Pella and Peregon. Egypt now on 30, Rome 34,Persia 35....turn 128.

The rout ability of Cavalry is lethal as they can keep  attacking another unit if they destroy one in an attack. Greek chariots took out quite a few Egyptian archers this way after other units had softened up several of the Egyptian infantry units....Beware. :hide:

[Gusington]

I am hoping to finally wrap up my win tonight.