Which power to start with for the first game?

[Michael Hopcroft]

I'm hoping that I can have some confidence that Steam will get the game downloaded for me eventually (the currently wildly fluctuating rate at which the download is taking place doesn't offer me much encouragement). I eventuallay want to embark on a grand campaign, something that will probably take me months to complete, but for now I'm trying to figure out how to get my feet wet with something other than the tutorials.

I know there are scenarios, but don't know what they are yet. Hopefully those are shorter games, though it would be hard not to be shorter than 1,680 turns!

Anyone have suggestions?

[vaalen]

I'm hoping that I can have some confidence that Steam will get the game downloaded for me eventually (the currently wildly fluctuating rate at which the download is taking place doesn't offer me much encouragement). I eventuallay want to embark on a grand campaign, something that will probably take me months to complete, but for now I'm trying to figure out how to get my feet wet with something other than the tutorials.

I know there are scenarios, but don't know what they are yet. Hopefully those are shorter games, though it would be hard not to be shorter than 1,680 turns!

Anyone have suggestions?

I would recommend the Risorgimento scenario, as the French. They have a great army, the scenario has a very narrow geographic focus, and is a great introduction to the military system.

[Michael Hopcroft]

I would recommend the Risorgimento scenario, as the French. They have a great army, the scenario has a very narrow geographic focus, and is a great introduction to the military system.

Funny, I look at the military map for Risorgimento and I can't quite make sense of it. Part of it, of course, is that I have very little idea where the Austrians are, only that they're somewhere between me and Venice. The other problem, and maybe this is because I didn't do my preparatory research, is that I don't really know my own capabilities. I'm sort of like Major-General Stanley -- my military knowledge of Europe has only been brought down to the Napoleonic era.

I'm tempted to simply drive towards Venice with what I've got, but I sense that would be a bad idea. I don't know if the Austrians have a plan other than defend their territory, but I wonder what surprises will be waiting for me if I go on an all-out offensive.

[Schattensand]

Funny, I look at the military map for Risorgimento and I can't quite make sense of it. Part of it, of course, is that I have very little idea where the Austrians are, only that they're somewhere between me and Venice. The other problem, and maybe this is because I didn't do my preparatory research, is that I don't really know my own capabilities. I'm sort of like Major-General Stanley -- my military knowledge of Europe has only been brought down to the Napoleonic era.

I'm tempted to simply drive towards Venice with what I've got, but I sense that would be a bad idea. I don't know if the Austrians have a plan other than defend their territory, but I wonder what surprises will be waiting for me if I go on an all-out offensive.

Yes it is strange, at a certain point in history some students at Harward decided, that the european history is a dowm dead old white man story and totally unimportant to american folks and so you stopped teaching it at schools. Now you are ignorant, but here you can close some of the gap.

[Hohenlohe]

Funny, I look at the military map for Risorgimento and I can't quite make sense of it. Part of it, of course, is that I have very little idea where the Austrians are, only that they're somewhere between me and Venice. The other problem, and maybe this is because I didn't do my preparatory research, is that I don't really know my own capabilities. I'm sort of like Major-General Stanley -- my military knowledge of Europe has only been brought down to the Napoleonic era.

I'm tempted to simply drive towards Venice with what I've got, but I sense that would be a bad idea. I don't know if the Austrians have a plan other than defend their territory, but I wonder what surprises will be waiting for me if I go on an all-out offensive.

Oh boy, no wonder that it was possible for some elder boy scouts(Rover) to do some nasty joke with some "Green Berets" as they were air-dropped nearby our boy scout camp some hours shortly after a socalled intruder-team from the same elite force was hosted in our camp after their night airdrop with a direct flight from Fort Bragg as I know...
We has sent the Hunter Team simply to the Neckar...*prmmph* and the Intruder Team was on its way to the East of us...some hours away...
This happened anno late April 1984 near Jagsthausen, the small castle and village where the legendary peasant leader and Reichsritter Götz von Berlichingen has once lived during the German Peasants War around 1540 as it was descripted by the author Schiller as I remember correct...

In those good ole times where we still knew who were our enemy such actions happened nearly every season every year as some older boy scouts told me...

But this is so sad that not many US-Americans even know how big Germany really is and that we are definitely no US colony or even a new US Federal State as once a drunken GI told me *grmmphh* at our Heilbronn Volksfest- something like a little Oktoberfest with all that nice drunken fighting in the Beer Halls between Yanks and Dixies and such else in those old times...*grin* and the personal happiness to get arrested one time by the US Military Police for an hour as we had only watched the action...they had thought because of our military hair style that we belong to the US Army...*grin* but most of us had serviced in the Bundeswehr at this time...*giggle* but for heavens sake most of the boys get really fast the knowledge that we are an old european nation and many of them liked to marry a german fräulein...*grin*

But enough offtopic...*grin*

Hohenlohe, who was deep in some good ole memories...

edit: you all should be lucky that you had the good old Patton leading your tanks to the Rhine just imagine you had taken the wrong direction without him...*giggle*

But do not misunderstand me, if the Russians would have tried to invade us we would have just opened our warehouses, markets and Malls full of conserves and beer and brezels and wine and expensive cloths and TVs and modern Radios and some blonde and naughty girls would have stood asides the streets and Highways to welcome the poor Russian soldiers...they would had never approached our holy Rhine...*giggle* because they would have soo occupied...just remember what happend after the "Mauerfall" anno 1989 the Russians even sold their equipment and weaponry to us...*grin* to get some D-Mark...

[Michael Hopcroft]

Getting back to the topic at hand, before I have another go at starting Risorgimento I'd like some advice on how to figure out what's going on militarily, and whether the other elements of the game are going to be important. Do I have to watch the French and Piedmontese economies through all this in addition to running the armies?

And what sort of martial position am I in? Will I be able to call in more troops from home if I need to? Do I have to build armies for Piedmont? What is the most efficient way of assessing a conflict situation in PON with which one is unfamiliar?

[Hohenlohe]

Getting back to the topic at hand, before I have another go at starting Risorgimento I'd like some advice on how to figure out what's going on militarily, and whether the other elements of the game are going to be important. Do I have to watch the French and Piedmontese economies through all this in addition to running the armies? And what sor of martial position am I in? Will I be able to call in more troops from home if I need to? Do I have to build armies for Piedmont?

As Piedmont you should simply consider that you will not be able to support any big army from start thus you should do a more economic approach in midterm...first look what you still have and then what you really need for your economy and use the "B" screen to sell any surplus...
Then build some necessary ressource buildings like coal, iron, wood, grain and some wine if possible, then start build up your merchant fleet...if you will get around four merchant ships then disperse them to the following trade boxes:
Mediterrean, Black Sea, North Sea and the East Atlantic Box near Britain, later on take the Baltic box and the US Atlantic Trade box in account, then you can improve your income by purchasing any surplus available...

then try to colonize Tunesia, mainly Tunis and surrounding areas but please try to improve your relations with France one turn after the other as you will not get more than one rare chance per turn for diplommatic success...

And above all try to colonize Djibuti to get a secure harbour and base in the Indic area...you could get this small nation really fast to around 30-40% CP after more than a year or such else...try to make it a protectorate soon enough, but before you should get some frigates and corvettes available because the Ottomans could disable your commerce and your colonial efforts after some war crisis if they want to do so because they have a somehow nasty navy...

Improve your capital city as fast as possible with afortification and a decent depot and do that especially for Genua as soon as possible, because its your best harbour sofar...

and try to build some cheap militia brigades for each home province and some cavalry or mixed expedition brigades if available to send them perhaps to Africa especially to Djibouti if you are nearly short before a protectorate status because you could get some problems with the tribals or the Ottomans...

After that try to send a good merchant ship to the Indic box after building some depot at Djibouti and then colonize the Zanzibar island and eventually Daressalam and Mombasa before any Prussian is approaching...You could do yourself some favor if you would try to colonize the Sinai region or even Kuwait later on, because there will be some Oil later on...

Thats enough for the moment I think...

Hohenlohe...*smile*

edit: to prevent any unnecessary conflict just look for the 40-Forge Casus Belli file in diplomacy as I remember correct and change the entry there from the usual 5 diplomats for a casus belli and increase the number to 21 because the AI memorizes only maximum 20 diplomats per turn at all and therefore you will not get any unnecessary conflitc upcoming besides the usual scripted ones or the crisis conflicts...

[Michael Hopcroft]

Well, I've been playing the Risorgemento scenario concentrating on the military situation. I had Napoleon III with his enormous army capture Venice about five turns in after taking Milano with Vittorio Emmanuel. I was informed that Austria had deployed a large force to Trieste to reclaim the advantage but I haven't seen hide nor hair of them. Theoretically the scenario should be over as a decisive Piedmontese vistory, but the game has not ended and Austria has not responded to my peace offer. As a result my armies are just sitting there waiting for a counterattack that may never come.

I must be doing something wrong. Ideally V-E should have been able to take Venice, but in the end it was Nappy-Lite (a fairly incompetent commander) who ended up taking in the canals.

[Hohenlohe]

Well, I've been playing the Risorgemento scenario concentrating on the military situation. I had Napoleon III with his enormous army capture Venice about five turns in after taking Milano with Vittorio Emmanuel. I was informed that Austria had deployed a large force to Trieste to reclaim the advantage but I haven't seen hide nor hair of them. Theoretically the scenario should be over as a decisive Piedmontese vistory, but the game has not ended and Austria has not responded to my peace offer. As a result my armies are just sitting there waiting for a counterattack that may never come.

I must be doing something wrong. Ideally V-E should have been able to take Venice, but in the end it was Nappy-Lite (a fairly incompetent commander) who ended up taking in the canals.

It is okay sofar with this scenario but it is definitely more focused on the Reunion of Iatly with the help of France. It plays no role if Nappy the Third is incompetent if the subordinated officers/leaders and the troops have a fairly elite status ingame because that plays a main factor sofar I experienced but as also know it would be possible with less problems to make a victory even for Austria possible. Just imagine those time where the good ole Radetzky was able to defeat the French around 1848 many times...

A battle scenario was interesting for any newbie in case of AGE-engine games but for some grognards a campaign against a human will be the real challenge...

greetings

Hohenlohe

[StephenT]

Theoretically the scenario should be over as a decisive Piedmontese vistory, but the game has not ended and Austria has not responded to my peace offer. As a result my armies are just sitting there waiting for a counterattack that may never come.

Risorgimento is only a small battle scenario to teach you the combat system, and should end automatically after a few turns. You don't need to send a peace offer. If you've already captured Milano and Venezia then you should have already won a decisive victory, but it's possible you lost too many men in the process and will have to settle for a minor victory.

As for strategy in this scenario, it's a battle on a narrow front so you don't have many options. You need to be wary of the Austrians launching a spoiling attack on your advance guard in Alessandria, so reinforce them as quickly a possible. You then have two options: either attack the main Austrian army in Milano with all your forces, or just send Napoleon and his French against them while the Piedmontese dodge around their flank (though Parma) to attack Venezia early. It's a trade-off: without the Italians Napoleon might lose the battle, but if you take a few extra turns before you can get to Venezia, it might hold out in siege until the end of the scenario.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Risorgimento is only a small battle scenario to teach you the combat system, and should end automatically after a few turns. You don't need to send a peace offer. If you've already captured Milano and Venezia then you should have already won a decisive victory, but it's possible you lost too many men in the process and will have to settle for a minor victory.

As for strategy in this scenario, it's a battle on a narrow front so you don't have many options. You need to be wary of the Austrians launching a spoiling attack on your advance guard in Alessandria, so reinforce them as quickly a possible. You then have two options: either attack the main Austrian army in Milano with all your forces, or just send Napoleon and his French against them while the Piedmontese dodge around their flank (though Parma) to attack Venezia early. It's a trade-off: without the Italians Napoleon might lose the battle, but if you take a few extra turns before you can get to Venezia, it might hold out in siege until the end of the scenario.

There must be something wrong with my copy, because when I finished the game it was declared a Stalemate even though I controlled both Milan and Venice. I'll have to contact Paradox or something, even though it may not be an appropriate tech question, because something is definitely amiss here.

[StephenT]

There must be something wrong with my copy, because when I finished the game it was declared a Stalemate even though I controlled both Milan and Venice. I'll have to contact Paradox or something, even though it may not be an appropriate tech question, because something is definitely amiss here.

The title at the top of the screen may have said 'Stalemate' but did the text say something like, "You have won a victory, but not a decisive one"? That's what I meant by a minor victory.

I doubt there's anything wrong with your copy specifically, but another alternative is that the scenario script that determines who has won the scenario might need altering.

[Michael Hopcroft]

The title at the top of the screen may have said 'Stalemate' but did the text say something like, "You have won a victory, but not a decisive one"? That's what I meant by a minor victory.

I doubt there's anything wrong with your copy specifically, but another alternative is that the scenario script that determines who has won the scenario might need altering.

What it said was "neither side had achieved their objectives", which is really weird because I had secured Venice and Milan was safely under my control for most of the game. There was an Austrian army north of Milan that had been spanked by the Piedmontese but they spent the entire fall sitting in place and pinning the Piedmontese army in Milan so they couldn't join the drive to Venice.

The AI was weird in that it didn't reinforce Venice in the time it took for Napoleon III to finally get his act together, Nobody came to try and break the siege and the Austrian army south of Innsbruck stayed put and didn't have any impact on the campaign to Venice. If I were playing the Austrians I would have wanted to be more aggressive.

[Hohenlohe]

What it said was "neither side had achieved their objectives", which is really weird because I had secured Venice and Milan was safely under my control for most of the game. There was an Austrian army north of Milan that had been spanked by the Piedmontese but they spent the entire fall sitting in place and pinning the Piedmontese army in Milan so they couldn't join the drive to Venice.

The AI was weird in that it didn't reinforce Venice in the time it took for Napoleon III to finally get his act together, Nobody came to try and break the siege and the Austrian army south of Innsbruck stayed put and didn't have any impact on the campaign to Venice. If I were playing the Austrians I would have wanted to be more aggressive.

Although I had not played thru this scenario it seems simply clear to me that you has perhaps not fullfilled some certain conditions...in most cases you need a certain level and percentage of VPs for a minimum minor victory but the AI will also try to get some and make some VPs in your scenario...If the AI sits like a duck in a certain province you should take a look if this province is an objective as it would be in most cases then you need that city for fulfilling the VP conditions...In a GC scenario you will create your VPs aka prestige in a war by simply holding certain provinces and cities for a long time to create prestige and VPs and if you will have an higher warscore you will be the true Victor...thus you should attack this enemy force with your armies to get some VPs soon you will need them...

greetings

Hohenlohe

edit: just forgot something you should use F10 and then you will see what you are missing...