AGEOD Forums

Here is my draft checklist idea from a while back - though I can't say I stick to diligently. Input welcome.



Revised PON Turn Checklist v2013 0624

I always check F9 Check first for diplomacy requiring response, since it is this turn or never.
May check prestige gain/loss. May check F10 (save turn first to get accurate power ratios).

(A) Log: Top row down to third row. Sometimes click message to go to the location and decide on matters as we go. Note Military Upkeep needs for later (goods, money, officers, conscripts). Read Movement and Combat reports but finish the log before taking action to avoid distraction.

If ECON turn or there are unintended Deactivations then Industrial Log button scrolling to the end and working backward for summary info – coal usage, sales and purchase totals (resulting in net PC change), and price changes. F4 to turn conversions on/off; check PC gain and loss projections and compare with Production Sites capital costs to avoid shortages. Check F11 now or later when reviewing the economy. Focus on money-losers and facilities making unsellable excess items as a way to save PC.
Then Colonization Messages in the lower right. .
-->ACT on Diplomatic items if needed, but crisis first to eliminate the uncertainty.
-->ACT on Bad Events (or interesting ones), such as nearby pirates/revolts/strikes/dissent.
-->--> Respond as needed to building completions (e.g., with more building).
--> Each couple of months, check Contentment and Militancy on the Regional Census (F6) and consider reforms or moving troops for police purposes.
* Special events - respond if needed.

(B) To keep focused on priorities, methodical troop movements and combat planning next.
Adjust the rest of the turn's decisions to fit military necessities. On MIL Focus turns check F2 for missing or undersupplied units.

(C) Focus Turn: If it's not obviously urgent, or something you are waiting for, I suggest alternating the focus by turn in cycles of 4 turns - this helps budget and bundle time and resources and is more efficient than tending to everything every turn, plus it lets resources accumulate in more usable chunks.

Turn 1: The Economy - building things, checking F4 & B for troublesome trends in money, private capital, goods, and any other key inflow and outflow (having a nice cushions of inventories and PC for production saves trouble), setting sell orders, setting general buy orders or targeted buys, structure deactivation or reopening (F11 useful). Evaluate RR & road net for economy, transport, military supply.
I find it very useful to open B and T and put them to left and right so F4 can open midscreen and I can quickly get the econ/trade information needed on all 3 displays.

Turn 2: Domestic & Colonial Monitoring and Management. Check Decision Mode and act. Check F6 for contentment, militancy, and revolt risks and what others are doing in your areas of interest - Protectorate and Colony countdowns are noted in the log, but you can't rely just on log warnings about what others are doing colonially.

Turn 3: Defense & Diplomacy: Military construction, check replacement chits, commander reassignments, F2 review and supply distribution, ship, troop and supply wagon movements, and reorg/redeployments. Review and initiate diplomacy interactions (suggest review of entire diplomatic and global situation every 6 months).

Turn 4: Priority Turn - focus on whichever of the above is most important you want to prioritize. or do everything if you wish. Do what you need to do, spend based on your final firm decision, not your tentative impulse, since sometimes cancels don't work.

SEMI-ANNUAL: Every 6 months when you get a package of diplomats, take a global tour to get an overview of what's going on. F10 objectives and rankings tooltips. Check overseas investments and merchant shipping. Use E & R and D & F to cycle through army and navy forces. Check technology progress (though may need budget adjustments more frequently). Don't send diplomatic offers the turn diplomats appear - wait to see what offers come in first.

Get your global strategies and long-term goals in mind. Look at wars, borders, other powers' colonization efforts, and details of diplomatic relationships (tip: flip your country with the target in F9 to view from target perspective). Analyze the capabilities and intentions of others. Check various filters for useful information and ideas. Prioritize resources for economic, military, colonial, and other spending and set tax and private capital policies.


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New player links: Video tutorial/let's play: AJE is set in Roman times but the game mechanics are similar in may ways. This is a series on AJE gameplay for those interested in video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5s-jLI_VX0

Updated manual (1.02 - 1.03/1.04 forthcoming): http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?23528-Where-is-the-new-Manual

Sir Garnet - Thanks very much for that; I can already tell how useful it will prove... Hopefully this gets stickied, as I believe it'll be enormously helpful for new players. Thanks again...

Sir Garnett

this is a great resource. One thing that is no longer needed is to check F9 for incoming diplomatic messages as those are now in the log.

I like the 4 turn cycle as it stops you fussing over everything every turn but still means you keep an eye on it.

What I do, is:

scroll the entire message list.

If an action 'failed', usually colonial explorers etc, I tend to click on the message and redo the order for that.

In addition to the 'deal with issues' material, every turn I check the decision mode (the last of the map modes) to see if any of the development cards are available again. Once I've done this I check the colonial mode, again to see if there are cards I can use.

I think there is also a different mindset needed in the first 4-5 years to that of later into the game. At the start, things like replacement ordering is a major decision, later on I just make sure I am using up the conscript companies etc. I still think this AAR by 2Coats (on the Paradox forum) is the best guide to sorting out your industry right at the start. I did it by trial and error but this shows a much more systemic approach that can be applied to almost any country in the game.

Roger

I am personally obsessed over the supply chain. I use the filter quite often to see where things go, even read the log to have an idea which MTBs forward most of it. I tend to leave the supplies/ammo conversion once it the world economy is healthy and when at war with another nation as I want to be certain my field supplies and ammunition flow adequately.

I never convert supplies and ammo unless I see reports of difficulties, usually wartime, but I do like to lay down transport routes and depots on them. A transport loaded with supplies offshore can delliver a lot of supplies over the beach in those difficult coastal regions, but it requires some Military Control or rights from the owner.

The F9 messages are still in the log, but by always doing them first you don't miss them.

I look at the log buttons individually and try to address things in order. Most of the message lines are about trade (235 trade button messages last turn for Brazil) so I save all that scrolling for last (the most useful trade/industry info is at the end since it logs things in the order they occur).

THere are a set of standard starting moves for each county - France for example, has certain things to shut down right away and situations to address. However, part of the fun lies in figuring it out. The checklist will help with that - like knowing military upkeep and not using up too much money or manpower is prudent in any country to keep the military in shape.

Any changes and corrections are welcome.

It all depends on unit concentrations. Trust me, in my "Game of Thrones" the entire Greek supply chain is bogged down as thousands of Russian, Bulgarian, and Serb troops are moving through the Balkans on Greek regions and have to be "fed" by the Greek High Command which has the responsibility (under the abstracted Defensive agreement). This really got the supplies and ammo reserves stretched.

As the original manual says, supplies is usually a distribution problem, not a production problem, yet again it is always wise to turn it on in a big messy war when your allies get involved. Actually, given more times supplies and ammo fetch a minimum price in the market, you can as well forget it on and nothing happens.

Updated the first post with revised version. For me it fits on one page with narrow margins in 12pt.

Updated checklist further including reference to conversions, de/re-activation of structures, RR planning, F2 review alongside supply distribution, F10 rankings and objectives, and PC/tax policies.


Added Links as well at the bottom