Viability of The Ottoman Empire?

[XTRG]

So to the old blood's of PON what would you say regarding the Venerable Empire and the following questions?

>Namely Industrial Pirorities? Should i build up my coal quarry's or focus on a Agrarian Eco due to the Opium and other some what decent Organic Product's?

>How could i Industrialize the Ottoman Empire to become somewhat self sufficent?

>Alliance's:

i have been trying to Sway the British and French but no dice as of yet is there a better choice of Ally to persuade the Imperial Bear to leave me in peace? Prussia Perhap's but i imagine the Attrition would Brutalize the Prussian's.

>Colonial Asset's and Sphere of Influence's;

What do to regarding Egypt should i try to Colonise them or should i try and gain a CB and secure a connection for the Libyan Colonies to the greater Empire.

All in all with the proximity to the Empire should Warfare be a resort or should i focus on Colonization as i have a greater number of option's then alot of the Other Power's?

> Thought's of Military?

I have stationed in Sinope around 100k men with a few thousand in Kar's, If Russia Declare's war what would be required to stem the tide and turn the war in a attrition Hellhole for the Russian Empire?

[James D Burns]

I played the Ottomans once, but it was a while back and I don’t recall many specifics. I do remember I went after the Arabian Peninsula as my first colonial target. There are some gem sites there that can greatly help your internal happiness once developed, so focus on those as early goals. Early game your happiness will be your main problem eventually causing almost endless rebellions if not dealt with, so try and find ways to get it stabilized ASAP.

Funds and resources are low compared to most other powers in game so go for the biggest bang for the buck and stay with it until you see a return before going after something new. It’s very easy to get side tracked and waste resources on other things before you’ve seen results on other investments when you have such a tiny income, so stay focused. What I mean by this is once you've built a gem mine, it probably only brings in 1 item per turn. Spend the money to improve the roads or build a RR before moving on to a new project. 3 or 4 items sold to your internal market each turn will probably make a big difference in happiness over time, while 1 item will probably be negligible, so stay focused, get it done, then move on.

Militarily you are really a second rate power and will remain so. So I’d focus on defensive plans and tailor your play style accordingly. I’d delete any non-essential supply depots (they are simply a gift to your enemy in times of war) and max out your essential ones with max level forts and depots. Then plan to hold those essential depots with strong stacks defending outside the city and let enemy armies starve themselves if they try and bypass. The terrain in your country is a real killer if bad weather hits and the enemy army finds itself deep inside with no access to a nearby depot.

With maxed out forts and depots your cities will spawn lots of auto garrisons so stuff them with as many extra supply wagons as you can afford, this will allow them to hold out for long periods of time during sieges.

Industrialization will be a long tedious process, so don’t plan on becoming self sufficient any time soon. Focus on happiness first, and then work on basics. Most complex stuff will need to be purchased as the cost to get those industries up and running is prohibitive. Once you have a somewhat healthy economy you might be able to afford complex stuff, but I never played far enough to find out with the Ottomans as a new patch came out and I deleted my old games. Getting a RR built from your capital to Egypt and other isolated corners of your empire to help you move your armies where needed in times of war is also probably more vital than a complex economy.

I’d try and get at least two extra commerce fleets built so you can expand your reach enough to get you to North America and the Orient. This will help you find critical resources that may dry up in Europe due to increasing demands. Don’t use the starting commerce fleets or you may find supply dry up as it won’t move efficiently over land due to the primitive terrain in country.

I’d leave Egypt in play as your army size is limited and having them on map helps defend your colonial holdings once you manage to sign a defensive treaty with them. If you conquer them their force pool goes away and you simply stretch your small army even more. If they've got resources you want sign a commerce agreement and then you can build your buildings, once you manage to sign a defensive treaty with them loyalty should stay high enough to assure you keep your buildings.

Jim

[loki100]

there is a good Ottoman AAR here that may give you some idea of the potential. The victory over the Austrians is a masterpiece of defensive play in PoN

one problem is you have a Sultan from about 1880 or so who is a total numpty - so bad you get no diplomats at all. You might want to mod around this, at least so you can do a few very basic diplomatic actions

[XTRG]

sadly it ended abruptly

[XTRG]

It's quite odd im now in 1855 with no Crimean war at all so being the Good Ottoman i am invaded greece only to find i can't annex it because PON =_____= but yes i've increased the Ottoman Army by at least 150k+ which was station on the border for year's and ready to strike at Russia and put them on the defensive while a Naval landing would take place at Sevastopol to force the Russian's to waste time and men.

with the economy i don't make too much but i've managed to get a decent railway going http://i.imgur.com/oEgjpJe.jpg?1

the issue's faced is of course technology as i can't construct my own steel mill's thoe i am over production Mf.Good's which i am selling for a tidy profit it's just a course of waiting for the most part.

[loki100]

could you specify about 'no crimean war'. Are you using the most recent beta?

as to Greece, no you can't annex if you have no claim (especially within Europe). Think of it as the main powers are just about to stand for you having to deal with an ungrateful small nation on your borders but there is no way are they going to stand for you wiping them from the map

[Darthkommandant]

It is my opinion that railways are probably the most important economic structures. They bring good military,logistical, and economic benefits so good job.

[seathom]

If the Crimean War hasn't broken out yet, I assume that the Russo-Japanese War broke out very early in the game. I know that happened to me in my USA game as well as my brief Russian game.