New Game: 2068

[Bjorn]

A new game is open. Join it at Game #2068

[korexus]

Who remembers how to do this then?

[Bjorn]

Yeah, it has been a couple of decades. I am not going to overthink this, just enter some orders and see how they play-out.

[Bjorn]

Pretty cool! I suspected you might be in area #5, but hope to find you with fewer armies. The final battle came down to one remaining army on both sides. Will get my turn 2 posted in a couple of days.

[korexus]

The agony of going first on turn one! I had three theories about what you might do, and couldn't pick one, so went with a plan that wasn't too bad against any option, but was of course worse than if I'd known what you'd do... It worked out ok.

There were some tweaks to the game rules a (long now) while back. One of the big ones was a chance for armies to recover if you win a battle. The reasoning behind this was that in a multi-player game, it was a bad idea to be the first attacker, as you'd run out of resources. It probably also shifts the balance of first turn conflict, but as you say, it was very close.

You can check the full rules at https://www.kaomaris.com/manuals/standard/or go to https://www.kaomaris.com/manuals/differences/ for a summary of just the changes from the classic game. Now it looks like I have to go first again, so I should get planning!

[Bjorn]

Neutrals are getting tougher!

[Bjorn]

Yes, the business of wounded armies and their recovery is new to me. It is an important change. I would prefer that wounded armies remain in the province where the battle occurred, but that might be difficult to program. Since there is no 'time frame' for a turn, we can assume these attacks are done over a long period of time, giving the wounded plenty of time to recover.

[korexus]

Interesting idea. - By "remain in the province", I assume you mean for the whole turn? (They do remain in the province in as much as they're there when the fight finishes, but currently they can be used on the next attack too.)

It wouldn't be too hard to have them in limbo until some later phase, but we'd have to think through the implications on things like level mixing if other troops are created, moved through, or trained in the same province. Perhaps recovering at the end of the attacking phase, rather than the turn?

It would still be a bit of a pain for logistics, knowing that you'd have an unknown number of recovered armies along the attack path. On the other hand, players quite often want to scatter an army or two backwards to prevent sniping.

[Bjorn]

Interesting idea. - By "remain in the province", I assume you mean for the whole turn?

Yes, they would not be available for further attacks, but would return to that province at the end of combat. They have the level of the armies that survived the end of combat there. Just a thought.

[Bjorn]

First time I have fought a duel. I need to work out a strategy for this, as it plays much differently than the full game. It also seems I have forgotten a lot of the details of planning a turn!

[korexus]

Technically, this is a skirmish. Duel is a much bigger headache, on a full map but controlling two or three slots each, with engine enforced NAPs, and robot players.

I like the skirmish format, but am not convinced this is the best map for them. Something like Genus 2 might have a bit more tactics on it. It was made for a different game, closer to Advanced WoK, but the terrains don't have to do anything.

[Bjorn]

Some notes from my last turn.
You attack province 11.
This province is a neutral
The enemy has 15 troops at a level of 1.
The defenses of the province are at 1.5.

If each neutral starts with 5 armies and .3 DEF, then I would have expected 15 troops and a DEF of 1.3 at the start of turn 4.

By my calculations, the POP in #11 grew at 20% each turn based on the number I captured.

[korexus]

This was turn 5. That should explain the extra troops, defences, and POP.

Now, if only it was so easy to figure out what to do about you getting the upper hand here...

[Bjorn]

I would complain about my miserable results with my missile attacks, but I have been quite fortunate with most of the battle results.

POP in #10 was correct. +20% on turns 0 and 1, then +15% after that.

[Bjorn]

OH BOY! I get to move first this turn. Let's see if I can mess with you!

[korexus]

One of the things I find most interesting about this game is that, whichever way the OOP falls, I wish it was the other one...

[Bjorn]

Busy weekend, but back in the command center.
Will get my turn 8 posted in a couple of days.
I hope area 16 put up a good fight!

[Bjorn]

No POP!? Looks like you are ready for TOTAL WAR!

[Bjorn]

The end is near. Let's do this!

[Bjorn]

I am away until 17 July, so no rush.