How do you play TLR?

[Ivniciix]

For my part, I play on H/H usually but may switch to VH/VH when 1.9 comes out. I've been playing as some Italian faction recently...most recently, the Sicilians. I have a couple house rules: 1) No adoptions, 2) Never attack another Christian faction unless attacked first or they are excommunicated and 3) No Very High taxes unless I am seriously attacked in my "home" provinces. I am, of course, building my economy first as well although I never build the farming improvements- they make you grow too fast.

I've been finding that the best way to grow is not conquest per se but raiding. I try to conquer a core set of adjacent provinces( as Sicily, that means the 3 provinces at the "heel & toe" of Italy along with two you start with) but then take advantage of excommunication opportunities, crusades and non-adjacent rebel provinces to raise money and then gift the province either to an ally, in order to keep my standing up, or to the Pope - whom I won't ally with as he gets to bossy!

Gifting provinces can also be useful in other ways - such as getting a current ally - who I know will be a future enemy - into war with some third party thus weakening them...perhaps both of them! I've even found that it's often more beneficial to gift a province that's in your goals list early in the game as an opportunity to take it again will almost certainly occur. I've taken both Bologna from HRE and Venice from the Venetians early but gifted them to allies or the Pope. Not being the target of the previous owners desire to retake the province can result in a healthy profit and keep you out of a costly and extended war.

Crusades also offer an excellent opportunity to get your large army "off the books" for a few turns which can help you get some buildings up. I rarely go on a crusade I didn't call and I don't call them unless I'm likely to take the objective. Not to mention that the AI selects some very stupid crusade objectives.

While I start each campaign with a general idea of my goals and the order I will attempt to achieve them, I find that the game offers more than enough opportunities to advance those goals without me having to rush or force them to occur. More often, I have to restrain myself form opportunites that present themselves "too early". I try to use my economy as a yard stick and refrain from keeping "remote" provinces until I have a port and market in every "core/adjacent" town that can build them. That's also my general trigger for building some military buildings.

I will likely try playing HRE once 1.9 comes out and this will make my general strategy a bit harder unless I can take a Baltic or North Sea port (and hold onto it!) as well as hang onto Bologna. Raiding is much easier from the sea as the AI is much less tolerant than I am about having other factions armies tramping across their turf.

I'd be interested to hear how others of you play TLR.

[Phil Stanbridge]

Interesting post thanks for sharing! I only tend to play M/M I'm just wondering what differences there are between the two difficuly levels? I always thought the AI was awarded bonus cash under VH every turn.

My playing style tends to favour growth primarily rather than war - although I also like to wait until a faction is ex-communicated before I launch my attack I nearly always play with a catholic faction as I like to keep in favour with the pope. It makes for an interesting game this way.

Obviously the biggest problem is raising enough cash - I think there's a fine line between expanding too fast and sitting idle for too long and I may just have it right with my current 1.9 beta campaign.

[Xraider]

Well i have a few steps beforce Loading my campaign :

Step 1 :
Open preferences.txt and add hotseat=playable
Step 2 : Open The Long Road.bat
step 3
Load the game

. I play on M/m , sometimes on h/m.When Playing Hotseat a build 2 massive empires , then play as a strong nation and force a weak to vassalage . Then Play as the weak and go for World Domination This times it was like this :

my house rules were : No Adoptions unless that guy is a Genius . Keep The Generation living as long as posible . Try to cheat less

Well i made a strong empire whit HRE , made England take the isles . Then whit the turks or namely Tutush Ad-Dawlah go to Jihad for Constantinople . Then i took it , rename it to Istanbul and played as Alexios Kommenus , 2 years beforce Alexios I Death . Well , Andronicus came to the throne and conquered greece , but alas he died by 2 janissary heavy inf in Constantinople . Isaac took Nicaea , Abydus and smyrna . Slavos took Attalia . And now a 20 year old kid who has max command , chivalry , loyalty , pious gonna take the throne its fun making a faction weak and then put to world domination