Dealing with Winter

[Dead*Man*Wilson]

Hey all,

Although I like to think that I'm a veteran of DeI and know what I'm doing, how do you guys handle winter?

On 4TPY (which is what I used to generally play every time) this isn't a big deal since it only lasts one turn and is typically little more than an inconvenience. However, on 12TPY, enduring winter conditions can be very rough. Between hits to income, food supply, troop replenishment, movement speed, attrition and random effects---things go can real very quickly.


Winter is coming...how do I brace for it?

[Mastergunner_19k]

I play with 12tpy only, main reason being a long campaign with every year being a full 12 month year, seasons are there in full...good and bad. So how do I deal with that, first it depends on what faction I play. if it is in a northern region or in the more arid areas etc etc. Simply put the seasons force me to think ahead more (as they most likely had to do in ancient times) and plan my warmongering around the seasons. restricted army movement in cold regions during winter, and the same in the dessert during the summer...morale issues, attrition and all else that comes with it is simply a part of the fun for me. But how Do I deal with the seasons?...I usually (if I have the luxury and am not fighting for survival) lay low a month prior to the "bad" season, bad once again depends on the region. I dont spend all of my treasury prior to a season that can possibly cost me income, I try to ensure that I have food surplus...or use said money that I saved to let my politicians supply food to hard hit regions. I keep my armies close to cities or in them to prevent attrition hitting them too hard. And lastly I do only fight in bad seasons on the defensive or if an attack is just simply too good of a opportunity to waste.

[~Seleukos.I.Nikator~]

The necessity to deal with the 3-turn-long winter is what I like best in 12 TPY. What I do is what basically almost every one would do in such circumstances in the antiquity. I end the campaigning season, pull back all my forces into my territory or alternatively the allied territory, I let them replenish and if necessary rerecruit and come the spring I resume the camapigning season till the next winter.

[geala]

Now that you opened the thread (and partly my eyes), do the effects of the seasons, bad and good, also affect the AI? I don't overly like player-only effects although in some areas they are necessary of course. If seasons influence both player and AI, I will switch to 12 tpy in my next campaign, only used 4 tpy till now.

Even in 4 tpy where winter is a mere annoyance I usually stay at home and garrison my troops, as I don't like casualties.

[Jake Armitage]

yeah, seasons should affect AI too