http://i1031.photobucket.com/albums/...ps89cbaeed.jpg
Here is the dedicated thread where people can post screenshots of their epic battles or their empire's map.
I look forward to see your pics!!!
Printable View
http://i1031.photobucket.com/albums/...ps89cbaeed.jpg
Here is the dedicated thread where people can post screenshots of their epic battles or their empire's map.
I look forward to see your pics!!!
I'll begin with a nice little pic from my ERE campaign:
1164 AD, (futile) Norman counter-attack against recently captured Bari. The Normans bravely (or should I say foolishly) charged the main gate, only to find a little surprise waiting for them:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Il wait for new version to create some empires :P
Thanks for sharing, Lifthrasir! I am glad to see a thread like this. :)
I'm at work right now so can't share any screenies until I get home, but I did post some SSHIP screens in the Stainless Steel thread, so I hope you won't mind me re-posting it here to get things rolling.
Just a question: what have you decided about the fate of the inhabitants? Occupy? Sack? Or exterminate?
Well this question really has two answers. My preferred choice would be "occupy" the city, because the army is fighting for a chivalrous and honourable cause. However, unfortunately in the current version of SSHIP it's impossible to occupy cities because the public order penalties are so bad. The only viable option is to click "exterminate". This is one of the areas of the game I would like to see changed in the next version. :thumbsup2
MWY has adjusted it in the next version. It should be a bit easier.
That would be great!
There is also a related issue, that the human player always has "Despicable" reputation. I read online that there is a bug in medieval 2 total war (vanilla) that makes your reputation worse if you occupy cities. It is caused by a mistake in the code that CA used, they added the wrong value -1 instead of +1 (or something like that). Possibly worth getting MWY to have a look at that, too. :)
I think I already fixed that.^^
World's most dangerous bridge
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
A quick screenie from me in my Moors campaign on very hard/very hard - note the turn number on the lower right side! :tongue:
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...19325030_o.jpg
That's the bridge one square north of Heskif. I have to admit that I started the war by besieging the castle. It is in a such great position, it's usually one of my key bulwarks against the Mongols and I try to capture it as early as I can so I have enough time to upgrade it's defences and infrastructure. I was besieging the castle and then 2 large armies attacked, one of them led by the Emir himself. You can see the result in the third picture. Defending river crossings is so easy, that's where artillery really shines as do archers and javelins.
Here is a pic of my Emperor, Manouēl I Komnēnos the Great. Conqueror of Anatolia, Kurdistan, Upper Mesopotamia and Greater Syria. If only he was half as competent in real-life :laughter:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I've pretty much restored the Empire of Basil II, apart fromAntioch, Napoli (which I'm besieging) and western Balkans. Antioch will be my next target.
Holy mackerel! You have so much money. And your emperor is perfect in every way! How did you get that? Nice empire. :) I see you've modded the portrait picture to an actual historical image of Manuel - that's great! I see have renamed some of the settlements - did you do that in game or by modding? Also, quick question - do basic roads do anything in SSHIP? I see they cost 3000 florins which is a lot of money, and I'm not convinced they offer any economic benefit (just trying to figure out if it's worth me building them or not...).
Yes, Antioch was a priority of the Komnenian emperors. If they'd spent half the time and effort on central Anatolia as they did on Antioch, their empire might've looked like yours :laughter:
Well I rarely have monetary problems as ERE. The only time I'm struggling is when I'm at war with many factions. I'm also careful not to train to much units when I don't urgently need them. When that picture was taken my only enemies were Sicily and Zengids. Georgia and Rus are my allies so my northern flank is secured and HRE aswell.
It's not that hard to get a perfect emperor. Mine led just about every expedition in the east, his command and also authority rose after winning battles. But you need to get lucky with some of the traits, alcoholic or deranged are probably the worst and they're quite common. Also I released every prisoner, occupied every settlement and when he was governing a city I set taxes to low and voilŕ - max chivalry. It took a lot of time though. Piety was the easiest, just train priests or build churches in the settlement he is governing. And spending some time in the capital gives you visited Hagia Sofia trait which gives +2 piety.
As you noticed I did some modifications to my game. Manuel's portrait is from Bellum Crucis. Settlement names I changed manually. Roads are definitely worth it, the next level (paved roads) gives a noticeable trade boost, sometimes as high as 50%. Basic roads also increase movement range which is always a plus.
I made some progress since the last post. Here is a picture of another crushing victory, outside Aleppo.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I just love the ERE roster, their units are so powerful especially their infantry is so much better than anything their neighbours can muster (apart from CS). And so another unfortunate Zengid Emir kicked the bucket, I believe that was my third. in the meantime Napoli and Palermo were taken and Ancona is under siege. Zengids died when they still held 2 regions. I guess their family tree died out, which isn't surprising because I must have killed about 15 of their family members.
Then I captured the now rebel held Damascus and in response to the Crusader attack on Cyprus (which actually happened about 45 years ago :laughter:) I besieged Antioch and Tripoli. Better late then never as they say. But then in 1180 Manuel died, an interesting coincidence actually, and unrest sky-rocketed in some of the captured regions (a very nice and realistic script, well done MWY). I managed to stabilise Ikonion and Palermo by sending in some of my better governors and reinforcing the garrisons but I couldn't hold Ras so the Serbs reappeared and immediately captured the poorly protected Naissus. My current Emperor Leon Komnenos never fought a battle in his life so he has low authority. I've only been using him as a governor because he gives a 5.5% growth bonus and I've been sending him from region to region, until it reached the next upgrade threshold.
I've hastily assembled an army to counter the Serbs, but since all my professional armies are in the east or tied up garrisoning troublesome cities, it's mostly made of militia and mercenaries. I also mustn't forget about the Bulgarian uprising in 1185. Interesting times lie ahead...
Cool! That sounds like a great campaign. I’d love to see a few more screens showing the campaign map and the Italian provinces.
In my Moors campaign, I have had some spectacular success using assassins, merchants, spies and imams. I decided early on to make a strong focus on agents. It started when I realised that merchants would be key to my economy, but I could NOT allow enemy merchants to move in and steal my trade. Therefore I hired assassins and started killing enemy merchants ruthlessly.
From there it progressed to enemy agents and ultimately generals. I have assassinated every single merchant, priest, assassin and spy that has dared to enter my territory – and many more who were in neighbouring lands. My lands are completely clear of enemy priests and merchants. This has enabled me to maximise my income from merchant trade, as well as increase public order across my cities by ensuring that high percentages follow Islam.
The pinnacle of this drive of assassination was when I managed to assassinate several family members of the Kingdom of Leon, leading to an extremely skilled assassin called Mustafa the Killer. I successfully assassinated the heir to the kingdom of Aragon! I also fatally weakened several enemy armies by assassinating the commanding general. Eventually, even the Kingdom of Leon was forced to surrender, and they begged for peace in exchange for being allowed to keep their capital city Leon and the small town of Santiago (their only remaining 2 provinces).
After smashing the Aragonese in three consecutive battles of Valencia one after the other, I was able to conquer Zaragoza and Barcelona. Pamplona is now the last enemy settlement in the whole of Spain and Portugal (the town is held by Aragon). I decided to offer Aragon peace as I noticed the French are now close to my lands and I would rather border a weak enemy with one settlement than a strong one. However, they refused my offer. It seems they are determined to fight on, even though they are utterly beaten. Therefore I will have no choice but to exterminate their last settlement and extinguish them for good. Then perhaps I will turn on Leon and finish them off, before turning east and advancing into France. Septimania (south France coast) was a Muslim province in about 730AD; it shall be so again!
Oh no he doesn't :D
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
My treasury is boosted by the fact I've just recaptured and exterminated Cairo after a usurper rebellion, but I'm still bringing in around 80-100,000 per turn despite supporting plenty of full stacks. The Byzantines are really boosted by the Hetairoi posts - Alamanoi are the ideal garrison troops for rebellious cities thanks to their great stats and low cost. Most of the huge cities I hold are full of them, but still making profits due to the income.
Roads are definitely worth building imo - standard roads don't give that big a boost, but once you get paved roads the income really shoots up, both for the settlement itself and surrounding settlements and that is the key to a good economy.
Unfortunately my game has been hit by the usurper bug with only six more regions needed for victory. It's so bad my faction heir can't move at all for some reason - that's him in the second screenie. I can't decide whether to push on to 80 before finishing, or to start again with the next update when it's out. Just need to take Mecca, Rome, Palermo, Vienna, Genoa and one more. Probably Regensburg just to get the whole of the Danube in my greedy, purple clutches :)
Well if you want to have a perfect leader with max chivalry, using assassins isn't the way to do it :laughter:. Personally I don't use them or spies to open gates, it's part of my house rules. Oh and be sure to send one of your merchants to Tunis and "appropriate" the gold there.
Here's the pic you asked:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Fatimids just captured Rome! I guess the Pope isn't all too pleased about that. And the poor little English couldn't hold the mighty juggernaut that is Scotland at bay :laughter:
And this is my English empire - after securing France from the Pyrenees to the Rhine I joined the crusade. CS conquered the target before I arrived, so I sacked the three Egyptian delta cities then proceeded to capture Ascalon and have been growing ever since.
Unfortunately I'm about to lose Jerusalem due to unrest after my king died, but I will take it back and am also en route to capture Taym and then on to Makkah. Also the Aragonese have just DWed on me, so I think my lords will soon be vacationing on the Costa Brava.
The only negative aspect was that, after holding an alliance with the HRE for pretty much the entire game, the Pope gave me a mission to break it after they got excommed. So now they are extremely unhappy with me and it's probably only a matter of time before the two superpowers collide. Which is a shame, as I was hoping I could go through the entire game without any conflict on that border, just taking Spain and the Holy Lands.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
That is one mightily impressive empire, well done! Actually I should have a lot more money but I always gift tens of thousands almost every turn to my allies so I don't have above 50.000. I read somewhere that in that case your governors start getting bad traits, but that was for RTW, not sure if it still applies.
WTF?! Was it a jihad, or did the AI actually launch a proper naval invasion across the Tyrrhenian?
Also how are you managing to keep Palermo so happy? I had a 10 dread general in there with a full stack of Alamanoi and Scoutatoi and it still rebelled! Damn Mafia :(
I think it does, but I keep it down by building up the queues and recruiting like mad for garrisons. I can usually spend everything I earn every turn, even after a big gain like that.
Particularly now, with PO so low in so many cities I am recruiting just about everything I can in just about every settlement I can to stave off the rebellions whilst my usurper finds a convenient rebel stack to die against!
Yeah, in retrospect I probably should have done. But at the time I was trying to build up papal favour to get a crusade in the Levant and thus ship some more troops out there and take some settlements without too much cost. Running a crusade when there's no actual crusade called is damn expensive - I'm beginning to see why the RL crusaders couldn't hold on to what they captured!
Hehe. They actually sent a full stack by ship and it must have been a powerful army, the Pope had an almost full stack of Swiss guard and lost.
Palermo first had a plague and then I exterminated the population upon capture so currently it's stable. But I guess that'll change in the near future. Oh I also tinkered around the unrest levels, I lowered the distance to capital penalty in cities by 50%. To me it was much too punishing, even in Thesallonica which is very close to the capital I had I think a 15% penalty. In distant cities the distance penalty, combined with high unrest was just overkill.
Ah, that explains it - I think Palermo has the max 125% distance to capital penalty for the ERE, and as a huge city it gets so big that the garrison bonuses are very small when it reaches its full size, even for a full stack.
I could probably have controlled it over time, by continually recapturing it after rebellions and exterminating it to give me time to build up the library and barracks. But when it rebelled it caused a Sicilian respawn with three full stacks, so I figured it wasn't worth the hassle and just blockaded the port so they couldn't go anywhere. Once everything else is dealt with I'll be back with some uber stacks to wipe them all out for the win ;)
I tried doing that once in my Fatimid campaign with a usurper king. Ironically though, despite deliberately sending him into battle after battle against rebel stacks across the empire, he kept surviving the battles! He kept winning, despite being just a bodyguard alone against a whole army. And any time he lost, he always managed to get away by routing. Thus my repeated attempts to kill him failed. But ironically, all those battles had started to markedly increase his positive traits, including authority and command. I could see my generals were starting to gain loyalty as well. Eventually, I decided to put him at the head of a real army and send him on a rampage across the Mediterranean, commanding the army in person. With each battle, his authority and command points increased, until within a few turns he had blossomed into a great ruler, and he actually lost the usurper trait. By the later years of his life, he had become a genuinely respected ruler with fully stacked authority!
Ah yes, I used a little bit of 'light' cheating to solve this problem. If you type in process_cq Palermo, it instantly builds whatever building was under construction. In some cities, you may find that the public order buildings are not well developed, and it would take many tens of turns to build everything you need (which is impossible if the city is about to rebel the next turn). So I just upgrade the buildings instantly using that command. By doing that, I've upgraded from say a tier one barracks to a tier 7 barracks. And the same with town halls. Upgrading from the basic building, all the way up to like a level 5 or 6 structure in a single turn. I think, as long as you've got the money, why not? You're the Emperor, after all. If you command something to be built urgently, why should it take 40 years to go through all the levels?
Yeah, I would try the same with my emperor, except he's current in Hadrianopolis which is miles away from any enemies! Current plan is to drop him off on Sicily, move the fleet away, and see how he holds up against three Sicilian full stacks. Only problem with that is it then leaves my heir next to Damascus, and also miles away from any enemies! And with even worse movement :thumbsdow
Yeah, don't really like cheating tbh. If there was a gameplay option to rush the construction for a higher cost then I'd go for that, but changing values and using cheat codes just undermines the value of the game for me. Also massively reduces the challenge of holding a huge city like Palermo. As I said in my post I know I can control the city with enough strategy, time, effort and resources, so there's no real need to cheat.
Battle of Antioch, 1182 AD
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
My army composition was:
1x Bodyguard
1x Armenian Nakharar Cavalry
1x Archontopoulai
1x Mounted Akritai
2x Cavalarii
4x Skoutatoi
2x Akritai
2x Saxon Huskarls
6x Mourtatoi
Their cavalry outnumbered mine by 3:1, but I placed stakes on my flanks which prevented them to outflank my position. And they just stood in front of my stakes for a while while being shot by my archers continuously. Then some of them decided to chase my horse archers while the rest charged my centre but I placed my Skoutatoi there in deep formation and were repulsed. After their cavalry was sufficiently weakened I charged them with my own cavalry. And after I achieved supremacy I charged their infantry attacking my centre with Armenians and sent the rest against their crossbowmen and mangonels. Mangonels were responsible for about a third of my casualties. It took a long time before I destroyed their cavalry and the key to victory were my Skoutatoi who managed to hold the line long enough while being massively outnumbered. I'm so proud of them :tongue:, I think they are the best line infantry in early era.
Quick update - I don't have any screens as I'm in the office but I just wanted to share what happened. I assassinated the King of Leon! In fact, I assassinated so many generals that Leon was down to just the king, and the faction heir. When I assassinated the king, their last remaining general became king. I realised that if I could kill him in battle, the kingdom of Leon would be destroyed and their forces degenerate into rebels. So I hastily gathered my field army and attacked theirs in battle (the same turn). Their king died in battle, hit by arrows as he attempted to chase down my archers.
On exiting the battle, I got the "faction destroyed" message. At this point, Leon and Santiago de Compostela are the only two provinces in the whole of the Iberian peninsula outside my control, and they both became rebel. It was then an easy matter to lay siege, exterminating Leon the next turn and gaining 26,000 florins of loot. A couple of turns later, Santiago fell as well. By this point, Portugal, Aragon and Leon had all been wiped out and I was at peace. But then a crusade was called against Marrakesh, and the whole of Europe declared war against me.
I was just thinking about this last night, when I realised that there is no land bridge in SSHIP... meaning it will be impossible for the crusade armies to walk through Spain to get to Marrakesh. I am now wondering how the Crusade armies will get to Marrakesh. Some factions might be able to send boats, but I don't know if the AI is competent enough to arrange that. And what about some factions that don't border any coastal settlement! Then I realised that if they want to walk all the way to Marrakesh, they will have to go east, walk over the north part of the Black Sea, down through Georgia and Armenia, past Turkey and down into Syria, then down past Jerusalem and into Egypt, then west across the desert into Libya, then across Tunisia and Algeria, and approach Morocco from the east side!
But by the time they have done all that, I think the Crusade may fail. So I am genuinely curious to see what happens next...
They don't need coastal settlements, they can hire mercenary ships. Be alert for a ship with a crusade banner. But that is a rare sight, most armies will use the land route through Dardaneles. An army from KoJ will arrive very soon, be prepared.
That's the main problem in that game.
Originally, the land bridge of Gibraltar was removed because it gave too much bonus to the Almoravids. They could train and send stacks after stacks and in all games, Spain, Aragon and Portugal didn't survive for long. By removing that land bridge, it balances the game for that area.
Regarding Crusades and Jihad, most of the time, these armies travel by land. I don't know if it's possible to balance that in a certain manner like for example 1/3 of the armies travelling by sea and 2/3 travelling by land (or completely randomly) when these armies are controlled by the AI.
Well it's a good thing they are coming to Africa, because I don't have much there anyway. I never even tried to capture the rebel cities in North Africa. So the Crusader armies won't cause much damage. Most of my economy is safely tucked away to the north of the straits (i.e. in Spain/Portugal).
On the other hand, Marrakesh is bringing in about 9,000 florins a turn, so I wouldn't want to lose it. It'll be interesting to see how many crusaders actually make it that far across the map. It can be interesting watching holy soldiers attack unusual targets. For example I have called Jihads on Rome and Palermo before (although not in this campaign).
As promised, now I'm home I can finally share some more screenies! This one holds particular interest for me, as I changed the picture for the 'farming' upgrade building - what do you think? ! :)
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...00835614_o.jpg
It also shows my forces laying siege to Toledo on turn 5. My strategy in this campaign was to restore to frontier of the old Caliphate of Cordoba. I am reading a book called "Moorish Spain" by Richard Fletcher, and he explained the river Dauro, which is basically the northernmost river running horizontally towards the west coast at the very top of portugal, although it extends deep into Spain. You can just about see the river in this screenie - it's to the north of Toledo, on the other side of the mountains. So I first conquered Portugal, then moved southeast to secure Toledo, which was essential to remove the Leonese threat to my lands. I then returned to the River Dauro, continuing eastwards by taking Salamanca, which is on the northern bank. Next I took Burgos. Then I made peace and turned against Aragon, liberating Zaragoza, Barcelona and Pamplona.
Here are two screens of my initial battle against Portugal, in which my army took their capital and destroyed their faction on turn 2:
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...75505884_o.jpg
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...04438672_o.jpg
hAHAHAHA bigdaddy,is possible that the image of land clearance woulb be a screenshot of windows???hehehe i will do a campaign against the moors and all islams factions :towar::muslim::muslim::ninjagun: come on crusaders!!!!!!!!!!!
One new screenshot from my Norman England campaign. I stayed neutral with the French, and made an early alliance with Scotland. This allowed me to mop up several rebel settlements in France. I was particularly keen to race down south to capture Bordeux. After that I moved north and captured Kaerenarvon in Wales. I then noticed the Scots had a large army standing outside York, and they were sending more and more men there. They refused to go away. This annoyed me, so I cancelled my alliance with them. I moved up my field army, and declared war. I then utterly destroyed the entire Scottish army in two field battles. I advanced on Edinburgh, and took the castle by force, exterminating the inhabitants. The Scots then begged for peace, but I refused. I marched north and was about to take their last castle, when the Pope intervened and threatened to excommunicate me. So I demanded the Scots "become vassal" and they accepted. I then moved my army south, crossed into Ireland and destroyed a large rebel army, before occupying Dublin peacefully (there was no enemy unit left to defend it). I am now at about 50 turns in, I have plenty of money and I am not at war with anyone. The Scots are my vassal, the Germans and the Pope and the Aragonese and Leonese are my allies, and the French are neutral. I consider it mission accomplished!
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...94401876_o.jpg
Perhaps his crusades wandered off into the desert.
hehehe i would like start a new campaign when sship release the new version...for now my campaigns are stop:( i watch videos in youtube about medieval total war campaigns and play age of empires 2:the africans kingdoms hehehe, i promise that when the new version will be released i will show my several empires!!!!:thumbsup2
Hooray!!! It's working! MWY has fixed it. :)
Here are some screenies to celebrate:
1). My Zengid army races down to lay siege to Baghdad at the start of the campaign. In a twist of Machiavellian politics, I ally myself with the Seljuks, who I know will be at war with the Abbasids, and also ally with the Crusaders, thus keeping my rear protected so that I can snap up Baghdad and the other Abbasid provinces as quickly as possible. The plan works perfectly; Baghdad is practically undefended as my army arrives in central Iraq, most likely due to the army being away fighting the Seljuks. I lay siege and prepare to take the city.
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...53209673_o.jpg
2). My troops assault the walls. Although my siege tower is destroyed by archers on the walls and I lose 300 men trying to force my way through the gate, eventually my forces are victorious and the city is taken by my army.
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...62361736_o.jpg
3). After the capture of Baghdad, my army advances rapidly to the southeast, eager to take more territory from the Abbasids as quickly as possible. My army rests briefly at a crossing over the river Tigris, before preparing to strike the Abbasids next turn.
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...77050197_o.jpg
not my empire though, but The Mongols did their job
Attachment 334031
Wow :fear:
Impressive!!!
Some shameless self advertising :laughter:
I made new textures for Byzantine watchtower, settlements and ports.
Attachment 334053 Attachment 334054 Attachment 334055
Here is the link if anyone is interested.
hehehe woow awesome texturess, i want it!!! are there any problem in sship to copy these?
ok for now any problem, this models are for bizantines and also for georgians(kutaisi and tiblisi)
Settlement models are culture not faction specific, Georgia also has Greek culture so they share the same models.
I reworked the watchtowers a bit, I like these better.
Attachment 334056
How do you make it so that the pictures are small and zoomable like jurcek's pics?
Here is a picture of my submod that changes faction and character titles.
my serbian general just turn backwards an cuts the head of a greek rebel.
thanx again mates for this awesome submod
Use imgur for posting images people, so non-forum member visitors can also see the screens properly.
Alternative sites for pics storage:
- photobucket
- flirck
A little test screenshot with my emperor! :tongue:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Photobucket is great, I've uploaded a photo 7 years ago and it's still there.
That's a regular family member, emperor has a purple cloak a sword and no shield. I've played enough battles with the Romans to know the difference :tongue:
Anyways, here's a nice little something from my Aragon campaign. Reconquista in full swing, battle of Granada, 1158 AD.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The Moorish counter-attack was completely annihilated.
Attachment 334274 Attachment 334275
I've been enjoying the new map tremendously. Taking the Zengids as my favourite faction, I have taught the Abbasids and the Seljuks to fear my mighty empire!
https://scontent-cdg2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...41439925_o.jpg
At first, I wanted to simply secure control over Iraq. Then, once that had been achieved, I felt that the Iraqi provinces were vulnerable to what lies beyond the Zagros mountains. I wanted to secure the area completely, and the best way to do that was to advance across the mountains and take the cities on the other side. So I conquered Iran too. Meanwhile to the north, the Georgians attempted to attack one of my castles. So I marched north and destroyed them utterly, adding their lands to my empire. Likewise in the west, the Crusaders betrayed me and attempted to siege Aleppo. So I turned west and completely destroyed them too. Now I am at war with the Byzantines and the Cumans, while the Egyptians are neutral. I used to be allied to Egypt, but one of my assassins died while trying to kill an Egyptian merchant that had just killed one of my own merchants. This ended the alliance. I will conquer them too, when the time comes!
Soo I started playing a HRE campaign, mostly because I wanted to test and find out if it's really that easy. I started off taking Verona, Utrecht and Loven pretty quickly. I also allied with venice to have support in italy. Since the heir is an usurper in the HRE campaign, I decided to kill him off and a non-usurping Regent followed. Then I invaded genoa, since milan had a full rebel stack with leaders supporting it and I couldn't lure them away from the city. I fought several smaller wars with the french, the danes and the italian factions. Venice backstabbed me and I was unable to hold both Verona and Genoa at some point, so Verona fell to the venetian traitors. Loven switched sides several times between me and the french aswell.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Meanwhile in germany, my regent had some pretty bad traits and decided to get ambitious, trying to start a new dynasty instead of staying a regent. Civil war followed, I lost three settlements. I quickly tried to retake them, but the general who was besieging Regensburg decided to join the rebels instead, giving them a fullstack of my own troops. In civil war you can't trust any general. So I was kinda trapped because I didn't want to lose more nobles and generals in the field, and my empire was divived into two parts. I tried to make peace with the other factions to prevent losing more ground, and it worked mostly. The inner war lasted a long time, basically preventing any ambition of retaking lost settlements or fighting back. When the first usurper died, even another one followed..
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Finally, after around 10 years, the fight for the throne was won by the new Kaiser Heinrich, the resistance faded and a new dynasty was founded. Soon Regensburg was recaptured, the traitors executed, and invasions followed into bohemia (capturing prague) and scandinavia, taking ribe from the all-time agressive danes. France is currently busy with england and im allied to hungary. So I'm finally, after 15 years able to get my revenge on the venetians for taking Verona, hopefully vasalling them soon. It looks like the french will win the war for france, so they will become a pretty big problem soon aswell. I really don't think it's an easy campaign so far.. And I'm pretty happy with it. :)
http://i.imgur.com/5bmQfAB.jpg
Nice campaign, thanks for sharing. Sounds like an epic struggle! M2TW at its best.
What the heck are the Byzantines doing in Libya? :surprise:
Attachment 334501
This is normal???jihad and crusaderss all for take tunis but anyone faces or take the city...hahaha the medieval world is crazyyy :tongue:
@J.a.luna
Whoa some party we have here. :laughter:
That's just bonkers.
I'm playing as Venice right now, and I have most of Northern Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Ancona, and Greece under my control.
Im playing mongols, i couqured all rus terriotiers, came to baltic, hungary, and at south to egypt, and constantinople...horsmen of apocalypse.. But for soem reason cant make Screenshoot, it is black all time..
My legendary emperor at the head of his impressive army about to embark on an expedition to Sicily.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Heh, that's probably too ambitious, I'd get bored long before achieving that :tongue:. I think I'd settle for the empire of Heraclius (my favourite ERE emperor).
You can recruit Varangian Guard after the heavy mail event (ca. 1200) and Spartharii tou Vassileus after the 4th Lateran council (1215).
Behold! Papa Callistus XIII, the first in the great line of warrior-popes. Not simply content with wielding unprecedented spiritual and political powers or making life miserable for every Catholic ruler in the world, this one has decided to personally lead an army against the infidel Orthodox Christians.
Here he is, about to attack a heavily defended castle at the tender age of 82, wearing nothing more than his overpriced vestments.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
What could possibly go wrong here?
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Ooh.
You have to admire his manhood though.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Triumph with no peril, brings no glory :laughter:
:towar: :grandpa::gramps::gramps::gramps:
Tsss,tsss, beating a 82 years old guy :thumbsdow
Meh, I don't think anyone will miss the old fart. And I hear the kings of Sicily and HRE are throwing a party.
Yes I made new cards for a few units. For Acritae and Mourtatoi, because they were outdated and for Scoutatoi, because I didn't like the old ones. Tbh I'm not too keen on mine either but it was my first ever unit card so I think I get a pass. I really like the other two though.
I did change a few models too, I took them from Broken Crescent because you can't improve on perfection. They have the most accurate and the best looking ERE roster ever. Claudillo's models look cool aswell, but some of them are "too cool". They have way too much armour for their unit type. Acritae and Mourtatoi, which are regular units, have face armour which was reserved only for the richest nobles and cataphracts. Ironically Athanatoi, a unit which definitely should have it, do not. And I don't like the cataphracts, they look more like parade than combat troops.
The problem is there are no armour upgrades in BC, so I only took their elites otherwise I would have imported the likes of Scoutatoi aswell.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Also I made Scoutatoi pikemen (hoplitai). They're regular Scoutatoi models with a 4.5 meter kontarion makron pike.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
ooooh my god!!!!!!! i want this units!!! are fu....awesomeeee!!!:goodpost::jawdrop: sship team add this faboulous units!!!and as jurcek says this units are more realistic and historical that current...look at this katapractorai and varangian guard!!!
http://static.tumblr.com/wuqcpps/QCD...l-dedo-fap.gif
http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view1/214...h-my-god-o.gif
As suspect as that first gif is, j.a.luna is absolutely right; those units are incredible. So how about it? If they're accurate, they have a place in SSHIP, surely?
dont understand this, you cant import them or you dont want because there are no other versions ? (like 3 diferent versions of scoutatoi)
i agree there's kinda too much armor around but honestly i still prefer most of Claudillo's stuff, also some units are also less shiny in this new version, like spathari's shield is much darker now, the armors in general are actually a bit darker i think, i still use the 6.4's cataphracts tho
Playing as Regnum Hungariae, early era. Roleplaying as much as is possible without the aid of Forced Diplomacy and the Next Heir submod. I make it my aim in campaigns now to try to keep my starting dynasty's House in power for as long as possible. This makes suitable marriages and the propagation of sons a serious priority, much as it was during the time these people lived. Naturally the passing on of both name and bloodline is the ideal, but if the line can only be passed on through a daughter then so be it; the blood will still run true. Any relation, so long as they're of the true dynasty, is acceptable. Naturally if no heirs can be produced at all and the only solution is for the crown to pass to a ruling noble then that's what has to happen. Sometimes it's unavoidable. But every measure must be taken to avoid this.
Which is what makes situations like this all the more galling.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Hungary has had a shaky twelfth century so far. In the scramble for expansion, they have fought hard but won little. Their main achievement was the successful crusade to Damascus, though this was led by the treacherous cousin of the king, who plots even now from his little eastern fiefdom to usurp the entire kingdom upon the death of the incumbent monarch. To combat this threat the king will need heirs; two sons he had, but his eldest has fallen. The fledgling Principality of the Serbs, ill-content with its lot, squashed as it is between the unparalleled might of Constantinople, the vast, fertile lands of the Magyars and the treacherous Adriatic sea, seeks to spread its eagle wings; and it is over Hungary that the shadow falls.
Their hosts pour across the plains where once the Avars roamed, pillaging and foraging to sustain their horde. But it was in the quiet, coastal town of Zara that their advance was first checked, and it was in this action that our tragedy unfolded. Unknown to the Serbians (or they surely would not have come there) the king, there to oversee the construction of a port outside the town, lay in their path. A strictly devout man, he was at prayer when the alarm sounded; the Serb approaches. Bereft of his army, he rallied what soldiery he could, militiaman and mercenary, and rode out with his entourage to meet them in arms. His eldest son, Geza, rode with him. He was fourteen. The king and his men carried the day; but victory came at a cost.
They buried Geza the next morning. There was little that could have be done; there in sight of the sea, the quick cavalry of the enemy overwhelmed him. They struck before the lines could be reformed after the first clashes. His sword and lance, bloodied and broken from his route of the enemy's axemen, were buried with him. None among his retinue saw the dawn; they fell beside their lord to a man, loyal to their prince and mindful of their duty. No thane should outlive his lord. But little of that is salve to the aching heart of a bereaved father.
Now the king makes ready to ride. There will be no peace for the Serbians. No salvation, no forgiveness. They came because they smelled Hungary's weakness. But they had not counted on Hungary's wealth, nor His wrath when roused.
The mines and workshops of Carpathia thrum with the hammers and picks of the craftsmen. The horsemen of the great plains saddle their mounts and string their bows. The people of Zara, delivered from the power of the Serb by a valiant and wrathful king, drill tirelessly with spear and shield. In Szekesfehervar the nobles gather at the call to arms and the rumour of reward; the treasure horde is thrown open, and the king has much to bestow upon those horsemen who would find glory in war.
Either the ruler of Serbia and his sons will die, or the king of Hungary will perish with his hands on their throats. Such is the fury of a father.
These days before 758 years Mongols burnt Baghdad to ground and killed about one million muslims ending Al-Khilafah Al-Abasiya.
this is very sad and depressing :no:
The screenshot is from my zengid campaign (H/H)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Will evil Mongol Buu capture Baghdad or will he be defeated? Next time on Dragonball Zengid!
The English were frightened at the skill of the French! :laughter:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I'll also be posting my Georgia campaign soon, though so far it hasn't been going to well for me. :whistling:tongue:
Lol! New French crack ninja squadron in action. I think I'd run from that, too.
My Hungary campaign utterly fell to pieces. I feel your pain.
Here's my game as France, looking to be pretty fun. At game start, France was in shambles - an extremely incompetent king, with barely any control of France proper, and a traitor vassal in one of the cities who was only barely kept in line. The king struggled to assert his authority on the upstart independent cities, but his lack of trust in his other vassals, militia, and all his other vassals has resulted in England and HRE partitioning the rest of France faster than he could, leaving only Flanders to France.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
In order to get time to secure it's borders, France has signed an alliance pact with the HRE, who only utilized it with impunity to expand into rightful French lands. As a result, the pact ended up being shaky, with both sides eyeing each other's territory jealousy, waiting for a moment to strike. Such a moment was provided to the HRE when the English, having secured their nortern border from the Scottish by signing an alliance, have officially attacked France, intented on bringing France into submission. However, the HRE failed to utilize that moment, and the English efforts were foiled when the bulk of their forces was defeated by the French at Rouen, liberating a part of Normandy, and the English asked for peace, which was reluctantly accepted due to the fear of the Pope intervening.
That fear was not unfounded, as the English have achieved an all but total dominance of the Curia, which would have made it much more difficult to oppose them. The French desperately started looking for other measures to strengthen the realm against foreign threats, as the English-controlled Pope called a Crusade - one on which the English didn't officially embark themselves.
However, beset on all sides by powerful enemies as it was, France has found an uncanny ally for itself. As the Pope directed his efforts to the Holy Land, he had ignored the fact, that in a short amount of time, the Moors have, for most part brought the Iberian Penisula into submission, subjugating the kingdom of Castille, which had the kingdom of Portugal as it's vassal, therefore making Aragon the last standing bulwark of Christianity. But instead of putting Aragon under their foot, the Moors have launched a daring raid right past their land - which was aimed at the English-held part of France.
Under ordinary circumstances, there would be no reasoning with infidels who dared to invade the French rightful lands. But as things were, the French king saw an unique opportunity to weaken the alliance of England and Aragon, which would probably oppose him again once they had dealt with the Moors. Although an outright alliance was likely out of the question, the French have discreetly started to send monetary aid to the Moors, which was more than welcome.
Now the big dilemma is what path France should take to restore it's power and glory. Should it join the Moors in a campaign to cripple the England's influence? Or maybe try and find a compromise with the English, turning it's efforts towards the infidels instead? It is a difficult choice.
have anyone feel a florin bathe like this?
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Man, that makes me want to play France again. I stopped after the non-save game compatible hotfix was released, but might start a new one. Gotta love that old-timey feudalism.
Here's my Georgia campaign lads and lasses. I finally settled on this campaign since I wanted to try something new and I also wanted a front row seat when the Mongolian invasion arrives (hahahaha I'm dead). :wounded:
With only two settlements, the kingdom was in need of some really serious expansion. :laughter:
I quickly mustered an army of about 1,800 men and forced marched towards the settlement of Ani which was situated in Armenia. To the Caucasus Mountains to the north and the Caspian Sea to the east I drove southward to expand my pathetic kingdom!
Georgian troops at the siege of the city of Ani.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Unfortunately I guess the Georgians didn't think this one through... :whistling
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Behold the power of a General's body guard! :surprise:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Quite a disastrous siege in my opinion, but hey at least I don't have to deal with the Mongols anytime soon. :cool:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Edit: A little bonus pic
"I suspect a traitor amongst us..."
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Ouch, that was one costly siege. I'm currently playing Georgia myself, such a cool faction with some terric units, gotta love those bodyguards. A great addition to this game.
Generally I never assault settlements directly if they're so well defended, the losses are almost always unacceptable. I do two things: either I besiege the settlement without attacking and wait for them to surrender or sometimes reinforcements come to relieve the siege and then I destroy both armies in a field battle, or if I want to capture it quickly, I besiege them with a smaller force with cavalry, horse archers and some basic fodder so they sally out. This is what I did at Ani, I sent the army from Tbilisi with the king and the garrison immediately counter-attacked. First you need to achieve cavalry supremacy, I attacked their cavalry with mine own after I harassed them a bit with my HAs. Their infantry will engage yours, archers will stay just outside the city and will be an easy prey. After I destroyed their cavalry I sent my light cavalry and HAs after the archers and charged my heavy cavalry at their units attacking my spearmen from behind and they routed in seconds.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
This is much more acceptable, the vast majority of my losses were my fodder spearmen which can be replaced easily enough.
@Jurcek
I'll be sure to take heed of your advice and hopefully I won't run into another grueling siege! :laughter:
Though congrats on your heroic victory!
This spearmen unit was ordered to hold position and they did it, survived frontal heavy cavalry charge ..... :-)
Attachment 334679
Renovatio Imperii Part Two: From the Ashes
After abandoning a late Georgia campaign after 30 turns because I got tired of fighting endless Mongol stacks, I've tried playing late era ERE on VH/VH. The starting situation is pretty hopeless, you start with an empire (I'm not even sure you could call it that) consisting of a grand total of two regions. To make matters worse, they're both cities which means I can't recruit professional units and they don't make nearly enough money for me to afford mercs. So, no decent units and very little money, it looked to be a very short and painful campaign. To be honest I never intended this to be a serious campaign, I only wanted to test it. Fortunately some unexpected turn of events turned the tide dramatically.
Like in the early campaign, you start at war with Rum, but the situation is completely reversed. Here Rum is the bully (they control most of Asia minor) and you are at their mercy. I managed to defeat a few puny armies they sent against my puny empire. Had they sent anything substantial... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ycDWywGls. They rejected all my desperate pleas for peace and I could only afford maybe half a stack of unupgraded milita, not nearly enough to withstand a serious assault, let alone try to reclaim Greece. Then I got a lifeline. I was offered to become their vassal which I accepted without hesitation. This admittedly is a humiliating ordeal, but like they say, beggars can't be choosers. The only thing that was hurt was my pride. Well that and you lose some money every turn, but that is easily preferable to a desperate war for survival.
So, with my... cough... Empire secure, the road was open for me to begin repairing the damage done by the Angeloi and the treacherous crusaders. I began by recapturing my glorious former capital of Konstantinoupolis, now held by rebels. I had to leave some units and my emperor behind because plague struck Nikaia. The garrison, which had a 2:1 advantage in autocalc, sallied out immediately.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
My heir won the battle almost single handedly by relentlessly charging until everything was either dead or broken.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Celebrations were held in his honour.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
So in 1244, Konstantinoupolis was back in the rightful hands of the Romans and the Emperor proudly moved his flag back in the city after exactly 40 years of exile.
Next up, Korinth, held by the Empire of Epirus, one of the splinter states which emerged after the 4th crusade in 1204. Their holdings dwarfed mine considerably, they held Peloponnese, Macedonia, Albania and, you guessed it, Epirus.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
That was the main army which was camped in the region, the fortress was then left almost unguarded and fell easily in 1248. Arta followed a year later.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
But Epirus still had formidable forces in Macedonia, so I positioned a small army on a river crossing, hoping to invite an attack and it worked.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
My two units of Gasmuli (crossbowmen) killed over 350 enemy soldiers each. Thesallonika, now completely vulnerable, fell by the end of the year.
In the mean time I was attacked by Serbia but by that time I already had two strong armies and I began systematically retaking lost regions one by one. Within the next few years I fought 6 separate engagements. Mikhaēl VIII Palaiologos, by now Emperor, fought the largest battle in the war near Triadica in 1259, where the main part of the Serbian army was destroyed.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The Emperor, by now a hugely experienced and successful general, together with his companions managed to inflict over 500 enemy casualties while capturing a similar amount.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Dyrrachion, the last remnant of the Empire of Epirus fell in 1260.
You've got to admire the parking brakes on that siege tower.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Niš fell in 1263, together with the King of Serbia, Veliki Župan Desa Mlsvljvić or something. The fifth Serbian king in as many years.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Parting shot™
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The Serbian king died under a hail of crossbow bolts.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
By 1266, the last remaining pockets of resistance were eliminated and Serbia was wiped off the map with the annexation of Ras.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Looking back, it would probably had been wiser if I'd made Serbia my vassal and keep them as buffer instead of destroying them, because immediately after capturing Ras I was attacked by Hungary and Venice. I managed to secure a ceasefire with Hungary for a whopping 20k but I have no intention of affording the same courtesy to Venice. Venice will be demolished to the last brick for their role in the 4th crusade.
With having completed my conquests in the west, I turned my attention east. I was still officially a vassal of the Sultan of Rum and I first attempted an honourable gesture by offering him 20k for the cancellation of our agreement. They refused so I declared war. I didn't concern myself with diplomatic repercussions, seeing that my reputation was already terrible. First I went for Attaleia and I'm besieging Angora and Sis as we speak.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
This is what the map looks like:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Mongols are of course the greatest power in the known world. I have an alliance with them but I don't expect them to honour it once our borders meet. Georgia, Zengids and Crusaders are on their last legs. But, as opposed to all my early campaigns, England seems to be holding their own.
After my Hungarian debacle I decided to try a faction in a part of the world I was little experienced in; the Levant. Having played a Long Campaign as Egypt in the vanilla game, I decided to give the Crusaders a try; I'd heard they were tricky and they never seem to last very long in any campaign.
Learning from the punishment I received in my last few campaigns for turtling early, I adopted a policy of hyper-aggression from turn one, immediately laying siege to the Fatimid-held castle of Ascalon. I was defeated soundly by a releiving force, but the survivors made a stand outside the city during which the garrison rode out to join their rescuers in what they expected to be a whitewash. They were annihilated, and the crusader king, His Grace Roi Foulques, rode into Ascalon unopposed. Bad news for the inhabitants, who were butchered indiscriminately.
For the next few years we settled into a game of to-and-fro with the Fatimids who tried in vain to recover their castle, while investing and reducing their holdings to the east of the Red Sea and waiting for the king's son, the rightful descendant to the throne of Jerusalem, the young Prince Baldwin (or Baudouin) to come of age and learn his craft as Crusader. Shortly before his fourteenth birthday, the Holy Father called a Crusade to Damascus. No idea why. We hadn't asked for it and it certainly hadn't bothered us. We enjoyed an accord with the Zengids, and were reluctant to make war upon another neighbour while the Fatimids remained a threat. The Zengids were not strong, but their position threatened our most vulnerable areas. A force was raised, hesitantly, but before we could strike our French brothers and fathers seized the city from the Zengids and fulfilled Christendom's latest goal.
The Zengids, whose position had threatened our northern holdings, were crippled by the loss of their largest and richest city. The opportunity was too good to miss. Opportunistic? Possibly. Dishonourable? Undoubtedly. But honour is not reserved for infidels, no matter how harmless.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Such was their state when we launched our first tentative strike. Their lands in northern Syria would be the first to fall; then on, if necessary, to Mesopotamia.
But about the time this was launched, the very Caliph of the Fatimids himself emerged from Egypt with a phenomenal host to besiege Ascalon. While not normally a cause for alarm, the fledgling Prince Baldwin was trapped inside the fortress, recently arrived to assume his first command. Roi Foulques, newly departed from Jerusalem to make his way north to fight the Zengids, wheeled around in full panic. He summoned all the men he could, every retainer and noble lord granted a fiefdom in the Holy Land. It was not many, but with it he launched a raid nonetheless on the rear elements of the Caliph's host. Their target: the camp of the Caliph himself.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The result was bloody beyond precedent. Faced with losses of all but a quarter of his force, lesser commanders would have fled. Even the Roi might have chosen to withdraw from such a bloodbath in ordinary circumstances. But such was his desperation to protect his son that he stayed, mercilessly subjecting the men beneath him to the worst depredations a cornered, fearless force has to offer. The Syrians - what was left of them - were singled out for particular reward once the dust had cleared. Only they, and a small company of pressed archers, remained with the king and his men to see the grizzly task to conclusion. The outcome was a most costly victory, but not one without reward: they had captured the Caliph alive.
The orders of the Roi, regarding every prisoner taken, every civilian of every settlement captured in that vast desert land, were simple: death. After all, were they not God's servants? But even he knew the value of a Caliph, especially one so mighty. He set the most appropriate price: a king's ransom. The Fatimids either did not have the cash to pay, or simply wanted rid of an unpopular leader. That was bad news for the Roi, and worse for the Caliph.
They left him swinging from a tree, alone in the desert. The Crusaders lacked the rope to subject all their captives to the same fate, so they used their swords and spears. When the blades began to dull and the shafts to splinter, they beat them to death with rocks or drowned them in the river. Such was the will of the Roi.
All that remained was to take on the main body of the Caliphate's forces. Father and son rode out together, seized the high ground, and carried the day with minimal extra loss.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
This time, there was no offer of ransom.
It was with great relief that the Roi departed Ascalon, his son left suitably in charge under the care of his cousin, and turned his attention back to the north to a most pleasing state of events.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
According to his wishes, both Raqqa and Aleppo had been put to the sword and the torch by the conquering heroes: Joscelin de Courtenay and Raymond de Poitiers. Similarly to the south, though the commander had fallen to a Fatimid assassin, his men had completed the reduction of a pox-ridden little town in the desert called Mecca.
There were no survivors.
The Zengids, broken, are in full flight across the desert, pursued not by horsemen but by a stout little man carrying that most dangerous of tools: a book. They will be invited to accept vassalage. If they refuse, they will be destroyed. The Crusaders now look to the west: the cities of the Caliphate are rich beyond measure, and weak beyond redemption. One might pity their people, were they not infidels; pity is reserved for the Righteous.
Praise the Lord.
Sounds like an enjoyable campaign. Those Egyptian cities will be easier to capture than hold, I suspect. I'm surprised Damascus hasn't rebelled yet. Personally, I would keep Zengids as buffer so you won't share a border with the Great Seljuks, the strongest faction east of Constantinople. Well, at least until Egypt is pacified. Try to capture Sis to guard the northern flank of Antioch, plus you'll get access to some very good Armenian units.
It certainly is enjoyable! After a few disastrous campaigns, I've not had this much fun for quite a while, nor this much success. I'm looking forward to the campaign for Egypt, I've already captured Damietta (screenie to follow later/tomorrow) and performed the required unpleasantries. I briefly managed to vassalise the Zengids, but their alliance with the Fatimids meant that the relationship was broken within a turn as the Egyptians launched another, this time smaller, attack on Ascalon and the Zengids unsurprisingly stuck with their own. I'm hoping now to crush the Fatimids and re-vassalise the Zengids, as you say to create a buffer between Outremer and the big, looming blue mass on the horizon.
I hadn't considered trying to take Sis. I secured an alliance early with the Seljuks of Rum. On a previous campaign I made a tentative strike at Sis on the way back from a Crusade and got ruined; those Armenian units are terrifically powerful (and make great mercenaries). I had no idea you could actually recruit them from a city. That rather bumps it to the top of my priority list.
And I'm absolutely loving your Roman campaign. I tried to rep you but I've done it too recently, and then didn't want to double-post. I've only briefly experimented with them in SS, and it's easy to see why people feel the way they do about them. Are you going to do more episodes?
Really really nice writeups jurcen and boogie knight. Boogie Knight's sounds a bit cruel though. :D