[M2:TW SS] Crusaders vs. Caliphate [Multiplayer Hotseat]

[DDWingate]

Hi everyone! I'm glad to be back on this forum after a 5 year hiatus, mostly travelling and working various places. My brother and I have started a stainless steel hotseat campaign, and since we're Let's Playing it on YouTube, I decided to do a dual video/AAR. Since the video itself is NSFW, I really wanted to post this so people could enjoy the written format, which anyone who remembers my older threads will know, I enjoy so much. I hope you like reading them as much as I like creating them. Please enjoy!

Introduction



It is the dawn of the 12th century, and the first Crusade has come to an triumphant end.

King Baudouin has stepped up to the throne of Jerusalem, establishing his dynasty as the undisputed rulers of Adessa, Antioch and Jerusalem itself. The Pope is pleased with the Crusader efforts and is ready to offer the blessings of Christendom.

But will those blessings be enough? These European occupiers have found themselves as a minority in an unfamiliar land, and to say they are not entirely welcome, is a bit of an understatement. They will face Islamic rebellion, spies, thieves, insurgents and disillusioned citizens. How will the Crusader dynasty transform this unstable occupation into a productive and secure Christian state?

Meanwhile in the north, the Seljuks begin to consolidate their vast realm, with crown Sultan Berkyaruk seeking to end their reputation as a horde of barbaric nomads, and to assert themselves as a truly great and respected Islamic empire.

But in secret, the Sultan has an ambitious plan - to unite the great Sultanates and Caliphates throughout the Near-East and North Africa, and wage a great intercontinental war against the Christians.

If the Crusaders are to stand against this, they will have to call upon not just their own armies, but the might of Europe itself. Whoever strikes first, the crusaders will find themselves quickly caught up in the flames of war!

Who will win in this final, culminating battle? Only this after action report will tell! Let’s look at the details:


The Players

Doug (me) takes control of the The Crusader States:






...while Antony plays the Seljuk Sultanate:




Mod Details:

• Version: Stainless Steel 6.4
• AI: Savage AI
• Bygs Grim Reality IV: Enabled
• Next Heir Ancillary: Enabled
• Real Recruitment: Enabled
• Limited Activities: Enabled
• Longer Assimilation: Enabled
• Permanent Watchtowers: Disabled

Campaign Details:

• Campaign Difficulty: Hard
• Battle Difficulty: Hard
• Campaign Length: Long
• Battle Time Limit: On
• Show CPU Moves: Off

Episode 1: Preparing The Campaign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILxlT56uPjc&t=64s



Episode 2 will feature our first turns, and will be posted within a couple of days. When it is, this thread will be updated.

[King Athelstan]

Welcome back to the forums! However, the hotseat forum is for hotseats hosted and played on TWC, and not AAR reports. Therefore, I've moved your post from the Hotseat Campaign forums to the AAR one.
Also, your video links still appear to be broken. If they're from youtube, I recommend you use the [youtube] tag. Use the letters after the v= in the video URL to put em in, which in your case would be ILxlT56uPjc. Thus, it should end up as


Thread moved from the hotseat forum

[Swaeft]

Hello there, welcome back! 5 years is a long break, I myself took a 5 year hiatus lol Eager to see where this AAR will take you, but I'm a little confused at the moment. You mentioned that you want us to enjoy the written format, so will this be a video AAR or a written one?

[Alwyn]

Welcome to the Writers' Study! You set the scene well in the text, showing us the high stakes involved in this war. In the video, I was interested to hear your thoughts on Total War games and mods. Good luck to both players in the hotseat campaign!