Page 12 of 28 FirstFirst ... 2345678910111213141516171819202122 ... LastLast
Results 221 to 240 of 552

Thread: Derc Plays Through World History

  1. #221
    Campidoctor
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    __DIR__
    Posts
    1,874

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)


    Rome II
    Imperator Augustus

    #4




    --------------------------
    (Click to view)
    --------------------------



    The Gauls decided to stay loyal to Octavian and so they meet their end once more on the hands of the Roman Republic.


    Octavian then loses his belongings in the East. There was no resistance.


    Most of Octavians last settlements are taken. He relocated to Genoa.

    A young family member causes trouble at an inopportune time. He killed another boy and claims it was self defence. I try to back him, to no use.


    There is the "oh so glorious" heir of Caesar. Alone, out in my domain, the sea. He won't escape this time.
    My men set his vessel ablaze. Octavian now had to decide: Shall the fire take him or the sea?

    I did not get to know the answer and I also do not care. Only Marc Antony remains.
    Antony ... I have some personal business with you.


    Trade with the Brits is established. One tribe accepted, another one refused.
    However they want. It's their loss.


    I can understand the Triumvirs to some decree. The Republic has its disadvantages.
    While one is busy to win battles at the front, the backyard is already practicing the rebellion.

    I will not accept this!


    A bank in the senate does not remain empty for long.


    The Belgae think they can abuse our little civil war. They are wrong. Rome's borders are secure and just have expanded a little bit.


    The biggest part of Rome has been liberated but the people of Rome face ever increasing odds.


    I have not forgotten, and I certainly have not forgiven. Injustice has been done, to both Rome and to me.
    These Triumvirs! They underestimated the waves and paid dearly for it.
    I know what is good for Rome, and it shows!


    I reformed Rome with success but I'm far from done. Far from done.


    Rome's Legions are fearsome, and rightly so! It is, however, the navy that secured Roman conquest of the Mare Nostrum.
    I command the strongest navy in the world! Light and heavy ships alike, they proofed what they're worth. They will decide the outcome of my further tasks. If only my Admirals will not fail me.


    I know how to deal with traitors. This is their destiny!


    Oh, speaking of them ...

    📝 Authors Note
    Egypt betraying Antony in his most crucial hour? I like that!
    TROLOLOLOL!

    📕 History & Culture
    So, about Octavian aka Augustus. What he wanted is the most basic thing: strenghten himself while weakening the enemy. He wanted to secure Rome and also his own dynasty on top of it.
    The Senate was weak and corrupt, having hampered Rome more and more as it grew in size and influence. Caesar, Octavian and many others were sick of it and had their visions, a vision of an even stronger Rome where all important decisions are (mostly) managed by single person. The plebs were happy with Caesar, and there's a reason for it. His murderers were not paraded but chased away. Brutus died being branded king of all traitors for generations to come.

    I see a lot of parallels of the struggles back then and the political situation we are in today. If you want to be truly powerful, you need to centralize. Centralizing means taking away freedom, a cost deemed necessary. It is of no matter if you do it as a king, an emperor or as an dictator. It is also, technically speaking, of no matter if done under the curtain of false Democracy.
    If you don't need to rely on the consent of countless other people to do something, and you can simply just do it instead, then the governmental machine becomes all the more powerful. It also becomes all the more dangerous. What, if the boss is a madman and/or views you as an enemy. Well, we all know that.

    History vs has a nice summarization about Octavian.
    History vs Video



    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    I am sure your latin teacher does not.
    I never had one.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    0/10 unsubscribe.
    Pff.
    Glad you're gone.

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    Glorious victories for the son of Neptune, indeed! I like the way that you're making this about restoring the Republic and defeating those who would be emperor.

    The screenshots of your attack on Rome are particularly good, it sounds like Pompey's men enjoyed a few well-earned comforts as they relaxed on their fields of victory. I'm intrigued by your hunt for Octavian. Battles on land and sea, city walls and triremes Pompey can master, but there's a Triumvir to manage here.
    Thanks for all these +reps, Alwyn . Octavian died in Pompey's realm, somewhere along the waves, handing himself to the god that betrayed him most, Neptune. Defeating him was way too easy.
    Two gone, only one to go. And what then...?

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    The grand siege of Rome, as difficult as a walk in the park. Not the showdown people were expecting but then again most of the times things don't live up to their hype (look at GoT for instance ) I always found this disappointing about the AI of most TW games. They are hellbent on making the battles we want to be epic to be dull. Octavian is just a coward and doesn't want to confront the superior force that is Sextus Pompey who has just basked in the power of the Heart. A lovely gift from Lord Dagoth.

    That's is indeed the same experience I have had with Rome II, it's the perfect game if you mostly care for the empire-building part of the game and less about the battles. Pity because the graphics of Rome II are one of the best in TW history, in my opinion. Compare that to Medieval 2 and I almost always fight my battles manually because it is just so much better to do it that way. (especially with mods, don't really know for vanilla anymore it's been so long I played vanilla med 2)
    Well yeah. The devs listened to the request of the customers and made the battles much bigger and harder. Also slower. They take ages.
    This is ok but it really depends on what are your goals. If you want to conquer the whole map, then you don't have much time for that. Especially not as I can just roflstomp the enemy with autocalc and have my entire army replenished in two or three turns.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    I must say, you did a lot in two years. Especially given that from the UI it looks like this is a 4 turn per year game, so you didn't have some much game time to do stuff in.
    Yeah, the Imperator Augustus campaign is 4 turns per year, just as in Shogun II. The Grand Campaign has 1 turn per year. That was funny because your units died so quick.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    One thing that interests me is exactly how much play you have with the political situation. Are you actually setting the senate up as a real governing force in-game, or is this more just story-boarding the events on here? I am wondering how deeply Rome II lets you play around with the background stuff like political structures and whatnot.
    This was (mostly) just story, representing the capital shift back to Rome. There are some internal actions such as betraying, bribing, arranging marriage, adopting specific characters. There is also the option on provoking or preventing civil wars, given how you treat various political parties. If you do it wrong, as I did it in this very first Rome II campaign, you get your answer.
    It is mostly a button pressing minigame and once you figured it out, it can be a bit repetitive. Attila TW build up on it and enhanced the internal aspect quite nicely. Internal policies have become much better since the Ancestral Update.

    You just saw some internal mangling in this update. Expect more in the following updates. I failed quite hard here.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Oh, and as usual, the obligatory "This was a great update!". I absolutely love the look of units and structures from Antiquity, and every screenshot from this game is eyecandy for me. If I may make a request, I would love it if you could post some images of a battle with one of the "barbarian" factions, provided you actually had such a battle and took screenshots. I'd just like to see some deep dark forests with hastati marching on pelt-covered axeman!
    Ty. Yes, of course. You'll see some later.
    I always forget to mention it: If any of you guys has a request, wanting to see a specific thing of the current game, just give me a holler.

    If I have no fitting screenshot, it's easy to reload the campaign and snap it. Always happy to trash some pesky Germans. Just give me a bit time and we'll have that.

  2. #222

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    Wow. That was the saddest most inglorious end I could have imagined for Augustus, First Emperor of Rome. Just sitting on his ship twiddling his thumbs while the waves rose around him. But I guess you did it right by letting Neptune take him. That's some great symbolism there!


    I'm also psyched for some more battle images! The Rome II engine seems to be a treasure trove for mouth-watering battle pics!
    | Community Creative Writing
    | My Library
    | My Mapping Resources
    | My Nabataean AAR for EBII
    | My Ongoing Creative Writing

  3. #223
    Cookiegod's Avatar CIVUS DIVUS EX CLIBANO
    Citizen

    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    In Derc's schizophrenic mind
    Posts
    4,452

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    Quote Originally Posted by Dercus
    Glad you're gone.
    HAH! You wish.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Wow. That was the saddest most inglorious end I could have imagined for Augustus, First Emperor of Rome. Just sitting on his ship twiddling his thumbs while the waves rose around him. But I guess you did it right by letting Neptune take him. That's some great symbolism there!
    Indeed. I rate it the second or third most tragic drowning of an autocrat in this series.
    That's what you get for venturing into your archenemy's natural habitat - the C.
    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11
    I'm also psyched for some more battle images! The Rome II engine seems to be a treasure trove for mouth-watering battle pics!
    If by water you mean blood, sure.
    I found Dercs pics were lately downright revolting. I'd rate them R for Republic.

    As for the historical background things: There's actually a bit more depth to that. Roman military successes meant lots and lots of slaves. Those immigrants slaves took the jobs of good hardworking patriotic AmerRomans, and this caused social frictions. The Roman Republic wasn't a democracy, it was mostly for the upper class, and they could be tough cookies when dealing with i.e. the Gracchi or also later against Caesar.

    Basically, Rome got divided into two factions: Populares vs Optimates, or: Populists vs Oligarchs. Marius, Caesar & Octavian were firmly in the populist camps, and they did do a lot of good for the common man, provided he was a Roman citizen and god forbid not a barbarian. Sulla, Pompey Magnus, Brutus & presumably also Sexus Pompey were champions for the rich.

    Which brings me back to your game. So you're the Roman Republic (SPQR), and the revolutionaries are the proletariat, wouldn't that make them the Socialist Roman People's Republic (SRPR)?
    Did they ever give you a list of their demands, try to negotiate? Because... Seceding from Pompeii seems like a reasonable idea to me.

    All in all an enjoyable read. Almost as perfect as the viri perfectissimi (=most perfect men) in the senate.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  4. #224
    Turkafinwë's Avatar The Sick Baby Jester
    Content Emeritus

    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    3,802

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    That was one pathetic civil war if I ever saw one. In little more than a year you managed to defeat them completely and you didn't seem to have suffered from it. You even expanded your borders during the civil war. (poor Belgae ) Thank god they changed it so you can have multiple civil wars. I remember when you only could have one civil war after which you could choose to become a empire or remain a republic. Seems like the Proletarii Collegium didn't have as much support from the people as they thought they had.

    Marc Anthony seems to have lost his greatest ally. Onwards glorious Pompey! The end of the false Tribunal Triumvirs draws near!

  5. #225
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
    Content Director Patrician Citizen

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    12,243

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    Yes, the betrayal of Antony by his ally is an interesting twist. I wonder whether his allies will enable Antony's Rome to stand for long against Pompey, it looks as if Pompey's Rome is unstoppable.

  6. #226
    Campidoctor
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    __DIR__
    Posts
    1,874

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)


    Rome II
    Imperator Augustus

    #5




    --------------------------
    (Click to view)
    --------------------------



    I have just turned fifty. I roam the face of the earth for half a century now.


    I made it my present to wipe a very special person from this earth. The conquest of Antony's domain has just begun.


    The local population of Asia tells stories of some great war looming outside of Rome's border. Dacia and Parthia are the worlds biggest powers next to Rome.


    Once I'm done with Antony, I have my plans ...


    Stinky barbarians have invaded the northern coast of Gaul. I would love to deal with them myself but I have to focus on the East.
    I order my generals to do what is necessary.


    I send some of my men up north to conquer the former Bosporan Kingdom. A colony there could be very useful for supplies.


    Not all of Rome's problems are about war. As the Republic grows in size, petty problems become major ones. All provinces use different kinds of measurements for lengths, weigths or even time itself. This is fatal when trading, building ships or organizing anything.

    I suggest to rework the Julian Calendar, naming it after a friend of the
    Republic, not after an enemy.

    The Senate approves the reforms to push for more standardized units, and such the Pompeian Calendar is established. I am honoured.


    External and internal struggles are my common lot. I conquer province after province, and yet here they are, these know-it-alls.
    Someone always thinks he knows better. Let's 'discuss' this in private.


    The druids of Britannia are interesting people. But they have their weaknesses like everyone else.
    We will use this druidess to gather some information about the enemy.


    That should deal with them on the mainland. Now we will turn the tables.


    The North is a rugged place, shrouded in fog. I order the invasion of Britannia! I want to see it included into the Roman domain, succeed where Caesar had failed. This will be the ultimate humiliation of my enemy!


    Most of Asia Minor is conquered. Antony's domain shrinks and I truly feel like I have accomplished something.
    📝 Authors Note This was the last main mission.


    The Brits know they stand no chance against the might of Rome. To try, at least, they put their quarrels aside and unite.
    An united Britannia under Celts. Hilarious! As if it could do any good!


    Further down south: I and my men land in Tyre, one of Antony's strongholds.
    We take it from two sides. One army lands at the coast north of the city, attacking it from land. The other one attacks directly from the sea.


    The battle went well. Antony's troops have had enough of this war. A lot of them turned tides, defecting to me. Those who didn't were forced into exile in the desert.


    Antony's domain collapses. Seeing the opportunity, even the Easterners declared war on him.
    This coward fled to Egypt, of course, even though they had betrayed him.


    No one will stop me now. Not the Egyptians, not the Britons, not my own people, not everyone else!


    Antony commited suicide in Egypt. He won on two fronts: Denying me the joy to finish him off myself and managing to keep Rome occupied with its internal struggles for so long.

    All Triumvirs are dead. The civil war ... is over. Two new wars have broken out in the meantime.
    I feel it clearly. This is not the end. The battle has only just begun.
    Egypt and Britannia need to be brought under the Republic's thumb, unifying both the Mediterranean and the Northern Ocean under Rome.
    I shall set sail once again. Let's go to the edges of the world!

    📝 Authors Note | 📕 History & Culture
    Well, Antony ... that went quick.
    Octavian did some good work, having crippled Antony in the west while the Easterners crippled him on the other front. There was one fullstack. When that fell, everything did.

    Historically Antony got crippled in the Battle of Actium, 31 BC. A maritime battle. This defeat was so decisive that Antony and Cleopatra were forced to commit suicide afterwards. Octavian took Antony's posessions and annexed Egypt. The Civil War was over, all the while having added the rich lands of Egypt to Rome, accomplishing Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean.

    Well, here. Have a video.

    Kings & Generals Video: Battle of Actium

    It's interesting to see how similar Octavian's and Antony's borders are to the later WRE and ERE.

    Don't know what happened to Cleopatra in my campaign. Maybe she had enough of Antony and commited suicide earlier on.
    No matter. That loading image still fit perfectly.





    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Wow. That was the saddest most inglorious end I could have imagined for Augustus, First Emperor of Rome. Just sitting on his ship twiddling his thumbs while the waves rose around him. But I guess you did it right by letting Neptune take him. That's some great symbolism there!

    I'm also psyched for some more battle images! The Rome II engine seems to be a treasure trove for mouth-watering battle pics!
    The god's didn't smile on him. He was no good soldier.

    A added a few battle screens to this chapter, just for you.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    HAH! You wish.
    I knew it! Once an addicted, always an addicted.
    Need your daily dosis of Derconol, lad? Psssh. Here it is.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    Indeed. I rate it the second or third most tragic drowning of an autocrat in this series.
    Yikes. Alexander's fate just seems to cling with the audience.
    Who was the second autocrat again? Can't be me. I'm still here!

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    The Roman Republic wasn't a democracy, it was mostly for the upper class
    [...] presumably also Sextus Pompey were champions for the rich.
    Of course. A true democracy? In Rome?! Pff, screw that. The Romans showed how it needs to work.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    Which brings me back to your game. So you're the Roman Republic (SPQR), and the revolutionaries are the proletariat, wouldn't that make them the Socialist Roman People's Republic (SRPR)?
    Did they ever give you a list of their demands, try to negotiate? Because... Seceding from Pompeii seems like a reasonable idea to me.
    A communist Rome sounds promising. They're at least red. Or they were. A blue Rome feels somehow weird. Still, not as bad as a purple one. Yuck.

    If the relation with a party falls too low, you'll get a warning. All you can do then is to bribe them, provoke a civil war or enact some edicts to appease them. I failed in the latter; and that's why I got a lot of civil wars in this campaign.

    There's no Pompeii on the map. Only a Pompey. Both love water and die when they come in contact with magma, so the difference is insignificant.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    All in all an enjoyable read. Almost as perfect as the viri perfectissimi (=most perfect men) in the senate.
    These guys harassed me perfectly, just as you did.

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    Marc Anthony seems to have lost his greatest ally. Onwards glorious Pompey! The end of the false Tribunal Triumvirs draws near!
    I was much more forgiving towards the Tribunal than I was towards the Triumvirs. I wanted to keep the Tribunal alive. At least I managed to keep Vivec alive.
    The Triumvirs? All I wanted is to see them dead. Except Lepidus maybe. Poor guy.

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    Yes, the betrayal of Antony by his ally is an interesting twist. I wonder whether his allies will enable Antony's Rome to stand for long against Pompey, it looks as if Pompey's Rome is unstoppable.
    Never play Rome II on anything less than 'Very Hard'. 'Hard' isn't hard at all. I was all too intimidated by this game at the beginning.

    Old enemies have been defeated but new ones have been made. The Easterners have profited from the Civil War, taking a lot of Antony's provinces before I could.

  7. #227
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
    Content Director Patrician Citizen

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    12,243

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    One of those days, indeed! For Pompey to succeed where Julius Caesar failed adds an extra level of satisfaction. I enjoyed the allusions to the introduction to the Julii campaign at the start of Rome Total War ('I have my plans' and the 'stinky barbarians').

  8. #228
    Cookiegod's Avatar CIVUS DIVUS EX CLIBANO
    Citizen

    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    In Derc's schizophrenic mind
    Posts
    4,452

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    Two thoughts:
    1) Thanks for spoiling the ending with the first screen. Surprise ruined!!! That guy looks like an American quarterback dressed for a frat party, btw.
    2) It took your dude ~3.5 years before he finally got his 50-years-birthday present. I hope his gift to his political wife was better: "Honey, I jailed our political opponent!"

    2½)
    Quote Originally Posted by Derc
    Yikes. Alexander's fate just seems to cling with the audience.
    Who was the second autocrat again? Can't be me. I'm still here!
    Alexander was the second one.
    You drowned your Mongolian Khan first
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    ...in poison.

    2+2/3) Congratulations, you killed your republic. It's now an imperium. Quite the coincidence your tyranny started in Tyre.
    2+3/4) I had a joke about "one of those days" and dog days, because of that guy wearing... Forget it. I'll just let you know it was very funny.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  9. #229
    Campidoctor
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    __DIR__
    Posts
    1,874

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)


    Rome II
    Imperator Augustus

    #6




    --------------------------
    (Click to view)
    --------------------------



    When Antony's domain collapsed, the Easterners went in and took Antioch.
    I want that city! It's Roman territory. But I can't afford another war so soon. The population is weary.

    I try to incite an unrest there but it fails. I will have to bide my time and then do it the classic way.


    In the meanwhile I am busy with Egypt. I conquered Alexandria and am standing at the Nile Delta. My father died here. Now they will feel my wrath.


    It seems like some kind of internal struggle or some other war was going on before I arrived. The Egypteans are weary, unwilling to fight anymore. The enemy sallies out as I approach Memphis. They wish to die in the shadows of the pyramids, leaving their ancient city intact.

    I should feel bad for them. But I don't. The Egypteans proofed times and again that they are not worth it. Abstaining from looting Memphis is the only favour I'll do them. I want to see the city intact too. I will let myself get hailed as an liberator, just like Alexander did. This ancient land is too costworthy to burn it down just because of one or two grudges.
    But the 'nobility'...! The nobility will pay.


    The Egypteans are nothing what they once were. Their strength is crippled and most of their land now a part of Rome.
    I venture further south.


    My men report advancements in Britannia. The Dumnonii are subjugated.
    Good! Why trade with them when we can own them?


    Rome is united again, the Republic restored, its enemies cower at the edges of the world. A glorious triumph!


    Not everyone in the Senate is happy with the Pompey Dynasty still being the most influental faction. A few coins will change their mind.


    Success is a bait for lower beings. Someone presents me a "long lost son". It turns out to be a girl. A girl with a very prominent name: Naso.
    How stupid do some people think I am?!


    Egypt starts a little offensive in Libya, conquering the undefended city of Macomades. Should I be impressed?


    There was a little ceasefire with the Britons. It didn't held for long. What chances do they think they have?


    Dacians make some ground against the Parthians. I am glad that these savages haven't set a foot in our colony up there. Yet.


    War isn't the only proplem occupying Rome. As the population grows, so does the demand for food. The Senate orders the expansion of Rome's farms, at the same time using more efficient methods to improve their effectiveness.
    ⚙️ Authors Note - Technical
    Food is important in Rome II. If you run out of food, your settlements become unhappy and your armies won't get replenished anymore. The value varies a lot, depending on the time of year and what provinces you just conquered. It's better to always have a great surplus.


    I thought I just cleaned Rome from madness!?
    Now the plebs hail a man sailing in feces, all the while calling me a "miser"?! Me, who has done so much for Rome?!
    I am outraged! They are lucky I am busy elsewhere.


    So the Britons had an ace up their sleeve. They inspired the Marcomanni to declare war on us as well. Fine.


    I need to rely on some German mercenaries and smaller German tribes who hold a grudge against the Marcomanni. Their task is to help the Roman troops stopping an invading Marcomanni force near the Rhine.

    Germania. A land just as strange and brutal as Britannia. It was a bittercold day when we engaged the Marcomanni. Romans and their allies outnumbered the Marcomanni 3:1, and still my men had their problems. They were not accustomated to this freezing wasteland. My men even said some of the enemy fought naked. NAKED!
    Perhaps they have just seen too many things.


    I would give everything for some cold now. I'm at the other edge of the world, just having conquered Aksum in the gleaming desert sun.
    Nothing but sand. Sand and wastes everywhere! We have walked too far. I and my men at the southern edge of the world, my other men at the northern one. It is time to turn back.


    It is said to be a harsh winter up in the far north. The sixth legion pushes the Celts back to the worthless north of Britannia. They will have to wait for spring for further advancement. So they do, keeping guard, building frontiers, inspecting this wild land ...
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Only rugged cliffs and cursed lakes are said to be found up north. A place of druids, savages and cruel gods.
    It is deemed to be the gate to Hades. It needs Roman pacification. This darkness must be wiped out from our world.


    Screenshot from Ryse: Son of Rome



    As spring dawns, my men advance. These Britons are at my thumb.
    Rome will try to transform this land into something better despite all the darkness that it holds. I offer the remaining Britons serfdom and their lives, but they would much rather die. So be it.


    Rome does not come to rest. The Britons almost out of the way and now what?!
    A rebellion in Asia Minor!




    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    One of those days, indeed! For Pompey to succeed where Julius Caesar failed adds an extra level of satisfaction. I enjoyed the allusions to the introduction to the Julii campaign at the start of Rome Total War ('I have my plans' and the 'stinky barbarians').
    You catched it! I am so happy. Gave you a +rep for it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    Two thoughts:
    1) Thanks for spoiling the ending with the first screen. Surprise ruined!!! That guy looks like an American quarterback dressed for a frat party, btw.
    2) It took your dude ~3.5 years before he finally got his 50-years-birthday present. I hope his gift to his political wife was better: "Honey, I jailed our political opponent!"
    2½)Alexander was the second one.
    You drowned your Mongolian Khan first
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    ...in poison.
    2+2/3) Congratulations, you killed your republic. It's now an imperium. Quite the coincidence your tyranny started in Tyre.
    2+3/4) I had a joke about "one of those days" and dog days, because of that guy wearing... Forget it. I'll just let you know it was very funny.
    Ugh. What is wrong with your lists?
    1) Kinda reminded me of Brangelina when I saw that loading screen for the first time.
    2) Late gifts are the best!
    2½) I don't know what you're talking about.
    2+2/3) At least it was not in Syracuse even though it started there.
    2+3/4) That would be too wolfish. Save that for other AAR's.

  10. #230

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    This is pretty intense. Each update you slice a huge new chunk of land into your domain, but you seem to always have just as many enemies and just as much left to conquer. And I must say, I feel like Pompey is slipping away from his Republican ideals (if he ever even had any to begin with). This talk of "my land" and your outrage at what "the plebs" are doing are not marks of a protector of the citizenry, and smack of aristocratic and autocratic tendencies. I will keep a wary eye on the son of Netpune!

    P.s. You are most deserving of a rep from me, but I've been a bit less active the last two weeks (been out and about with less internet access), and can't yet throw one your way. But when I can, I will
    | Community Creative Writing
    | My Library
    | My Mapping Resources
    | My Nabataean AAR for EBII
    | My Ongoing Creative Writing

  11. #231
    Cookiegod's Avatar CIVUS DIVUS EX CLIBANO
    Citizen

    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    In Derc's schizophrenic mind
    Posts
    4,452

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    This sixth part - or partus sextus, as the Romans would say - was a great read as always C.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  12. #232
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
    Content Director Patrician Citizen

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    12,243

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    That's a nice line about being hailed like Alexander, as a liberator. The line 'the nobility will pay' feels like a reference to something, and I can't think what. I wonder how much trouble this new rebellion will cause.

  13. #233
    Campidoctor
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    __DIR__
    Posts
    1,874

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)


    Rome II
    Imperator Augustus

    #7




    --------------------------
    (Click to view)
    --------------------------



    I am boiling. These Easterners dared to rebel and succeeded in doing so. A legion is send there to deal with the matter immediately.


    The Britons achieved nothing with their confederation. Their isles are now a province of Rome.


    I ordered my men to chase the last remnants of the Ptolemaic Kingdom to the edge of the world, if they have to. They did. As I've heard, they got them at the coast of India.
    I am glad that Egypt has felt my fury. I feel delighted and am truly proud of my people.


    Rome still has some things to settle with the Germans. They are a danger and must be undone, or they will undo us one day.


    The invasion of Germania began in spring. We must avoid to fight in this harsh land in winter as much as possible. However, even in Flora's sacred time of the year Germania is a spooky and dark place.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    Schwarzwald Forest, Germany.



    This is a dangerous place. Almost all the troops in the West are marching. Five whole Legions enter Germania. Not even the Germans can do anything against that.
    By mid summer, most of their land is under Roman occupation.

    I made sure none of my Generals was named 'Varus'. The gods gave me bad omens about that name.


    The cloak falls and the brute warrior turns out to be a fearful coward. Even these dumb Germans begin to understand that they have no chance against us.
    They offer us peace and their serfdom. I decline. They shall die.


    The Nori come to the help of the Marcomanni. They themselve have trouble under the harsh conditions so far up in the north.

    ⚙️ Authors Note - Technical
    Attrition can only be dangerous if you are in hostile lands and are under the threat of an impending attack. Otherwise it is laughable and can easily recovered in a turn or two. The A.I. does not understand that too well.


    As Rome grows, so does its waste. The Cloaca Maxima needs to get expanded. I also appeal to have it locked in order to prevent further weirdos from sailing down it.
    Cloacina, please make it never happen again.


    Haha! These guys have courage! You have to admit that to them!
    They are just a little bit too late...


    Now this is something different.
    Another confederation. I hear that Dacians and Thracians bundle together, forming an astounding realm in the Northeast.
    This will make seizing Thrace much harder.


    The war between the Daco-Thracians and the Parthians rages on. Rome partially steps in by "liberating" wartorn regions at the front. Nothing but death and anarchy is found there. This will change. Roman order will shine even in this remote region of the world.


    The Nori cower in their corner. They know what will happen to them soon.


    Using a Briton shaman to murder a Germanic one is ... an extravagant way to handle them.


    While Legio VII is busy with the Nori, Legio IV is tasked to deal with the Semnones.


    Legio IV dealt with them harsh and quick but not without losses.
    Legio VII in the meanwhile hasn't made any progress. What is going on up there?
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    It got wiped. Stepped into an ambush. Not everything is always going according to plan. :



    The next German tribes already stand ready but I have the feeling we have expanded too fast. Most of Germania fell in only three years. It is unstable and will need some time to be pacified.


    I am still far down in the south. Roman merchants from Himyarite lands have recently returned without head. I guess that can be interpreted as an act of war?
    *Sigh* Will I never be able to leave this dry place? Rally the troops once more!




    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    This is pretty intense. Each update you slice a huge new chunk of land into your domain, but you seem to always have just as many enemies and just as much left to conquer. And I must say, I feel like Pompey is slipping away from his Republican ideals (if he ever even had any to begin with) [...].
    I've been happy when I finally defeated one foe and that was almost always the time someone else attacked me.

    Pompey is just stressed. He needs some vacation.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    P.s. You are most deserving of a rep from me, but I've been a bit less active the last two weeks (been out and about with less internet access), and can't yet throw one your way. But when I can, I will
    No worries, man.
    I was more worried about the fact that I mixed up one picture between this and the last part - that technology screen Cloaka Maxima <> Seed Selection. It had been fixed quickly. Nobody seems to have noticed it. Is this good or bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    This sixth part - or partus sextus, as the Romans would say - was a great read as always C.
    I knew you would find it sexy.
    Look here. We mangled even more Germans in this part.

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    That's a nice line about being hailed like Alexander, as a liberator. The line 'the nobility will pay' feels like a reference to something, and I can't think what. I wonder how much trouble this new rebellion will cause.
    The Egyptians betrayed Pompey's father in a vicious way. He holds a grudge against them just as he held it against the Triumvirs. He knows, however, that the lesser man should not be held responsible for it. So the elite had to bleed, no matter who was behind it.
    Last edited by Derc; July 03, 2019 at 09:43 AM. Reason: Typo? Check.

  14. #234

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc
    I've been happy when I finally defeated one foe and that was almost always the time someone else attacked me.
    Tell me about it. Mo victories, mo problems, am I right!

    Whatever you do now Derc, don't trust those Minaeans! I am starting to slowly work toward them in my AAR, and I can tell you they are traders to a man!

    Oh wait, maybe I mean traitors...

    Either way, throw javelins and ask questions later
    | Community Creative Writing
    | My Library
    | My Mapping Resources
    | My Nabataean AAR for EBII
    | My Ongoing Creative Writing

  15. #235
    Cookiegod's Avatar CIVUS DIVUS EX CLIBANO
    Citizen

    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    In Derc's schizophrenic mind
    Posts
    4,452

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    I enjoyed this! ...until I saw you posted a pic of the one spot in the black forest where it's flat. Only us locals were supposed to know about it! Identify the traitor at once!

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  16. #236
    Turkafinwë's Avatar The Sick Baby Jester
    Content Emeritus

    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    3,802

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    Literally no one:

    Rome: I'm blue daba dee daba daa!

    That's a beautiful picture of the Schwarzwald, I hope I can go hicking there one day. (Not that it's that far from where I live, on a world scale of course )

    Great to see the game can still surprise you sometimes because it seems you have everything perfectly under control depite everything. Romans have a bad reputation when it comes being ambushed by Germans.

  17. #237
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
    Content Director Patrician Citizen

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    12,243

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    The quote from Seneca sums up the situation nicely. Yes, it's good to see that there are still surprises, even though Pompey's forces outmatch his enemies by far. I like the way that nations try to find ways to survive, by offering to become client states or confederating with others.

  18. #238
    Campidoctor
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    __DIR__
    Posts
    1,874

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)


    Rome II
    Imperator Augustus

    #8




    --------------------------
    (Click to view)
    --------------------------



    To my surprise the Himyarites have quite a decent fleet. It is of no use, however. They may field twice as much men but the city is well defended and my troops full of experienced veterans. The Himyarites suffered such a decisive defeat it was emberassing.

    ⚙️ Authors Note - Technical
    Focussing on quality instead of quantity really pays off in Rome II.


    My other men are exploring the far north. This is a forsaken land, not worth to be conquered. I order my men to turn back.


    The Himyarites invaded the land of the Nabateans. The locals may not like us but they like the Himyarites even less. They help us luring them into an ambush.
    Yes, such a thing is very much possible in the desert.


    The Himyarites got the inevitable coming for them. The battle lasted only a few minutes.


    Confederations seem to be in fashion. The remaining Germans bundle together to defend themselves. It's too late for them.


    Our Cantabrian friends offer to help us against the Germans for a symbolic sum of gold. Very noble, friend, but you are located at the other end of the world. We got this.


    There. The Nori are done. Now to the other ones.


    I look at the map of the world and are in awe.
    Apart from some small tribes remaining in these inhospitable lands of Germania and Arabia, the whole world is split into three major factions.
    Rome to the west, Daco-Thracia to the north and Parthia to the east.


    These Germans and their witch queen think they have a chance just because they succeeded in temporarily conquering a weakly defended village.


    I will show them better and order my men to bundle together, delivering the Germans a last valiant defeat, killing their queen and crushing their power once and for all. The Legions march to subdue the last Germans.


    A savage day it was. It rained and thundered the entire day. The storm and their hunger made the dogs insane. We set them loose. And so the beasts chased the beastmen.
    "What a show it was", my men would say. A symbolic win in more than one way.

    A few nobles managed to get away. Once my men and their dogs have chased them down, it is over.


    The Himyarites see their homeland conquered and flee to the unknown land far to the south.
    My men catch them there and annihilate them. I then order them to turn back. This land is too strange for Rome. Too far south, too hot, too dry, too worthless. It is a graveyard.


    A more profitable desert is the one around Yathrib. These locals, however, know how to defend themselves. I need reinforcements.


    That's it with the Germans. Rome's campaign in this frigid land is finally over. These wildlings will finally get to know some order.


    I hear some rumours about a miracle happening in the East. Some special person is roaming the place. A prophet, said to be the child of god, a single god.

    Bollocks, I say! I order my agents to find this so-called 'prophet'. Such ideas could prove to be Rome's undoing one day.

    I think I found him. Or rather her. My agents took care of this witch called 'Shakira' in a swift way.
    The chances to get her were slim but it worked out. That should do it.


    Who knows what kind of tragecy we have just averted. It's a special year, I feel that.


    Rome's treasury has grown big. So big that we can't spend all the money anymore.
    Would anyone have thought such a thing is even possible?
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    📝 Authors Note Rome II seriously has a problem with balance. At one point of the game you start to literally money, earning more than you can spend despite building things everywhere.
    This happens in every TW sooner or later. In Rome II it is way too soon.


    With this false prophet dealt and Rome being safe from civil war and poverty, what should stop it anymore?
    Rome was a pile dust a few decades ago, as was my dynasty. I was forced to flee from Octavian, Marc Antony and Lepidus, but eventually rebuild from the islands of Sicilia, Sardinia and Corsica.



    I have brought the Republic back from the brink of darkness and I demand respect for it! Respect! And obedience!

    This is not the end of my story, and neither is it of Rome's glory.
    Rome ... still has its tasks.

    ☯️ Philosophy & Spirituality
    Ok, joke aside. I know what comes might be a dangerous thing to say and that's why I scramble this into a contentbox.
    Don't read this if you are easily offended with someone's thinkering about religion.

    Spoiler for something about religion
    So it's the turn of the eras. I don't need to explain the story of Christ, everyone knows it. I want to check the background.

    Judaea hasn't been under Rome's occupations for long. A few decades. It was around the times where Jesus appeared when Rome tied its grip around this area. The conquest was still fresh.

    This land around Jerusalem always had a special relationship with religion just as it had it with culture. As a fertile land being located between the intersection of Africa and Asia it is no wonder that it became a multicultural hub.
    Jerusalem is ancient and mysterious. It was a holy land even long before the Old Testament. It is as such also not surprising to see that the people living there had a habit to explain natural disasters in supernatural ways.

    Rome came. A strange power from some distand land, thightening its grip around this land you would call your own. Judaea had seen wars. It knew pain and it knew suffering. Being conquered by a foreign superpower was nothing new.

    ...And I would also say prophets were nothing new. History is full with prophets, full of ideas and religions where the flame was extinguished before it could spread into a wildfire. Christendom was at danger itself long enough but it eventually managed to succeed because of countless different circumstances.

    Religion can be an impressive tool. It can give you security, community, ease. And something more.
    How can you mobilize the masses? It must be something everyone has in common.
    Well ... life. And death.
    You might not always intimidate someone with consequences that can happen in this life, but you can almost always intimidate them by making them fear what is to follow after it. People do not grasp the idea of just "not being there" anymore. It is too hard to handle. Religion knows how to utilize this fear.

    When religion failed, nationalism took over. This failed too and now what? Look around in this world. People are still seeking for answers, still seeking for something higher, still seeking for something that unites you with the rest of your contemporaries. Religious extremism and nationalism reappear from time to time, but I have the feeling what seems to have become the next higher thing after religion and nationalism in this third millennium is ... WORK.

    It's just my own opinion of it. The only thing I am really sure of is that everyone thinks different about it. This is perfectly well. It shouldn't be any other way.

    🎭 Funfact
    There was an error in the calendar. Today it is widely accepted that Jesus must've been born between 6 and 4 BCE. Both, the death of Herod and the Star of Bethlehem, point to it.

    📝 Authors Note
    It's a bit disappointing that there was no event regarding Jesus. Absolutely nothing.



    If you want to know how to piss off Christians, Muslims, Germans and Shakira fans all at once, this chapter shows how to do it.


    Quote Originally Posted by Kilo11 View Post
    Whatever you do now Derc, don't trust those Minaeans! I am starting to slowly work toward them in my AAR, and I can tell you they are traders to a man!
    I feel almost bad. You write about the struggle in the Arabian desert with so much detailed passion and I just swoop in, roflstomping everyone while doing bad religious jokes.
    Almost.


    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    I enjoyed this! ...until I saw you posted a pic of the one spot in the black forest where it's flat. Only us locals were supposed to know about it! Identify the traitor at once!
    Psst, don't spoil it. It's so much fun fooling tourists.
    Now seriously, there are some flat areas but they are very rare. Just as 'mountains' in Denmark.
    The traitor is named 'Varus'. Some guy who claims he knows this place pretty well. On some vacation in the Teutoburg Forest atm.

    Quote Originally Posted by Turkafinwë View Post
    Literally no one:
    Rome: I'm blue daba dee daba daa!
    That's a beautiful picture of the Schwarzwald, I hope I can go hicking there one day. (Not that it's that far from where I live, on a world scale of course )
    Great to see the game can still surprise you sometimes because it seems you have everything perfectly under control depite everything. Romans have a bad reputation when it comes being ambushed by Germans.
    Haha, omg, you gave me a good laught. Have a +rep, fine sir!
    I listened to this song so much in the 90's (yeah, I'm that old).

    Indeed, it is the very fate of poor Romans to be ambushed in dark German forests. Not even Pompey's war machine can do anything against it. Good things these Germans are now gone.

    Quote Originally Posted by Alwyn View Post
    The quote from Seneca sums up the situation nicely.

    Yes, it's good to see that there are still surprises, even though Pompey's forces outmatch his enemies by far. I like the way that nations try to find ways to survive, by offering to become client states or confederating with others.
    It does indeed.

    Yeah, it's something very nice I've witnessed. If the situation becomes desperate, the A.I. will try out new things.
    Last edited by Derc; July 03, 2019 at 05:29 PM. Reason: $"/%=)§"$# Typo

  19. #239
    Cookiegod's Avatar CIVUS DIVUS EX CLIBANO
    Citizen

    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    In Derc's schizophrenic mind
    Posts
    4,452

    Icon1 Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    Quote Originally Posted by Vespasian
    Woe is me. I think I am becoming a god
    I remember saying that. I was pretty baked at that time.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Gettit? Gettit?



    Ok ok! Sorry! I'll be serious now.


    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    The traitor is named 'Varus'. Some guy who claims he knows this place pretty well. On some vacation in the Teutoburg Forest atm.
    Normally I'd make an antivarus.exe joke right now. But I promised I'd be serious, so I'll cuss you out instead. Ready?
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    C, u so stupid! Hermann the German was the traitor!

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    A savage day it was. It rained and thundered the entire day. The storm and their hunger made the dogs insane. We set them loose. And so the beasts chased the beastmen.
    "What a show it was", my men would say. A symbolic win in more than one way.
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Anthony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
    "Cry 'Havoc!,' and let slip the dogs of war."
    What a show indeed.
    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    My agents took care of this witch called 'Shakira' in a swift way.
    The chances to get here were slim but it worked out.
    You sure you're not the witch dabbling with the forbidden magic of reloadmancy?

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    Ok, joke aside. I know what comes might be a dangerous thing to say and that's why I scramble this into a contentbox.
    Don't read this if you are easily offended with someone's thinkering about religion.
    *autistic screeching*
    Joke aside: You cannot kill Shakira and then use a spoiler instead of a contentbox and not expect people to be triggered. (ò_Ó*)
    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    Spoiler for NOT a contentbox
    herecy
    A contentbox
    Actually, I see the connection between Christ and Romans differently. He wasn't ill disposed towards them. E.g: "Give the emperor what is the emperor's" (=taxes because the coins had his face on them).

    Old testament is very bloody, Jesus Christ made a very significant shift from it, to mercy and so on.
    There isn't much negativity between Romans and Christ at all. They're neutral to each other.
    My theory is that because earlier, when they lived as bedouins where no laws existed, this revenge/honour system was necessary for the society to keep the peace. When the Romans came, this was no longer the case.

    It is true that Jews expected a Messiah with a sword to free them from their heathen overlords. There was an endless number of that kind of people especially in those days, which is what "life of Brian" is actually satirising.
    Christianity won because it did exactly that the other way. Also because the world was getting tired of too many gods. So if Christianity hadn't won, we could all be Jews now, or believing in sol invictus, or such.


    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    It's just my own opinion of it.
    Well it's wrong! Shakira is god! No wait, I am. Anyway, you're wrong!

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc View Post
    It's a bit disappointing that there was no event regarding Jesus. Absolutely nothing.
    Just like you, they didn't want to offend, and offended by doing that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod View Post
    From Socrates over Jesus to me it has always been the lot of any true visionary to be rejected by the reactionary bourgeoisie
    Qualis noncives pereo! #justiceforcookie #egalitéfraternitécookié #CLM

  20. #240

    Default Re: Derc Plays Through World History (Current: Rome II - Imperator Augustus)

    Quote Originally Posted by Derc
    I feel almost bad. You write about the struggle in the Arabian desert with so much detailed passion and I just swoop in, roflstomping everyone while doing bad religious jokes.
    Almost.
    Don't. I may be doing it with detailed passion, but I'm making very little real ground. You clomped the Minaeans into the dust over the course of a handful of a screenshots, and I'm gonna need probably 9 walls of text to do it. Bleib fleißig!

    Quote Originally Posted by Cookiegod
    ... series of puns, light jabs, and other humor ...
    No comment on this, other than that I loved all of it
    | Community Creative Writing
    | My Library
    | My Mapping Resources
    | My Nabataean AAR for EBII
    | My Ongoing Creative Writing

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •