Grognot
Posts: 409
Joined: 12/7/2007
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Wellll... hmmm. Keep in mind that the objective is VP, and that you get VP based on political status each economic phase -- and since your VP target as France is rather high, you need to get your political status high and keep it there. That means winning battles and accepting surrenders. And there's at least 18 months of enforced peace after a surrender, so that's 18 months you can't beat up on that person for PP...
First bit is setup. You have particular quantities of factors of different types -- infantry, cavalry, guards, heavy ships, light ships. You can put infantry in garrisons, if you like. You can put all of 'em in corps and fleet counters. Note that more corps/fleet counters will cost you somewhat (supply and maintenance is per-counter; in addition, political points per battle is based on # corps/fleets) and tax certain leaders (leaders strategic, tactical, and tactical-maximum-rating values. The latter is counted in corps; more corps compared to TMR, lower tactical). More corps and fleets gives you flexibility, since you can't split corps in a movement phase other than depositing troops into garrisons. Corps are also opaque, so you can play games by having more corps than you strictly need and letting your opponents guess which ones matter... but fleets are transparent. Corps/fleet counters are free now, but later on you'll have purchased them in the previous economic phase to place 'em. Corps and fleets go well together; that is, Britain needs to be much more cautious of your fleets if there's a corps sitting in the same port, since neither corps nor fleet can move and -then- transport or be transported. Garrison your fleet'd ports, because port defenses don't work without a garrison.
You also have access to leaders galore -- and many of them are actually competent. That doesn't mean you should emulate the AI and put great ones on tiny stacks to get them captured.
Place depots, too.
You should be looking northwest (guarding against raids by the British, who are sure to blockade your fleets ASAP; one thing you don't want to do is pile all your fleets in one lightly garrisoned port, only to have them blockaded -- followed by a raid on the port of both British and Swedish troops, and the Portugese if you're really unlucky) and east. Spain fears your army and the British fleet, so they're going to want neutrality instead of arbitrarily pissing either of you off. Prussia and Austria will both fear you, will also want the minor nations that you're also looking at, and are rather likely to ally against you.
Note that while Spain fears your army, it's also not particularly useful for you to invade them. Much better to have them possibly on your side or neutral, than joining their fleet with the British; guerillas are annoying; invasion supply isn't available to you while your fleet is blockaded; and you probably have more pressing engagements to the east.
The first diplomacy phase is likely to see a Spanish DoW against Portugal, and quite possibly (certain if Russia is AI) DoW against Sweden. Both have fleets and enough men to put in a decent corps; it is also plausible that both become British-controlled, in which case they'll likely be used against you. Don't feel compelled to DoW Austria or Prussia immediately. It's winter, so supply costs grow; there are quite a few minors to take along the way; the extra time to accumulate troops isn't necessarily a bad thing; and you may want to see what happens with the Portugese and Swedes, and to sound out the Turks and Russians -- although neither are particularly useful allies if AI.
You can also manipulate two minor nations per diplomatic phase -- obvious targets are Portugal and Sweden, since they're likely to be DoW'd and therefore instant free states for whoever influences them. If you get them, the British are going to have to blockade those fleets too. Naples, Denmark, and Venezia also have fleets, but Venezia is Austrian already, and neither Naples nor Denmark is quite as likely to be DoW'd on first turn (although both are possible). Egypt is also going to be DoW'd (by Turkey, which is pretty much certain to win unless distracted by an immediate major offensive against them by the Russians).
Oh, and when doing your diplomacy phase, consider when to set your move order -- normally moving either first or last. First lets you respond to things like port raids (those irritating British-controlled Swedes and Portugese can't disembark until the land phase, so you can be ready for them) or to take targets of opportunity; last lets you respond, and gives you the possibility of going first -next- land phase for two movements in a row.
...
Treat the AI as an opportunity to learn the interface and mechanics, but not as a remotely reliable opponent. It'll let you get away with far too much -- leaving its leaders vulnerable to capture, neglecting to blockade your minor fleets, and having the Austrians and Prussians war too much against each other.
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