(BeachBum, there's a reply to you down there at the bottom of this post. Just skip this stuff to see it, I don't wanna make two posts.)
Funny thing is, despite the name of this thread, my last three games were against Russians (lost the first, won the next two). Yes, I'm stil playing them. Mosly because I decided to try some of the ideas presented here in this thread. After all, one can't totally close his mind to presented possibilities, right? So I figure, what the hell, let's try 'em out.
1. Jan rush vs a Russian. This is, perfectly predictably, the only game of the three that I lost. I aged up a minute before him, got my 10 Jans at his Blockhouse just as his first 5 Muskets popped out (WTF? Muskets first against Ottomans?), I kill them all comfortably, when another 5 Muskets pop out. I kill those too. I start seiging the Blockhouse (another 5 Jans are coming), I'm half way done killing it, when 10 Strelets pop out. I kill half of them while losing maybe 3 Jans total (6 Jans one shot kill a Strelet). But just then 13 Strelets pop out (shipment). Ok, now I'm in trouble. But I keep fighting it out. I actually do OK stil, but 10 more Strelets pop out of the Blockhouse.
Ok, I'm losing that battle. That's 20 Jans down the drain now (5 more joined the fight).
Knowing I can't run, I do as much damage as humanly possible before losing my forces.I quickly put up a Foundary and start training Abus Guns and Jans. But Houston, we've had a problem! I just wasted 20 Jans worth of food. Suddenly I find myself only having 5 Jans out in time to defend 5 Abus Guns with 5 more about to come out of the Foundary. Predictably, his 9 Cossacks outmaneuver my Jans (which are fairly quickly killed by his Strelets) and slaughter the 10 Abus Guns. I'm able to do some damage before these forces perish, but it's not cost effective in the least.
Now my forward base goes down. He starts working on my trade route. And apparently realising my weakness, he trains a whole bunch of Cossacks. One TP goes down, two, by the time he starts attacking the last TP (Yukon), I finally have barely enough forces to do something about it. Or so I think. 10 Abus and 10 Jans get overwhelmed simply through attrition by Cossacks + Strelets. I don't even know the numbers, but definitely more than 15 Cossacks.
I hold on some more and even manage to get to Fortress, but it's pointless. My Spahi, Falconets and a token number of Jans simply can't stand up to the massive number of Cossacks, some Muskets and Strelets. I resign shortly after my forces are annihilated.
~~~
2. I get the same opponent as in the game which is responsible for this thread! So I now try a highly, crazy defensive tech up to a Church Industrial, on Great Plains of all maps (and end up getting there by 12:41 .. ouch).
Double walls. Fort. Silk Road TPs powering my advances even when cut off from resources.
At about 9 minutes he comes in with a HUGE number of Muskets and some Cossacks. Takes down my Fort, but, thanks to Minutemen, Fort and TC fire I manage to kill most of his forces before it goes down. Now he's facing double walls with not nearly enough Muskets to get through, especially with TC fire going strong.(offtopic: do Russian player remember they can train Grenadiers?)
I get to Industrial, and just as I do, Oprichiniks show up. I go CRAZY with walls, while using my 5 Bombards (2GB card +3 from church) to snipe anything that comes close. Now he gets to Fortress. I know Culverins are coming. Time to break out of the shell. I saved my 3 age up Guard Spahi just for this occasion. They'll be my ownly hope in taking out the first Culverins, since I can't afford Abus Guns just yet (and don't have a shipment yet for the 8 Abus card). Both my Factories are now online, 2 TC card used (and they're safely established), and it's like 1600XP for the next shipment. I get the 15 Jans from the church, makes as many more as I can afford, and go fight the guy. Eventually my Spahi die and I'm forced to resort to using Jans in melee, maneuvering around his forces, to take out Culverins. Bombards, thankfully, stil take out Falconets in one shot. Eventually he gets to Industrial as well, but no Cannons of his show up.
I can't even afford bloody Abus Guns because I'm forced to put all my resources into Jan production, as this guy throws everything he can at my Bombards. Muskets in melee, Cossacks, even Strelets. He doesn't bother with Oprichniks anymore, though. Apparently the crazy walling scared him off.
And boy do I wish at this point that I included the cheaper Jans card in my deck.
After a few engagements, I end up decimating most of his forces, while my economy grows, Bombards even though they die keep getting replaced from the Factories, and after one last huge engagement where most of his forces are destroyed, while I'm left with ~10 Jans and 2 Bombards, he resigns.
~~~
3. The game I just finished playing. I did a fake Colonial fight. It was the version of Pampas where one can take all 4 TPs at 160 resources per drop (after Silk Road). Got I love that map.
Trained 10 Hussars, went to raid with them, just as I get one lone villager, a huge force shows up at my door. I disperse some villagers and use them to build offsive houses. I'm just getting the resources for Fortress with 2 shipments ready. I hit Exiled Prince, and then Minutemen. I use the Hussars (which all die) on the Strelets while Minutemen kill the mixed in Muskets one by one. Unfortunately, after I kill about 5-6 of them, Cossacks show up and easily take out the Minutemen, while the Strelets/Musket swarm takes out the Hussars.
But it bought me time in which my TC did not go down. Now it's up to the trade posts and the herdables I collected to generate food for Spahi quickly enough, before my TC comes down (he's working on my houses).
There's no way in hell I'm going to use 5 Spahi against that kind of huge Strelet/Musket swarm. They'll have no hope. No, I'm going to tuck them away and use them as anti-cav for my 2 Falconets. While my Spahi and Falconets are arriving, I plunk down a Barracks and Foundary, and start training Jans, as many as I can afford (*kisses trade posts*). More anti cav.
Next shipment is 1000 (1300 gold). I collect that while starting a Falconet queue at the Foundary.
Once I have ~25 Jans, 5 Falconets and 5 Spahi, I break out of my shell.
First his forward base comes down. Then all his expantion bases. In the middle of all this he gets to Fortress himself. I know again that Culverins (the bloody things) are coming. So I start training 10 Abus Guns and upgrade them to Veteran.
My villager count now recovers to ~35 from the 11 I was left with in the initial assault, thanks to the 2 TCs I put up and all the three train speed upgrades I researched (1600 food down FTW!).
As I am on the doorstep of his main base with 3 surviving Falconets, 4 Spahi, ~20 Veteran Jans with combat card upgrade and 10 Veteran Abus Guns, he comes at me with a crazy, absolutely crazy swarm of Muskets, Strelets and Cossacks. But those are OK, those can be handled fairly easily. Backing up those forces are 2 Falconets (his shipment I guess) and 3 Culverins.
And this part is for my "buddy" Mist.
The 10 Veteran Abus Guns take out ALL those cannons with alittle micro from yours truly.My Spahi, Falconts, Jans and the surviving 7 Abus Guns annihilate the Musket/Strelet/Cossack forces without much trouble, once those cannons are gone.
He resignes.
~~~
BeachBum,
And my argument is that Spahi FF does not save one from a competent Russian. Of which I've faced many. Mostly because it is SUICIDE to do a naked, undefended FF, even with Exiled Prince.And yes, for the LAST time, Russian Muskets counter the Spahi FF, completely.
You're absolutely right. The scenario editor is not a true representation of real gameplay. In real gameplay Spahi are at a disadvantage due to pathfinding issues, because in-game terrain is not as pristine as that of the editor.
But thankfully I haven't done any editor tests, and am basing my statements entirely on my ingame experience.
"One wants to be loved, failing that admired, failing that feared, failing that hated and despised. One wants to instill in other people some form of emotion. The soul shudders before emptiness and wants contact, no matter the cost."
[This message has been edited by Ender_Ward (edited 09-28-2006 @ 01:34 AM).]