I've come to the conclusion that France is unstoppable. It's usually the most dangerous AI-controlled rival (even without the 600 mission points) because its economy is so powerful.
I tried France again, and was somewhat more ruthless than the first time I played it. I began by winning the Hundred Years War so that, by the time Joan of Arc showed up, there were no English on the Continent (but France held Wessex).
The French economy was sufficiently good that it was unnecessary to borrow money to fund a relentless offensive that continued to a 100 percent advantage for peace negotiations. The key is cavalry, cavalry, and more cavalry. It kills the enemy armies (shock is paramount in the early game) and then you can cut your land pay to fifty percent while your soldiers sit around the enemy fortresses, play cards, and wait for capitulation.
By 1650 or so, France was the only country that counted. Again, the economy is so good that you can buy a new manufactory every few years! You can pump out troops without worrying too much about your budget, and simply overrun your opponents. Even if you start to get war exhaustion, you're in a position to recruit swarms of cavalry to oppress the Rebel Scum. (I went almost maximum narrowminded, offset by max. centralization to balance war exhaustion against research and production.)
Circa 1780, "We Are the World," or "We Rule the World." Austria: force-vasselized and diploannexed, same for Poland and Spain. (It's novel, to say the least, to see people whom you've never heard of before getting elected Holy Roman Emperor.) France now stretches from Portugal's borders to Moscow (Russia was diploannexed) and includes half of Italy and most of Central Europe. England was just force-vasselized. The only countries that are left are Sweden, Novgorod, and a couple of little German states. History effectively came to an end circa 1700, with no one willing to start a war in Europe. France has 7000-plus points, more than three times as many as the second-place country (someone like Bengal or Delhi, as no major Europeans are really left).
France is "hated throughout the world" (I think this is the worst possible "Bad Boy" rating, unless you get "Evil Empire" somewhere along the line)-- diploannexing major countries like Poland and Austria, and ruthless suppression of independence movements earned me that one. Of course, no one dares do anything about it...
Revenge for Tordesillas... the Spaniards (before I overran them) were irritating them with repeated attacks on my American colonies and armies. They'd manage to beat my army (they could lose four times if they only won once) and take over my colony, or even lay siege to my city. I finally got tired of it. Just because they're ALLOWED to do it doesn't mean it's necessarily a good idea, especially when there's a mainland connection between you and a colossus like France. So I finally invaded them and vasselized them.
When they were vasselized, I could move my armies into THEIR American territories and kill THEIR armies. (Tordesillas, as it's set up now, means an automatic battle when a Spanish or Portuguese army meets a foreign one. I've suggested changing this to make combat optional on Spain's or Portugal's part.) This was not mere sport; the Spanish armies were trying to relieve cities that were beset by Rebel Scum. The French commander, having driven off or destroyed the Spaniards, said to the rebels, "Go ahead with what you are doing."
Which meant, of course, a couple of nice defections.
Speaking of which, the option of refusing a defection should be offered. If you're Hannover and surrounded entirely by France, do you REALLY want Magdeburg to defect to you and give France a casus belli?
How do people handle the starting rules for multiplayer? It would seem that whoever gets France has a decidedly unfair advantage because the economy (and manpower) are so good.
I tried France again, and was somewhat more ruthless than the first time I played it. I began by winning the Hundred Years War so that, by the time Joan of Arc showed up, there were no English on the Continent (but France held Wessex).
The French economy was sufficiently good that it was unnecessary to borrow money to fund a relentless offensive that continued to a 100 percent advantage for peace negotiations. The key is cavalry, cavalry, and more cavalry. It kills the enemy armies (shock is paramount in the early game) and then you can cut your land pay to fifty percent while your soldiers sit around the enemy fortresses, play cards, and wait for capitulation.
By 1650 or so, France was the only country that counted. Again, the economy is so good that you can buy a new manufactory every few years! You can pump out troops without worrying too much about your budget, and simply overrun your opponents. Even if you start to get war exhaustion, you're in a position to recruit swarms of cavalry to oppress the Rebel Scum. (I went almost maximum narrowminded, offset by max. centralization to balance war exhaustion against research and production.)
Circa 1780, "We Are the World," or "We Rule the World." Austria: force-vasselized and diploannexed, same for Poland and Spain. (It's novel, to say the least, to see people whom you've never heard of before getting elected Holy Roman Emperor.) France now stretches from Portugal's borders to Moscow (Russia was diploannexed) and includes half of Italy and most of Central Europe. England was just force-vasselized. The only countries that are left are Sweden, Novgorod, and a couple of little German states. History effectively came to an end circa 1700, with no one willing to start a war in Europe. France has 7000-plus points, more than three times as many as the second-place country (someone like Bengal or Delhi, as no major Europeans are really left).
France is "hated throughout the world" (I think this is the worst possible "Bad Boy" rating, unless you get "Evil Empire" somewhere along the line)-- diploannexing major countries like Poland and Austria, and ruthless suppression of independence movements earned me that one. Of course, no one dares do anything about it...
Revenge for Tordesillas... the Spaniards (before I overran them) were irritating them with repeated attacks on my American colonies and armies. They'd manage to beat my army (they could lose four times if they only won once) and take over my colony, or even lay siege to my city. I finally got tired of it. Just because they're ALLOWED to do it doesn't mean it's necessarily a good idea, especially when there's a mainland connection between you and a colossus like France. So I finally invaded them and vasselized them.
When they were vasselized, I could move my armies into THEIR American territories and kill THEIR armies. (Tordesillas, as it's set up now, means an automatic battle when a Spanish or Portuguese army meets a foreign one. I've suggested changing this to make combat optional on Spain's or Portugal's part.) This was not mere sport; the Spanish armies were trying to relieve cities that were beset by Rebel Scum. The French commander, having driven off or destroyed the Spaniards, said to the rebels, "Go ahead with what you are doing."
Which meant, of course, a couple of nice defections.Speaking of which, the option of refusing a defection should be offered. If you're Hannover and surrounded entirely by France, do you REALLY want Magdeburg to defect to you and give France a casus belli?
How do people handle the starting rules for multiplayer? It would seem that whoever gets France has a decidedly unfair advantage because the economy (and manpower) are so good.
