A Shimazu Campaign Diary (now complete)

Jack_Lusted_CA

Hello all, as a follow on to the screenshots and info I posted here, I thought I would post up a thread detailing my playthrough of a Shimazu campaign.

The campaign is being played on normal difficulty and on the same PC that is mentioned in the other thread. The Shimazu are rated as easy to plsy, but as you will see I've faced quite a few tough challenges so far.

Links to all campaign updates:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31
Part 32
Part 33
Part 34
Part 35
Part 36
Part 37
Part 38

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1545, Kyushu. The Shimazu start in the south west corner and my first tasks are to start upgrading provinces, building up my economy and conquering provinces.



To bolster the economy, I start researching Chi as that will enable me to build markets. I also upgrade the farms in my region and once that is done I will upgrade the castle.

The Shimazu start at war with the Ito, and neighbouring Osumi is within march of my starting army. Putting my Daimyo in charge of it, a fierce battle is fought. The small garrison is bolstered by reinforcements from nearby but I intercept them on the battlefield before they get to the castle and annihilate them. The rest of the defenders are easily defeated.



The province is mine! A few turns later and I am building a market in Osumi, when complete it will provide valuable income.



I am focusing on building up my domestic economy as I know I will wage war on all clans on Kyshu at some point and do not want to be reliant on trade with them or suffer the penalties of breaking treaties with them. A few new units are recruited and I march my army North into the last remaining Ito province.



Their army marches out to meet mine. They outnumber me in missile but I have the edge in melee, I sit back on a hill near my deployment zone and wait for them to come to me.



Their missile troops engange mine and their Yari Ashigaru engage my melee line.



Using my generals Inspire ability and concentrated missile fire I manage to rout their melee troops and my Yari Samurai who had been held in reserve move forward to engage their missile units.

Their Yari Ashigaru rally, and my Yari Samurai are whittled down in combat and rout as my main force advances.



My Yari Ashigaru engage their remaining units and even my general is thrown in to the enemies flanks.



My forces prove too much for the enemy, their general is slain and they rout, victory is mine!Comments on Units pdf

Garett20

Time to work on my strategy...

bennywhise

Very, very nice
can't wait till the 15th
Come on time, go faster

Secuter

Seems Awesome!! Although I would like some closer screen shots of the battle

Jack_Lusted_CA

Thanks to that successful victory, my general has gained a rank.



Every 2 levels your general and agents get the choice between 2 Retainers. This time I have chosen one that gives me bonus to melee attack for sword units over one that gives greater campaign movement.



The Stronghold in Satsuma is now complete, opening up a new building slot. I decide to build a stables there which will allow me to recruit Light Cavalry.



The next turn the Ito's last province Hyuga falls. I spend the next few turns upgrading provinces and improving my economy before I receive 2 bits of bad news on one turn.



Blast, I have no units near Satsuma so I will have to try and build an army as quickly as possible.



The Shoni adopting Christianity means I will face problems with religious unrest as I conquer Kyushu, they are also allied to the Sagara.

But there is at least some good news that turn.



One of my Daimyo's sons has come of age, another general ready to help lead my amies.

The next turn the warning proves to be true.



And the turn after the Shoni join in.



I continue my efforts to raise a new army in the south, and I also recruit my first agent to help me scout out the enemies lands.



My Metsuke awaits his orders.

totalwarzone

looks good, thx lusted

oOIYovoYIOo

You should be punished for showing us the hell are you playing a few weeks ago!
Very little has changed with the AI, so if he had the advantage in archery, why not enjoyed such superiority, rather than just attack with light infantry.
By the way, I always leave the best units in reserve.

Thanks for the images,im hoping to see some more .

Jack_Lusted_CA

With the Shoni at war with me as well, I move my Daimyo's army up to the border.



The chokepoint should provide a good defensive position, but it turns out their armies are heading a different way to my territory.



There is also a Sagara army around there, this could get tough.

My Metsuke begins his scouting missions and gives me a reason to hope.



With their army on the other side of the island, looks like I could move in and take some of their provinces if I can hold them off at Satsuma.

My Daimyo's army moves in and quickly captures the province, gaining him another rank.



In the settlement I notice something that will cause me problems.



There is a Nanban Trade Port, spreading Christianity to the local population. I immediately order its demolition and decide I should build a Buddhist Temple in Bungo.

In the South the enemy seeks to outmanoeuvre me.



The Shoni are trying to move over the undefended bridge, I move my army to try and get round there.

Further scouting from my Metsuke shows me that the Sagara have committed all their forces to the South. Exempting Bungo from tax and hastily recruiting a garrison I move my Daimyo's army in to try and headshot them.



And also because I forgot to do it when he levelled up *oops*, I choose my Daimyo's skill points.



Being able to attack at night should hopefully come in useful later.

My Metsuke carries on his mission, and finds more vulnerable targets.



Down South, things are becoming critical.



I must act soon.

totalwarzone

if you post more Screens we didnt must play them
the other, it is hard just looking and not can play myself. I curse you

One more time, great screenies, thx a lot.

ranknfile

Excellent, thanks for the screenshots and commentary. The campaign map looks so beautiful ... along with Japanese music ... a "wee bit" of Sake ..... oh yeah ... this will be the epic sagas of epic sagas.

oOIYovoYIOo

I would engage and annihilate Sagara clan before going to Shoni borders.

Oh my, the end ?
How did you let them pass !

ranknfile

"There is a Nanban Trade Port, spreading Christianity to the local population. I immediately order its demolition and decide I should build a Buddhist Temple in Bungo."

YES!
Do not dishonor your ancestors by adopting the foreign hairy stinky infidel's false religious beliefs!
GOOD MAN!

Jack_Lusted_CA

I move my Daimyo's army to siege the Sagara's province.



A reinforcing Shoni army stands by to help them, but I overwhelm them in the battle.



The Sagara are no more and their army in the South melts away. I still have the Shoni to deal with though. And it looks like my conquests are not going unrecognised.



And more good news a few turns later as the cat and mouse chase between my army and the Shoni's continues.




The prospect of children for one of my Daimyo’s sons, and another of his sons has come of age.

To the North I continue my aggressive race up Kyushu.



Another tempting target.



It looks like the Shoni have committed everything to the South just like the Sagara did.

And in the South, the Shoni army is beginning to suffer from attrition.



I decide that next turn I should strike.



I hold the melee superiority and also have Light Cavalry to call upon, whilst their missile units pose the greatest threat.

Sjón

I can see a part of Korea on the minimap! can we take armies there?

epic_159750290354zas2GHf

Sjón wrote: »

I can see a part of Korea on the minimap! can we take armies there?

Err no. They just added Korea because it should be there. You can't drop your armies on the hsores of korea.

oOIYovoYIOo

Wait,you did skiped this part ?
http://img705.imageshack.us/i/shimazu10b.jpg/

They didnt atacked youre Capital !?
That was disapointing.

Jack_Lusted_CA

The battle loads, and an unwelcome sight greets me.



I click wait and see the weather I want, sunshine. I don't like fighting in the rain.

I divide up my army ready for my plan of attack, but can't resist zooming in on my men



The enemy army is ready to meet me.



Due to the more numerous enemy archers I have split up my army. My Bow and Yari Ashigaru along with my general move forward to hold the enemy in place. My Light Cavalry move to the enemies flank and then walk hidden through the forests to take up position behind the enemies lines.



My second general with my Katana Samurai move to behind a low hill.



My plan goes well. My Katana Samurai engage the enemy’s melee troops on the left, then my Light Cavalry sweep down and hit 2 of their Bow Samurai in their managing to route them. My Ashigaru force moves into missile range and opens fire whilst the Yari Ashigaru move forward in formation and engage the enemy in melee. Soon on the left I have managed to rout some of the enemy and begin to roll up their line. My Katana Samurai and Light Cavalry get bogged down on the left.



I pull out my Light Cavalry and my left begins to move in to help the Katana Samurai.



The enemy general is killed, and my troops rout the remaining enemies.



The results screen shows the cost of victory.



A key victory that means I am now secure.

Kinjo-migrated

Truly fantastic, I can't wait to play the campaign. I wonder if when the general levels up does the generals model change on the campaign map?

Jack_Lusted_CA

That is all the updates for today, I will post some more later in the week. I'll try and answer all the questions can.

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Sjón wrote: »

I can see a part of Korea on the minimap! can we take armies there?

No.

oOIYovoYIOo wrote: »

Wait,you did skiped this part ?
http://img705.imageshack.us/i/shimazu10b.jpg/

They didnt atacked youre Capital !?
That was disapointing.

I attacked their capital on their turn and wiped them out.

Kinjo wrote: »

Truly fantastic, I can't wait to play the campaign. I wonder if when the general levels up does the generals model change on the campaign map?

No, generals models do not change as they level up as generals have distinct looks. There are 10 unique Daimyo models/portraits and around 80 generals models/portraits thyat are used to add to the diversity and distinctiveness of generals.

oOIYovoYIOo

Yes ,but yu didnt destroyed Shoki clan.What hapened they retreated ?

ranknfile

Thanks ever so much... uh .. "Legendary Mode" .. Is this available on different Campaign difficulty levels, or is it a difficulty level all its own?

Zork

Wow, very nice read (and alot of screens aswell!)! Thank you Jack!

Jack_Lusted_CA

Yes ,but yu didnt destroyed Shoki clan.What hapened they retreated ?

I moved my army in the South to block their path so they moved again to go over the other bridge.

Thanks ever so much... uh .. "Legendary Mode" .. Is this available on different Campaign difficulty levels, or is it a difficulty level all its own?

It's a difficulty of its own.

Kinjo-migrated

Thanks for the answer that sounds like you guys went to town on the generals which is great. I really like how generals set on stools, I assume when generals are on stools this was the check point you were talking about. So when generals have these check points up what does it do and will they be able to set up deploy-able defenses like stockades and pavise for archers? it would be cool if it blocked/increased the chances of enemy agents being detected if they move through the check point control area.

Jack_Lusted_CA

Thanks for the answer that sounds like you guys went to town on the generals which is great. I really like how generals set on stools, I assume when generals are on stools this was the check point you were talking about. So when generals have these check points up what does it do and will they be able to set up deploy-able defenses like stockades and pavise for archers? it would be cool if it blocked/increased the chances of enemy agents being detected if they move through the check point control area.

Generals sit on their stools when out of movement points. I positioned my army severals time in positions where the enemy army would not be able to move through because the armies zone of control prevented them. Defending armies automatically get deployable defence sin land battles.

Sergeor

How fast is researching comparing to previous TW games?

Does army consumpt food?

Is whole Japan so full of mountains? Hope there isn't too much "natural barriers"

What advantages or disadvantages do you get from night attacks? Is arrows more invisible and making more damage??

Is there any cities or are all provinces strongholds?

Can't wait to get my LE
Thank you!

Jack_Lusted_CA

How fast is researching comparing to previous TW games?

Slower than Napoleon generally. There only a few provinces with buildings that help to speed up research rate.

Does army consumpt food?

No, food limits what level of castle you can build. So if you have 2 spare food you could upgrade the castles in 2 provinces or twice in 1 province.

Is whole Japan so full of mountains? Hope there isn't too much "natural barriers"

Japan is a very mountainous country.

What advantages or disadvantages do you get from night attacks? Is arrows more invisible and making more damage??

Any armies that aren't eld my a night fighting general get a morale penalty. Missile ranges are reduced across the board and the distance at which hidden units are spotted is lower.

Is there any cities or are all provinces strongholds?

All provinces are castles.

SuburbanKillbot

These are the best kind of previews

A couple of questions...

Are Ronin/Rebels represented on the map? If so, do they pop up at random, or are they formed from the remains of a defeated clan's armies? Can we recruit/bribe them?

Also, do you think raiding a province with a small force is worth it? Is it possible to really cripple a clan economically by blockading ports/using ninjas/destroying infrastructure etc? I've read you can incite rebellions using monks. I like to weaken my foes before delivering a hammer blow

Many thanks!

Kinjo-migrated

I agree these are certainly the best previews. One last thing I saw there was a retainer unit (the one with the over-sized unit card) in one of the pics, so are retainers and yari ashigaru part of the built-in castle defense like the citizen militia in ETW and NTW?

Spike

so you mean, that the sagara army just disbanded because you took their capital?
it would have been quite challenging to defend against both shoni and sagara. They could have conquered your entire south together.
I dont like it when you dont have to fight their army just because you took the capital. it feels kinda like cheating. you wouldnt just give up when you stand in front of the enemies capital. they could at least turn into rebels or something like that but just disband and let your ally down..doesnt feel right.

http://img705.imageshack.us/f/shimazu10b.jpg/

Maizel

Great stuff, Lusted, cannot wait for more.

You've said you;re using the same system as on an earlier date What kind of system was that again?


Thanks!