Outbudgeted, Outmanned, Outgunned - Portugal RTW Let's Play

[HolyDragoon]

Hello everyone, and here I am again, screwing up like a champ as usual!



On the last weeks, natogeneral released a pack of custom nations with smaller nations, cue my surprise when one of those was my favourite runt of the litter, Portugal. Yeah, in the beginning of the XXth Century we were in the ****. Not 'the ****', 'in the ****'.



Also, aeson also made an expansion to the world map, adding new possessions. I thought it was fun, so I decided to just grab my stuff and show you that since my last Spain playthrough... I learned nothing.



*maniac laugh*



On y va!

---

Ok, so before we really start, I made one small alteration to the nation, adding The Azores to the starting possessions. It's not like we didn't own the place already.



Anyway, let's see what my home has:








Hey, that's not... terrible. I mean, at least I'm not saddled with a pile of flaws. Undeveloped shipbuilding industry is probably the lightest malus in the game, and we can make it go away with time. This also shows one of the limitations of the original map: there wasn't an Atlantic Area, so the only chances for a stating area would be Northern Europe or the Med.

Anyway, with 12kt of dock size and only able to build guns up to 10' (which was pretty much the highest caliber we ever had in service in the recent history of our Navy), our shipbuilding options are restricted to smaller CAs at most. With that base budget, it not like we can really afford much more though.


When it comes to other nations, could be worse.


Who am I fooling? Italy would give me a hard fight, and even freaking Spain will give headaches if we come to blows. I'm not even going to touch the others.



For this match, I will pick medium-size for the fleets, at 20% research progression and Varied Technologies. This will make for a sloooow tech buildup and added headaches.

---

João Quintanilha woke up with the telltale signs of a bad hangover. Of course, said hangover only got worse when he realized he was sitting on the desk of the defunct Admiral od the Armada... and he had been caught at if, if the First Lieutenant looking at him was any indication.



'Ah, I see you're awake now, Admiral.'



'What.'



The man raised an eyebrow. 'You don't remember what happened last evening? Nothing at all?'



Quintanilha raised his head from the bin he was currently busy puking in. 'I'm a bit busy right now to remember what happened after a night of debauchery,' he admitted.



'I can see that sir. Allow me to refresh your memory. Up until yesterday, every person invited to the post of Admiral of the Armada refused the post, so our King decided to... draw straws among some of the officers.'



'Oooh, I remember that.' the now-Admiral moaned, as he realized the implications, 'I drew the short straw, didn't I?'



'Yes sir, you did.'



'Ugh, great.' As he lifted his head from the bin, he realized something was wrong. 'Why is the flag red and green?'



'For some reason, His Majesty decided to proclaim that Portugal was now a Republic.'



'WHAT?!'

---

So, it's time to build the fleet. Our funds are just a smidge over 190 million, and comparing budgets with the one the other countries have, well...








Hahaha... well, this is a bit of a pickle here. My strategy for now will be to invest on light forces... and probably make enough subs to make a dry road to the Azores, once I get that tech.








This will be my starting class of DD. I was pondering whether or not to use a more gunboat oriented type of destroyer as I usually do, but I figure I could use as many torpedoes as I could fit in there, as I know I won't be able to meet the tonnage that other countries will invest in the havier capital ships. Since the symmetry option is closed to me, I'll go for the counter armaments and hope it goes for the best. I'll build 24 of these destroyers, to have enough for at least 6 destroyers per possession.








As far as cruisers go, this is probably a mistake. I like to build cruisers as close to the maximum tonnage as possible, and they usually dominate other cruisers in gun duels, yet I can't afford the luxury of sheer size here. Still, I'll fit them with two submerged torpedo tubes, and since the Protected Cruiser configuration allows for double turrets on the A and Y positions, I'll place a double on each side. It is not efficient weight-wise, but it is a couple of extra guns on the centerline, which in the end means one extra gun per broadside compared to all singles along the flanks of the ship. Also, this configuration was planned to allow for a cross-deck fire in any refits down the line. I'll build 5 of these, three to have in the colonies, and a couple to serve in the home territory.



Right now, I have just under 50 million left for a CA configuration, plus any bits and pieces that I might think of, like minesweepers.








I have just enough to build one of this (ended up with 400k of my starting funds). I opted to order this one from an external shipyard because I wanted wing guns on his design, due to the smaller caliber battery, yet I didn't want to sacrifice too much speed. At 23 knots, it isn't too terrible, but it is still a step away from my usual build (15-16k, 24knots and only 4 10' guns in two turrets forward and aft). Suffice to say, it will serve in home waters and pretty much be the flagship of the fleet, at least until I think about some kind of battleship design to build.



This is is for the starting fleet. Now, for the ships under construction, I'll focus on the minesweeper design:








I've run into a weird problem here. Supposedly, the minesweepers get their names from the AMC name list. For some reason, mine aren't doing that, meaning I have to build one minesweeper at a time, because I have to give a name to every single one of them. This is... annoying.



Now, I just recalled something: I have no idea which area the Azores belong to. Central Atlantic sounds to me the most logical choice, so that's where I'll deploy my colonial force. The other two colonial fleets will go to West and East Africa. This means my home fleet is my CA, 2 CL and 6 DD.



EDIT: I later went through the map file, and Central Atlantic was indeed the right choice.



Now, it is time for the proper game to begin. First thing to do is to set up research to 10% and pick three areas to have high priority: Light forces, torpedoes and Subs.









I do have half a mind to change ammo doctrine in regards to targets, given my guns are only on the light-medeum range, and battleships at this point in the game burn reeeeeally well.



Since I'm pretty much out of money, there's not much I can do in terms of construction, so I'll just close this chapter here, with the current numbers from all the nations ingame:








See you next time!

[garrisonchisholm]

@holydragon, good luck! If you approach this disaster play-through with the same zeal you applied to Spain, if nothing else you will assuredly be entertaining!  

[aeson]

Now, I just recalled something: I have no idea which area the Azores belong to. Central Atlantic sounds to me the most logical choice, so that's where I'll deploy my colonial force. The other two colonial fleets will go to West and East Africa. This means my home fleet is my CA, 2 CL and 6 DD.



EDIT: I later went through the map file, and Central Atlantic was indeed the right choice.

Yeah, sorry about that; with the way I have the sea zone boundary boxes drawn, there wasn't really a good way to include The Azores in the Central Atlantic, and with where the islands are it didn't really feel right to stick them into either Northern Europe or the North American East Coast, so they ended up in a bit of an ambiguous position.

[HolyDragoon]

And welcome back to this mess in the making!



For my next trick, I'll guide you through the first two years of Admiral Quintanilha´s term as Fleet Admiral of the Portuguese collection of ragtag boats Navy.

---

So, it's January 1900, and nothing's happening yet. My current funds are 99k, so for this month, I'll just lie back and wait for the next month to come.







Oi, you're already doing that to me, seriously? Well, improving bases it is...



Wait. Why in heavens my HOME AREA cannot support my fleet?! I don't even, seriously. Anyway, Up to April, my monthly income is spent on base improvement so I can actually have more than a rowboat in Africa.







Okay, the first decision to make. I'm not really interested in picking a fight with anyone, but I also need that budget increase that comes with the first option. Given that tensions are low, I can take it, shouldn't be a problem.



As the months go by, nothing really important seems to happen. I mean, the minesweepers I ordered are finished, but nothing really releva-







Oh what the hell. You had ONE JOB! ONE! All I wanted was some decent torpedoes, and Variable Technologies had to bite me in the arse. We have to look for the upside of it: at least my destroyers won't probably launch torpedoes with the rest of my fleet in the middle.



There is one thing bothering me, though. Why do I keep getting messages that the fleets in my home area don't have ba- let me look at that map file.



Portugal is linked to the Northern Europe Area. Well, this is a surprise, and some feedback for finetuning as well. Moving my fleets to their rightful place then. That should solve their problems, and in a few more months the upgrades to West and East Africa bases should be done as well.



Meanwhile, I'll reinforce my home fleet with another light cruiser and a few more destroyers. I'll probably want a ratio of at least 6 DDs for each CL.







This will leave me on the red in my mothly balance, but I have enough funds in the wallet to take the net loss. Besides, it's only ten months, plus any delays that might happen...



Seriously, this dearth of events is eerie. I mean, it's already November and all I got was this soddy thing:







Given Germany is one of the big dogs and I do have a higher level of tension than desired with them, I'll pick the bottom option. And the following month, I get some not-so-bad news!







Well, small blessings and all that jazz. Still, it's free 1k for my dock size.







What?! No, bugger off! Ask me later when I don't have my slips full! Still, I'll need to be careful with any further tension increases. I got lucky this time, only Italy and Spain got miffed, but Germany and the US are already on level 5. I really don't want to escalate anything with those two.



Again, dearth of events. Between January and April there was only a research event on fire control, and that didn't bring me any new techs. Then, I get this:







You know, Korea. In the other side of the world. Whatever, do what you want.







*Insert generic North Korea joke here*



And then, these guys not making things any easier for me:







As if to mock my remark of too few events, a British spy gets caught in June.







I kindly suggest him to eat the closest gun barrel, pull the trigger, and save us all the hassle.







About time I get a technology researched, no? Then again, it's a 20% game, stuff like this is liable to take a lot of time. And a lot really means a lot.



But what's this? Are my research teams that inspired this month?!







Nnnope, no joy on another tech. Still, it's an advancement on that field.



August is the month where some of the DDs I ordered are delivered. Still 3 to go that got hit by 'unexpected delays'. More like the dockworkers were too deep in the wine.







The Government, mayhaps, is too concerned about nosing in the business of the Navy. Every. Single. Time. Despite not really wanting to take the budget hit, and disarmament conference would work to my advantage here, so... let's give it a shot.







Well, crud. And the tension drop only hit Spain and Italy, which makes this event a complete bust, since they already had the lowest tension levels of all countries.







The game continues to mess with my by torpedoing my torpedo-related research. By the looks of things, I might get Mark 13s.



And in this note, we reach January 1902. I'm still deep in the ****, and the chasm is only growing higher.







Yup, Germany does not like me.

[aeson]

Portugal is linked to the Northern Europe Area. Well, this is a surprise, and some feedback for finetuning as well. Moving my fleets to their rightful place then. That should solve their problems, and in a few more months the upgrades to West and East Africa bases should be done as well.

That's probably my fault; I didn't look at where natogeneral placed Portugal when I put it into my map mod.

Attached is a map file that gives Portugal base capacity in the Mediterranean where your build area is; extract it, change the pound sign (#) in the file name to the number of the save slot that you're using for your game and paste it into the save folder, replacing the map file that is there, and it should work.

MapData.zip (130.52 KB)

Edit: Revised the file to give Germany Northern Korea and Portugal the Azores.

[HolyDragoon]

Warning: This is image-heavy. I'll post the second part later.

So, two days have passed since my last episode, which means it's RTW time again. During this time, aeson kindly supplied me with a quick fix to the 'no bases in home area problem', and during some quick side games, I've found a couple of other weird behaviours the game had in regards to refits while the ships were in foreign stations (timer froze). Hopefully, once the time to refit my ships here come, I don't fall in the same trap.



The main reason for those quick side games was to try to try out strategies and see what sticks to the wall. Strangely enough, all those games were more interesting than this one. I guess I know now where the good RNG rolls went to.



So, where were we? Ah yes, January 1902. As usual, I'll probably cover the span of two years. Let's see if I have something worth showing this time.

---

Okay, so before we start, let's take another peek at the almanac.







So, I'm pretty much outnumbered in everything BUT destroyers, and even those are split among my colonies. One point I did find positive, is that while my lone CA cannot outgun the ones from other countries, he can certainly use his 23-knots to outrun them (well, apart from some British models who have the same speed, but that's expectable), even if it's just a one knot advantage. It might be a good idea to think of another design with heavier guns in the future.



But the reason that brought me here was to let you laugh a bit.







This is what Spain is fielding as their battleship fleet. I thought the 2-1 design of Austria-Hungary was ridiculous, but I don't think I've ever seen this thing. And now I wonder, can I design an affordable battleship class that is still able to outperform this? I want to reach at least the same speed, and I'll pick a higher tonnage, if only to make sure I have a couple more guns and better armour protection, because this design is basically a slow armoured cruiser.







This pretty much addresses the Spanish battleship question, I guess. More to the point, once my CL that's currently under construction is done, I'll have enough monthly income to be able to build one of there without needing to worry about monthly losses. In fact, I think I'll start to build one of these, I can take a small net loss for some months, even if I'm losting a million every two months.



Now, let's hope the bloody parliament does not get the idea of taking more of my budget away.







Hmm, well, this is a chance to gain some prestige and lessen tensions, and my funds can take it. Sure, let's do it.







Spain spain spain. I will try to sweep stuff under the rug when it comes to other countries, but this time, you're out of luck. Besides, I may get some extra money out of this. And right after this event, my research teams come bearing news.







Ship design? Not to look like a ungrateful berk, but couldn't you focus on the areas that I really want to see some development in?







You got something? Oh, don't mind me then, new techs are new techs, even if I'm not sure I'll give use to this particular one in the near future.







Two months in a row? Did you bastards roll a nat 20 somewhere? Well, no tech came out of it, but I'm impressed!



And in the next month, I found myself in a strange position.







So, in one hand, this is one less potential enemy to worry about, but I WILL take a hit to the budget, something I don't really want. The middle option, at least in this situation, isn't something I want, since I have one battleship in the slips and I can get one of those 10k ton limit treaties. I will accept the offer.







Now, what was the hit on the balance? Ugh, 200k deeper in the red? Harsh.







Well, if that's what getting an alliance with those guys brings me, I can't complain too much! Besides, lighter armour is always good.







Also, my research teams seem to be having a good year, bringing me news of more unexpected advances! Didn't get anything out of it, but I'd rather take this than more nerfs to things I really want.







Last chapter, I complained about too few events. This chapter seems to be trying its hardest to prove me wrong. I don't really like the options this time. I'll opt for the gunboat, since tensions with most countries are at 6.







These guys are on fire! I don't know what are they cooking, but they seem to make unexpected advances everywhere.







This time, they give me a hull weight reduction. Not bad at all!







July 1902 kicks in and my CL is finally complete. Given that it cost a bit over 900k per month, it means that I'm back to a small net gain every month. Good.







And there's also and event that almost always makes me pick the second option.

---

Admiral Quintanilha folded his hands in front of his face, before glaring at the representative of the steel mill.



"I'll let you know that the Portuguese Navy is not some harlot for you to make money out of, mister. Lieutenant, please escort this gentlemen out of my office."

---

More money is always good, yes but the connotations make me go for the refusal option by instinct. At least I get some more prestige.



Since this is getting pretty long, I split this chapter between two posts. Seriously.

[HolyDragoon]

Part 2 of the chapter. Something went wrong and it was truncated somewhere? Dang it.

Anyway, what happened here was that for some reason, I got info on torpedo tech from Italy, despite not having any effort put on intelligence. A couple of months later, my research teams, who have been strangely active, give me some torpedo-related news.



... and put it to good use!
Then, a few more months of boredom, broken only by Spain peeking on my techs (I increased intelligence efforts on them for the stunt), and the USA...



... well, looks like I'm the cool kid on the block or something. Fine, accepted.



Nopenopenopenopenooopeee! Whew, war averted. Still, I lost 3 Prestige. And then, the research team comes to brighten my day.



Good, very good. And I got something out of it!



They have more stuff to say, as usual.



No new tech, but it was a nice haul. Now, I only need to be able to actually start building subs.
November comes with yet another offer from the British.



Now, 9 inch guns aren't really a caliber I usually pick, but I will take the offer, and think about a CA model built around these guns, since my battleship is only 5 months away.



Every time someone makes me an offer, this guys come out with unexpected advances.



Yay, progress! This means I can work on two new classes before this chapter ends!



This CA has a steep price tag, but it is still better than its predecessor. My 10' guns are still -1 so I can't judge if it will be enough to take on the 10' CAs that other countries field. I'll start building one of these, since my battleship should be ready in about 4 months.

About my new DDs... I'll make them pretty similar to the 500t model, changing only the main calibre from 3' to 4', and giving them normal engines instead of the ones tuned for speed the previous versions had.



And just because my research teams are rolling like that, they didn't let me close the chapter without yet another tech research.



And this is it. Right now, this is how I stand.



I have no idea why the UK gets pissy at me, honestly. :confused:

[HolyDragoon]

All right, two days come and gone, it's time for another two years, hopefully with no parts cut off because I cannot into image limit.

---

[/hr]

So, where was I... ah yes, my battleship is 3 away form completion and I've set a new CA on the slips.



I got this right on the first turn. While this means less money, reducing tensions with one of the big wigs is always good. And the turn after that, my research teams start doing their stuff. You know, if they start spamming unexpected advances like they did in the last chapter, I'm just going to post whatever tech they might find and the area where they had their advancement.



Submarines, yesss. Now, let's hope this gives me a tech...

Nnnope. Crud. Well, let's get to the next turn.



I'm going to file a complaint with the British, their shipbuilding is crap. And the strangest part is, I don't recall having this event happening to me, usually it's always the speed penalty one. I guess this will be a single ship class, because I have no idea if this issue can be solved, and a stability penalty can be punishing in battle.

On other news, the Americans make an offer to me.



I think this is the first subdivision and DamCon technology. Naturally, I accept... and as expected, my own research teams have something to say in regards to fire control. These guys thrive on competition or what? No new tech, though.



Aww yes, more money to pad my budget! And the research teams actually say what they're looking at right now, saying they're close to the 6ft rangefinder tech.

Cash wise, this latest event, combined with the hit on the budget I took in exchange for reduced tension with Germany, mean I'm 10k in the black right now, with the CA around 20 months away from being ready. I can't really do much as things are right now.



Okay, so the thing with low percentage tech games is that every offer you have is a bigger boost when compared to a 100% tech one, where you could reach that technology in a matter of months. IIRC, this is an armour tech, and of course I will take that offer.

And guess what? Yup, research guys are at it again, and this time they unlocked a new tech!



Keep up the good work, you guys.



Huh. Well, tensions with France are getting pretty high, and with the map fix aeson made, it's not like I need to keep parking my forces in Northern Europe. Of course, this also has an upside.



Well, time to move my ships to the Med, probably prepare to do some training in torpedo/gunnery, just in case tensions rise even more. I just wish I can have subs by the time...

Yes, what do you research guys want? Submarine progress? Well, that's good...



YEEEEEEES!



Hahahahaha, what's the matter, no money for bread, only for battleships? TOO BAD! You still have a huge budget compared to mine, though.

Okay, so I have a surplus of 246k per turn. This makes two subs at a time, and I should probably start working on this now rather than lamenting a lack of submarines later.




So, tensions with Italy are not too high, and if I don't sell the tech now, they'll probably steal it from me later, as usual... well, let's consider this a repayment for torpedo tech. It's also 1,7 million extra in the coffers. A couple of turns later, I sell my Hardened AP Penetrator to the USA as well.



...

MAKE UP YOUR GODDAMNED MIND, YOU TWIT! I will send my armoured cruiser and a couple of light cruisers up to have a small force there, I guess.



This means tensions with Germany can go even lower, and they have a better tech level then I do, so there's a chance I'll benefit from this as well. Meanwhile, I take another hit to my prestige since I don't have forces in Northern Europe, and...



Oh for pete's sake. On the next turn, I get an option that gives me prestige at the cost of tension... and Great Britain pulls out of the treaty due to rising tensions. I really can't win this, can I? Still, not everything is bad news...



I don't really use this kind of tech, to be honest, higher caliber secondaries are pretty heavy, and I'd rather go for a bit more armour. My research teams also unlock a machinery tech.

Taking a peek at my budget, I realize I can put order three more subs, and my first batch is 5 months away from completion. That's good, though I'm very unsure at tensions rising with a lot of people at the same time.

Two more months come and go with only one relevant event... and a three or four unexpected advances by my research teams.



I'd love to have some minelaying ships, though.



If you don't cut the crap, I'll find a way to organize a coup to kick you out. Somehow.

However, an event triggered, allowing me to reduce tensions with France, at the cost of some of my budget. I will accept it, just to get the idiot out of my back regarding forces in Northern Europe.

I also get one damage control tech (Improved subdivision) and AP Projectile tech (Reliable bursting charges). Two in one turn is pretty good.



Throw the sodding race!

And this is pretty much the final event of the chapter. As usual, have the current state of budgets, ships and tension:



Tensions are better than they were a couple of months ago, fortunately. Still, the small size of my navy really worries me.

[HolyDragoon]

And like death and taxes, the next chapter of the strangest run begins. This chapter, it's 1906 to January 1908! Will I be able to make ends meet with my miniature fleet, or will random events drag me to an early retirement?

---

Last chapter, I got my battleship and tensions with France started to screw with my prestige. Right now, I have one CA building and no budget for much else, apart from your duo or trio of subs.

Of course, said CA is one month away from being ready. Small blessings, really, and I still have that destroyer design to build.



... really? Did you have to do that to me? *sigh* Well, at least it is finished and already working up. Right after this, I order the construction of 8 destroyers, following the 600t design I shared... last chapter? 230k remain for the monthly balance, and I wonder if it is a good time to get some coastal batteries up? I mean, they aren't that useful, but if anything else, I can get my fleet close to one and see if it can shoot anything somewhere on this hemisphere.

No wait, they're a tad too expensive right now. Maybe later.

Next month, research teams and their unexpected advances in AP Shells and Fleet tactics. No new techs. I wonder what is their definition of 'unexpected advances'.

The USA offer 12-inch guns. While I'll probably never build anything that requires them, they'd at least be around just in case. They're quality 0 as well, so it's not terrible. At 2,5 million, it's a bit expensive, but doable.



In June, the three subs I had underway are finally complete, and my research teams make more advances in AP Projectiles, Ship Design and... something else I forgot to note. Nothing came from it either. I'll build a 5-inch coastal battery, and repeat it for the other colonies to have at least one gun up.



Excellent! I like this kind of events, free money and no tough decisions! My reasearch teams also make more advances in Ship Design. I wonder what those guys are cooking.

Anyway, with the budget increase I can get another battery up, or some more subs. I will go for the subs this time, and try to balance budget leftovers between these two items.



*scratches head* Ah hell, it's not like it will hurt my budget for very long. I just need to keep an eye on my funds to avoid any slips into the red. Which is enough reason for the world to screw me over again.



Despite picking the first option 'happy' is not a word I'd use. Still, my Prestige is very low, I need to take this option.

And problems with France rise up once again, netting me another point of Prestige lost. Crapbaskets. Also, Germany sells me Cross deck Fire, which is a piece of good news, since it comes in time for my cruiser's refits.

Next month, yet another research breakthrough, only this time it gives me techs! Capped AP projectiles and High Tensile steel are unlocked. Nice. Some of my destroyers are done as well, so I'll shuffle a bit my forces to reinforce Northern Europe. Alas, not in time to take YET ANOTHER prestige hit. I think this happens because the map fix for the Mediterranean fix lists that possession as a home area, meaning I have to cover both sides at all costs. Unexpected consequences, probably the nation file has to be edited to either change the home base to the Northern Europe or make the home area in the Med.

Still, all my DDs are done now, which means I have once again breathing room. Tensions with France won't let me send my cruisers for a refit right now, so I guess I'll continue reinforcing my destroyer fleet... and slip one battery in the middle. I end up opting for another mix, with two coast batteries, three subs, and three destroyers to go with the one I got at a discount.

Research teams have more breakthroughs in fire control. No new techs, but can I hope for Central firing in the near future?



And my docks are now at 16k capacity.



Accepted.



I completely forgot I had a tech agreement with Germany. Also, my science guys seem to have hit some snags in some machinery projects as well, though they seem to be doing well towards Safe fuse arming devices.



Well, what a pleasant surprise! And a caliber I actually use, too!

I just recalled something. We're almost at 1908, and minesweepers can be autoscrapped if they get too old. Might as well go for a rebuild to save me the effort of manually naming every single ship I build.

September gives me the Fuse arming devices at last, and then I get this particular conundrum.



That last option? Dropdown list only gives me Great Britain, Italy, France or Germany as options. To make things worse, my prestige is as is, so I'll need to take the middle option and a tension increase with no gains to speak of. Fortunately, the only country is affected is, amusingly, Spain.

I had a random decrease in tension as well, so I can risk sending a cruiser for a refit at a time. I'll start by the CLs, to give them the cross deck fire they were designed for. With the space gains, I also give them 6 3-inch guns as a secondary armament. For now, this will do. The idea is to rotate cruiser refits as I go, trying to keep as many as possible in active service.



I'd rather be able to sell it to other nations, but... ugh. I will take the budget option. I need a bigger monthly budget now, not some nebulous possiblity of making some money in the future. As it turns out, I get 700k more in my monthly balance. Excellent.

It's already December 1907, so to close the chapter, I'll take my current funds to order a coastal battery in the last possession that still lacks them, and invest the rest in... I wonder if I can build another CL?

Turns out that yes, I can! So that's another ship on the slips. And another trio of subs from what remains in the budget.

And then the Prime Minister had to stick it in again, which means I lost some of my budget due to the low prestige. My lifelong ambition will be to stage a coup and make that matey walk the plank. I could have taken the the other option the event gave me, which would raise tensions, but with my luck, that would lead to another prestige loss due to lack of forces in my home areas.


Since we're already so close to the end of the chapter, I'll waste some time in the ship picture generator. Today, You'll meet the battleship and the armoured cruisers.



I have neither any idea nor any taste on designing ships. Bear with me.






And so, this is the state of things in January 1908.



Yeah, no real progress here.

[HolyDragoon]

So, vacation time for me! Since I was travelling yesterday, there was no chapter, and today I had to solve pretty quick an issue I had with my internet. Who knew there would be so much wireless interference in the 2.4GHz band here?

---

[/hr]

So, last chapter I was planning to refit my cruisers to enable cross deck fire on them, and also because they're probably close to getting the Obsolete status. So, rotating them through the colonies as one of them goes through their refit. The first one is a month away from being completed.

The first month, research teams claim they're close to getting Central Firing. A bit too late, but oh well.

April 1908, three subs are completed, and the research teams claim advances in submarines. No new tech yet, but that's good. So far, very no relevant events. However, pretty much most of my fleet is now saddled with the dreaded (O). Fortunately, all the destroyers need is a blank rebuild.

Also, the first pieces of good news! 1kt more for my dockyards, and more importantly...



Even if my torpedoes are nerfed out of the wazoo, it's still pretty good. And hey, at least my DDs won't try to fire their torps THROUGH my battleline.



Huh? So, this seems to be one of the possessions added with the map mod. I honestly have no idea where this is.



Ugh, I wanted to take the middle option, but in the middle of all the refits, it would be the worst idea ever. I will pick the first option, and pray France does not get too aggro'ed.

Okay, it wasn't. Whew. Also, my security arrangement with the USA is gone. Bummer.



Well, well! This is a good surprise. Sure, it could be the B turret, and if I'm not mistaken I don't even have the three centerline turrets tech, but it's still very good. Of course I want it.

To keep with tradition, my eggheads tell me they made progress in the field of armour development, though nothing came from it.

Still nothing relevant happening, apart from a spaghetti spy being caught and given the gentleman's way out. I put four (!) more subs building, since I can spare the budgets, being in the middle of all these refits.




Hmmm...



I regret nothing. :V

My sole Battleship wins it. Good for them.

And apparently, my 'intelligence efforts' netted me information on the British dreadnought, Benbow.



'What intelligence efforts', I wonder. Either way, I'm screwed if I find one of these, not even the Lisboa can open a hole in her belt. I don't know how thick is her extended belt, but something tells me my luck wouldn't be much better.



Took you long enough, I say. Either way, future refits that aren't the CL one will benefit from it.



Again? And you don't give me Spain as an option again, you bastards. Middle option it is, then. The British seem to the the ones that are pissed with me now. What I did to them, I don't even know.



Okay, very nice.



While I need the Prestige, I have a safer choice, even if it gives me less rewards. I'll pick the middle one.



Yeaaaah, about that... I refitted my 500t DDs (who use 3-inch guns) a while ago. Bummer.



Going to take a chance here and see if I can push a treaty.



Aaand no luck.



*rolls paper* BAD SPAIN! BAD! SPAIN!



And a bit more dock space, followed right after by...



Middle option it is.



This is pretty good, to be honest. One of the problems with this kind of low tech games is that signalling errors happen very often.

Also, I have a balance of 2 million and it's already December. Hmm. What do you think I should do?

To close the chapter, three subs out of the yards, and both the Diving Planes (Submarines) and Explosive Sweep (ASW) technologies.

Honestly, I don't know what to do with the budget I have. I have no relevant techs that might justify a new class of ship, and building yet another capital ship sounds a bit wasteful to me, even though I could order them from the USA (and with their probable tech levels, it could be a pretty good ship, too!)

So again, I'm going to turn to me small audience and ask what do you think I should do.

As usual, to close the chapter I give you the state of the art.



Next chapter will be tomorrow, to get back into the regular schedule.

[HolyDragoon]

As I said, I'm making this chapter today to get back into schedule... well, more or less.

---

Anyway, last chapter I was wondering what to do with the monthly income I had. Then, I realized this small detail:







Ayup, Spain got into the dreadnought race before I did. Well, I do have the cash, though trying to install the machinery to get BC speeds would put me in the red pretty fast. A regular DN will do. Of course, building it at home is pretty much impossible, so I turn to the only country that might have the best technology and that isn't pissed off at me.



Remember the last chapter, when they sold the superimposed X turret tech to me? Yeah... they can't build superimposed turrets. At all. They can't build cross-deck fire designs, too, so I decided to reach for a compromise. The ship will be built in the US yards, in the meanwhile I'll prepare my docks to refit it with CDF as soon as it comes out of their slips. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Colorado! (Provisional name)







This can only end in flames. Actually, this design takes me into the red... well, about 5k lost per month, something I can see if I can turn around with some chicanery, or a lucky budget increase event.



Also, Spain and the UK did not find the construction of this ship funny in the slightest. Either way, this month the research teams bring me some bad news first.







And then they say they made progress in AP projectiles.







Well, one setback compensated by a new tech. All is fine, and also advances on Light Forces, though no new tech, sadly.







*insert happy dance here* This brings my monthly balance to... 185k. Not bad. Research teams also returns with more progress, this time for torpedoes, but no new techs to tell the story.







Do as you please, it's not like I'm interested in raising tensions with you.







Well, if you like sand that much...







?!?! I'm pretty much sure I didn't lose any prestige to get these guys riding my arse again? Bloody politicians.







Picking the second option will reduce tensions, and I might get something out of it as well, so let's do it!







Middle option. I don't care if I lose that DN, it's the only option that doesn't screw me over tensions or budget. Besides, other countries will feel the pain as well.







'Peace and stability' my left buttock! Anyway, the technology sharing has results for me in light forces. Sweet!







England, I forgive you for trying to screw me up a moment ago. Now keep the tech rolling.







I don't care, next!







I said, I don't care!







I can't lose more prestige! Wait, how did I lose another point? Was it related to the event, or every time another country takes a possession you get shafted?







I never thought I'd say this, but I need a 28th of May here, if only to get these guys off my arse again!



On other news, more advances on machinery, but no new technologies.







...



You know what? Screw this. Have it your way. Hope Spain annexes you.



End of the game folks, here's the final situation:







I'm starting to think letting countries take possessions does impact your prestige.







Fleet tonnage is just as expected...







Same with the economy.

---

[/hr]



So, I get sacked with an inglorious 14 prestige, and reached November of 1910. What did I learn from this?





1) I must have masochistic tendencies;



2) To use both the country and the map file, I need to fix either the zone to which Portugal belongs, or shift the home area to match the place where the territory is on the map file;



3) I must have masochistic tendencies;



4) There are a lot of free possessions that match Portugal's colonies in this time period, maybe I could add them in, though the far eastern ones would probably mean even more problems;



5) This is worse than Spain. Seriously!





Well, that's that guys. I will bother you no more and retire in shame. As I wrote in the threadmark on SV for this chapter, this is 'A Let's Play so bad, the game kicked me out!'

[garrisonchisholm]

Just to say a word before this game is lost to history- and as the game's proprietary owner- ...would you like it included in the AAR Preservation Project? It has a beginning middle and end!

And you have my sympathies. 

[HolyDragoon]

Hahahaha sure, go ahead. I haven't done the modifications I proposed, I'm meditating a bit on that since in one hand, it means there will be more money coming in from the colonies, but on the other hand, I'll find myself needing to assure a minimal amount of control over multiple sea zones.

It can probably be done with smaller, cheaper cruisers for colonial service and smaller destroyer squadrons (4 instead of 6). Another thing I pondered was moving the territory/home base to the Central Atlantic (logical of sorts, plus it would take some colonial requirements away, since it would cover the Azores and Cape Verde), but the battle maps seem to be in Finland, and I'm not sure how one thing would affect the other.

Maybe, if my adjustments turn out alright, I'll try to do a v2 of this run. But for now, this one can stay as a record of the follies of playing with small nations.