Shingen the Ruler
Territory Management (TM) Guide
Version 3.03 August 27, 2019
Written by ireant (my Internet alias)
*TOC
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
---------------------------------
TM000 Introduction
TM005 Copyright notice
TM007 Contact Information
TM010 Star-Search - The method for jumping to references
TM020 Platform: What difference does program you use to play Shingen make?
TM030 Randomization: Why game results repeat and how to change them
TM040 Moment of Randomization: AI plans made at month start. No change later
TM050 Pecking Order - The order in which AI territories are processed
TM060 Full Examination of End of Month Processing - A look behind the scenes
TM110 Incrementals: What are they?
TM120 Yield Incremental: How to manage the wild incremental
TM130 CLT and Ca: Culture and Castle
TM140 EPI and Dr: Epidemics and Doctor
TM150 DST and Fc: Disaster and Flood control
TM160 YLD - yield
TM162 Fa-Development raises YLD and WEL
TM164 WEL - wealth
TM170 LOY and Fa-Aid: Loyalty and Farm-Aid
TM180 Gold Mines via Gm command
TM185 Produce More: the limitations of hiring more gold mine workers
TM190 Al - Alliance protects some of your borders
TM200 Nj - The spying and sabotage command
TM210 He-Heir: The arrival and training of Shingen's son, Katsuyori
TM215 Mi - Military Commands
TM220 Mi-Move Sending resources from one territory to another
TM230 Mi-Going attacking AI territories
TM240 Mi-Enlist: infantry recruitment
TM250 Upgrading Infantry
TM310 Buying and Selling PRD - how to implement it
TM320 How to make a buying territory
TM321 Making a secure buying territory
TM330 Buying and Selling PRD Models
TM331 The basic two territory model
TM332 PRD stockpile: three territories, two buying, one selling
TM333 Army Builder: One buying territory, two selling/recruiting
TM334 Balanced Arrangement: Three territories, three different tasks
TM337 Closing comments on buying and selling models
TM340 October Harvest -- details and advice
TM400 How to make money
TM410 October Harvest as a provider
TM420 Gold Mines as a financial support
TM430 Commerce with PRD
TM440 Combat spoils as a supplier
TM441 Implications of the LRB exploit
TM500 How the AI plays the game
TM570 How I play the game
TM800 Postscript: Last thoughts
TM910 Events: List of game story, seasonal, and random events
TM920 Glossary - Definitions for abbreviations or coined terms
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Territory Statistics
YLD TM160 $$ TM920 - Glossary - $$
DST TM150 PRD TM920 - Glossary - PRD
CLT TM130 G-M TM180
LOY TM170 PRI TM910 - Events - Anytime, Random Capital Only
WEL TM164 EPI TM140
second screen
HE TM210
RNK BUT050 EXP BUT060
HDQ BUT112 CAV BUT114
RM BUT120 AR BUT122
LNC BUT116 INF BUT118, TM240, TM250
Territory Commands
MI TM215 Ca TM130 Fa TM162, TM170
Fc TM150 Gm TM180 Al TM190
Mr TM250 Dr TM140 He TM210
Nj TM200 Sv TM920 Ps TM920
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
*TM000
INTRODUCTION to Territory Management:
Territory Management is the term I give to what the Shingen the Ruler game
manual calls Domestic Administration. Territory Management (TM) is the
modification of territory statistics and manipulation of territory resources:
gold, PRD, and military units.
This is my third Shingen guide. Version 1 was created in November of 2011.
Version 2 was in February 2012. It is six and half years later now, July
2018, as I prepare this version 3 guide. Even though Shingen the Ruler has
been my mainstay game, I pushed aside the thoughts of sharing the new things I
had learned. I did think it a shame that I didn't let others know the obscure
facts that I had accumulated, but I wasn't motivated to write again until
recently. I have made a new discovery that has completely changed the way I
play the game.
The discoveries I make now astound me that I didn't grasp them earlier. I
reason that as I remove the mystery over some concepts, coming to understand
more precisely how they work, doing so removes the ambiguity over other
concepts that I couldn't figure out. The range of possibilities reduced, I
finally see facts plainly.
Knowing for a certainty how things work also allows me to state with
conviction the programming bugs in Shingen the Ruler. Throughout my guides, I
will call attention to bugs in the program. Bugs are partially to blame for
retarding my understanding of the game. The inconsistencies they introduce
conceal how things are supposed to be.
My current plan is to write four guides: Territory Management (TM), Basic Unit
Tactics (BUT), Combat Guide (CG), and the LRB Exploit Guide (LEG). I also
picture writing individual Game Territory guides for the field and castle
battles of each territory.
In the guides, there will be some crossover of information. Territory
Management is concerned with operating the territory to generate resources:
money, product, and troops. Combat fulfills the game objective of taking away
the resources of the AI while preventing the AI from doing the same to you.
Even with separate focus, I can't help but include basic Combat Guide concepts
to protect your empire in Territory Management. The choices in what
territories to use, for instance, should not be made merely on economic
suitability, but also on the ability of the army to capture those territories
and keep control. You need to know some Combat Guide principles to make good
choices.
In the definition for Combat Guide above, it asserts that combat is a resource
generating venture. Although I could always see that as true because
controlling new territories is the ultimate resource, I thought of combat as
more of a necessary expense than I did a source of profit. That has changed
recently. I have discovered what I call Lower Rank Bonus (LRB). The LRB
exploit is a way of generating resources in combat that exceed all my previous
expectations. It also supplants buying and selling product as the engine I
use to finance my empire.
Explaining the LRB exploit here is inappropriate and too time consuming. The
topic rightly belongs in the LRB Exploit Guide (LEG). However, I can outline
it for you, now: LRB is the amount of extra money and PRD given to the lower
rank army that survives to the conclusion of battle, whether it be a draw,
enemy retreat, or killing all enemy HDQ. First, the relative rank (RR) of the
armies before battle is considered: the lower rank subtracted from the higher
rank. LRB awards $21.1 per RR and 15.2PRD per RR to the lower ranked army if
it survives and makes at least one kill. All the strategies and explanations
will have to wait for the LEG. [However, I give an example of LRB exploit at
TM440.]
This Territory Management Guide has exciting topics of its own. Besides
correcting many of my version 2 suppositions, I present a clarified explanation
of one of the mysterious elements of the game: the Yield Incremental. YI, as
I often refer to it, is the ever-fluctuating price you must pay to raise YLD
one point using the Fa-Development command.
Another new feature to this guide is Star-Search. I developed the idea and
name when I wrote a guide for the game, "Cute Knight - Kishi Kawaii." Star-
Search should be your next read after the preamble. There, I will tell you
how to jump around in this document efficiently.
My 2012 guide was in HTML. I used HTML primarily for the hyperlinks. The
Star-Search was compensation for its loss in making a text guide. However, as
I have come to discover, I have to split my information into several guides.
Hyperlinks would have been difficult to orchestrate. My Star-Search reference
system works without hindrance across separate documents.
There is also a Glossary at TM920 for times you see a phrase or term and
wonder what it means. Looking over the Glossary can be a quick way to bring
you up to speed with the nomenclature I use.
Sometimes I quote from the Shingen the Ruler game manual. I downloaded it
from a website. I suggest you do the same and give it a read.
While I was doing what I thought would be the final edit on this Guide, I made
discoveries that forced me to re-write sections. I discovered that YLD had no
influence on upgrade prices. WEL is the only indicator I found in testing.
Puzzled, I re-examined my strongest support for the belief that WEL modifies
PRD prices. I found it to be coincidental. Many of the strategies I was
using need to be rethought. This is awkward because I am on the verge of
developing a new system around the LRB exploit. Designing strategies around
buying and selling PRD is a step backward. It is also awkward to write
authoritatively about something new.
*TM005
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Anthony Daniel Anderson wrote this Strategy Guide, Territory Management, for
Shingen the Ruler. I write my guides for my benefit and to share with others.
I don't mind other people using the information I provide in other guides
without credit to me. However, I would take exception at someone claiming my
ideas were his own. Laugh; I have to add that I would be even more upset if
someone thought to circumvent copyright by instead claiming to be me.
My intention is to submit this guide to Gamefaqs, only. I will rely on their
corporate muscle to discourage unauthorized duplication of my guides.
*TM007
Contact Information
Please write me about reference number mistakes. Also, suggest phrases I
should add to the glossary. I am not concerned so much with typographical
errors. It is errors that confuse the information I want to stamp out. Time
will see typos corrected. I will reread my documents at some point. However,
if you feel strongly that my writing needs improvement and you can tell me how,
then go ahead and tell me.
My email is ireant2@yahoo.com
Please put
SHINGEN
at the start of the subject line in all capitals. This will help me
distinguish your email from the SPAM that packs my inbox.
I check my email about once or twice a month. If I anticipate the possiblity
of email, I will check it a little more often. I tell you this so that you
don't get upset that I haven't responded. Give it time.
*TM010
Star-Search - the technique for navigating this document.
Every section is preceded by an asterisk (star) TM (Territory Management), a
unique three-digit number, followed by a section title with a possible brief
description. The star in front of the TM number is the key to searching. I
will reference a section throughout the guide by giving the TM number, but
when you search for it, preface the TM number with a star (an asterisk). For
example, this section is TM010. When bringing up the find feature (often
CTRL-F in many programs), type:
*TM010
Nowhere else in the document is the TM number preceded by an asterisk (except
here for the demonstration). If you search without the star, you may encounter
all the times I am referencing the section. Only by using the star will you
limit your search to the section itself.
[If you are unfamiliar with the Find command, it generally searches forward
from the cursor position. If the cursor is past the place in the document
where the seek location resides, you have to search up, not down. Some
programs, such as WordPad, require you to manually bring the cursor back to
the top of the document and then search.]
Furthermore, you can also return to the Table of Contents by using star TOC.
References will also tell you where to look for information in my guides.
Those guides are:
TM - Territory Management
BUT - Basic Unit Tactics
CG - Combat Guide (not written yet)
LEG - LRB Exploit Guide (not written yet, but the draft is posted)
*TM020
PLATFORM:
Shingen the Ruler was a Nintendo Entertainment System ROM cartridge produced
around 1990. I played it in 1991. In 2011, I discovered that I could play
Shingen the Ruler on my PC via a NES emulator. I downloaded the Shingen ROM
and the VirtualNES program. I have also seen WebPages that allow online
Internet play of Shingen. [The Internet has what you need to play Shingen
for free.]
My information was generated playing VirtualNES with the Shingen ROM. My
assertions on how the game functions assumes that other platforms will perform
the same way as mine.
One of the important differences between the original NES and my use of
VirtualNES is the ability to save the game at any moment. The original NES
only allowed saving the game at the start of each month. Being able to save
at any moment allows for more control over the game, getting desired results,
and experimenting to understand the game. Additionally, I archive my
savegames while also logging my play in a text file. Having these files on
my computer, as opposed to the NES or web-browser play, allows me the freedom
to manage savegames. I often go back to old games to investigate a concept or
try different strategy of play.
*TM030
RANDOMIZATION:
Some games use a true random number generator, meaning, results are
unpredictable: a group of observed results do not indicate or suggest what
results will follow. This is not the case with Shingen the Ruler. I have
found that the game has patterns, clumps of results that make some results
highly improbable at some moments or extremely likely at other moments. For
example, I will later explain 1x, 2x, and 3x results (TM110). There are
moments when one or two of these dominate to the exclusion of the other one or
two. If you are seeking a certain result and are reloading over and over
trying to get the game to generate this "randomization," you may be doing so
in futility. The game is stuck in a pattern that you need to know how to
shift.
A random number generator algorithm produces pseudorandom numbers, meaning it
is predictable to a computer or someone with a godlike mind, but seemingly
random to us lesser mortals. Some RNGs will use or augment results with
external input, like the contents of a CPU register (which is supposedly
continuously changing) or the system time. Seed numbers could be used. These
numbers may even be stored in a savegame file (making a pattern even more
likely).
I have no idea how the VirtualNES is emulating the randomization of a NES
machine or how the NES works. I can only tell you what I have observed. Any
savegame has the potential to generate any result. Although a savegame may
store some information that affects randomization, it doesn't predestine a
result. I have been able to get the result I want with any savegame if I
persist.
The VirtualNES has a software reset button and hardware reset button. The
first is a like booting a computer; the second is like turning it off and then
back on. Although a well-written software program will erase memory locations,
a surer way to clear memory is to power off. When Shingen is stuck in a
pattern, I hit the hardware or software reset buttons and load my savegame.
[However, before I tell the game to seek a result, I often save the game again
back over itself in the same slot. I do this just in case there is some
machine state being stored in the savegame file. If so, my trials might be
somewhat different each time, thus hoping to break the cyclic pattern.]
In my archives, I save the result of each territory's activity. From there, I
hit the button to advance to the next month. This process generates a fresh
machine state. On my next territory, I set it up for its action, say digging
a gold mine with $100. I then save the game. Repeating my attempt to get 3
gold mines over and over, I will eventually try the reset buttons. I reset,
load, and then resave. I then try for my result again repeatedly, going back
to reset after a time. When the reset button technique fails over and over, I
then go back to the previous territory's result because advancing from there
generates a new state. If that doesn't do it, I sometimes go back one extra.
However, this adds the burden of repeating the same result I had already
accomplished. Yet, I do so hoping the new machine conditions will now give
me the other result that was eluding me.
Sometimes, I exit, close VirtualNES and restart it hoping for a fresh machine
state that will make my savegame give me the result I want. When that doesn't
work, I imagine that VirtualNES is loading over in the same PC memory, giving
me the same results because of being in the same RAM. So, I exit then play
some other game or launch some other program with the hopes of overwriting
computer memory with something different. After a time, I return to Shingen
to seek my result.
Sometimes I continue until I obtain my objective. Sometimes, I convince
myself that I can live without my objective, so I quit wasting time and
continue the game with less desirable results.
I waste a lot of time seeking "perfection." To speed the loading and game
play, I use the VirtualNES option: Emulator Configuration. I push "Throttle
use" from 120 to 600. The game flies fast like this. It is so fast and the
process of loading over and over so monotonous that I often get the result
that I want but I have already hit the reload button to discard it to try
again. At such instances, I tell myself, "at least I have proof of concept."
Meaning, I know my current machine state will give me the result I want.
Then, I go seek it a second time (yet, haste often has me passing up the
desired result again, requiring a third or forth attempt). [When I get my
result, I turn the throttle back down to 120.]
Besides time and game play satisfaction, statistical analysis is ruined by the
way randomization is implemented. To illustrate, there are times that I get a
gold mine 40% of the time digging at $100. Other times it can be 10% or even
worse, about 5%. Because of the randomization clumping, I cannot accurately
say that digging at $100 works 40% of the time, or 10%, or 5%. Each moment has
its own probability. I can only describe gold mine digging in generalizations.
I can't give precise description for others' expectations.
Because of the non-random randomization of the game, I reject the failures from
gold mine digging. I reload to obtain a result. There is no telling whether
the game is stuck in "easy" gold mine digging or "stingy." The only way to
find out is to conduct numerous trials. I just don't know what is the fairest
moment to give myself the "okay, the next one counts," forcing myself to accept
the next result regardless of it being good or bad. I just skip all the
ethical dilemmas by seeking the result I want, refusing failures. [See TM180
gold mines for more on the difficulty digging.]
*TM040
MOMENT OF RANDOMIZATION:
Your last territory completes its turn. You tell the computer to advance to
the next month. You are informed that one of your territories experienced a
horrendous Ninja attack. You reload back to your last territory to advance to
the next month again, this time hoping to avoid the Ninja attack. However, no
matter how many times you try, you are always attacked. Is the game stuck in
a pattern that you can change? No. You are experiencing predetermined
results that were randomly formed a month prior.
When you end your last territory's turn, the computer AI (artificial
intelligence) players get their turns for the month. Then, the next month
starts. Each territory collects gold mine income, harvest tax (if October),
experiences monthly events (such as disasters or celebrations), and collects
any gifts (such as military units). Each AI player makes plans as to what it
will do this month. Signal fires are generated if attacks are planned. Then,
the human player gets to operate his territories PRIOR to the planned actions
of the AI players. When the human ends his last territory's action, the AI
players carry out what they already planned to do. They will not randomly do
something else. However, the planning for the following month is still open
to change each time you reload an end of month.
If you want to change what happens to you at the end of a month, you have to
return to the end of the previous month to generate new random plans for the
AI players. (see TM060 for a more detailed look at what happens at end of
month.)
*TM050
PECKING ORDER - Who gets to go first?
The game doesn't allow multiple AI players to attack the same territory.
[This is a concept for the Combat Guide, but understanding it now will be
useful.] The AI player with highest priority territory gets the first
opportunity to attack. If the option is not taken, the next in line may do it.
AI territories are processed in the following order. A territory controlled
by the human doesn't participate in the "pecking order."
1 - Kai 8 - West Shinano 15 - Etchu
2 - Shinano 9 - Suruga 16 - Noto
3 - Sagami 10 - Totoumi 17 - Kaga
4 - Musashi 11 - Mikawa 18 - Echizen
5 - Kozuke 12 - Owari 19 - Oumi
6 - Echigo 13 - Mino 20 - Ise
7 - North Shinano 14 - Hida 21 - Yamashiro
*TM060
Full Examination of End of Month Processing:
When you hit the button to advance to the next month, the AI players execute
the actions planned for this month. The planning took place the previous
month's processing.
Next month's processing begins, one AI territory at a time as per the Pecking
Order (TM050).
--If the treasury has less than $1000, a random allowance of $0-$200 is given.
--Gold mine income is collected
--October Harvest PRD and money is collected (only in October)
--Events occur that modify territory (TM910)
--Merchant prices generated at each territory.
--Cost of Produce More at gold mines is set.
--Territory of refuge is selected. A second territory of refuge is also
selected, etc. [If a territory, AI or human, flees the Castle battle, the
territory of refuge is where the troops go. If the territory of refuge is
captured or has to flee, troops are diverted to the next pre-selected refuge.
If the AI or human captures a territory, that new territory may replace the
territory of refuge for the Capturer so that if he or it, in turn, loses a
territory to someone else's attack, surviving troops are diverted differently.]
--Planning on what to do is made for this month.
....If attack planned,
game map given signal fire and attacking units put in a combat container
....If resource movement chosen,
25% of treasury and army placed in move container
Now, the player manages his territories ahead of the plans the AI made.
If the player attacks an AI territory, that AI territory will not get its
planned action this month. Obviously, the AI won't get its turn if the
territory is captured. What I am saying is that even if the AI holds onto the
territory, it still loses its turn. Even if the player sends units to attack
but immediately retreats, the AI loses its turn. By attacking repeatedly, a
player can paralyze an AI territory. Assuming the player has other
territories, progress can be made while holding an AI player stagnant.
If the player attacks an AI territory that was sending units to attack or
reinforce elsewhere, they are returned home to assist in the defense of the
territory.
If the player captures an AI territory that was being sent reinforcements, 50%
of the time the transfer joins the player's army. The other 50% time, the
troops are returned to sender. This bug generates another one: Rollover.
Military units are stored in 8-bits. Adding more that pushes the count above
255 rolls the amount to whatever minus 256. (For example, suppose the pride
of your army is 255 riflemen. The AI sends you 8RM. Your total riflemen
exceed 255; 8-bit storage cannot handle it. Your army now has only 7RM.
I have had this happen to me far too often such that when my slots are near
full, I sometimes look ahead to see if a territory I will capture has
reinforcement units coming. If so, I will reduce the number I send in battle.)
[This is bad programming. All the rollover checking was done at the moment
one territory planned to send units to another. Transfers above 255 were
trimmed. The sending force was placed in a container. When arriving at the
destination, no checking is done for rollover because it was done when the
plan was made. The programmers didn't take into consideration that the
receiving territory's army could be different.]
If the player captures an AI territory and doesn't kill all the AI troops,
some are sent as refugees to another AI territory. The refugee territory will
accept units up to the 255 limit for each type. Here, the game correctly
prevents unit rollover. Refugee units in excess of the refugee territory's
255 unit slots will be lost. [I have seen this many times, sometimes
deliberately causing it to my AI rivals.]
However, what if the territory doesn't have room for all the refugee units,
but the refugee territory happens to be sending out an attack force this turn
so that, momentarily, there actually is room? Furthermore, space could be
made because of battle casualties. Finally, it may be that the attacking army
will capture the destination, not returning? I don't have the answers, but I
think the game removes excess of 255 units immediately although I think it
illogical that it does. Again, it is a lack of programming foresight.
[Digression: earlier, I said that AI attacking forces are placed in a
container. I deduce this because AI raiding parties comprise 30%, 50%, or 70%
of the home territory's army. The percentage cannot change once chosen at the
start of the month. If during the month the human player captures one of this
AI's territories and sends refugees into the territory that planned attack,
then one would expect a larger war party according to the chosen attack
percentage if the soldiers were sent out at the end of the month. However,
this doesn't happen. I have verified it several times. Hence, I maintain that
attack groups are pre-selected at the start of the month. They are placed in
a "container."]
If the player forms an alliance (TM190) with an AI who is going to attack a
player's territory this month, all the units sent out in the attack will be
destroyed at the end of the month. I consider this a bug, but maybe it was
intended? I personally find winning this way distasteful. However, all is
fair in war. Besides, avoiding the bug means you have lost one of the tools
to protect your territories.
*TM110
INCREMENTALS:
A system whereby the game designers attempt to confuse the player, to mystify
the use of game commands. The confusion arises from randomly giving single
value results (1x), double value results (2x), or triple value results (3x).
The illustration that follows will attempt to explain it.
Your local farmer sells eggs, but he won't tell you the price. Instead, he
says that if you give him money, he will give you eggs commensurate to the
money paid. However, any money in excess of the last egg sold, he keeps. He
simply refuses to divide another egg proportionately to the excess money.
There is no such thing as a fraction of an egg. You get a whole egg or
nothing.
The farmer's objective is not to cheat you. He doesn't care if you pay more
than needed. Rather, he aims to keep you confused. Hence, without telling
you he is doing it, he also gives you twice what you paid for one third of the
time. One third of the time he gives you triple value, leaving one third of
the time giving exactly what was owed.
The territory Commands operate similar to the farmer: You choose an amount to
spend and the game tells you the result. Pay too little and you get nothing.
Pay more than the amount needed for a result and the game keeps the excess
money, never telling you of your waste. Furthermore, the game randomly gives
you the deserved result, twice the result, or three times the result all the
while never indicating any difference. I call this 1x, 2x, 3x results.
By reloading and gradually incrementing the amount used, you can determine
when the computer gives a result instead of nothing (the "no progress" message).
Then, using multiples of the determined amount, you can see the result grow.
The doubling and tripling may confuse the issue for a time, but eventually you
will know for a certainty the amount needed to get a computer result.
Going back to the egg illustration, you cannot rightly say you have determined
the "COST" of eggs. The system in place still has you giving money to the
farmer and getting back what you expected, twice what you expected, or three
times what you expected. It doesn't really matter when you want eggs and have
limited funds. You take what you are given. You have no options. However,
if you want a certain number of eggs, have sufficient money to purchase them,
but don't want to pay more than needed, then deducing the correct amount to
give the farmer becomes important. If you knew if the farmer was giving 1x
your money, 2x your money, or 3x your money, you could figure out what to
spend.
If you are wealthy, you could just assume 1x your money and you will always
get what you want. However, you could gamble giving the farmer half that
amount hoping for a 2x payment. Besides, if he is paying 3x, you still get
the number of eggs you wanted with a few more as well. Paying one-third the
amount hoping for a 3x payout is the riskiest course: the odds are against you,
but you will save lots of money if you always get eggs at 3x. (Note, even if
you are using the 2x or 3x to calculate what to spend, you still have to spend
multiples of the incremental: for example, if going for 40 points using 3x,
you can't use 40/3 times the incremental. You must round up, i.e., 42/3. No
fractions of an egg, remember.)
I have called the amount needed to get a computer result the Incremental
because of the process used to determine it and the need to use multiple
increments of the amount to get the desired number of points you require for
any particular territory statistic. I don't use the word "COST" because it is
based on knowing if the computer is giving 1x, 2x, or 3x results. The
"Incremental" is a more meaningful descriptor of the process of improving a
territory for commands that have 1x, 2x, 3x results.
The Incrementals are:
CLT $30 via Ca
DST $30 via Fc
HE $100 via He
LOY $17 via Fa-Aid
WEL $17 via Fa-Aid (WEL doesn't get 1x,2x,3x results)
YLD varies via Fa-Development - YI is only initialed incremental referenced
*TM120
THE YIELD INCREMENTAL (*YI)
The YI, yield incremental, is the price to raise YLD one point with the
Fa-Development command. Unlike other incrementals, the YI is the only one
that can change. Every territory starts the game with a YI of $40. $40 is
the base price, the lowest value YI can take. I don't know if there is an
upper limit. The highest I have seen it is somewhere in the 90s.
PRINCIPLES OF YI
1) If YLD goes up, the YI can only go up
2) If YLD goes down, YI may go down, but it still could go up
3) When YI goes up, it might be a few gold or as many as $26.
4) When YI goes down, it only goes down all the way to $40; this is a reset.
5) If YLD increases from the Fa-Development command, unless it is only a few
points, YI is likely to go up.
6) If YLD goes up from a rich harvest, the YI is more likely to go up for the
+11, +10, +8 than it is for the +6, +5, +4.
7) If YLD drops because of Mi-Enlist, YI may still go up if the drop was 4,6,
or 8 AND the number of INF recruited was large (80 or above).
8) YI is more likely to reset if the maximum drop happens. For Mi-Enlist, a
-20YLD drop resets YLD more often than other drops. For AUG drought, the
-8YLD drop resets YI more often than -5 or -4 drought. I have no data on
SEP storm with maximum -7YLD, JUN heavy rain at -4YLD, Mouri ninja -4 or
-8YLD, or AI Nj-Crisis that hit YLD.
9) The game tweaks the YI at the start of AUG. Even without any events, the
YI can rise or be reset.
10) Attempts to reset YI may require many attempts. There are times I have
had to do multiple -20YLD Mi-Enlist before it would reset.
If you are about to use the Fa-Development command, you have to go through the
incremental amount process to find out what the incremental currently is.
After discovering the YI value, then you can compute what to spend, again
taking into account the 1x, 2x, 3x results system (TM110 Incrementals).
It takes $1600 at 2x at the start of the game to raise Kai's YLD from 20 to
100 via the Fa-Development command. Suppose you only had $1000 available.
You may think that you can raise the YLD from 20 to 70 with the $1000 and then
raise YLD the rest of the way when you get another $600. That is not how it
works. After you do $1000Fa-Development for +50(70) YLD, the Yield Incremental
may jump to somewhere in the 60s. At YI=$60, to raise Kai's YLD from 70 to
100, 30 more points, it will now cost $900 at 2x. Hence, I advise not raising
YLD piecemeal. If you don't have the cash to raise YLD to 100, wait until you
do.
[The exception is if you need to sell PRD to get more cash. At YLD70, you
could possibly sell PRD at $3 or $4 each. In such case, you knowingly risk
the YI because it is your means to get cash. You may think it is no big deal
paying an extra $300, that is, $900 instead of $600 to raise YLD the rest of
the way to 100. That is only half the point. When you spend the $900 to
raise YLD to 100, the YI could jump upward again.]
One of the failings of the AI is that they increase YLD in small chunks.
Doing so propels the YI upward each bump. I have captured AI controlled
territories that cost outrageous amounts to raise YLD to 100 because the YI is
in the 90s. Before I raise the YLD, I often have to force the reset of the YI.
Because AI players trash the YI and the effort to reset it to $40 a hassle, it
is often preferable to grab a territory you want early in the game before the
AI has inflated the YI.
Dropping the YI is especially important when getting a new territory.
Repairing 20 or 30 points of YLD from recruitment damage can be very expensive.
Now imagine a territory that started with a YI of $70. The first rise of YLD
will be a big one, 50 to 80 points. But even if you were willing to pay the
high cost for the sake of time, when that territory recruits and you need to
repair its YLD, likely the YI will be $20 higher. Although the repair is less
points, the YI is higher, so again you will pay an outrageous amount. It will
save you money in the long-term if you drop the YI before you start using a
territory.
A POTENTIAL NEW DISCOVERY!!!
I believe that using 1x Fa-Development keeps YI=40. I am going to be doing
testing to see if this holds true in all situations. I will repeat the
experiment because I am playing LRB Exploit games using 1x (June 2019).
Additionally, does a territory with a YI above $40 reset if Fa-Development
takes a 1x? If either of these postulates prove true, it will make keeping
the YI in check easier.
I did experience one time where YI went up to $51 after increasing Kai YLD
from 20 to 44 in 1545 AUG. Because the game uses AUG to adjust the YI, I
figure it punished my raising of YLD with a YI increase. Because of this
possibility, I cannot say that Fa-Development at 1x is to blame for the YI
increase (game LRB-Da01).
*TM130
CLT and Ca: (an incremental command - TM110)
October Harvest 100% tax gives $10 per CLT point; no CLT drop from tax (TM340)
CLT damaged by JUL lightning, SEP storms, random earthquakes or riots,
Shimazu ninja, or AI Nj-crisis (TM910 events)
CLT increased 0 or +3 by SEP festival (TM910 events)
CLT reduces chance of JUL epidemic; Dr-cure proportional to CLT level (TM140)
CLT can randomly add $2 to $8 to upgrade prices at CLT=100
Every $30 used in the Ca command gives 1, 2, or 3 points of CLT
(Points x $30) Ca gives random (Points x 1, Points x 2, or Points x 3) CLT
Re-examining CLT, in limited testing, I found that high CLT can influence the
price paid for upgrading. It isn't guaranteed to raise prices, but it seems
to be what causes one or two unit types to rise above base price from time to
time. Even though it is not a certainty, it spoils the effectiveness of a
buying territory -- having to wait a month to upgrade a specific unit type
because of a random upturn in upgrade price is inconvenient. I want my buying
territory always ready to upgrade to anything without waiting to save money.
Thus, I now plan to limit CLT in my buying territories, maybe even crashing it
to zero. More testing is required to say.
[Thanks to Robin Palm for directing me to investigate CLT. He has a Shingen
Webpage at www.speedrun.com. Apparently his focus is on completing the game
in the most time efficient way possible.]
Examples:
(6 x $30) Ca or $180Ca gives 6, 12, or 18CLT
(17 x $30) Ca or $510Ca gives 17, 34, or 51CLT
*TM140
EPI and Dr:
Epidemics happen in JUL and last through NOV. At the start of DEC, they go
away naturally. However, you can use the Dr - Cure command to get rid of the
epidemic immediately. The price you pay is based on the CLT level of the
territory. Epidemics remove a few points from WEL and several INF at the
start of each month. It is annoying, but hardly worth the time and money to
use the Dr.. The best prevention is not to use Dr - Prevent, but to maximize
CLT in your territories - see TM130 for CLT.
I reload to get rid of epidemics when they strike. Also, I look at my
neighboring AI territories, some of which I plan on capturing in the next few
months. I will reload to get rid of their epidemics, too. If I must capture
a territory with an epidemic, I don't send INF along with my army, instead
leaving them behind. I find this so bothersome that I try to bump the CLT in
all territories, even the ones I don't plan on keeping. You want high CLT in
your territories to make money in the October Harvest, but also so that you
have peaceful Julys.
What I notice the AI do when they get an epidemic: some try to upgrade all
their infantry. Some recruit regularly to replace lost infantry. Some cure
it. Most ignore it. Throughout each year, AI raise CLT.
However, when the AI cure it, I have noticed the rare occurrence of a cash bug.
The AI $$ will skyrocket up to $5000. Sometimes it will do another to max out
the gold at $9999. Capturing the territory with this mysterious cash
appearance, I have gotten the cash 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time,
it vanishes. If I don't capture the territory, most of the time the money
still vanishes.
The cash bug seems to happen in DEC, although sometimes the money doesn't show
up until JAN. I think it happens because the AI, being stupid, cure the
epidemic in NOV. In NOV, all the damage from the epidemic has already been
done. As the DEC month starts, epidemics go away on their own. No WEL or INF
loss happens. The cash bug is like a reward to the AI for wasting money on
the cure.
I haven't seen this bug in a long time, now. Perhaps it is because I don't
track as many AI as used to do? Perhaps it is because if I see an epidemic
in an AI territory I am tracking, I reload to get rid of it?
*TM150
DST and Fc: (an incremental command - TM110)
Every $30 used in Fc (Flood control) removes 1, 2, or 3 points of DST.
(Points x $30) Fc reduces random (Points x 1, Points x 2, or Points x 3) DST
Examples:
$120Fc gives -4, -8, or -12DST;
(27 x $30) Fc gives -27, -54, or -81DST
Higher DST is bad. Zero DST is perfect.
The game manual states that Fc is used to stop damage from a typhoon or heavy
rain. This suggests that the JUN heavy rain and typhoon (which is unknown to
me) are the only use of DST. DST will rise when disaster events happen to a
territory. Snowfall also can raise DST. DST supposedly represents preparation
to resist disasters. I have observed no difference between my high DST
territories and my zero DST territories. I have concluded that DST doesn't
matter.
However, the AI players will waste turns reducing DST. Since I am often
manipulating the AI players, trying to coax certain behaviors, I will zero DST
if I can in territories I give to the AI players so that they don't waste time
doing Fc. When I use Fc, I have the cash to zero it in one turn. Furthermore,
I insist on getting the 3x result because I believe this to be a waste of
money, anyway (in addition to wasting time).
*TM160
YLD - yield
Mi-Enlist can recruit, for Shingen, [YLD x LOY / 80] INF (TM240)
-- Enlist for Katsuyori may be different
October Harvest 100% tax gives 5PRD per YLD point; no YLD drop from tax (TM340)
YLD damaged by Mi-Enlist, JUN heavy rain, AUG drought, SEP storm,
Mouri Ninja, AI Nj-crisis (TM910 events)
YLD increased by AUG rich harvest (TM910 events)
YLD sets PRD price range (TM310)
WEL determines INF upgrade prices (TM250) with YLD as a contributor
YLD raised by YI multiples using Fa-Development (TM162)
Example:
(3 x YI) Fa-Development gives 3, 6, or 9YLD
If YI=$40, then the above command would be: $120Fa-Development= 3, 6, or 9YLD
My most recent testing suggests that YLD does not influence upgrade prices.
However, I have not yet ruled out that high YLD in tandem with high WEL causes
a price elevation.
*TM162
Fa-Development (an incremental command (TM110) using YI (TM120))
Fa-Development is used to raise YLD. Although it raises WEL too, you are
better off using Fa-Aid to raise WEL because it is cheaper (if raising WEL is
your goal). However, if you are using Fa-Development for WEL, you don't have
to spend multiples of the YI. You must spend at least $50 and at least one YI
to make the command function. Then, you can choose an amount to spend that is
favorable to the formula for WEL. Specifically, you would spend multiples of
the divisor, (YI+$10).
YLD = (Points x YI) Fa-Development= random (Points x1, Points x2, or Points x3)
WEL = (Points x YI) / (YI+$10) the result will have a random +1WEL or +2WEL
Example:
Points=15
YI=$55
Result for YLD:
(Points x YI) Fa-Development = random (Points x1, Points x2, or Points x3)
(15 x 55) Fa-Development = random (15, 30, or 45)YLD
$825Fa-Development = random (15, 30, or 45)YLD
Result for WEL:
(Points x YI) / (YI+$10) and random +1WEL or +2WEL
(15 x 55) / (55+10) and random +1WEL or +2WEL
825 / 65 and random +1WEL or +2WEL
12 and random +1WEL or +2WEL
13WEL or 14WEL
$825Fa-Development = (15, 30, or 45)YLD and 13WEL or 14WEL
Step#1
To use Fa-Development, you must first calculate the YI (TM120) as you would
any incremental (TM110). It is found by saving the game, trying monetary
amounts (by reloading) until you locate the boundary where the command changes
from giving the no progress message to a result. The lowest the YI could be
is $40. Start there. Go up from there until you find it. You can jump
around so that you don't have to increase $1 at a time. [For those purists
out there that consider reloading cheating: You are not cheating here. All
you are doing is finding out what the YI is. You can decide whether to cheat
or not on step#4.]
Step#2
Next, how many YLD Points to you want to increase?
Do you have the money to do Points x YI? [YI is the amount you found in
step#1.] If not, do you have half that money or one third of that money?
If no to all those questions, then you have set your goal too high. Choose a
lower point count and repeat step #2.
Step#3
Choose whether you will try for a 1x, 2x, or 3x result. This determines how
much money you spend. Note that even if you don't get a 2x or 3x result, you
can accept what is given without reloading. So, those who don't reload can
gamble on saving money. Those that won't reload that don't want to gamble,
you must choose 1x results to get the points you want.
1x = Points x YI
2x = (Points/2 rounding fractions up) x YI
3x = (Points/3 rounding fractions up) x YI
Step#4
With the amount you have chosen in Step#3, use the Fa-Development command.
If you get the result you want, you are done. If you are unwilling to reload,
you are done. Those that are still here, reload and try it again, over and
over. If you get stuck, examine the procedure at TM030 for forcing the game
to give you the result you want.
*TM164
WEL - wealth
October Harvest 100% tax gives $10 per WEL point; WEL loss is 50 or 75 (TM340)
YLD sets PRD price range (TM310)
WEL determines INF upgrade prices (TM250) modified possibly by CLT (TM130)
WEL damaged by Harvest, Mi-Enlist, JUN heavy rain; JUL epidemic, Date ninja,
AI Nj-crisis (TM910 events)
WEL increased by AUG rich harvest (TM910 events)
As I was writing this guide, I re-examined my evidence that WEL modifies PRD
prices, second to YLD. My evidence seems circumstantial to me, now. So, I
have changed my view. Doing so has undermined the strategies I had been using.
For instance, I used to maximize WEL because I thought it gave better PRD sell
prices. Now, I have to say that minimizing WEL is more beneficial. You get
better INF upgrade prices with low WEL. Also, the cost to maximize WEL was
not recouped at the October Harvest.
WEL raised by Fa-Development (TM162):
Moneyspent / (YI+$10) plus a random +1WEL or +2WEL
WEL raised by Fa-Aid (TM170):
Moneyspent / $17 plus random +0WEL, +2WEL, or +4WEL
Note: Moneyspent must be at least $50. Also, for Fa-Development to function,
it must be at least the YI.
Examples:
Fa-Development: Moneyspent / (YI+$10) with a random +1WEL or +2WEL
YI=$40; $1600Fa-Development=
1600 / (40+10) +1WEL or +2WEL
1600/50 +1WEL or +2WEL
32 +1WEL or +2WEL
33WEL or 34WEL
YI=$66; $990Fa-Development=
990 / (66+10) +1WEL or +2WEL
990 / 76 +1WEL or +2WEL
13 +1WEL or +2WEL
14WEL or 15WEL
Fa-Aid: Moneyspent / $17 plus random +0WEL, +2WEL, or +4WEL
$850Fa-Aid =
850 / 17 plus random +0WEL, +2WEL, or +4WEL
50 plus random +0WEL, +2WEL, or +4WEL
50WEL or 52WEL or 54WEL
$1275Fa-Aid =
1275 / 17 plus random +0WEL, +2WEL, or +4WEL
75 plus random +0WEL, +2WEL, or +4WEL
75WEL or 77WEL or 79WEL
*TM170
LOY and Fa-Aid: (an incremental command - TM110)
October Harvest 100% tax gives 5PRD per LOY point; LOY drops 66 or 99 (TM340)
Mi-Enlist can recruit, for Shingen, [LOY x YLD / 80] INF (TM240)
-- Enlist for Katsuyori may be different
LOY usually drops proportionately to the number INF recruited
LOY damaged by Harvest, Mi-Enlist, random earthquake or riot, some story line
events, AI Nj-crisis (TM910 events)
LOY increased by SEP festival, many capital only events (TM910 events)
LOY game manual claims LOY affects riot frequency, but I doubt it (TM910)
LOY raised by Fa-Aid
For every $17 spent in Fa-Aid 1, 2, or 3 points of LOY are given.
(Points x $17) Fa-Aid = random (Points x1, Points x2, Points x3)
and (Points + random 0, 2, or 4) WEL
$17 and $34 Fa-Aid only raises LOY. At $50 and above, Fa-Aid also raises WEL.
At 1x, $1700 Fa-Aid will give 100LOY and 100WEL
At 2x, $850 Fa-Aid will give 100LOY and +50WEL +0, +2, or +4 random WEL
At 3x, $578 Fa-Aid will give 100LOY and +34WEL +0, +2, or +4 random WEL
Examples:
(Points x $17) Fa-Aid = random (Points x1, Points x2, Points x3)
and (Points + random 0, 2, or 4) WEL
(100 x $17) Fa-Aid = (100, 100, 100) LOY and 100WEL --- never more than 100
(50 x $17) Fa-Aid = ( 50, 100, 100) LOY and (50, 52, 54) WEL
(34 x $17) Fa-Aid = ( 34, 68, 100) LOY and (34, 36, 38) WEL
(22 x $17) Fa-Aid = ( 22, 44, 66) LOY and (22, 24, 26) WEL
To help make clear what the above means for (22 x $17) Fa-Aid =
1x = 22LOY, +22WEL or 24WEL or 26WEL
2x = 44LOY, +22WEL or 24WEL or 26WEL
3x = 66LOY, +22WEL or 24WEL or 26WEL
*TM180
Gold Mines via Gm command
This section covers Dig. See TM185 for Produce More
Dig Investment Summary:
$1 to $99 1 to 2 gold mines
$100 to $299 1 to 3 gold mines
$300 to $399 1 to 4 gold mines
$400 to $9999 1 to 5 gold mines
A maximum of 100 gold mines can be found per territory. Each gold mine puts
$5 into your treasury at the start of each month. Gold mine cave-ins remove
1 or 2 gold mines and prevent digging for three months (TM910 events). Also,
the remaining gold mines produce half as much money for those three months.
I have not observed an increase in gold mine success by increasing the amount
spent within a range. Meaning, $1 seems just as likely to get a gold mine as
$99 and $100 works as well as $299. However, it could be that spending more
within a range increases the likelihood of a higher gold mine find. That is,
$1 may not give you 2 gold mines as often as $99 will, but both find gold
mines with equal regularity. $99 just gets more 2 gold mines. Yet, this is
just untested speculation. However, I have generally observed that higher
ranges have higher chances of success. Meaning $1-$99 has less successes than
$100-$299, and $100-$299 has less successes than $300-$399, etc. Digging at
$400 is the best if you are not reloading to ensure success. Mathematically,
this is the soundest way to go without reloading.
There are some territories that are resistant to gold mine digging. One
sign of a resistant territory is that it won't allow for $1 gold mine finds.
In such territories, $100 is the lowest you can use. Examples are West
Shinano, Kozuke, and Musashi.
I believe it is important to make sure your capital territory has at least 11
gold mines. And, if you are moving the capital back and forth between two
territories (see TM220), you should make sure that both have 11 gold mines.
Why? 11 gold mines gives $55 income each month. The AI are aware when your
capital doesn't have the $54 needed to make an alliance at the start of the
month, so the chances of being attacked are higher (see TM190 for alliance).
I have observed the AI players digging about three times each year, spending
$100-$300 each dig, and seldom getting gold mines. And when the AI does get
gold mines, the Cave-in event (TM910) occurs far too often for the AI to keep
the mines. Meaning, the random forces that remove gold mines is more frequent
than the provision for finding them. If you don't reload for results, taking
things as the game naturally delivers them, then you won't get gold mines
either. (See TM030 about randomization for more comment on my frustration
with gold mines.)
The exception being that you devote your resources to gold mine digging.
By digging frequently, taking massive economic losses each year to gold mines,
then you can accumulate some. If you dig at the $400 rate per dig, you will
gain gold mines with reliable frequency. However, it takes 16 months to recoup
the $400 spent digging if you get the maximum 5 gold mines. If you get a
moderate 2 gold mines, it takes 40 months to break even. Even then, your
successes also have to cover the costs of failures: the times you spend $400
and get nothing. And when the game takes away some of your hard won gold mines
with a cave-in, which also forces you to stop digging for three months, will
you just accept it? I cannot imagine doing much digging at the best rate of
$400 with five years or more of losses. Your military would be neglected,
possibly reloading to avoid attacks you can't defend or reloading to discover
where to make an alliance. If you were using such tactics to stay alive, why
would you refuse reloading for gold mines?
I have some thoughts on how gold mine digging could be better implemented, but
it is a moot point. I realize it is unfair for me to get gold mines when the
AI can't do it. If you want fairness, don't use gold mines. However, if you
don't dig gold mines, you are also getting an advantage of time: the AI will
waste time attempting gold mine digs whereas you are wisely not doing so. You
can't balance the scales to compensate for what the AI does unless you dig
gold mines without reloading.
Maybe that is harsh because it was 2011 that I last tried gold mines without
reloading. The advice I give about doing $400 digs without reload is sound.
Yet, I haven't tried it. You could get gold mines that way. However, I have
to say, you will still lose them all, eventually, if you don't reload to stop
the cave-in event. You will have to continue to dig to stay ahead of the
mines lost to cave-ins.
*TM185
Produce More:
Allows using PRD to make money. The potential earnings is influenced by the
number of gold mines present in the territory. Other territory statistics
don't matter. The best return you can hope for at 1 gold mine is $5 per PRD.
At 100 gold mines, I have seen $37.1 per PRD. Yet, the path to high profits
is a steep one, because the best I saw at 40 gold mines was $7.6 per PRD.
At 72 gold mines, I saw a high of $23.9 per PRD.
Although you can make more than the maximum $5 per PRD sold to the merchant
via Produce More, you cannot do the same volume of trading PRD, at least not
at a significant profit. Although you can hire up to 99 workers and can thus
easily surpass 999PRD, volume erodes the profit margin. More workers dilute
the gold per PRD ratio. I found that the amount of gold found doesn't rise
proportionately with the number of workers hired. The best value and the most
money earned seems to be when only one or two workers are hired. Then, maybe
five to seven hundred dollars above the value of the product can be made.
Since you can sell 999PRD at $5/each = $4995, or $4/each for $3996, to the
merchant in a high YLD territory, this isn't a good use of time to make $700.
Selling PRD will give higher profit.
I tested Kai at the start of the game, JAN 1545. Kai rarely gave returns
barely above $1/ PRD. Most results were below $1/PRD. You can do better at
the merchant.
The clincher that dooms Produce More is that you would have to reload over and
over again to seek the best profit. It is not worth your time, literally. In
my game play, I ignore this game feature, never using it.
Note: the cost in PRD per worker is determined randomly at the start of the
month for every territory, not randomly as you manage each territory.
See TM060 for a better understanding why this is so.
*TM190
Al - Alliance:
You must have a princess to make an alliance - the PRI territory statistic
must be greater than zero (see TM910 for princess event). Making an alliance
decreases the number of PRI by one, then for every $54 spent, one month of
alliance with a computer player is granted. The maximum is 60 months for
$3240. The fee paid is not put into the computer player's treasury.
The money is removed from the game.
The Al command can only be done from your capital territory. If you don't
have at least $54, you can't make an alliance this month. If you move the
capital to another territory that does have the money, the new capital
territory cannot make an alliance until the next month. You are punished by
the game for lack of preparation! You must always keep a minimum of $54
available, cash left over from the previous month plus territory monthly
income (gold mines or October Harvest). Furthermore, I think the computer
players are aware when you can't make an alliance to escape an attack. I get
attacked more frequently when my capital depletes all its money one month and
doesn't have enough gold mines to come up with $54. [11 gold mines is all you
need to make sure your capital always has the money for an alliance.]
Alliance duration is divided into two unequal halves. The two halves are
termed the unbreakable alliance period and the breakable alliance period.
An odd number of months in the alliance duration gives the extra month to the
unbreakable period. Then, the unbreakable alliance period takes one month
away from the breakable alliance period, thus making it 2 or 3 months longer.
What this means is that one-month, two-month, and three-month alliances are
always unbreakable.
Breakable Alliance period =
(Alliance duration divided by two, discarding fraction) then subtract one
Once the alliance has been made, examining the map via the Nj-spying screen
will show the alliance partner's territories in green. Spying on one of these
green territories will show the term of the alliance in the upper left corner
in the gray rectangle. The left number is the duration of the alliance in
months. The right number is how many months remain in the alliance. When the
right number is equal or less than the breakable alliance period (calculated
above), then you or your computer ally can break the alliance at any time.
During the unbreakable alliance period, you cannot select a computer ally's
territories as destinations for the Mi-Going command (TM230). Similarly, the
computer ally cannot attack you, either. [Nonetheless, you can use Nj-Crisis
(TM200) to attempt sabotage on your ally's territories. The AI can also do
the same to you during an alliance.] However during the breakable alliance
period, either you or the AI can break the alliance and attack the other.
If it was the AI that broke the alliance, at the start of your month you will
receive a message that says AI name rejected alliance.
If you are not peeking ahead to see what territory/AI is attacking you, then
you are getting at least half of that information from the alliance. You are
not told which territory the attack is coming from, but you are told which AI
is attacking. That is the only value of the breakable alliance period. So, if
you are playing without reloading, you can with a clear conscience make a new
alliance with this AI (which kills his attacking troops). After all, you paid
for the previous alliance and this right. [Why a new alliance kills attacking
armies is explained in the next paragraph.]
You can use an alliance to stop an announced attack in the current month.
Because the AI already made the plan to attack, the soldiers are in transit -
the AI dispatched them at the start of the month (see TM060). When the
alliance is made, the enemy soldiers are not sent home. Instead, they are
given orders to commit seppuku (ritual suicide with a knife to the belly).
All the AI attackers die. The AI army can thus be decimated turn after turn
by leaving a territory without HDQ and then forming a one-month alliance with
the attacker. If you have the cash and princesses to spare, this dirty trick
can all but wipe out a strong rival (for instance, Sagami/Hojo by leaving Kai
empty). I doubt this exploit was intended. Rather, I think it is a
programming bug. [The programming returns troops to home territory if the
human player attacks it. Why wasn't alliance return correctly programmed?]
Trick to transform a breakable alliance back into a secure one:
First, break the alliance by selecting an AI territory for the MI-Going
command. Sending soldiers to the rival territory breaks the alliance.
You can immediately retreat once reaching the field. Now, your capital
territory can create a new alliance with this AI next month. You would do
this if you wanted to refresh the alliance with 60 months or whatever you
can afford.
[You may think, "Why is this of any value?" One of the purposes of a secure
alliance is to be free of interruption from a sudden attack. Interruption may
come at a time when you are super busy doing something else. Do you always
have $3240 in your capital ready to reassert a broken alliance? The trick
above is done at a convenient moment for you - on your timetable.]
More information about the strategy of using alliances will be given in the
Combat Guide. You can also see TM508 for an example.
*TM200
Nj - Spying and Crisis
Nj - Spying is your way to examine each territory in detail. I use it to
examine my own territories and to cruise around the map to see if there are
any AI versus AI attacks upcoming. By examining a territory after a recent
battle, you can see if there is a tempting pile of resources from battle
spoils. Also, you can assess the state of the army. Sometimes even a high
ranked AI that you would have never considered attacking has become ripe for
attack because of fewer troops remaining. This line of thought will be
covered in the Combat Guide.
The gray rectangle in the upper left corner is 0/0 in your territories. In AI
territories, it will also be 0/0. The one exception is if you see territories
with green castles. This means you have an alliance with that AI. Then, the
gray rectangle will contain numbers that give the term of the alliance (TM190).
When viewing your own territories, you also see your military units with the
Nj - spying command. You can also toggle what you see while commanding the
current territory. On my mapping of buttons for the VirtualNES, the select
button is mapped to the right shift key. It is a fitting assignment because
pushing it shifts the view from the territory condition statistics to the
military ones. Hitting right shift again (select) toggles back to viewing
the territory conditions.
Nj - Crisis is a command I don't use.
By paying PRD, your ninja tries to damage an AI territory or army. It is so
ineffective that I say that you can do more damage just attacking the AI by
shooting his CAV and suicide attacks from your size 1 divisions of INF and LNC
and then retreating (you could kill 9 enemy CAV for the price of 3INF and 2LNC.
Repeating this over and over could eventually eliminate all AI troops).
Furthermore, as mentioned at TM060, attacking the AI deprives the AI of his
action that month. What could be more potent than that? Now rethink the
suicide attack idea on his cavalry. You are slowly wiping out his CAV WHILE
depriving the AI of doing anything. The cost? One territory turn, 3INF,
2LNC, and 5PRD for Mi-Going. That is cheaper than the Ninja - Crisis,
effective, and not a gamble; it is certain. [I am assuming the target is
substantially higher ranked than your army such that these guerilla tactics
are the only way to best him on the field. Why this works is explained in
the Basic Unit Tactics guide (BUT402).]
But what if you want to hurt an AI that is not near you? I think the best way
to hurt such an AI is to continue to build wealth and your military. Then, if
you ever get near such one, you are ready to really do damage. Moreover,
consider this: if you could hurt an AI not near you, who benefits? The other
AI near your target, not you.
Despite my low opinion of Nj-crisis, I have seen devastating Ninja attacks
against me and other AI. The attacker hardly paid any PRD, so I thought it
was a bug. However, maybe crisis functions like the Free Parking in Monopoly?
One variation puts all game penalties into the Free Parking Pot. When someone
lands on Free Parking, he gets the pot. Applying this to crisis, perhaps all
the PRD of failed Ninja attacks get thrown into a pot? Then someone wins the
lottery, getting an outrageously effective sabotage result?
*TM210
He - Heir command (an incremental command - TM110)
The HE territory screen statistic is described in the Shingen game manual on
page 12, which I am repeating verbatim:
HE (heir)
Indicates the educational level of the heir. The educational level affects
the situation after inheritance, and the higher this level the better. This
level is classified in ST (strength), IQ (intelligence quotient), and
MO (morality) and its influence after inheritance varies according to the
balance among the three. The level may be lower by a disturbance due to an
enemy's rioting or negligence in education. 300 units maximum in this
category.
On page 17, the game manual explains the He command, again repeated verbatim:
To educate Shingen's heir Katsuyori
[He] (heir)
ST (strength).... The command to train Katsuyori. The "enlist" of the
"Military" command and the "crisis" of "ninja" become more
effective after his training and inheritance.
IQ............... The command to educate Katsuyori. After inheritance, the
commands of "flood control" and "castle" become more
effective.
MO (Morality).....This command cultivates his human qualities and after
Inheritance the commands of Fa (aid) and "alliance" become
more effective.
I have concentrated my efforts playing the first few years of Shingen the
Ruler. I start over and over again playing the initial years. I don't get
far enough to see Katsuyori. I have little empirical information. I will
give you what I have.
Katsuyori is born after the January 1546 marriage of Shingen to Lady Koi.
Each subsequent January, Katsuyori may be randomly born. You can delay or
cause the birth by reloading an end of December save over and over. However,
in the Year 1551, Katsuyori will be born if he hasn't been born sooner,
regardless of attempts to prevent the birth.
After birth, the He command becomes active in your capital territory.
The He command functions like other incremental commands (TM110). For every
$100 spent, 1, 2, or 3 training points will be awarded. To illustrate,
spending $500 He will give 5, 10, or 15 training points.
You must choose which category to train: ST, IQ, or MO. All I can remember
from 1991 is that fully trained ST, 100 points, allows max recruitment of 165
INF. [Note: the territory screen only displays a composite of the ST, IQ, and
MO statistics, meaning, the sum of all three. Only at the He command can you
see how the points are distributed.]
The initial part of the game is relatively chaotic. You need a quiet corner
of the map to place your capital, surrounded by your territories, with war not
taking place inside those territories. Katsuyori loses points of training if
nearby territories are not peaceful. Supposedly, he also loses points for
inconsistent training. I speculate this means that if too much time passes
between training sessions, he loses points?
I do not think there is any rush to train Katsuyori. Shingen should live to
be fifty years old or older. [I also wonder if Shingen's death can be
postponed by reloading a DEC save over?] Training Katsuyori costs the same
whenever you do it. If you do it early, those points will just leak out of
him. Save training until Shingen is approaching his death. This is my
opinion. I have no game play experience to support my notions. If there is
some reason training Katsuyori early is important, I don't know it.
However, this I do know. If you don't train Katsuyori, he performs the same
as Shingen did.
How much does it cost to train?
At 1x, $10,000 to train ST, MO, or IQ to 100. All three would be $30,000
At 2x, $5,000 to train ST, MO, or IQ to 100. All three would be $15,000
At 3x, $3,400 to train ST, MO, or IQ to 100. All three would be $10,200
Training ST increases the maximum number at infantry recruitments and makes
Nj-crises work better. Having larger recruitments would be nice, but
Nj-crisis (TM200) is conceptually a waste of PRD and a game turn. Yet, I
would gladly pay for larger recruitments. Train ST to maximum.
Training IQ decreases the cost of reducing DST and raising CLT. By the time
you get this ability, it is of small worth. Both those commands are used
mainly in the beginning of the game. Even the AI are quick to attend to CLT
and DST in AI territories. After the territories are fixed up, you would only
use the Fc and Ca to repair small damage from events. If you are accepting
events, then saving money fixing damage is of interest to you. Then, over
the course of time, you probably will recover your money spent training. The
only advantage I can see is that your various territories don't have to have
as much cash on hand to fix event damages. Only train IQ if you have already
trained ST and MO; then, if you have money you need to dump, then train IQ.
Or, ignore it.
Third is MO making Fa-Aid and Al (alliance) more effective. This might be of
some use if it increased the duration of alliances. With Shingen, 60 months
is the maximum alliance duration. Alas, I cannot remember what happens to
either Fa-Aid or alliances. However, because I understand the economics of
the October Harvest (TM340), decreasing the cost of Fa-Aid or increasing its
magnitude, which is essentially the same thing, increases the yearly profit at
harvest. I can see how this would add up quickly considering this would be
applied to four territories (or three if you select your buying territory at
October). I say train MO all the way to 100.
*TM215
Mi - Military Commands
Move, Going, and Enlist comprise commands deemed military in nature.
Enlisting infantry is easily seen as exclusively militaristic, but "Going"
to war and "Move" assets are more than military. They also serve economic
purposes.
ENLIST: TM240 GOING: TM230 MOVE: TM220
*TM220
Mi-Move: Sending resources from one territory to another
This is a frequently used command to send money, product, and military units
to where they are needed. If you arrange the territory management order
wisely at the start of the month, you can move and then use the resources sent
in the same month. The exception is your capital territory. The capital
territory always has its turn first each month. Anything sent to it can't be
used until the next month. Early in the game when many territories depend on
resources being sent, this can be a problem. The solution is to move your
capital when sending stuff out from the capital - you can even send Shingen
out with the army as it is capturing an AI territory making it the new capital.
Having foresight can keep your capital from having turns without the resources
it needs.
One trick when moving is sending Shingen each time. For example, if Shingen
is in the buying territory, send him with the PRD to the selling territory.
The selling territory sells. The next month, it is the first territory to
manage. Now send Shingen and the cash back to the buying territory. It buys.
The next month, it is the first territory to manage. This tactic has assured
that movements will happen in the correct order. However, there is also a
hidden benefit: some events only happen at the capital, many of them
beneficial. By moving your capital in a month, you are getting two chances
for capital only events that month (see TM910 for events).
One warning caveat: you should make sure the capital always has the money
needed to make an alliance available ($54). You increase the odds of attack
on any or all of your territories if you ignore this rule (see TM190).
*TM230
Mi-Going: the command to attack the AI.
This command consumes 5PRD in your treasury - without PRD, you can't attack
(TM502 has an example of preventing AI attack because of no PRD). Fortunately,
most successful attacks generate enough PRD to pay back the 5PRD cost.
Attacking has many uses besides the obvious:
1) Capturing territories,
2) Earning spoils (BUT070),
3) Gaining experience points and rank (BUT060).
You can also attack to keep an AI player from attacking you. For example, if
you have moved the bulk of your army to Kai, West Shinano/Kiso may attack
Shinano. If this is inconvenient, you can attack West Shinano from Kai. This
prevents Kiso soldiers from reaching Shinano. Furthermore, attacks keep the
AI from doing anything. It doesn't matter if you kill any enemy units. The
AI still loses any action planned for the month (see TM060).
Attacks can also be used as a delay. If the AI holds your territory for a
month, it can start using the territory resources you left behind. If you
plan to recapture a territory given to the AI, likely you will not bother to
remove resources. However, if you discover you need an extra month before the
army is ready, you can use an attack on the attacker to stop the AI from
taking your giveaway territory too soon. [You may think, "either I waste a
turn moving out resources or I waste a turn in a mock attack. What is the
difference?" The difference is the resources stay where they are needed.
If you move them out, you will have to move them back in, wasting two turns.
Besides, not everything goes as planned. Knowing how to delay is useful to
fix unexpected problems.]
Of course, you can also delay after the AI takes your territory. By attacking
it, the AI cannot use the territory resources because it will lose its monthly
action. The difference between the two attacks, delaying capture versus
delaying AI use, is that you have the opportunity to use the giveaway territory
an extra month if you delay capture. Perhaps that territory has something it
needs to do?
In the discussion above, I am envisioning a circumstance that happens to me
regularly at North Shinano. The army has captured Etchu, leaving North Shinano
empty. Kozuke/Uesugi will rush in to take it. I hold Shinano. I can use it
to delay Kozuke/Uesugi either before Kozuke/Uesugi takes North Shinano or
afterward to prevent Uesugi from using it.
*TM240
Mi-Enlist: Obtaining more infantry
Because of battle casualties and the need to have upgraded units, a large
supply of infantry is eventually needed. Once you have the infantry, you go
to the merchant to convert infantry into the other unit types (TM250).
LOY and YLD equally determine how many infantry a territory can enlist. One
other factor is the Ruler Maximum. For Shingen, 125 Infantry is the maximum.
Katsuyori recruits between 125 and 165 infantry based on ST attribute when he
inherits his father's rule (see TM210 for Katsuyori training).
Current Enlistment Limit =
YLD LOY
----- X ----- X RULER MAXIMUM
100 100
For Shingen, this formula simplifies to
YLD X LOY
--------------- OR (1/80) x YLD x LOY OR (YLD x LOY) / 80
80
Of course, the game will always tell you the most infantry you can recruit
based on territory statistics and available room in the 255 unit infantry slot.
Recruiting infantry causes upset to territory workers. Productivity as
represented by YLD and LOY may go down. Territory WEL (wealth) may go down.
YLD goes down in set amounts: 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, or 20. On average, the drop
rate reflects the number of infantry recruited. Similarly, LOY may drop
anywhere from 0 to 66. WEL drops are 4 to 14.
I have not recorded a yield drop when recruiting below 17INF (although it may
have happened once). It is difficult getting YLD drops when recruiting 25 or
less INF. The reason I know is because I reload over and over to try to zero
the YLD of Shinano when YLD18, LOY100 or Kai at YLD20, LOY100. Kai enlists
25INF and Shinano 22INF. I spend five minutes trying to get a -20YLD
recruitment to zero the YLD. [Doing this is a recurring theme in my games -
you need at least one low YLD territory for buying (TM320 making a buying
territory).]
Low recruitments will only drop LOY 0 to 9 points. Any recruitment 80 or
above is guaranteed to drop YLD, LOY, and WEL. IF you recruit 79INF,
reloading over and over, eventually you will get a drop of only 9LOY.
I have experimented with different recruitment ideas over the years. I have
no solid advice to give you. No matter what you do, recruitment damages your
territory. You have to keep in mind the October Harvest. If you need money,
you will have to take it easy on recruitment so that your territory maintains
high statistics that generate PRD and money. If you are in desperate need of
troops, you can enlist aggressively. Repair statistics, mainly LOY, before
OCT if it makes sense to do so. You also now know about the Yield Incremental.
You don't want to be jumping the YLD up and down 10 or so points at a time
(unless, of course, you discover your enlistment has reset the YI to $40.
Even then, you might want to squeeze in a few more recruitments before fixing
YLD knowing you will be paying the lowest price possible later.)
With all my talk about the YI, I suppose I need to give an example. I don't
have a set way of recruiting because I am still searching for a satisfying way
to do it. At times, I recruit twice before I consider repairing LOY. After
repair, I will recruit again. I won't fix LOY again until after the harvest.
It may lose me money, but it is more time efficient. If YLD is too low for
good recruitments, I bump it sometimes before harvest thinking the extra YLD
points will be partially paid for by the harvest tax. When I repair the YLD
at 2x, I pay whatever the YI is. Only when it starts heading toward 70 do I
worry about bringing it down. Often it will reset itself because of continued
recruiting. If it doesn't, recruiting with forced -20 YLD drops should do it.
The YI a stubborn variable that will do what it wants. All you can do is push
it toward where you want it to go
One concept deserves mention: Time. In the beginning of the game, you have
lots of time and little money. You spend time luxuriously to earn or save
money. Yet, at some point, you realize that time has a monetary value.
Recruiting 30INF a turn might be a poor use of time. You may need to repair
statistics to make sure you are getting better enlistment numbers. Also to be
considered is the 255 unit limit. You have to move off those recruited
infantry to a buying territory or a combat territory because you have no more
recruiting space. And, how are you supplying money to the buying territory to
upgrade units? You might not have the time to keep recruiting infantry
because you need to use more time making money.
Be mindful of seasonal events. Your capital territory makes a great place to
recruit because of the possibility of princess births with +5LOY, Imperial
envoys +4LOY, and the marriage to Lady Koi JAN 1546 +6 or +12 LOY. All
territories may get festivals in SEP up to +9LOY and rich harvests in AUG that
can increase YLD 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, or 11 points. Sometimes, the game all but
forces you to accept a rich harvest (I try to avoid them because they often
raise the YI). Recruit so that your territory isn't sitting at 100YLD and
100LOY when those events happen. You only benefit from the events if your
statistics can go up. Ideally, you repair LOY after OCT harvest, recruit,
which lowers statistics that make the next recruitment lower, but you wait for
a few events to bump LOY back up to make the next recruitment bigger.
*TM250
UPGRADING INFANTRY
This section discusses upgrading INF at the Merchant.
See TM310 for trading PRD at the Merchant.
WEL determines the prices you will pay for INF upgrades. WEL0 is the best;
WEL100 is the worst. New understanding shows that CLT can cause the prices
to randomly go up, seemingly as a small additive. I have also suspected that
LOY may cause higher prices, but this is difficult to test because raising
LOY via Fa-Aid also raises WEL. I have also not ruled out the possibility
that high YLD when coupled with high WEL raises prices greater than what the
WEL would do alone.
Your PRD buying territory will likely have WEL0; perhaps your PRD selling
territory might as well. Your infantry recruiting territory will have WEL
significantly above zero at most times (after the harvest, WEL is reduced
or zeroed).
CLT also influences upgrade prices. I was directed by Robin Palm to
re-examine CLT and I found it did bump nit upgrade prices higher.
[Robin Palm has a website dedicated to Shingen the Rul;er:
www.speedrun.com/Shingen_the_Ruler
Apparently his approach to the game is completing it with as little
elapsed time as possible.]
HDQ 080
CAV 030 RM 040
AR 020 LNC 008
The above are the base prices for unit upgrades. These are the prices found
in low WEL territories with some price fluctuating temporarily skewing the
prices slightly upward (perhaps the influence of CLT). However, you will see
greater skews upward the farther WEL is from zero. [Merchant prices are
generated randomly in the end of month processing -- see TM060.]
I am a cheapskate when it comes to upgrading infantry: I seldom do it at any
but the lowest prices. It is your choice whether to upgrade the infantry
where you recruit them or to ship them off to be upgraded elsewhere at
diminished cost. If you plan your upgrades for after the October Harvest,
because of lowered or zeroed WEL, you can save wasted turns moving INF around.
Early in the game, CAV is the most important unit to upgrade. Even fighting
cautiously, you will be losing CAV in battle. Early rank gain is important
and gaining rank often requires killing off enemy HDQ. CAV are best for doing
that but it exposes them to counterattack by enemy infantry guarding enemy HDQ.
You will also lose some killing the HDQ. HDQ are tough if they come in large
numbers.
It would be nice to have more effective riflemen, too. But if you do upgrade
some riflemen early, only do 25. It costs too much to do more, and really,
you can get by with the ones you have. LNC are a better second choice. They
are cheap and a smart upgrade. Your starting 75INF will gradually diminish
using them in battle. If you deplete them by upgrading, you will need stronger
lancer support to take up the slack. Lancers are good at finishing off what
your riflemen and archers have softened up. Also, lancers provide cover for
the riflemen and archers.
I fight conservatively the first year because I know I won't get any
reinforcements until the next year. It is not that I cannot get
reinforcements, but rather, doing so stunts the economy. If you use your
early funds to upgrade infantry, you can't build territories that will give
good proceeds in the first OCT Harvest. In the Combat Guide, I will explain
how to fight so as to preserve your army. After reinforcements start arriving
sometime in the second year, you can change to more aggressive tactics.
If you are playing a LRB Exploit game, rank gain may not be as important as
having the Army Power to get the enemy AI to flee battle. If you need to make
the most of your early funds, LNC are the best way to bulk up the army to
intimidate the AI. You get the largest increase in AP (Army Power) per gold
spent upgrading to lancers. Then again, perhaps available INF is the
limitation, not gold. Then, CAV are the smart choice to balance utility
with increase in AP. (see BUT417)
BASE
UNIT AP COST AP/GOLD
HDQ .20 80 .00125
CAV .20 30 .00667
RM .15 40 .00375
AR .10 20 .00500
LNC .10 8 .01250
INF .05 ?
*TM310
BUYING AND SELLING PRD (product, which is rice)
The intent of buying and selling PRD is to buy product in volume at a low
price and then sell it in volume at a high price.
The price of PRD is determined by the YLD of a territory. The Merchant will
buy PRD at $3, $4, or $5, randomly, at a YLD100 territory. The Merchant will
sell PRD at $1, $2, or $3, randomly, at a YLD0 territory. As the YLD moves
towards the middle, so will the prices.
Each end of month processing generates random merchant prices for each game
territory for the next month. Prices are set in stone once the month begins,
so there is no sense in reloading from one territory to the next hoping for a
change (see TM040). Without reloading the end of the previous month, the only
way you can change prices is with an event that changes YLD in the territory.
For example, a drought with a -8YLD, might drop the price of buying PRD.
A rich harvest with a +11YLD might increase the sell price of PRD. If the
price is at the borderline, sometimes only a few points change to YLD is all
it takes.
At the beginning of the game, before you have modified territory statistics,
Kai and Shinano can buy and sell PRD at a profit in the same territory.
A unique feature of the game is that territories with YLD 18 to 20 can
sometimes buy PRD at $1 and sell at $2. [If it doesn't happen the way you
want it, you can force it by reloading the previous end of month to generate
new merchant prices.]
Although you can make $999 selling 999PRD at $2 when buying it at $1, you are
tied to the fluctuating merchant prices and cannot make profit until the price
is just right. If you can make some money this way, take it, but eventually
you should graduate to a more reliable and profitable system: one territory
for buying and one for selling.
A low YLD territory can buy PRD at $1, $2, or $3, but the best you can ever
hope to sell PRD here is $2. (However, a YLD0 territory can only sell at $1).
In contrast, a high YLD territory can sell PRD at $3, $4, or $5. However, you
will never be able to buy product here lower than maybe $6 or $7. If you only
bought PRD at $1 or $2 at a low YLD territory then move it to a high YLD
territory to sell it, you will always make a profit no matter what price you
sell it. That is the assurance you have that this will work.
The buying and selling of PRD consists of four stages:
1) move money into buying territory
2) buy product at low YLD territory
3) move product to selling territory
4) sell product at high YLD territory
If you arrange your territory order wisely at the start of your month, you can
move money into the buy territory in the same month it buys PRD. The next
month, arrange it so the buy territory moves PRD into a sell territory on the
same month it sells it. This flip-flop then only takes two months to
accomplish.
Once you finish stage 4, you can move the money back to the buying territory
to repeat the cycle. Once you have more money, the buying territory can make
two or more buys before it runs out of money. Also, eventually the PRD bin in
your selling territory will have several sales worth of PRD. The time wasted
moving money and PRD decreases, thus increasing the profitability of the
system. However, while the buying territory can store up to 10 purchases of
999PRD, the selling territory can only sell twice (or three times if at $3/PRD)
before the money has to be shipped off elsewhere to be used. The maximum cash
in a territory is $9999; the maximum PRD is 9999PRD.
When you first start out, you may have to pool the treasuries of several
territories to elevate the yield in what will be your sell territory. The
pool of resources will no doubt contain PRD as well as money. After bringing
YLD up to 100, or as close as you can, then you can sell what PRD you have on
hand and Ship the proceeds off to the buy territory.
It may be that you can't buy at $1, but you can't wait. Buy at $2. Next
month, ship the PRD to the sell territory. Again, if the best price to sell
is only $3, do it anyway. Next month, ship the money to the buy territory to
repeat the process. When your cycle is just starting out, you are compelled
to make purchases as long as the price isn't $3 per PRD because the sell
territory needs PRD to sell - without money in its treasury, it can't do
anything without PRD. The same is true for the buying territory - it has no
excess money, so the sell territory must ship it cash.
Once you flip-flop a few times, you can delay for better prices if needed on
the buying or selling end. That is when gold mines or upgrading infantry is
done at the buying territory. Bad sale prices at the sell territory gives it
the opportunity to recruit or repair statistics, but rarely does it has time
to dig gold mines. In both cases, bad prices can also be a good time to move
off what has already been purchased or sold.
The buying territory should concentrate on digging gold mines whenever it can.
If it needs to wait because of bad prices, wait by digging gold mines. Buying
territories often run out of cash trying to upgrade the most infantry possible
in addition to buying PRD. Pausing to dig gold mines has a purpose besides
waiting: you want the buying territory to become semi-self-sufficient. Having
enough gold mines to pay for additional gold mine digging gives the territory
something to do when waiting for the next cash delivery.
Sometimes you may want to hold back some of the cash sent to the buy territory
so that the sell territory can mark time fixing statistics or digging gold
mines if it needs to do so. Even if the sell territory had PRD on hand,
having money gives it the option of refusing to sell at $3 and wait for $4 or
$5, at least for a month or two. And if the sell territory was also serving
as a recruiting territory, you may want to delay enlisting until a sale is
made because recruiting damages YLD, perhaps lowering the value of the next
PRD sale.
When you recruit infantry in large numbers, YLD is harmed. (Greater than
79INF recruited guarantees YLD damage; at 40INF it is about 50% chance). As
YLD moves farther below 100, your sell territory will start selling at $3 more
often instead of $4. The chance to sell at $5 slips away and eventually $2
sales appear. You need high sell prices. Repair the YLD to regain stability.
Bonus Tip: You can gain rank while concentrating on buying and selling product.
If your main army is sitting in a buying or selling territory, when it moves
PRD or money to its counterpart, send the entire army with it. Do your buying
or selling. The next month, the AI will attack your empty territory. When
the counterpart territory sends back money or PRD, send the army back.
[Obviously, this only works if the AI with Pecking Order rights is one your
army can handle.] Note that the same tactic can be used if what was being
sent was infantry to be upgraded.
*TM320
Making a Buying Territory:
It takes special care to make a buying territory. Any territory can be
converted into a buying territory, but the higher the YLD, the more effort it
will take. Thus, it might be best to start off with a low YLD territory.
The following table lists the yields in each territory at the start of the
game.
YLD03 Hida YLD20 Kai YLD35 Echigo
YLD05 West Shinano YLD20 Mikawa YLD35 Echizen
YLD15 Noto YLD22 Suruga YLD38 Mino
YLD18 Shinano YLD25 Kaga YLD39 Ise
YLD18 North Shinano YLD25 Yamashiro YLD40 Owari
YLD18 Sagami YLD26 Etchu YLD51 Musashi
YLD19 Totoumi YLD30 Kozuke YLD54 Oumi
If you won't be using reloading to help in the creation of a buying territory,
I suggest you choose a territory in the far left column. Those territories
will serve well enough without modification. However, because you are not
using reloads, you MUST NOT make your buying territory your capital at the
time of the AUG season. As a non-capital territory, you can choose not to
manage your buying territory during August. The rich harvest event is placed
in the game to foil the low YLD territory scheme. It happens so insistently
at times that it is extremely difficult to avoid even with reloading. If you
risk it, in one instant you could lose the efficacy of your buying territory
when the rich harvest inevitably strikes your territory.
The main tool in tailoring the YLD of a territory is recruiting infantry with
the Mi-Enlist command (TM240). First, bring LOY to 100 with the Fa-Aid
command. Then, recruit the maximum allowed infantry. When the numbers being
recruited are above 79, a YLD drop is guaranteed. At about 40INF recruited,
the recruitments are about half YLD drop, half LOY only drop. When you get
to 25INF recruitments, the odds of a YLD drop are maybe 15%. [See TM030
randomization: it is likely you will get stuck in a pattern.] When the
maximum recruitments are low, you must use Fa-Aid (TM170) to put LOY back
to 100.
At YLD20, LOY100, 25INF is the maximum recruitment. Wherever you started,
YLD20 is where you want to end up for the final drop. Now, not only do you
have to reload over and over to get a YLD drop recruitment, you also have to
be selective as to which drop you accept. You want a -20YLD recruitment.
If you had a YLD18 territory like Shinano, it is harder at 22INF max
recruitment, but you can get a maximum drop. The -20YLD will appear as a
-18YLD because that is the most it can be for YLD18 Shinano.
At YLD15, LOY100, 18INF is the maximum recruitment. Although it is still
barely possible to get a YLD drop recruitment, you might be better off doing
Fa-Development to bump the YLD up to 20. Or, take a rich harvest to get you
there. Then, you can follow the procedure above. Do the same for any other
awkward YLD amount.
Another tool to tailor YLD is to use the disaster events that reduce YLD
(listed below). The territory disasters are great for clearing out YLD that
is too low to use recruitment to zero out.
JUN Heavy Rain gives maximum -4YLD and also hurts WEL and DST
AUG Drought gives maximum -8 YLD and some DST
SEP Storm gives maximum -7YLD but also hurts CLT and DST
First, you must save the game before the territory's month begins. As you
advance to its start, you want a disaster, reloading until you get it. As
mentioned in the event section (TM910), you can save the game after getting
the disaster announcement, but before it generates its random statistics.
Do this to reload over and over so as to get the maximum YLD drop. [Sometimes
you have to regenerate the disaster event because you can't get the maximum
you want when reloading. The randomization doesn't allow it.]
After you have brought the YLD down, one more thing remains: bring down the
WEL. Ironically, if you were using Mi-Enlist to bring down the YLD, you had
to raise the WEL along with LOY, thereby making the territory temporarily less
capable as a buyer. Use the October Harvest to zero WEL. Tax the buying
territory at 100%, save the game after it gives you the PRD and gold collected
message. Advance to the next screen to get -50 or -75 WEL. If it matters,
reload to get the biggest drop. If you can't bring WEL all the way down to
zero, you can go the rest of the way next harvest.
[Note: if you are not going to use the buying territory to upgrade infantry,
zeroing WEL is not crucial. Yet, better to zero it and not need it, than to
need it and not have zeroed it. Reminder: low WEL territories are for
upgrading INF and low YLD territories are for buying PRD.]
If you have lowered the YLD in your buying territory but haven't reached zero,
that is okay. You can play with it like that. [Shinano at YLD18 will
function adequately without doing anything.] You can wait until the next AUG
comes around to try for another drought. [I only use storms in the first year.
By the second year, I have brought CLT to 100. A storm has a CLT drop.
I don't want that. It is not about the lost CLT points; it is about the time
lost to repair CLT.] You can also use JUN heavy rain.
New understanding shows CLT to influence unit upgrade prices. I have not
ascertained yet if CLT modifies PRD buying and selling.
*TM321
Making a secure buying territory
It wasn't easy, but now you have your buying territory. Unfortunately, I
haven't told you all you need to know: your buying territory is unique
(although sometimes I make two of them). It has to be protected. In contrast,
if one of your selling territories end up in enemy control for several turns,
the worst the AI can do is spend money left behind and/or damage the territory
by recruiting infantry. Money can eventually be replaced without too much
concern. Territory statistics can be repaired in two months time. It might
be expensive and inconvenient, but it is a relatively quick fix.
The same is not true of your buying territory. If there is enough money in
the treasury or sufficient gold mine income, the AI players could decide that
what your low YLD territory needs is more YLD, raising it via Fa-Development.
YI is not a concern here. You don't care what YI is because the territory
doesn't want YLD. However, because it is a buying territory, the conversion
process almost assuredly made certain the YI is the minimum, $40. A measly
$200, a 3x result on Fa-Development, and +15 YLD is the result. Depending on
what the YLD was before, now you may either have a less effective buying
territory or one that needs to undergo the conversion process again.
Furthermore, never allow the AI to hold your buying territory at the start of
August. Unless you reload to eliminate it, quite likely a rich harvest event
will appear under AI rule, adding up to 11 points to YLD.
Part of my game strategy is to give away territories to gain rank or to move
the army around the map. Because of the rank system, the army has to
recapture territories in order to bring higher rank into them. I will spend
time fighting in one section of the map, but then come back to my core
territories to refresh their rank to be something that can fend off enemies.
Either I select a buying territory that is in a corner, or I have to carefully
allow the enemy to capture it and then immediately retake it as part of the
process of moving my army back.
But even if you have no plans to give your buying territory away, the AI may
decide to take it from you. For example, West Shinano makes a great buying
territory at YLD5, WEL20 at the start of the game. However, West Shinano is
adjacent to seven other territories, the most neighbors any territory has.
If you are sending cash to West Shinano, using it to accumulate PRD, and
holding the territory with a token military, the AI may decide to attack.
There are just too many neighbors to make alliances with all of them (at least
early in the game when you are still building wealth). Your army must be
nearby to recapture West Shinano, if you can (I say that because one of West
Shinano's neighbors is rank28 Mikawa/Matsudaira). Anyway, West Shinano is a
natural buying territory, but it is risky to depend on keeping it. It is
poorly located.
In games I have two buying territories, West Shinano is usually one of them.
I have had times that one buying territory is overworked. I employ West
Shinano as an auxiliary buying territory. [Early game, it takes time to
build up a store of PRD.] I realize that at some point things will settle
down, so I am not worried about holding onto West Shinano long term.]
As for safety, Shinano makes a better choice as a buying territory. It has
only four neighbors and all of those neighbors are low ranked. I often choose
it as a buying territory because of its location. Unless the ownership of
territories shift, I know I can take it back or defend it from capture.
Hida at YLD3, WEL40 is another excellent choice as a natural buying territory.
Hida only has two neighbors. That being the case, you have to clobber one of
them to get to Hida. I have a strategy for making Hida secure that I will
share in the Combat Guide. It is similar to the one given below for North
Shinano.
North Shinano at YLD18, WEL23, can make a good buying territory despite its
proximity to Echigo/Uesugi at rank 31. From North Shinano, capturing Etchu
will cause Kozuke/Uesugi to capture North Shinano. Your army at Etchu
recaptures North Shinano. Next month, after you move the resources out of
Etchu, Echigo/Uesugi will capture it. Decide whether you will also take
Kozuke. Next, make an alliance with Uesugi. North Shinano is now secure on
it northern borders. Where your army resides depends on how you handled
Kozuke. You will transfer it somewhere south of North Shinano. Its position
in the south keeps North Shinano safe from southern invaders.
Kai at YLD20, WEL28 can make a good buying territory statistically, but its
location makes it hazardous unless you make an alliance with Hojo and keep the
army close to handle Suruga/Imagawa. Another option is to concentrate on
building rank early so as to take out Hojo. However, if you build sufficient
rank, you actually don't have to eliminate Hojo. As long as the army is close,
you can kick Hojo out if the AI captures Kai. If you bring the rank into Kai,
then a small force can defend it.
[YLD20 seems to be the boundary for higher PRD buys. Meaning, you will not
have enough $1 buys at Kai. You needs to drop the YLD in Kai, even if it is
only a few points.]
Totoumi at YLD19, WEL25 makes a good buying territory. Seemingly, it appears
badly placed next to Mikawa/Matsudaira at rank 28. However, Suruga/Imagawa is
on the other side and West Shinano in front. Totoumi only has 3 neighbors.
After an alliance with Matsudaira, Totoumi is defensible against rank 15
Suruga if it has sufficient rank and a small force. Totoumi is a favorable
field battle against the AI attacking or defending. And the Castle battle can
be deadly to unwary attackers.
It is important to have a plan early in the game as to what territory you want
to be a buying territory. If the AI holds the territory, you should
aspire to grab it before the AI raises the YLD. All the territories mentioned
make good buying territories even if you do no further YLD drops. However,
with the exceptions of Hida and West Shinano, you should be able to get a YLD
drop if you keep recruiting infantry until it happens. If it takes a while,
you are still getting a slow accumulation of valuable infantry (I am assuming
I am writing to the non-reloading people).
Without reloading savegames, the formation of the best buying territory, YLD 0,
is extremely time consuming. You would have to rely on getting certain
disasters to luckily appear in your territory. The best disaster, drought,
you cannot attempt because of the possibility of getting a rich harvest,
instead. Or, you must recruit infantry to get the right combination of yield
drops. As you approach your objective, it becomes unlikely to get a yield
drop in a territory because low YLD means low infantry recruitment numbers.
Every failed attempt still yanks off 4 to 9 LOY, making further recruitments
even more unlikely to get a yield drop. You are compelled to raise LOY again
after every two failed attempts. One further note, while making the attempts
to zero the YLD, you have to raise the LOY. This raises WEL in the territory.
So, while making the attempt to make it a better buying territory, it will
temporally be worse for upgrades because of higher WEL. [Without reloading,
the luck it takes to get a zero YLD buying territory might be even more
remarkable than the luck needed to accumulate gold mines.]
As a bonus, here is a table giving the number of adjacent territories for
each territory in the game. As mentioned earlier, West Shinano has the most
neighbors. Having fewer neighbors could make holding a buying territory
easier.
1-Yamashiro 3-Sagami 4-Owari
2-Hida 3-Echizen 5-Kai
2-Ise 3-Echigo 5-North Shinano
2-Noto 4-Shinano 5-Etchu
3-Totoumi 4-Kozuke 5-Oumi
3-Musashi 4-Suruga 6-Mino
3-Kaga 4-Mikawa 7-West Shinano
*TM330
Buying and Selling PRD Models:
There is a time imbalance between a buying territory and a selling territory.
Once a buying territory is fully supplied with cash, it can make five to ten
purchases before it runs out of money and perhaps storage space. In contrast,
the selling territory can make three sales at $3 or two sales if at the
expected $4 or the hoped for $5. The sell territory cannot continue selling
until it ships off the money.
[The PRD and sale numbers are rounded in the examples for simplicity.]
If the buying territory is consistently buying at $2 and the selling territory
selling at $3, balance is roughly achieved. The buy territory consumes $6,000
in three buys and the sell territory makes $6,000 in two sales and can ship
the money to the buy territory on the third turn, after the buy territory's
third purchase. Monetary equilibrium established. The work done is a profit
of 1,000PRD (2,000PRD sold with 3,000PRD purchased).
[A fourth turn will be necessary to ship PRD to seller. The seller then gets
a free turn.]
However, if the buying territory gets a run of $1 buys, the money it has will
last longer. Meanwhile, if the selling territory gets $4 sales, it has $8000
ready to go on the third turn. The problem is, the buying territory doesn't
have room for most of it and won't need any for many more turns. Now, as a
seller, the selling territory is out of work.
Early in the game, some money can be dumped on the capital for an alliance or
two to give long-term protection against inconvenient AI attacks. However,
what is to be done the next time the cash backs up in the sell territory?
Clearly, we need a better plan than just moving money and PRD back and forth.
There are several ways to accomplish the buying and selling of product in a
coordinated manner. This section will discuss variations of doing that.
*TM331
The basic two territory model
In this model, one territory buys PRD and upgrades infantry while the other
sells PRD and recruits infantry.
Early in the game, when you have few territories, this model is often the only
choice you have, the de facto method. Even when you have more than three
territories, the army is likely off making conquests, fighting in one territory
while you must move out the resources of a territory just departed. Only two
territory selections maybe available per month for the economy. Another factor
to be considered is taking time to fix up territories. The ones you plan on
keeping need to be groomed for the October Harvest. The buying and selling of
PRD is of secondary importance to investing in the territories' futures (in
the first year).
One of my considerations when I play is to zero out the YLD of a buying
territory before the October Harvest. I then use the harvest to get rid of
the WEL in the buying territory (see TM320 Making a Buying Territory).
How the PRD commerce goes relates to whether you have a YLD0 buying territory
or a YLD18 one. A YLD18 territory like Shinano will have less $1 buys. Often,
to keep things going, buying at $2 will be required. [It is frustrating when
after spending all the money on a $2 purchase, the next month sells PRD at $1
but there is no money to buy some.]
Skipping ahead to the spring of the second year, the buying and selling system
has enough money and PRD to start a rhythm. The selling territory keeps pace
with the buying territory by recruiting infantry and repairing YLD and LOY
from time to time. When the infantry is sent to the buying territory, it can
pass on $2 buys by upgrading the infantry. It is easy to have the buying and
selling territory keep harmony with each other by slowing the PRD commerce to
only the best prices.
This strategy as I have outlined it gives your high YLD territory the dual
purpose of supplying both cash and infantry to the low YLD territory. It can
be done in other ways, but this is the most intuitive way to do things.
However, the dual role of both selling PRD and recruiting infantry has to be
balanced. Recruit infantry too often and your YLD will sink to a level that
won't allow for the sale of PRD at $4. The system still works selling at $3,
but it will work much slower at that rate. The reason is because you have
increased the load on the system. Selling at $3 is sufficient for the buying
and selling of PRD endeavor; however, it will not provide enough EXTRA cash to
adequately fund the promotion of infantry into the more expensive unit types.
Selling at $3 per PRD, you might be fine upgrading to LNC and maybe AR, but
not CAV, RM, and HDQ.
*TM332
PRD stockpile: three territories, two buying, one selling.
The problem with TM331 is that the acquisition of wealth is intentionally
slowed so that the buying and selling territories can work in harmony.
However, it did provide for the basic needs of the empire by supplying new,
upgraded troops. What if the army could be put on hold? That is, spend a
year or so acquiring wealth before worrying about upgrading infantry?
If two territories were employed to buy PRD, the selling territory would have
an extra place to drop off money. The sale of PRD would happen in a three
month cycle: two sales and one move. The buying territories would get cash
delivered once every six months. Both buy territories could buy non-stop,
refusing only if the price were $3 to buy. They would have two free months in
every six to either move off PRD or dig some gold mines. This time off in the
plan gives them an allowed work-around when buy price is $3.
The yearly accounting for the above would be: 8,000PRD sales and 16,000PRD
purchases for a net 8,000PRD. If the army, in the fourth territory presumably,
could endure without upgrades, except maybe within its own territory, then
this sounds fantastic.
The next year and a half, buying PRD won't be necessary. Or, it could still
be done in a more selective fashion: only $1 buys. You would switch to a
different model, one that has two selling/recruiting territories that send to
one buying territory that was kept. Perhaps the excess buying territory is
converted into a selling territory? Or it could just be abandoned, like
West Shinano?
*TM333
Army builder: One buying territory, two selling/recruiting territories:
If this model is started without a stockpile of PRD as at TM332, then the
buying territory will be overworked. The recruiting territories would produce
more infantry than could be afforded to upgrade. Trying to provide more PRD
to increase the funds available will leave the buying territory with no time
to upgrade the infantry. But, if some of the infantry are upgraded where they
are after the October Harvest, then it could work. You would have a large
addition to the army at the end of the year.
However, if this model was a segue from TM332, then it would rapidly build an
army. The buying territory would have the chance to slow the depletion of the
PRD stockpile by buying new PRD at $1 and dig gold mines when not. The time
upgrading INF would be short, assuming upgrading all the infantry each time as
one unit type (it is more efficient that way).
I am not endorsing this model, but it has been the one I have used more often
than others. I actually think the next one is better. (The Balanced
Arrangement model is a new thought. The realization that WEL was not needed
for PRD sales changed my thinking. It is one that I aspire to play in the
future.)
*TM334
Balanced Arrangement: Three territories, three different assignments
Another approach is to have a selling territory that sells PRD without
infantry recruitment and a recruiting territory without the responsibility of
selling PRD. The buying territory will just buy PRD. In this arrangement,
slowing the pace of wealth gain is not needed. Infantry production is at
maximum productivity as well.
The buying territory is not burdened with infantry upgrades, so it can
maximize time buying PRD. As long as there are enough $1 purchases, it can
dodge buys at $2 and dig gold mines. PRD is occasionally sent to the selling
territory.
One of the problems of the selling territory is having cash it must disperse.
Whether it disperses the cash by moving it elsewhere or upgrading infantry
doesn't matter. Since the selling territory doesn't use Fa-Aid to raise LOY
for recruiting, it won't have WEL above zero. Thus, with WEL at zero, it will
get base prices for infantry upgrades. Finally, since YLD stays at 100
constantly because of no recruiting, it has the best chances of high price
PRD sales.
The selling territory sells twice and then does one of two things: either ship
money to the buying territory or upgrade infantry. If upgrading, the maximum
possible of one unit type should be done. Excess infantry can sit in the slot
until the next upgrade. The recruiting territory will add more according to
the space available.
The infantry recruitment territory will only need money to repair YLD and LOY
when recruitment numbers drop. Since it won't be selling PRD, damage to YLD
that affects Merchant prices is irrelevant. Only the recruitment numbers
matter. The October Harvest will provide some money and PRD. If any extra
money is needed, the selling territory can provide it. The infantry recruited
is sent to the selling territory to be upgraded.
As a general rule, selling PRD will not happen at the recruitment territory.
YLD damage from recruitment make PRD sale prices unsteady. Furthermore,
recruiting infantry and repairing statistics is the most time demanding
activity of the three territories in this arrangement. The selling territory
needs a constant supply of infantry to absorb its excess money in upgrades.
The recruiting territory must fulfill its task of providing those infantry.
However, if the selling territory were to need turns to handle combat, for
instance, the recruitment territory could take up the slack. Knowing you can
always sell PRD here should cause you to retain the PRD gained in the October
Harvest instead of shipping it off with the infantry. Also, if infantry
needed to be upgraded, it could be done here after the October Harvest has
reduced WEL -- or if needed, the infantry could be shipped off to the buying
territory.
As mentioned above, you have the option of returning this arrangement to one
that functions more like TM331. This should only be done if necessary. This
arrangement works best if the territories stick to their assignments. Besides,
it is my opinion that the three territory arrangement is better than the two
territory buying and selling model.
Additionally, if your buying territory was interrupted or diverted for many
months, as long as it had time to move off its stores of PRD, the other two
territories can continue to function as they were -- perhaps for a year or
more if the PRD on hand was large. Only if you lost the supply of infantry
would things break down.
*TM337
Closing comments on buying and selling models
One conspicuously missing detail in all the above models is the fourth
territory. By leaving it out of the models, the fourth territory can be a
wildcard, helping out or having nothing to do with the economy. I picture it
pursuing a separate agenda of gaining rank, keeping the empire safe, or
capturing desired locations. Another task the fourth territory may take up is
capital operations such as alliances.
Another thing not mentioned in the models is interfacing with the forth
territory. For instance, at some point, each system might pause to send
resources to the forth territory. Army reinforcements will likely be eagerly
sent to the "front lines." Nonetheless, having auxiliary troops hanging
around in your economic territories does serve to discourage AI attack.
*TM340
OCTOBER HARVEST:
at 100% tax
PRD collected = 5PRD x (YLD + LOY) + random 0PRD to 30PRD
$$ collected = $10 x (CLT + WEL) + random $0 to $30
LOY drops random 66 or 99
WEL drops random 50 or 75
At the start of every territory's activity in October is the taxation of the
territory. This taxation gives money and PRD that is placed in the treasury.
[PRD is the product of the fields, the common food, presumably rice.] You may
choose a tax rate of 0% to 100% in 1% increments. At 100% tax, a territory
with YLD100, LOY100, CLT100, WEL100 will generate 1000PRD and $2000.
In addition, 0 to 30PRD and $0 to $30 is randomly added to all tax rates above
0%. LOY drops 66 or 99 points and WEL drops 50 or 75 points. [If LOY or WEL
is lower than the drop chosen, the current LOY or WEL is the drop.]
The full formulas for tax are:
PRD collected = 5PRD x (YLD + LOY) x (TAXRATE / 100) + random 0PRD to 30PRD
Gold collected = $10 x (CLT + WEL) x (TAXRATE / 100) + random $0 to $30
LOY drop = 66LOY x (TAXRATE / 100) or 99LOY x (TAXRATE / 100)
WEL drop = 50WEL x (TAXRATE / 100) or 75WEL x (TAXRATE / 100)
The above formulas simplify to:
PRD collected = (YLD + LOY) x TAXRATE / 20 + random 0PRD to 30PRD
Gold collected = (CLT + WEL) x TAXRATE / 10 + random $0 to $30
You have to use your territories to recruit infantry. Doing so damages YLD,
LOY and WEL statistics. When LOY drops, so does the number of infantry that
can be recruited. One strategy is to recruit once a year. Then, the October
Harvest comes along and zeroes out LOY. Repair it in OCT or NOV with Fa-Aid.
Just after taxes, you should have the cash on hand, or sell PRD if you don't
(assumption that a territory that is recruiting infantry has relatively high
YLD). Zeroing out LOY is no big deal. Bringing it back to 100 is easy and
relatively cheap.
However, let us consider that you won't reload but want your zeroed out LOY
back to 100. $1700Fa-Aid will do it, giving both 100LOY and 100WEL. Now, let
us fast forward to the next harvest. With the assumption that the territory
has not been disturbed, meaning, it still has the 100LOY and 100WEL we paid
$1700 to acquire: 100WEL garners $1000 at the harvest. That means of the
$1700 paid, $1000 comes back, leaving a net debt of $700. The 100LOY gets
500PRD in the harvest. 500PRD at a high YLD territory is worth a minimum of
$1500, middle of $2000, and a maximum of $2500. Subtracting $700, we made
either $800, $1300, or $1800 depending if PRD sells at $3, $4, or $5.
Some have suggested that it is advantageous to tax at rates lower than 100%
so as to minimize the LOY and WEL drops resultant from taxation. That is bad
advice. First, it is my revised opinion that minimizing WEL is the better
course. I want to keep WEL down so I can upgrade INF. Unlike LOY, maximizing
WEL is not cost effective. You will pay more maximizing WEL than you will get
back from WEL in the harvest. WEL is a byproduct of raising YLD and LOY with
the Fa-Development and Fa-Aid commands. Raising WEL should not be a goal.
Second, examining the full tax formulas, you will see that damage to LOY and
WEL is proportional to the treasury rewards. If it is a good enough deal for
taxing at 10%, it is ten times a good deal doing it at 100%. That is what
proportional means.
To illustrate the advantage of 100% tax, consider the worst-case situation,
the circumstances that would best support the idea of lower taxation. A YLD0,
CLT0, LOY100, WEL100 territory will be considered. (While doing comparisons,
the random $0 to $30 and 0 to 30PRD will be omitted because it is a constant,
all trials get it.) At 100% tax, the territory will get 500PRD and $1000
with 66 or 99 loss of LOY and 50 or 75 loss of WEL. At a modest 10% tax, the
territory gets 50PRD and $100 with 6 or 9 loss of LOY and 5 or 7 loss of WEL
Here is the situation after taxes again, assuming the worst comparison:
100% Tax: LOY 1, WEL25, +$1000, +500PRD
10% Tax: LOY94, WEL95, +$100, +50PRD
To repair the 100% Tax territory, we assume the worst, 1x results and do a
$1581Fa-Aid that gives 93LOY and 75WEL. Here is the new situation:
100% Tax: LOY94, WEL100, -$581, +500PRD
10% Tax: LOY94, WEL 95, +$100, +50PRD
Doing algebraic manipulation on both equations, add $581 and subtract 50PRD.
100% Tax: LOY94, WEL100, $0, +450PRD
10% Tax: LOY94, WEL 95, +$681, 0PRD
So, the basic difference is that one has $681 and the other 450PRD. Which is
worth more? Before answering that, consider a purchase of 450PRD for $681.
That is about $1.5 per PRD. That is a good deal worthy of your buying
territory when buying and selling PRD. In a YLD0 territory, the best you
could sell the PRD is $1, so you would lose money doing so. However, move the
PRD to a high YLD territory, then the lowest 450PRD would be worth at $3 per
PRD is $1,350. The low end value of $1,350 is more than $681. 100% tax is
more valuable than 10% in this case, the least favorable comparison.
100% tax becomes even more lucrative when YLD and CLT are high in a territory
because taxing does not harm these statistics. Now lets look at an extreme
case showing the difference between 100% and 10% tax on a YLD100, CLT100,
LOY0, WEL0 territory:
100% Tax: LOY0, WEL0, $1000, +500PRD
10% Tax: LOY0, WEL0, +$100, +50PRD
There is no need to repair the 100% Tax territory to match the 10% Tax
territory; they are already the same in LOY and WEL, yet, the differences in
treasuries are significant. If you have a low LOY and low WEL territory, why
not tax 100%? Loss of LOY and WEL are small whilst you get maximum benefit
from the YLD and CLT. The previous example exemplifies that fact.
The only valid reason not to tax at 100% is that you need to use the territory
to recruit infantry IMMEDIATELY. You cannot afford the time it takes, 1 month,
to raise LOY back up and then recruit? I suppose that could happen.
Advice: Maximize CLT in all your territories. Doing so assures each territory
of a $1,000 minimum payday each October when taxing at the recommended 100%.
Advice: Be careful moving money and PRD during October. If you are moving
upstream, that is, to a territory that has already had its turn, then you are
okay. However, if you are moving to a territory that is still waiting for its
harvest, you must not fill the treasury so full that there is no room to add
the full production from the harvest.
Bonus tip: Typically, most months you have your buying territory active.
However, once you have more than four territories, you will make more profit
in the October Harvest if you select only high YLD territories for OCT. But if
it is early in the game, you may nonetheless want to select your buying
territory so that you can zero the WEL.
*TM400
How to Make Money:
Money comes and goes, but if you don't know how to replenish it, once it is
gone, you will struggle. Some forethought is necessary to make sure the
moments that you struggle on with little financing are few. The goal of this
section is to make you aware of how money could be made, to stimulate your
mind to the possibilities so that you can make your own plans.
TM410 October Harvest as a provider
TM420 Gold Mines as a financial support
TM430 Commerce with PRD
TM440 Combat spoils as a supplier
TM441 Implications of the LRB exploit
*TM410
October Harvest as a provider
For simplicity, we will consider a high YLD territory that doesn't recruit
infantry, thereby skipping all the complications of territory damage. This
territory has already achieved perfect statistics of YLD100, LOY100, CLT100,
WEL100. It will get on average $2015 and 1015PRD in the October Harvest.
It will spend two game turns to perpetuate its role: one to repair LOY and WEL
from harvest reduction and one turn to sell PRD.
Sometimes the harvest will leave the territory with 25WEL and sometimes with
50WEL. If we assume 2x Fa-Aid, then the LOY will automatically get repaired
when we fix the WEL. It costs $850 Fa-Aid to repair 50WEL. It costs $1275 to
repair 75WEL. Average cost would be $1063. [If we use 1x for LOY repair,
then use $1700 here. $1700 Fa-Aid always fixes LOY and WEL.]
Using a conservative estimate selling PRD at $4/each, the PRD then is worth
$3996 with 16PRD left over. (This is a YLD100 territory. We could wait for
a $5 sale to show up. Taking $4 is a time conservative approach.)
The cash after Fa-Aid and PRD sale is $2015 - $1063 + $3996 = $4948. The PRD
is 16. This territory had to use up two game turns to attain $4948 and 16PRD.
Ten months are free to use the territory for other purposes. [Using the 1X
Fa-Aid amount gives $2015 - $1700 + $3996 = $4311. This is the assured amount
for those that don't reload for 2x results.]
*TM420
Gold Mines as a financial support:
First, if you are not using savegames to ensure gold mine digging success,
then gold mines will not be a source of income until many years later. I will
not be advising you on this approach because it is one I don't take and thus
have no insight on how it is done.
Assuming reloading, you still have two ways of digging gold mines: 1) digging
so as to make money to use right away or 2) using money from other sources to
establish gold mines as a financial support in the future.
*TM421
Digging to make money right away:
The territories of Shinano and Kai can dig at $1 to find 2 gold mines.
Digging this way is modest and the money accumulates slowly. After digging at
$1 for 2 gold mines for six months, on the seventh month, you will have an
additional $204 in the treasury and $60 each following month from your 12 gold
mines.
Your small effort provides a small annuity of $720 per year. Furthermore, the
only upfront money you needed was $1. After the first month, your cash flow
was always positive. You can stop digging now if you want to do other things.
You have a gold mine source of income.
However, the best early game use of gold mines is to fund the digging of more
gold mines. If reinvesting your profits is your choice, you can start digging
now at $100 for 3 gold mines and do so without costing you money you didn't
have. The $204 you have gained is enough to start. Digging three times, the
following month your balance is now $174 with $105 per month from your 21 gold
mines.
Nine months have gone past. Your annuity is now $1260 per year, an increase
of $540 in the last three months of digging. Moreover, you can spend the
extra $174 you have in the treasury. You don't need to draw from the treasury
anymore. Your monthly income is $105, which covers the cost of digging more
gold mines at $100. You have a sustainable economy.
*TM422
Using money from other sources to establish gold mines as a financial support
in the future:
At TM421, a positive money balance was maintained throughout digging using
either Shinano or Kai. However, what if you want to try to make West Shinano
a source of financial support via gold mines?
You can't dig at $1 at West Shinano (oh, you can dig at $1, but you won't get
any gold mines). $100 is the minimum for successful digging at West Shinano.
Thus, you need financial backing from the get-go to dig at $100 each month.
However, it isn't as large as you may think. $385 is all you need. That
amount may already be in the treasury when you capture West Shinano. If not,
you can start digging and kill a turn or two attacking Totoumi or North
Shinano, then go back to digging. The gold mine income from mines already dug
will accumulate during pauses (and you might get spoils from attacking the AI).
After seven consecutive months of digging at $100 for 3 gold mines in West
Shinano, you will be $385 in the red, but have 21 gold mines. You will make
$105 per month, $1260 per year, the same as the earlier example. You had to
invest $385 from elsewhere to do it, but now you have modest financial support
from gold mines in West Shinano that you can use for more gold mine digging or
other ventures.
*TM423
Gold mine income comes in small amounts.
The power of gold mines is not in magnitude. To illustrate, the superlative
territory at 100 gold mines only makes $500 per month. That is not enough to
upgrade even 100 INF to 100LNC or do a $850Fa-Aid for recruiting. However,
when you are doing something else like recruiting, that means you are not
spending any money. The next month, instead of $500 in the treasury, there is
$1000. That is the power of gold mines. They keep adding to the treasury.
You only have the money to do expensive things if you have months that you do
inexpensive things. Yet, that too is the hidden power: the gold mines give
you income AND let you do other things. Once they are dug, gold mine income
comes without a time penalty unlike trading PRD and combat spoils. Even the
harvest requires two months per year to function.
It takes a minimum of 20 game turns and $3400 to dig 100 gold mines at the
$400 for 5 gold mines rate. Once dug, 100 gold mines make $6000 per year with
no expenses. [A light bulb went off in my head. That is why there are
cave-ins. To add the expense of having to re-dig lost gold mines.] Gold mine
income is gradual, you must have time to accumulate income to make costly
purchases.
*TM430
Commerce with PRD
Buying and Selling PRD has been covered at TM310 and TM330. However, an
analysis of how profitable it is hasn't been done.
Imagine we have a buying territory and a selling territory. To simplify
matters, we will consider just the income from buying and selling PRD as if
our sell and buy territories won't be participating in the harvest, just as we
did when considering gold mine income at TM420. Also, let us assume that the
system is fully in place already, the initial work done. In this case, it
means that the buying territory starts out with cash and the selling territory
has PRD. Neither requires immediate shipments from the other. Let us further
suppose that buying and selling PRD is all that they do except for the
occasional shipment of cash or PRD to keep the system going.
The buying territory makes two shipments of PRD in the year, leaving ten
months to buy PRD. Of the ten purchases, we will say that five are made at $1
and five at $2. For simplicity, round numbers are used. 10,000 PRD has been
purchased at $15,000. We will imagine that in the year, twice PRD buys at $3
and we chose to move PRD rather than buy.
The selling territory sells twice and then must move out the cash. So, eight
months of selling and four months of moving will be used. PRD will sell at an
average of $4 (the times it sells at $5 is balanced by the times forced to
sell at $3). The PRD will garner $32,000.
The selling territory has sold 8,000PRD and the buying territory has purchased
10,000PRD, leaving a net of 2,000PRD as an asset. The PRD sales gave $32,000,
but the cost of buying was $15,000. The difference is $17,000. So, the net
of the commerce is $17,000 and 2,000 PRD. However, it took two territories to
accomplish that profit, so it has to be divided by two. So, the yearly income
buying and selling was $8,500 with 1,000PRD in the treasury. If we project
the 1,000PRD as being worth $4,000 at $4/PRD, taking half that for buying and
selling tradeoff, the yearly profit is $10,500 per territory.
[If instead of making two 1,000PRD purchases, only one was made, the remaining
turn could be used as a sell. Then, split the sale between two territories is
how I arrived at $2,000.]
*TM440
Combat spoils as a supplier
This one is hard to give a monetary value. The amount of spoils you get is
based on the number of enemy units you kill or how the LRB applies. If you
are ranked higher, you don't get anything from LRB. The experience points and
rank you gain fighting is valuable, put how does anyone say what it is worth
in terms of gold? Capturing the territory gives you whatever was in the
treasury, but that is unpredictable as a statistic. Furthermore, you can
recruit infantry in the territory before you abandon it, but infantry is a
difficult value to compute. Or, you could keep the territory, but giving that
a solid monetary value estimate is bewildering, too.
I had thought of combat spoils as the initial seed money to get the economy
going at the start of the game. Afterwards, I viewed combat as mainly an
expense to protect the empire. (Although, occasionally I will see a large
deposit of cash and PRD in an AI territory and fight to seize it.) This
perception changed with the discovery of LRB.
As tempted as I am to tell the story of how LRB was discovered and also
include all the ways it can make profit, I will limit myself to just an
analysis of its value in an easy to accomplish example.
It takes about two years to build the army with units and rank necessary to
handle rank 31 Echigo/Uesugi in the Northeast corner of the map. Then, Uesugi
can be herded into a more useful territory such as Kozuke. Capturing all
Uesugi territories except his new home in Kozuke, the Uesugi army is reduced
to just HDQ and INF. Next, from Takeda held rank 0 territories of Musashi and
Shinano, rank 31 Kozuke/Uesugi is exploited LRB style.
The rank 0 armies kill one Uesugi infantry on the field battle and let Uesugi
retreat on turn 6. Similarly, one Uesugi infantry is killed at the castle
battle. Because Uesugi has one territory, he cannot retreat. Spoils are
gained by waiting for the 20 combat turns to expire. In both battles, field
and castle, one infantry was killed, the minimum to get spoils. Since the
Takeda army remained to the end of each battle, survivor spoils are given.
What are the spoils? For killing one infantry each battle, nothing is given,
not even experience points. However, for surviving a battle as a Lower Ranked
army, the Bonus given is $21.1 and 15.2PRD per relative rank difference
between Takeda and Uesugi. The RR is 31. 31 times $21.1 = $654. 31 times
15.2PRD = 471PRD. The same spoils were given on both the field and castle
battles, so double the amounts: $1,308 and 942PRD was made this month
attacking Kozuke/Uesugi for both Shinano and Musashi.
Making that kind of money month after month is too much for the treasury to
hold. So, for a yearly computation, let us say that the attacking territory
of Shinano has to move off the spoils twice during the year. That makes ten
months of gathering spoils and an easy multiplier. So, the yearly income
using LRB here is $13,080 and 9,420PRD. To help understand how rich you are,
consider the value of the PRD at $4 each. The PRD is worth approximately
$38,000. Combined with the cash, the net profit is about $51,000 per year.
The frightening thing is that the example given is a straightforward one.
I have additional tricks that make the rank of Uesugi grow so that the LRB
grows. The income keeps getting bigger. And as mentioned, I have both
Shinano and Musashi exploiting Uesugi. I am making that fantastic income in
two territories, not just one (I have other examples that have four territories
doing the LRB exploit). However, explanations will wait until the LRB Exploit
Guide.
*TM441
Implications of the LRB exploit
I have not fully computed the game changes I will make because of LRB exploit.
I have come up with the concept and have tested it, but I haven't finished my
study.
In my example above at TM440, Shinano and Musashi make $1,308 and 942PRD a
month. Why would either of these territories take a turn to do $850Fa-Aid to
maximize LOY to get $1,000 and 500PRD in the OCT harvest? It used to be a
sensible thing to do, but now, it loses resources because more can be made
exploiting the LRB. The adage, "time is money," rings true here. Many
actions are a waste of time for Shinano and Musashi in this scenario. The LRB
exploit is so profitable that digging gold mines seems as a waste of time.
Taking the time to recruit infantry is too wasteful. These tasks and actions
can be done by other territories that cannot use the LRB exploit.
However, if Shinano and Musashi's best use is to gather resources, they must
dump those resources off to other territories for them to use. The PRD dumped
off requires selling. Considering just Shinano's treasury dump, a selling
territory would have to sell every turn to get rid of that much PRD. So, it
too doesn't have time to waste taking care of trivial tasks like recruiting
infantry, preparing for the harvest, or digging gold mines. Furthermore, it
has no time to wait for best sale prices. It must sell, regardless to keep
pace. Every two sales require sending out the money so that selling can
continue.
Because only four territories can be managed each month, that leaves one
territory being constantly given $6000 to $9999 every third turn from the
selling territory. It makes no sense to buy PRD; there is already more than
can be sold. The only way to use up that much money is to upgrade infantry.
Who is providing the infantry?
I tell you, being rich can be a nightmare. We are overwhelmed with just one
of our LRB exploit providers sending money and PRD. The bounty from the other
one, Musashi, has no way of being used, not if we can only manage four
territories per month.
The irony is that we are at the opposite extreme of what was mentioned at the
conclusion of TM331. There it mentioned how doing too much recruiting
infantry would deprive the empire of the money it needs to function. Now, we
have a case of making too much profit so that recruiting infantry suffers.
Also, here it isn't about needing the soldiers, but rather, it is about
needing somewhere to spend the money.
The only answer, as I see it, is that the LRB exploit providers have to slow
the pace. They must spend some time recruiting INF. However, only one of
them can do it at a time. I haven't explained the LRB exploit in full, but it
requires that the victim be attacked every month otherwise AI infantry will be
upgraded to units that make the ploy unworkable. Because of the need to pause
to dump off resources, that is why at least two territories must be setup to
do LRB exploit. One can pause only if the there is another to deprive the AI
of its monthly turn by attacking.
At TM440, I mentioned that I have ways of increasing the profit of the LRB
exploit. Without explaining it, instead, let's switch the exploit from rank
31 Uesugi to rank 42 Noto/General-Li. A field and castle battle with General
Li will give 2 x 42 x ($21.1 & 15.2PRD) = $1772 and 1276PRD. Every five
months, $8860 and 6380PRD is earned, requiring a move elsewhere. That is a
staggering amount of wealth.
By increasing the rank of the LRB exploit victim, it makes it clear to me that
less time need be spent using the exploit. The needed resources are gathered
quickly.
Making the times the LRB exploit is used be the minimum, once per month,
spread out between two territories doing the attacking, we get $21.264 and
15312PRD per year. We have four territories we can manage each month.
That means 48 game turns per year. 12 are used gathering resources, at least
3 moving those resources, 15 selling the PRD, requiring a minimum of 7 to move
the money. That is 37, leaving 11 to prepare a territory to recruit, recruit,
upgrade, and moving INF and troops around. It can't be done in 11 turns even
with clever multi-tasking.
We have too much wealth. $60,000 from PRD sales plus $21,000 is $81,000.
At $80, upgrading 1,000INF to HDQ would be $80,000, but there is no way we
could come up with 1,000INF to upgrade in one year, not with the overhead we
have. Getting 1,000INF a year would be difficult even if we could concentrate
on just infantry recruitment.
What I am saying, is that the amount of wealth gained is paralyzing. There is
no way to get rid of it fast enough. Even with a few $3240 5-year alliances
with other AI to keep them from interfering, there isn't enough ways to spend
money. Perhaps not shipping off INF to a buying territory is the answer?
Perhaps no buying territory is even necessary? That would give another
possible INF enlistment territory and paying higher prices to upgrade would
dissipate money faster. Less movement of money and INF would conserve game
turns.
By now, you must think me a madman. I am pointing out the absurdity I have
created with the LRB exploit. I used this forum to think on paper, to
investigate the logistics. The LRB exploit concepts I am writing about are
new to me, so I can't give you polished ideas.
*TM500
How the AI plays the game:
Despite the word "Intelligence" in the name "Artificial Intelligence," there
is seldom any evidence of it. Because it cannot think, the AI plays the game
much differently than the human does. In some ways, the AI has advantages; in
other respects, the AI is at a disadvantage. This section will explore the
behaviors of the AI.
TM501 - AI territories get an allowance of $0-$200 each month.
TM502 - AI players never buy PRD
TM503 - AI players pay half price for unit upgrades
TM504 - AI players pay lowest base merchant prices
TM505 - AI can recruit twice as much INF than the player
TM506 - AI players do not take full advantage of the OCT harvest to make money
TM507 - AI players have limited ability to attack
TM508 - AI players have humanlike "frustration" attacks
TM509 - AI stubborn attacks - attacks that don't make sense
TM510 - AI break pattern at inconvenient moments -- the AI Murphy's Law
TM511 - AI players cannot manage money wisely
TM512 - AI players have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Territory Management
TM513 - AI players have unique characteristics
TM514 - AI players get 50% more exp in battle with other AI
*TM501 - AI territories get an allowance of $0-$200 each month.
Before events and gold mine income, if an AI territory's treasury is less than
$1000, $0 to $200 is given it. This makes tracking AI actions difficult.
When you look at the Ninja Spying screen to analyze an AI territory, you are
looking at the changes in resources and territory statistics after last
month's AI action AND the start of the current month. While some events can
be predicted because of changes in several areas simultaneously (e.g., an
Imperial envoy adds cash, PRD, and possibly LOY and only happens in capital
territories), the random allowance obscures tracking AI expenditures from the
previous month's actions and previous treasury balance. I write this at the
beginning of this section to let you know that it takes long observation to
deduce AI behaviors. It isn't easy.
*TM502 - AI players never buy PRD
Lacking intelligence, the AI players cannot setup a cash making economy of
buying and selling PRD (TM310). As mentioned at the Gm command (TM180), the
AI is statistically hampered trying to use gold mines for income. Besides the
OCT Harvest, that leaves only Combat Spoils as a way to make cash. Although
spoils are not prevented the AI, it is still lacking the intelligence to
conduct profitable campaigns.
I exploit the fact that AI players cannot buy PRD by using AI territories for
secure borders. For example, West Shinano is adjacent to seven other
territories. It is a hard territory to hold, especially early in the game.
It makes a great buying territory because of its low YLD and WEL, but moving
money into it often attracts the notice of your militarily stronger neighbors.
Digging gold mines is harder there and won't allow the cheap $1 digs. I don't
like the idea of digging several $100 gold mines and then losing the territory
to someone else. Often, I move out all the resources and troops to elsewhere,
letting the AI take it. However, since no PRD is in the territory, the new AI
occupant can't use West Shinano to attack me. This territory is secure until
the next OCT harvest of PRD. Only if the territory is attacked which
generates spoil PRD (BUT070) or resource movement from another AI territory
into West Shinano, will it have the capability to attack.
*TM503 - AI players pay half price for unit upgrades
I have tracked the AI territories long enough to see the conversion of INF
into other units at half the money it should cost. Furthermore, I suspect,
but haven't become certain yet, that TM504 is AI players always pay the lowest
merchant prices, the base prices that only your low WEL territories get.
*TM504 - AI players pay lowest base merchant prices (TM250 for base prices)
The difference between TM503 and TM504 is that one says the AI gets half price
upgrades and the other says that the discount is taken from the lowest base
prices. The base prices are given regardless of territory statistics.
(See TM250 for base upgrade prices)
*TM505 - AI can recruit twice as much INF than the player
I have observed AI recruitment in territories I recently surrendered. AI get
twice as much. I mention the formula in the Mi-Enlist section (TM240).
I wonder if the AI continue to get twice what the player does when Katsuyori
takes over with ST=100? [See TM210 for He command.] A YLD50, LOY50 territory
would allow Shingen 31INF and ST100 Katsuyori 41INF. Does the AI start
getting more because of Katsuyori? If the AI had the YLD50, LOY50 territory,
would it get 62INF or 82INF from Mi-Enlist?
*TM506 - AI players don't take full advantage of the OCT harvest to make money
Taxing territories at 100% is the best policy. The AI taxes at rates around
20%-30%. [Perhaps this is another expression of the Game Designers' intention
to make the AI mediocre? Hopefully, I will explain this belief in the Combat
Guide.] Do not let the AI's example influence you. I discuss how to tax in
the October Harvest section (TM340).
*TM507 - AI players have limited ability to attack
If a territory is left empty of HDQ, the first adjacent AI in the Pecking
Order (TM050) will usually attack it. It is rare for an AI to pass up an open
territory. Usually the ones passing it up can't move that month (snowfall,
for instance) or have a small military so cautiously won't split forces.
However, a territory with 1HDQ and nothing else will keep predators away for
many months [I routinely pound Hida/Anekoji down to 1HDQ to advance my rank
but not commit my army into Hida. I then watch how long it takes Mino/Saito
or Etchu/Uesugi to grab Hida after I leave.]
Often, I leave 10HDQ behind when I send troops out of a territory. 10HDQ is
enough to hold a territory. [Ironically, early in the game, with low rank,
even if I did leave military in many of my territories, they couldn't defend
them, anyway, not against higher ranked, larger armies.] It is a total bluff
leaving 10HDQ, but most AI will see it as a fight they don't want. This
tactic allows me to use territories or build them up even though I can't
expect to keep them if an AI attacks me. Yet, sometimes my main army is next
door. When my 10HDQ territories are captured, my army comes back to retake
them. [My 10HDQ do not fight. They flee or move out if the bluff is
challenged.]
A militarily weak territory with a sizeable gold or PRD cache is more likely
to be attacked by the AI players, but it isn't automatic. There is no
intelligence. A random number determines whether an AI will look around to
see if there are good targets for attack. But I have noticed smart programming
at times. September, right before harvest, is a good time to capture an enemy
territory. Doing so means getting the harvest proceeds in October. I get
attacked more often in SEP than any other month, I believe.
*TM508 - AI players have humanlike "frustration" attacks
I abandon territories constantly. Sometimes it is because all I wanted was
the resources within or the rank from fighting to get the territory. Because
of the Pecking Order (TM050), AI in lower positions don't have the option to
attack my empty territory because a higher Pecking Order AI already is going
after it. In frustration, this lower totem AI will conduct a reckless attack
on another AI player or on another one of my territories. This behavior is so
predictable that I have to account for it in my plans.
For example, one tactic I employ from time to time is abandoning Kai so that
my army can bounce back in, refreshing Kai with a higher, more useful rank,
while furthering other projects (gaining rank or access to attack Musashi).
However, I don't want to have to retake Kai from the large army in rank23
Sagami/Hojo. I make alliance the month I abandon Kai (doing it the month after
means that Hojo will attack that month and my alliance will only kill his
troops -- something I don't like to do--see TM190 for alliance.)
If I make the alliance for two months, that means the alliance will be in
effect next month when the AI get to attack my empty territory. The idea is
to prevent Hojo from going after Kai so that Suruga/Imagawa can do it (at
rank 15, a much easier fight). However, Hojo realizes that an alliance is
preventing attack on Kai, so in frustration, Hojo attacks the only available
target, Suruga. Well, I don't mind AI fighting amongst themselves; however,
Hojo attacking Suruga/Imagawa means that Imagawa can't attack Kai, which is
my purpose.
How do I get around this problem? The answer I found is that frustration
attacks because of an alliance only happen the last month of unbreakable
alliance. A three-month alliance is the solution. In the second month of the
alliance, Hojo is not frustrated and does not attack Suruga. However, if for
some reason the desired Suruga/Imagawa attack on Kai doesn't happen in the
second month, the same frustration attack by Hojo is likely to occur in the
last month of the alliance.
Frustration attacks are not certain, just probable. You can also try loading
over with a two-month alliance until you get a month that Hojo leaves Imagawa
alone. In the Hojo & Imagawa situation, the frustration attack is probable.
There are other match-ups that make frustration a possibility, but less likely
attack.
Furthermore, I believe that at some point, the programmers redesigned the way
alliances work (TM190). One month was taken away from the breakable alliance
period and added to the unbreakable alliance period. Whatever docility an
alliance gives the AI player was not applied to the AI in this patch to the
alliance periods. Or perhaps extending the alliance period was the solution
to the inconvenient frustration attack phenomena? -- the best way to meet the
needs of the player?
*TM509 - AI stubborn attacks - attacks that don't make sense
Ise/Kitabatake attacks Oumi/Asai again and again throughout the game.
It makes no sense to me. Eventually, Owari/Oda or Oumi/Asai wipe out
Ise/Kitabatake when the territory has depleted its military.
West Shinano/Kiso is highly aggressive. Kiso will attack the weakest of your
territories periodically or sometimes in consecutive months.
North Shinano/ Murakami can be aggressive attacking Shinano, your northern
territory. Kozuke/Uesugi shows an eagerness to fight as well. They also
periodically attack each other. The attacks from Murakami and Kiso are
frequent enough that if I want to play a slower, territory buildup strategy,
I realize that I have to eliminate these AI players because it is the best
chance at peace. But I have also exploited their reckless, warlike natures.
Kiso will waste his whole army in combat without hesitation. It is too
complicated to describe how I do it, now. Conclusion: Kiso is not meant to
survive long in this game and I think the same of Murakami.
Musashi will attack Kai before Kozuke. Often, I am bouncing my army to build
up rank. I can't just give up Kai because rank 23 Sagami/Hojo will grab it.
However, when I capture Kozuke from rank 12 Uesugi and then move my army out
into North Shinano, I hope that rank 10 Musashi/Hojo will capture Kozuke
instead of rank 31 Echigo/Uesugi. Musashi has Pecking Order rights (TM050).
Yet, for some reason, Musashi refuses empty Kozuke and hits my 10HDQ
"defended" Kai territory. Even if Kai has no resources and Kozuke wealthy,
Kai is the choice Hojo makes. Perhaps it is deep animosity between Hojo and
Takeda, just like Kitabatake has for Asai? ["Takeda" is the player, Shingen's,
family name.] Musashi/Hojo would have left Kai alone had I not insulted him
by offering up Kozuke. [Only if I put in sufficient troops in Kai will
Musashi attack empty Kozuke instead.]
Occasionally, I see other situations where the territory I offer is refused
and instead another one of my poorly defended territories attacked. For
instance, I have had this happen at Totoumi. Suruga/Imagawa ignores Totoumi
and goes after Kai instead. The reverse of the Musashi situation also occurs.
With an alliance in place to keep the Sagami/Hojo army out of it, I offer up
Musashi to Kozuke/Uesugi. Uesugi will hit Shinano instead. However, this
isn't as bad as the other situation. My army is sitting in Kai when this
happens. I can retake Shinano and send the army back to Kai when Kozuke now
will go after Musashi.
*TM510 - AI break pattern at inconvenient moments -- the AI Murphy's Law
This topic is a continuation of the idea in TM509. I give up territories all
the time. There are times my plans require the AI with higher Pecking Order
(TM050) take the territory. 95% of the time it has been observed that a
certain AI will respond. However, in this situation, I often find that it
won't happen this way. The high P.O. AI will pass it up to the next AI. This
frustrates my plans. Or maybe it is a timing matter. Perhaps there is only
one AI that could possibly take the territory. My plans require it to be
immediate, but instead the AI delays.
Here is another one: at turn 6, the AI will almost always run away when losing
(BUT417). I have counted on this fact. Yet, there is about a 5% chance that
the AI won't run. This is inconvenient because I have put my troops in
vulnerable positions right before the time I thought the AI would run (BUT419).
Similarly, who hasn't seen the usually passive AI HDQ turn suddenly and attack
(BUT422)?
*TM511 - AI players cannot manage money wisely
I give Etchu away to Uesugi so that I can make an alliance and have all my
northern territories secure in the northeast while my army is the southern
territories keeping the empire safe from invasion that direction. However,
Etchu is a hot seat of activity. Kaga/Ikko-Sect and Noto/General-Li constantly
assault Etchu. I fix up Etchu before giving it to Uesugi. I want Uesugi to
prosper in Etchu to fend off the other AI. If Etchu/Uesugi is captured,
North Shinano becomes vulnerable.
I have found that leaving large amounts of money and/or PRD behind to
strengthen the AI coming in after me is a foolish tactic. The AI overpays for
territory improvements. Even if pay was at the 1x price, hundreds of dollars,
sometimes over a thousand dollars, are spent in excess of the amounts needed.
However, I have noted that the AI players accomplish wonders with their small
$0 to $200 monthly allowance.
Large sums of money make the AI play stupidly, but small amounts are managed
acceptably. I have concluded that gold mines are the answer. In one of my
recent games, I put in 28 gold mines in Etchu before surrendering it.
I thought 28 gold mines, $140 per month, would be insufficient. I found that
money started to accumulate in Etchu. The AI was functioning to the best of
its ability.
*TM512 - AI players have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Territory Management
I give Etchu to Uesugi and then I track how it is being used. I left the
territory perfect (except for gold mines being less than the maximum 100).
I find the that every time Uesugi recruits and statistics drop, the AI brings
them back up to perfect. When a point of DST happens, the AI quickly gets rid
of it (paying $100 for what should be $30). Instead of upgrading troops, or
perhaps attempting gold mine digs, Uesugi is obsessing over trivialities. Why
spend a turn making 97 YLD 100? The increase in productivity is less important
than other things that could be done.
Because I have observed how wasteful the AI is with time, I strive to
eliminate DST before giving a territory like Etchu back. [As mentioned
earlier, Etchu is special: it serves as an insulator and protection. I want
Uesugi to protect it.] The AI will pick away at DST a few points at a time
even if it has the money to eliminate DST in one turn. I figure that if I get
rid of DST before I give Etchu, the AI will spend more time doing productive
actions. I was wrong because it reacts as if it has inherited a museum: it
attempts to keep Etchu in tip-top shape.
Some AI are good at enlisting infantry. Yet, once the slot has reached 255,
when Etchu/Uesugi does upgrade a few, it immediately recruits infantry to fill
the slot up to 255 again. It doesn't understand the concept of efficiency
because the next thing it does is repair any drop to LOY followed by any drop
to YLD. Then, the pattern repeats.
*TM513 - AI players have unique characteristics
Above at TM512, I described how Uesugi manages Etchu. I have peeked at Echigo
from time to time: it seems Uesugi manages infantry similarly there, too.
What I have seen rank 31 Uesugi do is not what all other AI are doing,
including rank 12 Uesugi in Kozuke. Also earlier, I mentioned how North
Shinano/Murakami, West Shinano/Kiso, rank 12 Kozuke/Uesugi, Ise/Kitabatake,
Kaga/Ikko-Sect, and Noto/General-Li all have hyperactive military.
Etchu/Hatakeyama has a preference of not breaking his units into multiple
divisions in combat. I believe that there is a standard AI template, but some
AI have modified priorities that make them play uniquely.
*TM514 - AI players get 50% more exp in battle with other AI
After battle, I have left AI territories with only 1HDQ. Other AI get 52
experience points for killing that 1HDQ which should only be worth 35exp.
I have observed the count in other situations. I don't know why AI get this
bonus, but it doesn't bother me that they do. [Against the human, AI get the
standard experience amount.]
*TM570
How the human, Anthony (me), plays the game:
I usually use 2x prices. I use 3x for Fc because I think it is a lie foisted
on me by the game creators. I use 3x for CLT now, though in the past I used
2x. I use 3x because I give away territories that I fix up the CLT. Since I
am fixing it up for someone else to use, I give myself the price break.
There have been times I have used 3x. However, using 3x is tedious. It
requires much reloading to get. That is one of the reasons I like 2x. The 2x
happens more often because it incorporates the 3x results. For example,
$850Fa-Aid will give 100LOY on 2x or 3x results. The +50WEL happens regardless
of 1x, 2x, or 3x. It is based on the amount spent. I feel slimy using the 3x.
The game is so much easier (except for the time it takes to reload to get 3x).
I was using it for a while recently because I was experimenting with new game
tactics researching LRB. The economic relief that 3x brought let me
concentrate on discovering new concepts. I have since gone back to 2x to play
using my new discoveries.
I have played 1x at times for the challenge. However, the YI makes playing at
1x extremely expensive, so I use 2x for Fa-Development. Even at YI=$40,
raising Kai's YLD to 100 is too costly for the first year finances at 1x:
$3200. However, I may try it again someday because the LRB makes money faster
than anything I have seen [Laugh; I am still anxious to describe the LRB in
the LEG.] Anyway, the 1x is tedious to play as well. When I am spending to
max out a statistic to 100, it doesn't matter, but when I don't have the money
to max out so seek an intermediate result, I am plagued by 2x or 3x results
which give me too many points. I am honor bound to discard them because I am
playing at 1x. Forcing the game to give the low-end result can be time
consuming, too. Again, that is why I play at 2x. It requires the least
reloading.
[You may think, "use 1x, but when you are short of cash, just take whatever
the game gives you." That course brings temptation to use 2x or 3x at other
times. I get used to it. It is human nature to get annoyed when a 1x result
appears instead of the 2x or 3x. Since I was using all my cash and gave
myself permission to accept a 2x or 3x result, that is what I want. I will
reload when I don't get it. No, I must firmly resolve to play at 1x,
refusing all 2x or 3x results.]
Events are listed later in this guide (TM910), so you may have to come back
later to fully understand what I am talking about here - I reload to remove
events. I don't want bonuses to my territories or free units. I want to
exist on my own efforts. I refuse the beneficial events so that I can, in
good conscience, also refuse the bad events. The only events I accept are the
ones that are unavoidably part of the story such as the marriage to Lady Koi
or the birth of Katsuyori. However, the only way to get Princesses is through
births, so I accept those (and actually seek them until I have enough
princesses to last me for years). Also, I give myself YLD dropping events:
AUG drought and SEP storms. These two are conveniently placed in front of the
OCT Harvest so that I can make buying territories by wiping out territory YLD.
In the first one or two years, I often give myself SEP festivals so that I can
get a princess afterwards or to escape getting a storm. Sometime during the
third year, my obsession for acquiring princesses subsides, hence, no more
festivals at the capital. Often, I wish this game had a no events option.
[Obscure explanation: If you get the festival in SEP, it makes it easier to
get a PRI afterwards. The reason is because it has removed the preliminary
festival or storm. It is harder getting a princess if doing from the month
start. Taking a festival makes it closer. The same is true in AUG. When
taking a rich harvest or drought, you are A step closer to a princess
(although it is harder in AUG to get a princess).]
Because I refuse events, my game play is much different than what the AI
experience or those that play with the events. For example, I do not
experience any moments when my army can't move or I can't use the merchant
(save the rare SEP storm to reduce YLD). I realize that a whole different
strategy exists to keep territories safe because of the possibility of not
being able to send the army to attack a would be attacker or unable to retake
a lost territory immediately because of no movement. However, omitted from
this guide is what I wrote in my version 2 guide about cheating. I feel I am
not obligated to take the random conditions the game assigns. To say I have
to start a new game over and over again to get the sequence of events I like
randomly the way I want them is not my belief. Telling me that only then will
I find the game satisfying is untrue.
I reload when gold mine digging. I dig at $1 for 2 gold mines early in the
game. As cash becomes available, I bump it up to $100 for 3 gold mines.
After the first harvest, I dig at $400 for 5 gold mines. If a territory runs
out of cash and wants to dig, if it has at least 20 gold mines, it can
perpetually dig at $100 for 3 more. If I need something to do in territory,
but saving up money for a territory statistic improvement, I will only dig at
$1 for 2 gold mines. My digging policy is a reflection of my disappointment
with the random number generator in Shingen (TM030).
My first play of Shingen was in 1991. I finished the game a few times. My
second play of the game began in October, 2011. It has been nearly seven
years, now. I don't recall if my 2011 or 2012 reinvestigation of the game had
me finish one. Maybe. As far as I can recall, I have never finished a game
in these years. I play the first two or three game years of Shingen over with
different approaches. Rarely do I get as far as the fourth year. Actually,
the minority of games reach the third year. The first two is where the bulk
of my play happens. It is the struggle that interests me, not the conquest.
Once I get powerful enough to see a clear path to victory, I start thinking of
doing something different. Or, I just think my current way of doing things is
inefficient, so I go back to the moment when I think my plans went astray.
Sometimes what I learn playing suggests a way I could do things differently,
so I abandon my game to start a new one. However, many times I come back to
games in my large catalog of logged games to resume play, steering the game
completely differently than my original intention. I suppose I am more a
student of the game than I am a player.
*TM800
POSTSCRIPT
I know that post script means it is supposed to come after all the other
material. However, I want the Glossary to be at the bottom so that people can
easily get to it. Hence, postscript for me is the last word, but it isn't
placed last in the document.
The BUT guide will be posted with this TM guide. That should be enough for me
to take a break. I still have many things to say, but this writing has
consumed all my energy for too long.
I wanted to write about the LRB exploit. However, because I never provided
the foundation in the six years since my last guide, I was compelled to start
with Territory Management and Basic Unit Tactics. Moreover, I still feel it
is necessary to write the Combat Guide before the Lower Rank Bonus Exploit
Guide. I am dismayed at the time it will cost me.
Composing took so long because I wanted to do things right. Both the TM and
BUT guides contain material never seen before in my guides. Six more years of
playing the game has given me some certainty on how to play and a refined
grasp of underlying game mechanics. I give better descriptions, more formulas,
and procedures to use.
I have to wonder though, who will read what I write? I can't imagine anyone
still playing the game. However, I have also imagined that over the years
many have looked for Shingen help on the Internet and have not found it.
I even think my own previous guides were deficient. Hopefully, others will
think that this TM guide meets the need along with the BUT.
My reference links are numerous. Because of changes in locations, or just
human mix-up, some of my references may point to the wrong places. The
Readers will find those mistakes faster than I will. Please tell me if you
find one. Also, did you encounter a term or phrase that caused you
confusion? Was the definition not in the Glossary? Let me know, please.
See TM007 for how to contact me.
*TM910
EVENTS:
There are three types of events: story line, seasonal, and random.
A territory may get one of each in the same month.
Story line events only happen in the capital. These events are part of the
game, they happen in their own time arrangement and they cannot be refused
(although some events can be delayed). It seems JAN is when they happen (my
list is incomplete because I haven't advanced far - I keep restarting the
game).
Seasonal events happen each month of the year, every year. The events are not
guaranteed to happen; you can reload to get rid of one. Thankfully, you can
only get one of these per month. Imagine in JUL if your castle was hit by
lightning and then you suffer an epidemic! And it would make no sense to get
a rich harvest in AUG while also getting a drought. The same is true about
having a SEP festival while having a storm.
Random events can happen at anytime. There are two types of random events:
capital only and anywhere. It is possible to have one of each in the same
month at the capital territory. These events can be refused by reloading.
The Mouri family random events will not happen until you have expanded into
other territories. I have never been certain where exactly I have to go for
the Mouri family events - it happens without trying. The Shimazu family
random events require movement eastward. Getting to Etchu or Totoumi will do
it, but I am not sure if just attacking those territories is enough or
requires capture. Also, I presume that substituting Mikawa or Mino for Etchu
or Totoumi will also do it. [In my play, I rarely go to Mikawa or Mino.
I try to avoid rank 54 Owari. Weakening Mikawa or Mino is not in my best
interests. I want them to keep Owari/Oda away from me.]
Many events happen in two stages: First comes the announcement of the event.
Save the game now if you want the event. Second, hit the button to advance to
the randomization of the event statistics. For instance, AUG rich harvest has
a wide range of YLD values: 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, or 11. By choosing the lower
values, you can possibly escape a YI increase. Maybe you want an AUG drought
to make a buying territory? You can refuse a -4 or -5YLD and reload until you
get -8 YLD. (See TM030 randomization if you can't get the value you want for
any event.)
I don't have the data for some events such as the riot. Some of my notes were
lost and never made it into a guide. I will have to take the time to study a
few events before this list fills in missing information. I want to publish
this guide rather than delay. I have anticipated that version 3.00 will have
missing pieces and need a correcting revision.
Story line, capital only events:
JAN 1545 The game begins; Shingen is 24 years old this month.
JAN 1546 Marriage to Lady Koi, +$6 or +$12, up to +9PRD, +6 or +12LOY
JAN 1547-1551 Random birth of Katsuyori, up to +22LOY
Death of Shingen's Father, Nobutora +LOY
Death of Lady Koi -LOY
Death of Shingen
Recurring Seasonal events:
JAN--Snowfall, 0 or +1DST, no attack, movement or merchant
FEB--Snowfall, 0 or +1DST, no attack, movement or merchant
MAR--Snowfall, 0 or +1DST, no attack, movement or merchant
JUN-Heavy rain (maximum -4YLD, -4WEL, and chance of +DST)
JUL-Epidemic lasts through NOV; drops WEL and INF each month
JUL-Lightning strikes (maximum -14CLT and chance of +DST)
AUG-Rich harvest (+4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11YLD; 0 to +5WEL; might increase YI)
AUG-Drought (-4, -5, or -8YLD and +0 to +5 DST; might reset YI)
SEP-Festival (maximum +9LOY and 0 or +3CLT)
SEP-Storm (maximum -7YLD, and -2, -3, or -4CLT, and 0 to -5DST)
OCT-Harvest, territory taxation up to 1030PRD and $2030 (TM340)
DEC-Snowfall, 0 or +1DST, no attack, movement or merchant
Anytime capital only random events:
Princess birth +0 or +5 LOY [PRI are used for alliances (TM190)]
Nobutora visit (-5 or -10PRD) OR (-$5 or -$10)
Imperial Envoy up to $60, up to 42PRD, +0 or +4LOY
[This event may scale. Early in game it is about 20 to 30 $$ or PRD]
Anytime, anywhere random events:
Date Family gift 3, 4, or 5 LNC
Date Family Ninja imposter -6 or -12WEL
Mouri Family gift 1, 2, 3, or 4 CAV
Mouri Family Ninja imposter -4 or -8YLD
Shimazu Family gift 2, 3, or 4 AR
Shimazu Family Ninja imposter -4, -5, -8, or -9 CLT
Earthquake +8, 9, 10, 16, or 17DST, -6 or -12CLT, 0 or -3LOY
Riot -7 LOY, 0 or -7CLT
Cave-in lose 1 or 2 gold mines, 3 months half income and no digging
AI Ninja crisis fails or lowers territory stats or military units (see TM200)
Signal fire over a map territory means AI will attack territory this month
[I have seen signal fires on map over my territories and no attack comes.]
*TM920
GLOSSARY
I explain the abbreviations at least once in the document; however, Combat
Guide concepts are not necessarily explained. Regardless of whether you need
a reminder or basic explanation, you will find one here (or directed to the
full information within the Guide).
$$ -- A territory statistic representing gold, the money in the treasury
1x, 2x, 3x results - Random single, double, or triple value results given to
incrementals (see TM110)
8-bit - Bits, binary digits, are 0 or 1 values. Collectively, 8-bits can
store values between 0 and 255
AI - Artificial Intelligence -- A computer simulated mind for decision-
making and game play
Al - Alliance -- A territory command that protects your territories from
attack (TM190)
Alliance Duration - Number of months of alliance based on the amount paid with
the Al command (TM190)
AP - Army Power -- computed by adding up the number of units multiplied by its
unit power. (see IRAP or BUT417)
AR - Archers -- A territory statistic for the lowest level range attack unit
in army (BUT122)
Base price - The lowest prices for upgrading units at the merchant (TM250)
Breakable Alliance - Last half of alliance duration allows either side to
attack. All you get is AI identity in warning (TM190)
Bulk Experience Points -- EXP given for killing some units of the same unit
type (BUT060)
Bundle Experience Points -- Set amount of EXP given for killing all of a unit
type (BUT060)
BUT - Basic Unit Tactics -- Guide explaining experience points, rank, spoils,
the military units, and elementary aspects of combat
Buying Territory - A low YLD, low WEL territory that buys PRD and upgrades INF
(see TM310, TM320, TM250)
Ca - Castle -- A territory command to increase CLT (TM130)
Castle battle - The second battle in territory combat determining ownership.
CAV - Cavalry -- A territory statistic for the fastest moving, second best
melee fighter in army (BUT114)
CLT - Culture -- A territory statistic raised by Ca command (TM130); CLT
increases gold tax in October Harvest and resists epidemic.
CG - Combat Guide -- The next level of military strategy based on the
foundation given in the Basic Unit Tactics guide. [Yet to be written.]
DST - Disaster -- A territory statistic supposedly preparedness against
flooding (see TM150)
Dummy unit - Unit that dies instead of more valuable units (BUT410)
EPI - Epidemic -- A territory statistic either "yes" or "no" for epidemic
(see TM140)
EXP - Experience -- A territory statistic for EXP within current rank.
Enough EXP adds RNK, resetting EXP to 0 (BUT040)
Fa - Farm --A territory command for either Development (TM162) or Aid (TM170).
Raises YLD, LOY, WEL
Fc - Flood control -- A territory command to lower DST (TM150)
Field battle - first battle in territory combat; victory allows advance to
castle;
Gate Guardian - INF or LNC placed in AI castle front, side or rear entrances
blocking entry or exit
G-M - Gold Mines -- A territory statistic (see TM180). Gold mines produce
gold each month at $5 per G-M
Gm - A territory command to dig gold mines or risk PRD for more gold
(see TM180, TM185)
Gold - The basic unit of commerce, synonymous with "money;" seen as $$ in the
territory screen
Harvest - Same as October Harvest
He - Heir -- A territory statistic either "no" when Katsuyori is unborn or
the sum of training points (TM210)
HDQ - Headquarters -- A territory statistic for the officers commanding the
army, the best melee fighters (BUT112)
Incremental - Gold amount to get a result from a territory command obscured by
1x, 2x, 3x results (see TM110)
IRAP -- Index of Relative Army Power -- each unit in an army has a power
rating. The Index is found by dividing Human army power by AI army power.
If the index is 25% or above, the AI will flee a field battle (see BUT417).
INF - Infantry -- A territory statistic for the weakest melee fighter in army,
but can be upgraded (BUT118, TM250, TM240)
FIT - Flee IRAP Threshold -- the IRAP needed to get the AI to flee a battle.
Reference section not yet codified: concept not yet explained in guide.
LEG - LRB Exploit Guide -- Guide yet to be written explaining how to use the
Lower Rank Bonus to earn resources
LNC - Lancers -- A territory statistic for a medium level melee fighter in
army (BUT116)
LRB - Lower Rank Bonus - Extra combat spoils given to lower ranked army based
on RR (see BUT074, TM000, TM440)
LRB exploit - A systemized technique to gather resources using the LRB by
setting up an AI patsy (examples TM440, TM441)
LOY - Loyalty -- A territory statistic raised by Fa-Aid (see TM170); factor in
infantry enlistment and harvest PRD
Melee - Face to face combat - fighting up-close, one unit in a square adjacent
to an enemy unit
Mi - Military -- A territory command to enlist (TM240), attack via going
(TM230), or move (TM220)
Mr - Merchant --A territory command for one transaction: buy or sell PRD or
upgrade INF (TM310, TM250)
NES - Nintendo Entertainment System - the original platform for Shingen the
Ruler (see TM010)
Nj - Ninja -- A territory command for either Spying (examining the game map)
or Crisis (sabotage) (TM200)
October Harvest - Taxation of territory generating gold and PRD in exchange
for loss of LOY & WEL (TM340)
Pecking Order - Each territory has a position within queue game uses to
compute AI actions (TM050)
Pecking Order Rights - The AI whose territory is processed sooner has first
chance to attack (TM050)
PRD - Product (rice) -- A territory statistic that is interchangeable with
gold as a game currency (see TM310). PRD collected at Harvest (TM340)
PRI - Princess -- A territory statistic (see TM910 for princess event, TM190
for alliance)
Ps - Pass -- A territory command to advance the game forward without doing
anything in this territory
Range (attack or unit) - Riflemen or Archer units that fire or shoot
projectiles at enemy units at a distance
Refugee territory - The territory pre-selected to receive refugee units
(BUT080, TM060)
Refugee units - units from a lost castle battle that may relocate to
another territory -- see Refugee Territory.
Reloading - Going back in time with a savegame so as to go forward with
hopefully a different outcome or result
Reset, YI - A YI reset is a return to $40, the lowest, base YI price.
RM - Riflemen -- A territory statistic for the highest level range attack unit
in army (BUT120)
RNK - Rank -- A territory statistic indicating army competence measured
against opponent's rank (BUT050)
Rollover - Trying to store more than 255 in 8-bit variable will wrap around
making 256=0, 257=1, etc. (TM060)
RR - Relative Rank -- In combat, the rank of the superior minus the rank of
the inferior (see LRB)
Screens - Units that block enemy range attack on units behind the screens
(BUT409)
Secure Alliance - Same as Unbreakable Alliance
Selling Territory - A high YLD territory that sells PRD and possibly also
recruits or upgrades INF (see TM310, TM330)
Signal Fire - Column of smoke on the territory map warning of coming attack
this month (TM910 random events)
Spoils -- Gold, PRD, and units given for winning or drawing a battle (BUT070)
Star-Search - Efficient search of this document by prefixing an asterisk to
TM number references (see TM010)
Sv - Save -- A Capital territory command saving a game on the NES. Doesn't
work on VirtualNES
Takeda - The surname (family name) of Shingen and Katsuyori. You, the player,
are Takeda.
Territory - Shingen the ruler has 21 territories which are where territory
commands are selected each month
Territory commands - Options to modify territory statistics
Territory of refuge - see Refugee Territory
Territory screen - The initial view each month as you manage each territory.
You will see the territory commands on the right and territory statistics
on the left. Hitting select key will change view to second screen showing
He variable and Military units
Territory statistic - Game variables that appear in the territory screen or
Nj-spying screen (TM200)
Throttle use - A VirtualNES option at Emulator Configuration changing game
speed (TM030)
TM - Territory Management -- This guide you are reading that explains how to
use territory commands to increase territory wealth: by increasing territory
statitistics, gold, PRD, military units, and security (through alliances)
Treasury - Both the $$ and PRD in a territory, its tangible wealth.
Limit $9999 and 9999PRD
Unbreakable Alliance - First half of alliance duration that prevents attacks
on ally (see TM190)
VirtualNES - An emulator program for the PC that plays NES ROM cartridge data
files (see TM010)
WEL - Wealth -- A territory statistic raised by Fa command (TM164).
WEL affects Mr prices
YI - Yield Incremental - the ever changing price to raise YLD one point via
Fa-Development (TM120)
YLD - Yield -- A territory statistic raised by Fa-Development (see TM160).
Factor in INF enlistment and PRD prices (TM160)