Saudi Arabia 1975 Alien Guide (For Low Level Players)
Jun 3, 2017 1:27:41 GMT
Imperial RomeBall, Antonio Santa Anna, and 1 more like this
Post by Tichondrius on Jun 3, 2017 1:27:41 GMT
I wrote this for players like me who lack powerful generals such as Manstein, Patton, or Zhukov. During my Saudi Arabian campaign, the only general I used was Guvorov on a field artillery. He perished early as a result of my gross negligence. I have Level 9 in artillery and Level 10 in ion cannon, level 3-4 in all other tech areas.
I can confirm the general observation that your allies fight well in the first 5-6 turns and then progressively declines. To prepare for my alien campaigns, I started a few random games to observe which AI nations survive the longest. Some countries possess distinct geographical advantages and should be easier to play for low level players. Nations such as Great Britain, PRC, Soviet Union, USA are top tier, followed by Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Germany, and Egypt. I had no luck playing as Spain, India, Brazil, or Japan. They get swarmed early on and never earned a respite to regain the initiative.
I completed the Saudi Arabian campaign in 149 turns, although by turn 50 I knew victory is assured. This is because by this turn, alien AI stopped mass producing new units. All I had to do was concentrating my forces to take over cities one by one. In other words, the first 30 turns will determine the outcome of the campaign. If you can resolutely defend 5-6 core settlements and also create additional units to expand by turn 20, the war is won. If you continue to lose key cities and have to rely on hit-and-run tactics for temporary income, then it's time to start over.
I primarily used two units for the entire campaign, field artillery in early stages and rocket artillery later on. Near the end I used missiles and paratroopers to accelerate the conquest, but they are not essential for victory.
Gold is the most important economic resource. The objective is to maintain an income of 800+ per round and control 4 level II industrial centers as soon as possible. This allows us to build 4 field artillery each turn. For Egypt and Saudi Arabia, 4 field artillery each round, created in Baghdad, Ankara, Tehran, Athens/Cairo stabilized the front and outproduced battle losses.
To acquire gold expediently, my attacks focused on the following targets, ordered by descending priority: 1. Level II industrial cities generating +50 gold; 2. Cities generating 50+ gold; 3. Other cities and gold-producing villages; oilfields and alien towers (never). Most alien units defending key installations will only attack when our units are in range. Therefore it's a waste of both time and resources to lay siege to tertiary targets when large cities can be reduced with trivial casualties.
Now, for the Saudi walkthrough:
Stage 1: Survival
Because you cannot produce field artillery in Riyadh, move the general tank unit towards Baghdad immediately. Create cheap infantry units to bolster your strength. You can leave 1-2 units to attack Medina, but Baghdad should be top priority. Iraq will fall but the alien invaders will take a severe beating. Capture Baghdad and mop up nearby enemies. Start producing field artillery. Move all units towards Tehran. Do not divide forces. While it's tempting to attack Ankara, Tehran, and perhaps Cairo simultaneously, this will only thin out your forces and delay your overall progress. Instead, concentrate your forces and capture cities one at a time. Once Tehran falls, you can move some of your forces westward towards Ankara.
When attacking enemies, focus on UFOs first because they have lower health (200 hp) compared to carriers (400 hp). With Level 9 artillery tech, it takes no more than 6 unit-turn to destroy an UFO. Always focus fire on one alien unit to reduce to its chance of surviving and gaining rank.
I don't recommend venturing into India because New Delhi is too far away. Alien carriers will head from the north to cut off your vanguard and attempt to regain Tehran. Establish a frontier at Tehran, take your troops to Ankara, and join forces with the field artillery heading NW from Baghdad. Ankara will fall easily, but you may have to fend off a wave of alien UFOs coming from Italy. Fortunately for me, the first wave was light. After eliminating this wave, I immediately bombarded Istanbul and Athens across the strait and conquered them. I then produced field artillery from Istanbul to besiege Sofia and Belgrade.
At this point, I was facing a major invasion from India and a minor one from Egypt. It's only by divine providence that Europe remained relatively calm. The Balkans was sparsely defended. I penetrated as far as Naples, Munich, and Bucharest before alien resistance stiffened. Steady income from newly-captured European cities allowed me to pump out field artillery in Ankara, Baghdad, and Tehran. I lost Tehran briefly but regained it two turns later.
Stage 2: Stabilization
Alien invasion petered out around turn 50. They suddenly and inexplicably lost the will to fight as I secured Middle East and the Balkans. At this point I was making 600+ gold a round, enough to recover from prior losses and forming artillery groups around key cities.
After surviving 40+ rounds of relentless attack, it's time for revenge. My field artillery advanced into Poland and Germany. European cities are closely spaced, so field artillery did not impede movement. In Baghdad, I started producing rocket artillery and landed in Africa. Cairo fell amid concentric bombardment. Now, with 5 field artillery and 2 rocket artillery, I assaulted New Delhi and captured it after a long siege.
Stage 3: Expansion
Subsequent battles are difficult but manageable. With half of Europe under your control, victory is guaranteed. One field artillery group spearheaded the advance into Germany and Poland. After mopping up resistance in Scandinavia, I moved them west to attack the British Isles.
Meanwhile, my other European battle group conquered France and invaded Spain. Capture Madrid first if you prefer to bomb first to soften enemy targets.
I started producing rocket artillery in Warsaw and Bucharest. They are more effective traversing the vast expanses of Russia. These units form the nucleus of a massive army that eventually captured Mongolia, northern China, and Siberia. The rocket artillery task force I created in Tehran liberated Bangkok and all cities in southern China.
Within the next 30 turns, veteran units in Europe landed in North America. The Havana group headed south to capture South America, linking up with African troops racing west from Cairo. Units in Asia took over Japan and battled across the Pacific, finally eradicating all alien presence on Earth with the victory in Brisbane.
I hope this helps!
I can confirm the general observation that your allies fight well in the first 5-6 turns and then progressively declines. To prepare for my alien campaigns, I started a few random games to observe which AI nations survive the longest. Some countries possess distinct geographical advantages and should be easier to play for low level players. Nations such as Great Britain, PRC, Soviet Union, USA are top tier, followed by Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Germany, and Egypt. I had no luck playing as Spain, India, Brazil, or Japan. They get swarmed early on and never earned a respite to regain the initiative.
I completed the Saudi Arabian campaign in 149 turns, although by turn 50 I knew victory is assured. This is because by this turn, alien AI stopped mass producing new units. All I had to do was concentrating my forces to take over cities one by one. In other words, the first 30 turns will determine the outcome of the campaign. If you can resolutely defend 5-6 core settlements and also create additional units to expand by turn 20, the war is won. If you continue to lose key cities and have to rely on hit-and-run tactics for temporary income, then it's time to start over.
I primarily used two units for the entire campaign, field artillery in early stages and rocket artillery later on. Near the end I used missiles and paratroopers to accelerate the conquest, but they are not essential for victory.
Gold is the most important economic resource. The objective is to maintain an income of 800+ per round and control 4 level II industrial centers as soon as possible. This allows us to build 4 field artillery each turn. For Egypt and Saudi Arabia, 4 field artillery each round, created in Baghdad, Ankara, Tehran, Athens/Cairo stabilized the front and outproduced battle losses.
To acquire gold expediently, my attacks focused on the following targets, ordered by descending priority: 1. Level II industrial cities generating +50 gold; 2. Cities generating 50+ gold; 3. Other cities and gold-producing villages; oilfields and alien towers (never). Most alien units defending key installations will only attack when our units are in range. Therefore it's a waste of both time and resources to lay siege to tertiary targets when large cities can be reduced with trivial casualties.
Now, for the Saudi walkthrough:
Stage 1: Survival
Because you cannot produce field artillery in Riyadh, move the general tank unit towards Baghdad immediately. Create cheap infantry units to bolster your strength. You can leave 1-2 units to attack Medina, but Baghdad should be top priority. Iraq will fall but the alien invaders will take a severe beating. Capture Baghdad and mop up nearby enemies. Start producing field artillery. Move all units towards Tehran. Do not divide forces. While it's tempting to attack Ankara, Tehran, and perhaps Cairo simultaneously, this will only thin out your forces and delay your overall progress. Instead, concentrate your forces and capture cities one at a time. Once Tehran falls, you can move some of your forces westward towards Ankara.
When attacking enemies, focus on UFOs first because they have lower health (200 hp) compared to carriers (400 hp). With Level 9 artillery tech, it takes no more than 6 unit-turn to destroy an UFO. Always focus fire on one alien unit to reduce to its chance of surviving and gaining rank.
I don't recommend venturing into India because New Delhi is too far away. Alien carriers will head from the north to cut off your vanguard and attempt to regain Tehran. Establish a frontier at Tehran, take your troops to Ankara, and join forces with the field artillery heading NW from Baghdad. Ankara will fall easily, but you may have to fend off a wave of alien UFOs coming from Italy. Fortunately for me, the first wave was light. After eliminating this wave, I immediately bombarded Istanbul and Athens across the strait and conquered them. I then produced field artillery from Istanbul to besiege Sofia and Belgrade.
At this point, I was facing a major invasion from India and a minor one from Egypt. It's only by divine providence that Europe remained relatively calm. The Balkans was sparsely defended. I penetrated as far as Naples, Munich, and Bucharest before alien resistance stiffened. Steady income from newly-captured European cities allowed me to pump out field artillery in Ankara, Baghdad, and Tehran. I lost Tehran briefly but regained it two turns later.
Stage 2: Stabilization
Alien invasion petered out around turn 50. They suddenly and inexplicably lost the will to fight as I secured Middle East and the Balkans. At this point I was making 600+ gold a round, enough to recover from prior losses and forming artillery groups around key cities.
After surviving 40+ rounds of relentless attack, it's time for revenge. My field artillery advanced into Poland and Germany. European cities are closely spaced, so field artillery did not impede movement. In Baghdad, I started producing rocket artillery and landed in Africa. Cairo fell amid concentric bombardment. Now, with 5 field artillery and 2 rocket artillery, I assaulted New Delhi and captured it after a long siege.
Stage 3: Expansion
Subsequent battles are difficult but manageable. With half of Europe under your control, victory is guaranteed. One field artillery group spearheaded the advance into Germany and Poland. After mopping up resistance in Scandinavia, I moved them west to attack the British Isles.
Meanwhile, my other European battle group conquered France and invaded Spain. Capture Madrid first if you prefer to bomb first to soften enemy targets.
I started producing rocket artillery in Warsaw and Bucharest. They are more effective traversing the vast expanses of Russia. These units form the nucleus of a massive army that eventually captured Mongolia, northern China, and Siberia. The rocket artillery task force I created in Tehran liberated Bangkok and all cities in southern China.
Within the next 30 turns, veteran units in Europe landed in North America. The Havana group headed south to capture South America, linking up with African troops racing west from Cairo. Units in Asia took over Japan and battled across the Pacific, finally eradicating all alien presence on Earth with the victory in Brisbane.
I hope this helps!
