u/soaphonic

So, I have expanded relatively quickly (Dijon and Bert, all of Italy and Sicily minus Rome, islands to the west of Italy, Tunis, and Venice and Bologna) by like turn 70. This was too much for the AI and now I'm dealing with France, Venice, HRE, and the Moors for some reason. The money is pretty good (though I'm basically always barely making even every turn due to spending on units and buildings to deal with a 4 front war).

My question is whether diplomacy going to be an option with any of these or is the only way through to conquer their castles to limit their unit production? Or did i just overextend too quickly and have to give up territory to consolidate my Italian cities and armies?

As a heads up the Pope is from Milan and keeps excommunicating my enemies lol.

I've started a few games and restarted because I have had no clue as to what I'm doing lol. Now though I'm about 100 turns in, have Alexandria and Jerusalem and all of England and northern France.

My biggest issue is, of course, money. I try to disband mercs and unnecessary units, but even keeping an army or two in Europe and the Holy land is sometimes keeping me absolutely strapped for cash at times.

I make sure to get ports, farms, and roads built asap, but is there anything else I can do to build up economy? Can't share any pictures rn but I can give more details when I get home.

So, I've been camping basically my whole life (grew up in the ADKs so its basically part of life). My grandparents took me and my siblings/cousins camping in the late 90s and 2000s, and they were camping with stuff they had when they first did camping as an adult (think coleman stoves and lanterns, and 70s/80s scout gear). Lots of nostalgia for green camping gear.

After years of poorly planned (but fun) trips, I want to do a proper (car) camping trip with the boyfriend and am torn on choices. I have some things already (tents, sleeping bags, things I inherited from family) and have gotten a coleman stove that works great, but after that I'm not sure of where I sit with modern vs new gear debate.

On the one hand, new gear is that: new. It has never been used and it will last as long as I take care of it. The downside is the price and unknown of the longevity of the gear (do LED lanterns last as long as my great grandfathers propane one?). Then there's used gear: i know the old 70s and 80s gear well, and I know that they last a long fucking time, and typically are cheaper used. Though while I know the longevity of "vintage" gear is great, I don't actually know about the condition and quality of individual pieces of gear I'm buying until I have it.

So, where do y'all stand on modernity vs tradition for gear? Is it better to invest in new gear that (with proper care) will last me as long as my grandfather's gear lasted? Is going the way of used but tried and true gear worth the risk of getting lemons in order to save money, have tough durable gear and enjoy the nostalgia?

Thanks for reading my essay lol.