The Gaming Den

Well, that actually makes sense to me. A total scrub is an easier kill and has territory that can be taken.

An experienced player is a lot more dangerous. I mean, I was once in a game where three players decided to carve up my empire and I fought them for so long and so hard that I was able to kill one and fatally cripple the others so that a fourth and fifth empire were able to scoop up all their stuff.

I didn't win, but those three guys didn't either.

Pretty much, yeah.

K wrote:Well, that actually makes sense to me. A total scrub is an easier kill and has territory that can be taken.

An experienced player is a lot more dangerous. I mean, I was once in a game where three players decided to carve up my empire and I fought them for so long and so hard that I was able to kill one and fatally cripple the others so that a fourth and fifth empire were able to scoop up all their stuff.

I didn't win, but those three guys didn't either.

This would be a good argument if he was winning.. but it appears all he has done is cripple his research for some fairly marginal benefit.

In other words, he's the other guys, and I'm you in your analogy.

cthulhu wrote:

K wrote:Well, that actually makes sense to me. A total scrub is an easier kill and has territory that can be taken.

An experienced player is a lot more dangerous. I mean, I was once in a game where three players decided to carve up my empire and I fought them for so long and so hard that I was able to kill one and fatally cripple the others so that a fourth and fifth empire were able to scoop up all their stuff.

I didn't win, but those three guys didn't either.

This would be a good argument if he was winning.. but it appears all he has done is cripple his research for some fairly marginal benefit.

In other words, he's the other guys, and I'm you in your analogy.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...

Plus, I managed to nab a fortified city. Giving that up is not on my to-do list.

I think I'm more interested in the drama unfolding in the SW. Ashod seems to be making steady gains in taking back their territories.

Yeah, since Ermor refocused on me and white peaced out, no one really has the firepower to stop them.

Turn sent.

name_here wrote:Yeah, since Ermor refocused on me and white peaced out, no one really has the firepower to stop them.

To be honest, I have to wonder if that is because of a lack of consistent planning or not. Because I can think of a few ways that I would have already stopped those sacred squads from having such a free hand. The SCs are harder, but once you take the sacreds out of the equation, massed thunderstrikes will blow them away. I don't know what Ashdod is working towards fielding, but what they have shown to date has failed to impress me. I seriously think you could bring them down with a decent army and Evo 5+Alt 4.

All three players are new, which is why we struggled with counters.

Hey, keep in mind I'm a newbie player too.

Lots of 'overpowered' strategies are really good just because the strategy itself is comparatively easier to execute than any counters.

A good example from another game is GLA tunnel rushing in C&C Generals. While it was possible to counter the tunnel rush it required very good play, whereas building a chemical tunnel was just a matter of two clicks and some throught in where you might put it.

In Ashdod's case, it's much easier to execute the strategy than it is the counter. IMHO obviously.

Hoogla Khan wrote:I am offering universal non-aggression pact until the end of Year 2, to be renewed or not as the date approaches and the political realities become apparent.

Arco's Reply wrote:I will give peace a chance. There's this little niggling voice in the back of my head urging me to rush someone, but that's probably just Dominions-turns-people-into-jerks syndrome. I won't force a war on someone if they don't want it, particularly when there's still indies to attack. And I've already made one pact to attack anyone who attacks an ally. It'd be awesome if those treaties spread around until someone assassinates someone else's archduke and sets off a world war after a long period of peace.

Short version: I offered peace until turn 25 with an option to renew. Arco's reply was ambiguous as to whether he was agreeing with that peace or not, but in any case sure as fuck never offered any renewal and kept talking about how he wanted to attack someone. It is now turn 32. The NAP, if it ever existed, expired 7 turns ago.

We've never even sent scouts outside our little Karaoke Dictatorship, so I really don't have strong ideas about what it is that we need to take. But we do need to take territory and have started to do so. We started with the province with 135 troops parked on our border, for obvious reasons. We would like to take provinces until we have a good chokepoint again. Province 92 or 93 seem pretty good for that, we'd be willing to stop there.

We appear to be able to trade our zero-gold troops for Arcocephalian "real" troops at about 2 to 1. So since Arcocephale can apparently take these kinds of losses four more times before he runs completely out of troops and we'll be chugging along fine after 20 such battles, I suggest he makes some sort of counter offer.

By the way: turn is in.

-Username17

I sent a revised turn.

FrankTrollman wrote:[something about treaty negotiations]

Hah! You fool, you are dealing with Arcoscephale, a proud nation with a long history of philosophical leadership. We are impervious to logic! The only truth we need concern ourselves with is that Imbolc Gift-Giving is gone, and it is totally your fault. If this was a SA LP thread, I'd be out 10-20 dollars and you'd have a shiny new Grinch avatar. A shame I don't do e-transactions. I'll have to content myself with yellow journalism if I want to give an appropriate response to this atrocious incursion.

Hey Korwin, are you in a good position to capture my western territories? Because I am willing to cede them to you. R'lyeh too, since you have been such rad trading partners and for no ulterior reason whatsoever.

Bolded because this post is kind of wall-of-texty.
---

Currently debating whether or not to continue work on "Nation Intruder Song" or switch off to a different musical base to remix (same Youtube account, though).

"You have the charisma of a damp rag (Markata: damp rag!)
And the appearance of [insert 2-syllable undead mage type that can be insultingly compared to Master Lich] ([markata echo])
Who are you?
I've never heard of you
nobody in Tomatoland ever heard of you

But I have no doubt,
that it's your intention
to be the unsubtle assassin of Arcoscephale's democracy
perhaps that's because you come from Pangaea,
which of course, is pretty much a non-country

we don't know you, we don't want you,
the sooner your dead feed the grass, the better
we don't like you, we don't want you
(Markata: our logic and reason have proved you wrong!)
(Soulforger: go back to Douchebagistan where you belong!)"

Or I could get back to work on those Dilettante feats. Maybe even my research essay. Alas, the artistic spirit seems to have fled for the time being. Academics call.

Avoraciopoctules wrote:Hey Korwin, are you in a good position to capture my western territories? Because I am willing to cede them to you. R'lyeh too, since you have been such rad trading partners and for no ulterior reason whatsoever.

This is pretty melodramatic. Sure you lost to a bunch of units and a few mages when you had less units and no mages, but you haven't even tried to deploy magical firepower yet...Why the fuck do you think you cannot stop this? If you had just been recruiting from that magic site in the province you lost, you could have had a good number of fire evokers and probably stomped that attack.

I don't think this will work out quite as Frank plans for one pretty simple reason.



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Also, I do have a standing treaty with Frank. Then again, you're arco and Pangea has no astral magic innately. Figure something out.

name_here wrote:I don't think this will work out quite as Frank plans for one pretty simple reason.



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Also, I do have a standing treaty with Frank. Then again, you're arco and Pangea has no astral magic innately. Figure something out.

Research means nothing if all your mages are sitting at home.

Astrologers have mapmove 2, IIRC.

Akula wrote:

Avoraciopoctules wrote:Hey Korwin, are you in a good position to capture my western territories? Because I am willing to cede them to you. R'lyeh too, since you have been such rad trading partners and for no ulterior reason whatsoever.

This is pretty melodramatic. Sure you lost to a bunch of units and a few mages when you had less units and no mages, but you haven't even tried to deploy magical firepower yet...Why the fuck do you think you cannot stop this? If you had just been recruiting from that magic site in the province you lost, you could have had a good number of fire evokers and probably stomped that attack.

Nice, caught me right as I was going back to writing about Somalia.

Sorry if you see it as a drama llama, but I am executing my awesome contingency plan. If I win this, I can ask for my territories back, and I might be obliged. If I lose, I minimize the degree to which the person who attacked benefits and create a disincentive to attack me like this in future games.

Besides, there's nothing in my Western territories that is especially valuable at this point. Like Frank says, my regular soldiers aren't that great in comparison to his standing army. I need to use something else, and I don't think I've got Mind Hunt researched.

Someone wants to give me provinces?
Shure, by western territories you mean which one?
Or in other words, how far should my armies march?

How about you march east until you see my capital across the bridge? Don't attack it unless Frank does first, there's a guy with Astral 5 who I want do some crafting in there and I want my province defense to do something useful.

So, 101, 93 (which has 2 Nature income), and 104 if R'lyeh is too busy to take my offer. The highest PD is in 101, ten points.

By the way, if you could send me any spare Earth gems you've got, it would be much appreciated. 30 or so would be enough to meet all my current objectives. Astral is nice too, but less so.

Dude, I just flung some freespawn crap over an unnegotiated border and smashed some unorganized infantry as the opening round of negotiation demanding a greater territorial concession. Considering that I have literally the smallest territory even now, I don't know why that surprised you. It really isn't worth committing seppuku over.

-Username17

Oh? You want an insight into the cognitive process of the Av?

I play this game for the same reason most other people do. Endorphins. And you will not believe how insufferably smug I feel about staying relatively peaceful up till now. If I ask for my former territories back later and am understandably refused, I will feel even smugger.

Right now, my objectives are mainly to stay alive long enough to try out a cool tactic and also a nifty strategy I thought of. Now that somebody has attacked me, my policy of not starting a war with anyone is no longer an obstacle. Since I've been playing a mainly diplomatic game so far, I am trying to see whether I can get any benefit out of making further concessions to neutral or allied players.

Also want to see how effective swarms of unscripted astral mages are at my current research levels.

Gah, need to head to school. Otherwise, totally would have tried to remix something about satyrs quaking in their fairy boots.

Avoraciopoctules wrote:
Turn 32: (new host, mediafire being lame)
http://rapidshare.com/files/433500545/D ... _trn32.zip

Wanted to redownload the turn, but rapidshare wants me to register...
I use Avos link but end here:
http://rapidshare.com/#!download|18dt|4 ... 32.zip|248

something on my end wrong, or did the link turn bad?