Actually, I didn't know that the single artist by itself would make such difference because I didn't understand how badly you were bogging down TBS with espionage missions. That's something that you're inventing after the fact.
If you look at TBS's thread, his estimated victory date on T256 was still T268 (http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthrea...#pid548756), which is the same as what he communicated to me a couple dozen turns prior. This was before y'all really started ratcheting up your EP efforts. By T260, I had no reason to believe that the turn estimate would be significantly different, although I did know he was rebuilding some cathedrals. I had assumed it would make a difference of no more than a turn or two. You had not even launched your ship yet! Once dtay declared on you, I honestly thought that TBS had won no-contest. To say that I knew that a single artist would make such a difference back then to the point of "gifting a win" is totally disingenuous.
If you look at TBS's thread, his estimated victory date on T256 was still T268 (http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthrea...#pid548756), which is the same as what he communicated to me a couple dozen turns prior. This was before y'all really started ratcheting up your EP efforts. By T260, I had no reason to believe that the turn estimate would be significantly different, although I did know he was rebuilding some cathedrals. I had assumed it would make a difference of no more than a turn or two. You had not even launched your ship yet! Once dtay declared on you, I honestly thought that TBS had won no-contest. To say that I knew that a single artist would make such a difference back then to the point of "gifting a win" is totally disingenuous.