[Spoilers] Pindicator accepts his fate

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Perhaps better than literally no actions but not better than logging in, whipping units, and ending turn. The AI will spread the army out and hunker down in backline cities that aren't under threat. That isn't much help for competitive balance either.

Either way, this game is not a good test case to argue for whether a player should go all out to try to stave off defeat. This map has led to a very non-competitive game.

[GermanJoey]

Thing is, the game already has a built-in way to handle this sort of thing: resign to AI.  That seems like exactly what should be done in this situation, for pindicator's civ to put up a reasonable defense of whipping without consuming anyone's time.  The Civ 5 game did that for one civ and nobody complained.  Everyone argues heavily against that in Civ 4 games, but an AI takeover has to be better than a player literally taking no actions at all, right?

I completely agree, FWIW. I wish it was more acceptable for a dying or out-of-running player to switch to AI at RB, or to just call games when a clear winner has a emerged. (not that the latter applies to this game)

In both cases, it would really do a ton to keep these games fresh and fun for both the players and the lurkers alike.

[pindicator]

I think there's one more bit of insight to add to this thread. Maybe more along the lines of a confession (which in retrospect doesn't feel like the appropriate thing to call it but whatever). And while it certainly doesn't excuse any times I've failed to hit the competitive spirit benchmark expected of me or that I expect of myself, maybe it can go a ways towards helping people understand why my games tend to end up in the way they have of late. "High-functioning depression" is the term I see thrown around in social media, and while I've avoided the advise of professionals because i can for the most part manage, there are times that I go through periods of losing all energy and ambition to do anything, even playing a game as fun as civ. Sadly, i've been experiencing this more frequently over the last 6 months, and it's no coincidence that my reporting and effort in this game tanked over that time.

So for how that affected things here i'm sorry. I won't blame all of my performance on it but it played a part. I think if I play MP again it will have to be as part of a team, because hitting one of these periods of depression pretty much kills any momentum I've built up in reporting well or playing my turns well/on time.

Why bring it up now? Because I find myself reading pb37 and civ6 pbem threads and wanting to be a part of a game again. But I need to remind myself of why that may not be a good idea too.

[Boldly Going Nowhere]

Life matters so much more than a well-played game of civ. You don't have anything to worry about here. Your actions or inaction aren't a big deal in the grand scheme of things. And this map was not really conducive to putting in 100% effort after the first 50 turns or so anyway. Life is short, don't spend it doing things that aren't going to make you happy.