[SPOILERS] Dazedroyalty - Move along! Nothing to see here

[scooter]

Ctrl-R or I start rooting for Xenu :P.

Seems like even if you hold you'll be sinking a lot of resources into holding a pretty unspectacular city. Would you consider just getting what you can out of the city (chop) and then offer to sell it to him peacefully for maybe a settler? That may be low-balling him a bit but if he can't take the city it's still a good deal for him. That way you guys get peace and don't drag each other into a long term war over a tundra city. Otherwise you may both fall behind.

[dazedroyalty]

Truth is that the reinforcements from my core won't arrive in time to matter unless I get great luck. If the archer, 2 warriors and whatever else that city builds itself doesn't hold, oh well. I'm not whipping or changing my expansion plans elsewhere. Krill and i were chatting earlier and even if I lose, it's not a total loss because I've forced Xenu to waste a lot of hammers to take it. Unfortunately, Xenu is the opponent I'm least concerned by.

I told Xenu I wasn't gonna play this save until we had a chance to chat. I'm hoping to convince him to spend his army on Sian instead given that he just built the GLH and is a pretty sure lock for the Mids as well. Now, I know that he doesn't have pottery and the Henge is boosting his GNP numbers, but I do think he's the biggest concern. I'd like to convince Xenu to focus on him. Xenu also seems to be very close to slowwalk, diplomatically. (Slowwalk always tell him what is going on before he even gets the save). So if I can convince slowwalk (who approached me about a dogpile on Sian) that I'll only do it if Xenu doesn't attack me, then they might help stop Xenu. Likelihood of that working: slim. But it's a shot.

I'm not really interested in dogpiling Sian, but if I can get slowcheetah and Xenu to spend resources on it, great!

[dazedroyalty]

I had a talk with Xenu last night and tried everything i could think of to convince him not to go to war but it totally failed (as expected). If anyone is interested in the chat, I'd be glad to post it. I told him I wouldn't go for white peace but that wasn't really true. If he does raze the city i'll take peace as soon as possible probably. I have a settler due in 3 turns and I will resend into the tundra and use teh 10 turns forced peace to settle close as I can to wehre I was! probably not the exact same spot but i'm hoping for the 1 NW spot that I was thinking abotu before and that Krill told me to do from the beginning!

I'm also thinking about whether or not to just chop the archer and move it out to save if for another city. I do need to make sure I don't lose the worker!

In other news, I talked to Sian briefly just to feel him out about working together. I didn't say anything about Catwalk or Xenu approaching me abotu a 3v1 against Sian becuase I agreed not to. I did mention the possibility of a 3v1 against him or me though since I had been thinking about that before Catwalk talked ot me.

Here's the the whole chat:

Sian: the jungle drums suggest that you might have a war on your hand?

me: yeah
mao didn't likemy city

Sian: can you honestly say you're surpriced?

me: no :D

Sian: i guess that i could be entangled as well when that one is done

me: ?

Sian: Xenu didn't like me grabbing GLH and is insistent that i'm going to grab Mids

me: yeah i think he was trying to build the GLH

Sian: he said he was so ...
not that i believe i'm able to get more than prehaps a handful of failgold from Mids
they usually drops around t50-55 and i suscept the kitties of having a GE ready to rush it somewhere
can't really do much against that

me: no you can't
but sounds like you're gonna try anyways

Sian: not that i intend to try even ...

me: oh

Sian: if i try its only with the intend of grabbing some failgold to fuel some research

me: yeah
can i make a slight change of topic?

Sian: being very much surprised if i actually get it (chances i say is somewhere between slim and none)
shoot

me: so i'm super curious to hear your take on the diplo in this game

Sian: staying alive

me: i.e. your current relationship status and how you see things developing
i'll offer my perspective first
i think catwalk and Xenu are tight

Sian: my 'natual' enemy is likely going to be the kitties since they've been my primary angatonist when it comes to wonders
doesn't per say have anything against Xenu as of yet, but given his reaction when he figured out i had GLH i don't think the feeling is mutual

me: haha
yeah and Xenu isn't my bff right now! :D
off the record?

Sian: sure

me: ok, it's gonna come down to 1 of 2 options

Catwalk/Xenu are a team for now
so either they pull one of us in for a 3v1
or we work together

Sian: i have no interest in warring with you, and an interest in stalling Kitties ...
and to be completely honest, from where i'm sitting, if they're taking you in on a 3v1 against me, theres a running countdown till Xenu delivers a dagger in your back
and its looking like its the same story (althrough the Kitties with the dagger) if they try to hook me into a pile on you

me: so what i'm suggesting (tho not officially yet) is us explorin the idea of working together
there's lots of options
shared intel
non-aggression pact
etc

Sian: i'm all for an informal argeement to be fleshed out
I don't believe any of us have anything to win from not doing it ...

me: alright, well i have to run now, but i wanted to test the waters.
but i appreciate you honoring the "off the record"
and we can see if anything mutually beneficial works out

Sian: as said ... i'm not seeing any way i would gain from not honoring the "off the record" since that would mean that Xenu and the Kitties would stab me when they're done with you
therefore it would be pure idiocy to do (telling that is)

Does anyone know if Sian is a native English speaker? I don't know him at all before this game and it'd help to know if some of the odditities in his language are just from not being a native speaker.

[dazedroyalty]

The time to choose sides is coming. Chatted with Slowcheetah and Catwalk this AM about Sian. They don't want war but want a no-OB agreement and possibly a settling plan to block him out of the tundra. I was honest and said I was worried about becoming the odd man out if I alienate Sian given the situation with Mao.

However, I agreed not to sign OB immediately and for an unspecified number of turns which is reasonable since I don't have Writing yet! Slowcheetah also was lukewarm about their long term relationship with Xenu. I don't know if that's legitimate or just him saying things to pacify me.

[dazedroyalty]

City = dead!



So I moved my warriors out and the worker west. We'll see what he does.

Also, this was the official war dec email:

Hail Dazed, Logician!

In the course of discussing our present impasse with his advisers, the Chairman has decided he wants me to burn down your newest city adjacent to our territory. Our generals are apparently a hawkish group and lust for blood, which I would have thought satisfied well enough when Mao sends them out to burn our villages and kill our peasants. Apparently now they want us to kill your peasants as well. I hope that I can satisfy Mao's blood lust by only removing your nearest city, which he says threatens our border security and impugns upon opportunity to exploit our rightful natural resources in the disputed area.

Mao makes concession that you have a right to the silver resource in this disputed area and is willing to see the silver used by your empire to provide happiness if you are not able to source another resource on your own, provided our own resource needs have been taken care of. Although Mao delights in the suffering of everyone he understands that sometimes diplomacy is about compromise. If your people prefer to be happy rather than oppressed that is a compromise he is willing to make, in the spirit of renewing our friendship after this unfortunate campaign concludes.

Mao has instructed our generals to not proceed their advancing army beyond the city you founded, so you need not fear we are out to destroy or cripple you. Mao has other plans in mind for our army which he would like to discuss with you once we end hostilities here. He does not think it appropriate to discuss the matter yet, since we still have the unfortunate business of razing your city to attend to, but he believes it will be in the long term interests of both your nation and ours to discuss the matter once this unfortunate incident is behind us.

Again, apologies for the impending ugliness, but it is a measure that must be taken.

Hail Ronald Reagan!

Xenu,
Tyrant
Republican Party

(for)

Mao,
Chairman
Republican Party

From me:

Hail Regan!

Well, logic said to give it a try, but we logicians don't make great diplomats. Congrats on razing a city! One more turn and the outcome was going to be different (see power graph spike). You'll see that we have vacated the city and pulled all other military units in the area back in order to prevent unnecessary death on either side--logic dictates this is the best move for both our peoples. We will be anxiously waiting to see what move you make with your chariot as that will dictate our ongoing relations. Previous attempts at preventing this razing aside, logic does suggest that a white peace will be the best action moving forward so we await the outcome of your next turn.

Dazed

[dazedroyalty]

Peace is official. Working on a new dot map plan. Southern focus in jungle:



Northern area:

[dazedroyalty]

So screenshots are allowed in this game after contact so I got Catwalk to send me a screenie to make sure settling the tundra works out OK. He sent with all the info included!



1. They know nothing about the overseas options.
2. only 4 gold at 0%. Not good -- though they will be switching to rep specialists soon i bet.
3. Building a granary before a monument
4. They know very little about my empire.

Catwalk did just tell me in chat they proposed OB

[dazedroyalty]

Jsut realized if I move the tan dot 1 NE i can steal Xenu's silver, have a port to boat him and pick up a deer that wasn't in my dotmap! :D

EDIT: never mind i'm an idiot. Misread my own map! :D however, i would still steal the silver and have a port. But i also lost food!

[dazedroyalty]

Lots of diplo chatting today but I've always found chat logs boring so I won't post them unless someone asks. Basically, Sian and I have agreed to work together while giving the impression we aren't. I have honored my agreement not to mention the possible 3v1 (that isn't happening regardless). However, when Catwalk asked I said I was 100% trustworthy when I say I won't share something, but only 30% if I don't make the committment. So, basically, I've shared everything that they tell me at this point that isn't related to the 3v1.

Also, I convinced Sian to use two chariots to raze Catwalk's new city and to settle that silver for himself. Meanwhile, I've rearranged my dotmap and will settle on the Ice hill 1N of the deer, 1W of fur, and S21E of silver. That keeps me and Sian from culture clashing as much as possible.

Beautiful thing is that I think we can legitimately make it look like Sian did it to keep from losing access to silver!

[dazedroyalty]

I've been thinking about teh arrangement with Sian and had a couple of thoughts. 1) For future reference to Catwalk, Slowcheetah and Xenu, it really just came down to the fact that this alliance seemed like it'd be fun to play. I can't even say how long it'll last but for now it seems like the best play to have fun.

2) As competitive as I am I also am here to have fun and want others to have fun. Secretly having information sold is something that, if I found out at the end, I would be not happy about. Basically, I don't like being completely two faced. I like tricking the other teams into not realizing that Sian and I are working together, but after sharing some intel with Sian I am ambivalent about that. I'm not sure how to set "ethical" rules for myself on this. Anyone with suggestions, feel free to chime in.