Welcome to SIEGE OF THE DRAGON!


Start Time: Sunday, December 9th 22:00 GMT

Days will be 48 hours, Nights will be 24 hours.



Players (in order of sign up)

1. Novice
2. Ichabod
3. Pindicator
4. Zakalwe
5. Qgqqqq
6. Uberfish
7. Lewwyn
8. Waterbat
9. Mattimeo
10. Serdoa
11. Rowain
12. Bigger
13. Azza
14. Selrahc
15. Slowcheetah
16.MJW

Revealed game information

-> You will not be lied to in your Role PM
-> there will be both mayor votes and lynch votes. First day will have both. If the new mayor dies, there will be another election, but not until then. It is possible to lynch the mayor if there is a majority of votes on him at deadline, just like any other citizen.
-> full role descriptions (of the dead) will not be revealed until game's end
-> there will be at least one protective role
-> there will be at least one passive protective ability
-> the Dragon will be represented as a player (Serial Killer)
-> Sunday the 9th, 22:00, Day 1 of the game will begin. There will be no 'pre-game night phase' although there usually isn't I felt it needed to be said.
-> If there is a tie, the mayor will still be able to pick the winner even if he is not a part of the vote.
-> Hunters will be in Orange and Werewolves will be in silver. The Dragon will show up in Red.

The role PM for a Vanilla Villager.

Welcome lonely traveler, to the village of Grimdark. May the heavens have mercy on your weary soul. Perhaps you have lived here all your life, but the village as it is now is a scene far to alien to your liking. With the brave ser Tasunketh dead at your feet, you cannot help but fear what may lay ahead. Yet you did not flee, like the others. No, you and your ken stayed because this is still your village, and even if you have only your vote to give, you will give it gladly and you will give it well.

Rules
-> no forum camping
-> no direct quoting from your Role PM
-> must vote (for lynch) every day
-> players cannot edit their posts
-> revealing a passive ability is forbidden
-> Once I have declared that everyone has their role PMs, even if before 2200 on the 9th, no one may post any earlier than 22:00 on the 9th.
-> Once you are dead you may make ONE 'goodbye' post.
-> Do expect answers on the set up, even if you feel obligated to receive them.

(those who do not vote for two consecutive 'in-game' days will be mod-killed)

Extras
-> here is a thread I started earlier this year. Not completely relevant, but enough to link it in this thread I should think.
http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthrea...ght=dragon

-> As my schedule dictates, I will be sending out Role PMs shortly (as I will be unable to be around at the deadline/game start today)

Hey Guys,

I haven't played Civ much in a while but I've been reading through some of the old games and threads and it has made me want to play another game of MP with you guys. I have enough intense stuff in my life and I'd like to just have a relatively relaxed, friendly game (as much as possible).

This is what I personally would like:

1) Tech Trading on - I don't think we do it enough and I think it might prolong the game further and keep it 'interesting' than if we have a couple of early runaways and everyone else just ends up mailing turns in until they are dead or the game is over. I would love to see another 'Munro' type late comeback and I think Tech Trading provides that.

2) In-Game diplo unrestricted or at least SP-style with an out-of-game diplo/banter thread as a supplement. Not too much diplo, but Tech Trading necessitates some and you don't have the problem of lots of emails and chats distracting you from life (or university coursework...)

3) Random unrestricted combos - Play the hand you are dealt. I really liked that about the last 'casual' pitboss game

4) Random fractal map with no edits - again, just play what you have and see how the game/story develops.

5) If enough interest for pitboss - sequential not simultaneous! Not having double move issues near this game.

---------------------

I understand that a lot of you may be looking for more 'competitive' gaming but I just want to have some fun with Civ again and I think that it could be a good game to play and hopefully an interesting one to lurk too. I am even prepared to do a proper thread this time and try and maintain it as best as possible!

But the test is, are any of you guys interested?

Since the thread about game soundtracks is quite popular, I thought it might be a fun idea to start a little challenge to find out who is the greatest expert when it comes to game soundtracks.

For this reason I have compiled a youtube video which consists of soundtracks from 10 different games. Your job is to find out which games are featured in this video!
I can reassure you that I have only picked well known games or famous indie titles which have been mentioned on this forum before.

RULES:

1. Listen to the video
2. Create a list of the games you recognize in the correct order.
3. Send the list to me via PM.
4. You can submit more than one list if you change your mind (the one last submitted counts).
5. You can submit less than 10 game titles if you only recognize a smaller number.
6. Gentlemen's Agreement: No use of Shazam, SoundHound or similar apps.
7. Google is ok.
8. The player with the highest number of recognized games wins.
9. If two or more players are tied the winner will be chosen at random from these players.
10. Contest ends in two weeks, December 20th.
11. I will update a ranking that shows who has the highest score.
12. Questions and comments are welcome, but please no spoilers in this thread
13. The winner gets one game during the Steam Xmas sale.

Here is the video:

I would like to try another random AW pitboss game like PB7. But PB7 had terrible double-move problems. In fact, double-move problems have not yet been solved in simultaneous games, though the RBMod PBs have come closer just by having players use common sense.

But, there is a way we could do it, that I think could work out interestingly and simply. I posted about it before here, but let me start afresh:

Each player is stuck in either the first or second half of the turn timer. Players in opposite halves of the timer are in always war. Players on the same half are in always peace (either AI diplo, or no interaction allowed at all, whatever we prefer). No one has to worry about anything except moving in their own half of the turn. Now here's the thing: I'm about 90% sure we can do this painlessly with a mod. It will be like a simultaneous team turns game where anyone can log in, but only half the players can perform real actions (like unit moves) at a time. The other players can still look around, queue up orders, and stuff like that.

One other thing that might make this more interesting is the ability to switch turn halves. I would want this to be a difficult thing, and one that you have to plan ahead to accomplish. One possibility which I think I like is to add a first-to-research bonus to some (for the most part, undesirable) techs: if you are the first player to get this tech, you immediately switch which half of the turn you are on. So if you end up totally boxed in by someone you are stuck at peace with, you can try to go for one of these techs to break out. For example, techs that give this bonus could be: Alphabet, Compass, Divine Right, Gunpowder, Scientific Method, Fission, Satellites, Stealth.

Most important question right now is: does anyone find this appealing? Or is it too "out there"?

OK, first and foremost: it's not Turn 75 (1000BC) yet. Yes, I am aware of that. But next turn we'll have all the info we need to dotmap our upcoming southwest city, and we'll be working on the micro plans associated with that. While we sit here continuing to do nothing while waiting on the German team to play its turn, I figured I might as well type something up to hold interest in this game's glacial pace. And finally, I have a couple of hours to kill here before I teach my next class. Let's do an updated version of thoughts and analysis for Turn 75.

There information here is pulled from our ongoing C&D Google Docs sheet, which can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?...EQXc#gid=0

Growth/Expansion

1) Realms Beyond: 6 cities, 22 total pop
1) UniversCiv: 6 cities, 22 total pop
3) CivFr: 5 cities, 22 total pop
4) Apolyton: 4 cities, 19 total pop
4) CivPlayers: 4 cities, 19 total pop
6) CivFanatics: 5 cities, 17 total pop
7) We Play Civ: 4 cities, 13 total pop
8) Germans: 5 cities, 12 total pop, massive whip unhappiness
9) Spanish Apolyton: 3 cities, 9 total pop

One of the most basic ways to compare teams is to look at their number of cities and total population. We are tied with UniversCiv for the lead in both of these categories, although I expect that we'll fall behind in the next few turns since most of our cities aren't close to further growths. (This is where the slow 3 food starts for Gourmet Menu and Tree Huggers are a shame. Too bad we couldn't use a 5 or 6 food tile just to get them past size 1.) CivFr also has the same amount of population, but has one fewer city overall, which means that they're down 100 foodhammers by comparison. (Unfortunately there is no way to tell how many workers each team has built.) Apolyton and CivPlayers are slightly behind here, stuck at only four cities each and therefore less total population. CivFr has the world's only size 7 city, which is part of how they close the gap. Nevertheless, we're pretty far ahead in terms of expansion compared to these teams. Apolyton clearly rushed a library and Academy in their capital, and has been working specialists over foodhammers.

The other teams are behind to one extent or another. CivFanatics was really far behind earlier, but has made up some of that gap in recent turns. Their population is on the upswing and they managed to land their own religion at Monotheism/Judaism. They are still not using Organized Religion though for some reason, despite being Spiritual. Whatever. There's a sizable gap between CivFanatics and the bottom three teams. We Play Civ still only has 4 cities, with 13 pop spread across them. Their population growth is anemic, only one new pop point in the last 5 turns, and they have not whipped at all during this current war. They have spent the early game building dog soldiers instead of workers and soldiers. The German team is in even worse shape: they lost their sixth city to drop back down to only five, and have a mere 12 pop points across those cities. Average size of each city is 2.4, not very good. They have whipped 7 times for 12 pop since the war began, and even with Terraces in place that will leave a mark. This team is likely to be crippled for ages to come.

Spanish Apolyton is really in a category all their own. They have a mere 3 cities and 9 total pop points thus far. I have no idea what they've been doing all game. Keep in mind that they are also playing as Boudica, with the worst economic traits in the game. This team is a total sitting duck waiting for someone to devour them later. I will be shocked if they survive to the end of the game. I don't think they have any idea how to play Civ4.

That covers the growth side of the game, but what about research? This is a very easy map to cripple oneself with overexpansion, since settlers are relative cheap but maintenance costs are enormous. The technology picture looks a bit different:

Research

1) Realms Beyond: 12 Ancient, 2 Classical techs: 2394 beakers
2) Apolyton: 13 Ancient, 1 Classical tech: 2178 beakers
3) CivPlayers: 12 Ancient, 1 Classical tech: 2178 beakers
4) CivFr: 12 Ancient, 1 Classical tech: 1944 beakers
5) CivFanatics: 12 Ancient techs: 1656 beakers
6) UniversCiv: 10 Ancient techs: 1296 beakers
7) WePlayCiv: 10 Ancient techs: 1188 beakers
8) Spanish Apolyton: 9 Ancient techs: 1152 beakers
9) Germans: 8 Ancient techs: 1008 beakers

I went ahead and counted Iron Working in our tally, as we are 85% of the way through the tech and will finish it next turn. Sue me, it's my post, I can do what I want. However you tally it up though, we are clearly neck and neck with Apolyton and CivPlayers for the tech lead. Apolyton's research effort is more impressive, as CivPlayers picked up 630 beakers for free via their Oracle of Code of Laws tech. Remove that, and CivPlayers would be fairly average in this ranking. Nevertheless, they did get the tech and they can build their sacrificial altars, so it's fair to include the beakers here. Apolyton has risen to their tech position on the back of their early Academy + Philosophical trait. They make the most beakers/turn of any civ in the game right now. The tradeoff is that they had to slow their expansion to get that early Great Scientist. Because this map is so large, the value of the capital is somewhat de-emphasized here. Apolyton should try to get into Hereditary Rule and Bureaucracy as fast as possible to make use of their capital's Academy; we'll see if they do so.

CivFr has been quietly putting up a good performance, and they are the only other team to research a Classical tech (most likely Iron Working, possibly Mathematics). CivFanatics has also done better in recent turns. They built up a large stack of gold and then used it to burn through a number of techs in succession. Why they did that, I have no idea. Sitting on gold in the early game is generally not too valuable.

The final four teams are lagging very badly, having researched about half of the beakers that we have thus far. UniversCiv is doing the best by our best estimate, although that's not saying much. Their rapid early expansion has limited their ability to tech upwards. We Play Civ and Spanish Apolyton just do not have enough population to do much research. They have few cities and tiny populations in each one. Not a recipe for success in Civ4. The German team is just sad; discounting their two starting techs, they have only research 6 Ancient Age techs in 74 turns of play. They kept whipping terraces earlier, and they don't appear to have much in the way of a commercial economy. Now they are saddled with a war and crippling whip anger. They make for an absolutely perfect target to go after when our NAP expires at Turn 150. I figure it will take about that long for us to settle all of the unclaimed land around us anyway.

Let's put these together now and do an overall ranking.

1) Realms Beyond: We have the most cities, the most overall population, the most beakers researched, a self-built wonder (Stonehenge), and a self-founded religion. We took the score lead when we finished Stonehenge and we've had a firm grasp on it ever since. We have the best traits in the game (Fin/Exp) and tons of riverside Financial cottages. So far, we are clearly in first place in this game.

2) CivPlayers: They are slightly behind in city count, but they also have their own religion and slingshotted the perfect tech for their civ pick. With sacrificial altars, CivPlayers will be able to expand quickly and curb their inevitable maintenance costs. They are positioned to expand rapidly in the next 25-30 turns. They are also doing fairly well on the research front, if not spectacular. Their Oracle play was an excellent strategic choice, and their civ management skills seem to be good as well. They are one of the teams to watch.

3) Apolyton: They've focused heavily on research, and seem to be pulling it off well thus far. Elizabeth as a leader demands an early Academy in the capital, which they managed at an early date. I'm somewhat skeptical of their growth and expansion, but the pure research capability means that they bear watching. As long as they don't get too caught up in turtling, they will be another major rival.

4) CivFr: I've been pretty impressed by this team so far, even if they haven't made any splashy moves. They pushed early expansion (probably a little too hard), then have since backed off a bit and focused more on tech. They have the next-best traits in the game (Fin/Cre) and have likely been pushing their cheap Creative libraries hard. I'm glad that this team doesn't appear to be near us, as they will win any early border disputes. If they are smart, they will push for their cheap Creative ball courts and solve the happiness issues on this map. They have some strong players on their team, and I expect them to be there as another big competitor at the end of the game.

5) CivFanatics: I thought their opening was pretty awful, in all honesty, but they have done much better over the past twenty turns. They have their own religion, and both their population and research are on the rise. That said, they are still well below us in all of the Demographics and bar charts. I don't think any of us trust this team, and we need to be on our guard against possible backstabbery later. They have done "OK" overall, not great, which is enough to put them in fifth place on this list.

6) UniversCiv: What's really sad is that UniversCiv manages to come in sixth in my overall ranking. Yes, the team that went warrior first with a wet corn at the start. Yes, the team that had one worker for three cities earlier. They are still doing better than the remaining teams on this list. Hey, they might be stupid about their expansion, but at least they are still expanding! That's better than the poor teams below.

7) We Play Civ: This team just didn't expand. They planted their third city on Turn 61, the same turn that UniversCiv planted their FIFTH city! This team of Neo Templars then spent the rest of the early period building dog soldiers to go attack the German team. That was a foolish move on multiple levels, but it did next them a razed city and some captured workers. While I doubt they will get much of anything out of this war, at least they haven't whipped themselves into the ground fighting it.

8) Germans: Speaking of whipping yourself into the ground... Despite what they might have claimed in diplomacy, the German team was caught with their pants down by this war. They lost a city, they lost some workers, and they've been whipping madly to try and create a military out of thin air. They've been forced to fight axe vs dog soldier, which is not the best proposition. They have very heavily whipped their civ, resulting in lots of size 1 cities and stagnant research. I think they can fight WPC to a stalemate, but they are totally finished as far as this game goes.

9) Spanish Apolyton: Somehow they are doing worse than the Germans and WPC, despite not having been in a war at all. We've suggested that they may have lost an early settler to a barb unit, and that may well be the case. It's hard to explain just how terrible their performance has been in this game otherwise. 3 cities. 9 total pop. 7 techs researched in 74 turns of play. One can only wonder what in the heck this team has been doing all this time. Then again, this was the group that picked Boudica as their leader when Pacal, Willem, Huayna, and Mansa were available, so all bets are off.

Well, that was a fun way to kill an hour. What does everyone else think?

It is the Dawn of 4000 BC for the wonderful Dutch peoples, led by KURO VON BANANA. He rules with a burning yellow passion, but little brains.



This shall be where his civilization is born and raised. Did I say raised? I meant razed.

So yeah, Deity. Never played this before, but I know that Wonderspamming, Religionspamming and the like are right out, early war is usually pretty bad too IIRC, you basically want to outlast and conquer...or maybe diplo victory. I dunno. I do know that a Work Boat finishes before a Worker and so I shall start there. The Warrior will not venture far out for scouting...

First tech has got to be Mining, then see if I want Hunting before BW for the Ivory or if I can fit in BW before the Worker.

Mining comes in...



As you can see, I should be able to finish Bronze Working(It'll go down once the Work Boat is done and I can work the Clams) and then nail Hunting before the Worker really needs it. The Warrior has almost finished all his scouting and he found some...interesting things north.



The double gold is too good to resist, even if right now I would need to Galley over Workers: Such early commerce is unlikely to come from anywhere else and I can whip a Galley out. In addition, it should be relatively easy to manipulate the CPU into landing on open ground next to a hilled city here, giving me a fighting chance. Another city can pick up the fish.



Not much going on southside. If there is a seafood that the jungle hill can work, I'd like to settle there.



The villagers my Warrior went to check out gave me a Scout! I'll send the Warrior back and scout with the, uh, Scout.

Work Boat done. Worker in 11: BW in 9 at that point.



We meet our first opponent: Sir Brennus of the Celts! He has founded Buddhism. He also looks like he will control some juicy land: Tis sad I cannot secure that Crab/Clams/Pigs spot.



...Hm, mayhaps I can. I would certainly have to cozy up to him, though.

Bronze Working comes in. I hold off on Slavery for 1 turn, for my Worker to pop out.



Worker out. I consider my options: Warrior affords defense and the like, Worker for speed...but I choose Work Boat, because sea scouting will be amazing. And I'll get tech bonuses when Deity civs know all my stuff. Amusingly, Hunting and the Worker will both finish their tasks(Being teched and Farming) in 5 turns: I did something good, yay!

The Bunches' borders expand. I don't see much except some Stone and Gems in places I don't think I can reach in any plannable time.



We meet Charlemange of the Holy Roman Empire. He's a bit of a fanatic IIRC, so he could be useful for a Diplo victory. He also doesn't have a religion, yet HRE starts with Mysticism and two religions have been founded. I suspect another Spiritual is out there.

Hunting comes in at 2880 BC(TUrn 28). I consider carefully between The Wheel and Sailing, as The Wheel will let me hook up the Ivory, while Sailing lets me build Galleys and hook my cities up coastally. I decide on Sailing for Lighthouse and city connection, The Wheel or Animal Husbandry can come shortly. The Bunches also grows to Size 3, but I whip out the Work Boat and overflow into a Worker.

My free Scout meets a Barbarian Archer on it's second move. It is slain. ...I think I will overflow into a Warrior instead. Maybe grab Archery after Sailing. But ultimately, I decide to overflow into a Worker still: The Warrior can be whipped easier. Mr. Work Boat sets sail.



A Charlemange draws near! Command?

The second Worker finishes and I send them to chop down the tree on the hill and replace it with a mine, work on a Warrior for defense and expansion.



Asoka! So I was right, a Spiritual civ...but he founded the THIRD religion of the game! Are my foes all Spiritual? Gack, Isabella might be in this...

Sailing comes in on Turn 41. I'm a bit antsy, so I go with Archery just in case. The Warrior finishes and I go onto...a Galley. I have a plan.

"The Great Wall has been built in a far away land!"

Well, there goes that silly plan, but I'm still settling over there anyway. Galley whipped. Workers off to chop the other forest.

Archery comes in T46, 2160 BC. I'm going way too slow. Oh well. The Wheel is next. Workers done chopping, so they'll work on a Mine while I wait for the Wheel.

"Asoka adopts Slavery!" In 2080 BC? o.O

Settler finishes. Onto an Archer. Settler + Warrior loaded onto a Galley.

The Wheel comes in and so Pottery becomes the target goal(7T before city founding). Road work starts immedietely on hooking up ivory and then roading towards double gold.



That's Hamsterdam. And that's right: Right on the Stone! Stone will be useful and that hooks it up ASAP, in addition to giving it a bonus hammer at the start, and it can serve as a potential choke point. If I had an area with forest, I could try for the Pyramids, but alas...



Pericles? That's a surprise. Apparantly he founded Hinduism: He must have poipped Mysticism from a hut! Archer made and Settler begins: A Barbarian Archer approaches Hamsterdam, necessitating building military. Pottery in: Animal Husbandry now.

Funny enough, my military is a single turn late built to stop the Archer...but the Warrior inside holds and only loses half his health! He shall forever be known as Sir Victorious. I let the Warrior I was building finish anyway since it only has 1 turn to go.

The Barbarian assault begins. The Settler is whipped and Archer production begins. Technologically, I am quite behind...Asoka and Charlie have Alphabet!



El Dorado is founded. With it, my chokepoints to the south and north are secure, so Barbarians shouldn't be much trouble as long as I have Archers stationed there. Settling is going to be the hard part, even with normal barbs.

AH comes in and my gold runs out: Research down to 40% because of my two cities. I "speed" to Writing as fast as I can! My capital growing and adding commerce will help and I can hook that Gold up...



We will fight on the land and on the beaches and until your tanks crush me.

Writing is in at 900 BC, or T79. Let's start on Masonry for that Stone, then head to Alphabet.

Churchill proves the world is round before I can. Curse you and your immaculate top hat!

Workers flow out of my capital The Bunches so that I have a solid amount working the now safe land around it. I'm hoping to build Moai there.

My capital can build the Pyramids in 17 turns, starting T91. Here's hoping. I can chop down a forest to quicken it up...

Lolz, not even close, they're build on T94. It does let me put the chops towards the Moai and get some gold, though. Certainly not a total loss. Moai now comes in 8T. I have no idea what my win condition is, right now I'm just trying to survive.

Alphabet in. Brennus doesn't have it: Flip it for Iron Working because he has it part researched. Everyone else has it, but it is letting me head towards Currency, 11T using Pyramid-gold fueled deificet.



It turns out El Dorado holds more metal than mere gold...

Buddhism spreads in El Dorado. I do not adopt it...yet. 3 of my foes are Buddhist though, so SOON...



Behold, FOODTOPIA! Land of the rising food bar! I'll need to whip this so much.

Moai ends and I sacrifice a lot of production to run 2 Scientists, hoping to push something out in 15T. I figure an Academy or a possible tech pop to trade can keep me in this. In the meantime, an Archer will be built in preparation of more settling.



Right, SIX opponents. I hope he doesn't divide MY house...

Currency is in on T109. Market building quickly becomes a priority. I am able to flip it to Charlie for Math and Mysticism + 15g, but that's all. It does, however, open the door to a possible Science bulb past Math...

Asoka pops up and randomly gives me Construction! A cause for celebration!

Pericles becomes the first to Code of Laws, but I soldier on anyway, because he's the only one: I could trade it around and help my maintanence costs! Also turns out Brennus doesn't have Construction, but has partially researched it: Flip it for Meditation and 65 gold to burn through for high powered sciencing.

Nabi-Rimanni comes in and I instantly give him up for Compass! Trading time!

Construction to Churchill for Polytheism, Priesthood and 40G(Apparantly I missed this last turn)
Compass to Brennus for Horseback Riding and Monotheism
Compass to Pericles for Monarchy
Compass to Asoka for Aesthetics and 15g
Churchill refuses Compass AND Code of Laws for Metal Casting. Ass. I head towards a 5 turn Calender for I have Calender resources. Heriditary Rule is revolted too, giving me some nicely needed happiness.

The state of my world, 100 AD:



My capital, The Bunches, just finished crapping out a Great Scientist. Next is getting this Market out, then most likely going for yet another Scientist, possibly getting some happiness garrison in here. Monarchy is king. When Calender is up, I can hook up that Dye for extra perma-happy. With Bureau, this makes a decent hybrid capital, but it's land is too shaky for more than that. Moai helps a lot here, since I worked the water tiles when I had to get out that Scientist and they become useful as it gets bigger.



My second city is Hamsterdam. It's your basic fishing village, but it secured Stone for the Moai Statues and provides me a chokepoint if Charliemange backstabs me. It'll run some good commerce on Financial coast, but it's upside is limited. I wish it had two Grassland Hills over Plains, so I could put Windmills on them.



Here is El Dorado. Almost it's entire value comes from that gold it's running. It runs both on a food deficiet if it has enough food and I need it too. I really wish the grassland could atl east be farmed so I could run both golds.



Foodtopia is just what it sounds like: Triple food resources, not much else. I'm gonna run Specialists here since it's my only high food spot and whip it like it's going out of style.



Fin-ally, we have Desert Fish. It's a fishing village with fish. Only founded a bit ago. I founded it to add in an additional chokepoint to make it harder to get to my inner parts and because I could use more fishing commerce anyway. It won't amount to much, but given the difficulty and terrain I need to carve out everything I can.

The plan now is to maybe drive out and take over two barb cities I see, since I have Construction and Iron: One of them is Rice/Banana/Double Gems with grassland, so it'd be amazing, the other is decent. It'd also open up the space for 1 or 2 more cities. I need that space. It would also help my Power meter...



Not look THIS pathetic. I'm flatlining here!

...

And then I click "Next turn" and laugh, given what I just said...



Churchill declared too, but he hasn't sent any units my way. I have enough cash to upgrade 1 Warrior into an Axe and if I survive a turn, have one whipped out and upgrade the other, plus whip another out, so I might endure here. Still...I am likely to LOSE EVERYTHING.

He takes a turn to bombard! Whew. He's bringing in more Catapults, but that is still much more hopeful than before...

Two Axes attack and both lose! The forces, surprisingly, are routed...



I have 3 healthy Axes and am whipping another just in case, but I try to mount an assault. I stop when the first attack doesn't even scratch the Axe and hold for now, tense. I can build War Elephants, but they must manage to get here in time...

Brennus declares on Lincoln! World at war!

Hamsterdam fals, unfortunately, but is not razed...and without Spearmen in his army stack, I may be able to send two War Elephants over...

He has a Spearman in there now. But I can't really give up: He won't even talk to me anyway. All I can do is soldier on and build Catapults too.



Nope, my force lay battered, except this poor Catapult also dead. I'm hoping I can get a "favorable" peace deal (IE no citys given up) and build to the south and the northern wastes...perhaps I can eke out a Space victory(pfffyeahright). I'll need to think on this and take a break from the game. At least I lasted a lot longer than I expected: T132 and I only lost one city!

End Session 1, Reply Code: Banana Terracotta Pie.

Begin Session 2, Reply Code: Banana Templar Units Are Go

So, where...



...Were...



...We?

Right. The hopeless game. Oh well, I might as well play on at least a little. But I am basically just waiting to die a slow death. Maaaaaaybe I can bullshit a cultural victory.

Goals: Not die, research Calender, expand even i nto the crappy territory because I'm doing poorly territorially, hope to get a peace deal. LET'S GO.

Unsurprisingly, Charlie wants something for peace. Well fuck him.

Not much goes on for the next while. Research set to Feudalism because I need it to not die a horrible, painful death, inching along at a rate of 21 turns(Though it'll go down!), pulling out some infrastructure(since Charlie can outproduce me and he has WEs + Cats so I die at my tech level no matter how many Archers I shit out).

R144: Islam is founded. Still researching Feudalism.

With Feudalism coming in 5T(T53) and the barb city still having archers, I go to build a Barracks + Stable in my capital and crank out some Cats + WEs to take out this Barb city defended by 2 Archers on a hill(They'll probs be longbows by the time I get there is why I wanna build a decent force!)

Oh, I can get it in 4T at 70% exact breakeven. Sure, why not.

Brennus wants me to join in a war against the Americans. Yeah, we'll get riiiiiiight on that, give us 400 turns or so!

Charlie is marching a huge military force through Asoka's land, I think he can reach me. Let's go Longbow production then. I will still at least try to take that barb city, I swear...

Feudalism is in! I can get Civil Service in 10T at an 8 GPT deficiet, so I do so. My scouting Work Boat has also found the only land path from Charlie to me that I could not see before, so I park it there to keep an eye out.



Oh god, here it comes! Longbows whip gogogogo!



This is the kind of stuff I am forced to found. It's a fishing village so hey, it, uh, pays for itself.



Charlie's army appears! And to meet him, I have...uh...



...Cheese and crackers.

BUT...



(Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the actual peace treaty!)

I managed to get peace from Charlie without getting rid of a city! It ONLY cost me 335 gold and 73 gold per turn!

Hilariously...



Charlie's army is stuck behind friendly lines, as it got booted right out of my territory and onto that ONE tile I don't control surrounded by my culture! Ooooh, didn't think that one through, did you Charlie my boy? Also note that I am making 3 GPT at 0% science. PROGRESS!

I sent the "army" of mine you saw to go and try take a city with 4 Archers on a hill. Hell, why not?

Charlemange is the first to discover Liberalism. Civil Service in only 17 more turns! : D



oh what. Churchill, why are you here? At least he didn't bring a lot. Even if my force of 2 Longbows + A Chariot dies on that hill, I can shit out Longbows for defense easily.

Aaaaaaand as soon as I get next to the barb city, BARB LONGBOWS. Like, seriously, the same turn. Hsadoif.

Fuck it, might as well try. Three suicide Catapults slam the city, bringing them in the 4 STR range, which is enough for my WE to get 65.9% odds(it dies anyway). LONGBOW VS. LONGBOW! Two die at coinflip odds and two live. But they're so injured, my WARRIOR has 75.9% odds on the Longbow! YOUR WARRIOR HAS DESTROYED A LONGBOW! There's only one left with 0.9 STR!

Next turn, Longbow attacks at 43.2% odds...



AND TAKES THE CITY! It's a moral victory, but a victory nonetheless. Suck it, barbarians! It's actually a really good city, with two Gems resources, Banana, Rice and Spices.

But now Churchill is heading for it! D: But I get peace for 70 gold with Churchill! >D If nothing else, I am surviving! I WILL SURVIVE. I WILL SURVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

I am also able to bump my research to get CS in 3T. Peace treaty with Charlemange ends, which means I get my 73 GPT back, so I can have a reasonable research rate again. CS in, on to Metal Casting in 4T for Forges. Unfortunately, the other barb city is taken by Charlie, but one out of two ain't bad, and it assure me another city or two. I have some Workers improving Circassian, which I have so allowed to keep it's barbaric name, so that's good too.

I decide to head towards Economics, maybe I can manage to get a Merchant naturally and pull off Sid's Sushi or...something. I also got a Great Spy, which I save for a Golden Age.

T186, I found Silk Spitter. Progress! Because I ALSO found Silver Dump! You will see both of these cities in a T200 city showoff. This brings me to a whole EIGHT CITIES! The fruit looms high, like uncomfortably placed underwear!

Christianity spreads to me. At least I have three religions now...the odds of cultural victory are still gratuitously low. Oh, right, cultural victory is disasbled, the victory screen helpfully reminds me. Uuuuuuuuuuuuum.

I might as well go for Sushi anyway. Pericles adopts State Property and Emancipation, but hey, I get Banking in 5Ts! *Snickers*

T200. Let's show off my empire!



My capital, The Bunches. It's still a very nice city and is pulling a lot of my civ's weight. It ended up having to be more production focused than commerce focused, but Moai water tiles + Dye means it ends up having decent commerce anyway.



El Dorado, founded only to get Gold, which is still pretty much all it's useful for. It is really a glorified fishing village, working some cottages and water tiles. I plan to get some Workers over here and put a Windmill on that hill so it can switch to it for the hammer.



Yet another fishing village, Desert Fish. There's nothing really to say about it. Gonna whip the Forge soon.



Foodtopia is my second based city, due to having a ton of food. It's working Merchant specialists for my pipe dream of getting Sid's Sushi and will add two more when a Grocer completes, though I wantthe Harbor I was working on to finish first. I'll probably whip the Grocer.



When it gets up and running, Circassian will probably be my second best city. Lush grassland, decent food and double gems! If I had been able to get here earlier, But it was so jungle choked that barbs just spammed themselves before I could think about it.



Silk Spitter is another pretty good city, though the number of plains leaves it, dissapointingly, merely a high quality fishing palace. The work boat will get it's population growing, anyway. And finally, the saddest city you will see in a civ game...



BEHOLD

SILVER DUMP

I'm not even going to say anything more. It can't get past Size 4 naturally.

Amazingly, I'm ahead of Brennus in score, because he only has 3 cities.

...Apparantly, Brennus doesn't have Banking. I swing it to him for Literature, Drama and 50 Gold. He also lacks Paper, which I get in 4T. BRENNUS BUDDY

I suppose it does make sense we would band together, being as we are 500-700 points behind the next worst civ. I am trying to sneak in the occassional military build, even if enemies will crush me if they attack, just to make my power not quite as pathetic. Paper is in, but Brennus seems to have it partially researched, so I only get 50 Gold for it. ...Oh, he capitulated to Lincoln. FFFFFFFFFFFF. But it doesn't seem to given him any techs, so yay!

Emancipation unhappiness grows. FFFFFF

Asoka becomes a vassal of Charlemange. Welp. Education comes in and I swing it to Brennus for Gunpowder and 10 Gold. Baby steps. Economics in 8. With Foodtopia's happiness cap reached, I hire an Engineer and four Merchants...



Perfect! 12T until probably a Merchant. Economics comes in, so now it's up to Corporations. I spring my Great Spy Golden Age so I can switch to Free Market for free and trade Economics to Brennus for...Philosophy. Hey, it gets me closer to Corporations, and the most expensive thing he would give me anyway is Theology. Also, since The Bunches has nothing else to build, I have it crank out Musketmen to raise my Power rating.

ewjujhuewbgh WHAT DO YOU MEAN BRENNUS' CULTURE STOLE FOODTOPIA'S CRAB. Cornelius Vanderbilt is born, at least. Unfortunately, Brennus/Asoka both have Nationalism by the time I get it, so no trades occur. Amazingly, Nationalism is actually a better economic tech for me than Beaureueueueue at this point! No upkeep + Barracks happiness to counter Emancipation! The ability to Draft is helpful too. Next up is Constitution. Alas, the Golden Age is over so soon...



It's better to be lucky than good! ™

"Churchill adopts State Property!" Oh land it is of thee, oh land of irony...

I get Constitution, but Asoka got it a long time ago and Brennus got it the same turn I did. : < Once again, no trades. Corporations in 6T, anyway.



Emperor Metalman? Is that you?

Corporations in. I trade it to Brennus for Optics and Theology plus 10 Gold and his World Map, Optics advancing my way to Medicine for Sid's Sushi. It also shows a surprising amount of unsettled land, though most of it is tundra-y and not worth settling due to distance. Some are, like, Double Fish or have Wines or stuff I do not have, though. Hmm. I also found the city of Gold Rush: It gets Fish, Clams and can work the Gold El Dorado can't. Churchill completes Rock 'n' Roll: Chemistry in one. Now we head up towards Printing Press. Churchill starts a Golden Age for good measure. At this point, Brennus/Asoka are teching as fast or faster than I, so tech trades are pretty much nonexistant. My capital continues to crap out Muskets while my foes have Infantry. T261 Scientific Method is in, head towards Biology in 10T. Apparantly almost nobody has it? Pericles completes the Apollo Program. The end times near! Call the marines, the army, the navy, the coast guard, the boy scouts! (I still don't have Emancipation)



Charlemange declares war on me, the dick. He must have feared we were becoming too advanced! He has Infantry while I have Muskets and I feel no great want to go through that. And so, Kuro van Banana retires to his luxurious yellow island off the coast of The Bunches and lives a happy retired life while his people burn in 1790 AD. As you can see, my score was catching up to Asoka.



The tech screen. I was almost certainly going to get a good haul for Biology, anyway. Medicine was going to take 18T to research.

Offical Retiring Date: 1790 AD
Final In-Game Score: 1588
# of Cities: 9
# of Cities Lost: 1
GNP: 6th
PROD: 6th
FOOD: 3rd (???????)
Soldiers: 7th
World Wonders built: None
Most Built Unit: Musketman (12)
Most Built Building: Library and Lighthouse (9)
Time Played: 5 hours 16 minutes

Thanks for the game, RB! I was playing way above my head, but it was actually pretty fun trying to beeline Sid's Sushi and I was laughing when YOUR WARRIOR HAS DEFEATED A LONGBOWMAN. I hope my report is enjoyable.

Or are we?!

Here you go.

http://www.dos486.com/civ4/epic28/

Epic 28
Deity is usually beyond my capabilities. I managed several cultural victories and diplomatic victories, but never a military victory and I am not going to try a military solution this time.
Spaceship is tempting because of the Dutch UB, the dike for good production especially when in GA. Still very ambitious for me.
Therefore I decided to try to go for a “cheesy” religious victory.
Settle in place and try to oracle theology



Luckily, Oracle is still available. So now finish Monotheism



Get the Oracle:



Get Theology for free:





Now I have to run Christianity send out missionaries and hope that nobody hates me too much because of my religion and declares war. Brennus and Charlemagne are dangerous in this aspect.



So far so good: AP is in and we can get out of our state religion



Asoka is spreading his religion (Judaism) like crazy. Lincoln, Charlemagne and Chirchill already converted. I need to get Judaism to spread to my empire, so that I can convert too.
I build a crappy city next to Asoka, and he promptly sent a missionary. Mission accomplished I switch to Judaism. You can also see the Christian cities Vijayanagara, Prague and Philadelphia.



As well as the Christian cities London, Corinth and Bibracte



The vote was close: 65 out of 82 just 4 votes more than needed:



Yes, another deity victory is mine:





Thanks for the great epic. It was a lot of fun to play

Sorry for opening a new thread, but I felt this might be important for possible future tournaments and shouldn't get lost inside a large thread.
While playing my first games in the RB chess tournament#1, I noticed that several player obviously lack the software tools which are very common among correspondence chess players. So allow me to point out a few tools, which will even the playing field should you so desire.

What do you need ?

1. A database software which allows you move pieces around on the screen before logging them in. This is a huge advantage compared to calculating everything in your head.
2. A good software will give certain optional hints i.e. mark attacked pieces. To me it's no great fun if I win or lose a game by move 50 because of a simple oversight.
3. A basic opening book so you won't get slaughtered by move 5.
4. An engine kiebitz which helps you check your game afterwards for mistakes or alternative variations.

Downloads:

a) ChessBase Light 2009
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5700

b) Hiarcs Opening Book
http://www.hiarcs.com/book-downloads/H12Book.zip

The only disadvantage is that you can't save your games with the Light version unless you upgrade for 49 Euros. However, chess.com allows to download your games in PGN format which ChessBase can read - so that's not really a huge disadvantage since you can import your games at any time without having to enter all the moves again.

Setup:

1. Install ChessBase.
2. Unzip the Opening Book.
3. Open ChessBase.
4. Click on "File"->"New"->"Open" or "File"->"Open"->"Open Database" to open a new game or import a PGN.
5. On the board screen, make sure that "Help"->"Threat as Arrow" and optionally "Create Threat as Arrow" are checked.
6. On the right click on the "Opening Books" tab. You should have the option to point the software to the Hiarcs book you downloaded earlier.
7. If the game is finished and you want some computer advise, click at the top on "Engine"->"Add Kibitzer: Fritz 6 Light".
8. On the bottom right you should see the strongest next move. With "+" on your keyboard you can display the second strongest move as well (or the 3rd, 4th) "-" displays one move less. I usually use the two strongest moves.
9. Fritz 6 Light has an Elo of about 2533. Modern engines are stronger, but hey, it's free!
10. If everything worked fine, your screen should look like this: