[Spoilers] Commodore bakes a double entenada.

[Commodore]

What would make you plan to declare war on TBS?

Ps your tech sucks.

Meh. It's absolutely fine. Drafting with tech bonus makes it easy.

[Commodore]

Yeah, I'm tempted to end the game right now.

[superdeath]

Yeah, I'm tempted to end the game right now.

at least make it look like a scout

[Commodore]

So I'm calling this turn's update, 1,000 AD, Rome's high-water mark. Any questions as I write this bad boy?

[Mardoc]

So I'm calling this turn's update, 1,000 AD, Rome's high-water mark. Any questions as I write this bad boy?

Names of all the continents and regions!

How's the astro-settling going, are you wrapping up or still have a lot of land to fill? How does New Rome compare to Old Rome, both in current production and in potential? Are you competing with anyone non-TBS for these lands?

Once you wrap up overseas settlement (now or in fifty turns), what's next for Rome? Any wars planned? Anyone in need of deterrence? Or are you just growing New Rome up to its potential and trying to stay neutral?

How does the plako/pindilewwyn/OT4E conflict look from your perspective? Pindicator is reporting a little,
no one else is reporting at all, so any information would be interesting.

And a repeated question from before, since you now have more info: your opinion on the map?

[Bacchus]

I mean, frankly everything is interesting, but perhaps relations and plans regarding TBS and Pinwyn?

The economic data on such a massive overseas expansion undertaking is also interesting to see. How much of a profit it is now making, what's the colonies' productive capacity, etc.

Also, naval power balance in your seas. Current and forecast.

[Thorite]

I mean, frankly everything is interesting, but perhaps relations and plans regarding TBS and Pinwyn?

The economic data on such a massive overseas expansion undertaking is also interesting to see. How much of a profit it is now making, what's the colonies' productive capacity, etc.

Also, naval balance power in your seas. Current and forecast.

All this and: will there be blood? 

[darrelljs]

Any questions as I write this bad boy?

Still think you can't win?

Darrell

[Krill]

How do you take TBS colonies from him?

[Commodore]

Excellent questions, all. I'll write with them in mind, but if I miss stuff then badger me for clarifications. 
The Consummation of Empire: 1000 AD


Firstly, we have Turn 160, A Strategic Overview:

Pitboss 38 is a game quietly in trouble. The turn timer has been extended to 36 hours and still every other turn there is a pause required. The winners are starting the win more clearly as more and more players find their options limited and closed. Things are not yet so fragile that a blow-up could kill things in a week, but as turns grow longer and prospects get more hopeless the quiet undercurrent towards concession or draw will get stronger.

The juggernaut leader of the game at present is Mackoti, of course. He ate himself a massive chunk out of Rusten, and is now completely untroubled by anyone else as he eats the even nicer empire of Naufragar. Mr. Cairo is basically continuing to exist at Mackoti's sufference; he can be eaten without any interference at all whenever Mack decides he's ripe. A huge New World continent lies northwest of Mackoti to be settled at his leisure, and he's settling it at a leisurely pace, but resources show he is settling. Basic tl;dr, Mack is winning right now because he's growing and nobody can touch him.

The only other real contender at present is TBS. His early Astronomy push ensured he's keeping up in city count with Mackoti but his much crunchier neighbor set limits his high-profit expansions. Dreylin must be to his north so that's not a superpower, but his other neighbors are Dtay, me, and Pinwyn, ouch. Rusten is a thin shield between himself and Mackoti right now, so the poor sorry bastard might be kept as a rump border state into perpituity. TBS made the Taj Mahal and is racing for Liberalism, but I'm not sure if he'll beat Mack...of course the race is between the two Philosophicals. TBS has growth options, but it's either crunchy land neighbors, or fighting for space with me and Old Harry overseas. And he's pissing me off. He's got drafting, for what that's worth.

Not really contenders but within a shout of contender-tier are Team Harry and Pinwyn. Both have dominated a neighbor and have excellent economies. Team Harry I know the least about, but they got a good fast Astronomy so they get to play the colonization game. In a diplomacy game I'd be working with them and Pin to dogpile TBS, but there's no coordination so forget that.

I need to detail Pinwyn (at this point, maybe more Lewdicator) far more here, though. They've gutted the Artist Formerly Known As Gavagai and own a sick shrine. Only one more AFKAG city remains, so it'll be a bit of time for them to mass stuff then they smash it. But they are not going to just sit tight and digest stuff. They've been pushing settlers south and just took a barbarian city on the southern coast...past Plako's conquests. So they are going to continue on to fight Plako. And Plako is checked out (for Plako). So yeah. And given their resolute determination to avoid thinking about anything seaward (no Astronomy push, letting TBS run wild out there) I don't doubt that my little Old Rome is the next step. Which sucks. Because I can handle knights right now (pikes, praets, castles), but Pinwyn can definitely reach cuirs and cavs. Which means I need cannon.

Everyone else is food, an obstacle, or an obstacle with delusions. I'm going to strive to avoid delusions, so how then should I behave?

That requires an honest appraisal of the empire here at my high point. That'll be part 2...