[SPOILERS] Pindicator as Qin Shi of China - Boring Ol' Vanilla

[Ceiliazul]

To extend that thought, this is the 2nd time on the main stage you've gone all puffer-fish on your would be swallower: this and in pb8 after commodore had you dead to rights you gnawed his knees off forever more.

[pindicator]

Thanks!

To extend that thought, this is the 2nd time on the main stage you've gone all puffer-fish on your would be swallower: this and in pb8 after commodore had you dead to rights you gnawed his knees off forever more.

I do take a lot of pride in this and my track record here. If dtay didn't have the appearance of being dogpiled I doubt I would have offered any kind of peace (and Krill burned a small city after I played so hopefully he's doing more than sniping an outpost).

It's funny, dtay and I both made the same mistake this game. We both underestimated our opponent's ability to pivot from a war in the opposite front. I think the difference so far is I gave Cyneheard a reason to take peace -- giving him back conquered cities, paying him gold reparations, gifting him workers -- where dtay has just expected me to accept peace because he's stronger and really given me no reason to accept. Even now I'm sure that if Krill and Old Harry went away dtay would just come back to finish the job. Where I am going out of my way to signal to Cyneheard that I want to keep a peaceful border now, gifting him a settler, and as soon as Llancarfan comes out of revolt I will up the gpt I gift Cyneheard from 100 to 150.

[pindicator]

Turn 177

I immediately regretted offering peace.



Maybe it would have ended in my destruction, but now I won't ever know if my out-dated army could have pushed him off the continent for good. Now I think I've fought my aggressive war. In all likeliness the next war I'm going to be involved in is when somebody invades with stacks of infantry while I'm just getting my rifles online. And if Cyneheard immediately thinks to turn around with his army -- well, he's welcome to. I dont' think I have the energy to fight another war like I did against dtay.

The Cath Bruig people are turning their swords to plowshears



We defeated the legions of the Dark. All we want now is to tend our fields and heal our wounds.

[scooter]

Just read the last couple months of updates. Awesome job here as usual . Quantity over quality triumphing will always be a favorite of mine to see after PB8.

[pindicator]

Thanks Scooter! I think I'm coming to the realization that while I can do really well with military or tactical problems, it's the long-term planning of these games that really is my undoing. I don't think I've made very good strategic planning decisions to get to the point where I had to put together an inspired defense simply to stay alive. Also, I can't help but remember how every time we argued over a course of action in pb13 in hindsight your plan ended up being best

[Ceiliazul]

Thanks Scooter! I think I'm coming to the realization that while I can do really well with military or tactical problems, it's the long-term planning of these games that really is my undoing. I don't think I've made very good strategic planning decisions to get to the point where I had to put together an inspired defense simply to stay alive. Also, I can't help but remember how every time we argued over a course of action in pb13 in hindsight your plan ended up being best

But scooter tripped a bit on tactics... If you stuck together you would have won that one.

[scooter]

Thanks Scooter! I think I'm coming to the realization that while I can do really well with military or tactical problems, it's the long-term planning of these games that really is my undoing. I don't think I've made very good strategic planning decisions to get to the point where I had to put together an inspired defense simply to stay alive. Also, I can't help but remember how every time we argued over a course of action in pb13 in hindsight your plan ended up being best

But scooter tripped a bit on tactics... If you stuck together you would have won that one.

Hah! I do agree with Ceil, but Pindicator, I think you're selling yourself a bit short because you're stuck between two above-average players on this one which never gave you a great chance... I haven't even read your whole thread so I can't analyze strategic decisions really, but you were always going to be in a so-so geopolitical situation I think.

That said, I do think in both of the big games we played together, our most successful moments were when things basically unfolded like this:

1) we chat and throw out a bunch of mostly dumb ideas of what we could do next, mixed in with 1 or 2 smart ones
2) my wheels turn, I offer up a high-level strategic plan that pindicator likes enough to humor me on and/or has a variant of that is a little better.
3) I sketch out how I think it should work
4) pindicator refines the crap out of the logistics/tactics involved which makes the decent idea seem a lot better
5) do it

The hard part as always when you have a teammate is going from step 1 to step 5 without two different personalities/playstyles conflicting. It can happen occasionally, but over time it'll wear on you. I think it's especially hard to make it work if both players are roughly equally involved/invested. The most successful pairings around here either 1) only did it together for one game or 2) clearly had a primary/secondary setup for controlling the civ.

[pindicator]

Well, I'd team up with you again anytime scooter

Turn 179

I was afraid that the other shoe was about to drop and WilliamLP was going to attack. Instead I think ability to be a thorn in dtay's side has caused my other neighbors to not want to touch me; i've done too good a job harassing the (then) leader. Instead WilliamLP has launched his assault eastward:



Also notice that Dreylin canceled my 100gpt payments. I didn't expect that. I thought about offering the whole lump sum over again, but instead decided that it was his choice to cancel the 100gpt and I would just offer him the extra 50gpt this turn that I had planned to do. So we loaded up our envoy with weregild and sent him on his way:



Originally I was going to offer it the turn Llancarfan came out of resistance, but I don't want to give any doubt towards my intentions. Also, I'm starting to suspect the only reason Cyneheard sent his army across my lands was because he expected dtay to win and was going to snipe that holy city. I imagine if he had come east to help me fight dtay he would have kept moving after I took Llancarfan, but I though it odd how he lurked behind with his army and then retreated after I retook my holy city. All the same, he still deserves his blood money for letting me retake my lands and giving me the opportunity to defeat dtay's forces.

Now the effort of rebuilding begins. The city of Comfort was burned to the last by the armies of dtay, and only now have people begun to reclaim those razed lands. They decided to name the city anew, in honor of the great battle that occured in the former city, where our forces first beat the myrkridian hordes and turned the tide of the war.



There are two more locations to be resettled, and they will be over the next few turns. Missionaries are already complete and moving to spread religion the moment our cities are founded



The plan is to finish Economics this turn along with my settler builds. Next turn we will revolt to the ever-uber Free Market. I'm not sure if this works, but I think cities may tick off their revolt turns even during a turn of anarchy. If so then the last turn of anarchy for Llancarfan will take place on the turn we change civics and revolt. If not, then nothing lost.

After Economics I think I will need to get cannons and frigates online. I've won a little bit of reprieve, but nothing more than that.

[Thoth]

I'm not sure if this works, but I think cities may tick off their revolt turns even during a turn of anarchy

The revolt turns count down during anarchy. Whip and draft anger counters also increment during anarchy.

[pindicator]

Brilliant! Economics revolt will come right before we get the 100+ gpt income from Llancarfan then