RBP2 Lurker Discussion Thread - No Players!

[Krill]

I'd have to agree unfortunately. Additionally, that means you're giong to have to change your account tag since you're no longer Dogpile Target #1

(jk)

I'm in the market for a new location field...

[m4gill4]

I'm in the market for a new location field...

That's easy! You're at the bottom of the food chain

Krill

/try.humor

[antisocialmunky]

Yeah, they metagamed it poorly but it wouldn't quite be a Sullla report if his group didn't crawl out from some crazy hole that they dug fro themselves would it?

Atleast it is lively now. I agree with whoever complained about spreadsheets and crazy amounts of planning being rather dull.

[scooter]

The only thing team Spulla could have done to prevent this happening would have been to slow their growth and better hide their strengths.

Strongly disagree, they actually badly mishandled diplomacy in this game. They tried to be "nice" to everyone instead of making specific friends. They could've had Nakor on their side if they had made an effort earlier, but as you see now they started way too late. Nakor/DMOC even admitted they would side with Spullla if they hadn't already committed to the CoW.

They also underestimated the importance of relations with Whosit, which they don't know yet, but that might very well be the blow that finishes them.

They also tried to support sunrise's team when it was clear it was a lost cause while pretending to be supportive to Kathlete. The right call would've been to do something to somehow help Kathlete or build goodwill, and use that leverage to work out a deal where they divide up Jowy's land.

So yes, there actually were things they could've done differently that might've prevented this. Maybe an attack was inevitable, but a 5v1 was NOT inevitable and they might be looking at a 2v1 if they had handled the diplomatic scene better. As you know, a 2v1 they could've easily handled, but this 5v1 might be their end.

[dazedroyalty]

Strongly disagree...

I agree with scooter.

[antisocialmunky]

Nah, propping Byz up wasn't really a defacto bad thing. Kathlete would have done something against Mr. Early Academy sooner or later and if Jowy had thrown some metal at Byz then it would have kept Kathlete from organizing the CoW due to the extended war.

However, it was a gamble that failed with nothing gained except for Spiros so we write it off as a failure.

Though then again, it would have been hard to prop up Sunrise after he fell behind in tech.

Also:

WHY IS SULLLA'S THREAD LONGER THAN THE LURKER THREAD?!?

[Krill]

Byz were dead once Paris fell. Kathlete would beat them to catapults, and then they are toast.

As said above, it was never in anyone's interests that Spullla were allowed to tech in peace (christ, Dantski should have choked them asap with skirms. Tech straight to archery, get 2 out, and then go choke him, and then no one has any of these problems).

[Ruff_Hi]

The only thing team Spulla could have done to prevent this happening would have been to slow their growth and better hide their strengths. In a no tech trading game there's no coming back if you fall behind so you can be damn sure that if somebody is pulling ahead so far not only in cities but in GNP as well then it's in everybody else's best interest to take them out sooner rather than later.

I (to some extent) agree with this. They played a very good game early with the optimal play, but getting that early Academy and then advertising it by running binary science was meta-game stupid. If it was me, I would have been running my tech slider at a positive cash flow (that would help to hide their situation until currency).

On the diplo front ... they just couldn't settle on a friend and build on that ... seems they were always trying to leverage any arrangement to maximize its value to India.

I think that there are some lessons in PBEM1 that are very useful here (IMHO ).

[novice]

I (to some extent) agree with this. They played a very good game early with the optimal play, but getting that early Academy and then advertising it by running binary science was meta-game stupid. If it was me, I would have been running my tech slider at a positive cash flow (that would help to hide their situation until currency).

That's easy to say with hindsight, but it's a crazy thing to do in-game. I would never have thought of that.

On the diplo front ... they just couldn't settle on a friend and build on that ... seems they were always trying to leverage any arrangement to maximize its value to India.

Yes and that shines through when every message is carefully composed and nothing is ever communicated spontaneously.

I think that there are some lessons in PBEM1 that are very useful here (IMHO ).

What, you mean how to finish second?

[Ruff_Hi]

What, you mean how to finish second?

I don't hear no fat lady singing yet!