[PB64] Amicalola Gets To Heaven with Tarkeel and Ljubljana

[Magic Science]

T226 - The World At War 
Well, having presumably annoyed everyone by delaying the game for a week, it's happening. The Final Dogpile is upon us!  

I like when players use invented proper nouns in their reports. Therefore, I like "The Final Dogpile".

"The Final Dogpile. The Dogpile To End All Dogpiles. The long-prophesized ultimate conflict between good(?) and evil() in which this fallen world will at last be broken and remade."

 

[Amicalola]

T226 - The World At War 
Well, having presumably annoyed everyone by delaying the game for a week, it's happening. The Final Dogpile is upon us!  

I like when players use invented proper nouns in their reports. Therefore, I like "The Final Dogpile".

"The Final Dogpile. The Dogpile To End All Dogpiles. The long-prophesized ultimate conflict between good(?) and evil() in which this fallen world will at last be broken and remade."

 

I dibs the 'good' team label!

[Amicalola]

T227
The battle for the north rages on. This turn, we lose two elephants and a knight, but kill four knights and a galley. I think the tide is turning here. 



Of course, the real problem is the units that SD is sucking away from the main theatre. The Heroic Last Stand at Fever Dreams takes out three cannons and a couple of real units, but the city is inevitably razed. 


Commodore joins the fray here too, and we move our siege to counter. The real problem is going to be hitters; Naufragar pillaged our canal fort, so we currently only have about 15 real hitters available.  

Commodore also sails for the islands. I shipped one more boatload of defenders up here, but now we're on our own.  


I'm a bit worried that Commodore is hiding an extra Navigation promotion on some or all of his galleys, so I've split the garrison in two here.

As Commodore joins the fray, our luxury deals end. Alongside war weariness, this causes famine and rioting across the Empire. Apparently the people don't enjoy World War I. 



Such is the need for units at the front that we exacerbate the riots further; even garrisons are being shipped out. 

[Gavagai]

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, we have split Nauf in two and you are enjoying a peaceful stable border with a reasonable neighbor.

[Zed-F]

Oh, you mean in that parallel universe someone else was playing in your spot?

You do know what your reputation is, right?

[Amicalola]

T228
I am still pleased that the opponents are dogpiling me, and hopefully the fact that it's about to work creates future scenarios like this again. 

I am not pleased that it's because we got something like a 1-2% bottom result in the Battle for the Island. We had a 95% chance to wipe Commodore's forces here (usually with garrison units to spare), and instead two units remain while many of ours died. He will not take it immediately, but we cannot spare the reinforcements to prevent his galleon or at best his next wave from doing so. Well, actually he may take it immediately - those muskets just earned an awful lot of experience from their unlikely victories. We also lost our other fight this turn; a pikeman attacking a knight at 70% when the knight had flawlessly won a 70% the turn before.  
 

So it goes; I really don't know how to articulate the misfortune of our combats throughout this entire game other than complaining, and I've done enough of that already, so I will limit my post here. I'm sure I'll get over it like I got over all the other ridiculous strings.

[Amicalola]

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, we have split Nauf in two and you are enjoying a peaceful stable border with a reasonable neighbor.

I don't think that's the slam dunk you seem to be presenting. In this world, I've been game leader since you were dogpiled (and will be, for another 2 turns or so ). In that world, I'm considerably behind you with no easy way to catch up before I become your next target.

[Amicalola]

Actually, I will complain try to articulate my frustration a little better. Its my thread and I can do what I want. I have made a million mistakes this game, as does everyone in every civ game). But there are some things that I've done right, particularly balancing difficult-to-maintain unit budgets, and I'm just getting punished anyway. Losing any of these individually is annoying, but all of them is just... And the effects are snowballing, both immediately (the 3rd was only possible thanks to the 2nd) but also long-term. Imagine how different the game would be ifeven one of these hadn't happened:

Budget (well, get lucky and guess) the right number of turns to get walls before Gavagai's axes arrive to retake his city? Doesn't matter, lose a 75%, then an 80% fight to leave him with a super promoted axe next door instead.

Budget the right amount of units to stop Gavagai's southern attack while also barely keeping the (bankrupt) economy miraculously afloat? Doesn't matter, lose three 85% fights to axemen in a row, giving him more units and super-promoted axes at that. 

Budget the right amount of units to stop Naufragar during the first war while also barely tying Gavagai's (unlikely-large) stack down? Doesn't matter, lose a string of unlikely catapult combats that swing the rest of the fights and lose No Reptiles.

Budget (gamble) the right amount of units to stop Commodore's attack on the island while also (hopefully) trying to hold the 100+ invading units. Win the gamble, but it doesn't matter, get a <2% negative result that loses the island, and thus (likely) the game. 


Like, yeah, I get it, I haven't played perfect. I never do. But these repeated punishments when I've actually done things right are incredibly frustrating. 

Ok, hopefully it's out of my system now. I know this still isn't the most unlucky game ever, or probably even close (never forget for Hitru and Fintourist!), and I will try to remember that. Peace and love, Amica, peace and love. 

[Gavagai]

Amica, do you want my commentary on your complaints and, more generally, my opinion on what and why happened in this game? It is your thread and you understandably take this stuff close to heart and I am going to voice a strong and pointed disagreement with your assessment. So, if my contrarian opinion is not welcomed here, it will be totally fine.

[Amicalola]

Amica, do you want my commentary on your complaints and, more generally, my opinion on what and why happened in this game? It is your thread and you understandably take this stuff close to heart and I am going to voice a strong and pointed disagreement with your assessment. So, if my contrarian opinion is not welcomed here, it will be totally fine.

You're welcome to. But you might be arguing against an opinion(s) of mine that does not exist. For me this is a game of repeatedly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I tend to think I have the best starting position and got very lucky in some ways. I think I played quite badly; you can read earlier how I over expanded terribly, which one could rightlyblame for my loss. The first war against you is another example that I have criticised at length. Combat has just been really grim, which is where my frustration here comes from.