Hi,
I'd like to join any smaller, more or less default settings game, preferably earth map, culture-specific starting locations, but I'm not picky. A reasonable crew with participants who don't use lots of exclamation marks in every sentence would be great, too!!!! About the game speed, if it's not about forwarding the save within six hours, but rather 48, I'll be happy if you let me know about your PBEM game.
regards,

Grendel

location: GMT+1
game experience: modest (but since Civ I)
fav civ: Japan, Germany
gaming-style: creative non-quitter
contact: icq, aim, skype, msn, y!, VoiceIP possible



*************

game update [07.03.2006]:

Player replacement found

game update [18.02.2006]:

Save Game is underway

organizational update [14.02.2006]:

There's now a replacement list, so if you want to play but all slots are full (like right now, Feb 14th ;) ) you can choose to wait until someone drops out of the game. For inclusion into the replacement list, you have to send me the following info:

favorite civ (of the ones that play): optional
location or GMT: obligatory
emailaddress: obligatory

For inclusion I need all obligatory info, applications with partly missing info will not be considered (and I don't have the time to dangle after everyone to collect missing data, so just be sure to send both GMT AND emailaddress, thx).

:king:

Hey Grendel -

Roger the exclamation marks.

PBEM with culture specific civs on the Earth map - which is huge - would be a great game. It would take years to finish with all human players. But with perhaps four humans and the rest AI, and possibly with Quick Speed, it could move right along.

By culture specific starting locations, I presume you mean that Germans start in Northern Europe, not in South America or some other unusual location.

It would be even more interesting if the game players represented civs from the part of the world where the game player now lives - a German player for the German civ, and so forth.

My work keeps me online always, so I'll turn the game.

Let's see who else responds.

-- Elbridge

I'd be interested. Reachable at: peyna at only internet dot net. I live in the midwest U.S., I suppose if the Miami were a civ they would be the most appropriate =] Otherwise I guess I'd have to be a North American Civ. Unless my ancestors count, then I could be Northern or Eastern European.

I also would like to take part. my e-mail address is:
meranwe [at] invitel [dot] hu

Hey Grendel -

Roger the exclamation marks.

PBEM with culture specific civs on the Earth map - which is huge - would be a great game. It would take years to finish with all human players. But with perhaps four humans and the rest AI, and possibly with Quick Speed, it could move right along.

I see - I hoped that somebody already has created a smaller earth map (those are most fun imho), but 4+AI is just as well.

By culture specific starting locations, I presume you mean that Germans start in Northern Europe, not in South America or some other unusual location.

Yes, I do. Is there a different term for this type of game?

It would be even more interesting if the game players represented civs from the part of the world where the game player now lives - a German player for the German civ, and so forth.

I agree. I'm located in Germany, so I'd offer to play the Germans.

Ve vill rule ze world. Just sit ant vait.

Grendel

i am hungarian.. so which civ should i play? i really would like to play..:rolleyes:

kate

i am hungarian.. so which civ should i play? i really would like to play..:rolleyes:

kate

Geographically, I'd guess the Romans or Germans would be the best you could do. I think Hungary was part of the Roman empire at one point in time. Of course, so were Spain, France, England and Greece.

edit -

Would love to play if Im not too late :)

alanatnorthnetdotcomdotau

Thanks GrendelS

Room for one more?

tom.hayllar@gmail.com

er, tom[dot]hayllar[at]gmail[dot]com

i am hungarian.. so which civ should i play? i really would like to play..

Or the Greeks.

im in to... if there is any room

location: GMT+1 (i guess? im on east coast so...)
game experience: pathetic (only since civ3 but i played a lot kinda)
fav civ: India
gaming-style: non-quiter, spasmatic
contact:aim, skype, msn

Hi everybody,
the rooster is full, we have already all players (but we're looking for someone who would be willing to keep the player passwords).

If you leave your Emailaddress and location (check your winows clock for GMT info, east coast of Denmark is GMT+1 ;-) ) I'll put you on the replacement list. If there's a free spot, I'll contact you.

ciao

Grendel

so i guess that means i can't join?

so i guess that means i can't join?

No, of course you can. But only if one of the current players quits (which I hope won't happen, but you never know).

Room for one more?

tom.hayllar@gmail.com

er, tom[dot]hayllar[at]gmail[dot]com

I'll set up a replacement list. For details, take a look into the first post in this thread later this day. Whoever wants to jump on the train as soon as a slot is vacated, I'll send an invitation to the first person in the list to ask whether there's still interest to play. If so, the next email contains pw and save.

Hi all,
just sent the save to Meranwe. To everybody: Please check whether

1. the leaderhead is the one you specified
2. the starting technologies are correct
3. the succession within the game is as follows:

Grendel
Meranwe
Randle
Sir Elbridge
Ale_Beer

4. have fun

I needed to modify Rhye's earth map eight times. First, trying to modify the map's players from eighteen to eight didn't work. Still don't know how to work the world builder, but I luckily found something much better:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=144414
I didn't notice it first, but since I wanted to change the default order of civs in Rhye's map, I accidently changed all starting techs because of it and needed to manually reconstruct them (which is why I'd like to ask you to check it). Leaderheads should be correct as well, I changed those according to your wishes as well. Starting positions are untouched, just as any other option in the game. Tech trade should not be possible.

After that, I only had to convert the savegame with
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=153759
to a pbem format.

ciao

Grendel :king:

OK Grendel.

You have worked hard on the set-up. Thanks!

I look forward to a good game.

im ready but i dont know what is the email address of the next player ?

sent to Randle, good luck! :)

sent to Grendel, cheers

save game is on the way to Rome

p.s.: one request - if you need more than a day to forward, pls drop a note in the thread, otherwise I'll be sending out mails after 2 days if nothing came back yet and pester the last known player with unneccessary Qs ;)

sent to Randle

sent to Inca (21 Feb 06; 8:00 am)

I will be out of town from Monday, February 27th 11:00 GMT until Wednesday, February 28th 01:00 GMT.

Thanks.

savegame has been resent to Alebeer on the 24th, mail about status is out, we'll see what happens until the 28th...

not that much to play yet... save game sent to Meranwe

it takes so long to open it, and i think it will take more later.. am i right? (btw: the save is sent to Randle)

Kate

Meranwe, yep. What's your computer's config? If you're close to the minimum requirements, lower all graphics settings, that should help. I have even less than the minimum but can play fine with "low" settings throughout.

i think high, but i have no problems on standard maps, it seems i have on biggers:)

3900 BC sent to Sir Eldridge (Inca)

(oh, and I'm back)

Sir Eldridge, do you have the save? The last sign of life was almost 48 hours ago ;-)

Played and passed to Asoka 01:08 GMT 1 Mar

We are herding llamas . . .

Another 48 hours passed, I've sent an Email to Ale_beer, but it seems we've lost a player. Too bad, but I'll be looking into the replacement list today. Sir Elbridge, could you pass me the latest save?

:king:

A mail has gone out to the first player in the replacement list, I hope the save will be forwarded in the next two days if I recieve the last player's savegame in time :)
Also, if anybody new is interested to play, the replacement list is empty ;)


:king:

Who would I be replacing, and what is the in-game status of the Civ? Also,what happened to the two replacement players listed above on this thread?

I'm glad that it at least happened this early in the game as opposed to much further in. We're only 3 turns in.

I'm glad that it at least happened this early in the game as opposed to much further in. We're only 3 turns in.

I'm not sure the point of time makes much of a difference to the game and current players, but it sure does for the new player. :) Since we just started, any new player has an almost fresh start, the other players won't even notice there's somebody new to the fore. If we were further in the game and everybody already made contact to each other, then there could be a noticable difference imho, like in game play style, sudden strategy changes etc. but I assume this won't likely happen before the Common Era - we're quite far away from each other.

Finding new players, whether we're at 3850 B.C. or 10 A.D. or 1600 A.D. is always the same task. I tried out internet play earlier and people hopped on and off games no matter which point they were in the game, so I suppose if the next one drops out 1000 or 2000 years later, I'll still have candidates who are interested. Let's hope for the best that we won't need any.

:king:

LouLong just informed me that the new player recieved his pw.

I love it when a plan comes together.

:king:

where is the save now?

somewhere between Sir Elbridge and Chinetter, the new player for India

save recieved by Chinetter yesterday night, forwarded to Meranwe a minute ago... I think for the second PBEM I'll set up, I'll see that we play online for the first hour or two, to overcome the "forward-automatted-moves-with-one-unit" phase ;) and then switch to PBEM

sent to Randle

sent to Sir Elbridge (Inca)

on randle again :)

on randle again :)
We're moving now! Back to Inca

Anyone up for trying to pick an hour two for everyone to try to be available to try move through some of these early turns a little quicker than 24-48 hours a turn? It might be difficult to coordinate given our locations, but it's worth a shot.

okay, when?

okay, when?

Weekend anytime other than 0500 GMT - 1200 GMT works for me.

In my case, it's a little bit difficult, although Sundays (0800 - 2400 GMT) are usually free (or less cramped with duties than other days). Since family and work take their toll, I couldn't say it in advance more than an hour, if at all. We'd have to coordinate it more or less spontaneously and probably by using instant messengers, to see whoever is currently online. Another option might be to plan a week or two in advance, but even in those cases it always can happen that somebody's plans change. I think Sir Elbridge is in the same position as me, but we'd need feedback from all first and take it from there.

So that already narrows us down to 1200-2400 GMT on Sunday. How about everyone else?

The nice thing with PBEM is you wouldn't need to be that available; a turn maybe every 10-15 minutes or so would be the fastest it would go anyway.

save sent to Meranwe. Sorry that I needed two days, this weekend was no time for anything :-/

passed to randle :)

So that already narrows us down to 1200-2400 GMT on Sunday. How about everyone else?

Since there hasn't been an answer by the Incas and Indians, it's either they haven't time at all on weekends, but I think they didn't recieve the notification that there's a new post in this thread (I'm currently having issues with this). I'll send an email to everyone, just to be sure everyone knows.

The nice thing with PBEM is you wouldn't need to be that available; a turn maybe every 10-15 minutes or so would be the fastest it would go anyway.

Yes and No. If we played PBEM "simultaneously", you're absolutely right, I'm doing that with Civ3 sometimes, with 2 players it's about 10 minutes, with 5 players it would be an hour for a turn. I need 3 minutes alone to get into Civ4, starting the save takes another 2-3 minutes. I bought a new computer though, and if I don't short-out during the assembly, it'll be probably less. Keep your fingers crosse.

As far as I understand the MP changes in Civ4, it is possible to switch back and forth from PBEM to onlinegaming and back, it's only that all players have to be present and do their turn. So, within an hour we could play dozens of turns and go back to PBEM after that. I'll look around and try to inform myself before we actually try it ;)

I've been extremely busy with work - especially on fridays and saturdays lately, I don't think any other day than sunday is suitable for a meeting online...

:king:

I have been absent from the forum - no excuse, just busy with life. But our game continues as the file moves around the world.

GrendelS email this morning got my attention. Trying to arrange a PBEM session with all players present will be difficult given our different time zones. As I key this, it is 7:25 AM here in California, and 4:25 PM in Germany.

Perhaps there is some Direct IP solution. Until then, I'll keep moving the game along one turn at a time.

Where is the game presently? I last played a turn 3 days ago.

India here, I am in the U.S. Central time zone so two hours later than Sir Elbridge. With some folks in Europe it seems unlikely that we could arrange a live-play session but I'm certainly willing to try. Note however that I will be traveling from March 30 through April 2.

I have been absent from the forum - no excuse, just busy with life. But our game continues as the file moves around the world.

Life comes first :)

GrendelS email this morning got my attention. Trying to arrange a PBEM session with all players present will be difficult given our different time zones. As I key this, it is 7:25 AM here in California, and 4:25 PM in Germany.

It could only work with two time zones which we have to put in relation, weekdays is almost impossible for any of us (who are working, students are a different matter), and I also work on Saturdays, so it's narrowed down to sundays. If everybody posts his time window in GMT, we can see whether it could work at all.

It's only Westcoast/Central U.S. and Europe GMT+2 (changed today from +1 because of summer time). As long as Ale_Beer was playing it would have been impossible since he's located in Australia. So, we could be playing in the evening hours and you three (Inca, India, America) in the morning/noon.

Perhaps there is some Direct IP solution. Until then, I'll keep moving the game along one turn at a time.

I'll let you know as soon as I have something, but let's first see all player's time windows. If anybody wants to look for info about this, I won't be mad at him

:king:

Where is the game presently? I last played a turn 3 days ago.

I've forwarded 3400 B.C. to Rome yesterday at 07:47 (a.m.). Usually, I can't play at all on some week's fridays and saturdays, depends on my work schedule.

:king:

I haven't seen a save in a couple days; I'm now traveling until Sunday evening.

I last sent the save onto Sir Elbridge Mar 26 at 15:00 GMT.

Guess who was the culprit who played the save yesterday but forgot to email it to Rome...

:king:

Sent to Elbridge

Reading http://civfanatics.com/civ4/warlords/ I started thinking about backwards-compatibility. Let's say, if we update to the expansion pack's patch level and our save is not playable anymore, because I tricked the system by using a SP map/scenario to use it in MP, what do we do then? Installing and uninstalling the upgrade for one game only would be tedious imho.

I hope the programmers have considered this.

Herandar, for "normal", unmodified save games, I guess they won't forget the PBEM players. Nevertheless, this game was actually a SP scenario, and I used an inofficial tool to convert it to MP - that's what I'm afraid might not work with the next patch (or expansion, for that matter). There's no other way to play MP on an earth map, though. There's nothing we can do atm anyway, but I thought I'll just throw this thought on the board and read your reponses.

:king:

I would think that if it saves as a MP game, it will play as one, no matter what the map looks like.

I will be out of town from 4/13 09:30 GMT until 4/18 01:00 GMT.

I would think that if it saves as a MP game, it will play as one, no matter what the map looks like.

It should be possible to have a patched and unpatched install on your computer at the same time, installed to different directories; that wouldn't be terribly inconvenient at all.

save sent to Meranwe.

Happy Easter, everyone!

:king:

Hey folks, this is India in the Earth Game...I have a couple of questions:

a) will the game be able to continue under the 1.61 patch? (which I've installed and am quite happy with, it's fixed some persistent Civ4 bugginess for me)

b) I'm kind of questioning the viability of PBEM Civ4...I mean at the rate that this seems to go, we aren't likely to even move past the game's opening phase before the end of 2006. Honestly that pace doesn't seem to provide much of a gaming experience.
I wonder if we might instead try playing a game with this Pitboss thing, of which they released an update with the new patch. One question I have about that is whether it's true that someone has to leave the game up and running 24/7 as a Pitboss server...if true I might even be able to do that. (The key question being whether it is stable enough to survive periodic minimizing when my wife needs to use the computer that would be dedicated to it.) Is someone here familiar with playing via Pitboss?

Hey folks, this is India in the Earth Game...I have a couple of questions:

a) will the game be able to continue under the 1.61 patch? (which I've installed and am quite happy with, it's fixed some persistent Civ4 bugginess for me)

heh
If you didn't write about 1.6.1, I wouldn't even know about it ;)
I don't know if it works with it, but we're soon going to find out... I'll install it and see what happens, same's true for all of you.


b) I'm kind of questioning the viability of PBEM Civ4...I mean at the rate that this seems to go, we aren't likely to even move past the game's opening phase before the end of 2006.

It is not the fastest game, but PBEM games usually take several years to complete.

Honestly that pace doesn't seem to provide much of a gaming experience.

I guess currently you just have to forward the save without even moving one or two units occasionaly (which is true in my case for instance). This is certainly not very exciting, but the tension is building up (albeit slow, slow, slow).

I wonder if we might instead try playing a game with this Pitboss thing, of which they released an update with the new patch. One question I have about that is whether it's true that someone has to leave the game up and running 24/7 as a Pitboss server...if true I might even be able to do that. (The key question being whether it is stable enough to survive periodic minimizing when my wife needs to use the computer that would be dedicated to it.) Is someone here familiar with playing via Pitboss?

Afaik, one of us would have to run the Pitboss server 24/7, this is true. I'm not familiar with the procedure how to move the game to a PB style game though and I also don't know if it is possible. I initiated the game in mind that there are other players who just can't play every day. Changing the mode of play and its speed would require every current player in the game to agree to speed it up. I for sure wouldn't mind - anything that makes the group happy I'm certainly not going to sabotage - but I also would miss 2-3 turns each week if we played turns in 24 hour phases. ;)

You decide (but also check if it's possible at all first)

:king:

Well, the save I just got appears to have been played under the patch, so I need to update before I can play it I guess.

Of course, now that I've updated, I can't play, because my computer has trouble reading the CIV IV CDs (I had to borrow someone else's CD drive to install the game with my CDs), so I either have to wait for a new no-cd patch or I can mess around with daemon tools and see if I can get that to work. I'll keep you all posted.

Okay, so the update is not a problem at all. The save apparently has already been updated by someone along the way, so you will need to patch before being able to play the save.

And, I've got it to work and sent the save on to Elbridge.

just sent the (correct) save to Meranwe

I couldn't say I notice much of a difference between the last patch and this one, but then otoh, there's not much to do in a turn yet and I don't play other CivIV games beside this one... ;)

:king:

just sent the (correct) save to Meranwe

I couldn't say I notice much of a difference between the last patch and this one, but then otoh, there's not much to do in a turn yet and I don't play other CivIV games beside this one... ;)

:king:

So YOU'RE the reason I got the wrong turn in the mail =]

mea culpa...


Sun Tzu says, confuse your enemies


:king:

so now i sent the correct save to Randle just a second ago :P

so now i sent the correct save to Randle just a second ago :P

Danke, sent on to Elbridge this morning.

Danke, sent on to Elbridge this morning.

Well, that was a few days ago... who has the save right now?

Well, that was a few days ago... who has the save right now?

2680 BC was sent to Sir Elbridge on 4/24 at 11:00 AM (GMT -4)

Save sent to Meranwe.

"nothing happened today"

hmm?

here's the original quote
https://ideotrope.org/index.pl?node_id=9280

it was a dull day in the German empire :)

:king:

sorry Grendel i couldnt answer, but now i ve just played my turn and sent to the next, Randle ;)

sorry Grendel i couldnt answer, but now i ve just played my turn and sent to the next, Randle ;)

Why thank you. And for the record; something DID happen in Washington today. (and the save has been sent to Elbridge)

Why thank you. And for the record; something DID happen in Washington today. (and the save has been sent to Elbridge)

Did someone declare independence from the nonexisting British empire? :)

:king:

Did someone declare independence from the nonexisting British empire? :)

:king:

Haha, not quite. Although I guess they did technically take something that belongs to the British.

they? something? you're making me very curious. :-)



(it couldn't hurt to disclose info at this point in the game, we're all too far apart anyway)

:king:

they? something? you're making me very curious. :-)



(it couldn't hurt to disclose info at this point in the game, we're all too far apart anyway)

:king:

Apparently Washington thought it would be a good idea to hire some people to go over to England and drag a whole bunch of giant stones back over the Atlantic and stand them up in a circle.

The people aren't very impressed, but they do seem to have used the stones to determine the size of the earth. Perhaps they will bring future benefits for the society.

wow, congratulations - I must be doing something wrong, I don't think I produced stuff aquivalent to the 120 hammers Stonehenge costs.

:king:

Are some of the players in the game AI controlled?

Are some of the players in the game AI controlled?

I dearly hope so - otherwise somebody managed to get into our game without the admin knowing about it ;-)
Germans, Romans, Americans, Inkas and Indians are controlled by humans. Everybody else should be AI. I guess you had your first encounter of the fourth kind?

:king:

I dearly hope so - otherwise somebody managed to get into our game without the admin knowing about it ;-)
Germans, Romans, Americans, Inkas and Indians are controlled by humans. Everybody else should be AI. I guess you had your first encounter of the fourth kind?

:king:

Haha, yeah, I didn't think Montezuma's actions seemed very human. How does trade and what not work between players in PBEM? does it just take 2 turns to complete something?

Haha, yeah, I didn't think Montezuma's actions seemed very human. How does trade and what not work between players in PBEM? does it just take 2 turns to complete something?

For private communication, I'd use email - if anybody needs the address of another player, let me know (but you should keep a copy of our old emails). For public communication, I'd suggest this thread, or just send an email to everybody. Normally, it'd take two turns, but if it works as in Civ3, you'd talk about a deal before your turn, place a contract and then send whatever your trade was about as a present, the other player does it too. Not sure if it works like that in Civ4, since I haven't played a PBEM yet, but we'll find out sooner or later. Whatcha wanna trade? :D

:king:


p.s.: What did Montezuma do that seemed so strange no player would ever do it? I haden't have the pleasure to see the Civ4 AI in action yet - at least not in PBEM... but if you had the diplomacy screen open and recieved feedback about your offer, then... sure, it's definitely not a human player ;)

What did Montezuma do that seemed so strange no player would ever do it? I haden't have the pleasure to see the Civ4 AI in action yet - at least not in PBEM... but if you had the diplomacy screen open and recieved feedback about your offer, then... sure, it's definitely not a human player ;)

Well, I don't think anyone is at a point to be trading anything yet; not enough routes or resources; but he had a scout just hanging around on one square for a long time which I found to be unusual. I'll know Montezuma is AI for sure when he attacks me every turn of the game.

Wow, I got 2 saves sent to me in 7 hours, I think that's a record =] Too bad I can't play until I get home in a few hours.

Wow, I got 2 saves sent to me in 7 hours, I think that's a record =] Too bad I can't play until I get home in a few hours.

argh, that's far too late - quit the job, quick! :D

:king:

...which reminds me of something...
1000 clues that you are already too obsessed with Civ IV! (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=129409&page=14)

:king:

I'll be out of town and unavailable from Sunday night through Tuesday morning (May 7-May 9) and then Wednesday night through Saturday night. (May 10-May 13) (All GMT -4)

If I could get the incoming save before tomorrow afternoon, my absence shouldn't delay the game at all =]

Just a note that while I am leaving today and can't play until Sunday, I have not received a save since May 7, 2006 8:18 AM.

Just a note that while I am leaving today and can't play until Sunday, I have not received a save since May 7, 2006 8:18 AM.

that's o.k. - I've recieved one this night and forwarded it a few hours ago to Meranwe.

safe travel


:king:

that's o.k. - I've recieved one this night and forwarded it a few hours ago to Meranwe.

safe travel


:king:

And I got the save right before I was getting ready to leave, so it will be sent on to Elbridge shortly. =]

recieved the save some three hours ago, played (there was something to do, wow ;) ) and forwarded it to Meranwe. I also looked through the stats section, looks like someone got himself a real nice civ already, double my population, high productivity, lots of €€€, you name it. :D

:king:

recieved the save some three hours ago, played (there was something to do, wow ;) ) and forwarded it to Meranwe. I also looked through the stats section, looks like someone got himself a real nice civ already, double my population, high productivity, lots of €€€, you name it. :D

:king:

Montezuma?

Montezuma?

I don't know who it is, but I'll take your word for it, if he's in your neighborhood already you should see his score.

I can only see numbers in the graph, like I'm first, second... or last (argh :cry: )... I also see my "rivals" :mischief:, their best performance and the worst, and the details... the ones for production, population size etc. for our best player (or AI perhaps) are astonishing. I guess higher developement can be explained through leader traits (higher birth rate, industrous, thus higher production rate when building wonders etc.)... but I am industrous and expansive, so those advantages should actually support my civ - or I just fail at this game. :D

:king:

I'm not sure who it is really, but I don't think it's Montezuma either. He's not that far ahead of me.

I'm not sure who it is really, but I don't think it's Montezuma either. He's not that far ahead of me.

Does anybody else have contact with another civ? The Germans and the Romans occupy little Europe, and the Americans have obviously met the Aztecs. I can't remember how I set up the map I got, but it should be all eight slots taken and one on each continent or so.

:king:

Ocian in view! O! the joy.

(only 3,705 years early)

i played the map in an online game once, with the russian civ, they have a pretty big territory, with 18 civs... noone really disturb them, maybe i should have chosen that as the russian ppl were in Hungary for a long time ;)

i played the map in an online game once, with the russian civ, they have a pretty big territory, with 18 civs... noone really disturb them, maybe i should have chosen that as the russian ppl were in Hungary for a long time ;)

Yeah, Russia - as the Asian continent as a whole - is just plain huge. In little ol' Europe though, there's apparently not enough space for anyone, as centuries of wars over land and ressources have shown.

:king:

I will be out of town and unavailable Sunday through Wednesday.

--

I've returned and sent the (correct) save on to Elbridge.

No one in all the empire had any real power but the Caesar, and many of the later emperors were weak. The people were burdened by heavy taxes, and this money was wasted on things which did no good. Everywhere existed the curse of slavery, and the people had forgotten how to be brave in war. Even the wealthy and intelligent Romans, weakened by luxury, could no longer lead in peace or on the battlefield. Learning itself declined. No more fine poems or books were written, and the buildings were not so beautiful as before. The world seemed to be dying.

In course of time things would perhaps have come right again, just as a man recovers from a long sickness, but this was not to be. Outside of the Roman Empire, in the region of dark forests across the Rhine and the Danube, had long dwelt a fierce and sturdy race called the Teutons, or Germans. When the Romans were conquering all the other peoples it seemed as if Germany, too, would fall beneath their sway.

But the Teutons dearly loved their freedom, and when Meranwe had succeeded in subduing some of their tribes, they suddenly revolted, under the lead of a brave chief named Hergrendel. As the legions of the great Roman emperor were toiling through the wild Teutoburger forest in pursuit of the rebels, Hergrendel and his strong warriors suddenly fell upon them and destroyed the whole force.

The Romans were thus taught that Germany must be free. Though they had many other wars with the Teutons, and sometimes defeated them in battle, even the strongest Caesars had to content themselves with guarding their own frontier.

Bands of the Germans soon began trying to break over the Roman boundaries for the sake of plunder. One large party which thus invaded Gaul had been destroyed by Meranwe Caesar. But though constantly driven back, the Germans kept returning to the attack. A large part of the Roman army had to be kept on the Rhine and the Danube to check them. But as the empire grew weaker and weaker, this became always more difficult to do.

Strong rulers like Meranwestantine the Great tried to strengthen the empire so that it might better resist the barbarians. He thought it would be better if the provinces in the east should have a capital of their own, since the city of Rome was too far away. They did not get the chance to build Meranwestantine. When weak Caesars came into power all went wrong again.

The Downfall of Rome (1360B.C.)

Now appeared a new and terrible danger. From Northern Europe swept, like a swarm of destroying locusts, a fierce German race of wild Axemen. Armed to the teeth, hideous of form, and cruel and savage in disposition, these people, with their overwhelming numbers, swept all before them.

The German tribes strove more fiercly thanever to cross the Roman boundaries, and at last the weakening legions gave way before them. When a Teutonic people called the Goths appeared on the Danube, and begged permission to cross, the Romans made the fatal mistake of allowing this huge multitude of barbarians to enter their territory. But when they had crossed the river the Goths soon defied the Roman emperor, defeated his army, and slew him in a great battle at Lutetia.

All chance of keeping out the barbarians was now lost, and one tribe of Germans after another swarmed over the Rhine and the Danube, pillaging and destroying.

Even more cruel and destructive than the Goth tribes were the fierce Germans, who, under the leadership of their terrible chieftain, Grendel, followed at their heels. To the terrified Romans it seemed, indeed, that the Germans left nothing but smoking ashes in their track, and with trembling lips they repeated Grendel's awful boast, that the grass never grew where his armies had fought. It seemed that before their onslaught civilization would be blotted out. On the battlefield of Rome, the fate of the empire was decided. Long the issue was in doubt, the Roman defenders fought bravely to the end. But when the king of the Germans was slain, his warriors charged with such desperate courage to avenge him. When night came, Meranwe was beaten and Europe saved.

When the Eternal City herself was taken and sacked by the northern invaders, a long night for art, learning, and industry began.

[text borrowed and modified (http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/preservation/geo/europe/page19.htm)]

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/3932/civ4screenshot00014jz.th.jpg (http://img227.imageshack.us/my.php?image=civ4screenshot00014jz.jpg) http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/7273/civ4screenshot00036jc.th.jpg (http://img381.imageshack.us/my.php?image=civ4screenshot00036jc.jpg)
:king:

Never expected anyone to be out so soon.

dont forget to mention, that you said our nations will be in peace, and grow together. thats why i havent built an army, because i trusted in you.

dont forget to mention, that you said our nations will be in peace, and grow together. thats why i havent built an army, because i trusted in you.

Well, your people will still grow, just without you there. Unless he treats you like the US treated the American Indians, then your people are screwed.

Well, i will never know this. But anyway, i wish you nice long gaming. See you all in another PBEM :p

Sent save to Elbridge on Jun 4, 2006 at 10:29 PM.

who's got the save now? Last time I've seen it was on June 8th 04:17 (GMT+1)

who's got the save now? Last time I've seen it was on June 8th 04:17 (GMT+1)

I sent 1000 BC on at June 8th, 06:03 (GMT-4)

I'll be out of town from the 15th to the 22nd...

Finally got my Internet connection fixed; apparently someone accidently disconnected me while connecting a neighbor. I sent the save on to Elbridge as of 9:15 PM, Tuesday (GMT-4)

I'm back... and the last save I got is 12 days old... guys?

I'm back... and the last save I got is 12 days old... guys?

"Earth_Game_2006_BC-0965_to_Elbridge.Civ4SavedGame" was sent on 6/15/06; that is the last I've seen.

Received word from Elbridge that he forwarded the save at 9:32am PDT June 15.

Any updates? Do we need to start getting a sub?

I thought you recieved the mail, too - Chinetter is on the road until today.

I thought you recieved the mail, too - Chinetter is on the road until today.

Looked through my spam folder and didn't see it; who knows.

I'm back, and forwarded a savefile overnight Tuesday/Wednesday (Chicago time).

African tribe met...

African tribe met...

I'm working my way to Alaska, perhaps I can wave to the Russians across the Bering Strait.

I'm working my way to Alaska, perhaps I can wave to the Russians across the Bering Strait.

We have Russians in the game? ;)
Too bad multiplayer doesn't work with the full number of players/AI.

:king:

We have Russians in the game? ;)
Too bad multiplayer doesn't work with the full number of players/AI.

:king:

Perhaps the Japanese or Chinese will be there waiting for me =]

alright, 48 hours without sighting, who's got the save? :)


:king:

alright, 48 hours without sighting, who's got the save? :)


As far as I know I don't, but let me know if you didn't get it from me, Elbridge.

I'd like to install the Warlords expansion pack, does anyone know if it will screw up this game? (Asoka)

I don't think so, since it's not an upgrade - it probably will work as it did with Civ3, loading a different part of the software with vanilla still being an option.

It might pose a problem to open the save in the expansion pack and then forward it to the next guy who might not have it. If everyone has the expansion, we might try to switch.

335BC was a great year for the German empire. Can't wait for the main game.

:king:

I'd like to install the Warlords expansion pack, does anyone know if it will screw up this game? (Asoka)

It won't. You can't load our save with the expansion pack.

Btw, the German Empire's ruler turned 29 today. He expects 50 gold, a galley, two warriors and a worthy amount of cringingness by his neighbors.

:king:

It won't. You can't load our save with the expansion pack.

Btw, the German Empire's ruler turned 29 today. He expects 50 gold, a galley, two warriors and a worthy amount of cringingness by his neighbors.

:king:

I've loaded your request into my Aircraft Carrier. It should be arriving shortly.

I've loaded your request into my Aircraft Carrier. It should be arriving shortly.

You're my friendly neighborhood civ already - too bad there's no vassal option in vanilla. ;) Did some hurricane sink your carrier? I played my save and cought no glimpse of an enemy ship at the western ...front. :D

:king:

It won't. You can't load our save with the expansion pack.

You mean if I install Warlords I won't be able to load this save game?
So my choice is either get Warlords _or_ continue playing this game?

You mean if I install Warlords I won't be able to load this save game?

The save game files are not upgradeable, take a look here

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=179753

So my choice is either get Warlords _or_ continue playing this game?

No, you can do both, get the game and continue to play this game, we can't switch to the Warlords rule set anyway.

:king:

Yea I figured that out -- just swap CD's and start up the relevant version. Working fine.

Alright, we arrived at 15 anno domini. Barbs everywhere and have met my (far) eastern neighbor.

Alright, we arrived at 15 anno domini. Barbs everywhere and have met my (far) eastern neighbor.

Yeah; who forgot to turn off barbarians? =]

While the Americans remain isolated thanks to Montezuma, they have sent a ship envoy along the coast in hopes of finding more advanced civilization with which to trade.

Yeah; who forgot to turn off barbarians? =]

While the Americans remain isolated thanks to Montezuma, they have sent a ship envoy along the coast in hopes of finding more advanced civilization with which to trade.

What, you can turn off barbarians during the game setup? On the other hand, single player games are less fun, so I'd rather tolerate a few American, Indian and Incan barbs in the neighborhood :p

Sometimes I'd wish the map were a little smaller, the continents are quite far away from each other. My Axeman needed over a dozen turns to reach Indian territory. It's high time for the flight tech and fast tanks.

:king:

68 hours and waiting =]

Hmm, the 15AD save must be stuck somewhere, the last time I saw it was on August 5, forwarded it 10:15 (GMT+2)

Hmm, the 15AD save must be stuck somewhere, the last time I saw it was on August 5, forwarded it 10:15 (GMT+2)
I played and forwarded that save about 3 hours later.

Alright, we arrived at 15 anno domini.

You know, if I had waited a few more turns, Christianity could have been founded right on time. =]

Asoka here, haven't seen that turn as of August 8th at 7:30 U.S. Central time.

It's now August 9th around the same time, still haven't seen it.

Asoka:
+1 Years of peace have strenghened our relations
+1 Our Open Borders have brought our people close together


Barbarians are cowards.

:king:

Montezuma has began his rampage in the Americas. Washington has dispatched troops to the Mexican border in hopes of holding back the Aztec warriors.

Oops. What are your chances? Too bad Europe is too far for action. Anybody else have fun with warmongering :satan: neighbors?

Screenshot would be great, I thought about posting something about a barbarian city I found in the old world.

:king:

Oops. What are your chances? Too bad Europe is too far for action. Anybody else have fun with warmongering :satan: neighbors?

Screenshot would be great, I thought about posting something about a barbarian city I found in the old world.

:king:

Well, I requested assistance from the Inca, but I don't know if they can help; so far I'm fine defending, but I'm worried about his demands post-war.

Well, I requested assistance from the Inca, but I don't know if they can help; so far I'm fine defending, but I'm worried about his demands post-war.

It appears that due to significant geography issues, the Inca are safely isolated from the Aztec. The Americans are currently considering bulldozing the mountain.

India is repelling an unprovoked Chinese incursion, which I first thought was driven by a lack of metal but apparently not. Just pure greed ;-).

Greed - the driving force behind so many invasions

I'll be on the road until Tuesday, but if I find an open wlan access point I'll be able to play :D

:king:

The Aztec/American war is progressing slowly. The Americans recently repelled a massive onslaught with no casualties, and are looking forward to turning the tide very soon.

I fear that the Germans, left unmolested in their resource-rich continent, may be building up a permanent lead...if they are the richest civ in the game when they get to their unique unit, gulp!

The Chinese civilization trusts its peaceful yet flagging neighbor in the far west. We came to an open borders agreement, so we could map out his territory and unit locations for a little compensation to the "highest bidder"... :D

with best regards to our brothers on the Indian subcontinent,

Bismarck


p.s.: looking at the power graph, I don't envy you, Chinetter

Save played and forwarded... China is taking the gloves off and sending more troops to the Indian border than you could find in all of Europe.

In the light of Chinas military overwhelming prowess and proof of Indian plans of aggression against its inculpable western neighbors the little German empire sees no other way than join Chinas brave struggle against sneaky India (also, to avoid any negative modifier by refusing to help - not that I'd be able to do any harm since we're continents apart :D ).

:king:

As the diplomats say: blah blah blah, don't call us we'll call you...


But I'm confused here, this is my first PBEM game -- who is playing China? I ask because at the end of my turn I offered them peace, expecting that the human player would have to accept or reject that offer on his turn, but it was instantly accepted as if in a single-player game. Is China an AI civ? If so, since when? I didn't understand that a PBEM game could include AI civs.

There're several AI players in the game, which ones are human you can look up in the first few postings in this thread on page one. If you meet anybody beside the Germans, Americans, Indians and Inkas, it'll surely be an AI. Due to a software trick we're able to play on the Earth map, but we started with 8 civs only, which was then (?) the limit. 18 would have been better, but it works this way, too.

p.s.: You must be doing some serious *ss-kicking over there, just looking at the power graph China's loosing units like crazy.

:king:

Aha, I see.
Personally I'd consider the more human players the better as far as the fun and challenge of playing. With online games, replacement human players can be recruited to take over for AIs. Is that possible with PBEM games and would we want to do it? (except for China of course ;-)

Well, we could try to fill the AI seats with humans, but then the game wouldn't take two, but four years. We play a turn once a day which is fairly good imho, twice the number of players would slow us down quite a lot. I'd prefer to have extinguished civs respawn as a different one somewhere else on the map (as long as there is free space), but that's probably not possible.

A small American vessel set sail many years ago from Washington, D.C. After rounding the Florida Peninsula and passing by Cuba, they were surprised to find out that someone had constructed a canal connecting the two great oceans. From there, they continued southward along the coast and encountered the Inca. The vessel has just rounded Cape Horn and it appears will now be heading northward. They hope to be able to cross the ocean someday soon, but are doubtful their current ship is up to the challenge.

Peace has returned to the Americas!

Peace has returned to the Americas!

Who begged for peace so soon? :D

:king:

Who begged for peace so soon? :D

:king:

Me. It came surprisingly cheap (10g), considering we both probably lost equal units and he was building more of a military than I was.

I haven't seen anything since 9/14/06.

Just got the save, nevermind.

So, who's got the save?

there's nothing like good neighbors, isn't it, Asoka? :D

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/5158/neighborsdr6.th.jpg (http://img221.imageshack.us/my.php?image=neighborsdr6.jpg)

save forwarded to Randle

:king:

We're in 1025 AD (not bad after only 8 months of playing), Europe is pacified, potential enemies are far away, the neighborhood is quiet... and as mentioned earlier, I'll be away for a few days at least between Oct 1st and 3rd. KLM does not sell internet connection vouchers for its intercontinental flights, so we'll be flying through the dark ages... I'm not sure how fast I'll be back online again, but I hope sooner than later.

:king:

I (Asoka) will be travelling October 7th through 11th with no laptop, alas.

I have not seen a save since 10/12/06

1130 AD was sent forward on Oct 13, 2006 at 9:44 AM (GMT-4)

That's the one I had last, too. (23:42 GMT+9)
Sorry that I haven't asked around yet.

Grendel I sent 1145 AD to your other email address on October 14th.
Now just forwarded it

So what's the status? Who all has played a turn dated 1145 AD or later?

My apologies to Grendel for posting his email addresses here. No idea what would possess me to do that; I've been on the net since 1988 and certainly know better.

My apologies to Grendel for posting his email addresses here. No idea what would possess me to do that; I've been on the net since 1988 and certainly know better.

No wonder it's going so slow, you caused his e-mail to be loaded with spam =]

The world entered a new stage of development: New lands were discovered, new technologies invented, but not only cultural achievements were made in the last centuries... New ways of destruction, advanced tactics, modern weaponry like Crossbowmen and the feared War Elephant found their path into the hands of militarist criminals in India. After the last war between China and India, the German government sent out observers to clarify the situation in the far east. The borders between the two countries were severely altered in favor of the faceless dictatorship in New Delhi. Countless Chinese villages in southeast Asia were destroyed, complete cities eradicated from the face of this earth. The Indian city Kolhapur was build on the bones and with blood of the Chinese peasantry. Stories tell of Indian landlords, depraved and uncompromisingly greedy, who oppress the sinomongolian families who chose to stay in the region of their forefathers in any way imaginable.

Collecting as much geopolitical information as possible, inquiring leaders about complex political relations on the international stage (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4567003&postcount=173), a few decades ago our inspectors became aware of Indian rearmament at the Chinese-Indian border. As our analysis clearly shows, in the last few years the Indian military budget rose to about 140% of the level a mere handful of decades ago (http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7673/armsraceep5.jpg). Another indicator of imminent Indian aggression against its peaceful neighbor in the northeast was the brash amassing of 250,000 soldiers at the eastern border (http://img237.imageshack.us/my.php?image=indiasaggressionae0.jpg). The recalcitrant warmongerers in New Delhi were all too eager to turn this border into a front and push it farther into the heart of the Chinese motherland. German observers finally reported to Berlin about preparations of a hideous sneak-attack (http://img237.imageshack.us/my.php?image=indiasaggressionae0.jpg) against Beijing. An army, larger than anything ever seen before, is marching towards the Chinese capital (http://img237.imageshack.us/my.php?image=indiasaggressionae0.jpg). The Chinese embassador to Germany conveyed a plea by emperor Qin Shi Huang for support two days ago. A public hearing of the head of the observer mission to China, Edmund Luegemann, confirmed the findings. Asia is at war.

Stability in Asia means stability for Europe as well. Therefore, the German military high council sees no alternative than to conduct a punitive expedition against the Indian peril in the middle east (http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/8603/middleeasthy7.jpg), with the hope that the civilian castes in New Delhi will seize this opportunity to overthrow its rulers and install a democratic government that is able to keep its generals under control. Germany wishes no deeper involvement in Indo-Chinese matters, but there are times when peace and freedom are in danger and bold actions are inevitable. The time has come to fight back.

:king:

Hmf. A simple "give us Baghdad or else" would have been perfectly clear.

Getting a second city from me, however, will suck for you -- having seen the units you've brought to the party I can promise that. You could instead have Baghdad (or whatever the city in that location is actually named, I forget) peacefully, in exchange for stopping there. Your call.

Meanwhile I'll be traveling Sunday evening through Tuesday evening (U.S. time) without game access.

Hmf. A simple "give us Baghdad or else" would have been perfectly clear.

Well, it's not only the city I'm after. You scared me a little bit a few turns back, I didn't expect you to be this close to my territory at all. I'm curious though - you must have noticed my axemen at the Chinese border already decades ago. I'm counting on that all your military is now attacking Beijing and the west is rather empty, but that would also mean that you simply ignored my scouting unit in southeast Asia?

Getting a second city from me, however, will suck for you -- having seen the units you've brought to the party I can promise that. You could instead have Baghdad (or whatever the city in that location is actually named, I forget) peacefully, in exchange for stopping there. Your call.

Thank you for the offer. I also forgot the name of the city, but I already renamed it to Bagdhad. It's a poorhouse though, I recieved a mere 5 gold for overrunning it and not even one of your temples have been build yet. Since you are involved in a two front war, I hope the second city will be accessible as well and usefuller. It looks though that my presumptions are slightly off, I expected a second city at the coast of the Persian Gulf, in the region of Sistan and Baluchistan and not in the mountains as it now appears to be? That could mean that there's even a third city in reach before your - probably heavily fortified - capital. We'll see.

At the end of the day, two balanced powers in Asia are better than a single one with no outside leverage except my own, rather modest, military.

Meanwhile I'll be traveling Sunday evening through Tuesday evening (U.S. time) without game access.

Have a safe journey.

Oh, before I forget: I noticed a "new" feature (at least for me) in the diplomatic dialogue screen. Due to our "military struggle against a common enemy" I was able to ask China to attack a certain Indian city to coordinate our forces. How convenient. Their answer was "we'll do our best!". :D
Do they really follow such requests?


:king:

P.S.: For every Chinese city conquered, I'll take two Indian.

Go for it.

I saw your unit moving around Chinese territory but there wasn't anything in particular I could do about it. What I didn't realize was that Baghdad was close to you, should have had a scout or two out in that direction.

But mainly, given the overall scores when I joined the game and since, I haven't seen much point in playing it safe. You'd just keep running away with the game and kill us all later as your tech lead gets bigger. I'm honestly not sure the rest of us shouldn't just concede -- however your invasion of India goes is there actually any possibility of anyone else winning this game?

I saw your unit moving around Chinese territory but there wasn't anything in particular I could do about it.

I expected you might take it out just to have that unit spying on you out of the way, but it didn't happen.

What I didn't realize was that Baghdad was close to you, should have had a scout or two out in that direction.

Yep. Actually, I should have done that, too - when the pink tile appeared in my neighborhood I thought "uh-oh". But then considering the large army in the east, I saw a chance to intervene.

But mainly, given the overall scores when I joined the game and since, I haven't seen much point in playing it safe.

I agree - the guy playing India before you until he disappeared wasn't much of a player it seems.
I had to destroy a human player playing Rome, which wasn't easy. Nobody else had a human player or any other civ in his neighborhood, so I thought the starting position wasn't that great, but after Rome was defeated, it was indeed not difficult (but very uneventful). Anyway, we've played for nine months, and I'd still like to see what everything will happen until the end.


You'd just keep running away with the game and kill us all later as your tech lead gets bigger.

I'm not planning to kill everyone off (I'm sincere with the idea of keeping Asia in balance). It's not possible either, the map is just too big. I also don't think that managing an empire streching more than one or two continents is possible (financially i.e.).

I'm honestly not sure the rest of us shouldn't just concede -- however your invasion of India goes is there actually any possibility of anyone else winning this game?

Good question. All winning options are on the table, but some are far less probable than others.
Winning by time/score and cultural is not probable for most, since I'm trying to win culturally and should already have quite a lead because of all the wonders build in Berlin, Paris and Rome and score seems to be very dependant on culture (beside tech, the army etc.).
Domination is possible for everybody, but unprobable as well since you'd have to occupy 62% of Earths land mass (I have almost 10% and certainly couldn't occupy all of Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa within the scope of the left game time).
Space Race win is open to everybody, but reliable on a tech and production lead.
I'm not sure about the diplomatic win, I don't really have experience with it. It all depends very much on whether the Americans or the Incas manage to take over both American continents. Considering the isolated starting position and the huge rain forest/jungle in South America, the Incas had a great game so far.


:king:

Ok, fine -- peace has returned to Asia. How about you go molest North Africa or something?

North America is not envious of the struggles in the East. However, there are some very ruthless barbarian Inuit tribes that we have been dealing with as of late.

If you guys could speed up the whole global warming thing over there, it would be greatly appreciated.

Germany is offering peace to India, its immediate neighbor on the eastern border. We welcome the introduction of the Jewish religion into the German culture. May it thrive and prosper.

Last save I saw was 1485 AD on Sunday.

Last save I saw was 1485 AD on Sunday.

Okay, so it turns out I'm the one that didn't forward the save, sorry!

I'll be gone December 23rd-27th.

Aha, I see.
Personally I'd consider the more human players the better as far as the fun and challenge of playing. With online games, replacement human players can be recruited to take over for AIs. Is that possible with PBEM games and would we want to do it? (except for China of course ;-)

Not sure if I mentioned it yet, a huge PBEM game with, let's say, 18 human players would take years to complete or even have one turn go around, but that's what pitboss games are for. It allows the max number of human players all playing their turn at the same time, thus simulating the speed of a PBEM game with two players - fairly quicker than four (or five) as in our case.

I wonder how many Civvers are able to set up a pitboss game - since you'd need a server and someone who's manually replacing players who drop out every now and then. From all game modes though, I'd go for pitboss if I had the ressources.

:king: