The Diplomacy Thread

This thread is related to all things diplomatic. Voice you opinions here. I’ll be posting all of our correspondence with the other teams here.

From Aloha

Greetings Koondrad and Loco

Our warrior has travelled many a mile to meet you, our first traveller to your ways was not so lucky and went the way of what the dodo shall, this one has been more successful, how far has your warrior had to travel to attend this magnificent meeting between our 2 great nations?

We would very much like to encourage trading between our 2 nations so we wonder whether your capital is positioned on the coast? The people of the nation of Aloha we're also fascinated to know whether you have run into anybody else during your travels?

Regards
BCLG

Form Innovia

Greetings, Loco.

I'm sure both our empires have developed since our last diplomatic encounter. For Innovia's part we may be on the verge of a ground-breaking innovation that will allow us to share knowledge with other civilizations.
Each of our civilizations have knowledge that the other don't have. Why not share this knowledge between us so that we may both be richer? While we will be putting our innovative efforts into making this sort of trading possible, why not collaborate? There's no reason that we both innovate the same innovations when we could be innovating different ones and trading, essiensially doubling the innovative capacity that any of us could have on our own.
I hope you will take our proposal into consideration, and the Innovians are as always open to any other innovative ideas that you might have.

Theoden,
Foreign Minister of Innovia


I'm going to reply tonight to both. If there's anything additional you'd like me to say beyond what's already been discussed, please post it.

Koondrad, could you post the messages you relied with and any response recieved?

Sorry, time is typically against me.

TO Innovia:
Greetings Team Innovia

I'm intrigued by this curious concept that you say you are on the verge of realising. My team would certainly like to know more. We ourselves have been innovating and the people of Loco have recently completed a great monument to the powers that are less great, yet much greater, than us. It also serves as a quite functional calendar.

Best Regards
Koondrad
Team Loco.

TO Aloha

Greetings BCLG

We're pleased to here that your second scouting party was more successful. Your warriors seem strange to us, so you'll forgive us if those in the fields stop to stare. We have seen others pass by, but none have been as gracious as yourselves.

We know much of the world around us and we know of many seas, but we are interested in hearing of where you come from as there have been many rumors circulating our cities proclaiming stories of 'the others' .

Best Regards
Koondrad
Team Loco

Good messages with nice flare.
We have seen others pass by, but none have been as gracious as yourselves.
I particularly like that line.:goodjob:

did we ever inform the other teams that we had built stonehenge? :hammer:

did we ever inform the other teams that we had built stonehenge? :hammer:

Not explicitly, no.

lets make a topic in the main fourm then

From Innovia:

This great monument sounds very interesting to us. You say it functions like a calendar? Then you might even be able to tell us where in this world we are? Our people would surely watch in awe if you were able to point out how we are placed in all this just by looking at this great monument of yours.
With innovative ideas like these you will always manage to please the Innovians. Could it be the case that you know of more wonderful innovations or ground-breaking inventions? The Innovians will always listen to such information and as mentioned earlier we could be interested in any innovations unknown to us.

Theoden,
Foreign Minister of Innovia



Any ideas? Do we want to spill the beans?

Well if we dont we make look a bit hostile towards them

Why should we tell them? What would we gain?

Here's another message from Innovia. They want open borders. Let's try toget back to them this time *cough* Koondrad *cough*.


Greetings Loco,

I believe that we have come to the point where establishing trade routes with your people will beneficial for both of us. On behalf of Innovia I therefore offer you open borders so that trade can begin. I also believe this is an important step in the friendly relations that our nations are establishing.

I would also like to ask if you ever received our emmisary who went to your lands a while ago but never returned with a message? Are you still pondering your response?

Theoden,
Foreign Minister of Innovia

owch.

yes, lets respond this time...
and i'm all for an open boarder agreement. we want to keep our options for alliances open right now. We should apologize, and ask how their progression on the alphabet has come.

what if there just mapping out oour lands
fomr that message they look quite forceful for an open borders agreement

they can map out whatever they want. an invasion would be terribly difficult for either of us right now. As for mapping, they don't have anyone near us, we have a man on their boarder and they know it. Yet, they still want to open their boarders.

Here's another message from Innovia. They want open borders. Let's try toget back to them this time *cough* Koondrad *cough*.

When did they offer open borders in an email? :confused: I don't play the save Jeejeep.



It seems a little aggressive but they are still a long way away from us. We should be relatively safe from attack for now. Maybe we could sign the open borders agreement but also start building some Archers?

What they said. (I agree with koondrad)

Maybe we could sign the open borders agreement but also start building some Archers?
we don't have archery, and we been working toward axemen for quite sometime (that's the reason we founded the latest city).


When did they offer open borders in an email? I don't play the save Jeejeep.
The message Jeejeep is referring to is the one from Innovia asking about our "calendar", Which Koondrad posted earlier in this thread and which I made repeated attempts to try to get us to respond.

Koondrad, I meant this part.

I would also like to ask if you ever received our emmisary who went to your lands a while ago but never returned with a message? Are you still pondering your response?


We never emailed them back last time.

They actually do have a warrior near our borders. On one side, perhaps we should politely decline, as their warrior can hardly see anything without OB (a few tiles outside Pennsylvania) while ours was already seen most of their lands. However, the other side is what Karhu said, we do want to keep our options open and not seem too hostile. I don't know. I guess I'll accept in game, as that is what we seem to want. Koondrad should send an email too.

Maybe someone else would like to do Foreign Minister as I'm evidently short on time.

I'll draft a response and post it here.

Short draft response:

Greetings Theoden and Team Innovia

We accept your offer of a trade route. Our merchants are already on their way to your lands bringing quality goods at the lowest prices around. We hope that this agreement will lead to a long history of good relations between our countries.

lets put a currys ad in ther :P

New diplomatic messages, I recommend we respond ASAP

Innovia's is simple, they just want to trade.
Hi Loco,

This is just a follow up to our in-game offer:
We mentioned some time ago that we were on our way to figure out how to trade techs. Thanks to our innovators that is now possible.
We see that you have Meditation. Would you perhaps agree to trade it for Animal Husbandry?

Regards
Theoden, Foreign Minister

Now the long one from Epsilon, with my preliminary response.

Dear King Kong & all Locos,

Greetings from the golden halls of Epsilon Eridani! The Leader of
Epsilon Team sends you his warm regards.

Our humble scout, "Dark Puma" has caught sight of the borders of your
glorious land... we are pleased to find we are not alone among the
civilized nations of this world, and look forward to mutual
cooperation with your glorious people.

We are a naturally peaceful people, and if you'll agree, we believe
there is much we can learn and trade together. We see that we have
several immediate opportunities for trade, and if you're interested,
we'd like to try to arrange some equitable swaps. I'm confident you'll
find The Leader to be most fair.

So how say you? What are your intentions for this world?
We eagerly await your reply.

Sincerely Yours,
Foreign Minister General_W
Epsilon Team!

P.S. Please let me know who you'd like me to communicate with on an
ongoing basis.

Epsilon Team,

I am not our foreign advisor, but I am sending this preliminary e-mail to inform you that we have recieved your message and are glad to have met you. I agree there are many trading possibilities between us. I am sure that Koondrad, who is our foreign advisor, will be along with another much more detailed and welcoming message shortly.

Jeejeep
Executive Leader
Team Loco

Arg I posted in the other thread

Jeejeep beat me to it but:



Hi Loco,

This is just a follow up to our in-game offer:
We mentioned some time ago that we were on our way to figure out how to trade techs. Thanks to our innovators that is now possible.
We see that you have Meditation. Would you perhaps agree to trade it for Animal Husbandry?

Regards
Theoden, Foreign Minister



Greetings Innovia

That trade would be acceptable to us. I hope we can engage in more trade for the mutual benefit of our nations in the future.

Regards

Koondrad
Team Loco





The message from Epsilon was as follows:



Dear King Kong & all Locos,

Greetings from the golden halls of Epsilon Eridani! The Leader of
Epsilon Team sends you his warm regards.

Our humble scout, "Dark Puma" has caught sight of the borders of your
glorious land... we are pleased to find we are not alone among the
civilized nations of this world, and look forward to mutual
cooperation with your glorious people.

We are a naturally peaceful people, and if you'll agree, we believe
there is much we can learn and trade together. We see that we have
several immediate opportunities for trade, and if you're interested,
we'd like to try to arrange some equitable swaps. I'm confident you'll
find The Leader to be most fair.

So how say you? What are your intentions for this world?
We eagerly await your reply.

Sincerely Yours,
Foreign Minister General_W
Epsilon Team!

P.S. Please let me know who you'd like me to communicate with on an
ongoing basis.




Greetings General_W and Team Epsilon

I hear that you've already spoken personally to our Leader. I'm sure you'll come to find that he is a fair and agreeable man.

It is good to hear that your people also have a desire for knowledge. We are always looking for ways to better understand the world that we have blessed with. Maybe you would like to purpose a trade in the future? I am sure that we would both find it very beneficial.


Regards
Koondrad
Team Loco

nice to see good movement on the diplomatic front.

So shall I go ahead and send these?

A short while after sending those messages yesterday, I received this in my inbox:


Dear Koondrad & all Locos,

We appreciate your quick responses – it’s early still, but it sounds like we share a common foundation to build peace and prosperity for both our peoples.

We would like to propose a peace treaty and a technology trade.

First: The peace treaty: what if we both promised to not attack the other/declare war on the other without giving at least 10 turns of notice?
We believe this could give us a good safe foundation to work from – maybe we could even expand the minimum notice period as our relationship grows? We’re eager to hear any thoughts you have on this.

Second: Technology Trading: We’d like to offer you knowledge of Animal Husbandry and Hunting (total base science cost = 140 :science: ) for Sailing (100 :science: )
However, if you’re interested in a more aggressive deal, we can also offer you Iron Working and Hunting (total = 240 :science: ) for your knowledge of Sailing and Monotheism (total = 220 :science: )

The Leader has crafted both of these deals to be weighted heavily in your favor to show his good will and extend the hand of friendship with more than just flowery words.

How would you like to proceed? We eagerly await your reply.

Sincerely Yours,
Foreign Minister General_W
Epsilon Team!


Comments?

For the peace treaty, it sounds llike they really want peace. Maybe we are near them or tey are weak in military. I guess we don't have much choice but to take it if we want to have a good relationship.

On the trades we are about to trade for AH anyway, so I want to see how we look after that before deciding.

peace sounds good.

Iron Working would be useful, some of our hills are bound to have it, and it would make for faster researching of Metal Casting. I would REALLY like to build the Colossus for all the reasons I've stated before (money/science/water map).

I second that we go the whole way and trade away Monotheism for Iron Working and Hunting.

Thirded trade that Koondrad mentioned

At first I thought this was a good trade too, and I was about to propose it when I realized that we have only 4 turns left on our research of IW anyway. Because of this, the trade would actually be worth much more to them than to us, only about 140 beakers for us and still 220 for them. The last thing we can do with a team so far ahead in technology is propose them unfair trades.

Perhaps we could send a polite letter explaining that the trades were not good for us, as we were about to acquire both technologies anyway.

At first I thought this was a good trade too, and I was about to propose it when I realized that we have only 4 turns left on our research of IW anyway. Because of this, the trade would actually be worth much more to them than to us, only about 140 beakers for us and still 220 for them. The last thing we can do with a team so far ahead in technology is propose them unfair trades.

Perhaps we could send a polite letter explaining that the trades were not good for us, as we were about to acquire both technologies anyway.

Rgr. I'll draft something now.



How about:

Greetings General_W and Epsilon Team

I'm afraid that as generous as the trades you proposed are, they are not acceptable to us. While your intentions were noble, you unfortunately have limited knowledge of the work of our scientists. They are on the verge of discovering these techs and so we would be gaining considerably less than 240 or 140 beakers.

However, this shouldn't stand in the way of peace between our two nations. Maybe you would like to suggest another trade, or maybe you would permit us to propose one?


Regards
koondrad

Team Loco

C'mon lads.

I was going to post but I figured you had already sent it. It is good.

IMO, just send it next time. We don't need to wait for days for someone to post and say it is good. I think we can trust you to say the right things.

Dear Koondrad & all Locos,

We're pleased to finally hear back from you!

Though you didn't say it – we assume you must be working on Iron Working – as that was the major part of our proposed deal – so we'll leave that tech out of future negotiations.

That limits our options a bit – but The Leader has developed an alternate plan.
You would still provide Sailing and Monotheism, and Epsilon will in return provide some new knowledge that our wisemen are currently studying. They are near finished, and assure us that we'll have marvelous new ways of counting things (and chopping down trees :confused: ) when they are done. This knowledge of "Mathematics" is worth 250 :science: base… so in exchange for us upping the unbalance in your favor even further, we'd like you to send the cheaper of your 2 techs (sailing) right away as a show of good faith.

We'll then offer Math for Monotheism as soon as we have the knowledge - estimated to be 2-3 turns from now.

How does this offer sound?

We also stand ready to sign a peace deal – like the one we last proposed? Just let us know what you'd like it to look like.

We eagerly await your reply.

Sincerely Yours,
Foreign Minister General_W
Epsilon Team!


These peaceniks don't ever quit. I say we go for it as it really is looking good now.

Sounds good to me. I'll start by giving sailing if the beakers look right ingame.

Greetings General_W and Team Epsilon

Our team feels that this is an inspired idea and we congratulate The Leader on his excellent insight.

This is a wonderful opportunity for peace and cooperation between our two nations and, as a result, a messenger party is already on it's way with the knowledge of 'Sailing' to you.


Please enjoy frolicking in the ocean and we await word of your new research.

Regards

koondrad
Team Loco



10char tbh.

Dear Koondrad and all Locos,

The Champagne has been uncorked in the Golden Halls! We're all toasting the bright beginning to a glorious new friendship between our peoples. Thank you for your knowledge of Sailing. We will be sending Math along as soon as possible.

We hope this is just the beginning of many more deals. Do you have any thoughts of where you'd like to go after the Math deal is complete?

All the best,
Yours in Peace and Trade,
Foreign Minister General_W
Epsilon Team!



Thoughts, folks?

I need to look at what our tech situation will be. I'll tell you after I play today.

After the math trade they will be up Metal Casting, Monarchy, Alphabet, and I think another tech on us, so theres not much we can do with them right now.

On the other hand, we are about to be up Masonry, Iron Working, Math, and sailing on Innovia. They have alphabet and I suggest we try to trade for that. It would allow us to trade with Aloha as well.

Great work with diplomacy. If we can keep trade deals going in favour for us like this, we're in for a good time.

I agree we should trade in Alaphabet to get even more trading going

A New Trade Idea?
Dear Koondrad and all Locos,

Thanks again for the smooth process of technology trading. We hope you are enjoying our friendship as much as we are.

This last deal has worked out so well, we’d like to propose another.

We noticed you recently acquired Iron Working – but we don’t know what you’re currently studying, so please suggest a new plan if this proposal doesn’t line up with your current work.

We’d like to suggest that you set your wise people to learning Theology (500 :science:)and then trade it to us for our knowledge of Metal Casting (450:science:)– which we believe you will find quite useful for building things faster! Now, this deal is a bit unbalanced in our favor – but we have good reason to believe that the discovery of Theology will launch a brand new religion in your lands giving you access to even more avenues to make your people happy and improve your culture… so we believe the trade still balances out. (And we hope it’s not too bold to think we have accumulated some good will from our last trade)

What do you think of such a proposal? If it’s not to your liking, we’d be eager to hear your counter-proposal. Short of that, if you’ll let us know what you’re currently studying, we could try to craft another mutually beneficial deal.

Looking forward to continued peace and trade,

Foreign Minister General_W
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!

Any thoughts?

I don't think Theology for MC is a good idea. It would take us 24 turns to research Theology and in that time they would probably be up at least two more techs on us. Maybe something like currency for CoL, or just let them do their own research for a while.

With Innovia, I think we should propose Math and Sailing for Alphabet and Hunting. That is a pretty fair trade and should be the start of good relations with them. If we can trade with Epsilon and Innovia, we should be good. They don't know each other so we can take techs from one and trade them to the other.

Well, we can't do what I proposed anymore, as Aloha has discovered alphabet. We have meditiation and masonry, but they have alphabet, hunting, and metal casting.

Innovia has also gained the knowledge of math and sailing, probably by trade with Aloha. They are up on us the same techs as aloha, but we are now only up iron working and masonry on them.

Rgr,

sorry about that - it's been a mad week or two.

I'll be able to get off diplo messages now if you have any ideas.

Sorry, no ideas anymore.

Epsilon are wondering about our response to their proposal. I think we should propose something. I'll have a think about it and post it up. Under the new system we should get moving faster.

I'll reply now with:


Dear Team Epsilon,

I'm afraid your proposal was met with much shock in our senate chambers. Currently, however, I unfortunately have to inform you that the terms are unacceptable to us. Please allow us to draft a proposal of our own with what we feel are necessary changes. We hope you will find it agreeable.


Happy new year and I hope you have recovered from the merriment,

Koondrad
Team Loco

Here are some trade ideas. We should move quickly to take advantage of them before they go away. Pulling both ideas off will take some speedy diplomatic messaging, so Koondrad, be ready.

To Aloha, i suggest we trade our knowledge of meditation, monotheism, and monarchy for their metal casting tech. They could also add in hunting to be assured of our good will.

To Innovia, I suggest trading iron working, monotheism, and monarchy for CoL and alphabet.

To Epsilon I sent a message (in much more cordial wording of course) that we would not be able to trade with them because we are too far behind them in tech. When we catch up further trade should be welcomed.

If we pull off both of these trades, we would be almost equal in technology. However, messages of these suggestions should be sent in the next two turns before we have finished researching monarchy. Otherwise our oppurtunities may disappear through the other teams trading amongst themselves or discovering new technologies.

Congrats! (and trade?)
Dear King Kong and the Locomotion's,

The Leader wishes to extended hearty congratulations on your recent construction of the Mahabodhi!
May you also, in the steps of the great buddah, find enlightenment in the shade of the peepul tree.

Speaking of gaining knowledge… we don't want to trump any proposal you're about to send, but we thought we might put the idea in your head of potentially buying some of our technology at a steep discount? (we have recently devised a way to pay for things in gold… quite revolutionary!)
We're prepared to offer very generous terms… like 50% off! (and as a special introductory offer – what would you think of Code of Laws for just 100 gold? Buy now, pay over time?)

Anyway – don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves... just wanted to suggest an idea to you.

Congratulations again!

Foreign Minister General_W
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!


Thoughts? how are we in the treasury department?


I'll send the offers to the other teams.

PM's away to Aloha and Innovia. :)

CoL for 100 gold? That's amazing. I say we go for it quickly.

Checking the slider in game, we can pay the gold in nine turns with our slider at 60%. This seems like a good option if they will let us pay later and get the tech now. Koondrad please send a message if you agree.

I agree and will send a message to them.



Dear General_W and Team Epsilon,

We thank you for the congratulations. You are welcome to visit the Mahabodhi any time. Maybe you too will attain enlightenment there.

We would like to take you up on your offer of 'Code of Laws' for 100 Gold. Would it be possible for us to pay in 9 (nine) instalments?

We would be interested in hearing what other technologies are on offer.


We await your reply,

Koondrad and Team Loco

We're good -


Dear Koondrad and all Locos,

Fantastic! We're pleased to be on the brink of resuming trade with your great people.

We will transfer knowledge of Code of Laws to you with our next turn – we trust this will be a great aid to you in spreading law and order throughout your lands.

For the payment plan, we are prepared to accept any of these 4 options:

A) 12 gold per turn for 8 turns +4 gold on the 9th turn (as you suggested)
B) 10 gold per turn for 10 turns
C) 8 gold per turn for 13 turns
D) 6 gold per turn for 19 turns

We are prepared to accept whichever plan you choose. Just let us know your preference.
We look forward to commencing this trade next turn!

For future deals, as I mentioned earlier, we would like to offer you the chance to buy other pieces of our knowledge for just 50% of the cost in gold.
For example, Hunting (40 :science:) could be obtained for just 20 gold.
Or Literature (200 :science:) for just another 100 gold.
On the slightly higher end – we're also willing to part with Alphabet or Monarchy for just 150 gold each… or Metal Casting for 225 gold.

Really – all that's needed is for you to tell us what tech you're interested in, and then we can work out a payment plan that's agreeable to everyone.

Once you catch up to us and begin to have your own technologies to offer, we're willing to still offer a 20% discount on our beaker cost when trading for your beakers. (ie, we would trade you a 100:science: tech for an 80 :science:tech straight across.)

We hope you are as excited about these trading prospects and chances to grow together as we are.

Let us know how you'd like to pay for Code of Laws, and what other technology you're interested in – and we'll be sending Code of Laws to you next turn.

Yours in peace and trade,
Foreign Minister General_W
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!


What do you think? Payment plan B?

I quite like the idea of grabbing hunting.

I say turn down science and BUY half the techs they have.

Greetings Loco,

You are correct that we love technology as our name implies. However, we will be getting some of the techs you offered by other means very soon so there is little point for us in trading for them.
Instead we'd like to offer you Alphabet in exchange for Monarchy. We hope you will find this deal fair.

We also noticed that you have some excess corn, while we have more clams than we can eat ourselves. Why don't we share the health between us so we can both eat better? A corn for clams resource trade would benefit us all.

regards,
Theoden of Innovia



I would like some Clams.

Yes alpha for monarchy. We need all the trades we can get.

We don't need clams, we're are hitting the happy limit before the health limit. However, this should change with hereditary rule, so I guess we might as well.

Did Alpha for Monarchy, gave Epsilon 10 gold.

Dear Loco,

The Leader sends you his thanks for your prompt start to paying for Code of Laws… we hope you find this technology well worth the price.

We see you've already managed to get Alphabet and Monarchy… Long live the King!

Do you have any interest in a deal for Hunting, Literature, Currency, or Metal Casting? Our offer of selling at 50% of the beaker cost in gold still stands. Payment could begin after you finish paying for Code of Laws… depending on what kind of payment plan you prefer.

Let us know how you want to proceed!

Thanks again.

Yours in peace and trade,

Foreign Minister General_W
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!

Your thoughts?

I sent a reply to get the clams.

Not sure yet, I'll see how things look after we finish paying for CoL.

I suggest we send Epsilon a message telling them we will give them Theology (13) when we research it for currency and literature

Rgr, message away.

Dear Koondrad and all of Loco,

The Leader, may he live forever, has judged your offer to be most fair and reasonable. We agree to this trade without further stipulation.

We will send Literature to you this turn as a show of good faith, and then we'll transfer Currency to you in exchange for Theology as soon as you get it. (Can you be more specific on when that will be?)

We're most pleased by the warm trading relationship we're developing. Are you interested in further deals… like for Metal Casting or Civil Service? Both of which we're willing to sell to you cheaply.
(In fact – we're now offering a bona-fide blue-light special on Civil Service(800 :science: )… at more than 60% off the beaker cost… meaning you could get this important knowledge for just 300 :gold: payable over time.)

Let us know what you're interested in!

Yours in peace and trade,

Foreign Minister General_W,
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!

Thoughts?

I'll tell them that they'll be waiting about 12 turns for theology.

Yes Yes Yes! Cs! Buy Everything! Muahahahaha!

I agree.

Jeejeep?

Buy everything sounds good, but what is the real plan? What should we buy first? At what rate should we buy?

Innovia has proposed us this trade. I suggest we decline, it has no benefit to us.
146054

I second that.

I think we should maybe buy civil service first.

Two new messages from Innovia:


Dear Loco,

It would appear you paid us twice (20 ) this turn.

Was this intentional? We hope this wasn't just a game glitch.

At any rate, you are (of course) free to skip your next scheduled payment if you'd like, or just keep paying and finish a turn early – whatever you prefer.
We show you having paid 7 of your 10 payments.

Hope all is well and Theology is progressing nicely.
Have you stared to think about where you might want to go after that?

All the best,
Foreign Minister General_W
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!


Was that intentional?

Dear Locomotions,

The Leader, may he live forever, sends you his warmest regards. We are most pleased to be on the verge of trading Currency for Theology with your people – but we sincerely hope that this is only the beginning.

We have a proposal that we hope you'll find exciting.

We propose the following:
After Theology, Loco studies Music(possibly getting you a free Great Artist), then Guids, then Banking, and then Divine Right(possibly founding Islam)..

Meanwhile, Epsilon learns Machinery and Compass and then makes a line for Education.

The trades could work like this.
Phase 1
Epsilon gives Machinery(700:science: )
Loco gives Music(600:science: )

Phase 2
Epsilon gives Compass & Paper(1,000:science: )
Loco gives Guilds(1,000:science: )

Phase 3
Epsilon gives Philosophy(800:science: )
Loco gives Banking(700:science: )

Money Phase
Epsilon studies Economics (1,400) after we get Banking from Loco – then we take our free Great Merchant, and send him to Loco's capital… then split the windfall cash 50/50

Bonus Phase
Epsilon gives Education(1,800:science: )
Loco gives Divine Right(1,200:science: )

Double-Down Phase
Epsilon gives Economics(1,400:science: )
Loco gives Gunpowder(1,200:science: )


Depending on what you want to do – we could stop this potential trade anytime after Phase 3 – but if you agree with us to go all the way…
Then the trade balance would look like this….


Epsilon gives = 5,700:science:
Loco gives = 4,700:science:

Loco would be ahead 1,000 beakers, potentially gain a free Artist, an extra Relgion/holy city/free missionary, and would also share in a gold windfall from the Merchant.

We're pretty excited about this idea… what do you think of this proposal?
We are, of course, open to negotiation if you have a better idea!

Your Friends in peace and Trade,

By the hand of Foreign Minister General_W
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!



This sounds excellent and it could be the start of a friend for life. I'm sure there's probably some issue with it though, as I don't know all the ins and outs of our current situation.

The theocracy payments are going fine, I sorted it out. The trade ideas seem fine to me, but we would need to be able to cut off the deal at any time, or failing that I think it should be more flexible. if we get attacked we'll be wanting to research towards gunpowder, not divine right.

I enquired about the flexibility and they also informed that you over payed by 10 :gold: so they will be refunding it.

We have finished researching theology, so we should be able to trade it now. If we can we should also try to trade it with other nations besides epsilon.

Dear Koondrad and all the Locomotions,

We certainly understand your being busy… we're just glad the messengers are going back and forth again!

Our proposed agreement is certainly flexible! No trouble at all.
Part of our motivation for crafting the deal language in "phases" was to allow the deal to be easily modified if necessary.

Perhaps it would be more helpful to think of our proposal as a "roadmap" to help both of our teams coordinate our research with trading and mutual benefit in mind. After any given phase is completed, the deal could be modified or even canceled… but obviously some of the biggest payoff in this deal comes at the end – so we're hopeful that we can both stick with it all the way through.

As a note on your invasion fears – we'd like to point out that we crafted this deal to try to avoid becoming over-dependant on just peaceful or military techs. If there are clouds of war on your horizon, this deal still provides Macemen & Crossbows (with Machinery in Phase 1), Knights (with Guilds in Phase 2), and Musketmen (with Gunpowder in Phase 6) – these are the key military techs of the foreseeable future. Of course, the true beauty of this deal is that we don't just end up with these military techs – but also with the key economic techs along the way… just one benefit of having our two great peoples working together.

Additionally, we've never signed a formal peace deal with your people – but The Leader, may he live forever, stands ready to sign a lasting agreement if you wish one. Perhaps we can take that up after we nail down this tech deal?

Here is our formal proposal: "Roadmap to a New Millennium"
<proposed treaty>
Article 1: Purpose
1.1 It is hereby agreed that the Great Nations of Loco and Epsilon will coordinate their research efforts in good faith to the advancement and betterment of both their peoples.

Article 2: Renegotiation and Cancellation
2.1 It is hereby the stated intention of both parties to stick to this roadmap and see it all the way through to its finish.
2.2 Both sides hereby acknowledge that the other may encounter unforeseeable circumstances that will necessitate renegotiation of certain phases…or even cancellation of the deal in extreme cases… and therefore agree that said renegotiation or cancellation do not in any way constitute a violation of this deal.
2.3 Both sides also agree that as far as is possible, they will in good faith notify the other team as soon as possible if they believe they will need to deviate from the roadmap.

Article 3: The Roadmap
Phase 1
Epsilon gives Machinery(700:science: )
Loco gives Music(600:science: )

Phase 2
Epsilon gives Compass & Paper(1,000:science: )
Loco gives Guilds(1,000:science: )

Phase 3
Epsilon gives Philosophy(800:science: )
Loco gives Banking(700:science: )

Phase 4: Money Phase
Epsilon studies Economics (1,400) after we get Banking from Loco – then we take our free Great Merchant, and send him to Loco's capital… then split the windfall cash 50/50

Phase 5: Bonus Phase
Epsilon gives Education(1,800:science: )
Loco gives Divine Right(1,200:science: )

Phase 6: Double-Down Phase
Epsilon gives Economics(1,400:science: )
Loco gives Gunpowder(1,200:science: )


Article 4: Summary
4.1 Beaker Summary:
Epsilon gives = 5,700:science:
Loco gives = 4,700:science:
4.2 Misc. Summary:
Loco would be ahead 1,000 beakers, potentially gain a free Artist, an extra Relgion/holy city/free missionary, and would also share in a gold windfall from the Merchant. Epsilon hereby agrees that this is a fair deal, and will not seek further recompense for any imbalance.



We stand ready to sign this agreement exactly as outlined above.
Would you like to suggest any changes or additions?
We've got the champagne on ice in anticipation of having this proposal returned with your signature!

To the Future! :beer:

- Foreign Minister General_W
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!



I think we should jump on this. I would also like to sign a peace treaty with them.

Sounds good to me. Also tell them we're ready to act on the theology deal.

Koondrad, there are some diplomatic messages in the inbox. Here's our current trade situation.

147100

Dear Koondrad and all our Loco Brothers,

Fantastic! [party] - The Leader, may he live forever, is confident that this is the dawning of a glorious new era for both our peoples.

We look forward to hearing your peace proposal, and are looking forward to signing an official document to codify the peace that already exists.

Were you thinking of something with a definite end date? Or something that went on indefinitely with some kind of a "15 turn cancellation notification" clause? (ie, no war without giving at least X number of turns of notice)
We'd be happy with either one. :)

We salute you as brothers! :beer:

- Foreign Minister General_W
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!


Ill check out the emails tomorrow.

We need to draft some sort of peace treaty.

Koondrad check your PM's

As Koondrad has not checked in for 7 days, I decided to act in a diplomatic capacity. Here is our correspondence.


We see that you have acquired Theology. Would you be interested in trading this for one or more of our techs (depending on beaker costs)?

We also have some excess pigs running around making trouble in the villages, but we hear that your people are hungry for pork. We would be happy to satisfy their desire for fresh meat in exchange for any other happiness or health resource you have in surplus. What do you say to this generous offer?

Theoden of Innovia



Innovians,

Sorry we took so abysmally long to get back to you, our team has been in a state of chaos lately. We perfectly understand if after all this time you have entertained offers from other teams or changed your minds about the trade. I am sending this e-mail in place of our foreign officer, Koondrad, due to the disarray. We would like to offer a trade of Theology for Civil Service and a large sum of gold, determined by yourselves (but approved by us of course).


And with Aloha
Greeting Loco,

Unfortunately it seems impossible to arrange a deal with an equal ammount of beakers at this point. However we can look to make up the difference with gold payments in any deal. On that note my team has come up with a number of propositions.

1. Music for Theology + 100g
2. Civil Service for Theology + 250g
3. Machinary for Theology + 200g

With the gold portion of the deal we are flexible as to how the amount is paid as long as its paid for by 20 turns after any trade. We are also open to any suggestions you may have, but we would like to start negotiations shortly. While we would prefer to deal with you, if we can not start trade talks soon we will have to look at Epsilon offer for Theology, however it is our hope that we can come to a deal with you.

All the best

Robi D, Aloha

Citizens of Aloha,

Sorry ofr the late reply, our team has been in chaos lately. Hopefully you have not yet begun considering other offers. Because we would not wish to miss a tech trade, I have decided to send this in place of Koondrad, our current foreign officer. At this point, the music trade looks favorable to me. However, we implore you to wait two more turns before finalizing this offer. Hopefully our foreign advisor will have returned by then and I can get the rest of the ream on board. If there is no change, I believe we will accept the first offer.

Jeejeep
Executive Leader



Sorry if people don't like what I did, but I figured I had to act before we lost the trades and fell even further behind in technology.

Rawr, I'm back in black. Tough week. You still having gMail problems?

No, the gmail's better now. Sorry for acting in your place.

Alright, so the music for theology trade went through with Aloha. Here's our current situation.
147987

I suggest we try a deal of Civil Service and something for Music and Theology with Innovia. We also can make the first trade on the roadmap with Epsilon.

What is the power graph like? does it look like anyone is going to make a move?

They're probably too far away. Epsilon might be close, but we have a huge trade deal with them, so they probably won't attack.

Dear Koondrad & all of Loco,

We noticed that you have discovered the fine art of Music! Congratulations. We now stand ready to complete Phase 1 of our deal – Music for Machinery. Wanted to send you a note to let you know in advance that we'll be making that offer this turn (unless you've already beaten us to it?)

Anyway – we also had another idea! There are a couple techs we have that aren’t on our Roadmap deal we just signed. Maybe you’d like to buy them at an especially steep “friend of Epsilon” discount? We were thinking just 10 gold for Hunting (40:science: ), 15 gold for Archery (60:science: ) and 30 gold for Monotheism (120:science: ). Even bigger techs could be on the table if you’re in a shopping mood? Construction and Civil Service aren’t on the roadmap, and we’d be happy to sell them to you at a very good discount if you’re interested.

Let us know!

Your friends in peace and trade,
- Foreign Minister General_W
Servant of the Leader
Epsilon Team!


How's the treasury looking?

We have about 40 gold but losing 4 per turn. What do you think about my suggested trade with Innovia?

We have about 40 gold but losing 4 per turn. What do you think about my suggested trade with Innovia?


If you can swing it, go for it.

Innovia has just sent us this trade. I refused, as we will discover calendar next turn anyway.

148260

Also. I say hunting and archery for 25 gold.

How about have Innovia research Construction and give us

CS+Construction for Music+Theology+gold(resource)+gold(lump sum)

Koondrad, are you here? There is diplomatic work to be done.

Reviving this thread, as there has been an awful lot of correspondence lately.

People of Loco,

Since you can't see those troops by yourself and have received the information from a supposed ally we must conclude that there is a conspiracy against us. We are truly shocked by this and we cannot take your betrayal as anything but a declaration of hostility. Prepare for an otherwise avoidable war!

Theoden of Innovia

(OOC: Don't take this personally, it's merely business on our part. I wish you good luck defending your civilization.)



Innovia,

Please tell us how this war could have been avoided. Were you planning to attack someone else or was that a scouting party? How does cancellation of open borders equate to a declaration of war? Until we hear otherwise from you, we will presume to believe you were planning to attack us (unprovoked) all along. We're looking forward to hearing your reply. If this war could have been deflected before it began, maybe it can still be stopped now.

Jeejeep
Executive Leader
Team Loco


Then:



Aloha,

We would like to take you up on the gunpowder deal. We will have it in 3 turns. We are not sure if it is too late by now, but if it is it is our fault anyway.

This turn we found a diplomatic message asking us to contribute deer to you for no concession at all. We would be happy to trade a resource for a resource, but we will not give in to demands.

We have been wondering about your opinion of our war with Innovia. We would like to stress (especially after the propaganda posted in the MTDG forums) that we did not provoke this attack in any way. We discovered a fleet of Innovian galleys loaded down with troops in the area near our lands. Seeing this (along witht the fact that one of their galleys was scouting out our lands) we thought it necessary to cancel our open borders.

If you are friendly towards us during this war, we would be happy for any money we could get from you by trade (for upgrades) this could take the form of trading a tech for gold, trading a resource for gold, or giving us a loan that would be repayed over time. An offer of military help would of course be welcome, but we feel it is too much to ask you at this point. If you wish to stay neutral, it would be nice for you to agree to peace for at least the next 15 turns, just so that we could be sure of your intentions. If you wish to oppose us, we will be ready.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

Jeejeep
Executive Leader
Team Loco


This is true, they tried to get deer out of us for nothing. I don't know if they are going to dogpile us. I wouldn't be surprised.
Also:


Epsilon,

Sorry it took so long getting back to you. We also have bad news. We fear we may have compromised your neutrality in this war with our prompt open borders cancellation. When we cancelled open borders with Innovia, we were only thinking of stopping them from getting intelligence on our defenses so that we couuld better defend our homeland. Unfortunately, Innovia now believes that we had outside help in divining their arrival. I am not sure if they know it was you, as they have not stated such in any of our correspondence.

The last part of this message is a paragraph we also sent to Piffle and Aloha. We are quite sure you won't attack us, as you have been great friends to us for most of the game. To be safe, we would still like you to agree to peace, but it is not necessary. We trust you. If you wish to take a bold move, any help by gifting troops or even a declaration of war would be most welcome. However, we will not be mad if you choose not to take sides, as such a descision could compromise your high status in the game.

If you are friendly towards us during this war, we would be happy for any money we could get from you by trade (for upgrades) this could take the form of trading a tech for gold, trading a resource for gold, or giving us a loan that would be repayed over time If you wish to stay neutral, it would be nice for you to agree to peace for at least the next 15 turns, just so that we could be sure of your intentions. If you wish to oppose us, we will be ready.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

Jeejeep
Executive Leader
Team Loco


Also:


Piffle,

We have been wondering about your opinion of our war with Innovia. We would like to stress (especially after the propaganda posted in the MTDG forums) that we did not provoke this attack in any way. We discovered a fleet of Innovian galleys loaded down with troops in the area near our lands. Seeing this (along with the fact that one of their galleys was scouting out our lands) we thought it necessary to cancel our open borders.

If you are friendly towards us during this war, we would be happy for any money we could get from you by trade (for upgrades) this could take the form of trading a tech for gold, trading a resource for gold, or giving us a loan that would be repayed over time. An offer of military help would of course be welcome, but we feel it is too much to ask you at this point. If you wish to stay neutral, it would be nice for you to agree to peace for at least the next 15 turns, just so that we could be sure of your intentions. If you wish to oppose us, we will be ready.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

Jeejeep
Executive Leader
Team Loco


I realize that I have done a lot lately without direct consultation. Forgive me, I have grown used to working alone. It would be nice to have someone fill the position of Diplomatic Advisor once this war is over. Maybe one of you can do it if you feel you are integrated enough into the game. Though I have acted alone, I feel that everything i have done has been in the spirit of what you have asked for.

Good job.

Did you send it to them by mail?

I will take the job of dipomat if you want

Thanks, Joe. You are confirmed as our new Foreign Minister. Good luck with the new job.

We have been corresponding with most teams by G-mail. However, Piffle has been communicating with us by PM. You should send a PM to Killercane announcing yourself as our new Foreign Minister, so that he can now send PM's to you.

Your other duties will be to post correspondence here in the diplo thread or to send messages to the other teams informing them of trades, war declarations, peace treaties, or other agreements we would like to accomplish.

I think we received a message from Jeejeep on peace, and yes we will continue to be peaceful and helpful allies. How may we be of assistance (short of declaring war, Innovia and you guys are both pretty far from us)?


Letter from Killercane, any suggestion on what to do?

Any donation of gold would be good, but if they don't want too that's okay.