zyxy
Warmongering Fool
Alright, send it off!
Dear FREE brothers,
A lot has happened in the past 24 hours, and we want to bring you up to date.
Team Saber was relentless in trying to get us to agree to some kind of deal – we tried to stall, but they just decided to hold up the save until we would give them an answer!
We didn't want to say "no" and blow a potentially really good deal for our alliance, but we didn't want to say "yes" either, since we haven't heard back from you.
Rest assured, we have kept our contact and pending treaty/tech alliance with you a secret, and declined their push for trades involving Currency and potentially Philosophy or Code of Laws.
We did, however, indicate to them that we'd be interested in pursuing a potential deal for Ceremonial Burial and the Wheel, per our last letter to you. (although, Saber may not actually be willing to give us some gold as we had previously thought. It would have been a tiny amount [<20 gold] anyway. We'll see!)
Hopefully this ok. We, of course, won't be signing any deals until we hear back from you. We just want to make sure that everything is out in the open, and that you're not in the dark.
Please respond soon with how you'd like us to proceed. (assuming of course that you're still planning on signing our treaty!)
All the best,
General_W, speaking with the voice of The Council.
...we really need an answer from FREE before the game gets back to us. I think we need to make it clear to them that they need to get off their lazy behinds and do something. So I would send FREE a letter with the following ingredients (nicely phrased of course, but with a sense of urgency):
Concerning the immediate trade with SABER:
1) SABER is moving faster than we expected and has offered the small trade deal (WC+WH for IW+CB) in-game, without our explicit consent, but they could have misunderstood our delay tactics. Next turn we have to accept or decline it.
2) We are inclined to accept and will share the techs freely with FREE, free of charge.
3) We need an answer from FREE concerning this deal before the turn gets back to us. We will not ask for an extension, it will look too suspicious. (Chamnix asked for an extension last turn and has been playing slow for a couple of turns, so everybody will know we've met.) If we don't get an answer, we will decide as we think best.
4) We haven't really committed to anything, but of course SABER will not like a rebuttal. If FREE refuses, but at the same time signs our treaty, then we will go along, but we will be forced to explain to SABER why we refuse. (Read: we want FREE to commit to the treaty before we get into trouble with SABER, and even then we are not going to take the blame alone.)
Concerning the longer run:
5) For the moment we are acting as if the MAAP treaty has been signed and agreed, but of course it has not been signed by FREE. In the meantime, SABER is proposing a more encompassing research deal now. Here too, we have reached a decision point.
6) We want to know FREE's decision on our treaty within X days (X=3 maybe). Otherwise we will have to conclude they are not interested and we feel free to ignore the treaty and do as we please.
7) We also need to know FREE's position on further cooperation with SABER.
Dear FREE brothers,
A lot has happened in the past 24 hours, and we want to bring you up to date.
Team Saber was relentless in trying to get us to agree to some kind of deal – we tried to stall, but they just decided to hold up the save until we would give them an answer!
We didn't want to say "no" and blow a potentially really good deal for our alliance, but we didn't want to say "yes" either, since we haven't heard back from you.
Rest assured, we have kept our contact and pending treaty/tech alliance with you a secret, and declined their push for trades involving Currency and potentially Philosophy or Code of Laws.
We did, however, indicate to them that we'd be interested in pursuing a potential deal for Ceremonial Burial and the Wheel, per our last letter to you. (although, Saber may not actually be willing to give us some gold as we had previously thought. It would have been a tiny amount [<20 gold] anyway. We'll see!)
Update: while we were drafting this letter to send to you, Saber informed us that they went ahead and put this deal on the table for us to accept. These guys move fast!
We really need an answer from you asap, or we risk damaging a potential source of low-level techs for our alliance.
We're trying to operate as if this deal with you is signed, even though we haven't heard back from you, but if we still don't have word by the time the save comes around, we may go ahead and just accept this trade, and hope that it was ok with you.
We're not trying to be pushy! But Saber is really moving aggressively, and we feel like we need to respond. We hope our transparency on all of this is a sign to you that we really are trying to act in good-faith with the deal we're hoping to finalize with you.
Please respond soon with how you'd like us to proceed. (assuming of course that you're still planning on signing our treaty!)
All the best,
General_W, speaking with the voice of The Council.
FREE may have just met someone else too...
I don't think so. It is one possible explanation as to why they are not jumping the opportunity presented to them. But I would not believe it to be so.